Optus parent company SingTel expands Hong Kong data centre, following Cisco and Telstra’s cloud moves in Asia

SingTel, the Singapore-based parent company of Australian telecommunications giant Optus, has announced plans to expand a major data centre in Hong Kong, after Telstra announced plans to offer cloud-based services across Asia.

The telco has announced it is launching a major new data centre in Hong Kong, called the SingTel EXPAN Tseung Kwan O Data Centre, at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park in Sai Kung.

The new facility will be the company’s second in the city, with the company already operating a data centre in Shatin, with both catering to business in the Greater China region.

Aside from direct connections to SingTel’s backhaul network, the new facility will include redundant capacity components, along with independent power distribution paths for servers and IT equipment.

The company says it will offer a number of cloud-based services, including managed network solutions, unified communications, video solutions, security solutions, and systems integration.

In a statement, SingTel Group enterprise business products vice president Goh Boon Huat says the new facilities will boost SingTel’s existing cloud capabilities across the Asia Pacific region.

“With the commissioning of this new centre, SingTel’s EXPAN data centre footprint will grow to 14 in the Asia Pacific region. SingTel’s customers can leverage our global hosting capabilities and Wide Area Network (WAN) to connect their offices around the world.

“Together with SingTel’s network of regional data centres, Tseung Kwan O Data Centre enables MNCs to diversify their network and strengthen their geographical presence.”

The latest SingTel announcement comes as competition for cloud-based network applications and services heats up across the Asia Pacific region.

SingTel/Optus’ Australian rival, Telstra, is undertaking a major shift in its business away from traditional telecommunications services, towards cloud services across the Asia Pacific region.

Late last month, Telstra announced a major partnership with network equipment giant Cisco Systems that will see its networks incorporated into Cisco’s “Global Intercloud”, which it claims will be the world’s largest network of cloud computing services.

The network is based on OpenStack open source cloud computing software, with Cisco anticipating it will invest $US1 billion in infrastructure for the project.

Aside from data centres owned by Telstra and Cisco, the cloud hosting network will include data centres owned by a range of companies globally, including Allstream, Canopy, Ingram Micro, IT and managed services provider Logicalis Group, MicroStrategy, OnX Managed Services, SunGard Availability Services and Wipro.

The shift has also seen Telstra acquire cloud-based services businesses O2 and NSC, form a cloud computing joint venture with Telkom Indonesia and begin offering a cloud-based multipoint video conferencing service called Blue Jeans Network in Australia.

Meanwhile, the carrier has sold a 70% stake in its Sensis directory advertising business to US-based private equity firm Platinum Equity for $454 million.

The company has also divested its stake in Hong Kong-based mobiles business, CSL, to HKT Limited for $US2.425 billion in December of last year.