T-Systems opens new Biere data center for cloud computing

The high-tech engineering, procurement and construction company M+W Group GmbH and the construction company Ed. Züblin AG have now successfully completed their joint project to build a highly available data center for T-Systems in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The Biere-based data center was handed over to TSystems on March 25, 2014 for fitting out with customers’ IT systems and, today, the official opening ceremony took place. The organizers welcomed a number of important guests for the ceremony: the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Sigmar Gabriel, the Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt, Dr. Rainer Haseloff, and the CEO of Deutsche Telekom, Tim Höttges.

The project was spread across two separate sites – as well as engineering and construction of the new center in Biere, M+W Group and Züblin also expanded an existing data center twenty kilometers away in Magdeburg. Together, the two centers make up a “twin core” – an ultramodern system working in tandem to provide the highest level of reliable service and data security. The new center is designed to cover the growing global demand for secure cloud computing, a service that gives customers access to externally operated applications and computing capacity.

Dr. Olaf Berlien, CEO of the M+W Group, said about the project: “We are happy that this innovative and highly energy-efficient twin core data center can provide an important new hub in T-Systems’ global data center network.” Klaus Pöllath, CEO of Ed. Züblin AG, added, “We, too, are proud to have been a part of this pioneering project and are glad to have set the bar high for future data centers.”

The M+W Group and Züblin acted together as the general contractors on the project, responsible for engineering, purchasing materials, fitting the center out with technical equipment and a supply of electricity, and generally making it turnkey ready. The foundations were laid on October 24, 2012, and when it has reached its intended capacity, the Magdeburg/Biere Dynamic Data Center will be the biggest in Germany.

The energy supply is another of the center’s modern features: 100 percent of the power for this “low-energy” facility comes from renewable sources. Also, the temperature inside the centers is controlled by a new cooling method that reduces energy usage by around a third, compared to similar centers. Energy efficiency is generally measured with a metric called PUE (power usage effectiveness), and the Biere data center has a rating of 1.3, making it one of the most modern and energy-efficient centers in its class. PUE ratings are calculated by comparing the energy used by the whole data center with the energy used by just the computer systems and components. On June 6, 2014, both the Magdeburg site and the Biere site received LEED Gold status (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) by the U.S. Green Building Council. Therefore, the centers can also be seen as models of excellence in sustainability and can be used as the yardstick for future data centers.