Microsoft has revealed plans to build a data centre campus in Centurion, Gauteng.
The tech giant, which opened its South African cloud region in 2019, says it aims to build out its cloud infrastructure in new areas across SA, to meet the growing demand from public and private sector organisations for cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) services and solutions in Africa.
“We look forward to working with the municipality, local organisations, and the residents of Kosmosdal, Centurion, as we develop our data centre plans in a sustainable way. This data centre campus represents the next step in Microsoft’s commitment to enabling and accelerating the pace of digital transformation in South Africa, and Africa, in an inclusive, trusted, and responsible manner,” says Microsoft in a statement.
The Microsoft announcement comes as SA is witnessing increased activity in the data centre space. Other hyper scalers that have established cloud regions in SA over the last few years include Amazon Web Services, Huawei and Google.
Microsoft, which has a 30-year history in SA, says it is committed to accelerating the pace of technology transformation and digital enablement in the country – through key investments in infrastructure, skills and enterprise development.
Its current two data centres – located in Johannesburg and Cape Town – are projected to drive economic growth in SA, and in turn contribute to the creation of over 100 000 jobs in the next few years.
In 2022, the company expanded the cloud service offerings in both SA locations, adding the Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.
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