atNorth opens sixth data centre in the Nordics
Author: Isha Jain
atNorth has formally announced that its third Iceland data centre, ICE03, is now fully operational with an initial capacity of 10MW, following a swift 11 month build. This brings its total number of operational data centres up to six, with one additional site, FIN02, in Finland under construction.
The new site is a milestone in the company’s overarching goal to scale ahead of increasing demand for high-performance computing requirements at a time when cost-efficient sustainable infrastructure is in more demand than ever.
The site is located in a strategic position. As Iceland is ranked in the top 10 markets for data centre location, atNorth’s Iceland entry recently won the ‘location’ category at the Tech Capital Global Awards, which aims to recognise a geography for its attractiveness and investor friendly climate when dealing with digital infrastructure investors. This is an ideal location for data centres, largely due to its access to a highly skilled workforce and cool climate, which is crucial for cost-effective cooling of data centre infrastructure. The country also has an energy supply run on a closed grid powered by 100% renewable hydro and geothermal energy sources. Iceland also benefits from fully redundant connectivity and now boasts multiple undersea fibre optic cables connecting the country to the UK, Ireland, North America, and mainland Scandinavia.
The ICE03 site offers expansions possibilities of up to 50MW and is located 250km north of Reykjavík, where other data centres are predominantly located. This geographical separation offers advantage in terms of disaster recovery and enhanced security. By diversifying the location of its data centres, atNorth reinforces its commitment to ensuring a high level of data protection and business continuity for its clients. Additionally, the town of Akureyri is a thriving technology hub and the new centre will offer job opportunities to an already highly skilled workforce.
Iceland’s cool climate and abundance of energy sources allows businesses to tap into an infrastructure with renewable energy and great connectivity resulting in significant cost efficiencies. ICE03’s accessibility, being only 10 minutes from an international airport, presents a new joint opportunity for atNorth to deliver high-precision services to European businesses as these businesses look to decarbonise and migrate IT operations cost-efficiently.
“We are delighted to be expanding our presence in the Nordics once again with a third site in Iceland,” says Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, CEO, atNorth. “With six operational sites across three Nordic countries and another in development, our commitment to meet increasing demand in the industry through continued expansion is evidenced. Furthermore, our dedication to sustainable best practice supports our goal to become the service provider of choice for eco-friendly high-performance infrastructure.”
