Keep confidential files and data close to home but accessible from anywhere with Colocation Data Centers. Your organization will have immediate data redundancy and near-uninterrupted network access in the event of a natural disaster or outage – both critical elements for delivering unparalleled continuous service to your customers. Colocation Data Center facilities provide server rooms, power distribution, HVAC equipment and other infrastructure to keep your systems humming.
Cost to build a data center
The cost to build a data center can vary greatly depending on the type of facility and level of security required. The average cost to build a Tier 3 data center is $200 per square foot, but some facilities can be as expensive as $1,000 per square foot. The factors that affect the cost of building a data center include:
The size of the facility: The larger the facility, the more it will cost to build. For example, a 10-megawatt (MW) building might cost $2 million to construct while a 100-MW facility could cost $10 million or more.
The location of the facility: A remote location with high shipping costs could increase costs significantly.
Security requirements: A highly secure data center will require more expensive construction materials and equipment than an unsecured facility.
Building codes: Local building codes will determine whether certain materials are allowed in your region and what type of fire suppression system you need for your building’s safety.
The cost to build a data center is dependent on a number of factors, including the size and complexity of the project.
The following are some of the major cost drivers:
Size and complexity. The larger and more complex your data center, the more it will cost to build. The average cost to build a new data center is $1 million per megawatt, according to the Uptime Institute. If you’re building a large facility — say, one that’s five megawatts — that could easily balloon into $5 million or more.
Location and geographic factors. Where you want to locate your data center will affect its cost. Most U.S.-based companies choose either Northern Virginia or Silicon Valley for their DCs because they offer easy access to fiber-optic networks and abundant energy supplies (which drive up overhead costs). Companies in other regions may have other considerations such as proximity to airports or other modes of transportation if they need frequent shipments of equipment or supplies.
Security requirements. Depending on what kind of company you are — whether it’s financial services or health care — security regulations might require very expensive physical security measures like biometric scanners at entrances, reinforced doors, motion detectors or other devices designed to prevent unauthorized access or tampering with equipment inside the
The cost of building a data center varies widely, depending on the type of facility, but you can expect to pay between $1 million and $10 million for a single rack.
Data center costs vary depending on the type of facility you want to build. For example, a basic data center can hold 1,000 square feet of space and cost around $100 per square foot. A more advanced facility will have built-in redundancy and security features, which increases the price per square foot by 20 percent or more.
The four main factors that determine how much it costs to build a data center are:
Type of building: Most data centers are built in repurposed warehouses or factories, but some companies prefer to build their own facilities from scratch.
Size of the building: The size of your building determines how many racks you’ll need to fit in it. You can get a rough estimate by multiplying the length (in feet) by width (in feet) by height (in feet). For example, if your building is 120 feet long by 60 feet wide by 20 feet high, that’s 576 square feet (120 x 60 x 20). Divide that number by 1,000 to get 576/1000 = 0.576
A data center is a facility where information technology services and facilities are provided to host computer systems, and networks associated with it.
Cost of Building a Data Center
The cost of building a data center depends on the size, design and location of the property. The estimated costs vary from $1 million to $2 million for a small-scale operation, to $10 million for midsized installations, and upwards of $100 million for large-scale operations. Data center construction costs also vary depending on whether or not the project is being built from scratch or as part of an existing structure.
The initial investment in building a new data center will include the cost of land acquisition and site preparation work, such as adding access roads, water lines and electrical wiring. The major components of building a data center include:
HVAC system: The high-voltage air conditioning system provides cooling air flow through ducts that distribute cold air throughout the facility. The HVAC system is designed with redundancy features so that if one component fails, another will take over without affecting operations.
Fire suppression system: Fire suppression equipment includes fire sprinkler heads connected to piping that can automatically activate when triggered by heat sensors or other detection devices built into the facility’s fire detection system.
The cost to build a data center is dependent on several factors, including the size of the facility and whether it’s a custom or standard design. The size of the facility is important because it will determine how much equipment you can fit in the building, which affects how much electricity and cooling you need to run.
A standard data center might be built using pre-engineered metal building (PMB) or modular steel construction. These types of buildings are assembled from prefabricated panels that are customized for each facility. They offer more flexibility in terms of design and allow for greater customization than traditional construction methods, which involve pouring concrete and framing walls with wood or steel studs.
Data center cost drivers
The cost to build a tier 3 data center is about $100 per square foot. The cost of the facility itself is usually the least expensive part of the equation. Most of the cost is in getting it built and getting it ready for operation.
The major cost drivers for building a data center are:
- Land and zoning costs
- Construction materials and labor costs
- Electrical and mechanical systems costs
- Building systems costs
Data center cost drivers
The cost of a data center can vary greatly depending on the size of the facility and the features it offers. For example, a high-availability data center typically has more backup power generators and cooling infrastructure than a standard one. The following list describes some of the factors that affect your total data center cost:
Size. A small facility consisting of less than 2,000 square feet will typically cost less than $100 per square foot to build, while larger facilities can run into millions of dollars.
Location. The location of your data center affects its cost because you need to consider how power is delivered to the site and how much cooling is required. A remote location will generally require more power than one near an electricity substation or a water source capable of generating hydroelectric power. It’s also important to make sure there’s enough space available for emergency vehicles in case they need access during an outage or other emergency situation.
Power availability. How much power do you need? If it’s too much for the local utility company, you’ll have to pay for additional capacity from another source or generator fuel costs for backup power when needed.
Special features such as redundant power feeds and generators, containment walls and environmental controls (such as air conditioning).
Data center costs are rising
Data center costs are increasing. In fact, the average U.S. data center cost has increased from $0.90 per square foot in 2011 to $1.43 per square foot in 2016, according to a recent survey by the Ponemon Institute. And that’s just for the building — not including energy or maintenance costs.
The most common drivers of these higher costs include:
More racks per square foot
More power density (i.e., more rack units) per square foot
Higher-density power distribution systems with more circuits and shorter cable runs
Increased requirements for cooling systems, including more fans and larger air conditioning units
Data center costs drivers can be broadly classified into three categories:
- Operational Costs: These are costs that are generated by the operation of the data center, such as power consumption, cooling, maintenance and security.
- Capital Expenditure (CapEx): These are costs that are incurred to purchase and install hardware, software or physical assets required to support operations. They include cost of hardware, software licenses and related services, real estate lease payments, installation and configuration charges etc.
- Capital Expenditure Leasing (CapEx Leasing): This is a leasing option in which equipment purchases are capitalized on balance sheet under finance leases rather than capitalized under operating leases.
The primary cost driver for a data center is the cost to build the facility. The construction cost of a data center is typically based on the size of the facility and its location. Other factors include:
Size – The larger your facility, the more difficult it is to keep it cool and dry, especially in humid climates. You may also need to install more servers or power equipment. Larger facilities also tend to have higher operating costs because they require more energy to run.
Location – If you’re building a new facility in an area that doesn’t have existing infrastructure, such as roads or utilities, you can expect higher costs for development and construction than if you were building in an area that already has these services available nearby. Also look at what kind of environment your site will be located in: Are there trees around it? Is it near water? Do you need to build storm drains? All these issues will affect your data center’s construction cost.
Design & Construction – A high-quality design with proper planning can save money over time by avoiding costly changes later on down the road (which can be expensive when dealing with concrete). A poorly designed data center that isn’t modularized will cost more over