eBusiness Weekly
Mthulisi Sibanda
JOHANNESBURG – The formation of the Africa Data Centre Association (ADCA) is anticipated to boost the continent’s digital economy.
ADCA’s creation follows the realisation Africa would need to develop its own data centre network to ensure data sovereignty, bandwidth and latency time as well bring back the information technology (IT) load across the continent.
Schneider Electric chairs the association until the election of a new board.
Other members include Groupement Orange Services, Information Technology Association, NSIA Technologies, MTN, PAIX Data Centres, Rack Centre and Poulina DataXion.
Paul-François Cattier, Schneider Electric Vice President Economic Development Middle East and Africa, said the new association would provide the first non-profit organizational body for African operators, a valuable resource supporting industry best practices, an outstanding networking platform for the exchange of information and ideas.
Africa data centers confront a series of challenges not least in deploying and powering new facilities,” Cattier.
ADCA will officially be launched at the Datacloud Africa Leadership Summit, set for Marrakech in Morocco on September 28.
It will be funded by membership subscription and by the African Development Bank sponsorship.
Wouter van Hulten, Chief Executive Officer and founder of PAIX Data Centres, said the company was thrilled to be contributing to the growth of computing and networking on the continent, building and operating hubs at the heart of Africa’s digital economy with its local teams complemented by our European experts.
“The formation of the ADCA is an important step for an industry that plays an important role in the digital transformation of Africa’s economy, enabling economic expansion,” van Hulten.
There is a huge growth in demand for energy and connectivity in the Middle East and Africa alone.
It is projected to double by 2040, ten years faster than the rest of the world.
The smartphone penetration, he digital services explosion, Data Sovereignty law, bandwidth and latency times, are seen triggering a bright future for the data centre and colocation business in Africa. – CAJ News
