SUSE will collaborate with Microsoft SA, Mint Management Technologies and SAB&T to assist local organisations to migrate their SAP workloads to Azure.
The joint venture, according to the enterprise open source software company, aims to ensure tools, processes, programmes and skills will be in place for local companies to successfully migrate their SAP workloads when the local Microsoft data centres go live at the end of the year.
Last May, Microsoft announced it will bring two data centres to SA, in its efforts to provide highly available, scalable and secure cloud services across Africa, with the option of data residency in SA.
The data centres, being built in Cape Town and Johannesburg, will be used to augment the delivery of cloud services, including Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Dynamic 365.
As many African companies rely on cloud services delivered from outside the continent, local data centres are expected to result in faster delivery and ease of access.
Since the inception of the project, Microsoft has restructured its partner development engines to focus on helping partners to achieve the competencies they need to be successful.
Matthew Lee, cloud and strategic alliances manager at SUSE, says: "Given the infrastructure challenges that still exist in Africa, the cloud provides a viable alternative that addresses many business continuity concerns. I believe that leveraging the respective skills of our four organisations will create an enabling environment for companies to easily and cost-effectively move to the Azure-based data centres.
"With mission-critical systems such as those delivered through SAP environments, companies do not have the luxury of down-time or losing data. Our joint venture is designed make the cloud journey an empowering one for business."
SUSE says it will provide the SAP-optimised Linux operating system tuned for Azure, with Microsoft being the cloud infrastructure provider. Mint will deliver the required Azure expertise, and SAP consulting and training company, SAB&T, will offer SAP partner skills to support companies with the transition.
Carel du Toit, CEO of the Mint Group, says the partnership reflects a growing trend to deliver services that transform computing, storage and communication into utilities that are easily available through cloud resources on an as-needed basis.
"Opportunities exist for organisations to look at operationalising their current environments, driving down running costs, and aligning their operational cost model with the actual utilisation requirement for their solutions. Azure is a compelling hosting option for customers who are also making use of Office 365, since their SAP and Office environments would essentially be hosted in the same Azure regions, enabling deep integration between the systems for workflow and reporting," he explains.
According to Stratistics, the global cloud migration services market is expected to grow from $3.35 billion in 2017 to reach $20.65 billion by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 22.4%.
IDC predicts spending on public cloud services in SA will nearly triple over the next five years, up from R4.29 billion in 2017 to R11.53 billion in 2022. The adoption of cloud services will generate nearly 112 000 new jobs in SA by 2022, it adds.
Microsoft's data centres are expected to result in a spike in the rate of adoption of cloud services on the continent.
According to Riedwaan Bassadien, Azure open source lead at Microsoft SA, cloud migrations are becoming popular with many organisations as they look to downsize their data centre footprint.
"This is an opportunity for IT solution providers in the local ecosystem to help customers move to the cloud, and for software vendors and start-ups to deliver cloud native solutions to Africa and the world stage. With the advent of Azure data centre regions in SA, it is seen as a big enabler."
Tinus Brink, director of consulting at SAB&T, explains: "The cloud offers numerous opportunities to deliver enhanced business value. This joint venture is designed to provide a comprehensive and professional offering that removes the challenges of migrating to the cloud, so businesses can remain focused on delivering their strategic objectives."
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