With increasing data traffic and digital consumption in the new normal combined with the Philippines aspirations of being a regional hub, demand for data centres that support edge computing and cloud operations is accelerating rapidly. As more corporations aim to localise content for business efficiency, data centres – storage, analytics and solutions – offers a plethora of advantages. Data and related services are processed in edge data centres, which are located close to end-users. Latency decreases, websites will load faster and video streaming will be significantly better if content delivery providers use facilities closer to the customer.
Emerging trends in the Philippines show that new companies would be able to enter the Philippines market due to the rapid growth and development of data centre projects. By 2020, the Philippines data centre market was worth USD 280 million in terms of investment. Enterprise spending on cloud services is predicted to rise from USD 1.8 billion to USD 2.6 billion in 2024.
Against this backdrop, the Philippine government has developed the Integrated Government Philippines (iGovPhil) Programme aimed at enabling a whole-of-government ICT transition that will allow for strategic integration and improved efficiency across government organisations. The integrated strategy includes infrastructure, services, applications and tools to improve public service and governance by streamlining processes and improving service delivery.
One of iGovPhil’s objectives is to establish the physical infrastructure to connect government departments, and the government data centre (GDC) fulfils that goal. Many government services, including cloud computing, web hosting, server colocation, and other operations, are launched from here. Several government departments run their own data centres or outsource their data centre requirements. The current tendency in government is to consolidate data centres, not only to save money but also to optimise ICT resources and operations, as well as to address data security concerns. The GDC allows government entities to exchange data and collaborate more efficiently.
Most recently, with the country’s rapid adoption of digital technology, a Philippine telecom provider is considering expanding its data centres and using the high growth potential to serve more businesses in the country.
OpenGov Asia earlier reported that another tech company will be constructing the country’s “first and largest” data centre, which will serve the vast power and IT needs of global hyperscalers. It is expanding its data centre network to support and provide the considerably larger needs of hyperscalers, notably to service their availability zones, which are the key nodes of their worldwide network for delivering cloud products. The facility will be telco-neutral and will incorporate sustainability in its design and operations. The facility will be Tier-3 certified and Tier-4 ready when it launches.
The telco company maintains the country’s largest network of data centres which are supported by the company’s 524,000-kilometre fibre optic network that connects the Philippines to the rest of the world. These facilities are connected to the telco company’s participation in 14 international submarine cable systems and one terrestrial system that carries data traffic in and out of the Philippines, with three more new submarine cables in construction, including the Jupiter Cable, Apricot Cable, and Asia Direct Cable.
