By Eamonn Ryan
As demand for cloud services, AI and digital connectivity grows across Africa, organisations are increasingly looking for data centre infrastructure that can be deployed quickly, expanded easily and operated efficiently. Modular data centres are emerging as one of the most practical ways to meet those requirements.
Russell Bartley, director: client services of Maven Powercube.
© RACA Journal
Maven Powercube is seeing growing interest in modular data centres as businesses, governments and telecommunications providers seek flexible digital infrastructure that can adapt as computing demands increase.
Speaking at the 2025 Pan-African Data Centre Exhibition and Conference, Russell Bartley, director: client services at Maven Powercube, said every project begins with understanding a client’s long-term strategy rather than simply today’s requirements.
“All of our solutions are led by the client’s requirements,” Bartley said. Rather than designing solely for immediate demand, the company considers expected growth over the next several years, allowing the cooling infrastructure to evolve alongside increasing compute loads.
Depending on the application, Maven Powercube integrates a range of cooling technologies supplied by major manufacturers. These include conventional bolt-on cooling systems commonly used in telecommunications installations, as well as rear door cooling solutions that remove heat directly from server racks using chilled water.
Bartley said rear door cooling is becoming increasingly attractive because it allows operators to scale computing capacity without major changes to the wider facility. The modular approach also significantly reduces deployment times while allowing facilities to be expanded as demand grows.
Energy efficiency is another major driver behind the company’s designs. “Sustainability is non-negotiable for us at Maven Powercube,” Bartley said.
The company follows sustainability standards throughout its manufacturing operations and supply chain, while also working with renewable energy providers to power modular data centres.
Bartley said there is also growing interest in heat recovery and heat reuse technologies, enabling waste heat from data centres to be put to productive use while improving overall environmental performance.
