Manx Telecom’s brand new Greenhill Data Centre (GDC) is now open for business as the company announced completion of the ?10million project’s first phase. Department of Economic Development Minister Hon John Shimmin MHK was the guest of honour at an event to mark the opening held on March 27. GDC is located at the Isle of Man Business Park, near to Manx Telecom’s headquarters, and is the company’s third data centre in addition to Douglas North and Douglas Central. GDC is constructed to the same Tier 3 world class specification, and has the same industry accreditations, as Douglas North which already provides hosting services for many leading private sector companies. A Tier 3 data centre means it is built and operated to world class standards of resilience, security and reliability.
Stuart Paul, Manx Telecom Data Centres Director, said:
“The completion of phase one is a significant step for Manx Telecom as it means we now have the only twin Tier 3 data centre set-up with direct connectivity on the Island, providing a uniquely resilient data hosting proposition. When combined with our world class global connectivity, GDC will significantly increase our capacity to provide hosting and managed services solutions in the eGaming, big data and cloud sectors – all of which are important for the continued growth of the Island’s economy. These are the longer term benefits of GDC, but the project has already benefitted the local economy directly as wherever possible we have used on-Island contractors and suppliers including NK Construction, MEA, Easthope & Cubbon Ltd, and Hoare Lea. We’re pleased with the interest in GDC to date and look forward to welcoming our first customers next week”.
To illustrate the incredible technology involved in data hosting, Mr Paul said that in any second of any day Manx Telecom’s data centres would be processing around 500,000 hands of poker for its eGaming clients. And in the few minutes it took for him to give his speech the company’s data centres would process transactions worth US$7million. He illustrated the speed of global data transfer by saying that individual ‘packets’ of data could be sent from the Isle of Man to Macau – a distance of just over 6,000 miles – in just 300milliseconds.
Mr Shimmin welcomed the investment by Manx Telecom and said GDC was the type of project which illustrated how the private sector was supporting Government’s efforts to grow the Island’s economy in a dynamic and sustainable way. He added:
“A world class telecoms and IT infrastructure is vital in both supporting the Isle of Man’s position as a leading international business centre and in delivering Vision2020, the Government’s plan for developing our economic future. It is often at the top of the list of priorities for inward investors. Data centres such as this, when allied to global connectivity, open up a world of opportunities for the Island. Our geographical location is no barrier to international commerce, and we benefit greatly from the continued investment from companies such as Manx Telecom which maintain the high standard of telecoms and IT infrastructure which international business demands. Greenhill Data Centre is another welcome investment by Manx Telecom and a demonstration of its confidence in the future of the Isle of Man economy.”
GDC is being constructed in three phases. The completion of the ?3.5million first phase involved alterations to the existing structure of the building and the installation of mechanical and electrical infrastructure including security and fire prevention systems, air conditioning, and back-up power generators. Phase two will see the installation of an additional 120 data hosting racks at a cost of ?1.5million. Phase three will see the construction of a new purpose-built data centre costing an additional ?5.0 million to further increase space by 320 racks to meet the Island’s growing demands for data hosting capacity. For more information about Manx Telecom’s data hosting solutions go to www.manxtelecom.com/hosting.
Photo - Department of Economic Development Minister Hon John Shimmin MHK congratulates Manx Telecom CEO Mike Dee on the opening of the Greenhill Data Centre.
