Incentro – KigaliTech

[Africa Cloud Review] Simon Ngunjiri: Digital Marketers and now taking full advantage of cloud

Most African organizations are turning to the cloud to help them succeed in the face of the growing demand for flexible workplaces. As we mentioned in our previous column in countries like South Africa, although only around 5% of the South African enterprise market is fully on the cloud, many more are now considering this option.

Hybrid work scenarios, e-commerce modernization, distance learning, and online religious services, formerly unthinkable worldwide, are now commonplace thanks to cloud computing. This is according to a recent whitepaper published by Pawa IT Solutions, a Cloud Solutions provider for Africa.

One other area that is also taking full advantage of the cloud is the digital marketing industry.

According to the Power IT solutions report, integrating emerging technologies, adapting to the shifting work landscape, heightening digital trust, and harnessing the power of the hybrid cloud platforms are just some of the strategies that agencies and advertising firms are utilizing to increase collaboration.

Cloud computing has made it easier for small marketing agencies to get momentum and cooperate, making it easier to compete.

With cloud, digital marketers may employ a wide variety of analytical tools provided by cloud computing in addition to the data of their customers. These tools may help them better understand their customers better and also use them to follow leads, and identify the best marketing channels and approaches for their target demographic. For example, CRM softwares hosted in the cloud may help companies better understand their customers’ wants and requirements.

According to a report by Research and Markets, the global cloud advertising market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.6% during the forecast period, to reach USD 6.7 billion by 2026 from USD 2.7 billion in 2021.

The report notes that marketing has evolved to a great extent in the past decade; new forms of marketing have taken over with continuously upgrading tools. Marketers can target the specific customer they want from the comfort of their homes.

Outdoor marketing is no longer the only medium to reach the targeted audience; nowadays, marketers can market their products and services to the target audience they like. Different forms of marketing can help end users reach the exact kind of customer they want. Different types of marketing, such as social media marketing, email marketing, etc. help end-users analyze the target audience.

Data analytics provide marketers accurate details of their target audience so that advertising can be optimized and lead to efficient results. This increasing demand for targeted marketing and consumer analytics bolsters the growth of the cloud advertising market.

Simon Ngunjiri Muraya is Google Cloud Architect at Incentro Africa.

[Africa Cloud Review] Simon Ngunjiri: Cloud is empowering African businesses with the certainty of a quicker time-to-value

The speed with which Africa’s business sector has changed over the past year has been nothing short of astonishing. Business leaders across the continent have had their hands full, from enabling remote work on a previously unprecedented scale to adapting to disruptions in the global supply chain, enabling e-learning for millions of youth – not to mention ensuring business continuity in the midst of a once-in-a-generation crisis.

At the foundation of this change is cloud, which gives organisations the ability to simplify and scale their systems landscape without sacrificing performance.

Cloud, according to Pedro Guerreiro is the Managing Director Central Africa at SAP Africa, empowers businesses with the certainty of a quicker time-to-value, without the upfront capital outlays required of on-premise deployments.

With cloud-enabled intelligent enterprise capabilities, organisations can achieve the speed needed to stay ahead of competitors and other disruptors while maintaining the certainty of measured, data-driven decision-making.

In Africa, cloud adoption has reached new heights, driven in part by the pandemic. Increase in cloud computing has also created an increased demand for cloud-related skills and we are currently in a cycle where the global demand for cloud skills outstrips the supply.

Just last week, The African Telecommunications Union (ATU), a specialized agency of the African Union (AU) and China’s technology firm, Huawei signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost capacity for ICT transformation in the continent which includes providing cloud solutions. AAR Insurance also inked a deal with telecommunications provider Safaricom to migrate to the cloud. In South Africa, Vox, a market-leading end-to-end integrated ICT and infrastructure provider and telecoms company selected Minim Cloud Software to Deliver Its Next-Gen Home WiFi Experience.

