Data center market faces skill-shortage amid rising demand
The global data center construction market is facing skill and material shortages amid rising demand, according to the Data Centre Cost Index by construction consultant Turner & Townsend.
The survey, conducted with 200 data center professionals across 44 cities and regions, found that 84% of respondents are facing skills shortages for experienced data center construction teams.
Meanwhile, 87% of participants said that global material shortages have caused project delays in their organizations and 82% rated the market as “hot or overheating.”
When it comes to data center locations, Tokyo has become the most expensive market for data center construction at $12.50 per watt (/y), ahead of last year’s leading city Zurich with $12.00/w.
Emerging data center markets included in the index this year are Montevideo in Uruguay ($7.60/w), Bogota, Colombia ($6.30/w), and Oslo, Norway ($9.50/w).
Turner & Townsend said these new markets show that investors are interested in venturing outside established data center cities to meet the increasing demand in the industry.
