Although there are instances where it makes sense to take a datacentre green, this needs to be balanced against how much it will cost, as renewable energy isn’t exactly cheap. Globally, datacentres are on the rise, and South Africa is no exception. However, given the country’s dubious power situation – and the long-term benefits – going green may just pay off.

In May, Microsoft announced it will, for the first time, deliver its cloud suite from datacentres located in Africa. Its offerings, including Microsoft Azure, Office 365, and Dynamics 365, will be available from datacentres located in Johannesburg and Cape Town, with initial availability anticipated in 2018.