How can interconnection strengthen Indonesia’s digital core? – Academy

Digital infrastructure development in Indonesia is at a critical juncture, and the country is actively seeking to increase its interconnectedness and resilience, building on the government’s ambitious Digital Indonesia Action Plan.

With an internet user base of over 200 million and growing demand for data-intensive services such as streaming and gaming, the need for a robust digital infrastructure in Indonesia has never been greater. By investing in expanding digital infrastructure, Indonesia can ensure interconnectivity and leverage advanced digital capabilities to fuel the development of its digital economy.

Regions and companies that manage their data best thrive in the digital economy. However, modern data management is increasingly complex and multi-faceted, and colocation data centers have become a key element in the evolution of data and its role in business.

Traditionally, colocation has meant a company deploying its hardware in a physical data center that is owned and operated by a third party, providing a valuable, cost-saving alternative to the on-premises servers that were standard in the early days of enterprise information technology (TO). .

Today, companies are processing more data from more sources and using it to build advanced applications for artificial intelligence (AI), e-commerce and digital transformation. The way modern Indonesian and global enterprises use data has changed; therefore, colocation services also need to change accordingly.

Today, colocation often forms the basis of a company’s global digital infrastructure strategy, allowing them to access on-demand services such as virtual networks and automated bare metal. Colocation data centers have also become a neutral gathering place for the digital economy, helping businesses and individuals unlock more value by easily connecting with service providers and business partners.

Greater availability of colocation would support Indonesia’s efforts to build an inclusive digital economy.

Indonesia has one of the highest AI adoption rates in Southeast Asia, with 24.6% of companies using AI technology. The government also launched the National AI Strategy (Stranas KA) for 2020–2045, which aims to promote the development of artificial intelligence in the public and private sectors.

This is a response to the transition of new technologies such as artificial intelligence from science fiction to everyday reality in just a few years. The common factor behind all new applications is that they consume a lot of data and processing power and require that data to be processed immediately.

There is an upper limit to the speed at which data can be transferred from the source to the processing location, which means that moving data over long distances will inevitably cause network delays. This explains why companies can no longer rely solely on data centers in one or two main locations. They need access to data centers distributed at the digital edge to process data closer to the source. Working with colocation providers that have a global data center footprint can help meet this need.

Several factors are taken into account when selecting the optimal location for a data center. Since many enterprises need to exchange data with business partners in various industries, such as healthcare, manufacturing and telecommunications, a vendor-neutral colocation data center can provide a platform for data exchange diversity.

However, this is only effective if it is in the right location to provide low latency connectivity to all partners in the ecosystem.

With the growing adoption of cloud across all sectors, data centers should be deployed in locations with high cloud density to support a hybrid multi-cloud architecture, enabling seamless data flow between on-premises systems and the cloud. This can help enterprises leverage cloud services while applying security and compliance controls to on-premises environments.

Enterprises using geographic redundancy as part of their site selection strategy would also require interconnectivity between disparate ecosystems and robust network availability to ensure fast and reliable data exchange. Deploying hardware in data centers with dense network service provider ecosystems can help enterprises move data to other data center locations without delay whenever they need to ensure business continuity.

To achieve this effectively, data center operators should prioritize locations with plenty of renewable energy on a stable grid. This ensures a reliable supply of energy to facilities, allowing for smooth operations while helping to achieve sustainability goals.

Location also impacts the availability of power purchase agreements (PPAs), which can be used to rapidly scale renewable energy coverage and support local grids in communities where data centers operate.

Indonesia is at a pivotal point in its digital journey as it plans to enhance both its digital potential and capabilities. Jakarta adequately satisfies cursory considerations of data center infrastructure. Its strategic location, combined with a growing number of tech-savvy people, demand for cloud services and high colocation needs of enterprises, make it an ideal digital hub.

With the right investments in robust digital infrastructure, especially strategically placed data centers, the nation will not only improve its connectivity and resilience, but also drive a sustainable economic engine that will support the Digital Indonesia Roadmap and the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy.

***

The author is Senior Director of Global Technical Sales for Asia Pacific at Equinix.

Every Thursday

for subscribing to our newsletter!