Sify invests $30 bn to boost India data centre capacity

Sify Technologies is embarking on a $30 billion investment to expand its data centre capacity in India over the next five years. Operating 11 facilities in key regions, Sify plans to increase its current data centre capacity of over 100 MW by 350 MW. The company is constructing three greenfield data centre projects, with a total capacity of nearly 200 MW. The first project, with around 38 MW capacity, is set to begin operations in October. The Noida and Chennai projects, each designed for 80 MW, are expected to go online by the end of the fiscal year.

Driven by data localization and cost-efficiency demands, the demand for data centres in India is growing. Sify primarily caters to hyper scalers (two-thirds) and enterprise clients (one-third), with a focus on sectors like BFSI, e-commerce, media, manufacturing, and retail.

India's data centre market is expanding rapidly due to cloud migration, prompting substantial investments in hyperscale data centres. According to Nasscom, the global data centre market investments are projected to reach $200 billion annually by 2025, with India aiming to capture a share through an anticipated $5 billion annual investment within two years.

Sify reported $33.404 billion in revenue as of March 31, with 30% from data centre colocation services, 30% from digital services, and 40% from network services. The company faces competition from players like NTT Global, CtrlS, STT Global Data Centres, and Nxtra by Airtel. NTT Global operates 16 facilities with a collective capacity of about 204 MW, CtrlS manages 10 data centres with a total capacity of 120 MW, STT has a network of 24 data centres with 250 MW capacity, and Nxtra by Airtel operates 12 large and 120 edge data centres with a total capacity of around 200 MW.