New Delhi [India], August 25 (ANI): India's data centre market is developing differently from mature Western markets, with enterprise-owned facilities accounting for just 12 per cent of the country's data centre infrastructure as third-party colocation facilities have emerged as the dominant model, according to an Anarock report.
Colocation facilities are operated by third-party providers and allow businesses and cloud companies to use shared data centre infrastructure instead of owning and operating their own facilities.
Anarock described colocation as the "dominant infrastructure model in India", based on shared infrastructure, rack or cage leasing and a carrier-neutral ecosystem. Enterprise data centres, in comparison, were described as legacy captive facilities with dedicated infrastructure, greater control but lower utilisation efficiency.
The real estate consultancy's 2026 report, The Blueprint of the Digital Fortress in India, said India did not build up a large base of enterprise-owned data centres before moving towards outsourced infrastructure.
"Unlike mature Western markets, India's data centre ecosystem evolved with a relatively limited enterprise-owned base and transitioned rapidly toward a colocation-led model, which now underpins hyperscale and AI capacity expansion," the report said.
As of the first half of 2026, colocation data centres accounted for 55 per cent of India's data centre infrastructure, followed by hyperscale facilities at 28 per cent. Enterprise-owned data centres accounted for 12 per cent, while edge data centres made up the remaining 5 per cent, according to the report.
The report highlighted the difference in how the market has evolved in India and globally.
It described India's progression as "Limited enterprise base → Colocation-led growth → Hyperscale / AI expansion", compared with the broader global evolution of "Enterprise DCs → Colocation → Hyperscale → AI".
The reliance on third-party infrastructure is also visible in India's overall IT capacity mix. About 72 per cent of India's capacity is housed in third-party data centres, while hyperscale self-built facilities account for 28 per cent. Globally, the corresponding split is 62 per cent third-party and 38 per cent hyperscale self-build, according to the report.
The shift comes as India's data centre market expands rapidly. The country had more than 1.8 GW of operational capacity in the first half of 2026 and is projected to cross 6.7 GW by 2030.
Anarock said the development pipeline is expected to "quadruple (4x) the country's DC capacity over the next coming years", as colocation and hyperscale facilities remain at the centre of the expansion. (ANI)
Third-party colocation dominates India's data centre infra as enterprise-owned facilities account for just 12%: Anarock
