Emerging cities, edge centres to boost data storage infra: NES Data

Mumbai and Chennai account for around 70 per cent of India's total data centre capacity, but the future of data infrastructure lies in the rise of edge and containerised data centres, they said

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Rising demand from emerging and small cities and scalable solutions like edge centres are expected to boost the data centre infrastructure in India in the coming years, a top official of data centre operator NES Data said on Friday.

Mumbai and Chennai account for around 70 per cent of India's total data centre capacity, but the future of data infrastructure lies in the rise of edge and containerised data centres, especially across Tier II cities and remote areas, NES Data founder and Managing Director Umesh Sahay said.

Pune-based NES Data is a leading infrastructure-as-a-service entity specialising in colocation services and Storage-as-a-Service. It is developing edge and containerised data centres across the country that are expected to go online by next month.

We believe edge and containerised data centres are set to democratize data access, enabling low-latency, high-efficiency solutions for India's AI-first digital ecosystem, particularly in Tier II and remote towns and cities, Sahay said.

Such data centres will provide scalable, modular and sustainable solutions tailored for AI, real-time applications, and remote deployments, he added.

Edge data centres are smaller computer data storage facilities that are located closer to end-users, which help reduce latency and increase data processing speeds. Containerised centres, built in prefabricated, portable units, offer plug-and-play scalability, ensuring deployment in weeks and providing relocatability for flexible infrastructure.

With data storage needs skyrocketing and investments in traditional hyperscale centres slowing due to high costs and resource constraints, India is poised for a significant surge in edge and containerised data centres, particularly in Tier II and remote towns and cities like Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Vizag, Lucknow, Patna, and Bhubaneswar, Sahay said.

Citing studies, he stated that India's data centre industry registered a growth of 288 times in the last eight years and currently stands at USD 1.2 billion. Edge and containerised centres are likely to account for nearly 2530 per cent of new data infrastructure by 2030 in India.