Oxide Cloud Services (OCS), a subsidiary of Data Sciences Corporation, has partnered with Digital Parks Africa (DPA) to expand enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and locally hosted AI services in South Africa.
Under the collaboration, DPA has provided OCS with a dedicated AI pod at its Tier III data centre in Samrand, Centurion, to support growing demand for secure, locally operated AI solutions.
The facility will enable businesses to develop and run AI workloads within South Africa without depending on international public infrastructure.
According to OCS, the initiative will strengthen its capacity to deliver enterprise AI services while addressing growing concerns around data sovereignty, security and regulatory compliance.
Strengthening South Africa’s Sovereign AI Capabilities
The collaboration builds on the longstanding relationship between OCS and DPA, with the newly installed AI pod providing dedicated computing infrastructure for OCS’s expanding AI operations.
The Samrand facility also has redundant connectivity to OCS’s existing location at Teraco, where the company delivers other cloud services and connectivity solutions to customers.
Richard Raymond, Senior Engineering Consultant at Data Sciences Corporation, said the partnership would strengthen OCS’s AI service offering and enable it to respond more effectively to changing enterprise requirements.
The facility was selected partly because of its substantial power capacity, providing 260kW for an AI pod and up to 50kW per rack, which the company says exceeds traditional data centre power availability by more than ten times.
Addressing Data Sovereignty and Security Concerns
A major objective of the partnership is to help organisations develop and operate AI systems without having to route sensitive information through international public infrastructure.
The locally hosted platform will allow businesses to build their own AI solutions, manage their workloads or access OCS’s AI services while maintaining greater control over their data and intellectual property.
Raymond explained that the company’s cloud infrastructure is entirely hosted, built and designed in South Africa, emphasising that “no data or IP leave South Africa’s borders.”
He added that organisations could deploy complete AI pipelines within one environment, including large language models (LLMs), GPU computing, high-bandwidth networking, storage systems and supporting software.
This would enable enterprises to develop sovereign AI chatbots trained on their internal information, business processes and operational requirements.
OCS Expands AI-as-a-Service and GPU-as-a-Service Offerings
Beyond providing dedicated AI infrastructure, OCS currently offers AI-as-a-Service and GPU-as-a-Service to organisations seeking access to advanced computing capabilities without independently building and managing all the required hardware.
AI-as-a-Service enables businesses to access artificial intelligence technologies and solutions, while GPU-as-a-Service provides access to powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) used for demanding AI operations, including model training, data processing and inference.
Raymond said these services had already been providing AI capabilities to several organisations for years, adding that OCS was piloting additional technologies to further support enterprise AI adoption.
The company is also expanding its software offerings to simplify the adoption process, enabling business teams to concentrate on using AI solutions rather than managing the underlying technical infrastructure.
Infrastructure, Networking and Engineering Expertise Beyond GPUs
OCS is positioning its offering beyond the provision of powerful graphics processing units, highlighting the importance of networking, storage, software architecture and technical expertise in building effective enterprise AI systems.
Raymond warned that businesses often make the mistake of purchasing GPUs without establishing the supporting infrastructure required to maximise their performance.
According to him, inadequate networking and storage capabilities can prevent organisations from fully benefiting from their AI investments.
He explained that OCS provides high-speed networking, multiple storage tiers and skilled engineers to help customers design and manage their AI environments.
For larger clients, the company can also establish private, isolated networks that operate as extensions of their existing corporate networks, strengthening security and separation.
OCS is also listed on the Teraco Cloud Exchange alongside major cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS), providing customers with additional connectivity options and enterprise support.
Local Deployment Offers More Predictable AI Service Pricing
Another advantage of OCS’s locally deployed infrastructure is the potential for more predictable pricing for South African businesses.
Unlike international cloud services that may expose customers to foreign exchange fluctuations, OCS says its locally purchased and deployed technology allows it to offer services priced in South African rand.
Raymond explained that the company’s hardware investments and licensed software costs are incorporated into its pricing model upfront, reducing exposure to unpredictable international currency movements.
“Because we purchase the technology and we deploy it all here, we’re not linked to any international currency and exchange rates,” he said, adding that this enables the company to provide greater pricing predictability to customers.
The partnership therefore adds dedicated AI computing capacity to OCS’s existing cloud services while reflecting growing enterprise demand for locally hosted AI infrastructure that addresses data sovereignty, security, compliance and operational efficiency requirements.
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