W.Media is returning to Chennai with the fourth edition of Chennai Cloud and Datacenter Convention this May. Simultaneously, we will also host the maiden edition of Chennai Interconnect World, a technology conference focused on India’s connectivity ecosystem.
The day-long event will be held at ITC Chola on May 22, and is expected to bring together over 1,500 delegates, including C-level executives, digital infrastructure professionals including architects, engineers and consultants (AECs), key buyers, decision makers, data center owners and operators, representatives of government agencies, telecom majors, submarine networks and services.
What makes Chennai special?
Chennai is the capital city of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and is one of India’s top three data center markets alongside Mumbai and Bengaluru.
According to Mordor Intelligence, the Chennai data center market size is estimated at 202.43MW in 2025, and is expected to reach 551.15MW by 2030, at a Compounded Average Growth Rate (CAGR) of 22.18 percent during the forecast period (2025-2030).
Today, Chennai is home to data centers by AdaniConnex, CapitaLand, Colt DCS, CtrlS Datacenters, Digital Connexion, NTT, Nxtra by Airtel, Sify, STT GDC, and many others, such as Yotta, which have projects in the pipeline. Ambattur and Siruseri have emerged as locations of choice for data centers in Chennai.
“Chennai offers a compelling combination of submarine cable landing stations, low-latency connectivity, a pro-investment policy environment, and growing enterprise and cloud demand. These factors, alongside availability of skilled talent and stable power infrastructure, make it a strategic location for our AI-ready hyperscale designed Data Centre facility,” says Surajit Chatterjee, Managing Director & Head, Data Centre, India, CapitaLand Investment. “It complements CapitaLand’s long-term vision of building sustainable digital infrastructure in high-growth markets.”
“Over the past few years, Chennai has emerged as a strategic digital gateway for India and the broader APAC region,” says Vipul Kumar, Vice President, Edge and Network, CtrlS Datacenters. “With a surge in subsea cable landings, robust terrestrial fiber builds, and increasing Hyperscale and edge node deployments, the city’s connectivity ecosystem has matured significantly. The convergence of hyperscalers, data center operators, Content Networks, and telcos has made Chennai a critical hub for low-latency, high-capacity infrastructure.”
Subsea cable connectivity drawing data centers to Chennai
One of the reasons why Chennai is such a sought-after data center market is that it is well connected to the global subsea cable network. Mordor Intelligence acknowledges this, saying, “Chennai is crucial to the world’s undersea cable system. It acts as an alternate data exchange hub for the Asia Pacific thanks to its inherent advantages, including a sizable land supply that may be turned into cutting-edge data center facilities.” It further says, “Chennai eventually proves to be preferable because it moves more quickly than other options in this area due to its proximity.”
Chennai already has five cable landing stations, and three more have been planned for the near future. Recently, Bharti Airtel, one of India’s largest telecommunications service providers, landed the Southeast Asia-Middle East-West Europe-6 (SEA-ME-WE 6 or SMW6) in Chennai. The 21,700 Rkm submarine cable system connects India to Singapore and France (Marseille), crossing Egypt through terrestrial cables. Moreover, recently, NTT DATA, a global digital business and technology services provider, announced the commissioning of its Malaysia, India, Singapore Transit (MIST) submarine cable system by June 2025. MIST is an 8,100-kilometer cable that can carry over 200 terabits per second (Tbps). It is one of the largest cables in Asia, and will connect Malaysia, India, Singapore, and Thailand. MIST was connected to NTT DATA’s Mumbai landing station in February 2023 and its Chennai landing station in May 2023.
Government support for the Data Center industry
Tamil Nadu has a clear data center policy, which also helps attract data centers to Chennai. Tamil Nadu hopes to become a trillion-dollar economy by 2030, and the state government sees the cloud and data center industry playing an important role in achieving this goal.
In its Tamil Nadu Vision 1 Trillion document, the state government has stated, “Within IT, Tamil Nadu can aim to attain leadership in SaaS, while becoming the preferred choice for industry players looking at IT expansion into tier 1/2 cities, and establishing itself as a leading data center hub in India.”
What to expect at Chennai CDC and Interconnect World 2025
The day long Cloud & Datacenter Convention will include several power-packed panel discussions, where the best and brightest minds in the industry will share their ideas on important subjects such as the impact of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) on the Cloud and Data Center industry, how to best use Edge Computing, challenges in switching to renewable energy sources, and many other pertinent topics. “This is our fourth edition of the Cloud & Datacenter Convention. But that’s not all. This year, we are also bringing Interconnect World to Chennai to showcase the region’s prominent place in the global connectivity landscape,” says Naveen Lawrence, Managing Director – South Asia & Middle East, W.Media. “Also, don’t miss CenterStage, our special breakout session that is held in the Expo area, where industry leaders brainstorm about out-of-the-box solutions in a more informal and intimate chat among peers.”
At Interconnect World, there will be insightful presentations and knowledge-sharing sessions by industry leaders on a wide variety of subjects such as the impact of 5G on India’s telecom ecosystem, the satellite services market, subsea cables, Tamil Nadu’s growing connectivity infrastructure, and innovations. The Convention will also include a modest technology expo that will showcase the latest innovations and futuristic technologies, and advancements in the cloud and data center industry. Don’t forget to join us at CenterStage Chennai, where W. Media’s Editor-in-Chief Deborah Grey will bring together industry experts for a more intimate chat on what lies at the heart of their quest for excellence in digital transformation.
