Hyperscale Data Centers to Surpass 1,000 Facilities in 2024

Synergy Research Group’s (SRG) revealed that hyperscale data centers will have surpassed the 1,000 globall facilities mark by 2024. This strong expansion signals a paradigm shift, driven by the growth of cloud computing and data analytics services on a global scale.

According to Data Center Dynamics, hyperscale data centers have become very powerful in recent years due to increased compute and storage requirements to serve high-end applications. Business-critical applications are increasing, resulting in greater data center complexity. Furthermore, growing web traffic, e-commerce, social networking, big data, online game hosting, and Hadoop software, are driving demand for improved application speed, energy efficiency, and server density within hyperscale data centers.

In this context, a recent analysis by Mordor Intelligence, revealed that the size of the hyperscale data center market is currently estimated at just over US$100 billion. By 2029, the market is expected to reach a value of over US$130 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate of 5.29% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

According to SRG data there has been a notable increase in the number of large data centers operated by hyperscale providers, which went from 992 at the end of 2023 to over 1,000 at the beginning of 2024 globally. This growth, according to the consultancy, is expected to continue over the next four years, with total hyperscale data center capacity projected to double again in that period (2024-2028).

One of the highlights established by SRG is the crucial role played by Artificial Intelligence (AI) in driving the sprawl of hyperscale data centers. With an estimated 120-130 additional hyperscale data centers opening each year, growth capacity is expected to be increasingly driven by the even greater scale of these new centers.

However, according to SRG, the regional distribution of these data centers will be uneven, where the United States is expected to continue to lead with 51% of the total market share. Meanwhile, Europe and China are expected to account for approximately one-third of the remainder market share.

Currently, major cloud service providers, including Amazon, Microsoft and Google, largely dominate the hyperscale data center market. Together, these three giants account for 60% of all hyperscale data center capacity, followed by Meta, Alibaba, Tencent, Apple, ByteDance, and other relatively smaller hyperscale operators.

"While both the number of hyperscale data centers and their average size continue to grow at an impressive rate, it is important to recognize the complexity and nuances behind these trends," said John Dinsdale, Chief Analyst, SRG. "Generally speaking, owned data centers are much larger than leased ones, and data centers in a hyperscale company's home country are much larger than its international facilities, although there are many exceptions to these trends."

With sustained growth projected in the coming years, competition among major industry players, according to SRG, is expected to drive innovation and efficiency in the delivery of cloud computing and data analytics services on a global scale.