Google, Europe, hyperscale expansions, new hyperscale markets, capacity challenges, data centre developments
The past week saw a steady flow of activity. Google had a very busy stretch, while there were a number of developments of note coming out of Europe. Meanwhile, the unique context of the current environment is creating challenges for subscale cloud operators and hyperscalers continue their efforts to innovate, build new products and drive value on top of raw compute and storage infrastructure.
Google was busy and acquired land in Berlin, while it is also planning a cloud region for Greece. Google’s cloud-based gaming service will be shuttered and this platform had been a potential resource of colocation demand. However, while the Stadia service is going, the underlying platform, combined with the streaming and CDN capabilities of YouTube is being transformed into a digital media-oriented infrastructure service that will drive more demand for data centre capacity.
Google Cloud’s entry to Greece gives this new market two hyperscalers as Microsoft has confirmed plansto enter and Digital Realty is expanding in this region as the market starts to take shape.
Europe saw other activity. In the FLAP markets, STACK Infrastructure confirmed plans to expand in Frankfurt, while Telehouse began construction on a facility outside Paris. Iron Mountain Data Centers is in Frankfurt as well and we have some details on its portfolio and progress coming out of its recent disclosures to the investment community. And still in Germany, Atlas Edge expanded its footprint through an acquisition.
Digital Ocean appears to be facing a few challenges with capacity and of course, recently raised prices amid the shifting context. We provide some context on this as other subscale providers, such as OVH, have also been facing some bumps in the road.
Finally, there were some interesting things around hyperscale product development. Alibaba Cloud has built out a capability to deploy Alibaba Cloud-based infrastructure in on-premise data centres, while Trend Micro’s work with Azure showed how security is driving uptake of adjacent and value-add services.
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