Vertiv is a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions. (Image source: Vertiv)

Jon Abbott, sales director for strategic telecom clients in EMEA at Vertiv, has made note of the increasing challenges in meeting AI-driven demands in the telecommunications and data centre space

The sales director made the comments as he addressed Kenyan leaders in the telco, tower and colocation arena in Nairobi, acknowledging the rapidly changing technology landscape that is impacting their infrastructure and services.

According to the 2023 Digital Quality of Life Index, a study on digital wellbeing, Kenya ranks 82nd out of 121 countries in terms of AI readiness. “The challenge for Kenya is that AI adoption is already transforming the IT stack and our IT infrastructures. This means that accelerated architectures are needed to meet the requirements of AI workloads,” Abbott remarked.

He continued by pointing out that the tangible network developments required will include adjustments on the operational side that consumers do not see. This is likely to include changes in network ownership and increased costs of service largely driven by ever increasing demands for energy consumption as intelligent connectivity rises. “This will place a greater emphasis on efficiency, while more attention will also have to be paid to sustainability and emission reduction.”

A changing technology landscape

At the same time, significant technology changes are expected to progress in the near-future including a greater move to the edge of the network. According to Vertiv, this will drive tech collaboration and increased standardisation across the physical and logical infrastructure. The organisation also anticipates more open-source groups and commoditised hardware; data processing capability integrated into the network fabric; and new ecosystems with more private networks.

“Then there’s the Internet of Things (IoT), which has the potential to unlock insights and efficiencies across all sectors,” Abbott said. “The way this will evolve will be to propagate the landscape with processing capability, breaking the facility down into smaller and smaller localised facilities.”

AI and data centres

According to Abbott, the data centre as seen today will not disappear. Rather, they will continue to grow, but in parallel, more and smaller “edge” data centres will populate the landscape, each with the same fundamental physical requirements – always on, never getting too hot, which will place cooling systems under strain, and operating as efficiently and securely as possible.

“The challenges all this poses in terms of energy provision, particularly in the face of energy transition and sustainability requirements to meet the 2030 global emissions reduction goals, will be considerable,” he surmised.

Other hurdles to be overcome range from meeting the likely exponential growth in rack density and constraints on skills availability, to trade-offs between new builds and retrofits, power grid constraints, and an increasing need for short turn-around times as well as repeatable, quick-to-deploy designs.

“The bottom line is that AI will be a major challenge for network providers with data consumption and creation accelerating across all sectors, and data processing saturating the facility landscape,” Abbott concluded. “While this could be daunting for providers, having the right partner at your side – one that can assist with power and thermal management, and integrated rack solutions - every step of the way will help to smooth your deployment journey. Vertiv is well placed to be such a partner.”

Vertiv has recently formed a strategic distribution partnership with Redington to empower channel partners across Africa. Click here to learn more.

The new data centre is ‘EcoStruxure-ready’, with components of the installed EcoStruxure for Data Centers platform solution. (Image source: Schneider Electric)

IXAfrica Data Centres has launched the first and largest hypercloud, AI-ready data centre in East Africa alongside Schneider Electric, an energy management and automation solutions provider

The new centre is aimed at attracting global hyperscale and Internet customers and is located in Nairobi, Kenya, which is within Africa’s growing technology epicentre – the ‘Digital Savannah’. Nicknamed ‘NBOX1’, the venture was backed by a US$50mn capital investment from Helios, a leading investment firm is now open for business

The facility is underpinned by Schneider Electric power train solutions including power protection and distribution equipment, together with transformers, MV and LV switchgear, and a basic BMS for monitoring the solution.The company’s EcoStruxure for data centres architecture and solutions is also being utilised, providing the new data centre with maximum resilience, uptime and cost efficiency, enhanced security, and the ability to meet IXAfrica’s sustainability goals.

“Kenya is a hypercloud-ready region with advanced cloud adoption propensities, a digitally savvy ecosystem, access to diverse internet fibre connectivity, high-availability and low-carbon sources of power,” remarked Snehar Shah, CEO IXAfrica. “This all sits within a country offering a stable regulatory and political environment, and a strong economy forecast to grow 5.2% in 2024.”

