Forecasting IT Infrastructure And Cloud Market Trends

The African IT infrastructure and cloud market is experiencing a surge due to rapid digital transformation, high growth potential, and improved connectivity. Businesses across Africa now progressively recognize the value of cloud services and IT solutions for improved productivity, scalability, and global reach.

According to a policy paper by Research ICT Africa, several African countries, including Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda, have launched national cloud strategies to promote cloud adoption and development. Furthermore, the region’s tech-savvy population, rising smartphone adoption and exponential data growth increasingly fuel the demand for innovative IT solutions and cloud-based services.

Africa’s growing appetite for cutting-edge yet affordable IT solutions for data storage, app development, and infrastructure management is driving a shift. As the market grows, leading African businesses often partner with specialized IT service providers who offer reliable cloud infrastructure solutions that provide them with the uptime, reliability, and continuity they crave without needing in-house IT specialists.

As the region’s IT infrastructure and cloud landscape booms, untapped ground is created for new technological trends and opportunities. This article delves into the key trends and predictions expected to shape Kenya and Africa’s IT and cloud landscape.

Hybrid Infrastructure Adoption

Chief Information Officers (CIOs) worldwide recognize the hybrid cloud model as the next frontier. The hybrid model enables organizations to maintain certain business operations privately on private clouds while benefiting from cloud scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness through public clouds.

In Africa, the hybrid cloud model will continue to develop as a transformative trend because regional organizations recognize the need for a flexible, scalable methodology that integrates on-premises and cloud resources. Moreover, Africa is limited mainly due to unreliable infrastructure in some locations, data regulatory barriers, and a dominant caution towards 100 per cent business cloud outsourcing. This strengthens and pushes companies towards the hybrid cloud model because the option allows them to leverage cloud computing benefits while maintaining freedom and control of business operations.

Presently, insurance companies, fintech startups, education, and retail services are primarily turning to cloud storage and cloud-based applications, including the hybrid infrastructure cloud model, to enhance services and reach broader audiences. However, some highly regulated sectors, such as finance, healthcare, and governmental agencies, hesitate to adopt cloud and IT infrastructure models due to stricter data privacy and security regulations.

As IT infrastructure awareness, expertise, and security improves in the region, these sectors will likely increase their cloud computing adoption. For example, financial services institutions may need to implement hybrid cloud infrastructures to balance the need to drive digital innovation and maintain regulatory compliance demands. We have seen many organizations in highly regulated sectors leverage hybrid cloud models as they understand the benefits.

Elevated Data Security and Privacy Protocols

Cybercriminals increasingly target the African continent due to its growing digital presence. Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya are some of the most targeted by cybercriminals in Africa. Even with big international cloud providers launching in the market and offering cutting-edge opportunities, there are growing concerns about data privacy and security for local data stored in the cloud.

As companies look to embrace digital transformation, data security and privacy in cloud computing models are poised to become even more prominent trends in Kenya and Africa. African organizations using cloud services must implement robust security controls to protect data from breaches and attacks.

Besides, Africans are increasingly aware of their data privacy rights and expect organizations to handle their information securely and responsibly. This pressures local companies to prioritize data security and transparency in their cloud adoption practices.

As cloud adoption in the continent grows, it’ll become even more essential for local businesses to proactively reinforce their data privacy laws and institute more stringent data protection requirements to anticipate and align with evolving data privacy regulations while ensuring compliance with regional and global data protection standards.

Investing in cutting-edge tools and partnering with certified service providers who can guarantee compliance with these regulations is crucial. For instance, financial companies and other organizations managing personally identifiable information (PII) must adhere to the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) to fortify their data security measures and uphold the integrity of sensitive information.

Localized Solutions and Latency Management

African organizations recognize the importance of low latency and localized data storage solutions to minimize data transfer times. Also, due to growth in the Internet of Things (IoT) technology and the demand for real-time data processing, edge computing is gaining popularity in Africa’s IT infrastructure landscape.

In Kenya, a regional ICT hub in East Africa, edge computing implementation is still in its infancy. However, strides towards edge computing in the country will likely be implemented as the need for localized data storage grows. Investments in edge computing allow local data centres to provide their services in local regions in the shortest time possible, accelerating data-driven decision-making and unlocking rapid business development.

This trend is a game-changer that will address the unique challenges of the continent’s diverse geography and progressively foster the development of localized cloud services to enhance employee productivity and user experiences through reduced response times. By strategically placing data resources closer to end-users, businesses in the African continent will gradually overcome latency issues and foster a more efficient and responsive IT ecosystem.

Leveraging Cloud Infrastructure for AI and ML Advances

Cloud infrastructure is quickly becoming the foundation for successful Artificial Intelligence(AI) and Machine Learning (ML) projects for organizations. Cloud service providers offer access to powerful computing resources like GPUs and TPUs, essential to efficiently implementing complex AI and ML models. This particularly benefits African businesses that usually do not have their own AI and ML computing resources.

Already, many African businesses use AI/ML technologies like chatbots to improve customer support services. For example, Safaricom, one of the largest telecommunications providers in Kenya, has Zuri, a chatbot to enhance customer support. African banks like Zenith Access, Equity and East Africa’s KCB use chatbots to engage customers and improve banking experiences. AI/ML also helps financial institutions detect fraudulent activities and bank transactions, helping protect customers and minimize economic losses.

In healthcare, AI-based technologies help detect and prevent diseases such as malaria, diabetes, and sickle cell anaemia. Several retail and e-commerce companies use AI/ML to analyze customer purchasing patterns and customize their services to match customer needs and preferences.

The AI market size in Africa is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 17.68 percent between 2024 and 2030. Leveraging cloud-based platforms’ scalability and computational power by local organizations will be a progressive trend fueling this growth as enterprises undertake incredible AI/ML projects, fostering innovation, automation, and data-driven decision-making for improved business efficiency and productivity.

Africa’s Future Cloud Landscape

Africa’s IT and cloud scene is not on the horizon—it’s already here. From global tech launches and local government initiatives to regional data centres through local cloud providers, advanced trends are shaping Africa’s IT infrastructure and cloud market landscape.

By exploring local cloud infrastructure solutions and staying informed about the latest tech advancements, businesses of all sizes in Kenya /Africa can seize emerging trends to stay ahead of the curve. As local companies embrace these trends, the stage is set to drive efficiency, scalability, and innovation in Africa, positioning the continent as a critical player in the global IT landscape.

This article was written by Victoria Kleinbort, Country Manager for Kenya at Servercore