Demand for data centre services in Africa is rising fast

Africa Data Centres has deployed a self-cooling rack by Gold Synergy at its CPT1 facility in Cape Town to boost performance while minimising energy consumption

The installation represents a significant advancement in the evolution of high-density computing in Africa and supports Africa Data Centres’ commitment to sustainable, efficient infrastructure solutions, the company said in a statement.

The innovative self-cooling rack, commissioned in January 2025, is designed to meet the increasing demand for high-performance computing while minimising energy consumption, said Adil El Youssefi, CEO, Africa Data Centres.

As the region experiences rising power and cooling challenges driven by artificial intelligence, big data and enterprise workloads, self-contained cooling technologies offer a smart and scalable solution.

“Our collaboration with Gold Synergy introduces new efficiencies in high-density hosting,” said El Youssefi.

“By integrating this cutting-edge cooling solution at CPT1, we are creating a model for how data centres in Africa can scale intelligently while remaining aligned with global sustainability targets. The success of this deployment positions both Africa Data Centres and Gold Synergy to expand CDU-based cooling technologies across the region, further supporting Africa’s growing need for next-generation infrastructure.”

Gold Synergy brings a wealth of expertise in advanced cooling solutions.

The deployment at CPT1 demonstrates the viability of self-cooling racks in African conditions, setting the stage for broader collaboration in supporting regional ESG objectives, said Fortune Utubor, executive at Gold Synergy.

“Our self-cooling rack solution is a game-changing approach for high-density computing environments. This deployment reflects our shared commitment to energy efficiency and operational excellence.”

South Africa remains a strategic digital hub for the continent. With its reliable infrastructure, favourable location, and increasing demand for cloud and AI services, the country plays a pivotal role in the digital transformation of Africa.

As enterprises move mission-critical applications closer to home, infrastructure capable of supporting such workloads efficiently becomes essential.

The deployment not only increases the CPT1 facility’s hosting capacity without requiring major infrastructure modifications, but it also reinforces Africa Data Centres’ position as a leading carrier-neutral data centre provider on the continent.

The new solution helps reduce reliance on traditional cooling systems and contributes to operational cost savings for both clients and facility operators.

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Nokia partners with Reflex to enhance ISP onboarding and broadband access across South Africa’s regions. (Image source: Nokia)

Nokia has announced that Reflex will roll out its advanced Broadband Network Gateway (BNG) solution to upgrade and scale its infrastructure, accelerating ISP onboarding and enhancing broadband services for South African communities and enterprises

The deployment will also improve space and energy efficiency, ensuring Reflex’s network can support long-term national growth.

With digital transformation driving rising broadband demand across both urban and rural South Africa, underserved areas remain a persistent challenge. Reflex is tackling this head-on by replacing legacy BNGs with Nokia’s scalable solution—designed to bridge connectivity gaps and empower more ISPs to expand their reach. Research has shown that broader broadband access could significantly boost Africa’s economy, reinforcing the importance of initiatives like Reflex’s network upgrade. Nokia’s technology supports this evolution by addressing network scalability, efficiency, and sustainability.

“Working with partners like Reflex from Myriad Group, which recognises the importance of Neutral Host models providing flexible and scalable networks, is crucial in addressing the connectivity challenges across South Africa. By replacing the legacy BNGs and investing in our Nokia 7750 Service Router platform, Reflex can onboard multiple ISPs and their subscribers with minimal equipment’s needs, lowering up-front investment, reducing energy use and supporting a more sustainable and inclusive digital future,” said Toni Pellegrino, managing director of South Africa and head of network infrastructure for Southern and Eastern Africa at Nokia.

“Reflex’s mission is to give every ISP in South Africa an instant, carrier-grade on-ramp to a truly Tier 1 network. Being a value-added reseller of Nokia, we believe in the solutions they provide so much that we deploy it in our core network ourselves,” remarked Charles Castle, commercial & sales executive at Reflex Carrier Solutions.

