Future-Proofing Digital Infrastructure: The Case for Robust Interconnection

While the benefits of digital transformation are clear, the risks of inadequate infrastructure are often underestimated. A Forbes article¹ suggests that downtime can cost businesses between US$9,000 per minute and US$5 million per hour, stemming from issues that include software glitches, hardware failures and network disruptions.

Consider the case of a major e-commerce platform that experienced a brief outage during a peak shopping season. The result? Millions in lost revenue and a tarnished brand reputation that took months to rebuild.

The interconnection imperative

Robust interconnections are the foundation of efficient transfer of data between networks, systems and cloud platforms. Without them, businesses face data bottlenecks, increased latency, service disruptions and potential downtime, which can result in inefficient or interrupted performance and dissatisfied customers. 

As AI technologies evolve from centralised training to distributed inference and real-world applications, the demands on network infrastructure will intensify. Low latency, high capacity, and robust interconnections will become non-negotiable requirements for businesses aiming to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) effectively.

Challenges in the current landscape

Power requirements for data centres are on the rise. Modern network equipment now often demands 12-15kW per rack, far exceeding the 3-5kW densities common in older facilities. Many legacy interconnection hubs that were constructed one or two decades ago lack the capacity to accommodate the higher power densities needed by today’s businesses. 

Another challenge is the growing adoption of hybrid IT architectures by many businesses. Colocation offers reliability and cloud computing provides scalability, but combining the two introduces complexity. Businesses face the challenge of managing the integration and compatibility of different systems and infrastructure, while maintaining security measures across both environments and ensuring robust interconnections between the two systems.

Benefits of robust interconnections

Enterprises confronted by the challenges mentioned above should ensure they have robust interconnections, which offer scalability, flexibility and resilience. 

• Scalability

As businesses expand, their data requirements are likely to surge. It then becomes critical to scale operations while maintaining performance, without disruption. 

ST Telemedia Global Data Centre’s (STT GDC’s) interconnection solutions provide the infrastructure for businesses to scale operations efficiently. The co-locating of compute and network resources in the same data centre provides organisations with the ability to scale to meet business demands. Older interconnection hubs, however, might face space constraints or technical limitations.

STT GDC has strategically connected modern builds with existing data centres, allowing businesses to seamlessly expand while leveraging the ecosystem benefits of existing facilities. 

STT GDC has also prudently located data centres in six Southeast Asian markets to ensure that customers get a consistent, high-performance experience wherever their business takes them. 

• Flexibility

Robust interconnections allow organisations to flexibly adapt to changing needs. For instance, STT GDC’s Data Centre Interconnect (DCI) connects two or more data centres for seamless sharing of data and resources. It also supports businesses’ seasonal demands by offering short-term bandwidth upgrades during e-commerce peaks, backup windows or data migrations. 

Additionally, STT GDC’s hosting of cloud on-ramps in key markets like India and Thailand allows customers to physically connect to public cloud services. These physical connections provide customers with enhanced privacy and predictability, as well as lower ingress and egress charges. 

• Resilience

Resilience is at the heart of STT GDC’s interconnection strategy. STT GDC ensures business continuity, even when there are unexpected network disruptions or failures, through redundant connections and highly reliable pathways. In doing so, businesses can maintain uptime and deliver consistent services to their customers.

As AI applications become more prevalent, businesses will also require a geographically distributed infrastructure to support localised processing. This shift demands not just massive throughput, but also low latency and high-capacity interconnections.

In an era where data is the lifeblood of the global economy, robust interconnections are no longer a luxury—they're a necessity. 

[1] https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2024/04/10/the-true-cost-of-downtime-and-how-to-avoid-it/