欧华律师事务所近期发布《全球数据中心投资展望》（Global Data Centre Investment Outlook）报告，以数据说明过去一年全球数据中心投资增长速度，以及其在中国等新兴市场的发展前景。
报告显示，2021年，全球数据中心基础设施投资额增长超两倍，达538亿美元，同期交易数量增长64%，达113宗。
对于数据中心的创纪录需求受到超大规模计算公司增长的驱动，类似公司包括脸书、谷歌及微软，它们在云服务领域频频出手，而云服务本身在疫情期间也经历了飞速发展。
受访基建企业、私募基金及金融机构高管大多认为亚太将成为新的高速发展地区，其中79%的受访者认为，未来24个月中，中国将是全球数据中心投资最高发的国家。这可能源于中国自身超大规模计算公司，例如阿里巴巴、腾讯及字节跳动的快速成长。
不过，对数据中心的追捧也并非没有伴随着理性，数据中心投资参与者尤其重视能源安全问题。大多数受访者表示，他们更愿意投资拥有可靠且低价能源供应的数据中心——过去12个月全球油电价格的飞涨给数据中心运营带来了很大压力。
ESG则是另一个值得注意的因素。
“能够高效使用能源的数据中心对客户更有吸引力，也更容易商业化，假如使用的还是可再生能源，就会因为符合ESG期待而具备更高的吸引力。”欧华合伙人，全球数据保护、隐私及安全业务领域联席负责人Carolyn Bigg总结道。
Global investors see China as future playground for data centres, says new report
DLA Piper has recently released a new report named Global Data Centre Investment Outlook, citing figures on how rapidly the global investment into data centres grew in the past year, especially in emerging markets like China.
The report shows that the total investment in global data centre infrastructure more than doubled in 2021 to $53.8 billion, and the total number of data centre transactions increased by 64 percent, up to 113 in 2021.
Record-breaking demand for data centres has been driven by the growth of hyperscalers, such as Facebook, Google and Microsoft, which have thrived amid the transition to cloud service which has itself been escalated by the pandemic, says the report.
Among the surveyed senior executives from infrastructure, equity and debt provider firms, most think the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is expected to be the biggest source of future growth, and 79 percent of respondents chose China as one of the top three countries they expect to see the biggest growth in investment over the next 24 months.
This shift can be attributed to the rise of Chinese hyperscalers, including Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance, analyzes the report.
The craze for data centre is also accompanied by rationality, especially when it comes to energy security, which is increasingly viewed as one of the most significant factors shaping data centre investment. Most respondents would pay a premium to invest in a site with a good and cost-effective power supply, especially during a time when global gas and electricity prices have soared in the past 12 months, greatly impacting data centre operating costs.
ESG is another significant factor shaping data centre investment.
“An energy efficient data centre is attractive to customers and easier to commercialise and if the energy used is also renewable then it becomes an even more attractive proposition from an ESG perspective,” concludes Carolyn Bigg, partner and global co-chair of DLA Piper’s data protection, privacy and security practice.
