BCS Consultancy, the global data centre consultancy, has launched its latest flagship industry report, Data Centre Truths 2026: What it takes to deliver in 2026. Based on insights from more than 3,000 respondents across 41 countries, the report examines the real constraints shaping delivery across Europe. The result is one of the most comprehensive, delivery-focused views of the European data centre market to date.
Demand across Europe remains strong with 93% of respondents expecting continued growth over the next 12 months and 78% reporting a notable uplift in demand linked to AI over the past year. However, the primary challenge is no longer whether the market expands, but where and how that expansion can actually be delivered. The research highlights growing regional divergence, as power availability, skills shortages, planning complexity, supply chain volatility and AI readiness increasingly collide on the same projects.
“Europe’s data centre market is not slowing down, but delivery is becoming far more uneven,” said James Hart, CEO of BCS Consultancy. “For the first time, securing power and planning approval is no longer enough. In 2026, those are just entry tickets. Pressure around power, floorspace and rack density continues to shape how quickly AI demand can be converted into deployable capacity.”
Key findings from the report include:
- Delivery capacity, not demand, is now the primary bottleneck, with 95% of respondents expecting the availability of skilled professionals to decline further.
- Skills shortages are already having commercial consequences, with missed deadlines, rising costs and lost orders reported across live projects.
- AI-driven demand is accelerating, yet only 20% of facilities are considered AI-ready today, exposing a widening gap between ambition and deployable capacity.
- With 70% of respondents expecting geopolitical events to accelerate locally generated renewable energy, sustainability priorities are prioritising resilience, energy security and community impact in site selection decisions.
The report also provides market-specific insight across the UK, DACH, Italy, the Nordics, Iberia and France, illustrating how delivery constraints differ by region. Additionally, the report looks beyond Europe too, with a quick glimpse at the interesting Middle East market. Local execution capability is becoming a decisive competitive advantage. In some regions, power access and grid queues dominate delivery risk; in others, skills availability, regulatory friction or execution sequencing are proving decisive.
“What comes through very clearly is that delivery risk is no longer theoretical,” Hart added. “Projects are being shaped, delayed or lost based on execution realities on the ground. The ability to coordinate and sequence delivery has become a defining factor in who can move fastest to market.”
Data Centre Truths 2026 is designed to support operators, developers, investors and policymakers as they navigate a more constrained and complex delivery environment. The report also includes expert commentary from BCS leaders working directly on live European projects, offering practical insight into how organisations are adapting their delivery strategies in response.
The full report is available to download now.