The Minister of Digital Affairs and Digitalisation, Ms Aurelie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU, and her colleague the Minister of Living Environment and Sustainable Development, Mr José TONATO, visited the site of the national data centre in the municipality of Abomey-Calavi on Tuesday 1 June 2021. The purpose of the visit was to review the conditions under which the equipment of this technological gem is being gradually powered up.
The Minister of Digital Affairs and Digitalisation, Ms Aurelie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU, and her colleague the Minister of Living Environment and Sustainable Development, Mr José TONATO, visited the site of the national data centre in the municipality of Abomey-Calavi on Tuesday 1 June 2021. The purpose of the visit was to review the conditions under which the equipment of this technological gem is being gradually powered up.
After nearly nine (09) months of fit-out work and equipment installation in the brand-new building, the first technical tests began on 1 June at the national data centre site in Abomey-Calavi. Before touring its various sections, Ministers Aurelie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU and José TONATO held discussions with the technical teams mobilised to complete the works and the transfer of skills. The team from the Information Services and Systems Agency (ASSI), which is steering the project, also took part in the discussions.
The Minister of Digital Affairs and Digitalisation, who has followed the project since its launch, welcomed the progress observed that day. “What we saw this morning is an infrastructure that meets standards and gives a foretaste of what this data centre will be in a few months' time,” she said. This visit, which coincides with the start of the technical tests, gave the Minister Aurelie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU the opportunity to recall the importance of this infrastructure and the need to carry out the actions relating to certification and the ten-year guarantee swiftly and to a high standard.
In addition to the building, handed over in 2019, and the technical equipment currently undergoing specific tests, the national data centre is housed in a pleasant and futuristic setting. This explains the presence of the Minister of Living Environment and Sustainable Development, Mr José TONATO, who came to make sure that, from an architectural point of view, things are proceeding properly.
Designed to support the Government's flagship reforms and projects in the Digital and Digitalisation sector, the national data centre is intended to host and secure all of the State's information systems and to provide hosting capacity for semi-public bodies and private-sector players.
With certification under way at level 3 of the ANSI/TIA 942 standard, secure access to electricity, dual fibre-optic connections and a very rigorous safety protocol for fire and access control, the national data centre aims to comply with the most demanding operating standards in the field.