In Africa’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the alignment of cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber security has the potential to reshape economies and uplift human potential. According to Tsepa Ramoriting, Vice-President of Sales at OpenText Africa, this synergy is no longer a distant ambition – it’s already taking shape across the continent.
“Securing synchronicity between cloud, AI and cyber security is one of the most powerful opportunities of our time,” says Ramoriting. “For enterprises in Africa, it holds the key to overcoming developmental hurdles and directly elevating human potential. This is not a vision for the future – it’s happening right now.”
Public sector leads in cloud adoption
Traditionally, the private sector has been seen as the frontrunner in digital adoption. But Ramoriting notes a shift.
“We are seeing organisations, particularly in the public sector, aggressively adopting a cloud-first approach,” he explains. “Government departments in countries such as South Africa are recognising the urgency of digital transformation. They’re leveraging cloud platforms to scale services, accelerate delivery and improve citizen outcomes.”
He points to a new kind of leadership emerging from unexpected quarters.
“It’s a signal that bold, digitally driven leadership is coming from places not often acknowledged in tech discourse,” he says.
The benefits are clear. Cloud enables fast, cost-effective and secure scaling, offering flexibility that outperforms legacy systems.
“Especially in the public sector, where procurement cycles are long and talent costs are high, the cloud allows organisations to do more, faster and at a lower cost than building capabilities in-house,” Ramoriting adds.
AI as a catalyst for human acceleration
Ramoriting believes AI is a game-changer for productivity and problem-solving in Africa.
“AI can help us, as a continent of 54 countries and countless cultural nuances, leapfrog certain developmental challenges,” he says. “In healthcare, for example, AI can transform basic primary care by rapidly analysing vast patient data, helping professionals make faster, more informed decisions.”
He stresses that AI adoption must go hand in hand with skills development.
“There’s an urgent need to focus on training and development,” Ramoriting says. “Many African countries are skills scarce, and knowledge sharing varies greatly from one region to another. AI can help bridge that gap.”
While the technology promises significant benefits, regulation remains a hot topic.
“Regulation is essential, especially to manage bias in AI’s interactions with citizens,” he says. “But we can’t afford for regulation to slow us down. We must build guardrails that encourage ethical innovation, not red tape that stifles progress.”
Cyber security: The non-negotiable
Ramoriting says that security is job number one. “The more we innovate in the cloud and through AI, the more critical security becomes for organisational integrity. You can’t separate the conversation about potential from the conversation about protecting the data that fuels it.”
He points to growing collaboration between public and private sectors as a way forward.
“Look at South Africa’s Home Affairs and banking partnership that allows citizens to renew passports and smart IDs in-branch,” he says. “That’s the kind of bold co-operation that meets people where they are, with more efficiency.”
Partnerships as the way forward
For Ramoriting, the path ahead is clear: Africa must embrace co-creation.
“This is not the time to work in silos,” he stresses. “People want to engage on their terms, at speed and without friction. That’s why platforms like the OpenText Summit Africa 2025 exist – to bring business technology leaders together to re-imagine solutions that move us forward.”
He concludes with a challenge to the continent’s leaders and innovators: “Achieving our greatest potential – as people – is not something we are planning for. It’s here, right now. If we’re bold enough, we can scale it with the power of partnership.”
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