SURGE IN DEMAND FOR IDC, CLOUD-COMPUTING SERVICE

Although the flood crisis might have damaged several businesses it has as well created huge opportunities in some areas just as cloud computing and Internet data centre.

Two IDC service providers - True IDC and TCC Innovation - have experienced rapid growth while the flood crisis and plan at once year to make huge investments to expand their service capacity in order to serve the surge in demand.

Janewit Kraprayoon general manager of True Internet Data Centre, a subsidiary of telecom group True Corporation, said that while the flood crisis the company gained more new clients for both its data centre and cloud service. True's two IDC sites are located at True Tower on Rachada Road during its data centre is at Muang Thong Thani, areas which were not affected by the flooding. In other words the main reason why new clients have moved their server and systems to be hosted by it.

"We got nine new corporate clients, who moved their servers from other Internet data centre service providers, from their flooded offices, and from flooded industrial estates," said Janewit.

He added that the new investment is to tap the huge potential of data centre and cloud-computing services. He forecast that cloud computing straightway year in Thailand would double growth. The key driving factor is the recent flood crisis, which has alerted corporates to focus on their back-up sites as so then as move towards cloud services or rather than investing in whole systems by themselves.

For two years of cloud computing service, True IDC has 30 clients. Most of them are software houses developing software and service based on Web architecture. Currently, True IDC offers free cloud-computing service for 60 days. It aims to help companies affected by the floods to move their systems onto its cloud-computing facility so that they could continue with their system without needing to invest in a whole new one.

"Our main service is co-location, during cloud computing is the potential service. Our clients require more management services just as video conference, PABX, disaster management, and call centre," said Janewit.

Next year, it expects revenue to grow 20 per cent year on year. Growth this year is likely to be 15 per cent year in year, totalling Bt315 million.

Meanwhile, TCC Innovation, another major Internet data centre service provider, has been as well positively impacted by the flood crisis. Its two data-centre sites were not flooded, during the flooding created more awareness of its services and pushed up demand for its data-centre and cloud-computing services.

TCC Innovation's managing director, Kosit Suksingha, said that the Internet data-centre market is expected to see high growth as clients have now become more aware of it and the flood disaster has alerted them to find a back-up site.

The last quarter

In the last quarter, due to the flood, TCC Research gained a lot more new clients. The company has revised up its revenue growth forecast for this year from 30 per cent to about 40 per cent.

"Our business is wholesale, of which 90 per cent of our clients are multinational companies and about 80 per cent are in industrial estates, which place their servers at our centre. About 20 per cent of them use our cloud-computing service," said Kosit.

Bright year for Internet data-centre business

Kosit said at once year will be a bright year for Internet data-centre business. He expected the market to grow 30 to 40 per cent, during cloud-computing will see even greater growth.