It’s here – the digital revolution, the age of AI, the era of the Cloud. Across all 7 continents, people, companies, governments are amidst the digital transformation, the renaissance of technology. With the global population reaching over 8 billion, and with Africa contributing to 18% of that figure, now more than ever the demand for Cloud services has never been higher.
Africa is a digital hub, a continent with incredible technology, huge potential and advances in cloud solutions that are connecting its most remote locations. Already in 2024 we have seen Alibaba enter the continent through its partnership with BCX and the likes of Touchnet, Zadara’s Africa partner, setting up edge cloud solutions in a number of countries. The opportunities to jump on the cloud services train in Africa are endless. Where 2023 was the year of planning, strategy and discussions – 2024 is very much the ‘let’s do it’ year. We’ve even heard that Microsoft and Google Cloud are taking the leap in South Africa – this could be a significant turning point for the continent.
The adoption of cloud solutions is not necessarily new, but the speed at which organisations are migrating and partnering with providers has increased exponentially. It is a non-specific industry solution and has the ability to reduce CAPEX/OPEX whilst driving greater business efficiency – the ultimate business case for the CIO. Cloud solutions bring an element of collaboration to the table, offering new ways of working. For CIOs they are having to relinquish certain processes to support the outsourcing methodology, and in some sense authority – although their role is now arguably even more important as they have to drive internal objectives whilst maintaining an outsourcing partnership. The CIO is the figurehead for the digital transformation – they see the benefits and ultimately the new and improved bottom line.
At Cloud Solutions Africa, Stepex’s newly launched event, we will be talking about all things cloud. It’s not just about the CIOs driving cloud projects, but also about the data sovereignty, the right cloud architecture for your needs (hybrid/private/public), connecting the cloud ecosystem, how AI fits into the cloud discussions and what the role of existing and new data centres is to accommodate cloud demands.
2024 is a year of action, so be sure to register and join us in Johannesburg on 16-17 July