Schneider Electric worked with local consultants Prisma Techniques to ensure that the power train solution met the objectives of the design provided by FutureTech on behalf of IXAfrica. The equipment is engineered to meet IEC standards as well as local requirements imposed by the nature of Kenya’s national grid, and environmental considerations such as weather conditions and Nairobi’s high altitude.

With the power grid creating stability challenges as it introduces more power from renewable sources, the use of back-up lithium-ion batteries in conjunction with the Galaxy VX UPS provides a formidable solution to some of the challenges associated with intermittency or variability of supply.

Sustainability at the heart

Schneider Electric EcoStruxure for Data Centers and its supporting solutions not only enable high levels of data centre performance, resilience and resource efficiency, but also support IXAfrica’s sustainability ambitions through energy savings and lowered CO2 emissions.

Mouna Essa Egh, secure power vice president for Middle East & Africa, commented, “We believe that sustainable practices are essential for the future of data centres, and we are proud to partner with organisations like IXAfrica to create environmentally conscious and innovative digital habitats for the evolving technological landscape.”

5G technology deployment will take place later this year

Nokia and Telecom Egypt have formed a new partnership in order to revolutionise Egypt’s telecom landscape by introducing 5G to select cities

Alexandria, Aswan, Cairo, Giza and Luxor are among those selected to benefit from the transformative power of 5G that will be made available as Nokia deploys its 5G radio access network (RAN) equipment from its AirScale portfolio, comprising baseband units and its latest generation of Massive MIMO radios. These solutions utilise Nokia's energy-efficient ReefShark System-on-Chip technology, delivering extensive 5G capacity and coverage as well as enabling easy deployments. Nokia will also offer various professional services, encompassing deployment, integration, and network optimisation.

The AirScale portfolio will be deployed in order to deliver an enhanced network experience to Telecom Egypt’s customers including faster data speeds, enhanced performance, and capacity.

Mohamed Al Fowey, vice president, and chief technology officer at Telecom Egypt, commented, “This new agreement with Nokia further strengthens our strong partnership, reaffirms our commitment to providing cutting-edge digital services, and positions us at the forefront of the 5G revolution. Both our consumer and enterprise customers can look forward to enhanced mobile broadband and exciting new applications that leverage the speed and low latency of 5G technology.”

The deployment of 5G technology is expected to unlock numerous benefits to the people of Egypt, including increased capacity for seamless connectivity in densely-populated areas. This will support a wide range of applications and services, resulting in faster downloads, smoother streaming, and improved network performance. This advancement will enable unprecedented levels of innovation and efficiency across various sectors, empowering organisations to thrive in today's fast-paced digital landscape.

The distributor will hold specialised training and empowerment sessions to enable its channel network to effectively deliver Vertiv’s portfolio, as well as managing inventory to serve the market. (Image source: Vertiv)

Redington, a technology aggregator, has formed a strategic distribution partnership with Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, in order to empower channel partners across Africa to leverage the transformative potential of Vertiv’s technology and expand its reseller network

The partnership leverages Redington's established presence and expertise in emerging markets, particularly in data centre transformation and artificial intelligence (AI), alongside Vertiv's industry-leading power and cooling technology, resources. This combination will unlock new opportunities for Vertiv to extend its reach within the regional channel market. The distributor’s comprehensive reach across Africa, coupled with its strong in-house services team, will provide additional value to Vertiv's local channel partners and end users.

"As Vertiv continues to expand its footprint across Africa, this strategic partnership with Redington marks a significant milestone in our journey," remarked Wojtek Piorko, managing director for Africa at Vertiv. "Africa is a critical region for Vertiv as a business, and we look forward to supporting local customers in meeting their efficiency, scalability and sustainability goals into the future, together with Redington.”

The partnership encompasses Vertiv's entire Integrated Solutions portfolio and IT channel product stack, spanning Africa. This offering enables Redington to deliver a complete suite of Vertiv's cutting-edge solutions to its extensive network of channel partners and end users.

“At Redington, we're constantly seeking strategic partnerships that fuel innovation and drive growth across Africa,” said Dharshana Kosgalage, executive vice president, Technology Solutions Group, Redington Middle East and Africa. “Our collaboration with Vertiv exemplifies this commitment. Vertiv’s industry-leading technology perfectly complements our extensive reach, creating a powerful value proposition for businesses across the continent. We're confident this alliance will catalyse Africa's digital revolution."