Gen-i to build new datacentres in Auckland and Wellington
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Telecom’s ICT division Gen-i is building two major datacentres in Auckland and Wellington, to go live in 2014 and 2015.
Telecom CEO Simon Moutter says the company currently has 14 datacentres nationwide, but most are located inside exchanges.“We’re quite full, and its time to branch out and build some major datacentres,” he told Computerworld.
The Auckland datacentre, to be located in Takanini in South Auckland, will be open in mid-2014. It will be built to a modular design, with an initial 350 rack capacity, with the capability to scale up to deliver a 1000 rack capacity as required.
The Wellington datacentre will be located in Upper Hutt and will open in 2014/15. It will also have a modular design with an initial capacity of 350 racks, and the capacity to scale up to 750 racks.
Moutter would not say how much the datacentres will cost, citing commercial sensitivity. But when asked if the investment is on the same scale as rival Datacom – which is building a $30 million datacentre in Hamilton to complement its Auckland facility – Moutter replied: “No, bigger; big ones.”
“We’re in the datacentre game,” he says.
In October, Gen-i announced it will build a 1000 square metre datacentre in Christchurch for $10.5 million that would be open in mid-2013 and house up to 180 racks.
Gen-i acting CEO Jo Allison says the new datacentres will have advanced environmental monitoring and physical security.
“We get to design the datacentre from scratch. When you’re building inside exchanges, the building and the environment are already largely determined for you,” she says.
Allison says Gen-i needs to build new datacentres to help its clients leverage the Ultra Fast Broadband rollout. “If you think about the explosion of data that is occurring at an industry level today, the management and the storage of that data is a significant issue for CIOs.”
According to a report from analyst firm IDC released this week, the local IT services market grew 4.4 percent year-on-year for the first six months of 2012, reaching NZ$1.7 billion. It says Gen-i remains at the top with a market share of 13.9 percent, but Datacom overtook HP to gain second place, with a 10.3 percent market share.
The datacentre investment signals that Telecom is committed to the Gen-i business. The division currently employs 2,500 staff.
Posted by Anonymous at 16:36:30 on December 3, 2012
Posted by ANONYMOUS at 12:29:45 on December 3, 2012
Posted by Anonymous at 12:24:28 on December 3, 2012
Posted by Anonymous at 15:10:17 on December 3, 2012
There are many factors that come into play in chosing a site for a DC. Some key ones are:
1.hazards/risks which can't be mitigated (fault lines, flood, tsunami, aircraft flight paths etc)
2.access to enough power (a real issue in Auckland)
3.network diversity/access
4.relative distance to existing facilities (for separation)
5. Land cost and development flexibility especially regarding noise and proximity to residential areas. (resource consent is a challenging process)
So it strikes me that Takanini is a good location.
Its right next to a Transpower Grid exit point at Takanini (so doesnt suffer from being upstream of the Otahuhu substation pinch point), all the network providers are close by (they all run up Gt St road and the train tacks), its far enough inland to not be a tsunami risk (manukau harbour is very low risk), its got good road access, its far enough out of the CBD for diversity/separation but not too far to be out of reach, land is cheaper so not constraining the design, no residential noise issues.
Most of the recent data centre build announcements (HP, Fujitsu) have all indicated this general area as being good, so I am sure that the designers (as opposed to the men in suits) are considering all factors before suggesting this site.
Posted by Anonymous at 10:27:01 on December 4, 2012
Posted by Anonymous at 19:36:36 on December 1, 2012
from wikipedia - "game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements.
other noteable games telecom have played have included:
"What has every telco in the world done in the past? It's used confusion as its chief marketing tool. And that's fine ... But at some level, whether they consciously articulate or not, customers know that's what the game has been. They know we're not being straight up." from his former mentor Theresa Gattung
Simon - why can't we get a great Telco with bills that are readable and compare to the services we consume. Actually I'd like to just pay a fixed bill for power (after all I've already paid for the stuff that makes it) and the internet - well the less you guys have to do with it the better as far as I can see - I dont want you clipping the ticket on other peoples creativity - don't like NZ Enron and it's thinking...
Posted by John Harrop at 14:25:24 on November 30, 2012
Posted by Shorty at 16:15:12 on November 30, 2012
Posted by Anonymous at 13:42:15 on November 30, 2012
what are you trying to achieve?
Posted by Anonymous at 19:25:11 on December 1, 2012
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