‘It’s all very interesting, but we have already seen enough of your kind’ – how the first world-class data center was built in Estonia

‘It’s all very interesting, but please come back when we can inspect your building ourselves. We have already seen enough of your kind,’ was the typical answer that Kert Evert received four years ago when he was visiting large businesses in Estonia to introduce the idea of moving, within a couple of years, into the first modern large-scale data center to be built in Estonia. There were only a few of those who believed in the realisation of such a large-scale project in a small country like Estonia. The necessary investments were enormous, there were no sectoral specialists, and the market for this volume had yet to be created. But everyone who doubted it were wrong.

Kert Evert at the construction site.

It all started with telephone relay stations

‘I was around seven years old. Back then, telephone communication in Tallinn still operated through relay stations, where people would be connected by plugging wires into a wall. Younger people have probably only seen these oddly clicking stations in movies. My uncle was employed at one such office, and he occasionally took me with him to work. This environment had a very enchanting effect. My home was also full of all sorts of pieces of equipment that I only knew how to disassemble at the time,’ says Kert Evert, the author of the idea for the largest data center in the Baltics, which began operating in February, describing the moments from which it all started.

Evert, who has been working in the telecommunications sector for his entire life, has probably climbed up nearly every cell phone tower, across every apartment building rooftop, and through every dimly-lit basement over a period of 20 years – he has gone wherever the IT equipment requiring installation or maintenance was located. ‘Together with my small team, we gradually replaced 700 Tele2 base stations. Essentially, it meant taking down and putting up the entire network piece by piece,’ Evert brings an example.

It was with his participation that the first truly modern server room in Estonia was built in the early 2000s, and the first experiences came, such as what it means when the roofs of buildings that were not purpose-built leak and water drips onto equipment. It means not only a bad day for the machines, but ultimately affects thousands of people and their daily lives. ‘At the time, the lack of data centers clearly hampered companies. For example, one large organisation with an international background could not move its office because the top floor of the office had grown over time into an extensive server room and there was nowhere else to put it. Equipment simply continued to be added. When a new device arrived, an additional cooling unit was placed on the wall. This solution was not very effective. Had an accident involving fire occurred there, then the gas extinguishing system would probably have blown half of the windows on the floor out onto the street,’ notes Evert, recalling how the idea for a world-class data center here in Estonia matured.

It was 2015 when he first proposed this thought to his employer at the time, although it failed to find support because it was not the company’s core business. ‘What also made it risky was the fact that a steady stream of enterprising people appeared, who visited data-intensive large businesses and confirmed that a large-scale data center would soon be built. It was therefore unclear whether someone was already investing. However, construction never followed,’ notes Evert. Of course, this ended up sowing an abundance of mistrust and doubt. As no one took definitive action, the man decided to grab the bull by the horns himself, finally gave up his day job, and devoted himself entirely to building a world-class data center in Estonia.

Earthworm farm and data center

As always in life, when you do the right thing, it is through serendipity that the world rushes to help you. This is how Kert Evert became acquainted with Leif Hildén, a Finnish businessman and investor with a wealth of knowledge and an extensive circle of acquaintances. ‘Leif wanted to buy a summer house from one of my friends, but my friend spoke only Estonian and needed an interpreter. I helped organise the transaction. Later, Leif asked for further assistance in communicating with the local government and getting the paperwork in order. So, we stayed in touch,’ says Evert, recounting the introductions that led to finding the first investors.

Some time after resolving Leif Hildén’s real estate questions, Kert Evert presented the idea of a data center. Back then, the plans included more than just construction of a data center – it was supposed to take place in conjunction with the construction of huge greenhouses that would have harnessed the residual heat generated by the data center. Production residue in one direction of business would serve as production input for another direction of business. The idea was refreshing, and Leif Hildén introduced him to another Finnish businessman and investor, Tero Viherto, who, by the way, is still involved in the activities of Greenergy Data Centers to this day.

