INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Data Centres
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Unpacking what the local
data centre means for
business in Africa
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C
Africa open for more business
loud is revolutionising the way
companies in Africa do business.
The announcement that Microsoft
is building two new data centres on the
continent will further help businesses in
Africa connect to opportunities across the
globe while taking full advantage of the
benefits cloud has to offer.
Microsoft’s two data centres in Africa will
deliver a variety of cloud solutions – all
of which include Azure, Office 365 and
Dynamics 365. The provision of these
cloud services is a positive development
for businesses operating in Africa, and will
serve as a crucial catalyst for new economic
opportunities. Having a local data centre on
the continent will enable more organisations
to scale globally – in turn accelerating new
interest and ultimately investment. Cloud,
delivered directly from Africa, will also
provide local developers and entrepreneurs
with the ability to create new and innovative
apps and assist governments in better
serving citizen needs.
The combination of Microsoft’s global
cloud infrastructure with the new regions
announced for Africa will help accelerate
new investments and improve access to
cloud and Internet services for people and
organisations from Cairo to Cape Town.
So how exactly will a local data centre
positively impact businesses on the African
continent? Let’s unpack these benefits one
by one.
Cost savings
The end of high latency and the
beginning of faster connectivity
For some countries and for some scenarios,
having their data stored relatively close to
where they operate, as well as to where
their customers reside, affords them
the opportunity to bypass the often-
oversubscribed international data channels
that cause bottle necks in the transfer of data.
In certain cases; connecting to data centres
overseas means longer latency, which
affects the performance of services. Latency
refers to delays that occur in transmitting
data. A local data centre hosted in Africa
will decrease this, ensuring a faster and
smoother user experience overall.
With decreased latency will also come
increased and faster connectivity.
Organisations consuming cloud services in
Africa will experience improved connection
speeds to web services that are served out
of Africa.
www.intelligentcio.com
Amr Kamel, General Manager, Microsoft
West, East and Central Africa
Your data, your privacy, your
sovereignty
One of the biggest barriers to cloud adoption
is data sovereignty. The ‘data laws’ of
other continents often determine how
data is managed – regardless of where the
organisation managing the data is based.
For businesses operating in Africa,
particularly those in highly regulated
industries like financial services or the
healthcare sector, data security, privacy
and compliance is paramount. A local data
centre will provide African businesses with
the option of shifting data residency to
South Africa, where it will be easier to adhere
to compliance, giving them more confidence
to migrate to the cloud.
There are businesses in Africa that still
make use of on-premise data centres to
store sensitive data. These organisations
spend a lot of time, money and operational
resources to ensure that they have staff
always available in case of power and
infrastructure failure.
The presence of local facilities will offer
specialist technology, reducing internal
operational expenditure, and allowing
IT teams to focus on the core business –
maximising business potential. Microsoft’s
data centres will also provide cost savings
through energy efficient infrastructure
that spans across over 100 secure facilities
globally – advancing sustainability.
Microsoft’s investment of two data centres
in Africa speaks volumes on the state and
maturity of cloud on the continent. We expect
that local businesses, entrepreneurs and
investors will see the same potential we see in
Africa’s digital transformation journey. n
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