Digital Connexion, a three-way joint venture between Brookfield Asset Management (“Brookfield”), Reliance Industries Limited and Digital Realty have announced the launch of its first data center campus catering up to 100 megawatt (MW) critical IT load capacity. It is located on a 10-acre campus in Chennai’s Ambattur Industrial Estate, an important industrial and manufacturing hub located close to Chennai’s city center, airport, and other major services.  

The first phase of the data center, MAA10, will offer 20MW of IT load and features a modular infrastructure design enabling customers to scale their infrastructure in response to varied workload demands, accommodating anything from single cabinet needs to multi-megawatt requirements. It is equipped to support emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models. The facility also offers standardized configurations and ultra-high-power densities (up to 70 kilowatts per rack) to meet the high-density power, suitable cooling infrastructure, and interconnectivity demands of AI workloads.

The resultant scale and quantum of data generated from the growth of knowledge-based industries in Tamil Nadu, with support from the state government, is expected to drive a demand surge for quality data center infrastructure in the city. MAA10 was built to address diverse customer requirements, helping them navigate new technologies.  

Inaugurating the data center’s launch, Hon’ble Minister of Information Technology and Digital Services Dr. Palanivel Thiagarajan said, “I extend my sincere gratitude for the invitation to attend the inaugural ceremony of Digital Connexion's premier data center. I am delighted to observe Chennai's rapid emergence as a highly sought-after hub for data centers within the Indian landscape. The convergence of entities such as Jio, Digital Realty, and Brookfield at this event is indeed a commendable collaboration. As India undergoes digital transformation, marked by the digitization of our economy, substantial growth in exports, and Software as a Service (SaaS), Chennai stands prominently as the capital of SaaS in the country. In light of these developments, I anticipate a significant upswing in the establishment and expansion of data centers to meet the demands of our increasingly digitized society.”

CB Velayuthan, CEO of Digital Connexion said, “We are excited about the launch of our first data center in Chennai. This 100 MW campus in Ambattur is ideal, given the availability of the necessary power supply, high number of submarine cable landing stations in the local area, and the state government's aspirations to make Chennai the top data center hub in India. We look forward to making it a destination of choice for our customers, partners, cloud and service providers looking to expand their reach in India, starting with MAA10, the state-of-the-art first phase of this highly scalable campus.”  

MAA10 leverages Brookfield’s in-depth knowledge of the Indian infrastructure market, Digital Realty’s industry-leading energy-efficient data center platform design and operating procedures, highly-repeatable Pervasive Data Center Architecture (PDx) approach and relationships with global customers, and Jio’s massive digital and connectivity ecosystem and very strong enterprise relationships. 

The facility is also a vital addition to PlatformDIGITAL, Digital Realty’s global data center platform hosting a rich connected data community of customers, partners, cloud and network service providers on a footprint of 300+ facilities in 50+ metros across 25+ countries on 6 continents. It is slated to be ServiceFabric-enabled this year, which will further allow customers to rapidly configure and provision connectivity across their digital infrastructure on-demand to fit their needs.  

Digital Connexion believes sustainability is integral to enterprise growth and fosters a culture of innovation to ensure its data center management practices have a positive impact on the community. MAA10’s design, construction, and operational practices are driven by sustainability principles with a focus on maximizing energy and water efficiency and conserving resources. The facility also seeks to employ renewable energy sources where possible, starting with harvesting solar power via rooftop solar panels on-site, deploying the renewable energy expertise of Brookfield.