Contrary to conventional wisdom, Africa is ahead of the curve when it comes to cloud computing adoption.
This is according to Franck Cohen, president: EMEA at SAP, who tells IT-Online that cloud-based solutions have figured largely in SAP’s global success in recent years. And, while Africa may seem like a later adopter of new technology, he says the opposite is actually true.
“Our cloud results for the continent are actually above expectations,” he says. “The adoption of cloud in Africa is taking place a lot faster than we thought it would – in fact, growth is in the high triple digits.
“The idea that Africa and the Middle East would be late to adopt cloud is wrong. It is happening right now, especially in South Africa, and it top of the agenda for most CIOs.”
SAP has a very strong pipeline for future cloud adoption, he adds, and there is a bright future for cloud computing in Africa.
Cohen adds that the software giant is already seeing the fruits of its fast-tracked investment into the continent.
One area where the continent does seem to be lagging, he says, is in the adoption of big data and analytics.
“We don’t think we’ve been talking about big data and analytics enough in Africa,” Cohen says. “In fact, we are about to create a new initiative, in conjunction with partners, to educate the market on what big data and analytics can do for companies and how it can help the African continent. I think we need to offer specific examples of how the technology can help to change the way companies do business.”
About six months ago, SAP announced that it was committed to massive investments in Africa, and Cohen says the company is already seeing some of the fruits of these initiatives.
“We have created a new hub for French-speaking Africa, with the new office in Casablanca covering 17 countries,” he says. The new territory is manned by a team drawn from local talent as well as from SAP’s French office.
“It took a while to get the office established, but the team is now in place and we are very confident about 2015. We believe this is the year we will start to realise the results of all our efforts and investment into the region.”
SAP has also expanded its presence in Kenya and Nigeria, to better cover the English-speaking part of the continent. While some of these plans took longer to accomplish that originally expected due to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Cohen says SAP has continued to invest despite the concerns.
A new office has also been set up in Angola, where Cohen says there are massive opportunities, with a number of major companies already deploying SAP solutions.
