RACONTEURPH

Philippines Data Center by Digital Edge Becomes First in Southeast Asia to Achieve Globally Recognized Certifications

Digital Edge (Singapore) Holdings Pte. Ltd. (“Digital Edge”) has announced that its NARRA1 data center in Manila, which opened in early 2023, has become the first facility in Southeast Asia to secure two globally recognized industry certifications– ANSI/TIA-942-C certification for resilience, security, and quality, as well as EDGE certification for green buildings. These accreditations further demonstrate Digital Edge’s position as one of the leading data center providers in the market and reinforce Manila’s standing as an important future hub for the region’s digital infrastructure sector.

Against this backdrop, Digital Edge was today awarded ANSI/TIA-942 certification, recognized as an industry gold standard in terms of data center resiliency. To achieve certification, a data center must meet minimum standards covering all aspects of the physical infrastructure within the facility, including but not limited to, site location, electrical, mechanical, telecommunications, fire safety, and security. The certification was awarded to Digital Edge by EPI Certification Pte Ltd (EPI), the leading ISO-17021 accredited TIA-942 Certification Body.

In May this year, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) issued a revised version of this certification known as ANSI/TIA-942-‘C’, with Digital Edge becoming the first in Asia to achieve certification under the enhanced standard. The company received a Rating-3 out of 4 levels, with 4 being the highest. Rating-3, defined as a concurrent maintainable data center, means the facility has multiple redundant capacity components and distribution paths, allowing each and every component to be removed, replaced, or serviced without disrupting the operations thereby supporting 24x7 availability.

In addition, Digital Edge has become the first data center in Southeast Asia to achieve EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) certification, a standard developed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. EDGE certification focuses on resource efficiency and is awarded to buildings that demonstrate 20% or more savings in energy use, water use, and embodied carbon in materials. 

NARRA1 was recognized for its resource-efficient design, including its innovative liquid cooling system which has enabled it to achieve a market-leading design Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.193, as well as numerous energy-conserving features such as a 57% reduction in lighting power density. This follows on from Digital Edge’s achievement last year when it became the first data center in the country to receive LEED Gold certification, another internationally recognized green building standard determined by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Fuelled by the rise of AI applications, the Philippines’ data center colocation market is growing rapidly with latest estimates predicting a five-year CAGR of 36% through 2028, while investment from the global cloud and hyperscale customers is expected to increase at an even greater rate of 61% CAGR during the same period1. Industry certifications supporting the adoption of international quality and sustainability standards are expected to become increasingly important as the country looks to attract more leading technology companies to its data center market.

Commenting on the certifications, Vic Barrios, Country Manager for Digital Edge in the Philippines said, “We are proud to contribute to the Philippines’ standing as a credible player within Southeast Asia’s digital infrastructure landscape. We believe these best-in-class certifications support our country’s ability to attract the world’s leading cloud and technology companies, as Digital Edge continues to further enhance the Philippines’ thriving digital economy.”

Edward van Leent, Chairman and CEO of the EPI Group of Companies shared, “The ANSI/TIA-942 is the leading standard for data center design and build. The latest release, version C (ANSI/TIA-942-C), introduces significant enhancements in best practices in data center design. It mirrors the rapid advancements within the industry thus ensuring data centers deliver improved performance and robustness in line with the evolving needs of the ICT sector. We commend Digital Edge for their foresight, speed, and leadership in becoming the first data center to achieve the TIA-942-C constructed facility certification in Asia.”

Raymond Rufino, Principal for Investments and Real Estate of the Threadborne Group, Digital Edge’s joint partner on the NARRA1 project, remarked, “Since day one of this partnership we have sought to uphold the highest standards, from our impeccable construction safety record, to the highly energy efficient design of our facility, to maintaining 100% uptime across our operations.

Securing these internationally recognized accreditations is further proof of our commitment to bring world-class infrastructure to the Philippines, and we hope our achievements will serve to raise the bar for this dynamic and fast-growing industry across the country.”