African Data Center Market Report 2017: The Race to the Cloud is Transforming African Colocation Markets

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Sep 25, 2017, 14:45 ET

DUBLIN, September 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The "The African Data Center Rises - How the Race to the Cloud is Transforming African Colocation Markets - Premium Package" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.

The African Multi-Tenant Data Center (MTDC) market has entered a new phase of growth, one that should see deeper adoption in core markets, and a broader, more distributed data center service penetration beyond the core. The harbingers of this impending data center market growth have been building up for years. African broadband is booming; the number of connections has passed the 200 million mark and should grow by an average of nearly 20% over the next five years. Fiber connectivity prices are declining, workload migration to the cloud is accelerating, data privacy and sovereignty concerns are gaining ground, and a new breed of consumer and enterprise digital natives are putting new demands on African Internet networks.

These and other factors are driving the race to bring the brains of the African Internet back to the continent, in the process transforming the African data center colocation business into one of the hottest growth segments in the African ICT market. This transformation is at the heart of this report, the second edition of our "Africa Data Center Rises" series.

Leveraging months of research, dozens of interviews, extensive data collections and new analytical tools for data center analysis and geo-mapping, the "African Data Center Rises - How the Race to the Cloud is Transforming African Colocation Markets" report provides an unprecedented view into the dynamics underpinning the African MTDC colocation market.

The report explores key questions surrounding the African MTDC colocation market from the mundane, yet critical (how many colo data centers are there exactly in Africa, how big is the market, who are the key players), to the more incisive, if complicated (Can African colo players survive on colo only, should African telcos sell their data center assets, how much is Teraco worth, which markets are the most attractive, etc.)

A reference report for all players and investors in the African colocation and cloud markets.

The insights derived from our research on African data center colocation markets are distilled in this report, covering critical key questions and points, including:

Why we say that the African colocation market is really, primarily, about 7 core markets - and what those countries are;
Why we say that almost half of African MTDC facilities are really built to do other things - and why that is;
Why we say that less than 10% of African MTDC facilities are "True" Carrier and Vendor-Neutral MTDCs - and what the implications are;
Why we say that outside of the South African market, Africa has low levels or "realized demand";
Why we say that power supply remains a challenge for African colo players; but argue that connectivity is the bigger problem;
Why we say that MTDC colocation is one of the hottest growth segments in the African ICT market;
Why we say African colo markets are small and complicated - but carry substantial upside for those who will dare take them on;
Why we say that power supply challenges do distort African data center economics - and hamper the long-term margin upside of this business;
Why we say that African colocation isn't a case of build it and they will come. You may build it, but absent other critical conditions, it will stay empty;
Why we say that African telcos should consider selling their data center assets - though doing so will have no material impact on their balance sheets;
Why we say, about South Africa's Teraco - "Show them the Money";
Why international colo operators are not here yet - and why they are coming;
And more..

Key Topics Covered:

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: THE AFRICAN DATA CENTER IS STILL RISING

2. PART I - THE NUMBERS

HOW MANY MTDCs ARE THERE IN AFRICA?
MTDCs in Africa: ~150+ and Rising
Separating "Real" Multi-Tenant Data Centers from the Other Sort
Where they Are: Africa MTDC Map
How they Break Down: Africa MTDCs by Size and Type
How they Break Down: Pure-Play Colo Facilities vs. Multi-Purpose Facilities
How they Break Down: (Almost) Everybody Is Tier III - Or are They?

3. WHAT IS THE SIZE OF THE AFRICAN COLOCATION MARKET?

The African Colo Market: ~80k Square Meters of Available White Space
The African Colo Market: Power and Rack Capacity
The African Colocation Market: A Map Review
South Africa, North Africa, the KiNG Markets and Everyone Else
Africa's Top Metro Colocation Markets

4. WHAT IS THE DEMAND POTENTIAL FOR AFRICAN MTDC COLOCATION?

The African Colocation Demand Universe: Service Providers and Digital Natives
The African Colocation Demand Universe: Financials, SME, Enterprise and Government
Africa's Colo Demand Hotspots - A Segment View
Africa's Potential Colo Demand: ~200k Square Meters, and Probably More
Assessing Realized Demand: Between Upside and Skepticism

5. WHAT IS THE REVENUE SIZE & OUTLOOK FOR AFRICAN MTDC COLOCATION?

Data Center Colocation - One of the Hottest Segments in the African ICT Market
Market Outlook: The Rise of the Cloud Makes Us Bullish on African Colo
The African Colo Market Will Double in Size
African Colo Market Outlook: A Segment View

