DATA CENTRE - TIER I, II, III AND IV - FUNDAMENTAL GUIDE - NIK ZAFRI

WHO DEFINES THE STANDARDS?

The Uptime Institute (founded in 1993, USA) created the Tier Standard. They remain the only recognized authority that can certify a data centre as Tier I–IV.

Many vendors say “Tier III equivalent” → this means built to Tier III design principles, but NOT CERTIFIED. Only Uptime Institute can issue the certificate.

If another consultant/contractor says “Tier III” without Uptime’s certification → it’s only “Tier III design standard”, NOT OFFICIAL.

UPTIME INSTITUTE CERTIFIED DATA CENTRES IN MALAYSIA

Here are some prominent Malaysian data centres that have achieved official Uptime Institute Tier certifications.

1. Irix Kuching 1 DC @ Santubong (Sarawak)

Tier IV Certification of Constructed Facility (TCCF) awarded in February 2025 making it Malaysia’s first fully Tier IV certified data centre. This certifies fault-tolerant infrastructure delivering ~99.995% uptime. 

It had earlier achieved the Tier IV Certification of Design Documents (TCDD) in October 2021. 

2. AIMS Cyberjaya Data Centre (Selangor)

Awarded Tier III Certification of Design Documents in April 2020.

Followed by :

Tier III Certification of Constructed Facility in May 2021. 

This confirms the centre is concurrently maintainable and built to Tier III standards.

3. NTT Cyberjaya 5 Data Centre (Cyberjaya)

Received Tier III Certification of Design Documents and Tier III Certification of Constructed Facility in early 2021. 

The facility is also noted as "Tier IV ready," though not yet fully certified at that level. 

4. TM ONE Iskandar Puteri Data Centre (Johor)

Awarded Tier III Certification of Constructed Facility.

Part of TM ONE’s “twin core” strategy to support business continuity between Iskandar Puteri and Klang Valley.

ACCREDITED DESIGNERS AND CONSULTANTS IN MALAYSIA

To design a Tier-compliant facility, professionals recognized by Uptime Institute as Accredited Tier Designers (ATDs) need to be engaged .Here are some Malaysian individuals and organizations on the official ATD roster.

• Ts. Ryan Loh Choon Wee – Head, Data Centre Planning, AIMS Data Centre (Kuala Lumpur)
• Chi Yen Chan – Associate Director, MEG CONSULT SDN BHD  (Kuala Lumpur),
• Wong Chat Wai – Manager, Emerson Network Power (Petaling Jaya)

Many others – including professionals at KCLA Architects + Engineers, Schneider Electric IT Malaysia, C2 Consult, Greatians Consulting Sdn Bhd , Telekom Malaysia, Vertiv, and more 

READ MORE : 

DATA CENTERS IN MALAYSIA : PURPOSE, POTENTIAL, CHALLENGES