Cape Town, 25 May 2017
Microsoft has announced that South Africa has been selected to become its Azure Cloud computing data anchor for Africa.
Reinforcing the country as Africa's most advanced economy and business gateway destination, Microsoft's committed to building Cloud data centres in both Johannesburg and Cape Town. These data centres are due to switch on in 2018 and when they do, will become the 40th region in Microsoft's global Cloud computing infrastructure. And infrastructure unmatched in the scope of its investment.
Scott Guthrie, Microsoft's executive vice president of Cloud and Enterprise, believes having local data residency - in South Africa - will benefit all Africans. "We see enormous opportunity for the cloud to accelerate innovation, support people across the continent who are working to transform their businesses, explore new entrepreneurship opportunities and help solve some of the world's hardest problems. For these reasons, I'm very excited to share our plans to deliver the Microsoft Cloud from data centres in Africa."
For existing cloud customers, it will mean faster and more cost-effective services, sourcing from indigenous data centres instead of those hosted in Europe.
The commitment of Microsoft to invest in indigenous data infrastructure also signals a strategic shift in server management, where it now makes a lot more sense to use Azure Cloud services than purchase, configure and upgrade your own physical servers.
The idea of giving all your IT-security and speed to an outside source might appear unnerving, but it makes tremendous sense. With data centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town, true data sovereignty can be achieved for those companies operating in fields where legislation strictly enforces the movement of sensitive data - such as financial services.
EOH has the largest and most experienced staff of Microsoft Cloud computing specialists in Africa and they're ready to make your migration to Azure as seamless and rewarding as it should be.
Azure Cloud also offers unique features, such as advanced business intelligence and analytics. Power BI gives real-time insights into your business whilst Azure's SQL database is superior for App developers. SQL has the benefit of embedded machine learning, capable of recognising App patterns and boosting performance and security around those trends. It also scales to demand, as your App grows in popularity and use, freeing your developers to focus on App design and features instead of continuously trying to find and engineer greater capacity.
Nicholas Leck, from EOH Coastal, says small steps are best for migrating to the Cloud - and that it's inarguably the best future proofing solution. "Companies still purchase their own servers, and if you think of the pace of technology, it's costly - as those servers will be out of date in 36 months."
This is where Azure Cloud is such a compelling alternative to physical servers, especially with the promise of South African data centres, moderating cost and boosting speeds. Nicholas believes EOH can make the cloud experience a superior one for all customers. "With cloud computing you have the option of effectively 'renting' a server, only paying for what you use. Microsoft suggests starting with moving one 'Workload' onto the Azure Cloud, so instead of buying a server, ask EOH to help you move the application or database onto Microsoft's cloud. We will train you and support you through the process."
If you wish to optimise your existing Azure services, or wish to become part Africa's digital transformation when Microsoft powers-up its data centres in South Africa next year, EOH have the people and solutions to make that happen.
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