Internet Solutions (IS) could spend up to $40 million in data centre and hosting capacity in the coming year.
Addressing analysts and investors at the company's annual results presentation earlier this afternoon, Dimension Data CEO Brett Dawson said IS was investing for growth.
However, the board has not yet committed to spending the $40 million, he cautioned. IS sees growth opportunities in SA and Africa for hosting, says Dawson.
In the year to September, IS spent $38 million on infrastructure and capacity, an amount that Dawson expects to be repeated this year. The data centre and hosting spend will replace the company's $25 million investment in Seacom, which was a once-off item, he says.
Internet Solutions is one of Seacom's anchor tenants and has a long-term lease on the cable, which gives it access to capacity. The company now wants to move this access inland and leverage it in hosting and data offerings, among others.
The division contributed $255 million of the group's $4 billion in revenue for the year, at a growth level of 28%. Dawson says its customer base is growing faster than access prices are coming down.
The company, which makes up 6% of Dimension Data's business, offers a product mix that includes hosting, access, security, virtual private network, mobile, wireless, broadband and application services solutions.
Recent growth in the African economy has resulted in IS spreading its services across all parts of the continent. It has a presence in Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Mauritius, Tanzania and Nigeria, Angola and Ghana on the West Coast.
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