BCN Holds Data Center Providers’ Panel Discussion

“Weekly BCN (Business Computer News),” one of the leading IT publications in Japan, held a panel discussion among data center providers, entitled “Current Status and Strategy Presented by Key Persons of Major Data Center Providers” in late April in Tokyo. Hiroshi Esaki, Professor at the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo, and a member of the Japan Data Center Council Board of Directors participated as moderators, while KVH featured on the panel with and other data center providers including IDC Frontier, IIJ, Equinix Japan, Kanden System Solutions, Sakura Internet, and Bit-Isle.

Since the East Japan Earthquake of March 11 last year, almost all enterprises have had to review their Business Continuity Plan (BCP) measures and the power shortage issues caused by the nuclear power plant crisis in Fukushima have been regarded as a major societal issue. Under the current circumstances, the role of Data Center providers is becoming more important from both a BCP and energy savings perspective.

At first, the panel discussed the recent issue of TEPCO’s electricity rate hike and how this has impacted fundamentals of data center business operations. This was followed by explanation on each provider’s strategy and plan to broaden their data center capabilities to local regions or overseas.

It was stated that most data centers are currently concentrated in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and that a crisis response system should be seriously considered in preparation for a possible Tokyo Metropolitan Earthquake. Moreover, the panelists suggested several ideas on how they could each, as data center providers, collaborate to advance the data center industry as a whole.

Kenji Hioki, Executive Vice President, Sales of KVH noted, “Since the Earthquake last year, the demand for KVH domestic data centers has been steadily increasing. In TDC1 in Tokyo, trading-related systems are continuing to accumulate and contribute to the financial ecosystem following the market expansion of high speed electric trading in Japan and the rest of Asia. TDC2, which was opened as a hub for financial BCP and Cloud in Inzai City, Chiba last February, has been attracting demand for primary data center space due to its good location and robust foundations. As the occupancy rate has reached 65% in bookings, we have started planning the launch of the second phase of construction.”

Hioki added, “To address the global needs of our customers, of which 40% are foreign affiliated companies and 40% are from the financial services sector, we are planning to expand our data centers as well as network with partners in major financial cities across Asia. For example, we plan to start a service offering at Koscom’s new Busan Data Center, where we established a strategic alliance last September, from the second quarter (April – June) of this year. The service addresses the DR/BCP needs of various industries, including manufacturing, in addition to high-speed electronic trading needs.”

This panel discussion will be featured in “Weekly BCN” in further detail.