Is there an oversupply of data centres in Johor?

Are there too many data centres in Johor? Can operators convince enterprises to migrate workloads over?

A month ago, I wrote that Johor is the fastest-growing data centre market in Southeast Asia with 1.6GW of total supply (Read about it here: https://lnkd.in/g_wMxZvW).

This dips to ~800MW when we count only confirmed projects. But it's still a huge figure, with Singapore's operational data centres at just 988MW today.

Build and they will come?

I chatted briefly with an account director of a major data centre operator recently, who posed me a question: Is there enough demand for the data centres in Johor?

It's a very good question when one looks at the sheer capacity that just come online or is slated to come online soon.

Here's a partial back-of-the-envelope list:

• Equinix (500 cabinets).
• PDG (150MW).
• STT-GDC (120MW).
• Yondr (300MW).

Same same, but different

Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t the first time I've heard murmurs of concern over a potential oversupply of data centre capacity in Johor.

However, it's hard to separate the vested optimism of those with a stake in the pie from the natural pessimism of those left out in the cold.

It is worth noting that every data centre operator is different, and each has quite different strategies to entice customers.

• Build on behalf of cloud giants.
• Support int'l customers with global network.
• Establish a strong presence in Southeast Asia.
• Cheaper alternative for enterprises in Singapore.

Finally, it's worth noting that announced capacity is just that - an announcement.

Modern data centres are always completed over multiple phases - and there is always the option of not completing the latter phases should projected demand fail to materialise.

My take: I don't think anyone is seriously worried. For now.

👉 Have you heard of organisations planning to move into a Johor data centre yet? Send me a DM.

𝗽𝘀: Are you attending Datacloud APAC 2024 in Singapore? I plan to be there for a few hours on day one - drop me a note if you're going.