James Kon
Unified National Networks Sdn Bhd (UNN) is investing in an eco-efficient data centre to meet Brunei’s increasing digital needs following the signing of an agreement with Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, to design and construct its data centre facility in the country.
Slated to begin construction next month, UNN’s prefab data centre will have the capacity to host data and IT services infrastructure of government and private businesses in Brunei.
Together with other existing data centre locations of UNN in the country, the capacity and services can be provided in geo-redundancy.
In line with this, UNN opted for Vertiv’s prefabricated modular data centre as opposed to the traditional brick-and-mortar design owing to its speed, flexibility and modularity that is quick to deploy, install and set-up.
Special attention was paid to achieve high energy efficiency for the new facility.
Signing on behalf of UNN were Deputy Permanent Secretary (Infocommunications) at the Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications and UNN Director Haji Hairul Mohd Daud bin Haji Abdul Karim and Chief Executive Officer Dr Steffen Oehler, witnessed by Head of Procurement Nurul Hayati binti Mohammad Zabidi while signing on behalf of Vertiv were Country Manager Malaysia and Brunei Teoh Wooi Keat and Senior Director Telecom Sales Asia Danny Wong, witnessed by Head of Telecom Sales Malaysia and Brunei Kevin Khon.
According to UNN, Vertiv was selected to fulfil the first phase of the project, consisting of 200 racks to support UNN’s goal of establishing a state-of-the-art high-availability data centre facility in line with Brunei’s digitalisation roadmap. UNN was established in 2018 to manage Brunei’s digital telecommunication infrastructure offering wholesale telecommunication services to both national and international clients. It also supports Brunei Vision 2035 which aims to develop a dynamic and sustainable economy, backed by widespread implementation of technology across key sectors.
“The benefits of a prefabricated modular data centre design certainly outweigh that of traditional brick-and-mortar approaches. By compressing time-consuming processes such as distinct engineering, site preparation, installation and start-up, a prefab design can bring a facility online by as much as 30 per cent faster than traditional builds. This is especially important for a customer like UNN who is looking to deploy fast and scale with agility,” said Danny Wong.
The prefab data centre designed by Vertiv for UNN will be housed in flat pack containers and designed according to Uptime Institute’s Data Centre Standards for electrical (Tier IV) and mechanical (Tier III). The prefab data centre will also contain Vertiv’s state-of-the-art solutions, including the modular Vertiv™ Liebert® APT, the Vertiv™ Powerbar iMPB busbar system, and cooling solution, among others.
“After evaluating several vendors, Vertiv is the most suitable to meet our design, technical and operational requirements. We evaluated the benefits of a prefab design and believe it is the best approach that meets our vision at UNN. We look forward to working with Vertiv for this massive data centre project,” said Nurul Hayati.
With an estimated turn-key construction time frame of 10 months, UNN’s Phase 1 prefab data centre facility is expected to open in the early quarter of 2024.
“Not only are prefab data centres faster and more efficient to build than traditional approaches, they also meet UNN’s desire to increase efficiency and reduce emissions. We are pleased to be selected by UNN for this project – the first prefab data centre deployment for Vertiv in Brunei.
“Vertiv and UNN are fully committed to work together to achieve Brunei’s digital transformation goals of becoming a digital economy,” said Teoh Wooi Keat.
“UNN is embarking on a giant leap in its digital vision with the construction of one of the most advanced data centres in Southeast Asia,” said UNN Senior Vice President of Data Centre and IT Daniele Cuocci.
“Our 200-rack cutting-edge facility is a critical step in Brunei’s mission to become a leader in digital innovation and establish itself as a key player in the region. Designed to the highest standards, our new data centre is equipped with the latest technology and redundant systems to ensure maximum uptime and reliability. It will have the capacity to host a wide range of mission-critical applications and services, from finance to healthcare and government services as well as enabling the future onboarding low latency gaming and cloud services.”
