What are the types of Data Centre?

Types of data centres

Data centres are essential to digital operations, supporting everything from business applications to cloud platforms and global communication networks. Their performance relies on a combination of robust infrastructure, resilient power and cooling systems, and the supporting cables that deliver connectivity, control, and monitoring throughout the facility. While the purpose of a data centre is broadly consistent, the way each type is designed, operated, and scaled varies significantly.

Below is an overview of the main categories commonly used in the data centre industry.

Hyperscale data centres

Hyperscale data centres are purpose-built to support extremely large-scale IT workloads, typically for global cloud and technology companies. They deliver massive compute and storage capacity, high-speed connectivity, and efficient energy usage across tens or hundreds of thousands of servers.

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud collectively operate more than half of the world’s hyperscale facilities. These sites resemble enterprise data centres in function but operate on an entirely different scale, with rapid expansion capabilities and the ability to support significant power demands. Recent developments include projects pushing towards gigawatt-scale capacity, reflecting the rising global demand for digital services and AI-driven workloads.

Colocation (multi‑tenant) data centres

Colocation data centres provide ready-made, professionally managed environments for businesses to house their servers and hardware offsite. These facilities supply the essential infrastructure, including resilient power systems, advanced cooling, physical security controls, and high-bandwidth connectivity.

For companies without the space, resources, or specialist teams to run an enterprise facility, colocation offers high levels of uptime, robust environmental controls, and scalable capacity. Demand on these facilities is high: tenants expect continuous availability, high bandwidth, and fast access to their systems. To maintain service levels, colocation providers often refresh equipment and modernise infrastructure more frequently than many enterprise operators.

Enterprise data centres

Enterprise data centres are privately owned and operated facilities built to support the IT and networking requirements of a single organisation. They typically on the company’s premises or at a dedicated site chosen for security, performance, and operational control.

Because the organisation manages all aspects of the infrastructure, including cabling, cooling, security, and maintenance, this approach suits businesses with strict compliance obligations or bespoke systems. Enterprise data centres allow full control over performance and configuration but require substantial long-term investment and in-house expertise.

Edge and Micro Data Centres

Edge and micro data centres are compact facilities located close to the users, devices, or applications they support. Their purpose is to process and analyse data locally, reducing latency and enabling near‑instant communication with applications such as IoT networks, autonomous systems, industrial automation, and smart city infrastructure.

By handling time‑sensitive tasks at the network edge, these facilities ease the load on centralised cloud or hyperscale data centres and support faster, more responsive digital experiences. Their smaller footprint allows flexible deployment in urban areas, industrial sites, or remote locations.

Cloud data centres

A bit of a misnomer. Cloud data centres host the virtualised infrastructure that underpins public, private, and hybrid cloud services. Instead of the data owner investing in physical servers, organisations access storage, compute, and networking resources on demand via secure online platforms or private connections. Yet the physical servers still ultimately exist somewhere (see hyperscale providers like AWS and Google).

These environments support rapid scaling, flexible resource allocation, and simplified cost structures. Cloud data centres are typically part of a large, globally interconnected networks designed to support workload mobility, high availability, and continuous service delivery.

Managed services data centres

Managed services data centres provide both the physical infrastructure and the ongoing operational support needed to run it. In addition to hosting hardware, these facilities manage tasks such as system monitoring, backups, patching, and incident response.

This approach allows organisations to benefit from data centre-grade infrastructure without needing the in-house expertise to run it. It is particularly suited to businesses looking to simplify their IT overheads or prioritise strategic projects over routine maintenance.