Nokia offers tech solutions for data centers

MANILA, Philippines — Technology leader Nokia Corp. wants to build up its ties with local telcos by providing them solutions they require in running their data centers.

In an interview with reporters, Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark announced the company’s desire to become the solutions supplier for data centers in the Philippines, believing that the country has the potential to succeed in the emerging industry.

Lundmark said Nokia remains one of the few innovators that has the capacity to serve the whole ecosystem of telcos, including data centers.

Further, Lundmark said the Philippines can become a data center hub in Southeast Asia as the country is strategically located in the region, making it an attractive destination for tech investments from China and the US.

Telcos like PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. are building data centers in the hope of attracting tech giants to locate here. Tech giants like Amazon, Google and Meta are always on the lookout for data centers where they can store their applications and information.

“Because of AI (artificial intelligence), there is massive data center investment in many parts of the world that we in Nokia believe would be our key growth markets moving forward, including the Philippines,” Lundmark said.

Nokia can provide telcos with data center fabric, referring to the system of servers and switches that work together to deliver information technology services.

The Finnish firm can also supply telcos with data center interconnect, a solution that links one facility with another to speed up the transfer of applications and information.

“Data centers are a major opportunity for the Philippines. You are geographically [and] perfectly located to be a hub between North America and Asia,” Lundmark said.

In the Philippines, PLDT, through ePLDT Inc., leads the data center competition with a portfolio of 10 facilities that can combine for a capacity of 50 megawatts. By July, ePLDT will double that capacity with the opening of VITRO Sta. Rosa, its largest infrastructure to date.

Globe, for its part, is investing $1 billion to build the largest data center in the country scheduled to open in 2025, hosting an initial capacity of 28 megawatts, expandable to 124 MW.

Consultancy giant Arizton Advisory and Intelligence estimates that the data center market in the Philippines will grow by an average of 4.95 percent yearly and will reach at least $288.3 billion by 2027.