Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 46 | Page 58

INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Data Centres

Dimension Data to build massive new Johannesburg data centre

Dimension Data and its parent , Japan ’ s NTT , recently

announced plans to build new a huge new data centre in Johannesburg . Construction on the companies ’ Johannesburg 1 Data Centre has commenced , Dimension Data said in a statement . It will be located near OR Tambo International Airport and will offer diverse fibre connectivity , fully redundant power supply and cooling infrastructure .
The site includes plans to host an NTT Technology Experience Lab for clients and partners to test and validate technology solutions and IT deployments in a live data centre environment .
The data centre design is based on tier-3 standards and will be constructed in two phases . When fully built , it will deliver a total of 6,000 square metres of IT space and 12MW of IT load . The first phase of the site is scheduled to become operational in early 2022 .
Dimension Data already operates 11 data centres with up to 10MW of IT load across Africa .
“ This demand for capacity is driven by local and international clients ’ strong need for robust co-location infrastructure across Africa and will allow Dimension Data to meet the increasing requirements of its clients across the continent and Middle East ,” the statement said .
“ The Johannesburg 1 Data Centre will enable us to increase our capabilities and global capacity , to meet our international clients ’ expanding needs for infrastructure across the African market ,” said Florian Winkler , CEO of the Global Data centres Europe , Middle East and Africa a division of NTT .
The expansion in Johannesburg is part of the growth strategy of the Global Data Centres division of NTT , which operates one of the largest data centre platforms in the world . With over 160 data centres spanning more than 20 countries and regions , NTT Group ’ s clients and partners have access to a powerful digital ecosystem with global reach and local expertise .
Dimension Data has built up extensive intelligent infrastructure capability , which includes data centres , hybrid connectivity solutions and cloud , enables our clients to operate sustainable , intelligent businesses , and importantly , is contributing to economic growth and social development across the region .
Grant Bodley , CEO , Dimension Data , said : “ Africa ’ s Digital Transformation will be accelerated with the right infrastructure investments . This partnership , bolstering our already significant data centre footprint , comes at a time when demand for digital content , cloud services , new technologies such as Internet of Things , mobile money and content delivery networks are on the rise .”
Johannesburg 1 Data Centre will be located in the ‘ Central Point Innovation District ’ in Johannesburg . •
Grant Bodley , CEO , Dimension Data
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