Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 40 | Page 9

NEWS Vox expands Virtual Data Centre functionality security as needed. It also empowers the customer to easily manage all aspects of the implementation in the cloud and scale resources according to demand. The interface links to the Vox softwaredefined networking approach for enhanced security features, as well as connectivity to the customer’s site using a VPN, Vox’s MPLS offering, cross connects to other ISP’s or direct Internet access. Vox, an integrated ICT and infrastructure provider, has announced enhancements to its Virtual Data Centre (VDC) offering that include support for high-performance storage and sees the introduction of an updated HTML5-based user interface. “Having made the VDC available to our customers last year, it has resulted in an influx of demand for delivering cloud-based services. Using our solution allows customers to consume just the amount of resources they need without the burden of procuring and maintaining hardware,” said Barry Kemp, Head of IaaS at Vox. The new HTML5 interface delivers several features such as enabling additional firewall “The most important update is support for high-performance storage. High workload machines like ERP systems need access to faster storage and hardware to run applications effectively,” said Kemp. “Traditionally, storage has been a bottleneck limiting performance. By introducing this high-performance storage support to our VDC, Vox is removing a significant obstacle and giving companies a more effective way of moving high demand computing workloads to the cloud.” ///////////////// Safaricom to accelerate cloud adoption in Kenya with Amazon Web Services Safaricom has announced a strategic agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS), which will see the telco become a reseller of AWS services. The agreement is designed to accelerate Safaricom’s internal IT transformation, lower costs and provide it with a blueprint and skilled resources to assist customers with their journey to the cloud. “We chose to partner with AWS because it offers customers the broadest and deepest cloud platform, overall commitment to security excellence and a strong culture of customer obsession. This agreement will allow us to accelerate our efforts to enable Digital Transformation in Kenya,” said Michael Joseph, Chief Executive Officer, Safaricom. In addition, Safaricom will be able to offer AWS services to East-African customers, allowing businesses of all sizes to quickly get started on AWS cloud and accelerate innovation. Safaricom also announced the attainment of Advanced Consulting Partner status in the AWS Partner Network (APN), becoming one of the first APN members in East Africa. The APN is the global partner programme for technology and consulting businesses who leverage AWS to build solutions and services for customers. The APN helps companies build, market and sell their AWS offerings by providing valuable business, technical and marketing support. This achievement recognises the skills, knowledge and experience in AWS cloud services that the Safaricom PLC team has gained. www.intelligentcio.com INTELLIGENTCIO 9