Future of the European data center industry : analysis of the industry and the market opportunities for future expansion

Abstract

In this thesis, a market opportunity analysis and market selection for future European data center in-dustry expansion were conducted. The purpose was to understand the data center industry in Europe and to explore the opportunities to expand it. Based on the research findings, the main objectives were to determine which factors had the biggest impact in local market expansion by analysing the current state of the industry in Europe, as well as to research the factors that most influence the quality and functionality of a data center, conduct a systematic market selection process, determine which coun-tries would be the most viable location candidates to develop the industry within and provide market entry recommendations for the selected countries.

The theoretical framework consisted of research on the topics of market opportunity analysis, market research, market selection and market entry strategies followed by an examination of the European data center industry based on qualitative and quantitative secondary data from sources commonly considered reliable, upon which an assessment and comparison were carried out to determine the fac-tors contributing to the 2024 international environment.

Consequently, the data center industry was investigated to identify the factors prioritized in the deci-sion-making process of industry development. Based on these findings, the PESTEL tool was utilized to conduct a preliminary screening of all European countries, with relevant statistical data collected from ethical sources. Ranked tables were then created for all analysed factors, with general conclu-sions drawn from political, economic, social, technological, ecological and legal perspectives.

In a final step, the resulting information was compiled into two tables summarizing each European country’s performance across the six categories of factors, including those with the most favourable statistical data for local data center industry expansion and those with the least favourable data. A market opportunity analysis was conducted and the final best candidates for local expansion were determined by excluding countries where the industry was already well developed, aiming to achieve equitable, uniform international expansion. The thesis concluded with considerations on potential market entry strategies for the selected countries: Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, and Slovenia.