Opinion | Why Indonesia needs to upgrade data infrastructure as digital services grow exponentially

So-called tier IV data centres are able to handle large amounts of data and transactions successfully, without disruption

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Jakarta currently has 50.2MW data centre capacity with an incremental 70MW in the pipeline by 2021 but demand for digital services is growing. Photo: AP

Published: 6:30am, 21 Nov 2019Updated: 6:53am, 21 Nov 2019

Indonesia has one of the fastest growing mobile user bases in the world – the archipelago is home to 260 million people and is the largest economy in Southeast Asia. Around 65 per cent of the population are active internet users, making it a rich untapped resource for e-commerce giants and global financial institutions.

While the sheer number of connected people sounds promising, it is not the case for local data infrastructure. Its data centres are unable to keep up with current demand, putting organisations at risk of downtime. This may lead to damaged brand reputations and financial losses.

Current data centres have small capacities at about 5 to 10 megawatts, which clearly is not sufficient for the dynamic requirements of a multinational firm. Modern demand calls for scalable, contiguous and reliable systems and there is not anything like that in Indonesia right now.

There is a myriad of practical reasons why it is an opportune time for Indonesia to build its first few tier IV data centres. A tier IV data centre is considered the most advanced and robust of all data centres – with 99.995 per cent availability and two power sources for backup uses.

Newly-inaugurated Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim, founder of tech start-up GoJek, center, poses for a group photo with other cabinet ministers after the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019. Photo: AP

It is intended for companies that need to function with virtually zero downtime, such as financial institutions, government agencies and e-commerce firms. Machine-learning and artificial intelligence software may be applied to help with maintenance and optimisation of data centres, to eliminate any chance of faults and downtime.