Still, in South Africa, HPE announced that it has brought a new multi-cloud Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) data centre solution to the South African market. This powerful multi-cloud data centre model is all about leveraging the cloud to define the customer experience, while underpinned by HPE’s GreenLake platform.

This plus other cloud news updates from across Africa shows how IT leaders are going all-in on cloud.

Incentro Africa, a cloud service provider which works exclusively with Google Cloud, most African businesses are moving to the cloud because it is more secure, scalable, and more affordable. Large enterprises unburden their IT department from maintaining infrastructure and enable them to contribute to business goals. For startups, it’s a cheap and convenient way to get started and use amazing technology that is only available on the Cloud.

Simon Ngunjiri Muraya is Google Cloud Architect at Incentro Africa.

[Africa Cloud Review] Simon Ngunjiri: Cloud adoption has reached new heights

Driven in part by the pandemic, cloud computing adoption across Africa has reached new heights. Globally, Enterprise spending on cloud infrastructure bypassed spending on data center hardware and software for the first time in 2020 according to the latest data from Synergy Research Group.

The data shows that enterprise spending on cloud infrastructure services (IaaS, PaaS, and hosted private cloud combined) grew by 35% to reach almost $130 billion in 2020, while enterprise spending on data center hardware and software dropped by 6% to less than $90 billion over the same period.

In Africa, mass movement to remote work and increasing uptake of digital communications tools has led to increased adoption of cloud. ID had already predicted this rise to happen in 2021 noting that Migration to cloud will help fuel a 2.8% growth in IT spending in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey this year, after a slump due to the pandemic.

This migration has certainly revolutionized the way African enterprises conduct their businesses, offering various benefits such as cost-effective access to computing power, on-demand applications, and services among others. Cloud-based office applications have increasingly become vital components of the African modern workplace.

In 2020, IT spending was hit hard by the pandemic and declined by 4.9% in the META region, according to IDC. The crisis caused by the pandemic, though, appears to have accelerated plans for digital transformation and related projects such as migration to cloud technology.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic fallout has accelerated digital transformation across the region, spurring unprecedented demand for contactless services, cloud solutions, and collaboration applications,” Jyoti Lalchandani, vice president and regional managing director at IDC says.

Spending on public cloud services in the region according to IDC will grow 26.7% to top $3.7 billion. Spending on SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS will grow 24.5%, 30.6%, and 30.7%, respectively, according to the company. In addition, spending on professional cloud services will grow rapidly to total $1.6 billion.

Hybrid cloud has specifically provided enterprises in Africa with a trusted and capable foundation to adapt to changing market needs. Hybrid cloud offers business and IT leaders the chance to meet changing business demands head-on. While continuity and business resilience are fundamental, improving customer experiences and growing revenues still features highly on the list of business objectives.

Simon Ngunjiri Muraya is Google Cloud Architect at Incentro Africa.

[Africa Cloud Review] Simon Ngunjiri: Businesses in Africa are increasing their cloud spending in 2021

In our previous Africa Cloud Review article, we highlighted how Cloud is driving change and accelerating digital transformation across multiple industries across the continent.

This comes at a time when cloud spending among businesses continues to grow. In fact, according to data presented by TradingPlatforms.com, global public IT cloud services market revenue for 2020 was at $312.4B – a 34% Increase from 2019.

In 2016, global spending on public IT cloud services was just under $100B. In 2021 that figure has ballooned to a healthy $312.4B after experiencing a 34% increase from 2019’s $233.4B revenue. In the 4 year period from 2016-2020 the data reveals that revenue from spending on cloud services grew at an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.31%.

In countries like Kenya, businesses are also increasing their cloud expenditure. The “Africa in the Cloud 2020” study by World Wide Worx conducted among eight African countries released in November last year noted that Kenyan firms are set to increase their expenditure on cloud computing services by 68 per cent in 2021 up from 38 per cent in 2020. 63% of the companies interviewed in the study indicated their top reasons for cloud adoption as driving business efficiency followed by operational flexibility and customer service which averaged at 53 per cent and 45 per cent respectively.

