CKW building new data center in the Greater Zurich Area

The CKW subsidiary CKW Fiber Services is investing a sum of 10 million Swiss francs in the construction of a new data center in Rotkreuz, which will be known as DC Zug. The new building will be situated on the site of the CKW substation in Rotkreuz and is expected to be ready by the end of 2022. With floor space of 700 square meters, the data center should, according to a press release, offer space for various expansion and performance levels as well as an IT area for individual, customer-specific solutions.

Solar modules will be installed on both the roof and facades of the new data center. This means that the building will produce around 135,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which roughly corresponds to the annual requirements of 30 average four-person households. However, this solar power will not be fed into the grid, but instead used in full by the data center itself.

“The location at the substation not only offers the best conditions in terms of electricity, data network connection and geographical accessibility, but also satisfies the increased needs of companies in the Zug region for a secure, highly available space for extremely confidential data and paves the way for all customers to access a wide variety of cloud applications”, comments Roberto Cresta, Chairman of the Executive Board at CKW Fiber Services, in the press release.

In terms of security, the new data center will comply with Tier III requirements. Moreover, it is expected to be certified in accordance with ISO 27001. As such, DC Zug will meet the requirements for financial institutions defined by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).