ePLDT announces expansion of its data center footprint with a 12th facility in the Philippines.
The PLDT Group, through its ICT subsidiary ePLDT, announced new plans to further boost its 65% data center market capacity share by building its 12th data center facility. The announcement was made by ePLDT president and CEO Victor S. Genuino during his keynote presentation at the W. Media Philippines Cloud and Datacenter Convention 2023. Genuino explained that the decision to build the 12th data center is anchored on customers' needs and the group's aspirations of delivering digital innovation to bring more business value to customers and result in inclusive economic growth. He stated: "We want to be able to help the Philippines be the next hyperscaler hub of Asia while continuing to support the digital transformation journey of different sectors locally. That's why we've been investing heavily in our ecosystem to ensure that our data centers will be a crucial enabler of the country's digital economy." Genuino also noted: "Historically, data centers have played a silent yet fundamental role in the digital agenda, most especially in the Philippines. But things are changing now. Governments and enterprises are now seeing the integral role that this industry takes on to secure our digital future."
The 12th facility will have a power capacity of no less than 100MW, while ePLDT is also developing VITRO Sta. Rosa, its 11th and largest data center. Once completed in early 2024, VITRO Sta. Rosa will be the country's largest and most advanced data center with a total power capacity of 50MW, designed to be Rated-3 Certified and Rated-4 Ready to host the most critical and power-intensive IT infrastructure of hyperscalers and enterprises. ePLDT is already receiving several colocation requests from a diverse range of industry leaders, including hyperscalers, CDNs, banks, BPOs, carriers, and the national government for this facility.
With both VITRO Sta. Rosa and the 12th data center facility underway, ePLDT's total power capacity will increase to around 200MW once both sites are activated. PLDT president and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio explained that the group's vision for data center expansion depends on demand from enterprise customers and hyperscalers. According to a 2023 Q1 market report by S&P Global Market Intelligence, the Philippines is poised for a 13% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in data center operational space between 2020-2025 due to the recent expansion of hyperscalers and significant interests of global enterprises in the country, placing it on a competitive footing with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
ePLDT currently offers a total rack capacity of nearly 10,000 and owns a network of 10 VITRO data center facilities strategically located across the country.