Lamda Hellix’s new data center in Crete is an investment magnet

The new data center built by Lamda Hellix, a subsidiary of the American giant Digital Realty, is emerging as a magnet for new technology investments in Crete. With the submission of the project file to be included in the strategic investments of exceptional importance, the company is already in discussions with at least 10 companies interested in passing underwater optical fiber cables through Crete.

Starting with the creation of HERAKLION-1, the first large-scale multi-tenant data center on the island and the largest in terms of capacity among the data centers currently operating in the country, Crete is turning into an interconnection hub for international submarine cables. Heraklion, Chania, Tympaki and Sitia put Greece at the crossroads of data that starts from Asia and the Middle East to reach Europe.

The new investment of the Digital Realty group in Greece is the first step in Heraklion, Crete, while it is possible that this will continue. For HERAKLION-1, memoranda of cooperation have already progressed or are progressing with recognized companies that develop new generation infrastructures, such as Vodafone, Grid Telecom, United, EXA and Medusa. The last is the underwater system that, starting from Israel, will cross the Mediterranean and in 2024 will reach Spain.

Read also: Mitsotakis – Lamda Hellix’s Data Center is a vote of confidence in the economy

The ongoing investments of Lamda Hellix in Athens and Heraklion correspond to an IT load of more than 20MW. Their total Economic Value Added (EVA), as Mr. Kakkos said, is over 2 billion euros and within the next three years the company’s staff will double. On December 8th, it is going to inaugurate ATHENS-3, which will become the largest data center in Greece, with a capacity of 6.8MW. At the same time, as the Minister of Development and Investments Adonis Georgiadis assured, during his speech, he is going to receive the necessary permits to start the construction of ATHENS-4, also within the Athens Data Center Campus of Lamda Hellix in Koropi.

The new gold

For an eight-year vision and an emblematic investment, the president and managing director of Lamda Hellix, Mr. Apostolos Kakkos, spoke yesterday, during the official presentation of the investment in the space where the new data center will be developed within the Heraklion Business Center. “Data is the gold of the new, digital age. It is the “fuel”, the quintessence of the digital environment”. he reported.

He characterized the multi-tenant Data Centers as strategic infrastructures, as they enable a country not only to maintain “internal” ownership of digital data, but also to place itself on the global digital map. “To acquire digital gravity and through the latter, to significantly increase its competitiveness and the added value produced,” said Mr. Kakkos.

As he pointed out, Greece can evolve from a “passenger” country to a “driver” country, thanks to the investments made by Lamda Hellix, technology companies such as Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Google, as well as telecommunications providers such as OTE, Vodafone, Nova, Grid, Islalink, Medusa.

The emergence of Crete as a regional data hub

Although Crete has, so far, been left off the map of the submarine fiber optic cables that pass between its southern coasts and those of Africa, it is today – also due to its geographical location – at the center of important rearrangements. Today’s congestion of submarine cables, mainly in Marseille and alternatively in Sicily, results in Central and Eastern Europe enjoying lower interconnection responses with North East Africa, the Middle East, India and Asia.

It is characteristic that today even Eastern European data traffic from Asia and the Middle East first reaches Marseille and then turns back, resulting in the increased needs for higher response not being met.

Driven by Lamda Hellix’s large investment, which is located in the Heraklion Business Center, Crete can become one of the largest data hubs in the world, rivaling the awe of Marseille. The company’s first multi-tenant data center on the island has already sparked interest in new telecommunications networks and data loads, which will reduce both distances and costs, strengthening Europe’s telecommunications and digital security.

As Mr. Kakkos noted, during his speech, the technological excellence of Crete’s Universities, as well as the highly qualified local human resources will act as a magnet for high-tech companies in the coming years on the island.

It is indicative that by 2024, in the maritime space between Crete and Africa, 20 submarine optical fiber cables of thousands of kilometers will be operating, with enormous capacities. Currently, the Blue built by Google, Omantel and TI Sparkle, which will bring traffic from Israel, Italy, France, will “land” in Chania. Timbaki Heraklion is being considered as a staging point for JIO’s India Europe Express (IEX) that will connect India, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Italy. Interest has been expressed for 2Africa, the largest undersea fiber optic system ever deployed, to also pass through Timbaki, backed by Facebook.