Satyendra Pathak
Doha
In a bid to establish Qatar as one of the biggest Information and Communication Technology (ICT) service providers in the Middle East region, telecom major Ooredoo is planning to almost double the capacity of its five data centres from 55,000 square feet currently to 100,000 square feet in the near future.
Ooredoo, which officially launched its first data centre named Qatar Data Centre (QDC) in 2006, has completed 10 years of its data centre business offering local and regional companies a full suite of enterprise services.
To mark the completion of Ooredoo's 10 years in data centre operations, the Minister of Transport and Communication HE Jassim bin Saif al Sulaiti inaugurated the new server floor at Ooredoo's Qatar Data Centre 5 (QDC5) in Doha on Monday.
Ooredoo's first facility QDC1 was approximately 2,000 square feet and provided only colocation and basic reporting services. Over the past decade, Ooredoo's data centre offering has grown manifold. The company now manages and operates five data centres with a capacity of more than 55,000 square feet.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Sulaiti said that Qatar Data Centres operated by Ooredoo contributed to the growth of businesses in Qatar by expanding the scope of solutions and technologies that were available to them.
Citing Ooredoo as one of the leading companies in providing data services in the region, the minister said,"The Ministry of Transport and Communications is focusing its attention on positioning Qatar as a leading nation for the digital economy, and has made significant strides towards achieving that leadership role."
He stressed the need to intensify efforts to ensure network safety and security across Qatar.
He also emphasised that the ministry was working on enhancing market conditions and making existing and knowledge-sharing easier.
Ooredoo Chairman Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud al Thani said that the company's data centres had evolved as the most advanced and sophisticated facility in the region and continued to enable businesses to achieve greater efficiencies and deliver significant success.
"We will continue to invest in new services and solutions for our customers and look forward to further innovation in the future," he said.
Ooredoo Qatar Chief New Line of Business Officer Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad bin Nasser al Thani said,"QDC 5 is one of the first data centres to deploy 'Data Centre Infrastructure Management', which monitors the facility's capacity, space, power and cooling through one integrated platform."