Q&A with General Manager John Henderson

Opened in April 2018, Pulse Data Centre is the first regional tier III uptime certified data centre of its kind in Australia. The facility, located within the 29-hectare Toowoomba Technology Park, will expand to three standalone data centres linked by a central security facility, collaboration spaces, offices, and disaster recovery facilities. Customer options include quarter racks, secure caged areas and large dedicated customised whitespace opportunities.

What are the benefits and opportunities being based in Toowoomba?

The trend globally is around regional being the next frontier for data centres, with the cost of land and construction cheaper than capital cities. Toowoomba is a well-connected location as the majority of backhaul infrastructure runs along Australia's east coast and importantly through Toowoomba.

Toowoomba has a cool climate with the average variant about 6-8 degrees, which is inducive to running a data centre in an optimal environment, and being 500m above sea level makes it an attractive and viable option for production or disaster recovery. We address data sovereignty which we believe is essential for data security.

How does a regional data centre impact the rest of Queensland?

Colocation and better connectivity are just as important as road and rail. Every business is online and has a digital footprint these days, so having the ability for better, local connectivity and hosting opportunities means businesses can now be located in a regional area and not just based in a capital city. It helps break down some of those barriers of the digital divide and opens opportunities for innovation, especially in technology such as edge and ag tech which is more relevant in a regional location such as Toowoomba where that technology is required.

How will the Sunshine Coast submarine cable benefit you and your customers?

The majority of data that previously headed offshore went out of Sydney, including traffic from Queensland. The lower latency connection to Asia and the US is key to opening up a whole bunch of different opportunities for all of us. Backhaul connectivity throughout South East Queensland is happening or has happened, which is the next groundwork that will pay off in the short to medium term to allow us to leverage innovation projects, as well as lower latency connection to the rest of the world.

In the video John talks further about the importance of being part of an ecosystem, including partnership opportunities and engaging younger people to provide pathways and options for future jobs.