Exabytes, Open DC sign agreement for Penang Data Centre

• Rejuvenating the data center, cloud ecosystem in Penang, Northern Malaysia 
• The JV agreement results in the established of Open DC Penang

Digital and e-commerce solution provider Exabytes has entered into a joint venture agreement with Open DC, one of the nation’s telecom-hub datacenter providers.

Open DC is also the company that founded Johor Bahru Internet Exchange (JBIX) which subsequently merged into DE-CIX Malaysia to form DE-CIX JBIX Internet Exchange.

In a statement, Exabytes said the partnership will contribute to the enhancement of the current data centre infrastructure as well as the development of new products and services.

This will be made available to the local Internet ecosystem, thus complementing both the local and federal digital development roadmaps in terms of digital infrastructure, it said.

The data centre will also offer local internet connections to Penang businesses clients with a more convenient and accessible location, it added. 

Both parties signed the joint venture agreement on September 20 to establish Open DC Penang Sdn Bhd (ODCP) which will be 51% and 49% owned by Open DC and Exabytes respectively. Upon incorporation, ODCP will own and operate the data centre currently operated by Exabytes in Suntech Penang Cybercity.

Chief executive officer and founder of Exabytes Chan Kee Siak said that the strategic partnership with Open DC would propel Penang as a potential data centre hub to support small medium enterprises (SMEs) and multinationals (MNCs) in Malaysia, making it a prominent internet hub.

“We aim to rejuvenate the data center and cloud ecosystem in Penang and northern Malaysia whilst also helping businesses in Penang prepare themselves for the industrial revolution 4.0,” he said.

Weng Yew Wong, managing director of Open DC said, “As the operator for JB1 and JB2, Open DC is excited to partner with Exabytes to advance the development of digital hubs in Penang. 

“Our team has conceptualised and operated high-quality data centre facilities while improving Malaysia’s internet speeds.

“This partnership will act as a seeding initiative for future data center developments in the northern region and further boost the digital transformation initiative in Penang.”

Additionally, low latency connectivity, carrier-neutral data centre, telecom hub, and digital hub will be made available to the general public via the data centre's infrastructure, Exabytes said.

The data centre will also offer edge computing, Internet of things and Industry 4.0 capabilities, as well as data and cloud services disaster recovery and business continuity services, it said.

The partnership marks the beginning of the working relationship as Open DC and Exabytes aim at establishing more initiative and potential collaboration with other regional players in the country and Southeast Asia.