frost & sullivan

Frost & Sullivan expects the data centre and telecom sectors in Southeast Asia will cause a surge in demand for power infrastructure services.

The market researchers say the ASEAN critical power infrastructure services market had earned revenues of US$257.1 million in 2014 and estimates this to reach US$374.4 million in 2018.

According to Frost & Sullivan, services such as power quality audits and installation currently account for a significant proportion of market revenues for three-phase UPS systems, while in the case of single-phase systems warranty extensions is a large part of the total revenues.

“As data centres are increasingly using scalable and modular power solutions, the periodic involvement of technicians and service personnel to upgrade power supply capacity across the network will be particularly required," said Frost & Sullivan Energy & Environmental Senior Research Analyst Amit Kumar Singh.

However, to keep costs down Frost & Sullivan predicts companies to be unwilling to outsource power infrastructure services, and that small independent service providers will lose business to large system integrators and UPS manufacturers.

"Critical power infrastructure original equipment manufacturers will have an edge over other service providers in the ASEAN region, as customers prefer to associate with them for all post-delivery needs," Singh said.

Market forecasters predict a surge in the UPS market following revelations the industry loses around €150billion in Europe, and the U.S €188 billion due to power failures.

According to Frost & Sullivan’s analysis, mature American and European markets will make up 45% of the UPS market revenues by 2018, while the Asia-Pacific will contribute 26% of the revenue.

Analysis of the global industrial UPS market reveals market earned revenues for 2014 at $1.13 billion, and estimates that this will reach $1.38 billion in 2018.

However, the market researchers also point out that the replacement rate for industrial UPS systems is fairly low, as they are built to last 20-30 years, the replacement demand will remain low globally and decrease the market revenue.

"Manufacturers need to introduce energy-efficient UPS systems with additional features," said Frost & Sullivan Energy & Environmental Senior Industry Analyst Gautham Gnanajothi. "They should also enhance their customisation capabilities to strengthen their appeal to customers in various market segments."