Of the three main types of cloud services, the TradingPlatforms.com data shows that Software as a Service (SaaS) still accounts for the largest share of total revenue with a 63% share. In 2020 SaaS revenue amounted to $197.6B which is a 33% increase from 2019’s $148.5. S From 2016-2020 SaaS revenue grew at a CAGR of 34.1%.

In countries like South Africa, 51% of the public sector segment are already using cloud in production. This is according to a recent survey conducted by ITWeb and AWS on the state of cloud adoption in South Africa.

The future is in the cloud

As Patrick Ndegwa, the Business Sales Lead for SEACOM East Africa, cloud adoption is becoming increasingly important for both innovation and operational continuity.

‘’Businesses can take advantage of cloud-based applications or hosted servers for enhanced mobility, or enable remote teams to connect with each other more effectively through cloud communications. ‘’ Ndegwa says in an article published on Africa Business Communities.

The best way for businesses to take advantage of cloud is by partnering with a reliable cloud and connectivity provider that can offer high-quality and scalable services to meet their unique business requirements.

Simon Ngunjiri Muraya is Google Cloud Architect at Incentro Africa.

[Africa Cloud Review] Simon Ngunjiri: Cloud is accelerating digital change across different industries

Cloud technology is driving change and accelerating digital transformation across multiple industries simultaneously. According to Marilyn Moodley, the South African Country Leader for SoftwareONE, Not only is cloud technology itself evolving at pace in Africa, but the way organisations buy and manage software is having to adapt as well.

In our previous Africa cloud review article, we highlighted how cloud services have certainly revolutionized the way African enterprises conduct their businesses, offering various benefits such as cost-effective access to computing power, on-demand applications, and services among others.

Recent data presented by TradingPlatforms.com, global public IT cloud services market revenue for 2020 also shows how the cloud industry earned an estimated revenue of over $300 billion globally. To be precise, the revenue was at $312.4B – a 34% Increase from 2019.

In 2016, the data shows that global spending on public IT cloud services was just under $100B. In 2021 that figure has ballooned to a healthy $312.4B after experiencing a 34% increase from 2019’s $233.4B revenue. In the 4 year period from 2016-2020 revenue from spending on cloud services grew at an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.31%.

The data shows how big the cloud market is. In continents like Africa for example, Hybrid cloud is providing enterprises with a trusted and capable foundation to adapt to changing market needs. As Tonny Tugee the MD at SEACOMEast Africa notes, today, businesses around the world are relying increasingly on connectivity for conducting business transactions and payments, running apps and services in cloud environments, marketing, or simply sharing information with each other.

This also explains why companies like Google are going big on cloud in Africa with Google cloud. With 24 regions and 73 zones in 17 countries, Google Cloud delivers high-performance, low-latency cloud services to customers with partners like Incentro Africa. A couple of weeks ago, Google announced it will be offering Android and cloud development scholarships to developers across Africa. Last week, it also announced a new partnership with Shopify, a global commerce company to enable Shopify’s more than 1.7 million merchants to have access to Google Cloud’s technology across a broader set of regions.

With increasing connectivity and availability of reliable and cheap internet across Africa, it has changed the way people work. Cloud is a leapfrog technology, comparable to the introduction of the mobile phone and we are just at the beginning of it.

Simon Ngunjiri Muraya is Google Cloud Architect at Incentro Africa.

[Africa Cloud Review] Simon Ngunjiri: Cloud services are transforming Africa’s productive capacity

From banks looking to accelerate the rollout of new applications to startups disrupting entire industries with innovative, cloud-powered models, cloud services are transforming Africa’s productive capacity. They are emerging as one of the most essential pillars of Africa’s digital transformation according to a recent report “The Rise Of The African Cloud – 2021report.

The report notes that cloud-based office applications are increasingly vital components of the African modern workplace. The rise of the cloud in the African market it says ostensibly goes beyond basic office applications.

Cloud services have certainly revolutionized the way African enterprises conduct their businesses, offering various benefits such as cost-effective access to computing power, on-demand applications, and services among others.

