GEC NEWS WIREZain has launched ‘The Bunker’ – a TIER III UPTIME, with 99.982% availability, state-of-the-art, military grade design and development, highly modernized, fully redundant power, cooling and communications network data center, situated at the King Hussein Business Park in Amman Jordan. The Bunker, which is the first of its kind in the region and one of very few worldwide, gives local, regional and international organizations the opportunity to host their IT infrastructure, disaster recovery offices and enhance their ICT business processes.
The Bunker is another initiative that exemplifies Zain Jordan’s efforts to spearhead digital transformation in the country. The company revolutionized telecommunications in Jordan by introducing GSM mobile services in the country and introduced Fourth Generation services “LTE” for the first time in the kingdom.
Companies that have very crucial computational functions and important data to store can really value such a facility that provides the highest levels of security and sustainability. When a company uses The Bunker as their main data center or their disaster recovery location, it is safer than any other conventional building. Its area measures approximately 4300 sq. mts., located 12 mts. below ground level. Built with the same specifications as a military-grade underground facility, The Bunker is constructed to the highest standards of security and redundancy requirements. It has dedicated rooms protected by high security 2-ton iron doors and 2 metres thick reinforced concrete walls, giving it the capability to withstand natural disasters, missiles and fires. Furthermore, when a disaster strikes, the cooling, power and connectivity systems are redundant and can be sustained for long periods without any outage. The facility has 24/7 onsite security personnel and advanced surveillance cameras security systems (CCTVs).
Mr. Fahad AlJasim, Chief Executive Officer at Zain Jordan says, “We see this as a turning point and a milestone in Zain’s journey to be the most advanced telecom operator, to meet the long-term aspirations of our partners, and to help them with a range of services that are at the core of their business, contributing to their aspirations for further success in their organization.”
The value proposition of The Bunker is that it provides a colocation space as well as a designed cloud, heavily protected underground and powered by Zain’s resilient network. Companies can avoid large TCOs of building data centers and alternatively adopt an OPEX model through yearly payments. The facility’s location in the heart of Amman is very convenient to IT staff of any company to reach The Bunker where their servers are hosted.
The Bunker is not just a data center. Other than its variety of colocation options, it consists of various DR offices. Customers can rent dedicated or shared offices as well as ‘hot seats’ which can serve as business continuity units in cases of disasters or day to day activities related to their data center. These spaces span from 20 sq. mts. to 100 sq. mts. and can cater to various customer needs.
Zaid Jordan’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Yousef Abu Mutawe concludes, “Zain has transformed from providing services to individuals to becoming a leader in providing services to the business sector. We are extremely proud to introduce the Zain Regional Center for Data Storage, Information and Disaster Recovery (The Bunker) which is the first of its kind in the Arab world. We will continue to expand and enhance our ICT portfolio and introduce innovation to the market.”
