Top considerations for selecting the perfect data centre site in Africa

By Shaun Versfeld, MCF team lead for Data Centres at Royal HaskoningDHV

Last week, I had the privilege of speaking on a panel at the Pan African DataCentres Exhibition & Conference in Johannesburg. During the session, we discussed the changing drivers for data centre site selection.

If you’re familiar with the data centre space, you’ll know all about what to keep in mind when choosing a data centre site – from security and power availability to natural disaster risks, and proximity to users. While these factors are relevant across most markets, in preparing for the discussion, I found myself reflecting on the nuance of site selection best practices for Africa.

As more and more people across the continent embrace the digital revolution, Africa is potentially the world's largest opportunity for?data centre?investment in the near future. But data centre providers must be diligent about site selection if they want to guarantee long-term success. If some of the world’s biggest data centre players want to make inroads in Africa, they need to keep these three considerations in mind.

?Political stability

While a host country’s political situation may seem unimportant when choosing a site for your data centre, it’s?best practice to choose a country where the government is by all accounts stable. Obviously, this can be hard to assess with 100% accuracy but taking some time to understand the country’s political history, monitoring election outcomes, and researching the current socio-economic landscape can give you a pretty good idea of where things stand.

?Regulation

When picking a location, find out if there are any specific permits and authorisations needed or if there are any particulars when it comes to land ownership in that region. Additionally data centres often house sensitive information and so sites must be selected with security in mind. Beyond physical security – like surveillance systems and fencing – companies must also be mindful of regulatory compliance requirements when choosing a location for their next data centre. Understanding country specific data privacy laws is a must if you want to avoid potential legal complications.?Here, working with local partners who understand the market and have regulatory and community insights can make it easier it navigate the unique requirements within different markets.

?Energy reliability and sustainability

We all know that data centres are energy hungry but did you know that some governments are reconsidering the approval of construction permits for new data centres because of the strain these facilities put on local electricity grids? Unreliable electricity is a reality across many African economies and could be the reason that a vendor chooses to build in one country over another: with reliable and sustainable energy solutions being a major drawcard. One way to deal with unreliable power is to diversify your energy sources. This will decrease the reliance on power from state utilities while also doing good for the planet.

The future looks extremely promising for the African data centre landscape. But if data centre providers want to tap into this opportunity and build?the data?centres needed to empower?Africa's?emerging digital generation, they need to do their homework and choose their sites with extra care.

Contact me directly should you like to discuss your data centre needs.