PLDT earmarks P10B for data center business

PLDT Inc., the country’s largest telecommunication company, is expanding its data center footprint through 2017, including the building of its first facility in Davao.

In a statement, PLDT said it would have 10 data centers by 2017 with a capacity of 9,000 racks, up from the current six data centers, increasing its total investment in the data center business to P10 billion.  Apart from Davao, it will open new data centers in Makati City and the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga province.

Data centers are critical facilities that house digital information of businesses and government agencies.  “These are designed to meet international standards to safeguard crucial information from cybersecurity threats, natural and man-made disasters, and ensure continuous operations,” PLDT said.

“These advantages compel businesses to consider third party data centers such as Vitro, as they expand their IT capacity, refresh their aging data center, or mobilize their cloud-based initiatives,” PLDT executive vice president and ePLDT president and CEO Eric R. Alberto said.

ePLDT was the first to put up a purposely-built data center in the country with the Vitro Data Center in Pasig which opened in 2000 with a rack capacity of 1,800.

In its network of Vitro Data Centers, PLDT digital enterprise unit ePLDT operates data centers located in Pasig, Subic and Cebu that serve large businesses, particularly banking and financial services, business process outsourcing and online gaming firms.

In the meantime, ePLDT unit IP Converge (IPC) operates three more data center facilities located in Makati, Bonifacio Global City and in Sucat, Parañaque, that primarily serve small and medium enterprises, or SMEs.

“Security is a top priority in building data centers.  This requires implementing multiple-layers of security, and designing a very sturdy structure. It takes expertise and a lot of resources to keep these facilities secure against a wide range of threats,” Alberto said.

Aside from multi-level security, other critical components of a data center are telco diversity, precision cooling system, constant power supply and ample space on solid ground, PLDT said.