Projects

Kao Data expands UK data centre footprint with 16MW facility in Slough

Kao Data has announced the availability of a 16 Megawatt (MW), carrier-neutral data centre in Slough, West London. The launch marks a new beginning for Kao Data following the recent investment of approximately £130 million from global infrastructure business Infratil Limited, and will expand its ultra-sustainable data centre platform into this globally significant data centre hub. The build, now underway, will adhere to the high-performance design, efficiency, and operational blueprint of Kao Data’s Harlow campus, providing customers with an SLA-backed PUE of <1.2, even at partial loads. From a sustainability standpoint, the new facility will use an ultra-efficient cooling system, be powered by 100% renewable energy, with its backup power generators powered by hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) from the outset, removing fossil fuels in their entirety. Further, the data centre will provide the industrial-scale capabilities that the Kao Data brand is well-known for. The facility is already set to become NVIDIA DGX-Ready Data Centre certified and OCP-Ready, serving the needs of high performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI) and enterprise customers, all of whom rely on the finest, Tier 3 equivalent environments to support and scale their mission-critical workloads. “The launch of our new Slough data centre offers data-intensive enterprises within the highly sought-after West London Availability Zone, the opportunity to benefit from significant new capacity, as well as the advantage of working with Kao Data’s award-winning, sustainable infrastructure and expert technical and operations teams,” says Lee Myall, CEO, Kao Data. “With this move we are excited to be strengthening our data centre footprint across the UK and establish ourselves within the world’s second largest data centre hub. Kao Data has seen tremendous growth over the last 12 months, and the launch of our Slough facility is the next step in our continuing development.” With a strong and varied existing customer base from key sectors, including financial services, life sciences, defence, artificial intelligence and the cloud, Kao Data’s expansion into the West of London presents its current colocation customers with increased diversity and resilience. Further, it offers new customers the immediate scope to quickly scale their existing colocation footprints and safeguard their future power provision. Finally, with the facility powered with 100% renewable energy, its back-up generators utilising renewable HVO fuel, and its power and cooling architectures providing an ultra-low PUE, Kao Data’s data centre will set new standards within Slough for sustainability.

ECS updates scheme for greater recognition of digital skills

Last year was a particularly busy year for ECS, with the construction industry generally still under immense pressure with ongoing restrictions caused by COVID-19, issues with supply chains and materials shortages, and availability of centres for training and assessment also an issue for some.  ECS introduced a number of new systems and technologies to assist such as a new CPD recording system and the development of market-leading AI monitoring software to allow ECS health and safety assessments to be taken remotely, saving travel time and cost. ECS also worked with industry and Government to update a number of apprenticeship and occupation requirements, and expanded ECS to recognise a greater amount of training and qualifications. This included the development of Digital Support occupations for the first time including:  Digital Support Technician and OperativeNetwork Security Technician Digital Network Engineer Digital Support Manager  To develop these routes to personnel certification, ECS worked with the Department for Education, Institute for Apprenticeships, British Computer Society – Chartered Institute for IT, awarding organisations and providers, such as Pearson, CompTIA and CNET, a number of large employers and industry stakeholders. These occupations cover those using digital technologies across their organisations (likely as part of IT and/or telecoms infrastructure) in areas such as digital communications, network systems, data centre operations and management, network and cyber security, programming, software, support and user skills. Not only are these areas essential skills for organisations of all sizes in a growing digital age, but there are also growing overlaps between the traditional craft electrotechnical skillsets and the development of greater automation, controls, and programming requirements for those working within the built environment. As part of this work to ensure ECS is keeping up to date with employer and industry requirements, we are inviting those organisations who are involved in these areas of work to further develop the occupational structure around these digital occupations. Graham Hunter, Vice-President for Skills Certification at CompTIA, EMEA, Asia Pacific and Canada, says: “Technology innovation is progressing at an extraordinary rate and as the systems we use continue to become even more interconnected, it’s vital that those responsible for supporting and installing these systems have the skills required of them to keep pace with new practices and ways of working. New entrants and seasoned professionals alike will benefit from industry-created certifications based on recognisable job roles which help guide businesses in the latest developments.” He adds: “Additional awareness of topics such as security by design and system hardening are widening the skills required of professionals and by having agreed standards created by industry peers this can help create a foundation for employee development programmes. The Joint Industry Board & Electrotechnical Certification Scheme understands the importance of life-long learning and we are excited to work with them to create and support upskilling programmes that are engaging and relevant for their Digital Support Operatives and Technicians.”

