ContinuitySA has expanded its existing data centre in Maputo by installing one of its mobile data centres as a permanent extension to the existing brick-and-mortar data centre.

The mobile unit, housed in a specially adapted container, more than doubles the company's existing capacity in Mozambique.

"The need for extra capacity is due, in part, to increasing demand from our existing clients in Mozambique, but also reflects the growth in our client base we are targeting this year," says Willem Olivier, GM: Africa at ContinuitySA.

"Mozambique is one of the fastest-growing countries in the world, with The Economist Intelligence Unit forecasting annual GDP growth of 7 percent through to 2020, and we are busy strengthening our team to take advantage of the opportunities it offers. As multinationals open offices in the country, and Mozambiquan companies grow, they will be looking for expert help in addressing the challenge of ensuring their businesses are resilient enough to cope with the challenges posed by poor infrastructure."

ContinuitySA has been using similar mobile data centre units for many years to help clients recover from a major IT failure on site, without the expense and disruption of moving large staff complements to the disaster recovery site.

The company says the mobile unit is designed to fit onto a standard 14-metre trailer and can cope with rugged conditions.

Olivier points out that ContinuitySA's use the mobile unit as a permanent extension to its own existing data centre is a proof of concept for a new way of using the units. "As we are demonstrating at our Mozambique data centre, these mobile units also offer clients a way to get a fully functioning permanent data centre up and running in very short time, without the expense of building or altering to create a conventional data centre."

He adds, "Given skills shortages and other barriers to commissioning new buildings, such as onerous bureaucracy, we believe the option of a rapidly installed 'data centre in a box' could be attractive to many clients setting up new offices across Africa."