In times of crisis, Thailand needs reliable, flexible data centre solutions

The data centres’ importance is even more apparent now, with the ongoing Covid-19 crisis and massive digital traffic. Businesses have transitioned to working remotely, online retailers provide our daily necessities and even our communication and social interactions are online.
With growing consumer appetite for information, solid infrastructure and favourable Thailand 4.0 policies – Delta Electronics believes that Thailand has the potential to emerge as a data centre hub for Southeast Asia.
Explosion in data volume
Thailand’s mobile penetration rate is a staggering 134 per cent, and 52 million people are active internet users who spend at least nine hours online daily. And with the current crisis, time spent online will only rise.
According to Google’s e-Conomy SEA 2019 report, Thailand’s internet economy is valued at US$16 billion (Bt523.6 billion) and is expected to grow more than three-fold to $50 billion by 2025.
While data centres form the backbone of the digital economy, a sharp spike in demand can cause many decision-makers to realise the importance of reliable digital infrastructure in business and operational continuity.
In the present climate of growth, a continued development in Thailand’s large-scale government data centres, private sector cloud and colocation type data centre businesses can be expected. Accelerating digital transformation in banking, telecommunication and e-commerce industries will also create new value and opportunities throughout the data centre supply chain.
Rise of hybrid data centres
Over the years, there has been a significant shift in industry from company owned-and-operated data centres to more outsourcing to colocation operators. Global technology and cloud companies are migrating from large-scale data centres to independent operators to cope with rapidly growing demands for cloud storage and computing, as well as to increase profit margin.
We see volume and security as two major factors driving the development of data centre infrastructure towards a more hybrid type, which combines the pros and cons of both cloud and on-premise type data centres.
Hybrid data centres leverage small-sized data centres for local processing and storage of confidential data, in cooperation with cloud data centres to store or process other kinds of non-sensitive digital data.
This means data centre requirements are evolving to suit the needs of multiple small-sized, on-premise data centres rather than a single large-scale centralised one. This approach helps businesses maximise flexibility while minimising cost and maintaining competitiveness.
In a crisis like the Covid-19 outbreak, turnkey data centre solutions and full service from experienced suppliers can help operators become better at anticipating catastrophic events and offer better resilience planning. This crisis offers a good opportunity for more businesses to examine the resilience of their mission-critical systems and consider contingencies and backup for their data centres.
New industry players
The recent partial launch of 5G technology in Thailand means a lot more than just faster data on mobiles. Instead, the 5G technology will drive IoT (internet of things) and form the backbone of new technologies like self-driven cars, smart cities or home and factory automation.
Smart manufacturing platforms require 5G technology to integrate with edge computing for field data processing. Data collected from field devices or sensors on the factory shop floor allow real-time remote processing and big data to make informed decisions in the control rooms. In order to implement edge computing to support 5G infrastructure in time, factory operators should consider prefabricated data centres due to their fast deployment and scale-out abilities.
IoT will also boost micro and colocation data centres that are alternatives to enterprise data centres. IoT devices are also predicted to account for 50 per cent of all networked devices by 2023, while half of all workloads will be run outside the centralised enterprise data centre as early as 2021.
Data centre opportunities in Thailand
In Southeast Asia, Singapore is known for its state-of-the-art data centre industry with strong network connectivity, reliable power supply and conducive business environment. But now the city-state no longer issues new licences for data centres because it has run out of land for such infrastructure.
After Singapore, Thailand looks very promising because its central location makes it ideal for expansion opportunities into neighbouring countries. The country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) zone has incentives for investors, is located less than 30 kilometres from undersea cables and situated more than 100 metres above sea level to protect it from floods.
Overall, prefabricated data centres are a great choice to accelerate Thailand’s digital economy growth in the next couple of years. Any type of data centre chosen, whether it is for UPS ranging from small to large volume electricity backup, precision cooling, indoor and outdoor micro data centres, rack system and data centre management software will be good. Besides local design, installation and after-sales service, locally built data centres are highly reliable, ultra-efficient and excellent in provide immediate success.
With rising demand in Thailand and Asean for a more productive and convenient digital lifestyle, technology-driven IoT adoption and favourable incentives offering great return on investment – we believe it is now time to explore the best data centre opportunities for you.

Sakda Sae-Ueng is the Communication & Information Solutions Regional Director at Delta Electronics (Thailand).

Delta Electronics is the global provider of data centre solutions including UPS, cooling, rack, management software, and prefabricated Point-of-Delivery data centre with industry-leading power usage effectiveness.