Digital Realty Trust to launch 2nd S'pore data centre this year

NEW YORK-listed data solutions firm Digital Realty Trust (DRT) will launch its second data centre in Singapore later this year, in which it expects to invest over US$200 million, and says it underscores the company's commitment to Singapore's Smart Nation plan.

"Abundant data centre investment enhances Singapore's status as a connectivity hub in the region, and encourages the sustainable supply of data centres to ensure sufficient future capacity," a DRT spokesman told BT.

The new centre, which will be redeveloped from an existing printing paper storage facility in Loyang and span some 177,000 square feet, will connect via dark fibre to DRT's first data centre, which was opened in 2011 and is located in Jurong.

"Both our data centres are connected to key networks on land and across submarine fibre networks. Our first data centre hosts multiple Tier 1 carriers and the Singapore Internet Exchange, which provides a neutral, agile, and open connectivity fabric to clients.

"Our new centre will serve as an 'east solution' by extending the networks from our Jurong centre in the west, thereby creating a connectivity fabric that allows all forms of data to move seamlessly across networks," said the DRT spokesman.

This creates a geographical diversity for Singapore that is carrier-neutral and allows clients fabric to deploy the right workloads at the right place, he added.

DRT's first data centre in Singapore, at 370,500 square feet, is the largest of its data centres in the Asia-Pacific. It was recently awarded the Green Mark Platinum certification.

"Our first data centre in Singapore marked DRT's entrance into one of Asia-Pacific's rapid expansion markets and enabled our global clients to enter the country and serve other regional markets with a trusted partner," said Daryl Dunbar, DRT's managing director for the Asia-Pacific.

Added Kiren Kumar, director of information communications and media at the Singapore Economic Development Board: "With the growing demand for premium data centre services, it is imperative for leading data centre providers such as DRT to continue raising the bar to strengthen Singapore's position as a leading data management and connectivity hub."

Meanwhile, DRT said that it is working closely with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, and has even allocated an incubator space in its new data centre to test innovative data centre technologies.