Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 20 | Page 61

INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Cabling POWERED BY Kenyan data centre selects Siemon to support IT infrastructure ///////////////////////////// efficiency of existing cooling systems and reduce energy costs. The network cabling infrastructure relies on pre-terminated trunking assemblies including category 6A F/UTP copper trunks from Siemon’s Z-MAX range and plug and play fibre assemblies using OM4 multi-mode and OS2 single-mode cable. Data centre provider icolo.io has chosen state-of the-art network infrastructure solutions from Siemon N airobi-based colocation data centre provider icolo.io has chosen state- of the-art network infrastructure solutions from global specialist Siemon for Kenya’s first carrier neutral co-location data centre. the world,” said Ranjith Cherickel, CEO and co-founder at icolo.io. Located in Miritini, Mombasa, the new hyperconnected Tier III development has been spurred by the enormous growth in Internet and mobile phone usage across East Africa and an explosion of digital data accelerating demand for data hosting and co-location data centre facilities in the region. It provides over 550m2 of IT space and 675KW of IT load to 226 cabinets to serve telecom carriers, ISPs, IT, global cloud and content providers, as well as enterprise and financial services institutions. According to Cherickel, the new data centre is strategically positioned to serve as a key gateway to Africa from a connectivity perspective as it is based close to the landing station for all of the undersea cable operators and the international network hub for Internet traffic in the region. Siemon was selected as the supplier of choice for its comprehensive IT infrastructure solutions set, data centre design expertise and local product availability through distribution partner Mart Networks. “We particularly value the high quality that Siemon’s products are known for throughout www.intelligentcio.com “Their products also meet the high standard that we set for the physical layer foundations of our new facility.” V600 data centre cabinets were selected from Siemon which flexibly support any range of equipment depths and help improve data centre energy management with high density perforated doors providing up to 71% perforation for increased air flow. With power usage effectiveness (PUE) and energy costs being important considerations for the new facility, icolo.io chose a cold aisle containment solution that enables targeted cooling to active equipment, allowing higher temperature return air to improve the Siemon’s pre-terminated trunks, which are manufactured and tested in a clean factory environment, offer guaranteed performance levels and can help reduce installation time by up to 75% compared to field-terminated links. With modular patch panels that accommodate both single-mode and multi- mode fibre, as well as copper connectivity, icolo.io provides its customers with a highly flexible solution. Siva Iyerkumar, Territory Manager for Africa at Siemon, said: “icolo.io has been a great example of how technology, market foresight and coordinated planning can result in a state-of-the-art colocation facility being readily available in Africa. We are confident that this facility is now fully equipped with world-class infrastructure and is more than capable of supporting global businesses with zero down-time. We are delighted to have been selected to work with icolo.io on this project as a key colocation project for the region.” Cherickel added: “We are very proud to have partnered with Siemon to develop a truly carrier neutral data centre in the heart of the African digital economy. With our new co- location data centre, we have now changed the landscape, enabling our customers to bring content closer to their users and Siemon’s high-performance infrastructure solutions have been fundamental in achieving this.” n INTELLIGENTCIO 61