SINGAPORE, Jan. 12, 2024 – Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), the largest global provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, today announced the launch of its first data center in India, on a 10-acre campus capable of supporting up to 100 megawatts of critical IT load capacity that is located in the heart of Chennai’s industrial and manufacturing hub. This is a significant addition to the company’s global data center platform as it expands to meet digital transformation needs in key markets around the world.
India is predicted to surpass Japan and Germany to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027, and the resultant scale and quantum of data generated from this growth are expected to drive a demand surge for quality data center infrastructure across the country.
This campus is part of Digital Realty’s strategy to provide state-of-the-art and highly connected digital infrastructure to address customers’ diverse requirements and help them navigate new technologies and the business and regulatory challenges associated with digital transformation initiatives in India. It was developed by Digital Connexion: A Brookfield, Jio and Digital Realty Company, Digital Realty’s three-way joint venture in India with Brookfield Asset Management and Reliance Industries Limited.
MAA10 is the first phase of the 100MW-capable campus and will offer 20MW of IT load. It features a modular infrastructure design, enabling customers to scale infrastructure as needed to accommodate diverse workload demands, from single-cabinet to multi-megawatt requirements. The facility is ready to support emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, offering standardized and bespoke configurations to meet the high-density power requirements (up to 70 kilowatts per rack), suitable cooling infrastructure, and interconnectivity demands of AI workloads.
Deep interconnectivity is key to enable the exchange of data that is needed to provide real-time business insights. MAA10 leverages Jio’s massive digital and connectivity ecosystem and strong enterprise relationships to give customers seamless connectivity across India. The facility is also a vital addition to PlatformDIGITAL®, Digital Realty’s global data center platform, which hosts a rich connected data community of customers, partners, cloud and network service providers on a footprint of 300+ facilities in 50+ metros across 25+ countries on 6 continents. The data center will also be ServiceFabric™-enabled this year, which will further allow customers to rapidly configure and provision connectivity on-demand across their digital infrastructure to fit their needs.
“With a population of 1.4 billion and a growing focus on the delivery of digital services, India represents a key market opportunity for Digital Realty and our partners and customers. We believe MAA10’s next-generation data center infrastructure and Digital Realty’s connected global open data center platform provide the foundational pillars our customers need to innovate and tap into this thriving market. We look forward to helping our customers accelerate their digital ambitions in India,” said Serene Nah, Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific, Digital Realty.
Alongside this aspiration is a commitment to minimizing the industry’s impact on the environment. Sustainability principles guided MAA10’s design and, construction, and will remain critical in operational practices, with a focus on maximizing energy and water efficiency, and conserving resources. The facility also seeks to employ renewable energy sources where possible, starting with harvesting solar power via rooftop solar panels on-site. It will also benefit from Brookfield’s renewable energy expertise.
CB Velayuthan, CEO of Digital Connexion said, “We are excited about the launch of our first data center in Chennai. This 100MW campus in Ambattur is ideal, given the availability of the necessary power supply, high number of submarine cable landing stations in the local area, and the state government’s aspirations to make Chennai the top data center destination in India. We look forward to making this campus a destination of choice for customers, partners, cloud and service providers looking to expand their reach in India, starting with MAA10, the state-of-the-art first phase of this highly scalable campus.”
