Grace Ashiru
August 2022 marks the launch date for the carrier-neutral Data Center (DC) facility operated by Paratus Namibia in Windhoek, Namibia.
This new facility, which the business has given the moniker Armada Data Center, will be Namibia’s first carrier-neutral data centre and the largest DC facility in that country. It will work in conjunction with the Equiano Cable, which will arrive in Namibia within the next few months and for which Paratus has so far constructed the landing site.
The construction of the Armada Data Center facility will require an investment of 123 million New Zealand dollars, which will be built on the Breakwater Campus and contains two independent colocation data halls (DC1 and DC2). Each of these halls is supported by two separate energy centre pairs.
Each of these halls will be supported by two different energy centre pairs. Colocation possibilities, data storage, and cloud services will be provided by a total of 240 cabinets, which will be housed in a space measuring 734 square meters.
Armada will contribute to satisfying the ever-increasing demand for these services from end users and, since that existing facilities in Namibia have reached their maximum capacity, will assist fill a gap in the market.
This demand is perfectly in line with the specifications needed for complicated colocation services on a global and continental scale. According to research by ResearchandMarkets.com, the value of the African data centre market will reach $2 billion in 2020. According to the market analysis published by Arizton.com, the data centre industry received investments totalling USD2.663 million in 2021 and is anticipated to reach a compound annual growth rate of 12.73 per cent between the years 2022 and 2027. Paratus has already constructed three data centre facilities in Angola and one in Zambia in the past few years.
Already, Paratus has certified that one of the two Armada Data Halls in Namibia is occupied by 55 per cent of its tenants. According to Schalk Erasmus, Chief Operating Officer of Paratus, “Our customers recognize that technological innovation, in the form of big data, cloud services, and AI (artificial intelligence), is important for their success in the future.
“They require a decentralized data centre entirely autonomous, protected, and technologically advanced. The data centre of Paratus Armada will preserve and store client information around the clock; housing and give physical protection for all of the equipment and computer systems, manage the transition from off-site to the data centre, provide backup power generation, and provide a variety of features services and
Even though Paratus runs its robust fibre network that connects the Armada Data Center to the rest of the globe, it is carrier neutral. This means that clients and tenants can choose how to connect to the host and which carrier to use.
“We are tasked with developing Africa as a leader in network quality. Our storage capacity, firewall, and hosting are additional services that supplement our connectivity and network offerings. Together with our business partners and consumers, we can contribute to realizing Africa’s full economic potential. Armada is yet another demonstration of the success of that vision, said Mr Andrew Hall, Managing Director of Paratus Namibia.
