Global hyper-scale cloud service providers Amazon Web Services and Microsoft will soon open their data centres in South Africa and the cloud services market is expected to explode.
However, businesses are urged to first understand what their priorities are and what they want to achieve with their journey to the cloud before embarking on migration, according to tech professionals speaking at ITWeb Cloud Summit 2019 in Bryanston, Johannesburg, this morning.
Opening the summit, Arthur Goldstuck, CEO of World Wide Worx, said the rapid evolution of cloud and cloud services makes it possible to 'plug-and-play' a complex global enterprise.
He said looking ahead, it will be possible for any business with limited technical expertise to enter the 'cloud matrix' and mix-and-match components to suit their operations.
"It will be possible to start up a business from anywhere at any time ... in the future you won't be starting up a business, you will download a business."
Dave Funnell, manager of VMware Cloud Provider Business, Sub-Saharan Africa, said definitions of the cloud vary from business to business, but the essence of the cloud is that it is an enabler to make the delivery of IT services to the business "slicker and faster".
Funnell said a faster response to the needs of businesses is among the top reasons for enterprise migration to the cloud. But the main reason is the reduction of IT costs - not surprisingly, as research shows that cost is the top enterprise pain point, noted Funnell.
He added that with the arrival of hyper-scalers, the expectation is that business owners could be making use of multiple clouds and there will be increased interest in the 'data-centre-as-a-service' management model.
This removes a lot of the management and skill factor concerns, which maximises resources and addresses cost considerations.
"Ninety-two percent of VMware customers say consistency of architecture between private and public clouds is important."
Funnell said the cloud is not a one-way journey. "It is a model you are going to have to move towards."
The approach to cloud needs to be a strategy, not a destination, he added, and the notion that one can simply move 'everything', all responsibilities and issues into a single cloud, and that will 'be fine' is not the case.
"You still need governance, you still need security and to manage performance," said Funnell.
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