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African Data Centres are to see 17 per cent annual growth in revenues over the 5 year period

A new report published by TCL called Data Centre Africa – 2012 finds that Data Centres across the continent are set to see revenues increase by 84 per cent over the 5 year period to the end of 2017 – representing a year on year increase of 17 per cent.

The Data Centre Africa – 2012 report evaluates the Data Centres in the 9 main countries of Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda and provides a forecast for Data Centre raised floor space and revenues over the 5 year period to the end of 2017.

The report also provides information on average rack space pricing per country. The report is based on a survey of 60 Data Centre providers with some 102 facilities in the 9 countries in the survey. 

The main trends identified in the TCL Data Centre Africa report include the following:

• Data Centre raised floor space across Africa is forecast to grow by 37 per cent over the 5 year period to the end of 2017 – a year on year increase of 7 per cent - from 84,000 square metres (2012) to 115,000 square metres (2017).
  
• Data Centre revenue across Africa is forecast to grow by 84 per cent over the 5 year period to the end of 2017 – a year on year increase of 17 per cent - from $203 million USD (2012) to $373 million USD (2017) per annum.
  
• Average space per Data Centre facility in the 9 countries is 563 square metres. Outside these countries – in the lesser developed 47 country markets in Africa - the average size of facility is only around 128 square metres.
  
• Average rack space pricing across the 9 African countries is $737 USD per month – which is around 50 per cent less than the average rack space price in Europe ($1,150 USD per month).
  
• But in Africa there is a wide range of rack space pricing, with the highest rack space pricing found in South Africa with average pricing of $974 USD per month.
  
• The most popular form of Data Centre model in Africa is the Carrier Based Data Centre – provided both by the fixed line and mobile telecoms operator - which accounts for 40 per cent of the Data Centre providers in the 9 country survey, followed by the ISP-based Data Centre (36 per cent) followed by the Carrier Based Data Centre (13 per cent). 

The African Data Centre market is seeing an increase in capacity and revenue, with multiple providers being available in the 9 markets surveyed. The most developed Data Centre market in Africa remains South Africa, which has also seen a number of Carrier Neutral Data Centre facilities emerge with alternative network operators.

Data Centre development is also being assisted by the introduction of new submarine cable systems into the region. However African Data Centre development is also being constrained by the lack of reliable power infrastructure in most African countries such as Nigeria.

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Note to the Editors

About the TCL Data Centre Africa – 2012 report: The TCL Data Centre Africa – 2012 report provides a survey of African Data Centres in 9 countries (including Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia & Uganda). It provides a survey of the key Data Centres in each country with average rack space pricing and a 5 year forecast for raised floor Data Centre space and revenues.  The report costs GBP 995  for a single user licence and is also available with TCL’s Data Centre Middle East – 2012 report for a bundled offer price of GBP 1,495. 

About Tariff Consultancy Ltd (TCL): TCL is a specialist international telecoms consultancy and research company based in London which provides a range of reports and subscription services including price tracker services for mobile, fixed networks and Data Centres. Further information on TCL’s services can be found on the TCL website at: www.telecomspricing.com