Mumbai leads the data centre business in India with 35 operators having their base in the city, CBRE South Asia said in a report. Mumbai has emerged as the preferred location as it is one of the global cable landing locations in the country.
Cable landing stations or submarine cables are vital international telecommunication links between countries, making them an essential element in telecommunication services including broadband connectivity. Mumbai has four of the 10 cable landing stations in the country.
As per the report, India has seen the growth of data centres across all key cities, including Mumbai, Chennai, Bangaluru and Hyderabad. “While all cities have strong office markets, Mumbai and Chennai have attracted data centre players as they offer cost arbitrage using direct submarine lines/cables,” the report said.
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“India holds massive potential to become the next destination for data centres, driven by demand created by businesses,” said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman, India and South-East Asia, CBRE. Overall, he said, the data centre market outlook is positive on the back of the availability of land and skilled talent pool along with a huge, untapped market. “Moreover, a slew of policy reforms undertaken by the Indian government have generated enthusiasm among overseas investors. Several companies have either ramped up their existing data centre portfolio or have made plans to do so.”
According to the report, several States have started developing strategies to leverage this growing interest in India. Maharashtra and Telangana were among the quickest to tap into the growing demand for data centres by coming up with several incentive schemes for the sector. Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh too have formulated policies for the information technology (IT)–IT enabled services segment and have introduced a single-window clearance system to encourage investors, the report said.