22 April 2021 – International design, engineering and advisory firm, Aurecon, and property platform, Archistar, have partnered to combine Aurecon’s proprietary engineering data with Archistar’s Workspace software, creating a world-first digital tool for data centre site selection.

Aurecon Buildings Electrical Capability Leader, Peter Greaves, said running real-time feasibility studies to find suitable sites for locating new facilities is crucial for data centre owners and developers in the current climate of increasing data use and subsequent demand for storage. 

"The demand for data was amplified through the pandemic and data centres have never been more critical. If businesses are going to invest millions of dollars into digital infrastructure to deliver data in this new world, they need to make sure they start with choosing the best site to meet their needs, in the fastest possible time," he said.

It is predicted that the global datasphere will grow to 175 zettabytes (or 175 trillion gigabytes) by 2025 – a more than 500 per cent increase from today. All this data will need to be stored 'in the cloud', or, put simply, in data centres.  

A recent CBRE report showed that a pandemic-led spike in requirements for data storage were at an all-time high in 2020, with data centre groups acquiring almost 55 hectares of land in Western Sydney alone. 

Archistar founder Dr Benjamin Coorey said, "Research shows that data centre developers look at about 60 sites, spending an average of 2 to 5 hours at each to find one that is successful. Data centre developers will benefit greatly from the ability to conduct enhanced due diligence in the early stages of searching for a commercial site."

The current version of the Aurecon and Archistar site selection tool includes data centre site options in Australia, but there are plans to extend it to include other regions such as Asia. Both companies are also in the process of developing the site selection tool for other development opportunities such as wind farms, laboratories, distribution hubs and even quarantine facilities.