Projects

Teraco completes JB4, its latest hyperscale data centre

Teraco has announced the completion of the first phase of JB4, its new hyperscale data centre addition to the Bredell Campus, Ekurhuleni, South Africa. The new facility supports the growing demand by enterprises and cloud providers for data centre capacity. JB4 offers highly resilient and secure colocation facilities in line with Teraco’s long term vision of enabling digital transformation across Africa. Gauteng is a logical destination for Teraco’s continued investment in data centre infrastructure on the continent. Home to digitally connected enterprises, including telecommunications, financial services, e-commerce, logistics, and retail, the Johannesburg Metropol benefits from its enviable location in the heart of South Africa, which has led to it becoming the hub for connectivity and peering. JB4 represents a strategic addition to Platform Teraco, offering enterprises and cloud providers a scalable platform for IT infrastructure deployment while sustaining performance, reliability, security, and the most comprehensive network choice. The first phase of JB4 comprises 30,000m2 of building structure, 8,000m2 of data hall space, and 19MW of critical power load. Teraco has secured adjacent land and power for phase two expansion, bringing the total critical power load in the facility to 50MW at the end state. The JB4 addition to Teraco’s growing data centre platform takes critical power load capacity at Teraco facilities to 126MW, which includes the Isando Campus JB1/JB3 (40MW), Bredell Campus JB2/JB4 (64MW), Cape Town Campus CT1/CT2 (21MW) and Durban (1MW). This data centre facility dramatically extends Platform Teraco’s capacity in South Africa, according to Jan Hnizdo, CEO, of Teraco. He says, “Forming a vital part of the African IT landscape, Platform Teraco is an essential part of the modern enterprise’s digital transformation strategy with its diverse industry ecosystems and open interconnection marketplace.” JB4 is connected to all the other Teraco data centres through the diverse ecosystem of network operators in the facility, making it ideal for the distributed interconnection-defined architecture of the modern enterprise. Jan says that the majority of enterprise organisations are accelerating their digital transformation strategies and placing a greater focus on cloud adoption strategies. He adds, “Enterprises are looking for the ability to scale as network strategies evolve, and in a world where fast and secure interconnection with strategic business partners is a priority, this is a source of competitive advantage.” Organisations working to accelerate their digital transformation utilise Teraco to dynamically scale their IT infrastructure, adopt hybrid multi-cloud architectures and interconnect with strategic business partners within the Platform Teraco ecosystem of global and local clients. Jan concludes, “The continued increase of cloud adoption in Africa is also being enabled by investments in critical infrastructure, including hyperscale data centre facilities such as JB4. This will enable global cloud clients to service the South African market and the rest of the sub-Saharan African region.”

University of Gloucestershire launches centre of excellence in Germany

The University of Gloucestershire has officially opened the doors of its Institute of Cyber Security and Digital Innovation (ICDI) in Germany, designed to tackle the cyber skills gap and drive new technologies. The centre of excellence, based in Düren, Western Germany, has been developed in collaboration with Fachhochshcule des Mittelstands (FHM, University of Applied Sciences of SMEs). Funding of €4.23 million over five years was secured from the Düren district in Germany for the University and FHM to establish the new facility.  At its matriculation ceremony, Professor Kamal Beckkoum, the Head of the university’s School of Computing and Engineering, welcomed students that have been enrolled on the range of new cyber security degree programmes delivered by the ICDI. The ICDI will collaborate on cyber projects with other national and international universities and the public and private sector, as well establishing itself as a test centre and a demonstration zone for cyber technologies. The ICDI also offers training in the area of data protection and cyber security for businesses in the region, tailored to their specific needs, promoting cyber security and digital innovation in small and medium-sized businesses, and supporting economic growth. Kamal says, “The ICDI has a primary goal to establish nationally and internationally recognised standards of excellence in the education of cyber security and digital innovation. “Our experience and sector-leading partnerships in the fast-paced world of cyber make us perfectly placed to partner with FHM in delivering this project, which will tackle the cyber skills shortage and facilitate digital innovation in both the UK and Germany. “The development and building of competencies in cyber currently represents one of the biggest challenges for businesses globally, with the risk of cyber attacks growing exponentially.”

