OREANDA-NEWS. NTT Communications Corporation strengthens Hong Kong SAR’s strategic claim as Asia’s pre-eminent financial market and ICT Hub with the unveiling of the new Hong Kong Financial Data Centre (FDC™). Leveraging the company’s wide, ultra-low latency networks and close proximity to the data centre operations of regional exchanges, the purpose-built data centre offers top-notch IT and network infrastructure to address the growing needs for industries like finance and cloud business with the most stringent requirements. The Tier IV ready FDC offers 100% uptime service level and unrivalled security measures to protect the mission-critical data assets of enterprises.

Phase One of the FDC was opened with impressive prestige on 31 May 2013. Mr. Akira Arima, the President & CEO of NTT Communications and Mr. Takanobu Maeda, President & CEO, NTT Com Asia Limited officiated the grand opening ceremony and were joined by guests-of-honour:
* Ambassador Hitoshi Noda, Consul General, Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong
* Ms. Susie Ho Shuk-yee, JP, Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Communications and Technology)
* Mr. Charles Mok, a Member of the Legislative Council (IT Functional Constituency).

The FDC comes online as Hong Kong’s finance industry is experiencing rapid changes and increasing demand for enhanced IT infrastructure. Hong Kong houses the sixth largest stock exchange in the world and capital inflow is also expected to see a meteoric rise with the launches of QDII2 and RQDII pilot scheme. Many regional financial services institutions (FSIs) are boosting their IT capabilities in preparation for increasing market opportunities. As a result, computer-driven trading is forecasted to comprise 58% for all equities trading in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and India this year.

Designed with state-of-the-art and green technology, the FDC offers essential infrastructure for FSIs in Hong Kong to strengthen their strategic positions in Asia and remain competitive. The new Tier IV ready data centre boasts utmost redundancy with continuous cooling system, continuous rating generators and compartmentalized infrastructure design, providing the highest level of service availability. The two phases has over 70,000 m2 of gross floor area and over 6,000 racks in total. In addition to its high capacity, the FDC is also equipped with an 8-tiered security access control, offering a strong value proposition for industry players who are most concerned about their data asset.

The new data centre facility also offers an ultra-low latency gateway for FSIs looking to expand their business horizons. The FDC houses the landing station of the new Asia Submarine-cable Express (ASE) which connects key financial hubs in Asia with the shortest possible route that boasts industry leading network latency of less than 43 milliseconds from Hong Kong to Tokyo and less than 64 milliseconds from Singapore to Tokyo. Furthermore, the FDC is collocated with NTT Communications’ global network node that connects to Europe and North America. Recently, the Tokyo Stock Exchange capitalized on this ultra-low latency network service in effort to increase its investor pool. In combination with modular design that facilitates hybrid tiering to meet different market needs, the FDC sets an innovative new benchmark to the industry.