6. THE COMPETITIVE STRUCTURE OF THE AFRICAN MTDC COLOCATION MARKET: OF "TRUE" CARRIER-NEUTRAL, TELCO DCs, AND IT PLAYERS

Who Controls Africa's Colo Space? A Macro View
Not Alike: Colo Market Competitive Structure in South, North Africa
Not Alike: Colo Market Competitive Structure in the KiNG Markets, Rest of Africa
"True" Carrier-Neutral vs. "Not Really" Carrier-Neutral
The Rise of the "True" Carrier Neutral Colo
Africa's Top 25 Largest Colocation Data Centers
From Teraco to Emtel: Africa's Top 20 Colocation Players

7. PART II - BEHIND THE NUMBERS: ANSWERING KEY QUESTIONS

Which African colo markets are most attractive?
Should African Telcos Sell Their Data Center Assets?
Can the African Data Center Survive the Continent's Power Supply Problems?
Why Are the Global Colo Players Not Here Yet? Will They Ever Come?
Africa MTDC M&A Targets: There's Teraco, Then There's Everybody Else
From Teraco to MDXi and Dataxion: Identifying Africa's Most Attractive Data Center M&A Assets
Teraco: Show Them the Money
Teraco: A Growth Story in Key Charts
Can Government Data Centers Change the African Supply Picture?

8. PART III - COUNTRY FOCUS

SOUTH AFRICA: THE PLACE OF (DATA CENTER) GOLD
South Africa MTDC Colocation Market - Five-Point Summary
South Africa: Africa's Colo Behemoth
Gauteng: The Place of (Data Center) Gold
Cape Town: More than Nice Views
South Africa - A Deep Demand for Cloud Services
The Supply-Side: An IT/Enterprise Provider Market
South Africa MTDC Colocation - Key Player Assessment
Revenue Outlook - South Africa

9. KENYA: READY FOR TAKE-OFF

Kenya MTDC Colocation Market - Five-Point Summary
East Africa's Internet Gateway
Strong Fundamental Drivers of Colo Demand
An Increasingly Ripe Demand for Cloud Services
Colo Demand - Growing, but Still Underpenetrated
The Supply-Side: No Tier 1 Telco Domination Here
Kenya MTDC Colocation - Key Player Assessment
Excellent Fundamentals - with a Minor Terrestrial Fiber Concern
Revenue Outlook - Bullish on Kenyan Colocation

10. NIGERIA: THE GIANT IS STILL SLEEPING

Nigeria MTDC Colocation Market - Five-Point Summary
Africa's Third Largest Colocation Market
Excellent Broadband Growth Potential
A Deep - Still Underexploited - Colo Demand Potential
A Highly Underpenetrated Demand
The Supply-Side: Could Use More Carrier-Neutral Options
Nigeria MTDC Colocation - Key Player Assessment
Strong Growth Fundamentals, and a Connectivity Problem
Revenue Outlook - Promising, but Could do Substantially Better

11. MOROCCO: PROMISING, BUT STILL CONSTRAINED

Morocco MTDC Colocation Market - Five-Point Summary
A Slow Awakening to Colocation
Strong Fundamental Drivers
Morocco - Cloud Services Demand is Still Constrained
The Supply-Side: Highly Fragmented
Morocco MTDC Colocation Market Supply
Morocco MTDC Colocation - Key Player Assessment
Morocco MTDC Colocation - Pricing & Service Portfolio
Revenue Outlook - Strong, but Can be Better

12. TUNISIA: AFRICA'S BEST HIDDEN COLO SECRET

Tunisia MTDC Colocation Market - Five-Point Summary
North Africa's Fastest Growing Market
An Excellent Broadband Growth Potential
Tunisia - Demand for Cloud Services only Emerging
The Supply-Side: Carrier-Neutral Domination
Tunisia MTDC Colocation - Pricing & Service Portfolio
Revenue Outlook - Market Size Projected to Triple

Companies Mentioned

Amazon Web Services
BCX
CenturyLink
Dataxion
Digital Realty
EO Data Center
East Africa Data Center
Equinix
Etix Everywhere
GPX
Hetzner SA
Hostoweb
iColo
IBM
Internet Solutions
Interxion
Liquid Telecom
MTN Business
MainOne/MDXi
Maroc Data Center
Microsoft
N+One
Ooredoo Tunisia
Orange Group
Rack Africa
RackCentre
Raya Data Center
Safaricom
T-Systems SA
Telecom Egypt
Telkom SA
Teraco
Verizon
Vodacom Business
Windstream

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/mdh78r/the_african_data

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Research and Markets
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