from DION HENRICK in Cape Town
CAPE TOWN, (CAJ News) – STAKEHOLDERS must focus on data centres if Africa is to fulfill its digital potential, an executive has said.
“Data centres are the basis for digital transformation,” said Jonathan Duncan, Secure Power Director, Anglophone Africa at Schneider.
“And we’re going to need many more data centres everywhere across the continent to power economies, speed up connectivity and reduce the overall costs for server-hosted services.”
Duncan lamented issues around high data costs and high latency.
There are also issues around network connectivity in-country, and away from coastal areas.
There is often an absence of data centres.
“We need more African data centres,” Duncan said.
In comparison, he said last year, London’s data centre space was 260 000m2 but Africa’s total space was estimated at 861 207m2.
There is also a challenge when it comes to the distribution of data centres across the continent.
Nearly half (31), of Africa’s 67 colocation facilities are based either in South Africa or Nigeria. Kenya follows with seven. Morocco has five.
“The irony of the internet is that most African websites are hosted in Europe,” Duncan said.
He saw huge potential for growth in the continent’s data centre landscape.
“And the more that others look at digital investments, the more they’ll realise that we must start with putting money into building data centres across Africa,” the executive said.
– CAJ News