IDC: Infibeam Avenues plans to enter India’s growing data center market, prepares to set up IQE
India’s data centre and cloud services market is currently undergoing rapid transformation. Both the public and private sectors are making big moves in this space, creating new opportunities for growth and innovation. Infibeam Avenues, a leading technology company based in Ahmedabad, is preparing to enter this fast-growing $8 billion-plus data centre market of India. During its recent Q2 earnings call, the company announced that it plans to make its presence felt in the region.
New data centre under the IQE brand
Infibeam Avenues has set up or is in the process of setting up its first data centre vertical called Infibeam Quantum Edge (IQE).
Growth of Indian data centre market
According to a report by International Data Corporation (IDC), India is Asia’s third-fastest growing cloud services market. With a valuation of $8.3 billion in 2023, this market is projected to reach $24.2 billion by 2028. However, the sector is currently dominated by foreign companies such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and IBM Cloud.
Infibeam’s focus on small data centres
During the Q2 FY25 earnings call, Vishal Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director of Infibeam Avenues, said that the company will set up small, local 1-2 MW data centres instead of large-scale data centres. He said that these small data centres will provide infrastructure closer to users in various cities of India. Vishal Mehta also said that small data centres will play an important role for mobile edge computing (MEC), visual artificial intelligence (AI) and the company’s digital payments and e-commerce platform services. Vishal Mehta said, “Small data centres are more manageable from an operational expenditure (OPEX) point of view and allow expansion according to changing market demands.”
Other key initiatives
Infibeam Avenues operates India’s second-largest payment gateway CCAvenue. Additionally, the company has recently entered the artificial intelligence space and set up a visual AI firm called Phronetic.AI. Further, earlier this fiscal, the company acquired a majority stake in Rediff.com, strengthening the company’s presence in the consumer-focused digital financial services space.
Emphasis on data security and regulatory compliance
The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, which comes into force in India in 2023, has made data security even more important. As per the act, companies that fail to prevent data breaches can be fined up to ₹250 crore. Infibeam’s data centre initiative will address the needs of storing customer data securely locally while also meeting the requirements of Indian regulators.
