African economies continue to expand rapidly. Indeed, a recent study by the World Bank showed ICT accounts for 2% of the annual GDP growth rate in Kenya alone.* The International Telecommunication Union estimates every 10% increase in the use of broadband leads to 1.3% growth in gross domestic product (GDP).
US-based company Actifio, specialising in copy data virtualisation, has revealed its plans for the expansion of its footprint in the African markets. Actifio's founding vision - virtualising the copy data within the data centre - has helped establish the $46 billion global copy data management market, making the company one of the fastest growing enterprise technology companies from inception ever.
Actifio has been operational in South Africa since 2014, with offices in Johannesburg. Grant Amos, Actifio General Manager MEA, says: "South Africa represents a mature marketplace, hosting skilled and capable IT professionals who are encumbered with managing complex estates, where point solutions have been added year-on-year to address specific issues."
Analysts place South Africa in the top four markets in the Middle East and Africa region. Actifio views this as a significant opportunity to grow its existing SA customer base, delivering its cloud-enabling, resilient and agile copy data virtualisation solution, driving simplicity, application availability and significant cost reduction not only into SA, but throughout the region.
"In terms of Central Africa, Kenya is our initial focus where we are already active in the service provider and financial sector. There is immense opportunity for customers to benefit from Actifio's copy data virtualisation solution."
Amos emphasises Actifio's value proposition to these markets. "We do this via our unique, globally deployed 'pure channel model', where we develop and support enterprise and larger-scale SME-focused partners and consultants. We identify a few key partners in each region, allowing us to develop highly skilled experts."
With its expansion in the African market, the company is keen to support companies adopting the latest methods of copy data virtualisation in private, public and hybrid cloud configurations.
"African markets have much to gain from the deployment of Actifio's innovative technology, which brings proven cost and efficiency benefits. Studies indicate that the adoption of technology by developing nations has had profound effects on their economies, such as reducing the national costs of production and establishing standards for quality, ultimately resulting in economic growth. Actifio is offering groundbreaking technology to these markets and opportunities for local businesses to expand," says Amos.
* The Africa Report
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