NEXTDC launches edge data centre network

NEXTDC has launched an edge data centre network after acquiring its first regional data centre site in Maroochydore on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

The data centre provider has acquired the landing station for the JGA-South cable system to provide “low-latency services to regional business and networks”.

Known as SC1, the 1-megawatt data centre will be the first in a series of edge facilities that will be linked to the same AXON elastic interconnection services platform that serves NEXTDC’s metro data centres.

AXON comprises over 700 technology partners and public cloud providers, including Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Google, IBM and Oracle.

NEXTDC expects the new edge data centre network will form “regional digital hubs, enabling businesses to seamlessly integrate their technology to as-a-service providers and cloud platforms”.

“The edge is an emerging pillar of our digital infrastructure platform,” CEO Craig Scroggie said in a statement.

“The acquisition of SC1 and the SCIBN [Sunshine Coast International Broadband Network] cable landing station leverages several years of research into the growth of edge computing and the current and future requirements of digitally enabled regional communities.”

Queensland’s Treasurer Cameron Dick welcomed NEXTDC’s investment, which he said followed the government’s decision to partner with the Sunshine Coast Council to secure the cable landing.

“When we first made the commitment to partner with Sunshine Coast Council to secure the undersea cable landing into Maroochydore, we knew it was a catalytic step that would bring a new era of connectivity, data capacity, speed and reliability,” he said.

“It’s vital we give businesses and industries across our vast state a competitive advantage when it comes to digital infrastructure that allows them to better manage data.”