NUSAJAYA: Malaysia expects to grow the data centre market to RM2 billion by 2020 from RM800 million last year, driven by the growing demand for data outsourcing globally.
Minister of Communication and Multimedia Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the data centre sector in Malaysia was expected to be key to the region’s growth potential.
“Already an international location for major enterprises, Malaysia is well positioned for market reach to potential growth opportunities in Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar to the north and to other large growth nations, such as Indonesia and the Philippines,” he said at the opening of the DataCloud Southeast Asia conference here yesterday.
Ahmad Shabery said the data centre industry in Malaysia has seen significant growth over the last five years with government’s emphasis placed on driving the industry by enhancing local capabilities, facilities and talent.
“There are 26 data centre service companies in the country, providing a total of one million square feet of data centre space,” he added.
Currently, the biggest data centre in Malaysia is sprawled over 200,000 square feet, which is about the size of a two-and-a-half football fields, he added.
Ahmad Shabery said it was staggering to think about the overwhelming streams of data that people produced from activities on the Internet.
“Collectively, we send more than 60 billion WhatsApp messages a day, upload 2.4 million photos on Instagram every hour, view six million Facebook pages every minute and make one million Google searches every second globally,” he said.
Hence, storing and managing these huge amount of data is definitely a challenge, he added.
“In the data economy, creating wealth requires the skill of an alchemist.
In other words, management of this abundant resource will be key for countries and companies that aspire to surge ahead,” Ahmad Shabery said.
On the roll-out of the National Big Data Framework last year, he said it could provide guidelines for the country to propel itself as a data hub in the region.
Meanwhile, the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) announced the establishment of a 280 hectare global data hub centre in Sedenak, Kulaijaya.
Chief Executive Officer Datuk Yasmin Mahmood said groundwork like basic infrastructure were already in place.
“We are currently in talks with several multinational companies to set up operations here.
However, we cannot disclose the value and the parties to date,” she said a press conference.
The data hub, expected to become the key milestone project to make Malaysia a global hub, will be powered by 600 megawatts of electricity and have about one million servers. — Bernama