In our previous Africa review article, we highlighted how migrating to the cloud is the most effective route to digital transformation for any business.

The Cloud Over Africa policy paper notes that much of the hype around cloud in Africa is as a result of the adoption of high-end technology and software by big industry players such as financial services, oil, and gas; and of advanced next-generation networks by the telecommunications operators. The emergence of cloud computing in Africa, the policy paper says is viewed as a natural extension of the deployment of advanced IT technologies by high-end users in both the consumer and enterprise services markets. In addition, it says cloud computing offers economies of scale that can dramatically reduce the cost to end-users.

Storing information in the cloud offers a bird’s-eye view of your data. It is easier to implement tracking mechanisms and build customized reports to analyze organization-wide information. This, in turn, enables increased efficiencies, better decision-making, and a competitive edge.

Africa is currently witnessing a revolution in new cloud and data centre capacity, with a growth forecast of 80 percent and 50 percent, but there are constraints that need to be removed. Today, as Tonny Tugee, Managing Director at SEACOM East and North East Africa notes, businesses around the world are relying increasingly on connectivity for conducting business transactions and payments, running apps and services in cloud environments, marketing, or simply sharing information with each other. Companies like Microsoft, for example, are said to be spending more than $100 million on a cloud development center that will employ 500 staff in the next five years.

Last week, carrier-neutral data center infrastructure provider iColo announced the construction of its third data center in Kenya to be located in Nyali, Mombasa. Called MBA2, the new data center is expected to be completed in Q1 of 2022 and is set to provide an estimated capacity of 1.6MW megawatt and 1,200 square meters of IT space.

Bottom line, mass cloud adoption across Africa has the potential to not only improve customer service, business efficiency, operational flexibility, and agility but also save costs.

Simon Ngunjiri Muraya is Google Cloud Architect at Incentro Africa.

[Africa Cloud Review] Simon Ngunjiri: Migrating to the cloud is the most effective route to digital transformation

For African businesses that are still at the start of their digital transformation, migrating to the cloud might seem like a very daunting task. This is according to an article by Francis Wainaina is a Senior Product Manager at SEACOM East Africa where he talks about the four steps to successful cloud migration.

The costs of delaying this migration, however, Francis says, can be far greater than the initial challenges of cloud adoption.

In a survey by World Wide Worx, 31% of Kenyan businesses reported spending between 51% and 75% of their IT budgets on cloud services in 2020, and 68% intend to increase their cloud spend in 2021. With so many businesses moving to the cloud, you can’t afford to be left behind.

The pandemic has doubtlessly accelerated this shift toward cloud environments as we have mentioned before. More organizations are beginning to capitalize on the various innovations that cloud can offer.

According to industry analysts Gartner, Cloud spending rose 37% to $29 billion during the first quarter of 2020. This trend Gartner says is likely to persist, as the exodus to virtual work underscores the urgency for scalable, secure, reliable, cost-effective off-premises technology services. In fact, despite the inevitable economic downturn in the wake of the pandemic, cloud spending is estimated to rise 19% for the full year, even as IT spending as a whole is forecast to fall 8%.

Migrating to the cloud is the most effective route to public sector transformation for African businesses. Just recently, Google announced a new programme to offer new scholarships for Android, Web and Google Cloud development to developers across Africa. The programme will be offered in partnership with tech talent companies Pluralsight and Andela.

Cloud services have certainly revolutionized the way we do business, offering various benefits such as cost-effective access to computing power, on-demand applications, and services among others. African businesses are moving faster and cheaper especially with platforms like Google Cloud. With 24 regions and 73 zones in 17 countries, Google Cloud delivers high-performance, low-latency cloud services to customers.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) also recently announced that it is bringing its re/Start cloud skills training program to Kenya and South Africa this month as part of its rapid expansion plans this year.

AWS re/Start is a free, full-time, 12-week program designed to support people who are unemployed or underemployed, and who have little technology experience, for careers in cloud computing. The program provides participants with new cloud computing skills, career, and resume coaching, and interviews with local employers.

