UK, Germany Emerge As Hosting Hot Spots March 22, 2001 — As most industry insiders will tell you, Europe has become a hotbed of Web hosting over the past two or three years. Companies are scrambling to establish a presence in Europe, because many consider it to be a largely untapped Web hosting market. Certain areas of Europe, however, have established themselves as true “hot spots” in recent years, with connectivity and hosting companies vying for presence and attention in specific parts of Europe. From the consumer’s point of view, where a company decides to locate their office, staff and machines could have big implications in terms of support, maintenance and server access; after all, if you live and work in London, you’ll probably won’t want to co-locate in Sheffield, right?
The question is – who’s hot? Well, most of Europe seems to be on fire these days. However, the United Kingdom and Germany have emerged recently as particular hosting “hot spots”.
Here’s why:
United Kingdom & Ireland
The United Kingdom has undoubtedly become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the recent European hosting boom. Just about every North American hosting company that chooses to open a European subsidiary chooses London as a location for at least one of their European offices. Recent newcomers to the neighbourhood include DellHost, Verio and NetNation, three very big players in the hosting industry.
Contrary to popular belief, however, England is not the UK’s only high-tech hotbed. Look a bit closer, and you’ll notice that Ireland is quickly moving to the forefront as well. According to Colocation Magazine, Dublin’s tech sector has caught fire. “The year of the new millennium has seen Dublin experiencing something of a unique boom in the construction and development of co-location and hosting centers across Dublin,” the magazine writes. The magazine attributes a significant portion of the country’s growth to a recent surge in bandwidth capacity; according to a recent article, 360 Networks, Global Crossing, GTS and BT Farland have all okayed fibre pipelines in to Dublin in the near future. And with demand currently outpacing supply across Europe, bandwidth is an extremely valuable commodity.
Germany
When hosting companies need a physical presence in Europe, many of them are also making sure they set up an office Germany as well. Verio, for example, recently identified Germany as one of Europe’s “top four hosting markets” and also purchased German hosting company WWWService AG to expand their presence in the country. Munich in particular is becoming a popular destination; European hosting giant KPNQwest opened Germany’s largest fully operational NOC last year. And many connectivity giants have also identified Germany as an important location; Global Crossing, for example, recently opened data centers in Frankfurt and Munich.
These two geographic regions have become particular hosting hotbeds because of the rapid development of their technology and infrastructure. As it stands, most major telcos and connectivity companies are elbowing each other in order to lay pipe throughout Europe, and the battle has become particularly fierce in Germany and in the UK. And where bandwidth providers go, hosting companies often follow.
While it will be interesting to watch hosting companies duke it out in these rapidly-expanding regions, it’s also important not to forget the other companies involved in this exponential growth: the local companies and providers who have already established themselves. Remember, there’s already a legion of hosting companies and telcos already established throughout Europe, particularly in England and Germany. Will North American companies be able to grab a piece of the European pie? We’ll find out soon enough.
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