Data Localisation: Banks Urged to Invest in Scalable Data Centre Infrastructure

Emma Okonji

As the January 1, 2027 deadline for the migration of all payment transaction data hitherto hosted outside of Nigeria draws near, Nigerian banks have been urged to strengthen their local data centre infrastructure, improve network resilience and adopt scalable connectivity systems to meet the requirements of the new data guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The call to strengthen local data centre infrastructure ahead of the deadline, was made by technology solutions experts in Lagos, during an Executive Banking Forum organised by Arravo in partnership with CommScope.

Giving details of the forum, the CEO of Arravo, Mr. Ayo Adegboye, said with the new CBN directive on data localisation, Nigeria will experience the emergence of hyperscalers, new data centres and the scalability of existing data centres. According to him, hyperscalers will be coming in to take over some of the existing data centres we have in Nigeria.

“When we talk about the cabling, which has to do with fiber optics and intelligent cabling, which in itself is the bedrock of connectivity, CommScope easily comes to mind because they are experts in physical connectivity. CommScope is the only Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) that offers 25 years warranty on data infrastructure cabling and installation today. CommScope will help data centre operators in Nigeria to prepare for the future, have the right capacity and capability in place ahead of the expansion that we’re going to see as a result of the CBN regulatory framework within the financial sector,” Adegboye said.

In his presentation during the forum, Data Centre Solutions Architect, Middle East and Africa at CommScope, Hans-Jürgen Niethammer, said the growth in digital transactions, particularly real-time payments, would increase the demand for reliable and high-capacity data centre infrastructure.