- This new building will cover Germany's high demand for cloud services
- The highly secure data center will start operations in 2014 in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
- 130 highly qualified permanent positions are planned for the Magdeburg metropolitan area
Germany's largest data center will be built on a surface area the size of approx. 30 soccer fields (i.e., 150,000m2) in Saxony-Anhalt. As the foundations are laid down today in Biere in the Salzland district, the Telekom subsidiary, T-Systems, is beginning to build its 90th data center. Together with the data center already running in Magdeburg, the new construction in Biere will form a "TwinCore," i.e., a twin data center which offers the highest level of data and operational security. In the last expansion stage at both locations, an area of almost eight soccer fields will be exclusively dedicated to computing technology - more than in any other data center across Germany. In Magdeburg, T-Systems already operates the largest data center in eastern Germany. With the start of operations of the twin data center in Biere in 2014, the IT and telecommunications Group will satisfy the rapidly growing global demand for cloud services. Some 600 corporate customers use these new IT services offered by T-Systems, including internationally active groups such as Shell and Daimler. Data protection and fail-safety are of utmost importance to these major companies operating at international level. The TwinCore data center type that is being built in Saxony-Anhalt, is considered to be highly secure since in the event of an incident any twin can immediately take over for the other. Operations continue without any interruption. T-Systems is meanwhile using 22 data centers of this type specifically for cloud services. The state premier of Saxony-Anhalt, Dr. Reiner Haseloff says: "Telekom is one of Saxony-Anhalt's main employers. However, T-Systems' investments are not only creating more jobs, but are allowing Saxony-Anhalt to soon be part of the premier league of IT locations across Europe with the new data center. What has always been the case, has now taken on a new meaning: You can always count on us in Saxony-Anhalt." Dr. Ferri Abolhassan, member of the Board of Management at T-Systems says: "Companies that decide to use cloud computing pay attention to high availability and data protection. With the German Federal Data Protection Act [BDSG], Germany already has a clear advantage in terms of location. Moreover, we ensure the business operations of groups thanks to our TwinCore data centers and a zero error strategy. The new construction in Biere will become part of our global supply and production network. On the basis of this network with data centers in America, Asia, Africa and Europe, we are providing our customers with the most modern IT and cloud technology across the globe, with the highest availability and security." The new data center is geared towards energy efficiency. The total energy requirements have been reduced by 27 percent compared to similar data centers. State-of-the-art knowledge gained from operating the joint research data center "DataCenter 2020" in Munich with the American company, Intel, has led to these significant savings. The power for operating the data center is "climate-neutral," as is exclusively the case in the Deutsche Telekom Group. Deutsche Telekom employs some 2,200 highly qualified staff in Saxony-Anhalt, including almost 300 trainees and is therefore the fifth largest employer in the state. T-Systems has approx. 750 employees in the Magdeburg data center alone. With the expansion to a TwinCore data center specifically for cloud services, 100 jobs are to be created in Biere and a further 30 in Magdeburg. Under the motto "Cloud for all," Telekom is constantly launching new data services from the cloud. Secure cloud services for corporate groups, SMEs, and consumers are key elements of Telekom's future-centric strategy. Journalists can find out more about the latest developments in the cloud strategy and try out the new solutions for themselves at Telekom's "Cloud computing press audience day" on November 30, 2012 in Bonn. Since 2008, Telekom has entered into around 200 cooperation agreements with local authorities in Saxony-Anhalt for the provision of broadband lines. The company invests more than 10 million euros in the region each year to expand the fixed network and LTE. T-Systems caters for all administration levels ranging from the state government, district and local governments with modern IT and communication services. The corporate customers arm operates for example voice and data networks for some districts or even the full range of information technology such as for the Harz district or the job center in the Salzwedel district. A group of companies, comprised of Hannover Leasing as investor and Ed.Züblin AG and M+W GmbH as joint building venture, is building the new data center which received several million euros in support from the state of Saxony-Anhalt. Financing is being carried out via a bank consortium under the direction of Bayern LB. T-Systems will lease the data center once it is ready and will make further investments amounting to the mid-range double-digit millions of euros on average every three years in further modernization.
About Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom is one of the world's leading integrated telecommunications companies with almost 130 million mobile customers, 33 million fixed-network lines and more than 17 million broadband lines (as of June 30, 2012). The Group provides fixed-network, mobile communications, Internet and IPTV products and services for consumers, and ICT solutions for business and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in around 50 countries and has over 233,000 employees worldwide. The Group generated revenue of EUR 58.7 billion in the 2011 financial year - over half of it outside Germany (as of December 31, 2011). About T-Systems Drawing on a global infrastructure of data centers and networks, T-Systems operates information and communication technology (ICT) systems for multinational corporations and public sector institutions. On this basis, Deutsche Telekom's corporate customer arm provides integrated solutions for the networked future of business and society. Some 48,200 employees at T-Systems combine industry expertise with ICT innovations to add significant value to customers' core business all over the world. The corporate customers unit generated revenue of around EUR 9.2 billion in the 2011 financial year.