INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Data Centres
of data science, big data-driven business
modelling, IoT solutions design, and more.
It’s time for urgent and decisive
moves, from corporates, government,
training authorities, and higher learning
institutions. By focusing on reskilling,
particularly young people, we can
leverage this opportunity.
Cracking open the
innovation landscape
The availability of local hyper-scale
cloud platforms finally cracks open
the innovation landscape in SA. We’re
entering a truly exciting era, where
there are no longer any reasons to hold
back with radical digitisation plans.
Local companies can unlock new routes
to global markets, get involved in new
value-chains, and start offering the
kinds of services that are only possible
in countries with powerful enterprise
computing platforms close at hand.
Our tertiary institutions can now access
world-class infrastructure and high-
speed data analysis services, helping to
advance a number of specialised fields
in academia, medicine, technology
and industry.
We need to look beyond the local
economy, or our local politics, and see
the opportunities at a broader, global
level. As the likes of Google, Uber and
Netflix have shown, with the right cloud
platforms, we can create digital services
that can be scaled limitlessly and
exported anywhere across the world.
This is certainly more than just a pipe
dream. Generally speaking, Africa
already has a strong reputation for
solution-based innovation to tackle
various everyday challenges on the
continent. With this mindset, and now
with the power of industrial-grade
cloud platforms, we can broaden and
enrich the scope of our innovation –
and channel our creative energies in
new ways.
Cloud-based tools will unlock a world
of new innovations across Africa. From
intelligent soil sensors and automated
irrigation systems to IV monitoring
tools that address shortages in nursing
care, to 3D-printed prosthetics in South
Sudan, the solution-focused approach of
African innovators is visible everywhere.
The cloud will only stimulate further
creativity, innovation and problem-
solving – as we look to overcome the
challenges that affect our daily lives.
It’s time to think ambitiously, to
take some bold, calculated risks, and
transform ourselves into the digital
enterprises of the future. Align this
with widespread reskilling initiatives I
mentioned earlier, and we may just find
that our economic and unemployment
woes will improve. n
Hurricane Electric expands global network
to East Africa Data Centre
H
urricane Electric, the world’s
leading IPv6-native Internet
backbone, has announced that
it has added a new point of presence
(PoP) in Nairobi at the East Africa Data
Centre. This is Hurricane Electric’s first
PoP in Kenya and third in Africa.
The East Africa Data Centre is one of the
most connected facilities in the region
and boasts long-distance fibre routes
to Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi,
Ethiopia and Somalia. Covering 2,000m 2
across four floors, the carrier-neutral data
centre offers N+1 cooling and power for
its tenants as well as parallel UPS systems
and N+1 diesel generators to maintain
uptime. Additionally, the facility has been
designed to meet International Data
Centre Standards as outlined by TIA-942.
With the launch of Hurricane Electric’s
newest PoP, customers of the East
Africa Data Centre and others in
the area now have a variety of new
connectivity options as well as the
ability to improve fault tolerance, load
www.intelligentcio.com
balancing, congestion management
and transit of next-generation IPv6
traffic. Additionally, tenants at the East
Africa Data Centre are able to exchange
IP traffic with Hurricane Electric’s vast
global network, which offers over 19,000
BGP sessions with over 6,500 different
networks via more than 160 major
exchange points and thousands of
customer and private peering ports.
The Nairobi PoP also provides access
to Hurricane Electric’s extensive IPv4
and IPv6 network through 100 Gigabit
Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet and 1
Gigabit Ethernet ports and as a result,
both new and existing customers
will be able to experience increased
throughput, reduced latency and
improved reliability.
“Hurricane Electric is delighted with the
continued growth of our global network
through this new point of presence
and we remain committed to further
expanding into even more African
countries in 2018,” said Mike Leber,
President, Hurricane Electric. “Because
the region is so well connected, Nairobi
has proven itself to be an important
technological hub for Kenya and
beyond. Our newest site will allow
customers of East Africa Data Centre
to tap into the bandwidth and reach of
Hurricane Electric’s rich global network
and we are grateful for the opportunity
to support them.” n
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