The UK data centre market is experiencing steady growth and investment.
Despite its status as a large, mature market, growth of 36% was predicted between 2021 and 2025. Within the m25, we’ve seen over 50,000sqm per year added and 20,000sqm per year across the rest of the UK. (source for link: United Kingdom Data Centre Market Landscape Report (globenewswire.com) ) However, with high costs and diminishing space in the South East, investors are looking to expand to more affordable areas. Leading providers such as Asanti and Vantage have seen the potential in the UK market and are keen to help keep up with demand.
One key area for predicted growth is IT infrastructure. As data traffic grows, so does the required support, such as storage and computing power. In addition, many companies are choosing to move from in-house data centres to cloud storage, driving the need for improved IT equipment such as servers and storage infrastructure. With no signs of slowing down just yet, it’s clear that this is still a thriving industry.
What’s driving data centre growth?
Despite hardware getting smaller, our thirst for data is getting bigger. As a result, the demand for more storage, information and processing power isn’t going away. The pandemic forced many businesses to abandon office environments. This shift to remote working has worked well for many companies and their employees. Improvements in mental health and reduced emissions are two key benefits that suggest work from home culture is here to stay, and data centres play a vital role in facilitating it. As business processes also evolve, the surge in emerging technology, such as AI, big data and blockchain, has created an increasing demand for data storage and robust IT infrastructure.
The increased demand has created a perfect environment for sustainable growth. According to the survey conducted by the firm DLA Piper in December 2019, the UK is expected to acquire a lot of attention from equity investors. The Data Economy Report by Digital Realty states that UK data centres would be responsible for storing over 135 billion US dollars’ worth of data annually by 2025. So, the potential is clear to see. This isn’t a shrinking or plateauing market, which means the tech resellers will need to be ready to support the growth.
The role of tech resellers in the data-centric market
As businesses become more reliant on data centres, whether in-house or not, having an IT infrastructure that is robust and reliable is crucial. However, although many companies may have a skilled IT team, they are not always up-to-date on the latest products and trying to be isn’t the best use of time. End users need products and service that is reliable and fit for purpose to keep things running smoothly. This is where tech resellers provide a valuable service, offering the latest expert advice in a fast-paced and constantly evolving area.
There are many manufacturers of IT products, and it’s beneficial to have access to a few different ones as a reseller. However, finding a reputable distributor working only with industry-leading quality manufacturers, such as Vertiv and Austin, and offering good training and support is vital. This ensures the provision of reliable products that meet high expectations to keep everything running as smoothly as possible. So choosing the right distributor is a key part of a reseller’s success.
The importance of a good distributor relationship.
Good relationships in business are essential. We are seeing more and more instances of people buying people, even in the b2b world, and at MB Technology, we have always placed high importance on humanising the way we do business. We aim to get to know our customers and understand their needs and struggles to build solid foundations for a successful partnership that lasts. A good relationship between reseller and distributor can be the difference between success and failure for all involved.
We pride ourselves on offering:
- Excellent customer service –our resellers are more than just customers. They’re partners.
- Outstanding ongoing support – because selling a product and waving bye-bye just isn’t us.
- Training – for resellers and their customers because we‘re big on success for everyone.
- Quality products* – because we understand the importance of uninterrupted service in business.
This all-around excellence creates a domino effect. Serving our customers better means they serve their customers better, and together we all strengthen each other.
*Nothing is infallible, and no matter how great the tech, there are times when things go wrong. Rather than pretend this doesn’t happen or try to lay blame elsewhere, we have yet another aspect to our support scheme where if any tech fails, we will replace it while we work out what went wrong. You can find more information about this on our services page.