KUALA LUMPUR: Southeast Asia’s leading carrier-neutral data centre services provider, AIMS Group (AIMS), is projecting a positive outlook for this year, with the expansion of its regional and local footprint primarily in Thailand and Vietnam.
In a statement yesterday, the group said it wanted to expand locally, given the clear need of purpose-built data centres for companies that require high power usage and large floor space to safeguard their mission-critical data and other Information Technology (IT) infrastructure needs.
It said, the government’s digital transformation initiatives to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI), could further elevate the country to become a sustainable and prosperous digital nation.
“Initiatives such as customised investment incentives amounting up to RM1 bil annually over five years, to attract targeted Fortune 500 companies and global unicorns, will make Malaysia an attractive hub for regional and international companies.
“At AIMS, we are ready to provide our expertise as the leading data centre in the region to help companies expand their regional presence,” said chief executive officer Chiew Kok Hin.
However, he said, high energy costs for data centres in Malaysia, which account for more than 40% of operating costs, continues to be a major hurdle for global data players looking to host or build data centres in the country.
“The main challenges include the lack of choices for utility providers and independent power providers (IPP) and low awareness of the overall contribution that the data centre industry could create for the Malaysian economy, such as in the area of healthcare and education.
“Hence, AIMS would continue to lobby for the re-categorisation of the data centre power tariff to further increase the competitiveness of Malaysia as the regional data centre hub,” he said.
Chiew noted that 2019 has been a successful year for AIMS, hence the group is looking forward to a promising 2020 ahead.
Moving forward, he said the group is exploring opportunities to further establish AIMS Data Centre as a key regional data centre player and operator to further unlock the long term potential of its data centre business.
“Our latest addition to our regional presence is the AIMS Data Centre in Thailand. Our strategy is to replicate AIMS Malaysia’s success and create a similar ecosystem by leveraging on AIMS’ credibility to expand our capability across the region,” he added. – Feb 21, 2020, Bernama
