August 18, 2017

Reliance plans to expand data center footprint in Mumbai

With the city fast becoming a critical IT hub, Reliance aims to capitalize with new data facilities in 2018.

Google data center

Indian conglomerate Reliance is in the process of outlining plans that would enable the company’s communication unit to exploit the surging demand for colocation and cloud services within the commercial Indian city of Mumbai. Reliance Communications, working with its subsidiary Global Cloud Xchange (GCX), aims to take advantage of the city’s fast growing cloud computing market by expanding its Mumbai data center operations.

Currently one of the largest providers in the Indian colocation market in terms of operational square footage, Reliance Communications entered the data center business in 2002 with its first facility in Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC), in close proximity to the company’s headquarters. The company followed that up with three similar structures in the area, before proceeding to construct three more data centers in the major Indian cities of Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Reliance’s first Mumbai facility covers 14,000 operational square feet, housing 470 racks and supported by 4 megawatts of power. The company’s three remaining Mumbai data centers boast 41,000, 13,000 and 42,000 operational square feet and can host 1,271 racks, 262 racks and 1,194 racks respectively, while maintaining a total of 16.5 megawatts of power between them. At the moment, the company is in the initial stages of constructing a fifth data facility in Mumbai, set to open in 2018, which will occupy a building of 400,000 gross square feet.

As the data center market in India grows, Reliance expects more international players to enter the arena. However, the company believes this trend will present opportunities for strategic partnerships, rather than lead to more intense competition. Outside of India, Reliance harbors no immediate intentions of building its own data centers due to the presence of more established solution providers.