NextDC's P2 data centre sits on the site of the old Golf Box on Newcastle Street.
In layman's terms,data centres are halls rented by customers who set up their IT equipment in them,instead of on their own premises.
The equipment is managed by the customer but it is up to NextDC to ensure the connection to the rest of the world is fast and secure;nothing is tampered with;the power stays on;and the equipment is kept cool.
P2,built by Multiplex,is Perth’s biggest data centre and cost about $200 million. It is NextDC’s second WA premises after its Malaga centre opened in 2014.
NextDC chief operating officer Simon Cooper said,depending on their customers,P2 would host equipment essential for everything online from shopping to WA government services.
He said it would also support the resource sector's push for automation and artificial intelligence in mining operations.
The company now has 11 major data centres in Australia and Mr Cooper said the WA government’s push to move more services online and the switching on of new high-capacity submarine internet cables in recent years played a big role in the decision to expand in Perth.
“We were going to invest anyway in the actual course of expansion but I think what the submarine cables said to us is this isn't about expanding our existing data centre,this is about creating a new paradigm here in WA,” he said.