SpaceDC to build the largest hyperscale data centre in the Philippines

SpaceDC is working with JLL to build a secure, resilient, network rich, data centre called MNL1, which will be situated in Cainta, part of Greater Manila. The green data centre will be fully powered with renewable energy - wind, geothermal - and is slated to open in 2022. At 43,000m2, MNL1 will be the largest hyperscale data centre campus in the Philippines, and will deliver 72MW of critical power. With an outstanding PUE of 1.3, MNL1 will also lead in terms of energy efficiency and design, to minimize carbon footprint. SpaceDC CEO, Darren Hawkins says, “The Philippines ranks second in terms of data centre growth in Southeast Asia. With only 47MW of available capacity in the country it is a dramatically underserved market. We are excited to be a first mover in a new market where we see our customers are investing heavily in.” “SpaceDC is in the right place at the right time to take advantage of the strong customer interest we are seeing in the Philippines. MNL1’s design is setting new standards in terms of technology, quality and operational excellence in the Philippines.” comments Ralph Davidvon, Executive Director, Data Centre Services for JLL, the appointed project construction manager.

ETIX Everywhere launches new data centre campus in Bangkok

ETIX Everywhere has acquired a 67% interest in Genesis data centre, in Bang Chalong, 30km from Bangkok's historical centre. This data centre will form the basis of a new data centre campus which will be jointly developed with its local partner Interlink Telecom. The Genesis data centre, renamed ETIX Bangkok #1, is already live with 2.4 MW of IT power and the future development of the campus will offer significant additional capacity. This data centre campus is the first in the market offering such high level of redundancy with four diverse routes for fiber access and power supply coming from two distinct substations. Louis Blanchot, Group CEO ETIX Everywhere comments: “We are very excited to announce our expansion into Asia starting with this acquisition in Bangkok, one of the most dynamic market in the zone. This first step in Asia is a major milestone in ETIX’s strategy to support our global customers providing them our best-in-class colocation services wherever they need”. Nuttanai Anuntarumporn, CEO of Interlink Telecom PLC comments: “We are very pleased to have a strong partner like ETIX Everywhere with experience in this industry. We believe that our partnership will support the booming Southeast Asia data centre and cloud industry and lead us to a common success.” With a large population and a strong internet penetration, Thailand is an important growth market for the public cloud and OTT service providers. They need to bring their data as close as possible to the end users in order to deliver a better service which will drive demand for colocation services. “Our customers are world leading cloud and content service providers; they have very strict colocation requirements, and it has been difficult for them to find a data centre that can match with their standards in Thailand - with enough capacity for expansion. We are very proud to finally offer them an answer to their needs", says Pierre Patris, CEO Asia of ETIX Everywhere. “ETIX Everywhere has big ambitions in Southeast Asia, first with this campus in Bangkok, and we are also very active in data centre opportunities in Vietnam and the Philippines.”

Global Technical Realty breaks ground at UK data centre campus

It was an exciting moment in the Global Technical Realty (GTR) journey as the company broke ground on its first 40.5 MW IT load UK data centre campus - GB One. GTR, a $1bn European build-to-suit data centre platform agreed to lease the site at Slough Trading Estate, London’s premier data centre hub in June 2021, partnering with estate owner, SEGRO, which will be developing the building shell. When complete, the campus will be the largest in the area, comprising three independent data centres capable of operating individually, or as one interlinked facility. Each building will accommodate over 5,375 square metres of net technical area and 13.5 MW IT load. “The data centre sector is experiencing phenomenal growth and is evolving at a rate we’ve never seen before", says Franek Sodzawiczny, Founder and CEO at Global Technical Realty.  “GTR is in the unique position of having an equity capital commitment with KKR's third global infrastructure fund. This gives us the flexibility to not only fund projects rapidly but to also offer continuity of support to our customers across multiple facilities and locations. We are motivated to get our first UK data centre up and operational and are delighted to be partnering with SEGRO to help achieve this.” Focused on providing data centres for hyperscalers in challenging markets primarily across EMEA, GTR was launched by leading global investment firm KKR and Franek Sodzawiczny, a highly experienced and successful serial entrepreneur in the data centre sector. The company designs, builds and operates bespoke data centres for large technology clients, meeting growing demand for third-party data centre provision amid ever-increasing growth in data usage and cloud services adoption. The company is led by an established team of data centre experts, delivering projects across the globe. GTR prides itself on blending design and construction specifics, with flexible solutions that meet the operational, capacity and contractual needs of its customers. James Craddock, SEGRO’s Managing Director for Thames Valley, comments: “Over the last 100 years, Slough Trading Estate has evolved in terms of the customers based there. Data centres are part of the latest evolution, breathing new life into the estate alongside some of our more traditional customer base. Our data centre team is looking forward to using its unrivalled sector experience to work with GTR to create this state-of-the-art facility at Slough Trading Estate."

