Spark Digital has opened the NZ$60 million ($47.8 million) Takanini data center in New Zealand designed to protect data for cloud services.
The company said the facility is the flagship project in an ongoing NZ$200 million ($159.4 million) investment by Spark Digital in its Spark Cloud Services.
The investment includes the acquisition of leading cloud service providers Revera and Appserv, the building of a Christchurch data center to support the rebuild, an upgrade to the existing Dunedin data center and the soon-to-be completed construction of a third data center in Wellington.
Spark Digital CEO Tim Miles said, “At Spark Digital we believe the future for New Zealand business is digital and we are bringing about that future by investing in infrastructure and expertise.”
“It doesn’t matter if you are a start-up business, an SME beavering away in the engine room of the New Zealand economy or a major government or private enterprise our range of Spark Cloud Services can provide the spark that powers your data engine and digital future,” he said.
Multiple electricity sources back-up the electricity supply to the data halls while both the electricity and cooling systems are demand linked for efficiency and sustainability.
The building’s foundations stretch 19 meters down to bedrock while its position on top of soft peat protects the hall from vibration – an important feature for data storage. It’s positioned away from flight paths but close to road transport and data fiber links and is in an area rated as a low risk from tsunami.
“This is as good as it can get in New Zealand with its Tier 3 international rating. That means our customers can expect zero to a maximum 1.6 hours unplanned down time in a year when utilizing our services,” Miles said. “The next level of international rating is military grade and can’t be built here because we don’t have competing national electricity networks.”