A new study from Digital Realty Trust has revealed that more than three quarters of large corporate data center users in the United States are planning to expand their data center footprint within next two years, as their existing facilities run out of power.

The annual Digital Realty study is based on a detailed survey of over 300 IT decision makers at large corporations (of at least 5,000 staff) in North America. It was conducted by research firm Campos Research & Analysis.

One of the key findings of the survey is that 83 percent of respondents are planning data center expansions in the next 12 to 24 months. Meanwhile 36 percent of respondents admitted that they have definite plans to make those expansions during 2010.

US companies are not shy about the size of their expansion plans, with 73 percent of respondents planning to add two or more facilities as part of their data center expansions. Of those planning to expand, 70 percent are planning large projects of at least 15,000 square feet in size, or 2 mW or greater of power.

And it seems that the reason for these expansions have nothing to do with the need for additional space, but rather the need for additional power, which was cited as the top reason for data center expansion. This was compared to power being ranked in fifth place on last year's survey. Reflecting the predicted growth patterns, both data centre and IT budgets are projected to increase by 8 percent in 2010, up from 7 percent and 6 percent respectively, last year.

The study also revealed another interesting point, in that the vast majority (83 percent) of respondents with definite plans to expand in 2010, plan to do so with a partner that specialises in data center design and construction, or data center leasing.

\"These survey findings point to strong demand for data center space this year and next year as a large majority of enterprises expand their IT infrastructure,\" said Chris Crosby, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for Digital Realty Trust.

\"One of the most interesting pieces of data in this study is the lead role that power is now playing in these expansions,\" he added. \"The need for additional power has become the main driver for data center expansion plans as companies seek facilities with adequate power and favourable utility rates to control operating costs.\"

Crosby also highlighted the increasing importance of data center partners in these corporate expansions. The study also found that finance is taking a greater role in how companies select partners, and 53 percent plan to expand by leasing from a wholesale data center provider.

And at last it seems that senior management are starting to realise the strategic importance of their data centre infrastructure, after the study found that C-level executives have replaced the IT department as the final decision maker for data center partner decisions, apparently serving as the primary influencer by a margin of 2:1.

The study reinforces the general perception at the moment that there are host of drivers impacting the way mission-critical facilities are designed, operated, and managed. This was recently debated at DatacenterDynamics' New York conference.

\"Last year, many enterprise customers put their plans for new data center construction on hold as the capital markets dried up,\" said Michelle Bailey, Research Vice President for IDC, commenting on the survey results. \"As a result, we have seen IT organisations increasingly look to third party suppliers with flexible financing strategies as a means to supplement their own aging data centers.\"

This difficulty of obtaining capital for such capital-intensive projects as data center construction was mentioned last month when Digital Realty Trust revealed that it had finished 2009 with higher revenue and income, hundreds of millions of new capital, and a substantially larger portfolio.

The study also highlighted the increasing importance of power in the US market. Three quarters (76 percent) of the survey respondents said that they now meter their power use. Indeed, the number of companies that meter power down to the PDU level increased by 29 percent over last year.

And it seems that potential carbon emission regulations holds no fear for US companies, with 75 percent saying they are confident they can comply with future carbon emissions-related and energy-related regulations.

The study also found that the average reported PUE energy efficiency rating for respondents' data centers is 2.9; and one in six respondents report PUE ratings of less than 2.0 for their facilities.

For those wishing for a more detailed breakdown of the survey results, it will take place in a webinar on 15 March.

\"There has been significant progress over the past two to three years in the area of data center energy efficiency,\" said Digital Realty's Crosby. \"Over that period, the industry has gone from power metering being the exception to power metering being utilised by more than three quarters of respondents. Awareness of PUE is also nearly universal now, with 96 percent of companies familiar with the emerging standard for measuring energy efficiency.\"