Bottom line, migrating to the cloud is the most effective route to digital transformation and IS ultimately essential for African businesses that wish to thrive in today’s digital age.

Simon Ngunjiri Muraya is Google Cloud Architect at Incentro Africa.

[Africa Cloud Review] Simon Ngunjiri: Cloud is the most valuable resources African businesses can have at their disposal

Cloud adoption in Africa is accelerating fast, driven by broadband connectivity and more affordable data.

African businesses have been encouraged to adopt cloud-based services to not only respond to change but to thrive in an increasingly digital world. In fact, the Cloud Africa 2018 Report found that 98% of surveyed Kenyan business decision-makers agree on cloud computing’s innovation capacity and transformative impact.

Cloud computing offers African businesses many benefits. It allows them to set up what is essentially a virtual office to give you the flexibility of connecting to your business anywhere, any time.

Francis Wainaina, Senior Product Manager at SEACOM East Africa notes that Mass cloud adoption across Africa has the potential to not only improve customer service, business efficiency, operational flexibility, and agility but to also save costs.

‘’The benefits offered by cloud computing will differ within each individual business based on their unique needs. However, the underlying advantages boil down to the same three points: strategic value, flexibility, and efficiency,’’ he says.

Euphoria Telecom CEO John Woollam also agrees with this in a recent report published by Gadgets. John while talking about how cloud-based contact centres drive SA outsourcing notes that taking a cloud-based approach can be advantageous too.

‘’To start with, it allows for a far simpler, and faster deployment of platform integration options. Integrating your on-premises contact centre software with other services is possible, but between licensing and installation, it can rapidly become a nightmare’’ he says

In countries like South Africa, the public sector is looking to move to cloud technology to enhance efficiency, whereas the private sector is seeking cloud computing to facilitate innovation within their space. This is according to a recent study by ITWeb and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Both sectors, the study notes, seek cost savings as their second most important consideration in moving to the cloud.

Remember as we mentioned in our previous cloud column, South Africa is one of the biggest cloud markets in Africa. The country is also Africa’s largest data center market, accounting for ~60% of the continent’s available MTDC power supply.

DGB for example, which is one of South Africa’s largest independent wine and spirit producers and distributors, operating out of the Western Cape recently announced that it is tapping into cloud solutions to bolster sales. SoftwareONE, an end-to-end cloud technology and software solutions company operating in over 90 countries also announced the appointment of Marilyn Moodley as country leader for South Africa.

Her new role comes at an exciting time for SoftwareONE as it rapidly expands its capabilities into areas like SAP migration services, application modernisation and hyperscale cloud services and solutions.

As a unified online platform for communication and collaboration, the cloud is now widely considered to be one of the most valuable resources African businesses can have at their disposal.

Simon Ngunjiri Muraya is Google Cloud Architect at Incentro Africa

www.incentro.com

VOGSY and Incentro partnership to boost productivity and profitability in the services industry in Africa

VOGSY, the quote-to-cash Professional Services Automation solution built for Google Workspace users, and Incentro Africa, the Nairobi-based branch of the full digital service company called Incentro, announced today their new partnership. Through VOGSY’s global Partner Program, Incentro Africa will help its customers across Africa harness VOGSY’s unique Google Workspace integrated platform to run their quote-to-cash operations and enhance productivity and profitability. The partnership will also expand VOGSY’s global reach.

A Google Cloud premier partner, Incentro Africa specializes in enterprise work transformation services enhanced by Google Cloud. Incentro Africa is proactive in always looking for new partnerships and solutions to benefit customers and boost their productivity even further. Many of Incentro’s existing customers were looking for a fully integrated solution at an affordable price and Incentro aims to provide this through its partnership with VOGSY. According to Dennis de Weerd, Incentro Africa’s CEO, supplying VOGSY’s ERP system to Incentro Africa’s customers represents a major advantage in transforming their productivity, team collaboration and efficiency.

