There was a burning need for a new outsourced data center, IT Brief reports.The government’s IT infrastructure is light years behind that of the private sector, Prime Minister John Key (right) said at the opening of Datacom’s new $30 million data center last month.That gap became slightly bigger when the doors opened to Datacom’s new facility on Auckland’s North Shore, the largest single investment an IT company has made into the New Zealand infrastructure. The Orbit Centre is the first purpose-built commercial data center of this scale to be opened in New Zealand since the 1970s. It is also the largest privately owned data center in the country.Key complimented the company on its vast investment into the New Zealand economy: “I salute the fact you have invested so much money into a data center. It’s a sign of confidence in New Zealand and the New Zealand economy,” he said. “There has been tremendous change in New Zealand and the Internet will most likely be the catalyst for the biggest change this country will ever see,” Key added. “The tyranny of distance has always been a problem. The Internet is transforming New Zealand. We could lift productivity in New Zealand through technology, and I personally want to. Technology is where the world is going.” Key said this was the reason why the government was investing $1 billion in information and communication technology. Datacom chief executive officer Greg Davidson said the government’s broadband initiative would further drive the need for data centers. “These tight economic times are forcing organisations to look at outsourcing rather than having their own facilities. On top of the $30 million we have already invested, we plan to spend an additional $15 million on the Centre over the next three years. We see this as an investment supporting the future of New Zealand’s infrastructure,” he said. “The future supply of IT services is undoubtedly based around data centers and we see the facility as the perfect platform to offer the next generation of shared services, with significant economies of scale, a New Zealand cloud,” Davidson said. “IT is an essential service. It is mission-critical for businesses. People should have confidence in New Zealand’s capabilities. If we are going to be a successful player on the world stage, in the Australasian market we need to have confidence in our ability,” Davidson continued. “This centre is state of the art, it’s energy-efficient, it will economise power consumption. We saw a gap in the market: the burning need for a new data center.”The Orbit Centre has the capacity to accommodate 644 modern high-density racks and has the flexibility to accommodate any type of rack or equipment. It took more than 100,000 hours, more than 250 people and 120 sub-contractors to build. Construction began in March last year.