Page 5 - Issue 3 2023

COVER STORY

Data centres are fuelling economic

inclusion in Africa

frica is experiencing a digital explosion. The continent’s population, according to
Statista, is expected to reach nearly 2.5 billion by 2050, and the United Nations
Abelieves it is set to double again between 2050 and 2100, to a staggering 4.3
billion people.
Within two years, it is estimated some 615 million users in sub-Saharan Africa alone
will subscribe to mobile services by 2025, a 24% increase from five years before. It
is this growth and dependence on technology that are driving digital transformation
initiatives and demand for high-performing data centres.

Narrowing the digital divide
According to Tesh Durvasula, CEO of Africa Data Centres, with the right policies in place,
digital technologies can help Africa propel into the digital age and give the continent
a much-needed boost. “This will help its nations achieve sustainable development,
particularly for its poorest regions. However, this requires better connectivity and more
cohesive digital initiatives. Digital divides need to be narrowed, and barriers to entry
broken down.”
He says Africa’s population is young, hungry for all things digital and growing
fast. Rapid technology adoption is also making the continent an ideal environment
for innovation. However, it is estimated that around 900 million Africans are still not
connected to the internet, which is hampering social and economic development. carrier- and cloud-neutral data centre
As part of the Cassava Technologies group, Africa Data Centres is firmly rooted facilities on the continent. “We
in Africa, says Durvasula. “Our vision is a digitally connected future for every one of intend to foster economic inclusion
Africa’s citizens and the aim to use technology to transform the lives of individuals and and prosperity by investing heavily
businesses across the continent.” in the region. Our ecosystem of
leading partners, interconnections,
The cornerstone of the organisation hyperscalers and more, are
None of this can happen without data centres. “The data centre is the cornerstone of significantly increasing access to the
every organisation, website and social network. Without these facilities, businesses of digital tools and connectivity the
every size, in every sector, would have nowhere to house their critical infrastructure, continent so desperately needs.”
applications and data. Today’s data centres are made up of a network of computing and Overall, Cassava’s model is
storage resources that facilitate the delivery of shared applications and data. a vertically integrated platform,
It is important to remember that all data centres are not the same. Today’s modern comprised of product segments
facilities are nothing like their old-school counterparts, as infrastructure has shifted that together form a truly pan-
away from traditional on-premises physical servers to virtual networks and machines African technology leader. “Our
that support applications and workloads in public, hybrid and even multi-cloud pan-African digital broadband
environments. Co-location facilities such as Africa Data Centres, rent space, power, and network, interconnected data centres,
cooling to many enterprises and hyperscale clients, as well as provide interconnection, solar renewable energy and global
which enables businesses to scale with ease, at an affordable cost. partnerships enable each company
“All our data centres were designed to support critical business applications and under the Cassava umbrella to work
activities such as email, file sharing, customer relationship management, enterprise together to supply complete solutions
resource planning, databases, artificial intelligence, big data, machine learning, to African businesses.”
collaboration tools and services. They have become crucial for thousands of businesses
in Africa.” Large-scale expansion plans
Speaking of the investments Africa
Fostering economic inclusion Data Centre is making in the region,
When it comes to helping Africa achieve its digital goals, Durvasula says Africa Data Durvasula refers to the massive-
Centres is not only truly pan-African, but also the largest network of interconnected, scale expansion plans the company

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