“VOGSY gives our customers the ability to streamline and manage their quote-to-cash processes from all sales, operations and accounting sides with a single tool that integrates with Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides, achieving the ultimate real-time collaboration and transparency throughout service delivery,” de Weerd said.

As the only Professional Services Automation platform created for Google Workspace as well as the leading quote-to-cash ERP solution, VOGSY is a singular tool that packs significant value for services firms. Elimination of destructive work silos, intuitive UX, real-time business data including project budgets, margins and financial KPIs as well as built-in scalability and security are some of the main benefits VOGSY’s CEO Mark van Leeuwen aims to bring to Incentro Africa’s professional services customers.

“As professional services firms undertake digital transformations, they require forward-thinking partners and access to tools that provide actionable data and real collaboration whether they’re two feet or continents apart. VOGSY is proud to align with the like-minded professionals at Incentro Africa and work together to ensure the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of services firms in the digital era.”

Plan, track and optimize your clients, deals, projects, resources and revenue all within the comforts of the Google Interface you know and trust. Try for free here.

With over 10 years of proven expertise in technical consultation and related services, Incentro, the only Google Premier Partner in East, West and Central Africa has become the go-to partner for successful business transformation in the continent.

From Enterprise Collaboration, Cloud Migration and Smart application development, we proudly serve over 26 countries in Africa and are growing. Whatever your ambition is, we’ll aim for maximum impact. We dive deep into your organization, challenge your plans, build solutions swiftly and make sure they work.

Please feel free to visit our website or send an email to Customer Success Manager Elizabeth Akinyi – liz@incentro.com.

www.incentro.com
www.vogsy.com

[Interview] Nick Treurnicht, Customer Engineer for Google Workspace, DigiCloud Africa, South Africa

Nick Treurnicht is the Customer Engineer for Google Workspace at DigiCloud Africa, Africa’s Google Cloud Brokerage, specialising in Google Cloud products – including Google Cloud Platform, G Suite, Google Maps and Chrome.

Kindly introduce yourself and your role at DigiCloud Africa.

I have been working with Google Workspace since 2013 and have sold it, trained on it, deployed it and migrated it. I started at a Google Partner in South Africa and assisted in them becoming a Premier Google Partner. I have in depth knowledge of the entire platform and who it best serves customers in adopting the real cloud. I then moved to Digicloud Africa as Google’s Distributor as I have a passion not just for South Africa, but the whole of Africa. This continent is where Google and Digicloud can enable the next billion users. I assist our ecosystem of Partners with technical expertise, customer engagements and solutions validation. I assist them with deployments and migrations as well. A happy customer makes for a happy partner. And the partners are our customers.

Digicloud Africa is Google’s enablement partner in Africa. Tell us about this.

Digicloud Africa is the sole distributor in Africa for Google products; Google Workspace as well as Google Cloud Platform. We function as the enablement and onboarding arm of Google, assisting in growing the Google ecosystem in Africa. We onboard and train and assist with upskilling the partners on behalf of Google. We offer our customers sales expertise as well as technical assistance so that they may best serve their customers. We have experts on all the Google products that have worked at other partners and have gained valuable experience over the years that we now share with our partners, showing them how to become a Premier Partner themselves.

What role is DigiCloud Africa playing in growing African businesses, especially when it comes to cloud adoption?

Digicloud Africa employs a variety of Cloud Architects, Machine Learning specialists, Data Engineers and DevOps Engineers, Security Engineers to name a few. All skilled and experienced in Google Cloud Platform. Our partners’ customers benefit from our experience and guidance to assist them in their journey into Google Cloud. We also assist in marketing the skills of our partners and host webinars online alongside our partners for visibility. With Google Workspace, we show companies how to run their collaboration platform fully in the cloud. Use your account from any internet connected device and never lose a document or an email ever again. Ongoing engagements with the customer ensures that we are there every step of the way to assist the customer in making the right IT decision that supports their cloud strategy.

Why are the solutions you’re providing so important for African businesses?

