Christina Mertens, vice president of business development, EMEA, at VIRTUS Data Centres, explains that, for data centre operators, the question is no longer only where capacity can be deployed quickly, but where it can be sustained, expanded and operated reliably over long time horizons. This shift has brought tier two locations into sharper focus. These locations are not replacing core markets, but they are increasingly shaping how new capacity is planned and managed over time.