DEEP DIVE
WE ‘ DEEP DIVE ’ WITH JAMES BYARUHANGA , GENERAL MANAGER OF RAXIO DATA CENTRE , WHO TELLS US ABOUT LIFE INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE THE OFFICE .
Raxio Data Centre has become the First Tier III Design Certified Data Centre in Uganda . In this Deep Dive , James Byaruhanga , General Manager , talks about his most memorable achievement in the data centre industry and what he believes are the industry ’ s major areas of investment .
What would you describe as your most memorable achievement in the data centre industry ?
I will pick out the most recent which was when Raxio Data Centre officially became the First Tier III Design Certified Data Centre in Uganda after receiving the Uptime Institute Tier III Certification . This was huge , not only for us , since it demonstrated our commitment to achieve the highest global standards of modern data centres , but also for Uganda because this will spur increased development for Uganda and the region , as well as attract international players .
What first made you think of a career in technology / data centres ?
My interest in technology was piqued by the beauty of a connected world ; as you know , technology is integral to the success of so many different things and I wanted to be at the intersection of this . Fortunately , I have been able to travel widely , work with several regional players in the telco industry and get involved in unique projects , such as submarine cable systems , optical fibre rollouts and Internet backbone networks in the region .
My interest in data centres was driven by my interest in the accelerated growth of the African content . I noticed that , while there was rapid economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa , the latest data centre facilities were missing , despite being key to the success of so many industries with regards to providing data storage , backup and recovery , data management and networking . Data centres are the heartbeat of the Internet
revolution ; they provide the core foundation of the Internet ecosystem .
The technology and data centre industries are among the most challenging , inspiring , and rewarding industries one can work in ; in Africa – and in Uganda especially – it is growing and evolving at a rapid pace and it will only get more interesting .
What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position ?
I believe in the power of teamwork underpinned by a high level of personal responsibility . We are at the tail end of a massive project to build the first state-of-the-art Tier III , carrier-neutral data centre in Uganda that will house up to 400 racks , delivering 1.5 MW of IT power at final phase . Co-ordinating a project team made up of over 10 specialist teams ( consultants and contractors ) working across multiple countries in different time zones is no mean feat – especially given that the total project workforce is upwards of 200 people . With so many moving parts – from construction to operations , procurement to logistics and marketing to sales – one needs a management style that relies on collaboration and co-ordination .
What do you think is the current hot talking point within the data centre space ?
From a regional point of view , I believe it is the growth of data centres in Africa , which is forecasted to grow between 50 % and 80 % within the next four years – with a market size expected to cross US $ 3 billion by 2025 . Driven by a massive digitisation of African economies , there have been rapid and
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