Las Vegas firm Switch to build largest data center in Thailand
BY LARRY BANKS


Cooling towers at the SuperNAP data center in Las Vegas, built and operated by Switch. (Photo: Switch)

BANGKOK: -- Las Vegas-based Switch is to partner with the Thai government and banks to build what the firm says will be the largest data center in Thailand.

The Asia Pacific region has been a huge emerging market for data center services. With the region, the leading markets are China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and Japan. Thailand isn’t yet one of hte top markets in the region, but at least some of Switch’s partners will be taking space in the new facility, reducing the business risk of entering the new market.

The company’s announcement mentions executives from partners Kasikorn Bank and Siam Commercial Bank, saying they plan to use the data center to improve their ability to serve customers.

Full story: http://ethailand.com/business-news/switch-to-build-largest-data-center-in-thailand/1391/

-- eThailand 2016-01-18

I hope they checked the Internet bandwidth they will get before signing the contract....

I hope they checked the Internet bandwidth they will get before signing the contract....

I would guess the Data Centre connection would be via the likes of Dark Fibre, fast and secure

I hope they checked the Internet bandwidth they will get before signing the contract....

I would guess the Data Centre connection would be via the likes of Dark Fibre, fast and secure

I had a great adsl connection for the last few years, now it struggles to open a page sometimes and I have to use my phone.... A lot of people have noticed delayed speeds since the great firewall was "not" installed....

I hope they checked the Internet bandwidth they will get before signing the contract....

I would guess the Data Centre connection would be via the likes of Dark Fibre, fast and secure

I had a great adsl connection for the last few years, now it struggles to open a page sometimes and I have to use my phone.... A lot of people have noticed delayed speeds since the great firewall was "not" installed....

Someone locked on to your WiFi and hogging the bandwidth with torrents?

I hope they checked the Internet bandwidth they will get before signing the contract....

I would guess the Data Centre connection would be via the likes of Dark Fibre, fast and secure

I had a great adsl connection for the last few years, now it struggles to open a page sometimes and I have to use my phone.... A lot of people have noticed delayed speeds since the great firewall was "not" installed....

Someone locked on to your WiFi and hogging the bandwidth with torrents?

No,not hacker's for sure , just the international bandwidth is very conjested at peak times.... Check the it forum... Its happening to a lot of people nowadays...

I hope they checked the Internet bandwidth they will get before signing the contract....

You would be surprised how fast internet access can be on some location. of course, we are talking Corporate access.

When my internet slows down I turn on the VPN/proxy server...it could be my imagination but I think that speeds it up.

I wouldn't be surprised if the government requires a "backdoor" in to the data center.

Just think of the value of trade secrets and proprietary business information.

I hope they checked the Internet bandwidth they will get before signing the contract....

I would guess the Data Centre connection would be via the likes of Dark Fibre, fast and secure

Have you not looked up and seen the cabling along Sukhumvit?

I hope they checked the Internet bandwidth they will get before signing the contract....

And the single gateway.

It seems odd that you'd build a data center in a country that is as hot as Thailand is for most of the year. Perhaps the data center is for the Thai government and banks? It wasn't clear from the OP. In that case, the international speed is of no concern.

I wouldn't be surprised if the government requires a "backdoor" in to the data center.

Just think of the value of trade secrets and proprietary business information.

The first thing I thought about was data security. Any rules pertaining to the security of the data on these servers could and probably will be by passed if there is enough profit to be made. Another drawback is that Thailand is not a stable society, it is held togetherby the continuance of a certain person, if that ceases then we are entering an unknown situation. As a 'farang' that worries me a little. I do not think an international data centre is a wise business venture, regardless of any current guarantees of security.

I hope they checked the Internet bandwidth they will get before signing the contract....

And the single gateway.

If the datacentre is aiming at the domestic market the single gateway might be a bonus for them as it would make it more beneficial for some companies to host data here.

Given that this sort of project is exactly want the junta needs right now i would assume significant concesions and benefits have been secured which may include longterm access to intl bandwidth and privacy issues.

The "real" story behind this is:

"Las Vegas-based Switch is to partner with the Thai government and banks to build what the firm says will be the largest data center in Thailand."

Since no data center firm in their right mind will just come here to set up shop to run a business. this is a joint venture with partners Kasikorn Bank and Siam Commercial Bank together with the government, even to the extent of it being a subsidiary, that i would guess is 51% owned by the Thai partners.....

"A senior executive at one of the banks will also be the chairman of SuperNap Thailand, the subsidiary of Switch that was set up to build and operate the data center."

