The Modern Data Centre: Your Guide to the Engine of ASEAN's AI Future

A data centre is the most critical piece of infrastructure in the modern world. Data centres are the engine, vault and central nervous system of the digital economy. In ASEAN, a region poised to unlock a $2 trillion digital economy by 2030, the role of the data centre is more important and more complex than ever.

Today the definition of a "data centre" is changing.

For CIOs, CTOs and CEOs today, data centres are no longer just secure buildings filled with technology and servers. Today, they are the answer to three critical, company-defining questions:

1. How do businesses keep customer data secure and compliant with diverse local laws across ASEAN?
2. How do businesses achieve the massive scale and power needed for generative AI?
3. How do businesses unify fragmented data in order to use AI effectively?

This guide traces the evolution of the modern data centre, beginning with the fundamentals before introducing next-generation infrastructure tools, Hyperforce and Agentforce, which are purpose-built to answer these questions for ASEAN enterprises.

For anyone new to the term, "data centre" might sound technical, but the idea is straightforward: data centres are the physical homes of the digital world.

A data centre functions like a highly secure, industrial-scale "digital factory" or "brain". It's not just a "digital cupboard" for storing files, but an active facility that houses the three core pillars of computing:

• Compute: The servers (powerful computers) that "think," run applications and perform calculations.
• Storage: The disk drives and flash storage that safely "remember" and store your data.
• Networking: The web of cables, routers and switches that "communicate" and send data to you and other systems.

Every time you stream a movie, use your banking app, send an email or join a video call, you are connecting to a data centre. "The cloud" isn’t some invisible mist — it’s a physical network of data centres.

You might wonder, why does a business need to access the cloud and why can’t they just run servers from inside their offices?

One reason is that modern digital services must be always on, perfectly secure, temperature controlled and instantly scalable — the reality is that these are requirements that a regular office building can’t meet, but are exactly what data centres are purpose built to deliver.

Data centres are custom built to store data. They do this by offering:

• Reliability & Uptime: Data centres are designed for 99.999% uptime. They have multiple backups for everything:
  • Power: Redundant power supplies, battery backups (UPS) and massive diesel generators in case of a city-wide blackout.
  • Cooling: Industrial-scale air conditioning and cooling systems are critical. A single server rack can generate the heat of a kitchen oven; a data centre has thousands.
  • Network: Multiple, separate fibre optic connections to the internet, so if one fails, traffic instantly moves to another.
• Physical Security: Data centres are like modern fortresses. They feature 24/7 security guards, perimeter fences, video surveillance and multi-factor access control (like key cards and biometric scanners) to ensure only authorised personnel can get near the hardware.
• Scalability: A data centre is designed to grow. Companies can add new server racks and resources as their needs expand, something that's impossible in a small office.

The way companies use data centres has changed dramatically.

1. On-Premise: This is the traditional model where a company builds, owns and manages its own private data centre. This is secure but extremely expensive, slow to build and hard to scale.
2. Co-location: A company rents secure space in a data centre facility owned by a third party. The company brings in its own servers and hardware but uses the facility's power, cooling and security.
3. Cloud Computing (IaaS): This is the model that powers most of the modern internet. Hyperscale providers like AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure build massive, global data centres and rent out their computing, storage and networking as a service.

The key takeaway is this: The "modern data centre" is no longer a single location, but a service. It is defined by its security, scalability and flexibility, not the building it's in.

This shift to service creates immense opportunity, but also presents a massive challenge for businesses operating across Southeast Asia.

ASEAN is not a single market. While its member states negotiate the landmark ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) , they are all working simultaneously to strengthen their own national data laws.

• Indonesia's Personal Data Protection (PDP) Law , which entered full enforcement in late 2024, sets strict rules on how citizen data is processed and transferred, creating a strong preference for in-country data storage.
• Singapore's IMDA is a global leader in AI governance, releasing its Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI to build a trusted, safe and accountable AI ecosystem.

This creates a complex puzzle for CIOs: How do you use a best-in-class global platform while keeping customer data inside specific countries?