“By integrating Nokia’s 7750 SR-1 Broadband Network Gateways and carrier-grade NAT into the Reflex backbone, we are adding capacity and intelligence while reducing space, power and complexity. The result is a future-ready platform that is scalable, secure and always-on—delivering unrivalled uptime, rock-solid redundancy and the high-speed performance our partners need, to grow with confidence. With Nokia as our technology partner, Reflex can light up new services for ISPs nationwide in days instead of months, ensuring that the ISPs who rely on our VISP offering—and the communities they serve — enjoy the best possible broadband experience today and far into the future, supported by our highly accredited local engineering teams,” Castle concluded.

Reflex’s network upgrade is built on Nokia’s 7750 SR-1 platform, integrated with Carrier-Grade NAT (CG-NAT), enabling expanded reach and improved operations across South Africa while promoting a faster, more inclusive and resilient digital economy.

AVEVA, a global powerhouse in industrial software, has teamed up with ServiceNow, a leading AI platform for business transformation, to spearhead a new era of industrial innovation, according to a joint announcement.

The partnership aims to accelerate digital transformation and sustainability across industrial enterprises by merging cutting-edge technologies from both companies.

The collaboration will integrate AVEVA’s four decades of industrial software expertise and its CONNECT intelligence platform with ServiceNow’s AI-driven Operational Technology Management solutions.

This synergy promises to unify teams, digital infrastructures, and data across locations and applications, fostering seamless collaboration and driving productivity.

By combining their strengths within the CONNECT platform, the partnership will enable companies to streamline industrial processes, harness AI and automation for efficient workflows, and leverage analytics to optimise operations, reduce downtime, and boost production.

A stronger partnership

“In today’s rapidly evolving industrial landscape, organisations must focus on AI, automation, innovation, and efficiency to remain competitive while tackling key challenges,” states Bry Dillon, SVP Partners and Commercial Strategy, AVEVA. “Maintaining asset reliability, modernising outdated processes, implementing automated workflows, preserving critical industry knowledge, and equipping the next generation of workers is all essential. This must be managed alongside the transition to sustainable practices while still meeting profitability targets. Companies must adapt quickly to these transformative shifts to enhance productivity, minimise waste, and reduce costs. AVEVA and ServiceNow’s partnership empowers organisations to streamline workflows, automate operations, and improve asset performance and operational efficiency to drive sustainable growth across the industrial enterprise.”

The partnership also addresses critical needs in industrial cybersecurity and operational technology (OT) integration with information technology (IT). “Our collaboration with AVEVA represents a critical advancement in industrial cybersecurity and OT-IT convergence,” adds Neelima Rustagi, VP and GM for Technology Workflow Solutions, ServiceNow. “We deliver end-to-end visibility across assets, processes, and threats by integrating AVEVA’s robust industrial data platform with ServiceNow’s secure and intelligent Operational Technology Management workflows. This joint solution enables real-time anomaly detection, root cause analysis with robust compliance management. It empowers organisations to transition from reactive to proactive operations—enhancing resilience, accelerating decision-making, and aligning with modern industrial transformation goals and AI-driven automation.”

AVEVA, headquartered in Cambridge, UK, is a trusted partner to over 90% of leading industrial enterprises, supporting essential sectors like energy, food, pharmaceuticals, and infrastructure.

Its CONNECT platform, enriched with industrial AI, facilitates collaboration across supply chains and drives sustainable value. ServiceNow’s expertise in AI-driven workflows complements AVEVA’s offerings, creating a robust solution for industries navigating rapid technological and environmental shifts.

Thomas McCarthy industry principal- life sciences AVEVA. (Image source: AVEVA)

Connected ecosystems are informed by nature’s penchant for collaboration and adaptation. By optimising for efficiency and sustainability, they pave the way for transformative advancements in the sector, says Thomas McCarthy, Industry Principal – Life Sciences, AVEVA

Natural ecosystems are one of life’s wonders. They show us how interconnectedness builds resilience and efficiency while spurring growth and innovation. It’s something that should inspire the life sciences industry as it tackles growing challenges around operational efficiency and regulatory compliance.

Individual trees, plants and animals cannot operate in isolation within a forest. Likewise, industrial enterprises cannot afford to have their stakeholders working in silos. Collaborative thinking, by contrast, generates benefits across ecosystems, in this case the life sciences industry.

When license holders, contract manufacturers, equipment vendors, and regulatory agencies partner across company lines, they can drive collective value and support industrial sustainability. Within a connected ecosystem supported by robust data management, standardised formats, and proactive regulatory communication, these organisations can break down barriers, enhance efficiency, and ensure seamless compliance throughout the value chain.

