Tag: Digital Transformation

  • Kasi Cloud’s Johnson Agogbua on Building Hyperscale AI-Ready Data Centers Across Africa

    Kasi Cloud’s Johnson Agogbua on Building Hyperscale AI-Ready Data Centers Across Africa

    Johnson Agogbua, Co-Founder and CEO of Kasi Cloud, has spent over three decades building internet infrastructure—from early internet protocols at UUNET Technologies to optical networking at Movaz and connecting billions at Meta and Reliance Jio. Now, he is applying that expertise to address Africa’s most critical infrastructure gap: hyperscale, AI-ready data centers.

    Founded with Mark Adams (formerly Chief Strategy Officer at Equinix), Kasi Cloud emerged from a simple question: why not Africa? The company launched in early 2020 amid the pandemic, which ironically allowed for deep market research and site selection. It acquired 4.2 hectares in Lagos, secured backing from the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund and seed funding from DH Capital, and broke ground by 2022.

    Kasi differentiates itself with an “unstoppable capacity” philosophy—designing for Africa’s digital needs a decade ahead. This includes refactoring power architecture all the way to the rack level and building redundant carrier-neutral colocation space. A key partnership with Eaton cut delivery times by 50% and reimagined power for the African context. “We are not going to build a second-rate data centre in Africa,” Agogbua emphasizes. “World-class belongs in Africa as well.”

    The company’s hyperscale-first approach is a direct answer to the continent’s growing demand for cloud and AI infrastructure, positioning Kasi as a critical player in Africa’s digital transformation.

  • Kasi Cloud CEO Johnson Agogbua on Building Hyperscale AI-Ready Data Centers in Africa

    Kasi Cloud CEO Johnson Agogbua on Building Hyperscale AI-Ready Data Centers in Africa

    Johnson Agogbua, co-founder and CEO of Kasi Cloud, is leveraging three decades of internet infrastructure expertise to bring hyperscale, AI-ready data centers to Africa. In an exclusive interview, Agogbua details how his experience at UUNET Technologies, Movaz (now ADVA), Meta, and Reliance Jio has shaped Kasi Cloud’s mission to close Africa’s digital infrastructure gap.

    Founded with Mark Adams, former Chief Strategy Officer at Equinix, Kasi Cloud emerged from the simple question: why not Africa? The company formally launched in early 2020, just as the pandemic hit. Rather than stalling progress, COVID-19 allowed Agogbua to conduct deep market research while grounded in Nigeria. Kasi acquired 4.2 hectares in Lagos, secured backing from the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund and seed funding from DH Capital (now Citizens Bank), and broke ground in 2022.

    Kasi Cloud differentiates itself through what Agogbua calls “unstoppable capacity”—a hyperscale-first design that anticipates Africa’s digital demands a decade ahead. The company redesigned data center power architecture from utility to rack level, partnering with global power management firm Eaton to cut delivery timelines by 50%. Kasi also built redundant carrier-neutral colocation space, with one visiting network CEO noting it was larger than any existing data center in Lagos.

    “We didn’t set out to be a data center company alone,” Agogbua explains. “We set out to solve problems… We imagined a world where the population says, ‘We are truly digital.’” He emphasizes that Kasi will not use hand-me-down technology: “World-class belongs in Africa as well.”

    The interview underscores a pivotal moment for AI and cloud infrastructure on the continent, with Kasi Cloud positioned to address an urgent need for scalable, AI-ready digital platforms.

  • Schneider Electric’s CAIO on Scaling AI with Business-First Strategy and Critical Thinking

    Schneider Electric’s CAIO on Scaling AI with Business-First Strategy and Critical Thinking

    Philippe Rambach, Chief AI Officer at Schneider Electric, discusses how the company integrates artificial intelligence across its global operations while maintaining a pragmatic, business-first approach. In an interview with AI Magazine, Rambach outlines the principles guiding AI adoption in over 160 factories and 140 countries.

    Rather than chasing the latest technology trends, Schneider Electric evaluates AI use cases based on business value and technical feasibility. Every project passes through gate reviews that assess these factors, preventing what Rambach calls “pilot purgatory.” The company prioritizes solutions that can scale from the start, avoiding lab experiments that fail in production.

