• The APAC data centre landscape reveals unrivalled diversity, with an emerging digital “Silk Road” positioning Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok as vital connectivity nodes linking Asia’s major population centres.

• Market development now follows a hybrid pattern with simultaneous investment in established hubs and strategic secondary locations. This dual approach enables hyperscalers to balance centralised computing with distributed edge requirements.

• Containerized solutions and GPU-as-a-service offerings are reshaping data processing infrastructure, bringing computing capabilities closer to users while navigating the increasingly pronounced Eastern and Western digital ecosystems.

The APAC data centre market presents a uniquely heterogeneous landscape with varying levels of maturity across different countries. All markets are experiencing growth (most in double digits), with hub markets like Tokyo and Sydney continuing to grow despite their relative maturity, while Singapore and Hong Kong experience more constrained growth. Secondary markets such as Mumbai, Johor, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur continue to see significant expansion.

Market growth follows both traditional hub-and-spoke models and newer distributed approaches (roughly an even split). The emergence of a digital “Silk Road” connecting South Asia, China, and Southeast Asia positions markets like Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok as pivotal connection points, explaining their accelerated growth.

Geopolitical tensions between East and West are exacerbating dual digital ecosystems, with tariffs and data sovereignty legislation increasingly influencing investment decisions. While data localisation regulations haven’t yet had the profound impact previously anticipated, regulatory frameworks continue to evolve.

Edge computing is introducing innovative form factors across the region, from containerized 1MW data centres serving mining sites and small cities to hyperconverged infrastructure AI and GPU-as-a-service offerings are creating new demand patterns, particularly for inferencing capabilities closer to end users, potentially driving growth in secondary and tertiary markets.​

Outlook
APAC’s data centre ecosystem will likely maintain its dual development trajectory, showing strong growth across established hubs and carefully selected secondary markets. AI-driven inferencing requirements may accelerate investments in deeper edge deployments over the next five years. While power constraints and geopolitical tensions pose challenges, the digital Silk Road connecting major Asian economies promises continued momentum, particularly for markets positioned as cross-regional connectivity hubs.