DC Two launches stage one of new Perth-based data centre
The first stage of DC Two’s data centre is now fully operational and its sales team is ready to begin onboarding potential customers.
Vertically-integrated technology business DC Two (ASX: DC2) has launched a new 3-megawatt capacity data centre in Perth’s southern suburbs, giving its customers immediate access to cloud services.
The Bibra Lake centre was secured on a long-term lease earlier this year and has been subject to a stage one configuration whereby all major components have been installed and tested.
The centre is powered and cooled by fully-redundant, Tier III-compliant systems, allowing stage one to act as “a data centre within a data centre” and ensuring customers can remain online during stage two development.
Preliminary testing has shown the centre can maintain environmental conditions suitable for continuous and reliable operations, while the Tier III deployment of stage two can operate autonomously from stage one components.
DC Two said the majority of stage one components could be reconfigured to provide additional scale, capacity and redundancies for future growth, enabling the company to generate revenue sooner while protecting capital and minimising waste.
Design changes
The Bibra Lake centre was originally built in 2013 and has been subject to significant design and construction changes since then.
The changes allowed it to achieve Uptime Institute Tier III design accreditation, which is a globally-recognised standard for data centre reliability and overall performance.
The accreditation expired at the end of 2018, around the same time the previous tenants vacated after investing up to $12 million in the refurbishments.
The facility’s landlord was left with a nearly-finished, design-accredited centre with no route to completion or market until DC Two decided to take over the lease.
The company is now in the process of completing the facility and re-applying for Tier III accreditation, which will help secure mid-market and enterprise customers requiring the same level of compliance, security and access.
DC Two managing director Justin Thomas said the Bibra Lake centre is now an integral part of the business moving forward.
“We have essentially taken a dormant building and transformed it into a fully operational data centre within a six-month period,” he said.
“Our focus and resources will now be put towards onboarding customers and the completion and accreditation of stage two.”
Data centre demand
Growing demand for DC Two’s cloud and data storage services resulted in the decision to bring forward the opening of the Bibra Lake centre.
Mr Thomas said customers will be able to procure communications via Vocus or Telstra with fully redundant dual path connectivity already installed for both carriers and negotiations continuing to secure connectivity with others.
“It is important to note that customer equipment hosted at Bibra Lake during our stage one deployment will not have to be physically moved once the site becomes Tier III accredited,” he said.
“Upon completion of our accreditation, it is expected [we] will become the only data centre provider in Western Australia with its own Tier III accredited data centre and cloud platforms.”
Cornerstone facilities
Data centres are the cornerstone facilities of today’s economy and can provide services such as secure data back-up and recovery, processing of high-volume e-commerce and internet banking transactions powering of online gaming communities, or being the backbone of machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Industry research shows the Australian data centre market is expected to grow to $3.76 billion by 2025 and has resulted in a cumulative productivity benefit of $9.4 billion towards the national economy over the last five years.
Technology insights firm Telsyte estimates 45% of Australian organisations are looking to increase their cloud infrastructure spending and 59% of businesses have a “cloud first” policy.
Mr Thomas said the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed more users online and increased reliance on digital tools for remote working, remote learning, video conferencing and online shopping.
“This has led to a surge in demand for Australian data centre capacity and cloud services,” he said.