NTT opens data centre in South Africa to support digital economy 

NTT has announced the opening of its latest data centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Johannesburg 1 data centre is part of NTT’s expansion into the African continent, with a capacity of 12MW covering 6,000m² of IT space once fully built. The technical infrastructure is supported by a N+1 UPS, N+1 generator backup, and highly redundant cooling systems. This will provide clients with dedicated sustainable infrastructure, operational control and the design flexibility required to support their needs.  The facility will cater to hyperscalers and enterprises, providing them with an opportunity to use NTT’s full ICT stack of services, including managed hybrid cloud, network management, collaboration, security, and application monitoring. Africa is experiencing a digital boom, with a population expected to double by 2050. Estimates show that 615 million users in sub-Saharan Africa will subscribe to mobile services by 2025, a 24% increase from 2020. This growth and reliance on technology is fuelling digital transformation initiatives and demand for high-performing data centre space. NTT is planning to accelerate its data centre footprint in Johannesburg and other African cities to support this growth over the next several years. The new facility uses a closed-loop chilled water system with air-cooled chillers, meaning that the water running through the cooling systems isn’t evaporated. This reduces the threat of potential drought water restrictions and allows the data centre to achieve low PUE and water usage effectiveness.  Florian Winkler, CEO, Global Data Centers EMEA at NTT, says, “We’re incredibly proud to be investing in Johannesburg and extending our global data centre footprint to South Africa. The country forms a significant part of NTT’s growth strategy as we continue to support Africa’s digital transformation. The opening of Johannesburg 1 will contribute towards the economic growth and social development of the region, as our clients shape the country of tomorrow.” Michael Abendanon, Head of MEA, Global Data Centers EMEA at NTT, adds, “Our presence in Africa is underpinned by the significant digital change we’re seeing across the continent. Companies providing new digital services need data centre space with high power density, global connectivity, carrier neutrality, cloud network access, and on-site support to ensure they can continue to grow.”

IONOS and Fasthosts open £21m data centre in Worcester

IONOS and Fasthosts have opened a state-of-the-art data centre situated at Worcester Six Business Park. The data centre was officially opened during an event on 18 October 2022, hosted by the two companies in the presence of local stakeholders and guests. The 43,708ft² unit comprises a cutting-edge 30,729ft² data centre and 12,978ft² of ancillary offices. The data centre represents a £21m investment in the local Worcester community. It has been designed with a modular approach, with each module at the site fully independent and, technically speaking, a data centre in its own right. This provides the opportunity for expansion with three extra modules to support future growth. Sustainability is at the forefront of the data centre, with a wide range of sustainable and energy-efficient features, including solar photovoltaic panels covering up to 10% of the energy use at the site. All necessary carbon used for the construction of the building envelope has been compensated. The data centre is connected to the middle of the UK’s fibre figure of eight, linking the site directly to IONOS’ backbone network with an outside capacity of 3,000Gb/s. This strong fibre optic connectivity will help drive the latest technology in the region to support business growth, all whilst operating securely and sustainably. Henning Kettler, Chief Technology Officer at IONOS, says: "IONOS understands that its UK customers feel more secure knowing their data is being safely stored in UK based data centres that are more easily accessible. As such, we are delighted to officially announce the opening of our new site in Worcester, which demonstrates our ongoing commitment to our customer’s needs, the UK market, and ongoing investment into infrastructure and jobs within the industry. “Not only will the centre host one of the largest cloud platforms in Europe, but we’re incredibly proud of the features which have created the most modern, environmentally friendly IONOS data centre to date. “We are looking forward to continuing to deliver above and beyond for our UK customers through the power infrastructure provided by Worcester Six Business Park, enabling us to operate our safe, secure and sustainable data centre.” Simon Yeoman, Fasthosts Chief Executive Officer, says: “It’s fantastic to be able to bring our customers along with us as we take a big step into the future with the launch of this state-of-the-art data centre. Thanks to the building’s clever modular design, it is now home to a separate, dedicated data centre ‘module’ that has been created specifically for Fasthosts customers. “In setting up our new Worcester data centre, we are now in the process of migrating our existing Gloucester data centre to the new location. A lot of expertise and attention has gone into the migration planning process and businesses will certainly enjoy the benefits in the long run when they unlock the raft of benefits such as increased connectivity, improved uptime, and top-tier products, underpinned by more sustainable hosting.”

