There Is A Massive Deployment Of Data Centres In India: Alan Richardson of AFL Hyperscale
Data is the new oil. And with this data centres and the need to connect and retrieve data through advanced connections is the need of the hour. Alan Richardson of AFL Hyperscale, a data centre management firm in partnership with Citadel Intelligent Systems, overseas data centre business management. In a recent visit to India, he spoke with BW Businessworld’s Clifford Alvares on the ongoing robust business in data centres and advanced networking.
Excerpts:
How do you see India’s data centre market growing?
With the enormous growth of internet and emergence of various mobile technologies like VoIP and mobile contents, today mobile and other devices are not only used for communication, but also as a viable medium to get connected to social media, shopping , banking, streaming, gaming and do day-to-day things through IoT. There is a huge amount of data being generated and transited by this, resulting in massive deployment of data centers in India. Also, we see a lot of organisations moving towards cloud platform offered by Amazon and Microsoft that is supported by a burgeoning colocation data center industry, as it is more cost efficient.
This trend perhaps has stimulated the demand for optical connectivity across the enterprise sector. As a global leader, it makes us confident to capitalise on this and capture a large market share as the industry evolves.
So what will drive growth?
IT and ITeS have predominantly increased the need for data center. The abundance of skilled workforce provides valuable resource enabling the acceleration of the data center growth. The rise of cloud service providers- expected to reach $4 billion by 2020- has highly scaled up the data center business. Alongside, India is now emerging as a leading global force in digital economy, driven by high density of data transition. It is also being benefitted from the global subsea optical cable network with its various landing stations in Mumbai, Kochi and Chennai. These factors clubbed with the technology revolution in other industries such as telecom, eCommerce, fintech, proptech and energy sector are set to further augment the data center market.
How do you see the fibre optic market shaping up?
To integrate these hyperscale data centers with high-speed and uninterrupted communication networks, amidst rising data traffic, enterprise are adopting to optical technologies like optical fiber for faster data transfer, greater bandwidth and less risk of data loss. According to “India Optical Fiber Cables Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020”, the optical fiber cables market in India is expected to surpass US$ 424 million by 2020.
This projects the growth avenues that optic fibre manufacturers have in India. Key Government-led projects- Digital India, Make in India, Smart Cities, BharatNet, GST rollout etc., have embraced the digital revolution, accentuating the need for more data centers installation, which in other term means, more optic fibre connectivity.
Will big global giants invest in India?
We aren’t sure of when and where. But with the data boom in the country, we are certain of witnessing some of the big giants building their own data centers here soon. Currently, many global companies are adopting to colocation data centers. I see this trend continuing even when they plan to build their own facilities just to enable them to meet the demands and expansion.
How is the data center as a business growing over the years in India? What does this mean for AFL?
Indian data center market has evolved over the years with real-time change in technical dynamics. Today, the market is moving at a right trajectory and continues to harvest quality growth going forward too. We have been mapping these developments for many years and decided to venture into the market soon after our AFL Hyperscale business unit was set up. Our entry was a smooth ride with the partnership of Citadel Intelligent Systems (CIS), who brought a wealth of local knowhow and resources that has and is accelerating AFL’s presence in India. The introduction of the GST scheme and the government’s digitalization move have contributed to ease of doing business in India.
How has your business grown post your partnership with Citadel Intelligent Systems in India?
We are proud to have CIS as our strategic partner in India. CIS and AFL have a great mix of experience and knowhow, which has had an immediate impact on establishing new clients and supporting the global players. The new and potential clients are excited in that we bring together this knowhow with innovative solutions, high performance quality products and customer focused support. We are already seeing sales grow month-by-month over the short time since we started the business in late 2017.
What is the revenue growth that you foresee for your Indian business in the next 2-3 years?
We started from a small base. However, with the current business performance, we expect 2019 to bring significant growth in revenue that will be 3X of what we have achieved in the start-up mode in 2018. Also, as we penetrate into other Indian markets and start implementing our business plans there, we foresee our revenue growing at a rate of 70 to 80 per cent in the next 2-3 years.
What kind of new technology advancement you expect in the coming years in the Indian and global optic fibre markets?
Today, technology, software and data are changing the way we live, we think and we work. India is positioned to leap many steps due to the technical skillset it has. India’s initiative to offer Wi-Fi to remote areas through optic fibres is laudable. I foresee more investments towards optical networks to build next generation optical switching software to maximise the potential of communication network. The aspiration towards advancement in IoT, AI, Blockchain, Virtual Reality, Automated vehicles etc., will definitely lead to development of seamless and sophisticated optic fibre products.
