NTT Opens New Data Center In South Africa

NTT Ltd., an IT infrastructure and services company and parent company of Dimension Data, has announced the opening of its latest data centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Johannesburg 1 Data Center is part of NTT’s expansion into the African continent with a capacity of 12MW covering 6,000m² of IT space once fully built out.

The technical infrastructure is supported by N+1 uninterruptible power supply systems (UPS), N+1 generator backup, and highly redundant cooling systems. This will provide clients with dedicated sustainable infrastructure, operational control and the design flexibility required to support their high-performance needs.

The facility will cater to hyperscalers and enterprises, providing them with an opportunity to use NTT’s full ICT stack of services, including managed hybrid cloud, network management, collaboration, security, and application monitoring.

Africa is experiencing a digital boom, with a population expected to double by 2050. Estimates show that 615 million users in sub-Saharan Africa will subscribe to mobile services by 2025, a 24 per cent increase from 2020. This growth and reliance on technology are fueling digital transformation initiatives and demand for high-performing data centre space. NTT is planning to accelerate its data centre footprint in Johannesburg and other African cities to support this growth over the next several years.

The new facility uses a closed-loop chilled water system with air-cooled chillers, meaning that the water running through the cooling systems isn’t evaporated. This reduces the threat of potential drought water restrictions and allows the data centre to achieve low power usage effectiveness (PUE) and water usage effectiveness (WUE).

“We’re incredibly proud to be investing in Johannesburg and extending our global data centre footprint to South Africa. The country forms a significant part of NTT’s growth strategy as we continue to support Africa’s digital transformation. The opening of Johannesburg 1 will contribute towards the economic growth and social development of the region, as our clients shape the country of tomorrow”, said Florian Winkler, CEO, Global Data Centers EMEA, NTT Ltd.

“Our presence in Africa is underpinned by the significant digital change we’re seeing across the continent. Companies providing new digital services need data centre space with high power density, global connectivity, carrier neutrality, cloud network access, and on-site support to ensure they can continue to grow”, added Michael Abendanon, Head of MEA, Global Data Centers EMEA, NTT Ltd.

NTT recently opened new data centres in Madrid, Jakarta and Navi Mumbai, Berlin and further expansions planned in Ho Chi Minh City, Prince William County, Virginia and Cyberjaya.

The data centres will align with NTT’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions across its data centre operations by 2030 and the complete value chain by 2040. NTT is focused on ensuring its portfolio is powered by renewable energy by 2030 and that it applies energy efficiency measures where required.

See here for information on NTT’s Global Data Center Division.