Macquarie Data Centres has cemented Sydney’s reputation as a strategic regional data centre hub with the topping out of Intellicentre 3 East (IC3E) – a hyperscale-ready data centre in the heart of the city’s technology precinct at Macquarie Park.
The structural build of the facility was successfully achieved amid COVID-19 lockdowns and distancing regulations.
David Hirst, Group Executive, Macquarie Data Centres, said: “Topping out IC3E, in spite of the many challenges we’ve experienced in 2020, furthers Sydney’s position as a regional data centre hub and Macquarie Data Centres’ key role within it. There’s never been a better time to deliver new capacity in Asia-Pacific – more data is being created from remote work, education and an increased dependence on the digital economy, alongside burgeoning customer expectations for high quality service delivery.”
The internal fit-out is now underway, and will showcase the latest in data centre technology, delivered by the project’s lead engineering consultant HDR | Hurley Palmer Flatt.
IC3E’s state-of-the-art cooling system will not only protect servers within the data centre from extreme external temperatures, but will also leverage the outside climate to deliver one of the most energy-efficient data centres in Sydney.
HDR | Hurley Palmer Flatt Director, Peter Gaston said: “IC3E uses a sophisticated, alternative cooling method to standard chillers to protect stored information from worse-case scenario temperatures. At a time of extreme weather events brought on by climate change, this gives end users with highly valuable data, peace of mind. At the same time, the data centre community has a massive responsibility to improve the efficiency of its assets, and with a PUE of 1.28, IC3E is a stand-out data centre that will appeal to environmentally-conscious end users, from hyperscalers to retail customers.”
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, data centres have been elevated into a new asset class. With more reliance on data centres and the cloud to work, learn and socially interact, they have become a key driver for economic growth.
IC3E is located in the Sydney North Zone, an area rich in cloud ecosystems and connectivity. It is a cornerstone of Macquarie Data Centres’ local data centre campus, which supports the local economy, as well as provides a home for global hyperscalers, Software-as-a-Service providers, and multinational enterprises wanting to access the Australian market.
A key customer is the Australian Government, with whom Macquarie Telecom Group is well engrained. Forty two percent of federal agencies leverage the group’s cyber security, secure internet gateway (SIG) and cloud services.
Construction has been recognised as essential under the Australian COVID-19 regime.This classification that has enabled Macquarie Data Centres and HDR | Hurley Palmer Flatt Group – the engineering provider for all MDC projects – to continue to deliver much-needed facilities throughout 2020.
Among these is the IC5 data centre in Canberra, due to top out within weeks.
Macquarie Telecom Group Chairman, Peter James, said:
“Delivering not one, but two data centres, during a pandemic is no mean feat. Gartner’s latest forecast shows that spending on Australian data centre infrastructure dipped 10.4 per cent in 2020. Macquarie Data Centres has bucked that trend and has invested more than $100 million into data centre infrastructure across this period.”
Below is a full list of IC3 certifications:
- Tier III designed & certified by the Uptime Institute
- ISO 27001
- PCI DSS 3.2
- SCEC Zone 3 & higher
- ISO 45001
- ISO 9001 &
- ISO14001
- SSAE SOC 2
- 120+ NV1 Government Cleared Engineers
Intellicentre 3 (IC3) Data Centre facts and figures:
- AU$85 million – stage 1 investment for IC3 build
- 43MW – size and scale of Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus once IC3 is fully complete · 1.28 – Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)
- 1200 Australian jobs created throughout the build
- 1903 – number of concrete trucks to date
- 780 tonnes of Steel Reinforcement used
- 5km – electrical cabling completed thus far.