I recently attended a webinar evaluating the impact COVID-19 has had on data centre projects. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the data centre market is faring well through the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital demand has increased exponentially in a matter of months and data centres remain one of the strongest performing asset classes.  

But how is the pandemic impacting on the delivery of data centre projects?

Those involved in the construction of data centres have faced the same challenges as those involved in any other construction project during these unprecedented times. The industry has been taking a close look at the processes on construction sites and determining how to minimise the infection risk by seeking to ensure distances between workers wherever possible, the use of 24 hour shift patterns, PPE and sanitisation of the sites. 

Modular construction methods have been evolving in data centre projects for some time but the impact of COVID-19 will undoubtedly put this at the forefront of accelerate this. As well as critical time and cost savings, modular construction has the benefit of reducing the number of people required on site during the construction phase.  This does not however overcome the challenges of getting specialist teams to site for installation when required.  In some two tier markets, experts and specialist teams are required to be flown in from other countries. Clearly this remains an issue whilst the current travel restrictions / quarantine requirements are in place. 

Will there be long term impact on data centre construction?

We are certainly seeing a shift in interest towards data centres. As a result of their efforts, despite lock-downs globally, many businesses have continued to operate effectively and many transactions have been completed globally. It is often said that the “new normal” will involve greater remote working and the data centre construction industry is no different.  It is likely design teams will not be required on site as frequently and the use of modular construction will continue to expand.  With this, the use of collaboration tools such as BIM will play an even more important role.  A well-established BIM platform can be used not only throughout the design and construction of a data centre but also for its operation and maintenance during its lifecycle.

The impact and challenges being faced by those involved in the construction of data centres are the same as for the rest of the construction industry but for an industry that has technology, collaboration and communication at its core, it will be interesting to see what this particular industry takes away from the current crises.