Indian firms are adopting cloud computing and other types of digital transformation more quickly now that the Indian government has launched a number of digitization initiatives as part of its wider objective of building a “Digital India.”
The demand for data centers is projected to increase significantly as additional initiatives like G2C distribution channels, National e-Governance set-up, e-visa, and National CSR activities are pushed out across the country.
With the use of the cloud, digital transformation, and social media, demand for Indian data centers is expanding at a rate of 11.4%, and this demand will only grow in the future. During a webinar moderated by Manu Balachandran and speakers like Mr. Sharat Sahai, GM at CRIS, Dr. Prashant Atrey, HoD IT&C, NHPC Ltd, Mr. Golok Kumar Simli, Principal Advisor & CTO, Passport Seva, and Mr. Sanjay Motwani, Business Head at Legrand Data Center Solutions, Forbes India and Legrand Data Center Present ‘Data Driven World’ and discuss the role the government sectors play in the data centers.
India is having to deal with an increase in demand for its first-generation e-governance services, which must be transformed to take advantage of emerging technologies like cloud, Big Data, AI, etc. And according to Mr. Sanjay Motwani, Business Head at Legrand Data Center Solutions, the government is one of the two sources fueling this demand, followed by the consumer. The customer of today has evolved into a demanding consumer. Everything must be clickable at the top of the page. To meet these needs, businesses are scrambling to catch up. The government’s Digital India projects, activities, smart cities, e-commerce, digital payments, etc. are on the other hand heavily influencing the statistics. Thus, the requirement for data centers.
Moreover, the government offers its services pan education, healthcare, identity, and payments. For Mr. Golok, he can think of three to four reasons why hybrid data centers are so crucial to their services. Delivering all services closest to the user, especially in the most remote areas of the country is one specific aspect. Nowadays, data travels from the computer to the user instead of the other way around.
Additionally, the second change they’ve noticed is that, with COVID, there is now a 24/7 demand and expectation for devices to access government services. They have essentially moved without boundaries; corporate data centers no longer exist. The government is considering two things in light of the move to the cloud: how to move the workload there and whether they already have a data strategy in place.
“Going forward, I believe there will be a close collaboration between the government and industry while developing a phygital or hybrid interface.” said Mr. Golok.
Furthermore, in relation to COVID-19’s effects on governmental ecosystems? According to Mr. Golok, there has been a cultural shift that they have seen. Understanding what the citizen expects from them is the primary necessity for creating a digital environment. It involves the users, media, etc. in addition to the ministry.
By 2025, the APAC region’s investments in the Indian data center industry are anticipated to total $4.6 billion. Additionally, regulations are in place to guarantee that data centers run at a specific level of efficiency in order to maintain sustainability.
“The main challenge is to build sustainable data centers; by design, they’re not sustainably friendly. Putting in policies and regulations where sustainability metrics or operational efficiency metrics are present is very critical. Singapore had to pull the plugs to meet the metrics. Going forward, having regulations will be helpful.” said Sanjay Motwani.
