Cloud computing uptake is about to explode in Africa’s major economies, as businesses gain confidence in both the security and, reliability of Cloud, networking firm, Cisco, said on Sunday.
This was the key finding of the Cloud in Africa: Reality Check 2013 research study1, released by World Wide Worx and Cisco.
The study was conducted among a small but representative sample of senior information technology decision-makers in medium-sized and large companies in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
The survey showed that, “The most significant finding from the study was that, while South Africa currently leads the continent in Cloud uptake, it is about to be overtaken dramatically by Nigeria.
“In 2013, 50 per cent of South African medium and large businesses are using Cloud services; while a slightly lower proportion – 48 per cent – are using the Cloud in Kenya. Nigeria lags substantially behind with only 36 per cent of businesses currently using the Cloud.
“A significant 44 per cent of Nigerian businesses say they will embrace the Cloud in the coming year, bringing the total in that country to 80 per cent by the end of 2014. This compares to 24 per cent of organisations in Kenya and only 16 per cent in South Africa saying they will be taking up Cloud.”
The key to the rapid adoption of Cloud computing in Nigeria and Kenya, the survey showed, could be found in the growing confidence that IT decision-makers have in the environment. Even where confidence is not high, distrust in Cloud has almost entirely disappeared.
The survey showed that 57 per cent of decision-makers across the three countries had high confidence in the security of the Cloud, while a further 34 per cent were neutral – meaning they would wait and see, but were not negatively disposed towards it. Only one in 10 respondents did not trust security in the Cloud, it added.
An even higher level of confidence was expressed in the reliability of the Cloud, and Private Cloud was the most popular in 2013 with 25 per cent of organisations surveyed currently deploying this compared to 13 per cent opting for Hybrid Cloud and only seven per cent of companies opting for the Public Cloud.
In 2014, this trend is set to continue with 32 per cent of companies opting for the Private Cloud compared to 18 per cent for Hybrid Cloud and 16 per cent for Public Cloud, Cisco said.
“Cloud computing is the next big step in the evolution of computing and the Internet,” Cisco’s Vice-President for Africa, Mr. David Meads, said, adding, “The broadband revolution sweeping across Africa and the continent’s reputation for innovation add up to tremendous appetite or services that will drive this evolution.
“Looking ahead, the Internet of Everything represents the largest online trend today.
“As more people and devices connect to the Internet in Africa, more data from more places will be introduced across corporate and service provider networks, which will open up new opportunities and increased demand for the Cloud.”
The Senior Vice-President, Office of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Cisco, Mr. Howard Charney, said at the recently concluded AfricaCom conference in South Africa that between 2013 and 2022, which is a 10-year frame, the value at stake courtesy Information and Communications Technology developments, was $14.4tn.
According to him, Africa is unlikely to maximise these huge revenue centres owing to the dearth in infrastructure and the likes.
He said it was expected that within the set time, asset utilisation would yield about $2.5tn; employee productivity, $2.5tn; supply chain/logistics, $2.7tn; customer experience, $3.7tn; and innovation, $3tn.
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