Saudi Arabia"s leading digital company STC is continuing its data centers project Phase 3, the region"s biggest project of Data Center Construction at one time, after having completed Phase 1 & 2. The new phase of constructing its next-generation cloud-enabled Data Centers, expanding presence and capacity, accelerating the implementation of the Kingdom’s digital transformation objectives, will be providing world-class seamless data distribution with energy optimization solutions, which align with the environmental sustainability Saudi Arabia goals. Designed and built to excel in capacity, functionality, operational integrity and efficiency, the investment signifies STC’s leadership role in digital transformation across the MENA region. STC next step is improving the “time to value”, “customer experience and self-service capabilities”, “innovative partnership models”, “focusing on faster, smarter and better services” as well as all business ambitious requirements. STC is now implementing Phase 3 of its new ERA Data Center Construction Program with Phase 1 completed in 2019 and Phase 2 already is in the final commissioning stage. The Tier III enhanced Data Centers is a planned IT Computing power at maximum capacity of 125 MW, with allocated land scape area of more than 180,000 sqm is part of STC"s broader ambition and it’s overall strategy to provide best in class digital and telecommunication services across the Kingdom. STC Data Centers program constitutes of 16 Data Centers that include 17,000 racks which will be incorporating 8 parallel projects distributed across multiple zones within 6 cities, makes this the biggest program of Data Center Construction at one time, across the region. The program will create critical digital availability zones that will provide a full range of services together with world-class security and service management as well as safety measures of asset’s, across key cities such as Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam. STC is building new Data Centers that incorporate a modular smart design, fully Hyper-scaler compliant and deliver highly resilient infrastructure availability. On top of the Design & Construction excellence, the latest connectivity technologies are used to assure resilient and smooth traffic flow between different technical facilities and maintain business continuity. The world-class Data Centers are part of STC"s overall strategy to provide enhanced digital and telecommunication services across all major cities in the Kingdom. The construction program for six sites is now under way, with Phase 3 expected to be completed in 12 months, with a total IT compute power capacity of 125 MW and a broader ambition for future growth in only 8 months, with Phase 1 completed in 2019 and Phase 2 in the final stage of commissioning. Haithem Alfaraj, STC chief technology officer, stated: "We have big plans for our Data Centers to become a gateway for the MENA infrastructure. STC is now established to be the leading data platform in the region and supporting the demand for international connectivity. “We aim not only to build new Data Centers but also expand our existing ones to ensure STC is fully equipped to meet the future growing demands of our customers.” He concluded, “STC is geared up to grow-on-demand with its unique Data Center solution, by easily replicating a standardized design, that could exceed 300 MW of our current computing power capacity by reacting quickly to the market.” Mohammed Alabbadi, STC chief wholesale officer, stated: “These Data Centers are vital components of our premier digital hub offering that STC announced towards the end of 2020. Aligned with the Saudi Vision 2030 goals, it enables Saudi Arabia as a center of digitalization, attracting local and foreign direct investments. “Digital hub will be available, as a one-stop-shop experience, to all customer segments including local, regional and global, in a carrier-neutral environment. Enabling a locally hosted eco-system of hyper-scalers, cloud, content, and enterprises, providing the best customer experience. We envision future growth driven by evolution to cloud 4.0 and subsequently to Industry 4.0.” He continued, “These DCs will be enabled with the vast national, regional and global connectivity networks, offering high resilience and diversity, that STC owns and is investing on as a leading regional interconnection platform developed as an agile model to capitalize on the rapidly growing infrastructure and services market opportunities.” The first two phases of the program have enabled STC to lead edge digital products and services to the MENA region like never before and contribute to positioning the Kingdom as a major international technology hub.” — SPA