back to article IBM likely to close Australian data centre

IBM's Australian tentacle is considering the closure of a data centre in 2019, The Register has learned. The data centre is an oldie but a goodie, located at the company's Cumberland Forest facility in Western Sydney. Vulture South hack Richard Chirgwin recalls touring it in the mid-1980s. Documents seen by The Register say …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Business Park next to Cumberland Forest?! Not last time I was there. It's in a forest. Literally. The place is a total fire hazard. 15 years ago it was teaming with activity and home to thousands of people. Now it's a relative ghost town and all that work's done from Bangalore.

    Any other industry, that would be news and there'd be parliamentary interest shown. In IT it's just considered business as usual and hard luck to the Australians who are out of work. Yes I was one of them :)

  2. Adam 1

    > but is over 25km and an hour's drive from Sydney's central business district, and 90 minutes from its airport at peak times. ®

    Or about 5 minutes drive from Castle Hill station which is opening in a year or two.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      For most hosted customers this is a reasonable distance from the city for DR purposes.

    2. Oengus

      5 minutes drive from Castle Hill station or 5 minutes walk from Cherrybrook station...

  3. Griffo

    Blast from the past

    This DC is still running? It would be close to 20 years since i've been to that facility. And yes it's location always made sense. Every other idiot put their DC's in the CBD or in Alexandria right next to the Airport. I mean, CBD's and Airports aren't major at risk sites for large scale attacks right?

  4. GruntyMcPugh Silver badge

    I have to say I'm a little disappointed,... 'Forest' is a bit of an overstatement, it's kind of a wood, it's not 'forest sized' and it is smack in the middle of an urban environment.

    I imagined it would be more like the old IBA HQ at Crawley Court, which is in a fairly rural location, and largely obfuscated by trees, and once you get beyond the trees and start seeing all the satellite dishes it really feels like the set of a James Bond movie. Until you get to the canteen, then it's more 'high School Musical' because it had the feel of a comprehensive school dining hall.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      True it's not much of a forest. Just enough to be picturesque and to attract some wildlife. some of the least pleasant of which served at the on-premises cafe.

  5. GortonSM

    Cumberland Forest not OWNED by IBM

    My understanding that though once owned by IBM, it was sold (years ago) and then leased-back.

    Also, it has become (18 months ago) multi-tenented since IBM can not longer fill the campus.

    It was hardly ever a credible "Data Centre" - more like a weird, in-the-wilderness location.

    1. GruntyMcPugh Silver badge

      Re: Cumberland Forest not OWNED by IBM

      Sounds like pretty much every other IBM location then, IBM Warwick shrank, first it was the building that connected via the bridge that was sold off, then the remaining building got partitioned. IBM Notts was once the whole of the City Gate building straddling the road, then the West wing, then just two floors, then one, then moved to one floor on the East wing. Misery Towers in Basingstoke? was closed entirely. Only went there once.

  6. mako23

    Another sign that IBM is dying a slow death

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      No, just trimming the deadwood.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Residential development on the site

    I understand the local Council have approved a residential development for the site.

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