neutrality.one expands into Jeddah to support KSA’s vision for 2030

neutrality.one has expanded its global network to Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with the launch of a Point of Presence (PoP). The PoP will provide direct, low-latency connectivity between Jeddah and Marseille, France. The move will support the KSA’s vision for 2030 by accelerating digital transformation in Saudi Arabia’s rapidly evolving digital economy. neutrality.one is serving international service providers and enterprises throughout the country and enabling their connectivity requirements locally and globally. With its presence in the KSA, neutrality.one is able to provide international customers with a cost-effective, turn-key solution that supports last-mile access and brings the region closer to its digitalisation goals. “KSA has emerged as one of the most exciting markets in the Middle East and has one of the world’s fastest growing digital economies. Our presence in Jeddah will provide low-latency connectivity that supports the KSA's vision for 2030, enabling local and global organisations to seamlessly connect their applications and services across the region and around the world,” says George Szlosarek, CEO of neutrality.one. “Jeddah has emerged as a critical hub for serving our customers and we look forward to helping them to accelerate their digital transformation journeys and benefit businesses, users, and society.” Utilising the Jeddah Center3 data centre will enable neutrality.one to spin-up connectivity that supports cloud-based applications for enterprises and service providers throughout the Middle East and beyond. Customers benefit from global connectivity, optimised network performance and secure end-to-end networking to drive productivity and growth. “Jeddah is a natural jumping off point for connecting Africa, Europe and the Middle East. It gives us a strategic hub in a key market while creating opportunities to connect high-growth markets with low-latency networking. We’re already seeing demand for networking in and out of Jeddah and see it as a strategic location for expanding our footprint,” says George. “This is the beginning of our next wave of growth and we’re very proud to be kicking this off in the KSA.”

Secure I.T. Environments completes upgrade for Thurrock Community Hospital

Secure I.T. Environments has announced the completion of an Air Handling Unit (AHU) upgrade project for Thurrock Hospital, part of Essex Partnership University NHS Trust (EPUT). The project was instigated as part of the Trust’s desire to move to more energy efficient units as those in the data centre reach end of life, having been installed with the original data centre designed and built by Secure I.T. Environments in 2009. Secure I.T. Environments undertook all aspects of the project, offering a full turnkey solution and covering the supply, installation, commissioning, and testing of new units, as well as the disposal of all replaced equipment at the site. Run as a two-phase project, Secure I.T. Environments replaced two AHU units at a time, with an emphasis on ensuring that data centre services to the hospital would be unaffected with no downtime or impact on performance. The old AHUs were replaced with much more efficient FlaktGroup Direct Expansion Multi-DENCO air-cooled units, with low noise external condensers. All units were fitted with water detection, air flow monitoring, temperature and energy monitoring sensors. New Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) panels were also fitted, as well as other related electrical upgrades completed. The final touch was the completion of flooring modifications and repairs to ensure the new AHUs fitted into the existing data centre raised access flooring. Following the completion of this work, Secure I.T. Environments was asked to upgrade all original data centre internal lighting with new LED energy efficient lights. The Thurrock Hospital data centre has been maintained by Secure I.T. Environments since 2009, covering fire suppression, EMS, room checks and cooling solutions. Steve Senter, Technical Infrastructure Manager at EPUT ICT Services, says, “As ever, Secure I.T. Environments has done an excellent job of ensuring our data centres are as efficient as possible, performing all upgrades with no disruption to our operations and consideration for all those working at and using the hospital.” Chris Wellfair, Projects Director at Secure I.T. Environments, adds, “Replacing the AHU units in such a critical environment as a hospital data centre has to be handled with care, to ensure that it does not impact the provision of patient services. When the time comes to undertake this work, we take great care to ensure there is minimal disruption, allowing clients to quickly reap the rewards of a much more energy efficient cooling system, which is so important in today’s climate of much hotter summers and rising energy costs.”

