Business Connexion (BCX) has launched a pay-as-you-go service for Windows Azure Pack out of its carrier-neutral, certified tier four data centre.
BCX is the only gold-certified Microsoft Cloud Operating System Network (COSN) partner in Africa, it says.
The solution combines enterprise-class control and compliance with managed service and self-provisioning, providing clients with flexibility and increasing their agility in the market, notes the company.
"There is no doubt that local markets are becoming increasingly competitive," says Jacques Loubser, BCX managing executive of converged infrastructure solutions.
"Technology in itself is also no longer a differentiator, but has rather become an enabler. This, coupled with a need to be more innovative and agile, is driving cloud adoption across the continent and is transforming the data centre.
"One of the biggest benefits of this solution is that it is hosted locally. It reduces latency, or the amount of time it takes for a data packet to travel from source to destination, and solves the issues around data sovereignty," says Loubser.
According to IDC's 2015 Top 10 ICT Predictions for Africa, security concerns are rising due to the increase in mobile device, data and access methods. IDC believes this will drive governments on the continent to address cyber security legislation and look at further country-specific data protection that could require in-country presence and hosting.
"Clients are increasingly prioritising dealing with a local partner as it creates a sense of comfort being able to deal directly with a person where the data resides. It also simplifies the support process and eliminates the need to bring an additional support partner into the fold. They are also looking to consolidate the number of vendors they deal with.
"We are also the first COSN partner to make the self-service control panel available in Africa. Through this panel, clients that know what they want can purchase the technology they need online, simplifying the procurement process," he says. The Windows Azure Pack solution can also be deployed in the client's own data centre.
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