The cloud computing arm of Scottish media group DC Thomson & Co Ltd is investing £5 million in establishing a new state-of-the-art data centre in Aberdeen.
Dundee Technology Park headquartered brightsolid said the new data facility at the Lang Stracht premises of The Press and Journal, the sister paper of The Courier, would position Aberdeen as a “global tech hub”.
The site will initially comprise 200 high-density computing racks, with a planned second-phase build which will eventually increase the facility’s capacity to 400 racks.
Brightsolid said the site would have the equivalent computing power of 100,000 Macbooks and the ability to store the same amount of data that Facebook currently holds on a global scale when at full capacity.
The build is scheduled to start this month, and the facility is due to open next April.
Richard Higgs, CEO of brightsolid, said: “Aberdeen is the energy capital of Europe, and as such requires a global technology link for the market.”
Mr Higgs added: “We see our new state-of-the-art, tier III Aberdeen data centre as an opportunity to help position the city as a global tech hub by contributing to, and providing the means for, a growing digital economy across all sectors in the north-east of Scotland, ensuring continued growth in the region.”
The data centre will provide a large-scale digital asset compatible with a variety of business sizes within both the public and private sector in Aberdeen.
It will allow for connectivity across the UK and globally and will provide a link from Aberdeen to the world’s other major energy cities.
“For the last 18 months we have been expanding our customers and knowledge in this vital sector,” said Mr Higgs.
“The new facility must and will enable outstanding operational excellence whilst driving down cost,” he added.
“We will also be bringing our full innovation and cloud range directly into Aberdeen, so this commitment is significant.”
Data centre construction specialist Keysource will lead the centre’s build.
“We are delighted to be working with brightsolid to develop this high-performance facility in such an exciting market,” said Mike West, managing director of Keysource.
“We’ve been able to bring our experience of working with organisations across all sectors, but particularly within oil and gas, to provide a highly efficient, flexible solution which caters for the latest high-density IT.”
Brightsolid is also working in partnership with some of the UK’s leading network providers to connect with their local, national and international networks, with a particular focus on the major international energy hubs.