Consumers are guaranteed annual maximum availability, i.e. the functioning of critical infrastructures such as connectivity, power supply, and cooling systems.

The 2,122-square-meter structure has 220 tons of reinforcement and 5,500 t of concrete, and – in accordance with the requirements for Tier III data centers – is able to withstand earthquakes up to magnitude 9.0 on the Richter scale.
CEO of A1 Croatia Jiří Dvorjančanský explained that crises like COVID-19 and earthquakes exhorted and forced the accelerated digital transformation.

“The demand for cloud services and collocation is growing day by day. Due to mass teleworking and a significant increase in the use of online services and services, both for business and private purposes, the availability and security of data are priceless. We were brave and, despite the pandemic and other aggravating circumstances, invested €11 million in this state-of-the-art regional database, which was built in just one year,” Dvorjančanský stated, concluding, “With this, we have – through the accelerated construction of a 5G mobile network and a fixed optical network – reaffirmed our commitment to the digitalization of Croatia.”

The data center is equipped with its own substation powered by two independent energy branches with a maximum capacity of 2 MW. There will be no difficulties with its operation even in the event of interruption of both energy branches because the equipment will then be powered by two diesel generators with a total power of 2 MW as well as UPS systems. About 5,000 km of optical fibers (50 km of fiber-optic cables) from three different, independent directions were used to connect the data center. About 600 km of optical fibers (6 km of fiber-optic cables) are indented within the building itself. The facility is certified as an A+ facility in the context of energy efficiency, and it will have 300 IT cabinets in six technical rooms at full capacity.
In its second data center, A1 Croatia will provide services of collocation, IaaS virtual infrastructure, Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), Backup as a Service (BaaS), and Exoscale with a whole range of security solutions.

At the grand opening of the data center, Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković emphasized the importance of digital infrastructure for economic recovery and development:

We are looking forward to such investments, especially when they are realized within the framework of the current pandemic, which reassures us about the continuation of positive economic and investment opportunities in Croatia. New, high-quality infrastructure is precisely an important precondition for our economic and social progress, wherein, besides investing in the construction of broadband networks, the Government of the Republic of Croatia encourages the establishment of high-capacity networks. In addition to network infrastructure, the functioning of a digitalized society requires other infrastructure, such as this database.

Bernard Gršić, State Secretary of the Central State Office for the Development of the Digital Society, added that digital infrastructure like this data center is extremely important for the development of a digital society:

It’s all a stepping stone to further accelerate digital transformation. The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO) establishes an opportunity for digitalization to develop systematically, methodically, and much faster across Croatia. According to the 2021 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), the European Commission has recognized our ambitions to achieve the intended objective pursuant to the Croatian National Development Strategy until 2030, which is to be the EU average according to the DESI.

Among the first users of the new data center is Generali Insurance, part of the Generali Group – one of the largest global insurance and asset management providers. The new data center is located in Zagreb at the intersection of Većeslav Holjevac Avenue and Nežićeva Street. It was built and equipped for A1 Croatia by Vertiv, a global leader in designing, building, and servicing critical data center infrastructure – A1 reports.