As the war and scramble for data among telecommunications companies in Kenya intensifies, Safaricom PLC seems to be carrying the day after joining other elite data centers in the world after being certified by the leading Data Center Authority.
In an information cent to newsroom, the telecommunication giant is now in Tier III Design Certification after receiving an okay from Uptime Institute for the Thika Data Centre.
Safaricom received the certification following a thorough forensic assessment of all aspects in the data center design by Uptime Institute experts’ team.
“We are honored to have the Thika Data Center certified for international best practices in data center design and operations,” said Nicholas Mulila, Director Risk Management, Safaricom.
Mr. Nicholas added that the certification provides the telecommunicator’s enterprise customers with a differentiated service for which independent due diligence has been verified by a global expert.
The certification is important to Safaricom because the Thika Center is the main data center for Colocation services. Through these services, the Telco rents physical office space, network or Internet bandwidth and other resources to the banking sector, Telecoms, Financial Services and its own Internal Services.
The Tier III Concurrently Maintainable Design Certification means that the data center will not have to be shut down for equipment replacement and maintenance.
Data centers are critical in the efficiency of data center organization, installation and maintenance of network equipment.
Safaricom has 11 key data hubs in Kenya. With over 4,600 network sites across the country, 86% of the Kenyan population are covered with 3G network and 35% have access to 4G.
Uptime Institute is the global authority focused on improving the performance, efficiency, and reliability of business critical infrastructure through innovation, collaboration and independent certifications. It is best known for its Tier Certification framework and its high standards.