Meghna Cloud: A Milestone in Bangladesh’s Technological Advancement

Gennext Technologies Limited, a prominent ICT company, has recently launched the full-scale operation of Bangladesh’s cloud data centre, named Meghna Cloud.

Located at Bangabandhu Hi-Tech City in Kaliakoir of Gazipur, this marks a significant milestone in the country's technological advancement.

The platform will provide comprehensive cloud service infrastructure, encompassing servers, storage, networking equipment, and associated software technology.

This initiative aims to provide the needs of both governmental and private entities, ensuring that the country's data remains within domestic borders, reports a press release.

It will also significantly reduce the amount of foreign currency expenditure that the country allocates annually for the procurement and utilization of cloud technology.

Gennext entered into a joint venture agreement with Bangladesh Data Centre Company Limited (BDCCL) for establishing the Meghna Cloud on December 29, 2022.

Under the agreement, Gennext will build, operate and maintain the Meghna Cloud and will ensure sales and marketing of the cloud services to the government and the private sector together with the BDCCL.

State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak said, “Made in Bangladesh Cloud is an excellent example of strategic partnership between the government and the private sector. Through this initiative, the country can save a huge amount of foreign currency and ensure more data security.”

The state minister has come up with the remarks after visiting the Meghna Cloud data centre at Bangabandhu Hi-Tech City in Kaliakoir of Gazipur.

During the visit, Gennext Technologies Chairman Touhidul Islam Chaudhury and Gennext Technologies Managing Director Alavee Azfar Chaudhury briefed the junior minister and ICT Secretary Md. Shamsul Arefin about the operation of the cloud centre.

Gennext has employed state-of-the-art technologies to establish the cloud platform and has cultivated a proficient workforce to operate it effectively.

“Meghna Cloud will play a pivotal role in advancing the Smart Bangladesh initiative. We are establishing a research and development centre to facilitate collaboration among teachers and students from both government and private universities,” said Touhidul Islam Chaudhury, chairman of Gennext Technologies.

This initiative aims to provide cloud-related technology training to approximately 5,000 students annually, he said.

The company is planning to invest around $500 million within the next five years for this project, said Javed Opgenhaffen, vice chairman of Gennext Technologies.

“We want to work with the government jointly to contribute to the overall development of the country. This cloud platform is expected to play a significant role in establishing Smart Bangladesh,” he said.

He said that the data centre would help the government in saving foreign currency by reducing reliance on purchasing and utilizing cloud technology from other countries.

This move ensures that Bangladesh no longer solely depends on foreign data storage facilities, he said.

According to experts within the sector, the majority of data in Bangladesh is routed through servers located in Singapore, presenting a dual challenge.

Firstly, under the current system, the Singaporean government may potentially access the data, posing difficulties in retrieving sensitive information.

Secondly, the cost of transferring data would be higher due to the long distance it needs to travel, requiring approximately 60 milliseconds for data transfer from Singapore to Bangladesh.

By having the data centres within the country's boundaries, these two issues would be mitigated.

“Meghna Cloud is expected to create a security platform which would provide top-most data security to the government and the non-government organisations,” said Alavee Azfar Chaudhury, managing director of Gennext Technologies.

In 2019, the government established the tier 4 National Data Centre, the largest in Bangladesh, at the Bangabandhu Hi-Tech City.

It is operated by the BDCCL.