New Paratus Armada DC to power Africa’s digital transformation

Windhoek:  Last week Paratus launched its newest Data Center (DC), dubbed Armada. It is Namibia’s largest carrier neutral DC.  The launch of Armada signals the country’s readiness to participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), offering Namibian businesses the whole gamut of digitally resilient infrastructure and hosting services, complemented by complete connectivity freedom and the opportunity to compete at world-class levels.   

Situated just outside Namibia’s capital city, Windhoek, the Armada DC campus boasts a high availability hosted environment, with resilience on each infrastructure level, from power to cooling, carrier interconnects and extremely low latency. The new purpose-built facility will enable businesses to host their ICT infrastructure in a secure and world-class Tier III equivalent data center. Armada has been designed to exacting and precise standards, leveraging the latest physical and virtual security and the highest possible uptime. The DC will also offer businesses a colocation environment with a resilient infrastructure environment which minimises the IT capital expenditure and operating costs associated with on-premise data storage and management.   

Announcing the launch, Paratus Group CEO Schalk Erasmus said: “The Paratus Armada DC is the safest and most secure environment for any business’ most precious asset – its data. The resilience we offer at Armada is unmatched in Namibia. This is the archetype of modern technology at work, and Armada is another example of how the Paratus mission to transform Africa through excellent infrastructure is being realised.  As a state-of-the-art facility and one in which we have invested around N$ 123 million, Armada is a one-of-a-kind, one-stop shop for businesses of all sizes to compete at world-class levels. This is a proud day for Paratus Group.” 

At the launch, the Hon. Dr Mushelenga, Namibia’s Minister of ICT, referred to the government’s Vision 2030 which stipulates that ICT must be the most critical sector in the country’s economic development. He said: “ICT has become a fundamental part of how we interact, communicate, conduct business, or manage our affairs. It will play a major role in realising our Vision for Namibia, one of being a prosperous and industrialised nation developed by her human resources, enjoying peace, harmony, and political stability. Through reliable infrastructure, like the Armada Data Center and the Google Equiano Cable landing station, it is evident that Paratus is stepping up to the obligations set by the government.” 

Armada is helping propel the Namibian economy into a new era of advanced data center offerings, as it is open to both network operators and individual colocation tenants.  Armada gives clients the freedom of choice in respect of connectivity resilience, multiple concurrent MMPs (Meet-Me-Points) on campus, access, and uptime.  While Paratus operates its own resilient quality network that interconnects with the rest of Africa and the world through its Trans Kalahari network, the Armada DC’s carrier neutral status gives clients total control over their connectivity options.  

Erasmus explains: “our DC plans have aligned with one of the big 5 Tech Giants in the world, which sends a strong message of confidence to other operators. For the end-user, more content and information may be transmitted to more people through multiple operators.  The content will be closer to the end-user, and we are giving ISPs a level playing field to deliver that content.” 

Paratus offers superior connectivity and 99.98% uptime. As a carrier neutral DC, Armada offers users the ISP resilience that a single carrier DC cannot. Having connections to multiple carriers backed by critical IT Infrastructure means that even if one carrier has an outage, colocation customers’ connectivity is not interrupted, and better resilience is assured for all. The Paratus Armada DC encourages interconnectivity between multiple telecommunications carriers, allowing multiple service providers to use the facilities and thereby enhance service offerings to colocation clients. This broadens the appeal of the Armada DC because it can serve any business – small, medium, or enterprise. 

Armada has been designed to help meet the ever-increasing need for services that will enable digital transformation and, with existing facilities in Namibia currently at capacity, this new DC will help meet market demand and give Namibian and international businesses the opportunity to participate in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). 

“Businesses today understand that technological advancement is critical for economic development”, explains Erasmus.  “To participate in the 4IR, they need an independent, secure, and highly sophisticated DC facility to store and protect their data 24/7/365; one that can house and physically protect all equipment and computer systems. Armada also offers an array of add-on services and features such as fully equipped boardrooms, high-quality video conferencing facilities and lightning-fast connections.   

From a start-up 19 years ago, Paratus has become a major telco player with an impressive footprint in Africa. Owning its own infrastructure, building expert teams in seven southern African countries, and serving customers across the continent with a seamless quality network service, are the cornerstones of the Paratus Group’s success so far.  Through its extended network, the Paratus Group also serves customers in 37 African countries; has landed the Google Equiano subsea cable in Namibia; and, with the new Armada DC, has built four of its own Data Center facilities in three African countries.   

Erasmus adds: “With Armada, we’re helping to ‘unlimit’ the future for Namibian businesses and end-users.” 

NOTES TO JOURNALISTS 

1 Tech specs 

The carrier neutral facility will offer various colocation services, from half-cabinets to multi-tenant rows and private cages. Vital statistics of the facility include: 

• 2-Megawatt Power Capacity (Phase 2) 
• Diverse A&B utility power supply (Phase 2)  

• Dedicated generators – per A&B feed, for comprehensive resilience and 72-hr fuel autonomy  
• Diverse Power Feed design throughout from utility to cabinet level 
• Fully inter-resilient 500 kVA UPSs per feed (A&B) dedicated to the Data Centre 
• Separate utilities UPS to ensure electrical autonomy  
• Dual UPS feeds per cabinet to deliver up to 3.3kVA  

• Cold Aisle Containment and inter-resilient CRAC cooling units at N+1  
• Multiple diverse carrier routes with separate Meet-Me-Rooms (A&B) as well as access to tower across diverse infrastructure from fibre to microwave 
• Direct link to the new Equiano cable and CLS in Swakopmund 
• Access to Paratus backbone network linking multinational customers to the Paratus Data Centers in Angola and Zambia 

2 Security 

Paratus has considered every aspect of security – including 24-hour perimeter security, facility, computer room, and cabinet controls to prevent unauthorized entry into the Armada DC. Further security is provided within the inner layers of Armada, including battery backups, generators, cages, and data racks.  Reliable and carefully monitored power supply and cooling systems ensure that optimal temperature and humidity for all equipment is maintained, mitigating the loss of data due to any equipment failure caused by the lack of power or equipment overheating. 

3 Green credentials 

Armada has also been designed to mitigate environmental impacts.  Trees that needed to be uprooted during construction of the DC have been replanted, a large duck pond has been created on the campus and, to help offset its carbon footprint and reliance upon fossil fuels, a sophisticated set of renewable solar energy systems have been incorporated. “Our customers may be reassured of our good environmental governance and indeed that local communities have been empowered through the creation of Armada”, adds Erasmus. “What’s important here too is that the Armada DC removes the need for businesses to build their own facilities to house and protect their data.” 

Please visit https://armada.paratus.africa/ for more information. 

-ENDS- 

About Paratus  

Paratus is Africa’s quality network. With an eye on the future, the group’s investment in infrastructure underscores its long-term commitment to transform Africa through exceptional digital infrastructure and customer service. Paratus is managed by a passionate and professional operational team in seven African countries – Angola, Botswana, DRC, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia.  The business’s extended network provides a satellite connectivity-focused service in 37 African countries to a magnitude of customer satellite connections across Africa.  This connects African businesses across the continent and delivers end-to-end service excellence. The group’s footprint extends beyond Africa to international (points of presence) PoPs in Europe, the UK and the USA.   

Born and bred in Africa, Paratus is thinking big as it grows its footprint to deliver Africa’s quality network.  By understanding the unique opportunities that Africa offers businesses and individuals to break boundaries and to connect without limits, Paratus is committed to raising the bar for providing quality connectivity in Africa.