12 December 2018 - With the increase in data generation and internet usage in both developing and developed nations, the demand for telecommunication networks and data centre facilities is growing.

The advent of 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) will significantly add to this growth. Deloitte predicts that, in the USA alone, an investment of between USD130 and USD150 billion will be required to support the development of fibre infrastructure over the next five to seven years.

Global engineering and infrastructure company, Aurecon, is supporting telecommunications and data centre companies to be ready for, and effectively manage, this growth opportunity.

Aurecon has recently appointed two key leaders to its Data and Telecommunications team: Simon McFadden, as Global Client Director, and Phil Motteram, Asia Client Director, to strengthen the company’s ability to assist clients in the sector.

Aurecon’s Managing Director, Built Environment, John McGuire, said he was delighted to welcome McFadden and Motteram to the data and telco team. 

“These are key appointments in this highly sophisticated and fast growth sector and aligns with our strategy to consolidate and enhance our offering to clients globally, and specifically in Asia,” McGuire said. 

Aurecon has also recently been recognised, with client NEXTDC, as Data Center Design Team of the Year, as part of the Data Center Dynamics 2018 Awards. In making the award, Data Center Dynamics commented:

“NEXTDC Engineering and partners Aurecon have been awarded the Design Team of the Year for designing and building Australia’s first data centers to receive Tier IV certification from Uptime Institute - a testament to their advanced reliability features, especially impressive under the hot Australian sun!”

Leveraging digital technologies to decrease costs

"We understand the need to manage investments effectively in the data and telecommunications sector,” McFadden said. “As demand and usage increases, more investment is required, yet revenue per customer declines in the short term.

“It is therefore imperative to find innovative ways to decrease costs by simplifying business operations through leveraging new digital technologies.”

Using machine learning to optimise efficiencies

While the data centre sector is buoyant, competition is increasing and there are challenges in terms of changing regulations and energy efficiencies.

“In many countries, regulations now demand that data must be stored locally,” Motteram said.

“This is one factor driving growth in developing nations. At the same time, the exponential growth in the amount of data being generated and consumed is resulting in an increasing scale of data centres being built in places like Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

“But data centres are big energy users, so we are working with clients to optimise efficiency through machine learning, thereby decreasing operational costs,” he continued.

“We have recently won three new data centre projects in Asia and are looking forward to working with these clients to deliver the next generation of data centres.”

Simon McFadden joins Aurecon with significant data and telecommunications experience across Australia and Europe, most recently with BAI Communications as General Manager, Commercial Broadcast/Telecommunications. Phil Motteram has 20 years’ data centre experience across Asia and Australia, working with Aurecon’s clients in these regions.