Germany’s largest data centre set to drive Deutsche Telekom’s ICT and cloud development
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Germany’s largest data centre set to drive Deutsche Telekom’s ICT and cloud development

Deutsche Telekom has told Capacity Daily that its new data centre is being constructed with the aim of providing international enterprises with a range of cloud services.

The project, being built under the German incumbent’s T-Systems brand, is presently under construction in Biere, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, and will be established as the country’s largest data centre, claims the company. It will launch operations in 2014.

T-Systems operates as the company’s enterprise unit, and a spokesperson confirmed the data centre is being constructed to ensure it has “a bigger base for worldwide increasing demands for cloud services”.

The insider confirmed the company had plans to invest further in ICT in the coming year.

The new facility will occupy a surface area the size of 30 soccer fields, at 150,000 square metres, and the centre will run in conjunction with a data centre in Magdeburg to form a twin core designed to cater to the high demand for cloud services.

Ferri Abolhassan, a member of the board at T-Systems, voiced his confidence that Germany already had a unique advantage in attracting data centre customers due to its federal data protection laws and location.

He said: “The new construction in Biere will become part of our global supply and production network. On the basis of this network with data centres in America, Asia, Africa and Europe, we are providing our customers with the most modern IT and cloud technology across the globe, with the highest availability and security.”

As part of a trend by European operators to find new revenue streams because of declining margins, Deutsche Telekom said an area the size of approximately eight soccer fields will be dedicated to computing technology development.

The data centre is also expected to have 27% lower energy requirements, and will create approximately 100 jobs in Biere and 30 in Magdeburg.

T-Systems plans to lease the data centre once it is ready and will make modernisation investments amounting to tens of millions of euros at an average of every three years.

Deutsche Telekom was in the headlines for the wrong reasons last week, after the company reported a €6.9 billion net loss in its Q3 financial results.

The company attributed a large chunk of the loss to an impairment charge it was hit with following its deal to acquire MetroPCS in the US, but it also suffered a drop in revenues.

European operators across the industry have reported poor results in their Q3 financial figures as a result of increasing prices, higher competition and tougher economic conditions.

Deutsche Telekom said it had accounted for a poor market ecosystem and had lowered guidelines for the year.

“Anyone seeing only the clear net loss is overlooking the fact that our operating business is completely on track. Unlike many of our competitors, we offer reliability,” said René Obermann, chief executive at Deutsche Telekom.

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