Jakarta, INTI – The issue of national data sovereignty is increasingly relevant amid the rapid adoption of digital technology in Indonesia. Indonesia's geographical position as an archipelago at the tip of Southeast Asia places its own challenges and opportunities in building a globally competitive digital infrastructure. In an exclusive interview session at intimedia in the Inti Talk segment, Mr. Rendy Maulana Akbar as Chairman of ACHI (Indonesian Cloud and Hosting Association) explained the role of the business world in strengthening national data center usage standards for the sovereignty and efficiency of the country's digital system.
Data Infrastructure Transformation: From Overseas Servers to Local Data Centers
In the early days of the internet in Indonesia, most data was stored overseas, particularly in the United States. But since the mid-2000s, there has been a major shift: more and more companies have started using local servers. “When our data started to be housed domestically, internet speeds increased and costs became more efficient,” explains Rendy.
The momentum continued with the emergence of national data center standardization around 2010s, such as Tier 1 to Tier 4, which is now a reference for data center quality. The banking world pioneered the adoption of the Tier 3 minimum standard, encouraging other industries to follow suit.
Data Sovereignty: Protection, Efficiency, and Security
According to Rendy, data sovereignty is not just about storage location, but also about legal jurisdiction. “If the data is stored in Indonesia, it is protected by Indonesian law and easier to access in an emergency,” he said. He added that global geopolitical challenges such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict are a reminder of the importance of control over one's own data infrastructure.
By storing data domestically, in addition to protecting national privacy and security, businesses also enjoy other benefits: lower costs, faster maintenance processes, and stronger legal certainty.
Go Global Strategy: Optimizing Diaspora and Product Adjustment
Rendy highlighted the challenges in bringing Indonesian digital content and products to the global stage. “A lot of our content and systems are still local because the consumers are also local,” he said. One solution offered is to direct content distribution to the Indonesian diaspora abroad.
In addition, Indonesian digital products need to be optimized to be globally relevant, both in terms of language, international user needs, and infrastructure integration. He emphasized that Indonesia has great digital export potential, including in terms of providing data center services.
Conclusion
Through the use of local data centers with international standards and a targeted content distribution strategy, Indonesia can strengthen its position in the global digital landscape. Business support and synergy with the government and associations such as ACHI are key in maintaining data sovereignty, increasing digital efficiency, while encouraging national products to penetrate international markets.
"The important thing is adjustment and collaboration. That way, Indonesian data is not only safe, but can also become a new economic power," Rendy concluded.
Read More: Rendy Maulana Akbar - The Role of Industry in Shaping National Data Sovereignty Standards