Now is the best time to adopt the Cloud and with Digicloud Africa and Google’s support it’s easier than ever before to make it happen. If you are building an application or starting a company, you don’t need to and often cannot afford to, start by investing in hardware. It is costly and requires continual maintenance and upgrades. This stifles innovation. Africa has an amazing entrepreneurial spirit that we wish to see growing over the next decade. The Cloud not only helps you scale up when you need the services, but also scale down when it’s not needed during a lockdown as we saw in 2020. On a continent where finding the right hardware is often difficult and costly, the Cloud offers you access to state of the art technology.

The demand for cloud services in Africa is growing fast, especially during this pandemic? Do you believe it’s time for every business to move to the cloud?

Yes. Maintain the servers you have while planning your journey into the cloud. Stop investing in costly short term solutions (server upgrades). Modernise your application architecture so that you can run it in the most efficient manner in the Cloud. Don’t just spin up virtual machines in the Cloud and keep running legacy code in the same old way. Africa has tremendous skills in IT engineering. At the start of the pandemic and the lockdown in 2020, we saw many companies running legacy systems rush to deploy Google Workspace. Most of the companies already running Workspace didn’t have a hard time picking up their laptops and working from home. We even saw an increase in productivity instead of a decrease, as most business owners and managers feared.

Let’s talk about the future. In Africa, cloud remains a key part in shaping how Africa will grow when it comes to technological infrastructure. What does the future look like?

The future is serverless with a hybrid cloud strategy. Customers in the cloud should be able to move their applications and workloads between clouds seamlessly. They will be able to work from anywhere in the world from any type of device; Windows, Macbook, Linux or Chromebook. Google Workspace for Education is also taking off in Africa in a big way where again Chromebooks are playing an important role. Kids today entering the workforce tomorrow won’t comprehend why they can’t work remotely or switch devices in the middle of the day and continue working. Users shouldn’t be bound to their desk, where they can only perform their job function from their device. Brick and mortar shop fronts will be less prevalent as it’s too costly to maintain and staff. eCommerce and Logistics is going to play an important role and the cloud will enable that to scale globally.

You are among the speakers an upcoming Google Workspace webinar on April 22nd, why was it so important to have this webinar?

Post lockdown regulations in South Africa have revealed that users want to continue to work from home. People are much more productive when given flexibility and the right tools. This webinar will show you in a very practical way how many Workspace customers did not have a hard time with lockdown or working remotely. You had access to all of your emails AND files and business tools just like you did in the office.

Still, on the webinar, what should participants expect?

Participants can expect to get a great overview of what Google Workspace is capable of. They will see the product in action as well and learn how easy it is to use. They might have heard about ways of using Google Workspace and they might have heard about how other companies are using it successfully, but this webinar will give them a forum to ask questions and ask to see certain features in action and debunk myths about Google Workspace. They will hopefully be inspired to do things differently and see how MS Office isn’t needed for an organisation at all. No Office, no servers.

With the webinar happening, what opportunities do you see for DigiCloud in Africa?

We see a big opportunity for all the Africa companies still running legacy email servers on prem to modernise their setup. All the companies wanting to replace MS Office with something more robust and easy to use where Google Workspace is a natural fit. Many people have a misconception on what Google Workspace has to offer and only a practical demonstration of “A day in the life of a Workspace user” can really show them how easy IT can be. The opportunity for Digicloud is really to showcase the strength of our Partner (Incentro) in Africa and how they are supporting their customers and helping them digitally transform.\

Any closing remarks?

This document was edited on a Chromebook (not Windows) using Google Docs (not MS Word) in the Chrome browser. Every word that I typed was seamlessly saved as I typed without having to activate a certain setting. The document was automatically saved to Google Drive which means it was backed up to our eDiscovery and Compliance platform (Google Vault) which is built into Google Workspace. We want to show Africa how easily we do things and solve problems and build workflows without needing to host any servers without any downtime, from anywhere, on any device.

www.digicloud.africa

Click here to register for Google Workspace webinar on April 22nd