Cloud infrastructure and data centers are purported to penetrate many of the key growing African markets in 2018. The harbingers of this impending growth have been building for years. Some nations are even generating a power surplus that’s being exported for profits, while others are benefiting from incoming investments in data centers that are used to store, manage and distribute big data.
Philip Collerton, Managing Director at EMEA, and Uptime Institute said in a statement to Data Center Dynamics that the expansion of data centers in this region is driven by a consistent storm of enterprise and government creating a digital infrastructure to support automation initiatives across a variety of verticals including retail manufacturing, financial services, and telecommunications.
It’s evident from the work the Uptime Institute has done with African-based organizations that they are keen on developing world-class facilities to meet the existing and future needs of the digital ecosystem. Also, increased investments from cloud service companies and colocation providers in the region is a clear sign that the market will continue to grow rapidly.
This is perhaps why AWS (Amazon Web Services), the cloud subsidiary of Amazon.com, has considered building data centers in South Africa. The company may look to develop its own infrastructure in the nation, following the opening of AWS Direct Connect service in Cape Town and Johannesburg recently.
Setting Up a Data Center in Africa
As it is, enterprises worldwide are eyeing Africa for data center setup. If you’re one of them, here’s how to create a more efficient, scalable and manageable data center that evolves with the needs of your organization:
- Let Rack Mount Equipment Drive
It’s not uncommon for companies to lay the seeds for data center infrastructure by stacking network appliances and server hardware. However, it can invariably expand into an unmanageable mess during expansion. On the other hand, rack mount servers and other equipment of the same nature is built to properly house this hardware. It’s also arguable that being convenient to manage surpasses the cost premium. Moreover, they have the capacity to store large amounts of data, making the items perfect for data centers to be integrated in multiple locations.
- Remove Silos
The increasing functionality of data centers has resulted in the creation of silos, which are managed by a group of specialists. For instance, one group might handle networking, virtualization, and server silos, while others groups archive information and oversee data management. Utilizing combined applications means separate teams won’t be needed for each sector. Companies can integrate technologies into a data center building space, or a single scalable unit, to reduce the need for specialized staff.
- Consider Going Hybrid
Many companies want to be able to access the public cloud for a few things and still keep critical business applications that involve confidential data safe within the boundaries of a data center. One solution for meeting these dual needs is the hybrid cloud environment. AWS and other companies provide public clouds with resource-sharing and on-demand provisioning across multiple tenants. This can also be achieved via private cloud, but the difference is that they are in the control of the data center team and allow better service level agreements, performance, and security. The best of both worlds can be enjoyed via hybrid clouds.
The data center expansion in Africa is real and could address any regulations prohibiting enterprises from keeping data outside the nation.