INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Cloud
A multi-cloud African future
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Even though there are still
challenges to overcome,
the cloud provides an ideal
platform to channel this
growth. Paul Ruinaard,
Country Manager at
Nutanix Sub-Saharan
Africa, tells us more.
S
uch are the opportunities offered
by the cloud, the Nutanix Enterprise
Cloud Index 2018 Report shows that
instances of the hybrid cloud in South Africa
are expected to increase by 33% in the
coming 12 to 24 months.
Also, 42% of local respondents consider
the hybrid cloud to be the most ideal IT
deployment model within the next two years.
But what are the reasons for this, especially in
developing African markets like South Africa?
Changing landscape
The imminent arrival of Microsoft Azure and
Amazon Web Services data centres in the
country are contributing to an increased
awareness of the cloud and its role in
guiding Digital Transformation projects.
While many decision-makers adopted a
‘wait-and-see’ approach when it comes to
the cloud, the reinforcement by Microsoft and
Amazon about its potential on the continent
means they are taking it much more seriously.
Even though South African respondents
rate data security and compliance (72%),
and ease of management (60%) as the
three most important factors when choosing
where to put their workloads, the cloud
provides an alternative solution to some of
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the traditional infrastructure challenges of
the continent.
transition. However, the report shows that
South African respondents rate the flexibility
of the cloud as the biggest benefit (78%).
Infrastructure concerns
Typically, this includes power issues and
a lack of reliable bandwidth especially at
remote branches. But thanks to telecom
operators continually investing in network
upgrades, there are alternative connectivity
solutions to the more traditional fixed-line
approaches. Certainly, fibre access has
become standard in cities throughout the
country, but remote workers need to be able
to access data from mobile devices to really
benefit from the cloud.
This is where the likes of 3G and 4G come
in with satellite offering an additional layer
of redundancy. In terms of the electricity
concern, cloud solutions require less
hardware to be kept on site. Given how much
energy servers typically use, reducing the
load on office infrastructure will not only
ease pressure on the power grid, but lead to
cost-savings when it comes to utility bills.
With the arrival of the multinational data
centres, data compliance concerns are
also addressed as the data will be stored
within the borders of the country. The likes
of PoPI in South Africa and the GDPR in
Europe mean data protection is of utmost
importance. Falling foul of regulators
can result in significant financial fines
and damage to the brand of a company.
In difficult economic conditions where
customers can easily migrate to a competitor
product, this is not without significant risks.
Other reasons for making the move include
being able to choose the best cost model for
each workload, application mobility and the
ability to scale according to high demand
periods (all 66%).
As a platform, the cloud is therefore an
environment designed to suit a variety
of needs. Most local respondents (57%)
understand the importance of moving
the workloads of their organisations to
the cloud within two years. Furthermore,
South African businesses are selecting
the different cloud environments for
specific use cases. For example, enterprise
and digital applications are preferred for
the public cloud with data analytics and
databases driving private cloud adoption.
Certainly, the cloud looks set to be a key
priority for many local businesses during
the next two years. Now, there must be a
willingness to embrace it and a readiness
to adapt existing business strategies to the
potential that the multi-cloud world will have
for companies over the coming months. n
The impact of the cloud
The much-touted efficiency and productivity
improvements of migrating to the cloud
are certainly considerations in making the
Paul Ruinaard, Country Manager at Nutanix
Sub-Saharan Africa
www.intelligentcio.com