Amazon that is one of the biggest Cloud Infrastructure Services with data centers globally have two major locations in Asia (Singapore and Japan) And that i guess has something to do with bandwidth

"This unique data center design will not only bring innovative technology to the Kingdom, but will also attract international investors”, said Deepak Sarup, executive VP of Siam Commercial Bank and SuperNap Thailand chairman"

I would not count on it with the current libel and data laws, as one can be sued and imprisoned for storing someone else's data (like a data center do), and don't get me started on the security issues.........

“The facility will play an important role to support the country’s business development by showcasing Thailand as a regional hub for data centers”.

Been a while since we have heard about the Hub of things

Edited January 18, 201610 yr by torpedo1970

Man, these Vegas firms sure love to gamble...

I bet they dont know about the single gateway

The Indians staffing the new center will have less of a distance to travel from their home country.

Obviously a Data Super Centre is required in Thailand to store all those gazillions of bytes of Selfie photos and Facebook/Line posts that are so beloved of the populace.

raises some questions about privacy if the servers are physically in Thailand.

in a country without real safe deposit boxes, or self storage without the owner be required to inspect your belongings.

but in a country where suspects confess 100% of the time, passwords should be no problem. so start uploading! back those phones up.

First, the largest data center in Thailand is probably irrelevant~I mean, what is the biggest now?

Also, I upgraded to 3BB fiber at 30 meg for 1200 a month. The speeds come in consistently above the advertised rates. It's worth the extra money...

Lastly, there will be no hub. Maybe Malaysia, or soon Myanmar, as they are building an infrastructure from scratch with Japanese, Singaporean, European and US companies. They don't fool themselves that they are the all knowing center of the universe~assuming that the government can stay on track.

Edited January 18, 201610 yr by Redline

raises some questions about privacy if the servers are physically in Thailand.

in a country without real safe deposit boxes, or self storage without the owner be required to inspect your belongings.

but in a country where suspects confess 100% of the time, passwords should be no problem. so start uploading! back those phones up.

What do you mean, "without real safe deposit boxes"?

And also what do you mean, "self storage without the owner be required to inspect your belongings"?

Plenty of safe deposit boxes. Kasikorn even has the latest robot safe deposit boxes where human bank staff are not needed.

As for self storage, don't you put your own padlock on the door?

Anyone with actual experience with Data Centers in Thailand? I have my doubt after reading some of the comments ...

Edited January 18, 201610 yr by singa-traz

Anyone with actual experience with Data Centers in Thailand? I have my doubt after reading some of the comments ...

I can tell you that many of those comments are nonsense. I was from the Data Center hosting services and was a senior manager with one of the largest IT services company in the world before leaving the ICT industry. There are many co-location data centers in Thailand, not as many as Malaysia or Singapore but close enough. It is very fun when I read comments from TV people that do not know what they are writing.

I think it's a great idea. Infrastuctures pretty good in Thailand.

Tonight on thai tv the government committed to fibre broadband delivered to every village.

I think it's a great idea. Infrastuctures pretty good in Thailand.

Tonight on thai tv the government committed to fibre broadband delivered to every village.

This and previous government committed to a lot of things... I wouldn't build my hopes up just yet.... They also committed to a fast election and where is that?

Anyone with actual experience with Data Centers in Thailand? I have my doubt after reading some of the comments ...

I can tell you that many of those comments are nonsense. I was from the Data Center hosting services and was a senior manager with one of the largest IT services company in the world before leaving the ICT industry. There are many co-location data centers in Thailand, not as many as Malaysia or Singapore but close enough. It is very fun when I read comments from TV people that do not know what they are writing.

I visited many DC in the region during the dotcom time ... 15 years ago, interesting time.

Yep, too many uneducated comments sometime on TV :-)

I hope they checked the Internet bandwidth they will get before signing the contract....

I would guess the Data Centre connection would be via the likes of Dark Fibre, fast and secure

Have you not looked up and seen the cabling along Sukhumvit?

Unless you're being flippant I suggest you & others spend a few minutes research on Dark Fibre technology that's already been implemented in Thailand

According to this

http://www.datacentermap.com/thailand/

Thailand has 14 data centers

and the UK 238

http://www.datacentermap.com/united-kingdom/

Cost factors into the reason of the move one would think and maybe the governments willingness to allow ease of red tape. And shades of Las Vegas Is a casino project coming in near future? These US Execs don't go investing if a profit can't be made.