Read time: 3 minutes

US datacentre firm targets Africa opportunity

By , Portals editor
Africa , Angola , 11 May 2022

US datacentre owner and developer Flexential has opened its US network to multinational telecommunications firm Angola Cables to assist customers in Africa in connecting to 40 key datacentre hubs across the United States.

Flexential provides datacentre colocation, cloud and connectivity solutions. The company owns and operates 40 highly redundant datacentres, seven cloud nodes and manages more than 13,000 cross-connects.

The company provides access to Angola's MONET cable, housed in its Fort Lauderdale datacentre. According to the companies, this partnership will offer customers connectivity via the low-latency, high-capacity South Atlantic Cable System (SACS).

They add that the alliance will also address the heightened demand from enterprises, service providers, as well as hyperscale cloud providers seeking edge deployments within the US market.

CEO of Angola Cables, Ângelo Gama.
CEO of Angola Cables, Ângelo Gama.

"Our partnership with Flexential will strengthen interconnection options across southern and West Africa," said Ângelo Gama, CEO of Angola Cables. Gama says that this high-capacity connectivity is well-suited to serve multiple industries from the oil and gas sector to scientific and academic research.

"Plugging into Flexential's extensive network of datacentres in the US will benefit our clients in Africa by not only extending their presence and exposure to the highly active US market, but will open up further opportunities for enterprises in Africa to establish direct connections with parent companies, subsidiaries, business partners and suppliers across the US."

Tim Parker, Senior Vice President, Network Strategy at Flexential said that their focus is on building and expanding trusted relationships. “Through this agreement we are collectively able to extend our managed services and tailored IT and datacentre solutions to customers and enterprises on the African continent. Given the significant presence we're already seeing from customers, including over-the-top (OTT) providers, hyperscalers and Fortune 500 companies in the African region, we're excited to bring these organisations a new level of international capacity and connectivity via new cross-connect options."

Gama added, “Our arrangement with Flexential presents an ideal solution for managing data traffic and promoting commerce on either side of the Atlantic whilst assisting companies in broadening and expanding their business horizons.”

Miami PoP

In March Angola Cables underlined the value of the Miami Point-of-Presence (PoP), a cross-connectivity location for businesses to manage data, applications and services between the USA, Latin America, Europe and Africa.

The company described the resource as a game-changer for companies looking to leverage international exposure, presence and infrastructure.

The company said the centralised point joins several major subsea cables and sophisticated datacentre infrastructure to latency-efficient routings which Angola Cables says makes it possible for companies and enterprises to exchange traffic, expand their footprint and services to other parts of the world, quickly and seamlessly.

Gama said at the time, “This is a game changer for those enterprises looking to expand their sphere of influence without the need for major capital investments into infrastructure and facilities. As these connections can be established and maintained remotely within a short period of time, almost anywhere in the world, customers can gain rapid access to other digital ecosystems and new markets.” 

Daily newsletter