Africa Data Centres Acquires World-class Data Centre in Johannesburg

Africa Data Centres, part of the Liquid Telecom Group, has completed the acquisition of a state-of-the-art Tier IV data centre in Johannesburg from Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank.

The acquisition, which has been unconditionally approved by the South African Competition Commission, said the group in an update, would prove highly disruptive to the South African data centre and co-location market and consolidates Africa Data Centres’ position as the largest pan-African provider of interconnected, carrier and cloud-neutral data centres.

The facility is widely recognised as the most prestigious and highly specified data centre anywhere in Africa, offering world-leading levels of security, resilience and capacity. It is also available on an open-access basis, giving every modern technology-driven enterprise the confidence to innovate and grow.

Commenting on the development, Mr Strive Masiyiwa, executive chairman of the Liquid Telecom Group said: “We are investing heavily in South Africa at the moment, as well as the rest of Africa. We are very confident of the future of South Africa, hence this significant investment.”

He also confirmed that plans were at an advanced stage to enter West Africa, adding, “We have secured land to build the largest data centres in Ghana and Nigeria.”

Mr Stephane Duproz, chief executive officer of Africa Data Centres, said the facility would re-define the data centre experience for regional, continental and global customers.

“The unique combination of this outstanding facility and Africa Data Centres’ certified operational excellence are the ideal choice for the most demanding organisations, especially those in the financial services sector, who require the highest standards of security and resilience for their IT infrastructure,” he said.

“We cannot wait to open this hidden gem to the market. The acquisition marks a significant extension to Africa Data Centres’ pan-Africa network of interconnected, carrier and cloud-neutral data centres.

“It cements our continent-leading position and will further accelerate Africa’s digital transformation.”

Mr Jörg Fischer of Standard Bank said the bank was pleased to have completed this historic milestone with Africa Data Centres, which is aligned with the Bank’s cloud-first digital transformation strategy.

“Our digital vision is to bring innovation into every aspect of the bank’s IT systems, transform the employee experience and in turn enable a consistently rich and rewarding customer experience,” he said.

The Johannesburg facility has been purpose-built as a Tier IV data centre, offering maximum levels of security and reliability: an essential requirement for demanding financial services organisations.

The facility is also unique in its configuration, featuring complete redundancy across all power and cooling components, unrivalled physical security and seamless scalability for expansion. In line with all Africa Data Centres’ facilities, the Johannesburg site will also operate on a fully carrier-and cloud-neutral basis.

Liquid Telecom said the unveiling of this the facility coincides with an unprecedented level of demand from national, continental and global customers would result in the highest levels of quality, security and reliability.

In response to this demand, Africa Data Centres has also started work on a further 10 MW IT capacity facility at its Midrand campus. Elsewhere in Africa, the organisation operates facilities in Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Kenya. Its Kenyan facility is currently the largest outside of South Africa.