AI is going mainstream, increasing demands on data centre infrastructure, power and cooling requirements. Wiaan Vermaak, the newly-appointed Group Chief Commercial Officer of Digital Parks Africa (DPA), says one of his key focus areas will be on supporting DPA’s strategy to offer an advanced, stable environment that will empower and enable partners and customers to fully harness the transformative potential of AI. Digital Parks Africa, a leading provider of the latest generation, scalable data centre solutions in Africa, is part of the Master Power Technologies (MPT) group of companies, the largest independent critical power and Data Centre solution provider in Africa.
Vermaak says the new role of Group CCO will encompass increasing the company’s industry presence, to highlight DPA’s unique value and capabilities in the AI era. With over 30 years of industry-specific expertise in telecoms, network rollout, operations management, sales and marketing, Vermaak has a distinguished career history. He has worked internationally in Morocco, Türkiye, and France, with prominent organisations including Cell C, Afrifiber in Djibouti, Nortel, Vodacom, and Telkom. Throughout his career, he has played a pivotal role shaping the telecoms landscape in the South African and pan-African markets.
Vermaak says: “The market is rapidly changing, and we see new technologies like AI becoming highly relevant and adopted in this market. Our sector will be the enabler of the AI revolution, driving innovative solutions and services in the areas of technology, medical science, education and engineering, so we at DPA are readying ourselves to meet market needs, and offer the expected performance, service levels and value.” He notes that AI widespread adoption will exponentially increase demand for computing power, with resulting pressure on power and cooling systems. Vermaak says: “The key to success in the data centre market is having the right support structures in place to protect your infrastructure, and power and cooling are critical considerations. Equipment cannot go beyond its optimal working temperature so over-temperature and thermal runaway must be avoided at all costs. Therefore, your data centre design and operational support structures must be top priority. As power and cooling is a particularly complex science, it requires professionally qualified and Uptime-certified personnel for effective management. DPA and MPT possess a wealth of skills and capabilities across the group which ensure that international standards, service levels and performance objectives are met. We have best-of-breed designs and redundant systems which guarantee the fulfilment of our SLA’s.”
Vermaak’s role will also see him supporting the group’s expansion strategy in South Africa and beyond the country’s borders. “We are working on taking DPA to the next level. On our innovation and technical capability layer, we can compete with the best in the market,” he says. He adds: “As a group, we have been pioneers in the market for over 20 years, and we are one of very few companies in Africa with the exposure and direct experience to the entire value chain in Data Centres, from design inception to actual operations. For this reason, we understand our customer needs and can deliver the full value they require. We are truly customer-obsessed, dedicated to offering our partners and customers the best infrastructure, service, and value possible.”