As H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, stated -building a "trusted, secure and seamless framework for data exchange" is essential, but it must be balanced with strong governance. A traditional data centre or a one-size-fits-all cloud strategy simply cannot solve this.

At the same time, every CEO is demanding an AI strategy. The business wants to deploy transformative AI to serve customers better. But the market is flooded with fragmented AI tools that create massive security risks. This is a CIO's nightmare.

The problem is that legacy data centres and even basic cloud storage were never built for the massive, secure and low-latency compute that real enterprise AI demands. You can't run a powerful AI model on a fragmented, non-compliant or outdated infrastructure.

This is precisely the problem Salesforce sought to solve, by designing Hyperforce. Hyperforce is the evolution of the data centre, built for the new era of AI and data sovereignty.

Hyperforce is Salesforce’s next-generation infrastructure architecture, designed for the public cloud. It’s built on elastic cloud infrastructure which supports high-volume workloads and rapid expansion, without the traditional constraints of physical data centres.

Hyperforce separates Salesforce agents and apps from fixed infrastructure, allowing businesses to deploy Agentforce and Customer 360 wherever their users are. That means improved performance, reduced latency, and the flexibility to launch in new markets faster, while keeping sensitive data secure and compliance.

This isn't just a technical change; it's a strategic one.

• For CIOs: Hyperforce allows Salesforce to deploy its services in a local in-country data centre. This is key to solving data sovereignty as it provides a path to compliance, enhanced security and local data residency, all while using Salesforce.

For CEOs: It provides the massive scalability of the public cloud, the security of the Salesforce platform and the trusted foundation needed to innovate with AI without fear.

Salesforce is actively investing in the ASEAN region to provide this local foundation.

• Singapore: The launch of Hyperforce in Singapore directly supports the nation's "Trusted AI" and Smart Nation vision. It gives Singaporean businesses the confidence to innovate with AI on a platform that respects its world-class governance standards.
• Indonesia: To fuel its booming digital economy, Salesforce recently announced local data residency for Agentforce, powered by Hyperforce in Indonesia. This is a significant development, giving Indonesian enterprises the power to deploy world-class AI on a platform that keeps their data securely in-country and in line with PDP laws.

A modern data centre becomes a profit centre when it powers intelligence.

The ultimate goal is not to just store data; it's to activate it.

This is the vision of the Agentic Enterprise, which is a new way of working where humans and agents work together to drive customer success.

A trusted Hyperforce foundation provides a secure platform, enabling transformative AI like Agentforce to operate at its full potential.

The Agentic Enterprise is only possible if your AI can see all of your data. The only way to ensure this is to securely deploy a deeply unified platform with Agentforce, Data 360 and Customer 360.

This means your AI isn't just a separate chatbot. It's a trusted team member. The Hyperforce data centre is the vault, while Agentforce is the brain that can securely access all your customer data (Customer 360) and enterprise data (Data 360) to take real, intelligent actions.

On this trusted data centre foundation, the Agentic Enterprise comes to life. For example:

• Customer Service: An agent can analyse an incoming support ticket, securely check the customer's purchase history and draft a personalised solution. Your service human then reviews and approves it, turning a complex problem into a loyalty-building moment in seconds.
• Sales: An agent proactively monitors data and flags a top customer as a retention risk. It then suggests a new offer, which a sales human uses to re-engage the client.

This is where humans and agents work together, collaborating to drive customer success – all on a secure, compliant and locally trusted infrastructure.

A data centre is no longer a nice-to-have.

For ASEAN leaders, a data centre is the single most important strategic decision that will determine your capacity for compliance, security and AI-driven growth.

You cannot build a future-proof AI strategy on a foundation of fragmented data and regulatory risk.

The AI revolution in ASEAN requires both a bold vision and a trusted foundation. Salesforce is the only partner that delivers both, with a deep commitment to the region's local data needs through Hyperforce and the transformative intelligence of Agentforce.

The technology is here. The next step is empowering your people. True transformation begins by building an agent-ready workforce, upskilling your teams, redesigning workflows and creating a new culture of collaboration between humans and AI.