According to a study by US-based analyst Synergy Research Group, Dublin in Ireland is ranked as the world’s third-largest hub for hyperscale datacentres. The analysis considered the datacentre footprint of 19 of the largest cloud and internet service providers worldwide, with Dublin hosting nearly 5% of the globe’s hyperscale server farms.
Beijing, China, secured the second spot on the list, with Northern Virginia in the US claiming the top position. Together, these regions make up 22% of the world’s hyperscale datacentres. Dublin is among the top three European cities to feature on Synergy’s list, alongside Frankfurt in Germany and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Amsterdam ranks 18th on the list of the largest hyperscale datacentre regions globally.
Most of the top 20 locations listed are in the US, with a few in the Asia-Pacific region. According to Synergy, 62% of the current hyperscale datacentre capacity is concentrated in just 20 state or metro markets, with Northern Virginia and the Greater Beijing Area leading the pack at 22%.
The US’s dominance in the top 20 list is attributed to the fact that nearly 60% of the world’s hyperscale operators are based there. Moving forward, Synergy predicts continued domination by the US and China, while countries like Malaysia, India, and Spain are expected to play a more significant role.
Amazon Web Services, Google, and Microsoft lead in geographical datacentre footprint among hyperscalers, accounting for 60% of all capacity. Synergy forecasts an additional 510 hyperscale datacentre developments worldwide in the pipeline, driven by factors such as cost, proximity to customers, availability of resources, infrastructure, and political stability. As a result, leading markets for hyperscale datacentres may differ from those for retail colocation datacentres.