OCP Facility Recognition Programme is doing for hardware what open source did for software

Less than a year and a half after the Open Compute Project (OCP) started a project to help colocation data center providers achieve OCP Ready certification, the initiative is bearing fruit, with four data centers having already earned certifications, according to IHS Markit | Technology, now a part of Informa Tech.

The OCP brings community development to hardware, just as open source did for software. The organization is now the primary source for the certification and listing of open compute equipment.

Data center facilities that earn OCP Ready recognition must meet OCP Colo Guidelines. These guidelines define the building of optimal subsystem designs for colocation operators. The designs are intended to allow colocation operators to realize the benefits of Open Rack systems, including superior flexibility, control, energy efficiency and cost effectiveness.

OCP-compliant data centers are expected to attain a 59 percent compound annual growth rate from 2017 through 2021, as reported by the IHS Markit | Technology Open Compute Project – Market Impact Assessment . These companies are expected to earn $6 billion in revenue by 2021 from OCP-compliant products.

“Considering the growth and adoption of OCP-certified equipment, colocation service providers should consider becoming OCP Ready certified, particularly for new data-center builds,” said Alan Howard, principal analyst at IHS Markit | Technology. “On top of all the benefits of accommodating OCP equipment users, listing on the OCP Marketplace provides exposure to the OCP user market.”

Kao Data and Rackspace in London, GIGA Data Centers in Raleigh, North Carolina and Hydro66 in Boden, Sweden are currently listed on the OCP Marketplace.

Data center openings spike

A total of 9.9 million square feet of data center capacity under construction is expected to open during the second half of this year, according to the IHS Markit | Technology Cloud and Colocation Data Center Building Market Tracker. In contrast, just 4.7 million square feet will open during the first half of 2020.

Cloud service providers will account for 56 percent of these projects, with 37 percent from colocation service providers and 7 percent from telcos.

“The strong performance in the second half of 2019 reflects a major spike in activity during the period,” Howard said. “Looking at historic and future data-center construction project estimates, the second half of 2019 will see approximately double the amount of square feet added compared to other periods. The second-half spike this year is the product of an unusual deployment-timing phenomenon, driven by cloud-provider projects initiated over the last three years and colocation projects starting during the last six to 18 months.”