Schneider Electric delivers cooling infrastructure for University College Dublin

Schneider Electric has worked together with Total Power Solutions to design and deliver a new, high efficiency cooling system to help reduce the PUE of University College Dublin’s (UCD) main production data centre. UCD’s data centre was originally designed to accommodate high performance computing (HPC) clusters and provides a platform for research at its university campus. University College Dublin is the largest university in Ireland with a total student population of 33,000. It is also one of Europe’s leading research-intensive universities with faculties of medicine, engineering, and major sciences, as well as a broad range of humanities and other professional departments. As part of a new strategic development plan to free up space at its central Dublin location, the IT services department made the decision to revise and revitalise its data centre cooling architecture to make the facility more energy and space efficient, as well as more resilient and scalable. In response to a public tender, Total Power Solutions, experts in power and cooling infrastructure design and installation, worked with Schneider Electric to secure the contract with a bid to replace the existing data centre cooling system with a Uniflair InRow Direct Expansion (DX) solution. Schneider Electric’s InRow DX cooling technology offers many benefits including a modular design, more predictable cooling, and variable speed fans which help to reduce energy consumption. A scalable and efficient cooling solution for UCD  The new solution at UCD is based on 10 independent InRow DX cooling units, which are adapted to the server load to optimise efficiency. The system is scalable to enable UCD’s IT Services Group to add further HPC clusters and accommodate future innovations in technology. This includes the introduction of increasingly powerful central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs). The InRow DX cooling units work in conjunction with UCD’s existing EcoStruxure Row Data Centre system, formerly a Hot Aisle Containment Solution (HACS), and provides a highly efficient, close-coupled design that is suited to high density loads. Each InRow DX unit draws air directly from the hot aisle, taking advantage of higher heat transfer efficiency and discharges room-temperature air directly in front of the cooling load, which significantly reduces the need for humidification. “We designed the system to allow for the addition of four more cooling units to meet future requirements for facility expansion and changes in server technology. The overall effects of installing the new system are greater resilience and peace of mind, more efficient use of space for the benefit of the university’s main function of teaching, greater efficiency of IT infrastructure and consequently, a more sustainable operation,” says Tom Cannon, Enterprise Architecture Manager at UCD. Resilience and future expansion Each independent cooling unit also provides additional redundancy in the system, so that if one fails the others have sufficient capacity to continue delivering cool air, ensuring uninterrupted operation of UCDs IT equipment and services. Together Schneider Electric and Total Power Systems also worked to increase the resilience of the system and remove a major single point of failure, which previously existed. This is another major benefit to the university and eliminates risk of outages at critical times such as clearing and examinations. Further, the condensing elements of the cooling system have also been relocated to the roof of the data centre, freeing up significant space formerly used for external cooling plant and equipment. This has released additional land for redevelopment to house new student and university facilities, and the building is now home to an Applied Languages department, illustrating the low noise levels of the DX system compared to the equipment it replaced. The increased efficiency of the new cooling system has also lowered the data centre’s PUE, reducing its energy consumption and its ongoing operational expenses. “The Daedalus data centre at UCD hosts everything from high performance computing clusters for research to the centralised IT that keeps the University running. Total Power Solutions and Schneider Electric worked together to deliver a new, more efficient, and scalable data centre cooling system. The installation took place in a live environment with no downtime, in the midst of extensive construction activities on UCD’s Belfield Campus,” says Paul Kavanagh, Managing Director, Total Power Solutions. “For UCD, having an efficient and highly effective cooling infrastructure was critical to both their HPC research infrastructure and their general IT operations,” adds Marc Garner, VP, Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric UK and Ireland. “By working together with Total Power Solutions, we were able to successfully deliver the new cooling architecture, which will provide UCD with greater resilience of their critical IT systems and will meet the demands of this prestigious university for many years ahead.”

Novva Data Centers announces new data centre in Las Vegas

Novva Data Centers has announced plans to open a new data centre in North Las Vegas, Nevada. Construction on the 275,000 square foot, 100MW, $400 million data centre began in October 2021, and the facility is expected to open in late 2023. The data centre, which will be located on a 20-acre campus, is Novva's third location, joining existing facilities in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and West Jordan, Utah. “Since our founding, Novva has sought to bring purpose-built, futuristic, eco-friendly facilities to the Western United States and we've been very selective and intentional with our site locations,” says Wes Swenson, Founder and CEO of Novva Data Centers. “North Las Vegas is an ideal location for a data centre because it allows us to take advantage of the abundant renewable energy alternatives, and its proximity to the California and regional markets. It is a great addition to our other western data centre locations.” “This also gives us another opportunity to implement our water-free cooling technology, which will save approximately 150 to 200 million gallons of water a year, and in 2024 we plan to deploy atmospheric water generation for landscape needs,” Wes continues. “The facility will also benefit from tax abatements from the state of Nevada, which were approved in the summer of 2022.” The new North Las Vegas facility will be built with sustainability in mind by using renewable energy, and replicate Novva's signature ‘wholocation’ experience. Wholocation refers to a combination of wholesale scale and retail colocation, which provides the ability to serve clients of any size and scalability needs - from those requiring one cabinet to 1,000+ cabinets. “North Las Vegas is a growing hub for global brands and innovative industries and Novva's new data centre will help to serve and attract top enterprises to our community,” says North Las Vegas Mayor, John Lee. “Novva's track record of building thoughtful, sustainable data centres proves they will be good stewards of local resources while bringing major value as North Las Vegas builds upon its reputation as a business hub.” The new facility was made possible with a recent growth equity investment which was announced earlier in the year. Novva plans to expand across the United States and expects to offer 1,000MW of designed data centre capacity by 2027 at several strategic, yet-to-be-named locations in addition to this newest Las Vegas site. The data centre will feature robotics, high density cooling using water-free technology, containment, renewable energy in partnership with NV Energy, and a wholly owned on premise substation. www.novva.com

