Japanese Companies Planning To Develop A Data Centre In Space

Data centres such as those owned by Google and Microsoft are known to use a tremendous amount of energy for processing information. This in turn usually leads to a high number of carbon emissions which increases the risk of climate change, especially with so many of these facilities available around the world.

Realising this, Japanese telecommunications company NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) is partnering with local broadcasting firm SKY Perfect JSAT Holdings to develop a solution that will hopefully eliminate the issue from the face of the Earth, literally too. Both companies aim to launch a satellite system that can process and store data in space by 2025, with hopes for it to be fully operational in 2026.

According to a report by Nikkei, each satellite will be equipped with computing functions and connected by NTT-developed IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network) communication technology to act as a pseudo data center. The system will gather a wide range of data from Earth, process and analyse them, and then send back only relevant information.

NTT says that the satellite network, combined with its IOWN tech, enables for reduced exchange of massive data between space and earth, therefore speeding up its transfer process. It is also claimed to reduce power consumption to one-hundredth of what it is now, and will also contribute to decarbonisation efforts as the electricity used for data processing originates from solar energy. Both NTT and SKY Perfect JSAT are hoping to operate hundreds of these satellites in the future.

The idea of utilising space infrastructure for data preservation isn’t entirely new. As we previously reported in October of last year, Microsoft launched its own off-planet data processing system known as Azure Space. However, unlike the two Japanese companies, the US-based tech giant’s satellite network aims to provide fast and easy access to its Azure cloud computing solution for customers, especially those in remote locations.

With projects such as SpaceX’s Starlink and those mentioned above, companies are literally taking data processing to greater heights. Perhaps it’s time to update the term “cloud computing” to something more relevant, now that it has reached to the realm of infinity and beyond. 

Microsoft Officially Announces Its Malaysian Data Centre Region

Said to be one of the most significant endeavours that Microsoft has embarked on in Malaysia since establishing its operation here in 1992, the company today has unveiled its new Bersama Malaysia initiative. Involving an investment of USD 1 billion (~RM 4.1 billion) over the next 5 years, the initiative will also include the establishment of the first Azure data centre region in Malaysia.

But before we go further, let’s go through the differences between a data centre region and a data centre. According to Microsoft, a data centre is an actual physical building that houses servers and, on another hand, a data centre region is a set of data centres that are linked together through a dedicated low-latency network and latency-defined perimeter.

In other words, a data centre region consists of multiple data centres. Microsoft also stated that the upcoming Malaysian data centre region will also feature Azure Availability Zones which guarantees that customers’ data will be protected regardless of whatever happened to the physical data centre site since the data would be synchronised throughout the Azure data centre region.

Aside from Azure, the Malaysian data centre region also provides access to other cloud services from the company including Microsoft 365 as well as Dynamics 365 and Power Platform. Located in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area, the data centre region will be the third Azure data centre region in Southeast Asia after Singapore and Indonesia.

According to a research by IDC that was commissioned by Microsoft, the company’s investment in Malaysia may generate up to USD 4.6 billion (~RM 18.9 billion) in new revenues within the next four years for local partners and cloud customers. The research also estimated that more than 19,000 new direct and indirect jobs could be established through this endeavour.

However, Microsoft didn’t reveal when exactly the new Malaysian data centre region will be operational. Similarly Malaysian has not yet been added to the data centre region list on Azure’s official website at the time this article was published.

[UPDATE – 20 April / 10:00 AM]: Azure’s official website has since been updated to include Malaysia:

Frankly speaking, this announcement is a long time coming. Then again, Microsoft was one of the four Cloud Service Providers that have been recently given conditional approval by the government to build hyperscale data centres in Malaysia as part of the MyDIGITAL initiative and Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint.

So, it was just a matter of time before the company finally made this official.

PDRM Launches CCID Scam Response Centre To Cut Down Phone Scams

Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) recently announced the establishment of a one-stop centre under the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) in order to address the increasing amount of phone scam cases in Malaysia.

Based on the statement released by the Director of CCID, CP Zainuddin Yaacob, 6,003 phone scam cases have been reported in 2020 and up till 24 March 2021, PDRM has already received 1,392 phone scam reports which involve a total loss of over RM 38,000. The authorities saw this as a very worrying trend and believe that it is something that needs to be handled swiftly.

For those who aren’t familiar with phone scams which authorities love to refer to as the Macau Scams, the perpetrators would usually trick their victims by making them believe that the scammers were officers from the PDRM, Royal Malaysian Customs, Bank Negara Malaysia, and other related government agencies as well as financial institutions. They would then trick the victims to transfer money for various reasons including fake summons, outstanding loans, and courts cases.

In operation since 15 February 2021, the new CCID Scam Response Centre allows the public to seek clarification regarding phone scams cases directly from the department. This includes obtaining verification whether the call that they have received really came from related authorities, government agencies, and financial institutions.

Members of the public are also welcome to provide relevant information regarding scam attempts that they may have experienced themselves including phone numbers or bank accounts that have been provided by the perpetrators. Opens daily from 8:00 AM till 8:00 PM, you can reach out to CCID Scam Response Centre by calling 03-2610 1559 or 03-2610 1599.

IBM Cyberjaya Global Delivery Centre To Close Down On 31 May

IBM has confirmed that it will be closing down the firm’s Global Delivery Centre (GDC) in Cyberjaya at the end of May this year. The official confirmation finally comes in after rumours about its impending closure have begun making rounds online since a few weeks ago.

The Cyberjaya’s facility was originally opened in 2014 and involved an investment of around RM 1 billion at that time. It was one of several IBM GDCs across the world that is part of the company’s massive shared services operation that handle customers from all sorts of industries around the clock.

According to the report by The Edge, IBM spokesperson declined to provide the number of jobs that will be affected by the closure of its Cyberjaya GDC. However, the company has confirmed that it will not affect other IBM operations in Malaysia.

IBM didn’t provide much information regarding the reason behind the closure aside from the fact that the decision was taken as part of the company’s “continual review of the most efficient way to source our products and services,”. The closure of IBM GDC Cyberjaya came just months after another well-known global IT firm T-Systems decided to leave the city in order to follow one of its major client Shell who has since relocated its IT services from Cyberjaya to Bangalore, India.