Making the Nordic Data Center Choice: the Conapto Logic

Amid the generally dismal economic conditions in many verticals over the last two years, it’s noteworthy that certain industries have continued to thrive. Among these is the data industry, personified in the data center sector – a logical consequence, of course, of the re-emphasis placed on digital activities in personal lives and commercial activity.

But even as new data centers spring up to satisfy demand, questions are being asked both in public forums and boardrooms about the cost of data, monetarily and environmentally. Modern datacenter installations do sip power compared to a few generations ago, but nevertheless, public and legislative scrutiny is increasingly given to these modern-day factories. In the mainstream media, questions about the costs of our Netflix habit keep coming up, and in businesses of all types, the consequences of the compute+storage=power cost equation are a common C-suite level discussion.

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No data center user or operator can justifiably put expansion or development plans on hold, waiting for better power/heat efficiencies to come onstream. Innovative cooling methods, low-powered chips, and new cleaner power generation methods are in the pipeline, sure, but until then, what are data center companies to do? And more to the point, how can capacity-hungry companies source low-cost, low-footprint facilities?

Already, the cost of even modest co-lo facilities in the “traditional” places (FLAP in Europe, Virginia, NYC, Georgia et al. in the US) is high and rising. Plus, the energy powering many facilities in most places is “dirty” – still relying on coal, gas, or oil burning.

But one of those economic success stories from the last couple of years is very relevant in this context. In Sweden, data center capacity is growing, and companies including hyperscalers, games giants, and manufacturing household names are moving their capacity to the Nordic country.

Why? The answer isn’t necessarily to be in step with a wholesale move of corporate headquarters to Sweden (although many do: it’s one of the best places to live in the world). Rather the facilities available are exemplary on technical, economic, and ecological grounds.

The Swedish government has invested significantly in digital infrastructure, making the country’s internet connectivity on a par with European buddies London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Paris. There’s plenty of dark fiber capacity, and data centers in Stockholm and beyond offer premium facilities at very competitive prices. The attractive prices stem from the fact that Sweden enjoys just about the cheapest electricity in the world, thanks to the country’s geography – plenty of hydroelectric and renewable energy on tap.

In fact, several operators (like Conapto, featured here are powered 100% by renewable energy, making the company completely carbon neutral. The company’s green credentials are strengthened by its input into the local circular economy in the form of Stockholm’s district heating system: Around 90% of the energy powering the DCs is eventually channelled into heating the local district’s homes and businesses.

Source: Conapto Facebook

Large companies needing edge locations have often used the Nordics as a prime choice, realizing the advantages covered above. But as (non-renewable) energy prices spike further south in mainland Europe and across the world, plenty of big names are taking the logical decision to locate to Sweden.

This move towards Nordic data centers has led to significant growth in facilities. Conapto has opened a 2MW extension in its Stockholm 3 North facility, and announced plans for a completely new 8,000m² (86,000ft²) DC south of Stockholm, providing 20MW of capacity (opens March 2024).

Some of the popularity of Conapto’s data centers is from large Al-using organizations, IoT businesses in various industries, and big gaming companies. Small wonder that these traditionally power-thirsty verticals were first to jump; with power bills soaring all over the world, the decisions of those early adopters will now especially be paying off.

If your organization is looking for extra capacity or even looking out for what’s a borderline miracle cure for the sky-high power costs, why not reach out to Conaptoto hear your options? Multilingual staff speak your language and are available 24/7. You can read more here.