Google to Build $300 Million, 300K-Square-Foot Hong Kong Data Center

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A video still from a YouTube tour of Google's Finland data center

(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Search engine giant Google announced on Thursday it will invest $300 million to build a new 300,000-square-foot data center in Hong Kong.
The company said the investment represents a new commitment to the region. The data center will help increase user access speed for the company's different online services in Asia.
The facility, which will be located in the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate in Kowloon, will be fully operational in early 2013.
Google said the data center will be staffed by 25 full-time local employees, including electrical and mechanical engineers, computer technicians, security and catering staff.
"Building this data center in Hong Kong is an exciting step for us," Google said in a statement. "More new Internet users are coming online every day here in Asia than anywhere else in the world… At a long-term investment cost reaching $300 million, this data center will be one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly in Asia, built to the same high standard we use around the world."
The comes at a turbulent time in the region, where the government has been notorious for its overt censorship tactics.
Google had threatened to pull out of China last year following a series of online attacks originating from China on its email services and corporate infrastructure, along with China's limited free speech on the Internet and government surveillance.
The search giant eventually decided not to pull out, and instead, took on a hybrid approach to maintain its ISP license in the region.
And while Hong Kong is technically reunified with China, the country operates on more relaxed conditions than the rest of China -- a concept that Google will leverage in its growth strategy there.

onel0ve Reviewed by onel0ve on 11th Dec 2011. Google to Build $300 Million, 300K-Square-Foot Hong Kong Data Center http://www.thewhir.com/single_images/news/news_27380.jpg A video still from a YouTube tour of Google's Finland data center (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Search engine giant Google announced on Thursday it will invest $300 million to build a new 300,000-square-foot data center in Hong Kong. The company said the investment represents a new commitment to the region. The data center will help increase user access speed for the company's different online services in Asia. The Rating: 5

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