19 August 2025

In South Africa, many conversations about data centre resilience have tended to centre on power, but today, backup power is a given – no credible data centre provider operates without it. The real differentiator lies elsewhere, in the efficiency and precision of the data centre’s design and operations. Managing airflow, controlling humidity, building the most effective and efficient cooling systems, and planning the physical layout are all essential.

When these factors are overlooked, the consequences are serious: degraded hardware performance, increased energy consumption, higher operating costs, and potential downtime that disrupts business, resulting in revenue loss and reputational damage. Designing a world-class data centre goes beyond simply keeping servers on during load shedding; it is about ensuring they run efficiently, reliably, and within the precise environmental conditions they were built and designed for.

14 August 2025

Mary kariuki, digital infrastructure consultant, africa data centres association

As digital transformation accelerates across the continent, Africa’s data centres are emerging as critical infrastructure hubs fuelling economic growth, innovation, and connectivity. However, this rapid expansion brings with it significant challenges — most notably the rising energy consumption and environmental impacts associated with data centre operations.

Recognising these issues, the African Data Centre Association (ADCA), in collaboration with regional stakeholders and under the auspices of Smart Africa, is pioneering an ambitious initiative: the development of a regionally tailored African Code of Conduct (CoC) for data centres.