Tag: data centre

Google is betting big on South Africa’s digital future. It is projecting R90 billion in economic output resulting from its new Johannesburg cloud region.

The expansion of the current data centre landscape is certainly making history. Its growth is almost reminiscent of time-lapse photography. In this scenario, we - the subjects - stand still while the data centre builds move around us at remarkable speed. Statistics support this observation. Database Trends and Applications cites that the global data centre market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.30% from 2024 to 2032.

While Artificial Intelligence’s (AI) mammoth energy requirements have been widely publicised, its water footprint receives far less attention. World Water Day, celebrated on 22 March 2025, provides an opportunity to highlight AI’s lesser-known environmental impact - its water usage.

In 2025, the business world will transform rapidly due to exciting advancements in technology. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will lead this charge, introducing groundbreaking trends that redefine IT strategies.

Embracing complex strategies over silver bullets is the key to sustainable business growth, as quick fixes often fail to address underlying challenges. Magical catch-all solutions that solve every business problem simply don’t exist. It’s time businesses lean into complexity instead of fearing it.

Legal opportunities in mining are rapidly expanding as South Africa’s mining sector continues to evolve. This offers significant growth and policy influence. In recent months, a wave of international law firms has closed their doors in South Africa. They cite challenges like economic uncertainty. As a mining lawyer, I have a deep-rooted belief in this country’s potential.

In a world where computational power drives countless systems, processes, and daily activities, prioritising data centre operations is essential. The data centre acts as the glue holding the inanimate world together. A data centre is the unsung hero behind artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and high-performance computing (HPC).

Let's face it: South Africa's power grid is not winning any awards for reliability. Our data centres are feeling the heat - and not in a good way. These digital powerhouses not only keep our online world spinning but are also fuelling the recent Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution - yet their ever-expanding capabilities hinge on one critical requirement: an uninterrupted power supply.

Africa's digital economy is growing at an astonishing rate, making dependable and scalable IT infrastructure indispensable. A key component of this growth is colocation, which enables multiple clients to store their servers and networking hardware in shared, third-party data centres. This approach is rapidly gaining traction across the continent.

There has been a remarkable shift to digital payments in South Africa and the rest of Africa in recent years. To put this into perspective, McKinsey anticipated that electronic payments would accelerate by an estimated 150% to reach $40 billion in revenues and 188 billion in transaction volumes between 2020-2025.