Five major data centre service providers in Thailand have banded together in a strategic alliance that aims to transform the country into a major data centre hub for Southeast Asia.
Representatives from the local units of AIMS Data Centre, Evolution DC, NTT Global Data Centers, STT GDC and Telehouse signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) last week to form the Thailand Data Centre Council (TDCC).
The TDCC says its main objective is to promote the data centre sector as a mission-critical industry and establish a network of digital infrastructure service providers in Thailand.
More specifically, the TDCC intends to serve as a representative body for the data centre industry and related sectors, particularly when it comes to regulatory advocacy. The TDCC will also assist members in expanding the potential of their data centre business to compete internationally, foster professional growth among data centre entrepreneurs and personnel in the digital industry, and advocate ethical practices, all aligned with international standards and practices.
The TDCC will also seek opportunities to boost development of Thailand’s data centre industry, with a specific aim to capitalise on the country’s potential to become a data centre hotbed for the Southeast Asian region.
“Thailand’s strategically advantageous geographic location and supportive digital policies have positioned it as an attractive destination for investments from global digital service providers and data centre operators,” the council said in a statement.
The TDCC also cites figures from Statista that forecast Thailand’s data centre market revenue to rise from just over US$2 billion in 2023 to US$2.83 billion within five years, which it says positions the sector as a critical industry for the country.
The TDCC announcement comes amid a surge of data centre activity in the ASEAN region as demand for cloud and digital services continues to rise and Singapore’s data centre sector reaches maturity.
Last week, Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) formed a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Investment of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to develop data centres in Malaysia and boost the country’s status as a major regional player in the digital economy.
Earlier this month, Telkom Indonesia’s NeutraDC and BDx Indonesia partnered with Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) to establish an interconnected Internet Exchange (IX) ecosystem to establish a more reliable data centre infrastructure in Indonesia to satisfy local and regional demand.
Late last year, service providers such as STT GDC, Globe Telecom and PLDT announced plans to build more data centres in the Philippines. Vietnam has also been attracting a significant amount of data centre investment in the last couple of years.
