The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) has developed what it claims will be the world’s fastest data centre. The Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) will roll out the first two data centres in Worli and Belapur in May. Several more are in the offing in Mumbai.

Funded by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the data centre has been developed by a group at IIT Bombay’s Gigabit Networking Laboratory. A data centre is used to house very dense computer systems and associated components. It offers features such as security, high speed and reliable infrastructure.

“We have created the world’s fastest and cheapest data centre. Unlike bulky data centres, ours has the footprint of a pizza box. Further, broadband is very expensive in India and the only solution is to develop our own technology. It’s significant in the sense that this is the first time that a technology has been fully developed in a lab in India for the Telecom Industry,” said IIT Bombay professor Ashwin Gumaste, who led the group from the institute. The technology developed is also energy efficient.

The services will include client software, financial, storage and enterprise IT among others. It will enable a very low-cost option to send data and information services to the web anywhere. While this would imply more security for large enterprises, it will enable small enterprises to make use of IT without the need to invest in expensive and complicated systems. There are plans to start similar centres in Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai.