RHB Leads the Way for Green Data Centres
Albert Bruno Augustine - Head, Group IT Infrastructure Services & Johari Ariff Bin Osman – Head, Data Centre Facility, at RHB Banking Group
As the business world moves at an incredibly fast pace, matching the overwhelming demand for information has fueled many organisations into placing their confidence in privately owned data centers. With global internet traffic moving at lightning speed and the amount of data produced annually expected to reach 180 ZB, or 180 trillion Gigabytes, by 2025, data centres are becoming increasingly valuable additions to many businesses as they prove to be a dependable extension of their IT team. This increasingly indispensable factor for success necessarily calls for an even more secure, reliable and cost-effective data centre infrastructure.
Recognising the need for efficient and intelligent data management, RHB Banking Group took a huge step forward at the time with the commissioning of its data centre back in 2002. Since then, much has changed, and in 2017, the Group reviewed its data centre operations and undertook an upgrade to address power, cooling and network infrastructure as well as performance requirements. Taking into consideration its infrastructure needs as well as its commitment towards integrating sustainable practices into its business and operations, the Group embarked on a green data centre initiative in line with its Sustainability Framework, which is premised on three key pillars - Sustainable and Responsible Banking, Embedding Good Practices and Enriching and Empowering Communities. The integration of Sustainability principles into its business strategy and decision making process enables the Group to continuously deliver value for its shareholders, customers, employees and all other stakeholders. In leveraging on resources more effectively to achieve better results, the green data centre was designed with a layout that offers maximum functionality, while optimizing the usage of space and visibility for more efficient consumption. In addition to that, as a sustainable facility, the data centre holds greater capacity for more efficient power and cooling systems. Evolving with the needs and demands of data management within the organization, by 2019, RHB’s data centre expanded its floor space by 8,100 sq ft to accommodate the Group’s growing business data and product expansion efforts. Comprising the latest technology and network infrastructure, the data centre reinforces RHB’s contribution towards sustainable development and to facilitate the country’s transition towards a low carbon and climate resilient economy. Built to optimize energy consumption and reduce carbon emission, the enhanced data centre’s infrastructure is in accordance with the Uptime Institute DC Tier III requirements. The new floor space was designed with state-of-the-art infrastructure that includes industry best practices and the latest technology.Recognising the need for efficient and intelligent data management, RHB Banking Group took a huge step forward at the time with the commissioning of its data centre back in 2002
