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Shs189b to accelerate Africa digital transformation
First Brick Holdings is currently setting up the Raxio Data Centre in Namanve, Mukono District, the first in a series of others across the region. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- According to data from Uganda Communications Commission, Internet penetration stood at more than 49 per cent by end of 2017, which indicates that more companies are now conducting business online thus creating new demand for data storage.
Kampala. First Brick Holdings, a Roha Group company based in the US, has announced a $50m (Shs189b) project that will establish multiple data centres across East and Southern Africa.
The project, which was announced during the AfricaCom conference, a telecom, media and technology meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, according to Mr Robert Mullins, the First Brick Holdings executive director, seeks to insulate businesses against potential risks brought about by the digital shift.
The digital economy, he said, has presented a lot of transformation but continues to expose businesses to security incidences.
For instance, according to the 2017/19 national information technology survey conducted by National Information Technology Authority – Uganda (NITA-U), up to 71.4 per cent of government ministries, departments and agencies, reported some type of IT security incidences in the 2016/17 financial year.
This, the report said, presents a serious threat, which must be mitigated to secure both government and private sector data.
Reduction in cost of Internet
The NITA-U report also registered a reduction in the cost of internet by 62.5 per cent from $632 per 1Mpbs in 2011 to $237 in 2018, meaning that more businesses are now relying on the internet to transact, build operation models and process data, among others.
Mr James Byaruhanga, the Raxio Data Centre general manager, said at the weekend that data centre installations in East Africa continue to lag behind, despite the region facing underlying trends in terms of growth of data usage and storage requirements.
“These dynamics, coupled with the expansion ambitions of some of the world’s biggest companies, which are either already active in or looking to expand into the East African market, is driving the commercial need for data centres,” he said.
Currently, the NITA-U report indicates, about 80.5 per cent of government ministries, departments and agencies and 66.7 per cent of local governments rely on in-house capacity to host their applications and databases.
However, the report indicates that only 48.1 per cent of government ministries, departments and agencies and 38.1 per cent of local government reported keeping backups off-site.
First Brick Holdings is currently setting up the Raxio Data Centre in Namanve, Mukono District, the first in a series of others across the region.
According to data from Uganda Communications Commission, internet penetration stood at well over 49 per cent by end of 2017, which indicates that more companies are now conducting business online, which has created new demands for data storage.
Demand for data storage
According to data from Uganda Communications Commission, Internet penetration stood at more than 49 per cent by end of 2017, which indicates that more companies are now conducting business online thus creating new demand for data storage.
