Delska builds the most powerful infrastructure in the region

At a time when the amount of corporate data is literally exploding, IT continuity and secure data storage are becoming critical prerequisites for business growth. Latvian data center operator Delsk (formerly DEAC), which recently attracted substantial investment from a Luxembourg fund, is responding to this demand by building the most powerful data center in the Baltics.

The new data center in Riga, on Latgale’s Street, with a total capacity of 10 MW, will be the most powerful in Latvia and, most likely, in the Baltics. On average, 1 MW in the industry costs around 8 to 9 million euros. The data center we built in Latvia costs more than 30 million euros.

As local demand is growing more slowly than in many other developed countries, Delsk will mainly focus on exports with this facility. The situation is favorable for this, as the current geopolitical situation and rapid technological development are creating new opportunities. In addition, Latvia's climate is also favorable for data center maintenance.

"The war in Ukraine has coincided with the era of new technologies. Current technologies require more computing and network capacity. We see that we can meet the needs of artificial intelligence, HPC projects, as well as rapidly growing customers from 40 countries around the world," explains Andris Gailītis, Chairman of the Board of Delsk, one of the most experienced IT veterans in Latvia. 

The company is already planning further expansion by acquiring additional land for the construction of new data centers with capacities of 20, 30, and even 50 MW. The development plans are in line with Europe's efforts to reduce its dependence on global hyperscalers such as Amazon and Microsoft, but it is a complex and long road. The main problem is not infrastructure, but rather the functional side – software and service diversity. However, building European infrastructure is critically important. A key reason is security and protection against third-party access. The recent experience with the Amazon Web Services outage clearly showed that companies can no longer rely solely on global cloud service providers. Diversity and the ability to protect against such incidents are necessary.

This will not be easy, as large hyperscalers design the entire onboarding process and technology in such a way that it is almost impossible for customers to leave. There have already been lawsuits about this. 

"When a customer wants to switch to another service provider, 17 different obstacles are put in their way, both financial and technical. I usually say that it's like a one-way ticket - once you've uploaded your data to their system, you have to expect that getting out of it will be expensive," warns the company's CEO.

Overall, the Baltic region is very competitive for data center operations, mainly due to its climate. For about nine months of the year, data centers can be cooled using outside air instead of compressors. This is much more energy efficient and allows for significant resource savings. 

"Electricity prices are also relatively competitive on a global scale, but I would like to see more consideration given at the national level to the predictability of the energy sector - this would allow us to plan our activities better. I believe it is important to work in the Baltics so that taxes are paid here. Similarly, a sovereign European infrastructure means not only independence from the big clouds, but also regional security and confidence about where the company's data is stored. A closer location means lower data transmission delays and faster technical support," says Gailītis, adding that Latvia has certified and knowledgeable IT experts with multilingual skills. This is critically important in this business.

Delska is currently in talks with Rīgas Siltums to use the heat generated by the data center to heat buildings. Everyone would benefit. Energy would not be wasted, residents would have access to heat at a more affordable price, and companies would have the opportunity to recoup some of their money in this way. Delska's own data centers already provide heating and hot water using the heat generated by the data center. 

In the future, Delsk plans to continue its development, focusing on artificial intelligence hardware and data backup solutions in both the Baltic region and Western Europe, ensuring high IT security and continuity.