Digitising drug discovery to speed time to market

Taking a data-centric approach to operations enabled Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, to develop the world’s first MRNA vaccine for Covid-19 in record time. With so much at stake during the pandemic, the global pharmaceutical leader needed to ramp up the complex process of discovering, developing, and manufacturing a new drug—while decreasing time to market. The company used advanced technologies, including a data management system in the cloud, to collect, manage, standardise and contextualise process information from across its worldwide plant network into a single, comprehensive source of truth.

Digitizing the drug discovery process gave Pfizer’s stakeholders information from different areas of the vaccine value chain anytime and anywhere. Not only has the new software made it easier to collaborate remotely, but transferring knowledge and technology between sites is simplified. For example, storage data from freezer farms enables quality checks on cold-chain integrity. Similarly, machine learning analytics can predict mRNA concentrations. And production cycle times are faster with real-time scheduling.

This shared digital ecosystem has improved healthcare outcomes at scale. As of 2022, approximately 79,000 Pfizer colleagues from around the world had come together in 125 countries, with 15 sites and 45 assets connected. More than 1.4 billion patients were treated with Pfizer products, and pandemic-linked vaccine delivery alone increased 5x. The company is now applying the successful new process to 104 research and development projects.

Eliminating silos, elevating data and supporting compliance

Pfizer’s experience shows how Pharma 4.0 technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing are transforming the entire pharmaceutical supply chain.

By enabling cooperation between internal and external stakeholders, these sophisticated technologies are helping to create a stronger, more closely connected value chain. As a result of this stronger collaboration, information silos are eliminated, data management becomes more robust, and it is easier to support compliance with evolving regulations.

Life sciences executives report that ecosystem models can provide significant advantages over traditional business approaches. The majority (59%) of all life sciences C-suite executives polled in EY’s 2023 Ecosystem Survey say these models increase efficiency and reducing costs.

Likewise, more than half (54%) said they lead to the creation of new, joint products, while a similar number (55%) said the joined-up approach promotes improvements in creativity and innovation.

Ecosystem oversight on demand for better decisions

A connected ecosystem supports holistic end-to-end visibility of the entire industrial value chain. It pulls together data from different entities and puts it into context, creating a digital source of truth akin to the central nervous system in the human body. Because teams at every connected organisation have oversight of all industrial processes on demand, they can make better and faster decisions supported by empirical data and insights.

Experience from a global manufacturer of biologic medicines shows how such cross-company connectivity helps bring health care to more people around the world. Creating new drugs involves a dizzying and intricate array of equipment, often at different facilities around the world. Each unit must therefore necessarily work in silos, and exchange drug development information in laborious, time-consuming ways.

To speed up research, development and roll-out, the company pulled all this disparate information into a virtual cloud-based model at its laboratory. This solution, known as a digital twin, becomes a single point of truth. Real-time and historical data from across the network can be contextualised and analysed in one place, enabling the company and its partners to model different drug combinations and processes at a fraction of the cost.

Not only did the solution reduce the costs of running experiments at full scale, but efficiency improvements have been measured at up to 70%. In fact, pharmaceutical executives see the innovative process as the basis for a future of “lights out” continuous end-to-end processing, where the cost of production could decrease by a factor of 10 in the next decade.

A golden data thread for transformative benefits

Much like a natural ecosystem where every element works together harmoniously, the flow of data within a connected ecosystem democratises superior decision-making, enhancing collaboration and operational efficiency. Such an integrated industrial ecosystem offers similarly transformative outcomes for life sciences.

With the transparency and accessibility of a single golden data thread, everyone—from license holders to regulatory agencies—comes together on the same page, aligned around common goals. There are fewer errors because everyone works from the same source of accurate information. Processes are streamlined. And the need for rework drops.

With smoother collaboration and decision-making, productivity increases and teams can adhere to project timelines. Consistent and reliable outcomes improve customer satisfaction. And profitability rises as processes become more efficient and fewer resources are used.

Just like in nature, seamless integration leads to faster problem-solving in business, enabling industry-wide partners to tackle future challenges adroitly and confidently.