CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Mr. Ankit Saraiya, Director, Techno Electronic & Engineering Co. Ltd
- How well is the Data Center industry growing in India? How is Techno DC positioned to cater to the demand in India?
The Data Center industry in India is witnessing tremendous growth driven by the rise in cloud services, OTT platforms, social media, gaming, along with the government’s push for digital transformation in various sectors. Over the last three years, the market grew by over 48 percent to 800 MW of installed capacity in 2022, a trend set to continue with the advent of 5G, and data localization. CRISIL estimates that India will add between 890 and 900 MW of capacity between 2023 and 2025, with the value of the market expected to reach $10.09 billion by 2027.
Techno Electric & Engineering Company Ltd. (TEECL) is uniquely positioned to cater to this demand with a rich history of four decades in the power infrastructure sector and experience in Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC). By leveraging its multidisciplinary expertise, TEECL aims to deliver customized, high-quality data center solutions, focusing on carbon-neutral operations. Additionally, Techno’s experience in land acquisition and statutory compliance, adherence to strict project timelines, and strong financials make it a reliable partner in the growing Data Center industry.
- What goes into deciding the location for setting up a data center?
Choosing a location for a data center involves multiple considerations:
- Customer Demand: Data centers should be near the majority of users to reduce latency and ensure faster access.
- Infrastructure: Proximity to emergency services, local amenities, and transportation services. The availability of a reliable and affordable supply of power is an important factor, as power is the raw material of data centers.
- Availability of Manpower: Data centers need to be close to a skilled workforce.
- Cable Landing Stations: Proximity to these stations is vital as they connect submarine cables to terrestrial networks.
- Land Supply: Affordable land are essential to keep the budget in check.
- State Policies: Incentives offered by states can promote investment in data centers.
- What is Techno DC’s business model going to be in this segment?
Our business model is largely going to be one of the following:
DC Operator: Techno is investing $1 billion by FY 2030 to establish 250 MW capacity data centers across India, including a under construction 24MW capacity facility in Chennai.
EPC Partner: Techno will serve as the go-to EPC partner for DC operators in India.
Strategic Partner: Techno aims to partner with DC developers, assisting them in land acquisition, statutory compliance, design, EPC, testing and commissioning, end to end single point solution provider.
- According to you, where is India positioned on the global data center map?
India is quickly becoming a hotspot for data center investments due to increased digitization, government initiatives, availability of renewable energy etc. Factors like the Digital India program, reclassification of data centers as infrastructure assets, and the proposed Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023are propelling the industry. Market enablers such as internet user base growth, increased data consumption, cloud market expansion, e-commerce growth, 5G adoption, and the Data Protection Bill 2023 are attracting local and foreign investors. India’s demographic advantages, including cheap data rates, subsidized power, skilled workforce, and lower development costs, make it an appealing destination for data center operators worldwide.
- There are different types of data centers like colocation, edge, hyperscale, etc. What kind of requirements do you see from companies looking for data center facilities in India?
| Requirements | Description |
| Location | · Customer demand and Infrastructure in and around the location, Availability of Manpower, supply of land and location state policy towards data center are the essentials which companies look for while shortlisting the location. |
| Quality of infrastructure, connectivity and ability to customize | · Higher tier infrastructure (tier 3+ / tier 4) translates into low downtime which is critical for all customer segments. · Direct connectivity to National Long Distance and International Long Distance helps host infrastructure that need connectivity to global places of interest. |
| TCO optimization | · Optimized total cost of operations for customers by sourcing power via green PPAs. · Optimized PUE (Power Utilization Efficiency). · Other Efficiencies: WUE (Water Usage Effectiveness), CUE (Carbon Usage Effectiveness), customer have started taking into account these efficiencies as a part of their Sustainability strategy. |
| Adequate data privacy and security norms | · Around-the-clock security detail, adherence to regulatory practices of data privacy, cybersecurity, ease of communication and secure accessibility to business-critical information. · Integration of AI and ML with security suite, IoT enabled security solutions to achieve automation and efficiency are some of the critical elements customers require for security. |
| Mature project management and account management teams | · Mature and experienced project management teams. · Timely project delivery · Account management team to manage relationships with large customer accounts |
| Managed services offerings | · Service offerings such as server management, network management, managed security, DR & managed storage etc. |
| Customer periodic feedback | · Customers requires proactive and periodic communication about expansion plans, use of new tech, security, maintenance activities from DC operators. · Providing Support to customers by facilitating the audit requirements and assistance in fulfilling compliance requirements are what colocation customer look for. |
| Quality of service delivery | · Hyperscalers clients look for quality of infra build and overall delivery of customized infrastructure. · Consistent SLA adherence in addressing the trust concerns of the buyer. · Comply with the internal compliance-related laws of the buyer. |
- What are the current trends seen in data center IT infrastructure services?
Key trends in the data center IT infrastructure services include:
- Deep Learning: AI models like ChatGPT are prompting the industry to redesign its infrastructure for these large-scale, data-intensive applications.
- Edge Computing and IoT Data Management: Edge computing is essential for processing IoT-generated data closer to the source, ensuring more efficient data analysis and quicker responses.
- AI-Integrated Data Infrastructure: AI-driven data infrastructure is transforming tasks like data cleansing, categorization, and anomaly detection, leading to improved data accuracy and reduced manual efforts.
- Data Privacy and Security: Data infrastructure trends now emphasize robust data protection measures, advanced encryption, access controls, and secure data sharing to ensure compliance with evolving data privacy regulations.
