Africa's rapid growth is one of the reasons for EMC investing in the continent, says recently-appointed president of EMC's Europe, Middle East and Africa region, Christian Hiller.
“Africa, as a region, is growing very quickly,” says Hiller. “We are investing very much in Africa.”
The company is looking at long-term investment into the region. “We're not just going to sell and take the money and run. We are investing there, and we want to continue to grow this region.”
He says EMC has centres of excellence in Africa to leverage the region's potential. “We do see there's huge potential, which is currently underutilised.”
As for SA, he says the country is growing slower than the rest of the region, due to its maturity. However, the country is still growing quickly compared to the rest of the world. “It is a fast-growing country; there are many things happening in SA. There is great potential in the public sector.”
Greenplum, EMC's newly acquired data computing division, is eyeing SA's large mining sector for its big data products.
Elie Simon, VP and GM of EMC's data computing division, says the division has already studied operations in SA, and is looking at a number of projects, especially in the natural resources sector. The division is also looking at SA's banking and telecoms industries.
EMC is also looking to work with a local university to develop and certify data scientists. “SA is a good prospect for Greenplum's new generation of data scientists. SA is an early adopter, striving for innovation,” says Simon.
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