Future of Digital Infrastructure
Martech Outlook | Thursday, February 02, 2023
Faster digital connections, powered by 5G and the IoT, have the potential to unlock economic activity. So much so that implementing faster connections in “mobility, healthcare, manufacturing and retail could increase global GDP by $1.2 trillion to $2 trillion by 2030
FREMONT, CA: In ten years, digital infrastructure will be characterised in large part by more distributed architectures, whether they are data centres in edge markets, private and localized 5G/6G wireless networks supporting manufacturing hubs, or increased small cell density in non-Tier 1 cities. To ensure adequate returns on capital for the creators and consumers of these next-generation architectures, neutral host models, high levels of energy efficiency, and long-term investment horizons will be necessary. The investment will be increasingly driven by power and site scarcity and milliseconds of latency from end users.
Digital infrastructure is already a requirement. Scalable, adaptable, resilient, and secure digital infrastructure will become the new normal over the next decade and beyond. Regardless of the pandemic, geopolitics, supply chains, or climate change, usage will remain high in good and bad times. Increasing data transmission requirements, as well as the complexity of current and future digital applications–both for consumer and industrial use–will push networks, storage, and processing beyond their current limits. Keeping up with this change will necessitate investment on the part of digital infrastructure owners and customers. From 5G to 6G and beyond, anticipate stable, long-term growth and investment can be anticipated.
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Newer digital infrastructure sub-verticals like fibre, edge computing, and tiny cells should become more ubiquitous as the years roll on. This naturally reflects the relationship between expected returns and price. In addition to towers, small cells, fibre, and data centres, edge computing, cloud computing, managed services, outdoor media infrastructure, and ground lease buyout techniques are now included in the concept of digital infrastructure. If these new sub-verticals continue to meet the criteria for an infrastructure asset, this industry will continue to diversify into new sub-industries during the ensuing ten years. Eventually, as 5G becomes more widespread it will spur growth across all dimensions of the digital infrastructure space.
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