IT News Africa’s Publisher discusses cloud computing
In an interview with Cloud Computing Live, IT News Africa’s CEO and Executive Editor Abby Wakama discussed the future of cloud computing in Africa, and touched on his guest speaker appearance at the Cloud Computing World Forum. The Cloud Computing World Forum Africa will be held at the Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg on the 8th of May 2012.
IT News Africa CEO, Abby Wakama
“Cloud Computing is changing the way companies do business,” Wakama said, when asked about what areas cloud was most likely to enrich in Africa.
“It enables them to move from capital expenditure to operational expenditure, thus offering an affordable way to access services.
“We are beginning to see the fruits of the submarine fiber optic cables laid in the last 2-3 years. The cost of broadband is dropping, there is a lot more competition, penetration is growing at an alarming rate, and African entrepreneurs are taking advantage of this development by providing apps and services that were impossible to contemplate just 5 years ago.”
Wakama will be moderating a panel at the World Forum event entitled ‘Commercial Risks and Opportunities’, where the future of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is likely to be a feature of much debate. Wakama believes vast changes are afoot in African SMEs.
“I see more SMEs thriving as the cost of doing business is set to drop drastically across Africa- and for many businesses bandwidth is increasingly becoming a major component of that cost. In addition, SMEs can buy access to IT resources from cloud providers on a pay-by-usage basis as they only need a good internet connection to remotely access the IT infrastructure located in the cloud provider’s data centre.”
Mobile cloud computing use will feature on the conference agenda for the Cloud Computing World Forum Africa, providing global business leaders and decision-makers with a good indication on how far African businesses are into the adoption process.
“Cloud computing will have a major impact on everything from agriculture to education, providing students with the opportunity to access educational material, collaborate with peers internationally while offering longevity to information by storing it in the cloud.
“I am very bullish about the uptake of cloud technologies across the continent, because of the rapid spread of broadband infrastructure, which can reduce connectivity constraints preventing [current] cloud uptake.”
To register for the event and hear Abby Wakama discuss cloud adoption in Africa further, visit: www.cloudcomputinglive.com/africa
Staff writer
