When will Microsoft Azure succeed in Africa?

I’ve been involved in a series of discussions with corporations lately about where the world is right now with Microsoft 365, Azure, and the desire to move away from traditional operations.

For businesses in Africa, my home continent, cloud technology is still in its infancy. But many organizations already see the potential benefits of increasing their investment in cloud-based systems as outweighing the challenges. I believe that by leveraging the private sector and working with government agencies, we will see much more development in the cloud in Africa.

Many people in Europe and America wonder about the state of infrastructure in Africa, and whether this holds back cloud development. Africa is home to 1.3 billion people, almost twice the population of Europe and America. The continent has incredible human resources, but right now there are only Azure Availability Zones in one Azure region located in South Africa.

I think only a few countries in Africa are currently challenged with power infrastructure. A lot of countries are really up and running with the ability to support cloud resources 24/7. Organizations could tap human resources in other countries for projects such as lift-and-shift migration. For instance, you could have datacenters in places like Ghana, Egypt—or additional locations in South Africa--with some of the most advanced infrastructure. You could run network connectivity from Egypt, Tunisia or Algeria, which are some of the most stable politically. These are places that in terms of electricity generation are easy and all three allow you to have backup solar panels. After all, Africa has a huge abundance of sunlight. Just imagine the sun hitting the Sahara Desert and the power generating possibilities.

We’ve also seen Microsoft experiment with keeping small datacenters cool by locating them in the ocean, which would bypass many land-based infrastructure challenges, such as those in West Africa. In terms of human capabilities, tech companies springing up in Africa are doing phenomenally well, like little startups that big companies chase for software tools.

Microsoft has to start thinking about how to support dynamic companies across Africa. But there is no one policy that fits the whole continent. That’s one reason why many investors have failed there, even if they have appreciated the incredible economic growth already underway. Over the years I’ve consulted for companies doing business in Africa. Doing regular operations is not the same as in other places. You need to understand the dynamics and culture of these countries if you want to achieve your business goals. When businesses get it right, the can see returns that are not possible almost anywhere else.