1. Finland is best known for its clean environment,
political stability and technological prowess.
These facts combined with success in the ICT sec-
tor, renowned quality of education and a knack for
innovation are strong factors also in the quickly de-
veloping data center business.
Finns are also adept team players. We are high-
ly competitive also in the data center business, and
find it natural to collaborate closely where that ap-
proach brings the best results. A good example of
this is the cluster forming around the data center
business, which encompasses not only players from
the real estate and construction sector, but also from
both the energy and ICT industries, plus government
participation.
Of cluster members, the ICT company Sonera has
already launched a sizable data center in Helsinki. All
in all 14 data center projects have been launched or
are in the works, with a total budget in the billions of
euros.
Investment decisions have been helped by the
submarine optical data cable connecting Helsinki (via
Rostock) to Frankfurt starting this year. The govern-
ment-owned Cinia had a major role in this endeavor,
which serves to prove once again that everybody is
rooting for investment into Finland.
A significant plus is the relatively low cost of en-
ergy in Finland. Coupled with a cold climate optimal
for free cooling, supported by mechanical cooling in
hottest hours during summer months, energy costs
won’t amount to much.
We wish you and your company welcome to invest
in Finland, the promised land of data centers!
Finland Aces
Data Center Business
Anssi Salonen Osmo Koskisto Vesa Weissmann
D. Sc. (Tech.) Ph.D. (Eng.), Senior Partner MBA, Associated Partner
RYM Oy Goodform Oy Gearshift Group Oy
Data Center Construction News

2. Data Center Construction News
In Finland, the building of data centers is a spear-
head project that requires first-class ICT infrastruc-
ture and adequate capacity. A tangible example is
the recently completed submarine data cable be-
tween Rostock and Helsinki, commissioned by Cin-
ia Group Oy, in which government-owned Governia
has a stake. The contractor for the project, dubbed
Sealion, was Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks, a
French company that has the world’s biggest sub-
marine data cable plant in Calais.
”This now completed project is extremely impor-
tant, as those investing in data centers as well as
their clients can make use of a new data communi-
cations route to all of Europe and beyond. Thus the
increasingly strong diversity of routes continues to
underline Finland’s geographically optimal location
for data center investment,” says Cinia Partnership
Director Eeva Liljanto.
The 1,172-kilometer-long submarine C-Lion 1 ca-
ble increases significantly the data transfer capacity
to and from Finland. It serves equally all those invest-
ing in data centers as well as their clients.
”Capacity and fast connections abound, as C-Li-
on can transfer up to 120 terabits per second thanks
to its system of 8 fiber pairs,” she says.
Ms. Liljanto is excited about the opportunity to en-
hance international data center operations - together
with a network of partners. As an expert at Cinia, she
naturally hopes to pique the interest of investors to
the effect that they build their data centers in Finland.
”Several of the giants in this business have already
noticed the benefits of building data centers in Fin-
land. It pleases me that data centers are being built in
and planned for Finland much, much more than even
a few years ago.”
Partnership Director
Eeva Liljanto from Cinia
Cloud Oy enhances the
building of data centers
by offering them fast
international data transfer
connections.
Cinia
Welcomes Investment into
Finnish Data Centers

3. Data Center Construction News
The advantages of Finland as the target of data
center investment became obvious when Sonera
decided to realize its big new data center project.
Early in 2016, the construction site was established,
and the first phase is to be completed in 2018.
“This is a big investment. When it comes to data
centers, it’s always about a global business worth
tens of billions of euros. We wish to be a strong play-
er in the business also here in Finland,” says Depart-
ment Chief Juha Ekman. He is in charge of the build-
ing project at Sonera.
Mr. Ekman traces the facility now being built to
Helsinki to a strategic decision arrived at in the com-
pany much earlier.
“The digitization now taking place signifies a big
change to companies, society and people alike,
and it generates strong growth in data transfer, the
amount of data as well as processing capacity. This
again requires more and more efficient and flexible
data center capacity. When a company this size in-
vests large sums into a data center, the decision has
obviously been mulled over good and proper. The
same is true for the choice of location. It was clear
we would invest into Finland,” he says, and points
out the stability of Finland, in terms of geology and
society alike, as well as a climate that ensures great
energy efficiency.
The cold Finnish climate is a big advantage re-
garding data centers. In warmer countries, air condi-
tioning consumes a lot more energy than in the cold
North, where cooling comes free, except for maybe
two months in the summer.
In the City, Far from Fly-Over Country
Dozens of alternatives for a location were discussed
before the final decision. Some were bumped be-
cause they sat under air routes. Others were too far
from clients or power lines, some too close to the
seashore.
“We had four excellent candidates on the short
list. We finally chose the Pitäjänmäki district in Hel-
sinki, some ten kilometers from the downtown area,”
Mr. Ekman says.
He points out the logistics and the fact that the site
chosen did not require changing the environment,
hence no need to destroy nature. Plus the site now
under construction in Pitäjänmäki is far enough from
the sea and inland water systems, and thus carries
no risk from possible flooding.
By Spring, the site will be in the building frame phase.
All along, heating, ventilation and air conditioning for the
facility is being planned, with an eye on them serving
evolving needs and usage for dozens of years.
“Data center solutions are continuously improving.
Our starting point is that the frame stays, but the inte-
rior and HVAC are flexible, according to whatever the
needs are at that point. For starters, the data center
will house Sonera’s current production operations,
but also new services are in the books, for example
next generation networking services, various cloud
services as well Internet of Things services. We offer
our clients the opportunity to place their own servers
and systems under the auspices of the Sonera data
center, or to use it to back up their own data center,”
Mr. Ekman says.
Sonera Department Chief Juha Ekman
says that when looking for the best
location for a data center, Finland wins
hands down. Sonera’s strategy differs
from that of Google, long comfortable
with its data center running in Finland,
in that Sonera won’t use up all the data
center energy itself, but aims to offer
some to its clients, too.
Sonera Invests in
Digital Infrastructure

4. Data Center Construction News
SRV Yhtiöt Oyj, the developer and building con-
tractor that created the new look for downtown
Helsinki, has adopted data center operations as part
of its business strategy. The company has tangible
projects running built around the concept of data
centers as a whole new brand of real estate busi-
ness.
“Construction of data centers is on the rise not
only in Europe, but as a global phenomenon. As an
international player, we watch actively these trends
we also wish to influence ourselves,” says Jouko
Pöyhönen, Project Development Director at SRV.
Mr. Pöyhönen considers Finland the optimal place
to build data centers. He backs up his view citing
the excellent IT infrastructure and reasonably priced
energy available in the country.
“It is increasingly important for our real estate cli-
ents to find facilities that come with data connections
that are reliable and secure in all situations. The prox-
imity of a data center also makes it easier to build
and use modern hybrid facilities. The reality is, nowa-
days facilities are built to be flexible, so that the same
space can easily be converted to serve different pur-
poses,” Mr. Pöyhönen points out.
Jouko Pöyhönen also stresses the novel client
needs stemming from the digitized world we live in.
This means that the need for storing data grows, and
at an accelerated pace.
“We have acquired a lot of experience from our
own, compact data centers. Now we have taken the
decisive step by scaling up to data center projects
many times bigger. We need partners for this, of
course, including some of the leading Nordic energy
and ICT companies.”
SRV, Developer of Helsinki,
Focuses on Data Centers
Jouko Pöyhönen is
in charge of project
development operations
at SRV Yhtiöt Oyj. Data
centers are a focal part
of the company’s present
business strategy.