Cassava Technologies has strengthened Africa’s cloud infrastructure after its subsidiary, Africa Data Centres (ADC), was designated a Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute Metro peering location in Johannesburg, making it the first such location on the continent.
The designation positions Johannesburg among a select group of global technology hubs offering enhanced cloud resilience, redundancy and secure connectivity for businesses running mission-critical workloads on Microsoft Azure.
Through its cloud and cybersecurity arm, Liquid C2, Cassava will deliver Secure CloudConnect, a fully managed service that combines private cloud connectivity with integrated cybersecurity solutions. The service leverages Liquid C2’s network presence across both ExpressRoute Metro locations in Johannesburg to provide organisations with secure and resilient access to Microsoft Azure.
Ziaad Suleman, senior vice president of Cassava Technologies South Africa and Botswana, described the designation as a major milestone for both the company and Africa’s digital infrastructure.
“Being designated a Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute Metro peering location is a defining moment for Africa Data Centres as well as for Africa’s digital infrastructure,” Suleman said. “It reflects growing confidence in the continent’s ability to support the next generation of cloud and AI-driven services.”
He stated that by combining Africa Data Centres’ infrastructure with Liquid C2’s cloud and cybersecurity capabilities, the company is providing organisations with the resilient, secure, and trusted digital foundation they need to accelerate innovation and growth.
Africa Data Centres’ JHB1 facility becomes the second ExpressRoute Metro peering location within Johannesburg, enabling Microsoft Azure customers to route a single private connection through two separate peering sites in the metro area.
The setup provides built-in redundancy designed to improve business continuity for critical applications.
The announcement comes as regulators require organisations to strengthen operational resilience, business continuity planning, cybersecurity and data protection.
Cassava’s Liquid C2’s Secure CloudConnect is designed to help businesses meet these regulatory expectations by reducing the risk of service disruptions, improving security and simplifying the management of increasingly complex cloud environments through a single managed provider.
Vukani Mngxati, chief executive officer of Microsoft South Africa, said the new ExpressRoute Metro capability would provide businesses with a more resilient pathway to the cloud as artificial intelligence adoption accelerates.
“South Africa isn’t waiting for the AI era, it is helping to shape it, and that ambition rests on digital infrastructure the country can trust,” Mngxati said.
“With Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute Metro now available in Johannesburg, organisations across South Africa gain a more resilient and secure path to the cloud for their most critical workloads.”
He stated that trusted digital infrastructure would enable businesses to innovate faster, compete globally and unlock broader economic opportunities.
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Cassava said the latest development represents another step in strengthening Africa’s digital infrastructure by combining hyperscale data centre capacity with managed cloud and cybersecurity services, helping enterprises adopt cloud and AI technologies with greater resilience and security.
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