When was the last time you wrote a letter to your friend? Or travelled thousands of miles to wish your sibling on his/her birthday? Did you ever imagine that groceries and veggies could be delivered to your doorstep in 10 minutes? It’s unimaginable even in the age of WhatsApp, Instagram and UPI, right?
The internet has transformed our lives. It has become the new way to connect with others for work or entertainment. In fact, we spend more time online than offline. According to a CII-Colliers report, India has over 880 million internet users, almost twice than that of the U.S. and about 12X higher than that of the U.K. According to Statista, the smartphone penetration rate in India has reached close to 71% this year. The COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to a huge jump in the numbers. With people facing forced confinement, offices and schools entered their homes.
Evidently, the influence of the internet on consumers and businesses is increasing. This has led to an unprecedented rise in online data traffic. New technologies are giving birth to new and improved services – computing power, smarter streaming devices, artificial intelligence and the like.
The rapid rise in mobile data traffic largely due to the increasing use of AI technologies is enhancing the demand for data services and data centres. This has led to big domestic as well as global infrastructure firms like L&T, the Adani Group, Amazon and Microsoft investing billions to build data centre infrastructure in the country. As per Nasscom, India will see a cumulative investment of $28 billion by 2025. Its findings suggest that these firms are tapping the advantages that India has to offer – operational and development cost advantage, availability of skilled workforce, fiber connectivity, proximity to customers and submarine cable connectivity.
Adani Enterprises Ltd, the incubation arm of the Adani Group, joined hands with the leading global data centre operator EdgeConneX to form AdaniConneX to set up data centres in India. Supported by the team from EdgeConneX and their more than a decade of experience in building a global platform of data centres for some of the world’s largest and most demanding technology and cloud firms, AdaniConneX is rapidly executing on its plan to deliver 1 GW hyperlocal to hyperscale data centre capacity in the country.
Our world is being defined by our ability to generate, store, access and move data. With advancements in AI, high-definition content and massive digitization, the need for computing and storage abilities is increasing exponentially. With geographical advantages of land for renewable energy and a long coastline, India is well-positioned to host data centre parks not only for use within but also for nations that are short of land or energy. What Adani Group brings through data centres and green energy capabilities is a uniquely powerful combination of unmatched strategic adjacencies within the data centre world.
As this industry grows in India, so does the demand for energy. AdaniConneX is leveraging the Group’s generation, distribution and transmission capabilities to address full-stack reliable energy security. Since data centres consume massive amounts of energy, there is a need to adopt renewable energy to mitigate emissions generated by the data centres.
AdaniConneX promotes 24×7 carbon-free energy. The integrated combination of solar, wind, battery storage and pump-hydro energy storage delivers dispatchable and reliable clean energy. This also helps mitigate the variability associated with intermittent sources, i.e., solar and wind.