    The rise of agentic AI is another key topic. Schneider recently launched Sera, an AI agent that allows users to interact with environmental data using natural language. Rambach emphasizes that generative AI agents complement, not replace, classical AI methods like forecasting and anomaly detection. He warns against the common mistake of treating generative AI as a one-size-fits-all replacement.

    To prepare employees for AI adoption, Schneider has implemented a training program called “AI for All.” The curriculum emphasizes critical thinking, helping staff evaluate AI outputs rather than trusting them blindly. The company also hosts “promptathons” and maintains a prompt library to share best practices across teams.

    On the technical side, Rambach explains the decision between edge and cloud AI deployment. Factors include data sovereignty, cybersecurity, and latency—especially in high-speed manufacturing processes where millisecond delays matter. Schneider builds solutions that work in both environments.

    The interview also touches on the energy demands of large AI models. As a supplier to data centers, Schneider Electric uses AI to optimize power management in collaboration with partners like NVIDIA. Rambach views AI as both a contributor to and a solution for the energy density problem.

    Regulatory compliance under the EU AI Act is managed through a responsible AI team, and Schneider has published a public Trust Charter that excludes uses like facial recognition. Rambach notes that regulation has not slowed down innovation.

    Looking ahead, Rambach sees the CAIO role evolving from overseeing all AI initiatives to setting technical policy and supporting large-scale use cases. He warns against becoming a bottleneck and stresses the importance of leveraging existing transformation teams rather than creating new ones.

    The key takeaway: AI in heavy industry must serve real business needs, and human critical thinking remains indispensable. As Rambach puts it, “We should not forget everything we have learned in the last 2,000 years, just because there’s a new technique.”

  • AI Industry Leaders Share Insights on Strategy, Agents, and Transformation

    AI Industry Leaders Share Insights on Strategy, Agents, and Transformation

    Artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries, and a recent round of interviews with top AI executives reveals the key trends driving adoption. From infrastructure engineering to automotive manufacturing and energy management, leaders from Bentley Systems, Schneider Electric, Stellantis, and more shared their perspectives on how AI is being deployed responsibly and at scale.

    Julien Moutte, Bentley Systems

    Julien Moutte, CTO at Bentley Systems, discussed how AI agents are transforming infrastructure engineering. He emphasized that these tools augment engineers rather than replace them, enabling faster and more accurate design and analysis.

    Philippe Rambach, Schneider Electric

    Philippe Rambach, Chief AI Officer at Schneider Electric, highlighted the importance of critical thinking and a business-first approach when scaling AI across factories. He stressed that technology must align with operational goals to deliver real impact.

    Kaynaz Behdin, Stellantis

    Kaynaz Behdin, SVP of Digital, Data & AI at Stellantis, detailed how the automotive giant turns AI strategy into measurable business performance, focusing on data-driven decision-making across the enterprise.

    Johnson Agogbua, Kasi Cloud

    Johnson Agogbua, co-founder and CEO of Kasi Cloud, shared his vision for bringing hyperscale, AI-ready data centers to Africa, leveraging his three decades of experience building internet infrastructure.

    Emilio Tenuta, Ecolab

    Emilio Tenuta, SVP and Chief Sustainability Officer at Ecolab, discussed water resilience and AI-driven cooling, noting that data centers must rethink resource strategy to meet sustainability goals.

    Sunil Dadlani, Atlantic Health

    Sunil Dadlani, EVP at Atlantic Health, explained how putting human mission at the heart of AI innovation is redefining healthcare technology and improving patient outcomes.

    Moe Haidar, Nexthink

    Moe Haidar, Head of Agentic AI and Engineering at Nexthink, spoke about his passion for products and the breakneck speed of AI development, particularly in the agentic AI space.

    Ivana Bartoletti, Wipro

    Ivana Bartoletti, VP and Global Chief Privacy & AI Governance Officer at Wipro, detailed the foundational steps every organization must take to build trustworthy AI systems, emphasizing governance and ethics.

    Sasha Rubel, AWS

    Sasha Rubel, Head of AI Policy for EMEA at AWS, highlighted the urgent need for Europe to move from AI experimentation to large-scale transformation, addressing policy and innovation challenges.

    These interviews underscore a common theme: AI is not just about technology—it’s about strategy, governance, and human-centric implementation. As organizations across sectors embrace AI, the insights from these leaders offer a roadmap for responsible and effective adoption.