DiGi pioneers industry standards with the launch of Malaysia's first green data center

DiGi pioneers industry standards with the launch of Malaysia's first green data center
Integrates relevant environmental considerations business-wide

Shah Alam, 8 December 2011: DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd's (DiGi) has strengthened its commitment to green its business with the launch of its Technology Operations Centre (TOC), the first green data centre in Malaysia with the Provisional Gold Certification from the Green Building Index (GBI), Malaysia's green rating tool for buildings.

The purpose-built data center of 3 ½ storey with 60,000 square feet of usable space for data servers and telecommunications switches also houses the Company's Fast Recovery Center and office spaces. With an investment of more than RM80 million, the TOC is built to support DiGi's growing data capacity needs for the next 10-15 years. It was designed using the GBI as its guiding principles and incorporates cutting edge Green Technologies aimed at reducing usage and increasing energy efficiency.

DiGi's Chief Technology Officer, Ole Martin Gunhildsbu explained, "Integrating environmentally-friendly features into the business has to be relevant and addresses the business need. Beyond good Corporate Responsibility, we have found that embedding sustainable practises business-wide makes practical business sense. Our new data center (TOC) bear testimony to how we can benefit from both achieving operational efficiencies whilst reducing our carbon footprint."

"Data centers are traditionally big consumers of energy with mobile networks contributing to more than 70% of the total energy used by telecommunications companies to provide uninterrupted network coverage to subscribers. As demand increases, we have a role to play in driving change in the way we operate."

Construction of the TOC began in 2009, with environmental considerations taken into every development phase. The TOC is designed to be energy efficient, and is expected to cut down average traditional energy consumption by 30% when the load at the data centre exceeds 2,500 square feet in 2012.

The building design incorporates environmental-friendly features such as no raised floors, dedicated cooling for server racks to maximize cooling efficiencies, rainwater harvesting, solar reflective roof paint coating, and a steel formwork system to reduce timber usage. Its most visually notable feature is its vertical vegetated wall that acts as an effective barrier against solar radiation and insulates the building, thus significantly reducing heat build-up and cooling energy costs.

"My mission as an architect is to endeavour to save the environment by design and by innovation. DiGi's TOC offered me an opportunity to do this as part of this ongoing mission" said Dato Dr Ken Yeang who is the principal architect-planner of Hamzah & Yeang, and one of the leading ecodesigners, theoreticians, and thinkers in the field of green design.

Ole reiterated the Company commitment to continue setting industry standards by pioneering world-class environmentally-friendly practices. He said, "When we started building the TOC, we worked closely with GBI to identify and develop Malaysia's benchmark for data centers as there were no existing criteria for the data centre category before."

"Efforts to strengthen our commitment towards sustainable business practice company-wide continue today with the start of our single most ambitious network modernization that will upgrade every single one of our 5,000 network sites nationwide. The new cleaner and greener network with more energy-efficient equipment including new hybrid solar-powered base transmission sites is targeted to give us carbon savings of more than 11,000 tonnes in 2012. This is yet another example of how we successfully incorporate sustainable elements that will enable us to improve our network coverage and quality while achieving optimal energy efficiency," concluded Ole.

For more information on DiGi's Deep Green initiative, visit http://www.digi.com.my/deepgreen.

Issued by:
Corporate Communications Department.