KUALA LUMPUR: VADS Bhd, the wholly-owned information and communications technology solutions unit of Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), said it targets to complete its Klang Valley Core Data Centre (KVDC) — which will be running in tandem with the Iskandar Puteri Core Data Centre (IPDC) in Nusajaya — by the first half of 2018 (1H18).

VADS general manager, data centre (DC) services, Edwin Ng said the Cyberjaya-based data centre and the one in Nusajaya will form the largest data centre infrastructure of its kind in the region.

“The first data centre (IPDC) is coming online in the first quarter of 2017 and we are anticipating the second one (KVDC) to be available about a year later because we are still going through the construction phase.

“We have not announced the request for service date yet, but are anticipating it in the first half of 2018,” Ng told The Edge Financial Daily.

Ng explained that the two data centres will form an enlarged twin-core data centre, key to serving the growing needs in Southeast Asia, as more companies move towards the digitalisation of their operations.

“The twin-core data centre will not just cater to Malaysian clients. The idea for it is to become a hub to serve the region. As part of TM, we have good connectivity around the region — Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and beyond,” he said.

Ng declined to reveal the investment allocated for the data centres, but previous reports said the company had allocated RM130 million for the data centres’ development.

VADS vice-president, partnership and marketing, Mahmoud Dasser said the company is committed to building key infrastructure for businesses to go digital — be it large enterprises, government-linked corporations or small and medium enterprises.

“Really, our mission is to be an enabler and remove roadblocks faced by companies in going digital. Companies need a safe place to store and process their information and that’s the twin core-data centre’s element,” he said.

The data centres will be Tier III certified, which requires them to offer 99.98% availability, with a total of 1.6 hours of interruption per year.

The data centres will also be certified by the Green Building Index. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification will be issued too. The data centres will undergo threat and vulnerability risk assessment as well under the Monetary Authority of Singapore.