Reading can expect £1bn economic boost from CityFibre rollout

A new report commissioned by CityFibre has identified that Reading stands to be a huge beneficiary from the rollout of future-proof full fibre infrastructure, which is now well underway across the town. The study by the consultancy Hatch, (Economic Impact of Full Fibre Infrastructure from CityFibre’s Network), estimates that, over a 15-year period, the positive impacts of CityFibre’s £58m investment in Reading will include £625m in productivity and innovation gains, £138m from a widened workforce, £18m in local authority efficiency savings and £384m in increased housing value. Technological benefits are also a major focus of the report, which demonstrates that CityFibre’s network in Reading will help realise £1bn gross added value (GVA) from 5G services, £249m from the Internet of Things and £263m from Smart City initiatives, like intelligent traffic management systems and street lighting. The continuing transition to home and flexible working, supported by full fibre access at home and in the office, is also unlocking access to a larger pool of labour for employers. In Reading, working productivity uplifts are estimated to exceed £35m. The direct impact of network construction is also identified as a major contributor to Reading’s economic growth, creating network construction jobs within CityFibre’s build partners and supply chain. Wherever possible, the new jobs will be recruited locally to support the rollout. As a whole, the UK stands to benefit from over £38bn in potential economic benefits. Productivity improvements and innovation are responsible for the largest impact, driving more than £22bn in GVA gains nationwide. This is due to the positive effect that far faster and more reliable digital connectivity has been shown to have on business productivity and innovation, increasing turnover and contributing to the formation of new businesses and business models. Stacey King, Area Manager for Reading at CityFibre, says: “This report demonstrates just how powerful and essential full fibre is as a catalyst for growth and as a platform for innovation and investment. “Reading is quickly becoming one of the best digitally connected towns in the UK, and the opportunity for residents and local businesses is huge. We thank residents for their patience as we progress with the full fibre infrastructure build here in a bid to offer more people access to some of the best broadband packages available.”

Xtel launches new data centre in New York City market

Amid a rise in cyber crime and digital transformation, Xtel Communications has announced its third data centre in the sought-after New York market. The facility, located in Newark, New Jersey, adds to the company’s growing data centre portfolio. Xtel’s other facilities are strategically located in Philadelphia and Plano, Texas. The addition of this new facility allows Xtel to expand its serviceable footprint of Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) via fibre-optic connections. In addition, the data centre will provide robust DDoS attack mitigation options to enable more secure environments. This is especially critical as these types of cyber crimes continue to increase at an alarming rate. In recent years, DDoS attacks have risen by over 151%. Other key features of Xtel’s New York market data centre include: Additional redundancy options for customers seeking more diversity in last mile fibre providers and fibre pathsDirect Connect options to SaaS (Software as a Service) and IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) providers, allowing the end-user customer to directly access these providers without having to traverse the InternetStrategic enterprise-level colocation services All Xtel data centres have the ability to maintain, operate, and monitor fibre optic backbones, voice platforms, and data centres. The data centres are part of a high availability ‘active-active’ network architecture, allowing for immediate service failover and load balancing between the data centres. Each data centre is annually re-certified for major compliance frameworks, including FedRAMP, FISMA, SSAE18, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and Privacy Shield - GDPR. “As enterprises and businesses continue to scale and digitally transform, the addition of our New York market data centre adds critical cyber security services, connectivity and redundancy to a prominent, stable market with an ever-growing, favourable business climate,” states Brian Flynn, President of Xtel. “We continuously invest in our network infrastructure while regularly expanding our services and solutions portfolio to meet ever-changing requirements. We look forward to continued growth in this market and beyond.”