PLDT launches Cebu data center

PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) yesterday launched VITRO Cebu, its first
data center outside Luzon.

The setting up of a “world-class” data center in Cebu is testament to the province’s “success as a location for business,” said Eric Alberto, PLDT executive vice president and head of enterprise and international carrier business.

It also increases the infrastructure capability of Cebu as an investment destination, said ePLDT president and chief executive officer Beth Lui.

VITRO Cebu, which is housed in the PLDT compound in Mandaue City, is part of a network of data centers by the telecommunications giant. The two other centers are in Pasig and Subic. Alberto said they are looking into setting up data centers in other locations in the country, including Mindanao.

The first VITRO Data Center in Pasig “acts as a global gateway for all major BPOs, local telcos, leading international telcos and major Internet service providers,” the company said.

Among the services offered by the data center are collocation, server hosting, disaster recovery/business continuity, managed data security, network management and other IT services.

Investment

Alberto declined to disclose investments for the facility but stressed that “what is important is more than just the stand-alone investment” but the fact that VITRO Cebu is part of a network of data centers and is linked to a robust nationwide fiber optic network that has recently been upgraded.

Alberto said the facility can be the primary data center of Cebu and the Visayas-Mindanao area and an alternative solution to Luzon businesses.

Lui said the VITRO data centers were set up initially to address the information and communications technology (ICT) needs of PLDT and Smart Communications, Inc. She said businesses can be assured that if VITRO could meet the needs of PLDT and Smart, it can also support their data requirements.

Lui said that with VITRO, they are taking “carrier-grade data center” capabilities to the sachet level for businesses.

PLDT vice president and head of Alpha Enterprise Juan Victor Hernandez said outsourcing data requirements to a facility like VITRO saves companies from the “cost of obsolescence, which is really absurd.”

He said VITRO Cebu is a Tier 3 facility, a classification that means it has top-of-the-
line systems for power supply, security, cooling, fire protection and monitoring. He said it was built with the “highest standard of building construction” and can run at full capacity for seven days even without commercial power.

Alberto said most enterprises can benefit from the facility because offloading data requirements to data centers allows companies to focus on their core expertise. Apart from making economic sense, it also provides company officials peace of mind, knowing that their data is safe. He said VITRO is “really built as a data center” and not just as part of an office building environment.

Alberto said they work with IT departments of companies that want to avail themselves of their data center’s services. For small and medium enterprises that do not have IT capabilities, they coordinate with the business owners. He said the company could “tailor-fit” business solutions.

Hernandez said that the company will offer a 15% discount for the first three months for its early customers in Cebu.