Telehouse set to expand presence in Southeast Asia

Telehouse has announced plans to open Bangkok’s first purpose-built data centre focused on connectivity as it continues to expand its presence in the Southeast Asian market. Telehouse, together with parent company KDDI, a Global Fortune 300 telecommunications and systems integration provider located in Japan, expect to open the 9,000 sqm technologically advanced facility with power capacity of 9.5MVA, known as Telehouse Bangkok, during the second quarter of 2023. Telehouse Bangkok, will be the company’s third location in Southeast Asia, joining Singapore and Vietnam, and will be among more than 45 Telehouse data centres worldwide. Telehouse has more than 30 years of experience as a truly carrier-neutral data centre provider, and its new Bangkok data centre will answer the growing demand in the country for connectivity following the shift towards a digital economy. Telehouse, which operates highly connected carrier dense data centres in London and Paris, will offer a global standard in data centre services in Thailand, allowing customers to connect with carriers and cloud service providers with minimal latency. The new data centre will be the first in the market to offer four diverse routes for fibre access. It will also provide redundant power supply, with two substations, which is very rare in the market, providing reliable back-up generators in case of a power outage, cooling and 24/7 security systems, giving customers added peace of mind. Ideally situated in the Rama 9 business district, close to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Telehouse Bangkok will be close to local carrier network facility locations, enabling customers to optimise their networks more efficiently and at a premium quality. As a brand-new data centre, customers can expect more scalability and flexibility, not only for their immediate planning requirements, but also for future growth. Kenichi Miyashita, Managing Director, Telehouse Thailand, comments: “Telehouse Bangkok will be the first data centre of its kind in Bangkok and will come at a time when we expect the data centre market in the country to see robust growth owing to the boom in the digital economy, supported by the Thai government’s exciting Industry 4.0 transformation plan. Telehouse Bangkok aims to provide the best environment for all the Internet-related customers, such as cloud service providers, content providers, telecoms and ISPs, to connect with one another with minimal latency. Telehouse Bangkok is a sign of our commitment to help drive the digitisation of Thailand and lift the data centre standard in the region.”

Secure I.T. Environments completes data centre projects for Hospital

Secure I.T. Environments has announced the completion of data centre infrastructure upgrades at two hospitals in South West England. Both projects entailed updating 20-year old data centres, one with new air conditioning systems projected to save £13,684 in annual running costs. One of the upgrades was to a hospital responsible for many of the trust’s acute services based there including an emergency department and Minor Injuries Unit. The data centre upgrade was taking place on a live data centre, so great care was taken to minimise the impact on hospital services.  The end of life air conditioning system was replaced with 4 x GEA Multi-Denco energy efficient downflow units in an N+1 configuration. Works took place in a phased approach to ensure the data centre could continue to operate at full capacity. SITE also completed a large power upgrade, which had to be carefully managed as several critical care supplies had to be briefly taken offline as part of the planned switch over. At the second hospital site, the 20-year old UPS and environmental systems were replaced with a 50kVA/kW modular energy efficient UPS solution, which includes air conditioning to prolong the lifespan of the batteries. All works were completed without any shutdown and allowed for a seamless transition between the old and new UPS systems. The new Jacarta DCIM EMS system ensures there is now EMS continuity across the trust’s three data centre sites with monitoring for UPS, AC fail, water leak detection, fire panels, humidity and temperature. This data is fed into a centralised building monitoring system that the IT team can monitor remotely. No down time was required for the upgrade. Chris Wellfair, projects director at Secure I.T. Environments, says “Healthcare settings are some of the most challenging environments that we work in. We have built up decades of experience within the NHS sector, which enables us to ensure a minimum impact on patients and staff, and reduce the risks of unplanned downtime.”