‘The idea of combining the data center with growing lettuce actually stemmed from Leif’s plan to establish a company growing vegetables in Estonia. While conducting research online at that time, I found similar solutions elsewhere in the world. However, in those cases, the plants were located inside the server rooms. In my plans, they were going to be separate, of course. We also had the idea of establishing a worm farm and produce earthworm soil,’ grins Evert. According to him, the idea of using a greenhouse to take advantage of residual heat has not been entirely cast aside, but is waiting for its time. Theoretically, it would be entirely feasible.

The process of searching for and persuading initial investors was done by fairly simple means. People were found through connections, and 3D models and presentations created using Google SketchUp proved helpful in persuading them. It worked and the next step was establishing MCF Group Estonia OÜ in June 2016.

Early sketch of the data center.

As it was impossible to get funding from the bank for such an ambitious project without actual cash flows, additional investors were needed. ‘As opposed to many other start-ups, things went smoothly. About 90% of the contacts with potential investors resulted in a positive decision. At the same time, we also selected them with care. Each investor had to bring expertise in addition to money into the company. Finally, the plan to build the data center had 28 investors, including top specialists in data center construction, financial plans, security, law, construction, electricity generation, natural management, and several other fields,’ says Evert as he describes the early years. In addition to Finns, there were also several Estonians in the group. The inclusion of such know-how meant there was no need to spend millions on consultations for the given project.

‘Of course, there were also those who did not understand the need to build a data center. One investor who abandoned the project, for example, justified his decision by stating that there would soon be no need for data centers because everything was moving to the cloud,’ Evert recalls.

Out of the shadows

The most difficult thing about building a truly reliable data center is probably the choice of location. ‘Internationally, more than a hundred criteria are monitored in this process. I have travelled through a lot of places in Estonia and I can confirm that the current location in Hüüru, on the outskirts of Tallinn, is the best. It is located next to one of the most important Estonian power substations, on a high and safe limestone embankment, and sufficiently close to all of the major transport nodes. It does not get much better than this,’ says Evert, describing the result of his lengthy search.

Finding the location was followed by the adoption of a detailed spatial plan, design work, and obtaining a building permit; then came the most important decision – whether to break ground. This meant significantly greater investments along with the accompanying risks. There was no turning back. ‘The meeting that lasted the entire day in Finland was probably one of the hardest of my life, as so much was at stake. By evening, the decision had been made together with the investors to proceed with the project,’ said Evert, as he recalled the turning point. In addition to starting construction, it also meant putting together a larger team and starting the process of finding anchor tenants. Of course, at the time, no one knew exactly what building or operating a data center meant. This meant that ambitious and bright-eyed people joined the team, who were willing to do something completely new. Much of the current team at the GDC data center dates back to those times. Everyone is intimately familiar with their field and, at times, literally every nut and bolt in the large complex.

Preconceived ideas were one of the first obstacles to finding clients. As many others had previously promised to build a data center and subsequently betrayed those expectations, there was a great deal of scepticism. Therefore, it was decided to take each step as openly and transparently as possible. It was important to show publicly that the work was ongoing.

The first public announcement that an 100-million-euro highly energy-efficient data center would be built in Estonia was on 27 November 2018, on the front page of Äripäev. ‘In fact, we took a big risk with this because we did not have a building permit yet and theoretically, competitors could have put a spanner in the works. On the other hand, the pressure for disclosure was great, because once again, there were whispers that others were planning to build a large data center in Estonia. To reassure investors and slow down competitors, the project had to be brought out of the shadows,’ explained Evert, who said the feedback was relatively pessimistic – just another pointless project that will never go anywhere. ‘I am not discouraged by this kind of feedback. On the contrary. It is both energising and motivating,’ laughs the man who is already planning the construction of the next data center.

The first phase of the construction.

