STC, a leading telecom provider in Saudi Arabia, has launched three mega data centres in Riyadh, Jeddah and Madinah, with SR1 billion ($266 million) investment, aiming to host telecommunications equipment and digital cloud infrastructure.

The new data centres will offer higher availability, more flexibility and faster time to the customer.

STC adopted Next Generation build technology through modular and prefabricated solutions, affirming business continuity and service uptime. It also enables STC to optimize future expansions with Grow-On-Demand technology and Quick-To-Market solutions.

The three new data centres have been built with over 150 prefabricated modules (PFMs), fully equipped with power, thermal management and IT infrastructure. Providing 10.8 MW of critical IT power (white space ready) expandable to 16.8 MW, Phase 2 of the program already in construction will bring the total Critical IT Power to 40.8 MW.

Furthermore, the short-term future will see STC expanding its mission critical white space to more than 105 MW of data centre IT power across the Kingdom utilising the same highly resilient model. The new design of the data centres has received Tier III Certification for Design & Construction from the global authority “The Uptime Institute” and is fully compliant with local regulations.

These projects represent the first phase of its New Era “Next Generation” data centres. Phase One of this ambitious program is now complete, with new data centres in Jeddah and Madinah already online, and today sees STC’s 3rd new data centre being commissioned in Riyadh.

Nasser Al-Nasser the STC CEO stated: “Yesterday we announced $500 million investment with Ali Baba Cloud and eWTP, and to today we announce investing about SR1 billion in these three Data Centers. The successful completion and transformation of STC’s mission critical offering will enable the next step in digital services to be delivered throughout the Kingdom. This first milestone achievement is only the beginning.”

Haithem M Alfaraj the STC Senior VP of Technology and Operations said: “STC has reached a major milestone in providing next generation data centres that will meet the current demands for digital infrastructure, with the flexibility to grow and mature with the digital evolution.”

STC’s current network transformation and new data centre program will fundamentally change the mission critical hosting space within the region, improving the agility and speed-to-market of the new services being rolled out in support of the Kingdom’s National Transformation Program 2020, and the Kingdom’s 2030 vision.

STC’s successful achievement in this program has exceeded all expectations, and STC has already started Phase 2 of the program that will deliver an additional four new data centres in strategic locations throughout the kingdom. – TradeArabia News Service