One Small Step for Asiacell, But One Giant Step for Iraq

 "Asiacell gets the first Tier certification in Iraq, We didn't do the first one, we did the first two!" was announced by Amir Abdelazin, the Chief Technology and Information (CTIO) at Asiacell Communications. In fact, more than that. After the two uptime Tier III certification obtained in September 2020, Asiacell will receive Tier III design certification in the next three data centers, which means that Iraq has a local high-quality Cloud Data Center cluster from scratch. They will provide high-quality data center services to customers throughout Iraq (Remark: Uptime is the world's most authoritative third-party organization for data center design and construction certification. The TCDD(Tier Certifications of Design Documents）of Tier III certification is the most accepted and widely used Uptime certification and is widely recognized by all industries around the world.)

The era calls for high-Tier Data Centers in Iraq

In the digital era, people enjoy the convenience of big data, but also need to face data security risks. The Government of Iraq has long taken note of the importance of the security of data assets, it has issued a clear document that if data generated in the country, and the data have to be stored and managed in the country.

It is believed that the digitalization trend requires more reliable and secure data center services which can meet or higher than Tier III standard for the development of all industries.

First, the banking sector. Bank data involves the financial transactions of enterprises and individuals. Once a failure occurs, the consequences will be unimaginable. Therefore, bank data has high requirements on security and reliability. In the past, because the data center was not reliable enough, so banks had to store and back up data in multiple locations, which was extremely costly. However, as services continued to grow, this mode became increasingly unsustainable.

Second, the rise of social platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Tik Tok in Iraq, and Tencent mobile games such as Jedi Survival have enriched people's lives. The current data center situation in Iraq obviously cannot meet people's desire for better Internet experience.

Finally, the digital transformation of government is also imminent. Different from other countries in the world, the business of the Iraqi government is also handled on the spot. For example, the visa business in Baghdad needs to be handled in different place and more than 10 seals are required. However, the COVD-19 in 2020 will make the on-site office very difficult. In order to ensure the normal operation of the society, half of the civil servants have to take the risk of infection to work in office. 

 "One Small Step for Asiacell, But One Giant Step for Iraq Digitization"

Asiacell is aware that the construction and operation of high-quality cloud data centers will provide strong support for Iraq's digital transformation. As the largest mobile operator in country, Asiacell is one of the few enterprises that have rich experience in computer room management. Based on the research on data center services, Asiacell has made the following four aspects:

1. In line with the international standards, that is to obtain the most authoritative Uptime Tier III certification, which not only ensures the use of domestic customers, but also allows overseas customers to settle in.
2. Rapid service deployment is supported. Currently, the global digital process is surging, and digital services in Iraq are ready to be launched. Only by rapid construction and capacity expansion can cope with the ever-changing era.
3. The power supply must be stable. The quality of Iraq's power grid is unstable, therefore, 2N redundancy must be implemented for the power supply architecture to ensure the stability.
4. High reliability components. Details determine the success or failure. For the key subsystems such as power supply and distribution, temperature control and other key subsystems of the data center, it is necessary to adopt international famous brands with good product quality and service in place.

Amir Abdelazim, the CTIO of Asiacell at Communications, said: "Asiacell is always committed to providing the most reliable services for customers in Iraq. Therefore, Asiacell cooperates with Huawei, a leading enterprise in the data center field, to build the most secure and reliable cloud data center with Uptime Tier III certification in Iraq by adopting the prefabricated modular solution."

The prefabricated modular data center adopted by Asiacell has strict quality control. The whole data center is a single product, which is manufactured, commissioned and tested in the factory, and only needs to be hoisted and assembled onsite. It is basically not affected by the ability of workers and construction conditions on site. The data center is fast and secure, reliable, and intelligently managed. For example, a data centers with over 300 racks, delivery can be completed in 10 months. The modular design can quickly meet the capacity expansion requirements of subsequent services.

To match the actual environment in Iraq, the prefab modules is made of customized steel structure, which features high reliability and a normal service life of up to 25 years. In addition, the prefab modules is equipped with thermal insulation materials and can work at a maximum temperature of 55°C.

“The way forward is endless. Acquiring the first batch of Uptime TCDD certifications in Iraq is only the first step for Asiacell to develop its data center business.” Amir Abdelazim added, “In the future, we will continue to make efforts to apply for the Uptime Tier III design certification for all DCs involved in B2B services, cover the whole territory of Iraq with high-level data centers, narrow the digital experience gap between Iraq and other regions in the world, and provide continuous driving force for digital transformation of government and enterprise customers for whole country.”