Best of 700

In total, experts from six countries were involved in the design and construction process of the largest data center in the Baltics, with construction taking three years. ‘We never went down the path of least resistance; instead, we were constantly looking for the best possible solutions and the highest level of reliability. This, of course, led to challenges. One example is a novel low-oxygen system for server rooms, which eliminates the possibility of fires starting (while still being safe for humans).

‘We are the first in Estonia to implement this system. Unlike others, we do not add nitrogen to the air, but instead, we remove oxygen from it. Putting this solution into practice proved to be a real challenge because of the batteries located in UPS rooms, which provide power supply in the event of short-term interruptions. Batteries release hydrogen over time, which is dangerous in specific quantities and conditions. Therefore, these rooms must be regularly ventilated. How can one ventilate a room where a low oxygen level must be maintained and even small air leaks are not permitted?’ said Evert, illustrating the challenges that had to be solved.

Solutions, of course, were found. According to German specialists who certified the GDC data center, it ranks among the best of the more than 700 data centers they have reviewed – in terms of both concept and implementation. This is a tremendous compliment on the work and ingenuity exhibited by the founders of the complex.

Operational data center in 2022. Photo by: Tõnu Tunnel.

A ladder upstairs

Some interesting circumstances also occurred during construction. Situated on the outskirts of Tallinn, the server rooms and the office in the complex stand side by side, but are separately designed. When both projects were completed and they were put together, it turned out that they were not compatible and that it would not be possible to move from the office to the second floor of the building housing the server rooms without the use of a ladder. The reason was that while the height of the floors in the office building was 3 metres, it was 6 metres in the building that hosted the servers. The solution was to reduce the area of the office building and add a third floor. Now, you can move about in the building without a ladder.

Involvement of a major investor

‘We knew that at one point, a bigger investor would be needed to complete the project. With the support of small investors, this would have been unlikely. We also held a number of negotiations on this issue. There were several interested parties. At one point, Üllar Jaaksoo came to visit us and told us that the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund may be interested in investing here,’ Evert tells the story of the last major step in completing the project. The fund benefited from a strong international background, a high proportion of institutional investors, and the involvement of various Central and Eastern European countries, as well as from Jaaksoo’s vision of a network of green and energy-efficient data centers being built across the entire region, in addition to the first data center.

The negotiations led to an agreement. So it was that Greenergy Data Centers acquired MCF Group Estonia in December 2020, and the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund acquired a majority holding in Greenergy Data Centers. This ensured the necessary resources to complete the construction of the data center and its expansion in the future. Today, in addition to the major investor, only Kert Evert himself and one of the first investors, Tero Viherto, remain in the circle of shareholders.

‘Getting a major investor on board required an enormous amount of work. The construction of the data center was carried out in parallel with coordinating the revision and negotiation of all technical and strategic documents. At that time, I agreed with my family that they would move to Saaremaa for about a year. I was only focusing on work. Of course, this eventually led to burnout, and after the involvement of the investor, I put new personal rules in place. I can confirm from my own experience that work and rest are equally important and that is the only way a person can truly act effectively,’ said Evert as he shared his recommendations.

However, this is not the only lesson learned from building a data center. The second recommendation is to share more information and tasks. ‘Tech people’ tend to get excited easily and then want to do everything themselves. However, that is not realistic. The key thing is surrounding yourself with good people and learn to delegate.

The third lesson is to have a financial buffer for such major construction. Counting pennies eats up time and energy, in addition to nerves. A buffer means faster decisions, which, as a rule, end up being more useful.

‘There will surely be more lessons to learn. Because this is just the beginning. We will not be sitting around – the next big goal is to open GDC’s next big data center. We possess the necessary skills and knowledge. And the comfort zone is not something that sits very well with me, either,’ concludes Evert.

All in all, Kert Evert, who led building the largest and most secure data center in the Baltics, never had any doubts about the project running aground. He was convinced from the very beginning that somehow, he would make it. One way or another. Of course, behind this success is a strong team that has made sacrifices and contributed more than classical salaried work requires. Estonia’s first large-scale data center in Hüüru stands as a testament to them all!