NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 6 – The Kenya Data Network (KDN) strategy of becoming a holistic data service provider inched a step ahead on Tuesday when the firm unveiled an ultra-modern data centre.
The data centre which will serve East and Central Africa will host data and software applications to serve international and local businesses.
KDN Chief Operating Officer Atul Chaturvedi said the company, which has primarily operated more as an infrastructure provider, was looking to break the mould as it seeks to be a leading data services provider in the country.
“I think this only completes our offering. We have been in the business of offering complete infrastructure to a host of sectors and this data centre is only an extension of that since not all our customers have the capital to put up such a centre,” Mr Chaturvedi said.
Situated at the Sameer Business Park on Mombasa Road, the data centre could relieve firms in the region from having to seek data back-up services in Europe and America.
Mr Chaturvedi said the data centre was a unique facility offering reliability and convenience for corporate clients and financial institutions looking for international standards.
When breaking ground in 2009, KDN had indicated it would spend Sh550 million in the facility. The COO however refused to comment on how much had so far gone into the project, only saying it was a ‘multimillion dollar’ investment.
Powered by solar energy, the data centre, which will serve Kenya and other African countries seeking to safeguard essential data in a secure environment.
The arrival of undersea fibre optic cables in the country has sparked new investment in data recovery and storage, taking advantage of the growing telecoms industry appetite in the East African region.
Equity Bank has also made an investment in another data centre which it intends to lease out to companies in Kenya to serve as their IT platform.
Mr Chaturvedi said the centre would be classified at security level seven, which is the highest in the world and similar to that used by United Nations and top intelligence agencies across the world.
“The product scope is limited to providing physical space, sufficient dual input power, elaborate security system and sufficient room air conditioning,” he said.
The data centre is offered as a ready to use server room space with adequate and redundant power cooling and fire suppression to ensure full time operation of communication equipments that run critical services to end-users.
Mr Chaturvedi said that they had already received interest from seven companies (five local and two international) in using the data centre.
“We are looking at their credentials at the moment because we don’t just want to bring anybody on board because of the nature of security involved. Once we complete our assessment we will declare which three companies will be partnering with us,” he said.
