According to the initiative, it is planned to build giant data centers with a capacity of 150 to 900 MW in Russia, which will become a reliable data repository for the member states of the association. This project, called BRICS.The DC "New World Data Infrastructure" is designed to strengthen the digital sovereignty of partner countries and create an alternative to Western cloud services.
Ekaterina Icebreaker, President of the ADC, emphasizes that the modern economy is moving from a "data" economy to a "big data" economy, which requires qualitatively new approaches to their storage and processing. "We are moving from the slogan "Internet in every village" to "Data centers in every region," the expert notes.
The most promising location regions have been identified for the implementation of the project. Siberia and the Arctic are offered due to natural cooling and proximity to ports, the Irkutsk region due to cheap hydropower, and the Far East due to convenient logistics in the Asian direction. Each mega-data center will be a campus with an infrastructure park, with the highest level of Tier IV reliability and an energy efficiency target of PUE < 1.2.
Potential clients of the new data centers will be government agencies of the BRICS countries, national cloud and AI platforms, large corporations, academic institutions and startups in the field of big data. The project will allow Russia not only to ensure the secure storage of critical information, but also to export digital services and standards.
However, Russia has competitors in this race. Brazil is also striving to become a global data center using renewable energy sources. The Chinese company ByteDance (owner of TikTok) is already planning to invest in Brazilian data centers with a capacity of up to 900 MW.
To implement the Russian project, it is necessary to include support for mega-data centers in the national Digital Economy project, approve responsible corporations and location regions, and develop domestic certification standards. The development of this industry is especially important, given that the volume of the big data market in Russia is 23 million rubles and continues to grow rapidly.
The successful implementation of this initiative will allow Russia to strengthen its position in the global digital market, create new jobs and attract significant investments in the country's technological infrastructure.
