The Pulse Data Centre under construction (Source: FKG Group)
FKG Group’s $40 million Tier 3 data centre in Queensland’s Darling Downs region has opened its doors after nearly a year of construction.
The engineering firm’s Pulse Data Centre, which is being billed as the country’s first regional Tier 3 data centre, is based at the Toowoomba Technology Park.
Indeed, the new data centre is set to form the cornerstone of the Technology Park, as part of a broader strategy to develop an innovation precinct in the region, capitalising on the high-speed, low latency, carrier-neutral fibre-optic communications links to the data centre and within the park.
Pulse Data Centre general manager, Peter Blunt, suggested that, with direct inland routes to major commercial centres such as Sydney and Brisbane, the new site’s data centre clients would see a high standard of physically diverse fibre connectivity.
“Customers ranging from leading financial institutions, government to global giants can take advantage of the centre’s flexible offerings, from single racks to extensive private suites, protected by a fully integrated video, building and rack access system,” Blunt said.
FKG Group previously said that the initial data centre building (DC1) would consist of 720 data racks, which would be delivered over four equal stages, with each additional data hall to be fitted out as business demand requires.
When construction of the site was announced last year, Schneider Electric and Telstra were named as partners in the project.
“Together with our key partners, Telstra and Schneider Electric, it is great to be part of the next generation in building innovation, and creating an opportunity to attract national and global tech giants to Toowoomba,” FKG executive chairman, Gary Gardner, said in June last year.
While Schneider Electric Pacific Zone president, Gareth O’Reilly, said it had been a real pleasure to forge a partnership with the FKG Group on the project, the company has made little mention of Telstra upon the data centre’s launch.
It is understood that although Telstra is still involved in the project, the new site is being promoted as being carrier-neutral.
“We chose to partner with Schneider Electric on this land-mark venture not only because of their global reputation and experience in the data centre market, but the innovation demonstrated throughout their Ecostruxure platform and their agility in supporting a project at this scale,” Blunt said.
