India's data centre market to double but talent gap remains: Quess Corp report
India's data centre market is projected to touch $13.11 billion by 2034 from the level of $5.55 billion in 2025
India's data centre industry is on track to more than double in value over the next decade, but shortage of specialised talent is threatening to become a big constraint, says a report by Quess Corp, a staffing and workforce solutions company.
The report titled 'India's Data Centre Decade' projects the data centre market will grow from $5.55 billion in 2025 to $13.11 billion by 2034—a 136% expansion sustained by a 10% compound annual growth rate.
The sector currently employs between 86,000 and 90,000 professionals across more than 50 providers, spanning IT operations, network engineering, cloud operations, cybersecurity, and facilities management.
However, the report warns that as the industry transitions into a hyperscale era, the defining bottleneck is no longer capital or power, it is people.
The Supply Sufficiency Index for AI Operations stands at just 47, signalling a critical shortage of talent equipped to manage next-generation infrastructure, the report says. IT operations, the sector's largest job family, faces a 73% deficit in core roles including monitoring, incident response, and network management.
AI workloads are projected to account for 30% of total data centre capacity by 2026, driving a 133% surge in demand for specialised skill clusters in cloud, DevOps, and security by 2029. Green infrastructure requirements are also reshaping hiring, with cooling and electrical engineering roles expected to grow by over 100% through the same period.
In terms of geography, nearly 59% of facilities are concentrated across five cities—Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Navi Mumbai—though Tier II cities are gaining attention for their significant cost advantages.
Kapil Joshi, CEO of IT Staffing at Quess Corp, said India is at a "structural inflection point" where capacity expansion must be matched with capability depth.
The report also says India's data centre ambitions will be defined not just by megawatts deployed but also by its ability to build a skill-ready workforce at scale.