Data centres are the seat of power in the digital economy
In our digital age, we tend to think that information is just “out there,” somewhere, not in a physical location. It’s all just on the cloud, right? Yes, but the cloud has to be kept somewhere, and in Australia’s $200 billion-plus digital economy, it’s kept in data centres that are popping up in the country’s major cities. These data centres power the networks that keep business humming along. Whilst Asia-Pacific’s other hubs — Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan — have limited space, Australia is seeing far-reaching growth in this sector, with these companies leading the way.
Equinix runs data centres in more than 50 markets worldwide, including in Australia’s six largest cities. The company completed a $15.6 million expansion of one of its Perth facilities in May. “Since entering the West Australian market just over a year ago, we’ve seen substantial growth in the state’s digital economy. This expansion of our footprint in Perth will further our ability to offer affordable, scalable, lower latency options for our customers located on the West Coast of Australia and those global customers of ours who are interested in moving into the West Australian market,” Equinix Australia managing director Jeremy Deutsch said.
Don’t let the name fool you, as CDC’s reach extends beyond the capital. It’s developing a 120-megawatt facility in Sydney in a reformed Hewlett-Packard centre. “This is very exciting and there is already an incredible amount of interest because there is nothing like CDC in the Sydney geography,” CEO Greg Boorer told ARN. “There are a lot of organisations, both Canberra and Sydney, that have welcomed our extension of the secure, sovereign CDC ecosystem that the government has enjoyed and experienced for so long into Sydney.”
On the west edge of the Sydney CBD, Global Switch’s campus packs 73,000 square metres of world class technical space. “Our operational environment enables customers to reduce their carbon footprint and drive greater efficiency from their operations, Global Switch declares. “This reduces total cost of occupancy and minimises operational risk.
“We have worked with some of the world’s largest companies to deliver data centre solutions to match their specific requirements for the short, medium, and long term challenges they may face.”
When complete, Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus will have a 43 MW capacity, with Intellicentre 2 the first in Australia to achieve Uptime Institute Tier III certification. “Its flexible design serves organisations from government departments, SaaS providers, startups, internet payment gateways, banks, and Fortune 50 enterprises,” Macquarie boasts. Intellicentres 3 and 4 are on the horizon.
NextDC earned $179 million in the fiscal year to June 30 thanks in part to its 58.4 MW capacity in Australia. “NextDC undertook the largest capital development program in its history,” chair Doug Flynn and CEO Craig Scroggie said in a statement. “Both the B2 and M2 data centres opened new data halls and the development of our first tower on the P2 site in Perth accelerated at pace, all whilst opening our first edge compute micro data centre to deliver the connectivity requirements of the Indigo submarine cable system that links Australia’s east coast to Perth and Singapore.”
With more than 200 data centres across five continents, Digital Realty is a major player. The company expanded access to IBM Cloud in August at its Sydney facility. “We are the first data centre provider to offer IBM Cloud Direct Link Dedicated Hosting, and currently the only data centre provider to offer IBM Direct Link Connect,” CTO Chris Sharp said. “The flexibility of offering customers multiple options enables them to choose the level of service they need to help meet their specific speed, deployment, and location requirements. Combined with Digital Realty’s Service Exchange, customers can also take advantage of on-demand network functionality powered by Megaport.”
At 90 MW, AirTrunk’s Sydney facility is Australia’s largest hyperscale data centre, with the 84 MW Melbourne facility not far behind. It’s opening a 60 MW centre in Singapore next year. “The rapid growth of cloud and evolving needs of enterprises are driving demand for hyperscale capacity in the region. Singapore is a strategic data centre hub due to its economic and political stability and rich connectivity to Asia, the USA, and Europe,” AirTrunk executive director Michael Juniper said.
With 17 centres across Australia and New Zealand, Vocus provides a secure and widely connected environment for ANZ customers. In August, Vocus Group landed its Coral Sea Cable System in Sydney to create more infrastructure for Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. “There is an enormous amount of detailed planning and meticulous delivery that goes into a project of this size, scale, and significance,” CEO Kevin Russell said. “We are proud of the important work we continue to do with our partners in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands to bring this project to life.”
Between Sydney and Adelaide, DCI has nearly 30 MW of capacity. “At DCI Data Centers, our focus is on delivering the key building blocks of industry-leading reliability, efficiency, security, and flexibility,” DCI’s website says. “We deliver customized and scalable solutions that will grow with your business. With Data Centers located across Australia and planned expansion in Asia and beyond, DCI can deliver geographical diversity with service consistency.”
The global giant has six data centres in Australia. “Fujitsu believes that the only purposeful approach to leverage the potential of new developments for data center innovation is to start with your specific business or organizational needs,” the company states in a white paper. “We call this approach the Business-Centric Data Center. Fujitsu is one of the very few vendors offering a full range of technology products, solutions and services worldwide.”
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