Building a Trusted Fence Around the Cloud

When Telenor was looking for a new data centre and could not find a provider that met its security requirements, it partnered with power company Hafslund and leading renewable energy investor HitecVision to build its own. Together, the three partners are investing USD 215 million (NOK 2.4 billion) to build Norway’s most modern, highly secure, and environmentally friendly data centre.

The joint venture is named Skygard.

“For the new company, we wanted a name that was clearly Norwegian, as an alternative to all the global players. It comprises two parts: ‘Sky,’ which is the Norwegian word for cloud, and ‘gard,’ which means fence. We wanted to stand out as a Norwegian safe place where customers can trust us to take care of their data,” explains Per Sigvald Austrheim, Vice President of Data Centres, Telenor Group.

Per Sigvald is responsible for data centres at Telenor Infrastructure. With Skygard, he sees business development opportunities. The need for digital technologies and digital infrastructure is growing fast, and he believes this is an area where Telenor as a global player with a strong Nordic and Asian footprint has a competitive edge.

“Since we could not find a provider that satisfied our own security needs, there are probably others facing the same challenge,” Per Sigvald adds.

A Solution for Customers with High Security Needs

For Skygard to compete with data centre services provided by global technology giants, the company will differentiate itself as a trusted local alternative owned by strong Norwegian companies. The typical customers include government agencies, critical infrastructure providers, financial services, and healthcare organizations.

For Telenor, Skygard is also a potential vehicle to deliver cloud services to its Nordic enterprise customers.

Global data centres store data on servers located in multiple locations around the world. Skygard is targeting customers with a very high need for security and control of their data, who prefer or are not allowed to put sensitive information on a global public cloud solution.

A Green Data Centre in the Heart of Oslo

The new data centre will be located in Hovinbyen, Oslo’s largest urban development area. The Norwegian capital is one of Europe’s fastest-growing cities, and the planned expansion will cover almost the same area as the entire existing inner city.

By locating the data centre in the middle of this new inner-city district, surplus heat, which is normally a waste product, is fed back into the heating network and warm 12,000-15,000 apartments. To do that efficiently, the data centre needs to be the right size and located close to where people live.

“It is not easy to build a centre in the middle of a city. We spent a lot of time on design to ensure that the building blends in with the neighbourhood and looks good, is modern, and green. We worked with leading sustainability and circular economy architects to bring nature and natural elements into the surrounding city. I will claim that this is the most beautiful data centre in Norway!” says Stig Jostein Vattøy, Site Architect at Telenor Infrastructure and responsible for building the new data centre.

Stig Jostein is an industry expert with more than 15 years of experience working with sites, infrastructure, security, and data centres.

He continues: “Traditionally, data centres are placed in less populated areas to lower construction costs and reduce noise pollution. However, an added benefit of building in urban areas is that it forces you to be land efficient, minimising negative impact on biodiversity and unnecessary destruction of valuable agricultural land areas.”

Thinking Differently When Building Data Centres in the Future

“Skygard will be an integrated part of a circular community in a green part of Oslo. This is how we think the future is going to look. We need to think differently of how we develop data centres to be sustainable long-term,” Per Sigvald continues.

In 2023, emissions from data centres reached the same level as total emissions from the entire global airline industry, and with AI driving demand for more storage and computational power, the need for data centres is expected to double every second year.

“It is not a solution to stop building data centres. We must remember that digital technologies and digital infrastructure are also part of the green shift. Doing things digitally is more efficient and greener than doing them the old way. However, you need to think differently about how and where you build,” says Per Sigvald.

First Customer Expected to Move In in 2025

Construction started in 2024, and the first customers are expected in 2025.

Skygard aims to build two more data centres in the capital region. When fully developed, the three data centres will have a combined capacity of 40MW.

Like any startup, the project team is fighting every day to keep costs low, progress according to plan, and get new customers onboard.

“There are many operational and technical challenges that need to be solved. This requires a different mindset where we are flexible and able to make decisions quickly all the time. It is really hard work, but it is fun, and it feels meaningful. If we look at the bigger picture, we are doing something that matters for society, the environment, and national security. That keeps us motivated and energised,” ends Per Sigvald and Stig Jostein.