In the Post-moratorium Era, Data Centres should Leverage Growth and Innovation: Singapore Cloud & Datacenter Convention 2022
W.Media’s flagship event, the Singapore Cloud & Datacenter Convention 2022, was held at Marina Bay Sands on 21 July 2022. Industry leaders and professionals gathered for a series of insightful and important discussions on growth opportunities and demands of the cloud and data centre industries in Singapore.
With the Singapore government’s lifting of the data centre moratorium, panelists and speakers delivered a series of engaging panel discussions and keynote speeches, providing fresh insights and analysis on the future of the data centre industry in Singapore.
The convention was formally opened with a welcome address by Samuel Narby (Business Manager, W.Media) and a speech by Daryl Dunbar (Principal and Global Data Center Advisory Practice Lead, Internal Consulting Group).
Following the welcome address, Geetha Gopal (Head of Infrastructure Projects Delivery and Digital Transformation, Panasonic Asia Pacific) delivered an insightful keynote analysing future demands of the cloud industry, calling for companies to have a “mindset shift” in escalating digital transformation.
Her presentation was followed by a keynote from Rangu Salgame (Chairman & CEO, Princeton Digital Group) and Jabez Tan (Head of Research, Structure Research), who discussed investment strategies for companies to meet multi-market demand and grow by scaling their operations for a pan-Asian data centre platform.
Moderated by Prantik Mazumdar (Managing Director, Dentsu International), speakers Eugene Seo (Managing Director, CapitaLand), Royce Wee (Public Policy Practitioner, Alibaba Group), Wong Ka Vin (CEO, Data Center First), and Wan Murdani Wan Mohamed (Director, MDEC), discussed Singapore’s data centre industry in the post-moratorium context.
Notably, while the data centre moratorium may have given data centre operators anxiety over their stake in Singapore’s data centre industry, the panellists urged that data centres should leverage growth and innovative opportunities in the post-moratorium context, instead of viewing new legislations as an additional hurdle to overcome.
Wong Ka Vin observed that the moratorium was a “necessary move” in light of sustainability considerations. Royce Wee concurred that “while cloud has become an increasingly critical component of Singapore’s digitalisation, cloud doesn’t exist in the cloud, and we have to bring it back down to Earth, and this is where [cloud’s] link to data centres cannot be overlooked. I agree with Ka Vin’s point about the strategic value of the moratorium.”
Eugene Seo analysed the Singapore government’s rationale for imposing the moratorium on the data centre industry. “If you look at the data centre industry in Singapore from the last decade, we see a lot of [rapid expansion] from hyperscalers, which triggered the thought process that this kind of unrestricted growth is not sustainable for Singapore.” He added that the post-moratorium framework meant that data centre would have to integrate measures for energy efficiency and sustainability within a “broader ecosystem”, requiring a collaborative effort across end-users, data centre operators, and IT professionals.
Wan Murdani Wan Mohamed affirmed that Singapore should work with regional partners, and seize post-moratorium growth opportunities to collaborate with Malaysia on sustainable, nearshoring data centre projects.
Ed Ansett (Chairman and Founder, i3 Solutions Group), observed that measures such as purchasing RECs and carbon offsetting were insufficient to achieve sustainable operations, quipping that “carbon offsetting is like getting a big brother to do your homework for you.”
His keynote resonated with the previous panel discussion, building on the theme that data centre operators would need to embark on more comprehensive measures for environmental sustainability, by recommending improved “demand response schemes” to optimise power demand and supply.
After a short coffee break, Andy Seow (Business Development Manager, Blackbox), Sivashish Jena (APAC Data Centre Business Lead, Commscope Inc.) , and Eddy Soon (Lead Solutions Consultant, ASEAN, Procore) delivered a series of insightful Technology Bench presentations in the Expo Hall.
Geetha Gopal returned as the moderator for the next panel discussion in the Plenary Hall, with speakers Sam Allen (Vice President Engineering of MTDC, Rahi), Srini Vasan (Facilities Manager – Data Centers and Field Services – South East Asia, Telstra), Professor Yonggang Wen (President’s Chair in Computer Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University), and Wong Tew Kiat (CBCP, Fellow BCI, CITBCM(S), COMIT(S), CITPM(S), Fellow Member & Director, SCS, Data Centre Chapter).
The speakers discussed the critical issue of tenant power oversubscription faced by multi-tenanted data centres in land-scarce Singapore, debating on solutions multi-tenanted data centres could adopt to address power management challenges and lower costs.
This panel was followed by three thought-provoking and relevant keynotes.
Lee Siew Keong (Head of Secure Power, Singapore, Schneider Electric) spoke on key strategies data centre companies could adopt to future-proof their data centres, to meet growing data needs and meet sustainability targets.
Lionel Yeo (Head of Corporate Development, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres) delivered an insightful keynote about sustainable infrastructure transformation, outlining four essential pathways for data centres to adopt sustainable infrastructure for the future.
Daniel Ong (Director – Solutions Architect (APAC), Digital Realty) discussed how companies and end users could integrate a digital approach to building connected communities and ameliorating the effects of data gravity on their businesses.
After lunch, attendees gathered around the Technology Bench for the next series of presentations in the Expo Hall.
Experienced industry leaders and professionals Raja Benadicxavier (Technical Specialist Lead, Yi-Ke Innovations), Rajalakshmi Srinivasan (Director, Product Management, Zoho Corp), Wilson Ong (Senior Application Engineer, Panduit), and Paul Churchill (Vice President for SEA, Vertiv) provided meaningful analysis of the data centre industry in Singapore.
At 2pm, attendees returned to the Plenary Hall for an invigorating debate weighing the pros and cons of utilising data centre and cloud infrastructure in the banking and finance sector. Moderated by Derrick Loi (General Manager, Ant Group), Dato’ Praba Thiagarajah (Group Executive Chairman & Founder, Basis Bay), Srinivas Rao (Regional Distributed Cloud Specialist – ASEAN, f5 Incorporation), Adam Darmanto (Vice President of Finance & Business, IDCloud Host), Beatrix Ariane (Global leader in Finance, Cybertech, and Cloud, Independent Consultant), and Devi Shankar (President (Industry & Logistics) Data Center, Anarock), debated on the measures data centre operators and cloud network providers could take to keep up with data protection and cybersecurity demands.
Subsequently, Wong Tew Kiat (Fellow BCI, CITBCM(S), COMIT(S), CITPM(S), Fellow Member & Director, SCS, Data Centre Chapter), Chang Cho (CEO, Onion Technology) and Raymond Koh Aik Tiong (Regional Sales Manager, Piller Power) delivered thought-provoking keynotes on data centre design standards, innovative Data Center OpsWare solutions for energy efficiency, and outlining long-term sustainability plans for data centre UPS investments.
Moderated by Lewis Koh (Tech and Security Lead, Apt Tech Resoources)—speakers Rajalakshmi Srinivasan (Director – Product Management, Zoho Corp), Anthony Lim (Fellow, Cybersecurity & Governance, Singapore University of Social Sciences), and Ed Ansett (Chairman & Founder, i3 Solutions Group) ended the convention on a strong note with a closing panel discussion on future challenges for multi-cloud companies, cybersecurity firms, and edge data centre operators over the next three years.
Overall, the Singapore Cloud & Datacenter Convention 2022 registered a high attendance rate, with over 1000 attendees participating in the event.
Don’t miss out on W.Media’s upcoming Philippines Cloud and Datacenter Convention 2022 in Manila, register now!
First published on W.Media