FEATURE : CLOUD COMPUTING need for new tools to measure , manage and motivate the performance and productivity of hybrid workers , and forcing organisations to adopt new management styles ,” he added .
Manish Mishra – Head , Middle East and Africa ( MEA ), Freshworks , said competitiveness today requires a digital agility that you cannot get outside a cloud-based environment . Mishra said because of the cloud ’ s architecture , you have this innate ability to pilot use cases easily and cheaply . “ That allows businesses to take innovative leaps with less risk , and to subsequently scale rapidly and capitalise on new market opportunities ,” he said . “ The strongest adoption rates in Africa can be seen in telecoms , media , BFSI , and retail . Decision makers in all these industries are aware of the need to optimise digital experiences for customers and employees , which can only be done through rapid rollout cycles , hence the need for cloud .”
Given the appetite for cloud computing , what issues should CIOs pay attention to when considering a cloud move ?
Firstly , said Beveridge , organisations need to be clear on the objectives of the shift to cloud . “ A successful migration requires that organisations have a clear understanding of every business application , how it is used , and which ones can deliver greater value to the organisation if it shifts to a cloud environment ,” he said . “ Secondly , organisations need to set clear key performance indicators so they can measure success and identify areas of improvement . Aspects such as usage , cost , speed , availability and security all determine the success of the migration at different stages of the migration .”
they are no longer required . In cloud , you only pay for what you use ,” he said . “ Furthermore , you can respond to opportunities in the market faster by leveraging modern technology and rather focus on your business value than administrative burdens that slow down innovation .
According to Mishra , the great thing about the cloud is that it globalises technology advancement . “ If a company in Tokyo develops new software for analysing efficiency on a production line , as soon as it goes live as a SaaS offering , firms in Cape Town , Nairobi or Kigali can use it the same day . By leaving behind the need to procure locally , African enterprises can innovate at their own pace ,” he said . “ Of course , this is also an advantage to ISVs around the world , who can expand into the continent digitally and then move to a physical presence when revenues hit critical mass .”
Cameron Beveridge , Regional Director , Southern Africa , SAP
He pointed out that once a cloud provider has been selected , organisations should have access to a number of tools that ease the migration process and do some of the hard work of moving systems and processes to a cloud environment .
At Synthesis , Dean Maier , Cloud Practise Lead , believes there are more advantages cloud solutions offer enterprises on the African continent .
Maier said perhaps the single greatest benefit of leveraging cloud solutions is flexibility and this cannot be understated and the whole premise of cloud is on-demand access to resources , and when leveraged correctly can mean that you can save a lot of money .
“ This can be by using optimised instances , leveraging cold or archived storage to keep regulatory required data or by simply shutting down resources when
Maier explained that there is a misconception among CIOs that you must go ‘ all-in ’ on cloud to realise
WITH RELATIVELY LOW LEVELS OF LEGACY ON- PREMISE TECHNOLOGY , AFRICAN ENTERPRISES HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEAP AHEAD BY ADOPTING
CLOUD TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE OUTSET .
www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA 47