Africa Data Centres has formed a strategic partnership with CSSi South Africa to expand secure data storage and colocation capabilities for enterprises across the country. The collaboration aims to address a rising demand for redundant data centre services, data sovereignty, and scalable digital infrastructure as organisations accelerate cloud adoption and modernise their digital operations.
The agreement establishes a structure through which CSSi SA will deploy racks within Africa Data Centres’ facilities in Cape Town (CPT1) and Johannesburg (JHB1). These facilities are connected via 100GB links to the CSSi SA CipherVault™ data centre in Midrand. The three-site configuration enables organisations to access up to three tiers of redundancy, supporting business continuity requirements and strengthening local data resilience.
Sensitive data
As digital construction, manufacturing, finance and public sector organisations generate growing volumes of sensitive data, demand for compliant and locally hosted enterprise data storage solutions continues to increase. The partnership provides a response to this shift by combining colocation services in Johannesburg and Cape Town with low-latency national connectivity and enterprise-grade power and cooling infrastructure.
Adil El Youssefi, Chief Executive Officer of Africa Data Centres, said the expansion reflects the growing need for robust digital infrastructure in South Africa. “CSSi SA’s expansion into our South African facilities underscores the critical need for secure, high-performance data storage solutions in an era of rapid digital transformation. As businesses across South Africa and the broader African market accelerate their digital strategies, the demand for scalable, compliant, and resilient infrastructure has never been higher,” he said. “This partnership reflects a shared commitment to addressing these challenges, ensuring that enterprises have the reliability and security required to manage growing data volumes while navigating an increasingly complex regulatory environment.”
High performance workloads
The CipherVault™ facility in Midrand will integrate directly with Africa Data Centres’ JHB1 site, creating an ecosystem designed to support high-performance workloads, multi-cloud strategies, and redundant data storage architectures. For organisations seeking local data sovereignty in South Africa, the combined footprint offers a controlled environment supported by 99.9% uptime guarantees and the ability to scale capacity on demand.
James Grcic, Chief Executive Officer of CSSi SA, highlighted the partnership’s focus on cost efficiency and operational scalability. “The ability to leverage scalability, partner with a leading data centre provider in South Africa, and use economies of scale to reduce the cost of data centre operations for our customers was always central to this partnership,” he said. “As one of the largest distributors of storage, SSD and hard drives in Africa, with additional server supply capabilities, we enable customers to save costs by working with a single entity for equipment and services, backed by high-availability guarantees. With over 15 years of operational experience from our own data centre, it made sense to partner with Africa Data Centres.”
Grcic added that the collaboration opens access to world-class infrastructure for small businesses, resellers, and enterprises, enabling cost reductions of up to 65–70% compared with traditional data centre investments. This supports organisations migrating into colocation environments as they prepare for increasing requirements around AI workloads, GPU-driven processing and high-density computing.
Scalable solutions
Through the partnership, CSSi SA aims to expand its ability to deliver high-performance, scalable solutions while lowering barriers to entry for South African organisations modernising their IT infrastructure. El Youssefi concluded that local demand for next-generation hardware, combined with the need for local hosting, has made resilient digital infrastructure essential. “We see this partnership as unique, due to the growing demand for new hardware technology, increased expectations for data sovereignty, uptime guarantees, and access to low-latency national networks,” he said. “Providing these capabilities within South Africa supports organisations as they scale and strengthens the broader digital ecosystem.”
The partnership between Africa Data Centres and CSSi South Africa marks a significant development for South Africa’s digital infrastructure landscape. By expanding access to redundant, sovereign and scalable enterprise data storage solutions, the collaboration supports organisations navigating digital transformation, rising regulatory requirements, and growing data volumes. As sectors including digital construction, manufacturing, finance and public services continue to adopt cloud-based and AI-driven technologies, the availability of reliable, locally hosted infrastructure will play a central role in strengthening operational resilience across the country.
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