Open DC to build data centre

KUALA LUMPUR: Open DC Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian data centre company, expects to construct its new data centre in the Delapan Special Border Economic Zone (SBEZ) to contribute to Malaysia’s economic development.

Founder and managing director Wong Weng Yew said the new data centre would complement the development of Delapan as a vibrant business hub.

Wong said having a data centre rich in connectivity in Delapan will attract the region’s telecommunications providers to land in Delapan.

“For example, any companies that require low latency connectivity to its users and who supply services across the border will appreciate hosting their services in Delapan to take advantage of the proximity to the neighbouring countries.

“They have the option to choose to come in and be co-located in Delapan SBEZ due to the strategic and good location and the ease of connecting to all the telcos in the telco hub operated by Open DC,” he told the New Straits Times.

Wong said the development of Open DC’s data centre at Delapan SBEZ will also enhance the trading volume between Malaysia and Thailand.

He said this is because the setup of Open DC for the new data centre is to attract an increase in information technology (IT) investments in Delapan.

“The attraction will go just beyond the interest of the services between Thailand and Malaysia.

“The new data centre will attract global investment into the area due to the strategic location and allow multinational companies to serve two countries simultaneously.

“It will also provide the global companies who want to address Indo-China and Malaysia. This would help increase and attract global businesses to Delapan,” he said.

Meanwhile, Wong said the establishment of data centre hubs and cloud service providers would continue to be the driving force behind the rise of the country’s digital economy.

He believes Malaysia is at the start of a data centre boom in the industry.

“In the coming years, there are likely to be more players coming into these areas, and together we will develop Malaysia into a very attractive data centre investment destination in the region,” he said.

Given the success of the company’s activities in Johor Bahru, Open DC has been working with Delapan to explore the possibility of developing a data centre hub or an interconnectivity hub at the northern border between Thailand and Malaysia.

After a comprehensive study of the environments and the feasibility studies, Open DC has decided to embark on the project and has acquired a piece of land in Delapan to develop a Tier-3 data centre.

Wong said a data centre with a Tier-3 certification would give its customers peace of mind that any single failure with the system will not bring down the overall services to its customers.

“This is an assurance for businesses, especially for those in the financial sector users like those in fintech or the other entity players.

“The Tier-3 data centre will give them the peace of mind that their backup components in the data centre will be able to restore the field components when the failure happens,” he said.

Wong said that apart from this project, the company also has plans for potential collaborations to enhance the nation’s Internet infrastructure further.

As a neutral data centre operator, he said Open DC has long been collaborating with industry players locally and globally.

“Having a data centre in Delapan will enhance that service proposition.

“We always welcome players from all around the world to collaborate and for Open DC to add value to their businesses,” he added.

Last month, the Minister of Finance Inc’s (MOF Inc) wholly-owned subsidiary, Northern Gateway Sdn Bhd (NGX), partnered with Open DC to develop a Tier-3 data centre in Delapan Special Border Economic Zone.

MOF Inc said this economic zone would contribute to the development of internet infrastructure and the digital and industrial revolution intertwined with the local internet ecosystem, complementing both the state and federal digital development blueprint in terms of network infrastructure. – NST