Carlo Malana , President and CEO of ST Telemedia Global Data Centres ( Philippines ), on bold plans to transform the country into a new regional hub
STT GDC PHILIPPINES
Carlo Malana , President and CEO of ST Telemedia Global Data Centres ( Philippines ), on bold plans to transform the country into a new regional hub
When it comes to the digital transformation opportunity in Southeast Asia , it seems the Philippines is on the cusp of something special .
Data centres are booming in the region , and growing connectivity via subsea cables to the United States means the Philippines could be the new gateway and data centre hub for this vibrant region .
There is strong domestic demand too , with the nation ’ s 118 million population spending more time online than any other in the Asia-Pacific region . According to recent data from Statista , the average Filipino spends a whopping 9 hours and 14 minutes per day using the internet , compared to 3 hours 45 minutes in Japan .
Such demand for digital services and internet connectivity is driving the development of data centres in the Philippines – and industry leader ST Telemedia Global Data Centres Philippines ( STT GDC Philippines ) is leading the way with expansion to seven data centres including a 124MW campus under construction . Put into context , the nationwide data centre capacity is currently only around 60MW .
The Philippines ’ Department of Information and Communications Technology ( DICT ) has said it expects that capacity to increase five-fold , to reach 300MW , by 2025 .
With the Philippine digital industry set to grow at a projected CAGR of 20 % through 2030 , STT GDC Philippines ’ President and CEO Carlo Malana says he is seeing “ rapidly growing demand for high-quality co-location services in the Philippines as both cloud service providers and enterprises alike continually expand their business platforms to meet consumers ’ evolving demand for low-latency digital services .”
So how is STT GDC Philippines aiming to deliver on that bold ambition , and why does it see the country as the next big opportunity for data centres in the region ? Malana explains how the company , which only formed in 2022 , is embracing the challenge .
“ It all happened quite fast , we were essentially a startup ,” recalls Malana , when the company was first formed in a joint venture between one of the world ’ s fastest-growing data centre providers Globe Telecom , Singapore-based STT GDC , and conglomerate Ayala Corp .
“ In 2023 , we got real traction and set about changing the company . We started creating most of our capabilities in-house , adapting processes so we could make decisions faster and rapidly respond to customer demands .
54 April 2024