Microsoft knows the cloud is not all sweetness and light

Microsoft is as big a cloud proponent as there is, but it’s well aware of serious challenges and realities.

While Microsoft is a loud voice in the pro-cloud choir, it remains aware of serious concerns and realities that affect its progress, John Galligan, senior director, Government Affairs at Microsoft, said Thursday.

Galligan, based at the company’s U.S. headquarters and visiting Kenya for the first time, spoke at the inaugural Africa Cloud Summit.

“We are not blind to the challenges we face,” he said, citing issues relating to access, security, government policies and political inclinations around the world.

Amid these challenges, the cloud and IT are so entrenched and essential that they are more parts of various departments and policies than departments and policies themselves, Galligan said at the Nairobi event, which was hosted by CIO East Africa.

As the challenges relate to IT policy, there’s reason for optimism in Africa, he added.

“The world is less oriented together, but in Africa, there is more orientation toward working together.”

There is a need for the collaborative approach, Galligan believes, because we’re at a “intersection” with issues including security, reliability and policy to address – within companies, countries and continents.

The challenges are particularly acute in Africa where, among other ongoing and anticipated matters, the coming years will see vast increases in the number of people reaching the age when they’re ready to join the workforce, Galligan noted.

For more information about the Africa Cloud Summit, visit http://www.africacloudsummit.com