Microsoft To Store Data Under Water

Technology giant, Microsoft, has spent four months under the sea experimenting the new underwater data storage system. Redmond’s experimental Project Natick subsea data centre suggests that the future of information storage could be under the ocean.
“Project Natick seeks to understand the benefits and difficulties in deploying subsea data centres,” Redmond’s website said. “We did so by designing, building, and deploying our own subsea centre in the ocean, all in about a year.”
The project was launched in August 2014 and became operational a year later when the Leona Philpot vessel was christened and deployed about a half mile off the coast of California. Named after a character in Microsoft’s Halo game franchise, the prototype ran underwater from August to November.
“Project Natick reflects Microsoft’s ongoing quest for cloud data center solutions that offer rapid provisioning, lower costs, high responsiveness, and are more environmentally sustainable,” the program’s FAQ said.
The cloud-based program aims to help better serve customers in areas near large bodies of water—where nearly 50 percent of the world’s population resides, according to Redmond.
“The vision of operating containerized data centres offshore near major population centres anticipates a highly interactive future requiring data resources located close to users,” the site said. “Deepwater deployment offers ready access to cooling, renewable power sources, and a controlled environment.”
The data centres will be made from recycled materials, which can be reused once the device reaches the end of its life—up to 20 years. In the meantime, the vessel will be retrieved, reloaded with new computers, and redeployed every five years.