MainOne's MDX-i taps Azure to offer cloud services in West Africa

MDX-i, a subsidiary of MainOne, West Africa’s largest data center, is leaning on  Microsoft’s Azure to launch a service to help meet the computing infrastructure needs of companies deploying private, public or hybrid clouds from its Tier III Data Center in Lagos.

MDX-i is looking to ensure quick provision of infrastructure for businesses and government agencies that want to cut delivery time for on-demand applications and services.

Azure’s role will be to help MDX-i provide access to computing resources including storage, CPU, memory, security firewalls and network bandwidth on a subscription basis. MDX-i will use Azure’s pre-built templates and managed services to make it easier for customers to build and manage enterprise, mobile, Web, and Internet of Things (IoT) apps.

“Our IaaS platform reduces complexity, interoperability, and security concerns of our customers,” said MDX-i’s business development executive, Rob Lever.

The MainOne tier III data center was opened in January 2015 and MDX-i became the first data center in Nigeria to announce that it has acquired both the PCI DSS and ISO 27001:2013 certifications.

MDX-i wants to leverage MainOne’s submarine and growing terrestrial network, including fiber coverage, to deliver services to a growing installed base of enterprises and government agencies in Nigeria and Ghana. MDX-i offerings could soon reach Cameroon, to which MainOne recently extended its submarine fiber cable.