Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 47 | Page 68

INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Data Centres Zain Jordan launches ‘The Bunker’ – First of its kind data centre in the Arab World ///////////////////////////// Telecom operator launches the most secure and technically advanced underground data centre in the region and one of very few globally. military grade design and development, highly modernised, fully redundant power, cooling and communications network data centre, situated at the King Hussein Business Park in Amman, Jordan. The Bunker, which is the first of its kind in the region and one of very few worldwide, gives local, regional and international organisations the opportunity to host their IT infrastructure, Disaster Recovery (DR) offices and enhance their ICT business processes. The Bunker is another initiative that exemplifies Zain Jordan’s efforts to spearhead Digital Transformation in the country. The company revolutionised telecommunications in Jordan by introducing GSM mobile services in the country and introduced Fourth Generation services ‘LTE’ for the first time in the Kingdom. The Bunker facility Companies that have very crucial computational functions and important data to store can really value such a facility that provides the highest levels of security and sustainability. When a company uses The Bunker as its main data centre or their Disaster Recovery (backup) location, it is safer than any other conventional building. Fahad AlJasim, Chief Executive Officer at Zain Jordan T elecommunications company Zain has announced the launch of ‘The Bunker’. This is a Tier III Uptime, with 99.982% availability, state-of-the-art, 68 INTELLIGENTCIO Its area measures approximately 4,300 square metres, located 12 metres below ground level. Built with the same specifications as a military-grade underground facility, The Bunker is constructed to the highest standards of security and redundancy requirements. It has dedicated rooms protected by high security 2-ton iron doors and 2 metres thick reinforced concrete walls, giving it the capability to withstand natural disasters, missiles and fires. Furthermore, when a disaster strikes, the cooling, power and connectivity systems are redundant and can be sustained for long periods without any outage. The facility has 24/7 onsite security personnel and advanced surveillance camera security systems (CCTVs). Fahad AlJasim, Chief Executive Officer at Zain Jordan, said: “We see this as a turning point and a milestone in Zain’s journey to be the most advanced telecom operator, to meet the long-term aspirations of our partners, and to help them with a range of services that are at the core of their business, contributing to their aspirations for further success in their organisation.” The technological advancements of IoT, Big Data analytics and cloud services, require substantial computing power, resilient networks and, most importantly, security. Nevertheless, conventional data centres are not disaster proof and provide a mediocre security level. The value proposition of The Bunker is that it provides a colocation space as well as a designed cloud, heavily protected underground and powered by Zain’s resilient network. Companies can avoid large TCOs of building data centres and alternatively adopt an OPEX model through yearly payments. The facility’s location in the heart of Amman is very convenient to IT staff of any company to reach The Bunker where their servers are hosted. The Bunker is not just a data centre. Other than its variety of colocation options, it consists of various DR offices. Customers can rent dedicated or shared offices as well as ‘hot seats’ which can serve as business continuity units in cases of disasters or day to day activities related to their data centre. These spaces span from 20 square metres to 100 square metres and can cater to various customer needs. n www.intelligentcio.com