Market Trends of Switzerland Data Center Cooling Industry
IT & Telecommunication Segment Holds the Major Share
- The Swiss data center market has been driven by growing cloud use across companies because of their increasing integration of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, big data, and blockchain. Cloud computing (anything-as-a-service (XaaS)) continues to be one of the most important trends in the Swiss IT industry.
- However, while most cloud solutions are still deployed in-house (besides traditional outsourcing and managed services), software-as-a-service (SaaS), in particular, is becoming increasingly important as a procurement model.
- Globally leading hyperscalers, namely AWS, Google, and Microsoft, now have a presence in Switzerland. Since 2019, they have invested intensively in developing their Swiss cloud regions and attracting new customers. For instance, AWS plans to invest USD 5.9 billion into the local economy through 2036. The 15-year investment plan is expected to help drive local cloud adoption and add USD 16.3 billion to the Swiss GDP. In 2021, cloud expenditure in Switzerland was more than CHF 4.93 billion.
- By 2022, only a few companies, approximately 5%, were not using any cloud services, suggesting an upward trend. Scalable and strong cloud networks are being developed with the help of hyperscale data centers, which can enhance customer satisfaction, increase availability, and cut costs. Considering the above developments, the cloud data center segment is expected to account for a majority of capacity in the Swiss data center market by 2029.
- In telecom, rising 4G adoption and the impending 5G wave are encouraging telecom companies to make investments in the Swiss data center market. In 2021, 99% of the population was covered by LTE (4G). By the end of 2021, Swisscom reached 98% of the population with 5G and transmission rates of up to 1 Gbps and 31% with 5G+ and transmission rates of up to 2 Gbps, while Sunrise UPC covered over 96% with 5G and transmission rates of up to 1 Gbps. By 2022, 90% of homes and companies in the country were connected to Swisscom's ultra-fast broadband services.
Understand The Key Trends Shaping This Market
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Liquid-based Cooling is the Fastest-growing Segment
- In data centers, liquid cooling offers many benefits, and it is an attractive option for cooling computing environments with high performance. The use of liquid cooling has been shown to be more energy-efficient compared to conventional air conditioning. It reduces the need for overcooling and improves the energy efficiency of data centers by providing precise temperature control.
- Technological advances have helped to reduce the water consumption of data centers by more than 15% in tropical climates and 80% in green areas, making liquid cooling easier to maintain, scale up, or be affordable. Energy used for liquid cooling may be recycled to heat buildings and drinking water, while advanced artificial refrigerants can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of air conditioners.
- Liquid cooling takes advantage of the space constraints and superior heat transfer properties of water or other liquids to provide efficient and cost-effective cooling of high-density racks up to 3000 times more efficiently than air. Long proven in mainframe and gaming applications, liquid cooling is increasingly being used to protect rack servers in regional data centers.
- Furthermore, factors such as growing connectivity and online shopping are expected to contribute to the increasing generation of data and processing facilities. The internet penetration in Switzerland increased from 89% in 2016 to 96% in 2021. At the same time, the number of smartphone users increased from 6.9 million in 2016 to 7.9 million in 2021.
- In 2021, Switzerland ranked first in the annual e-commerce index of UNCTAD, which ranks countries on their readiness to engage in e-commerce. Online shopping was found to be preferred by about 11% of Swiss customers, and this share was expected to reach 22% in 2022. Such improvements in the market propel the growth of data centers and, consequently, the rise of demand for DC cooling infrastructure in the country.
