IBM and Indian consultancy SCHNABEL, part of the German-based group, will provide technology infrastructure, services and consultancy to help build what it says will be the world's third largest data center, in Bengaluru (Bangalore), India.

IBM will provide design consultancy services, covering a range of technologies for the data center operation including power, cooling, rack layout, chillers, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and diesel generator sets.

SCHNABEL will offer peer consultancy reviews of the build, which is planned to be India's largest yet.

Tulip said the data center will be used for colocation and managed hosting services, as well as data storage and managed services including storage and security.

It will cover 9,000,000 sq ft of land purchased earlier this year at SADA IT Parks for Rs 230 Crores. The build itself will cost Rs 900 Crores over three years.

Tulip Telecom CEO Sanjay Jain said the build will meet the needs of customers both in India and other parts of the world, and will be based on IBM's Enterprise Modular Data Center design.

IBM global Technology Services for India and South Asia general manager Ashish Kumar said the build will focus on efficiency, scalability and will integrate the latest power and cooling technologies.

"Through this partnership, IBM will design Tulip's data center with standards that are highly efficient and reliable," Kumar said.

"IBM will build Tulip's data center as a turnkey system integrator to ensure that design objectives of energy efficiency and scalability are achieved."