A recent survey conducted by PwC Africa, called the Cloud Business Survey 2023, revealed that half of all companies have adopted cloud technology in all or most areas of their business. The survey, which questioned over 2,000 business and tech leaders across EMEA, also found that 61% of companies intend to move all their operations to the cloud within the next two years.
The report highlighted that 12% of African respondents had a high level of cloud maturity, indicating that they have fully integrated cloud solutions throughout their business. This figure was slightly lower than the average of 14% across EMEA. The largest group of companies in Africa (38%) reported a medium level of cloud adoption maturity, meaning they have implemented cloud technology in many areas of their business.
The survey showed that many African businesses are looking beyond simple “lift and shift” cloud migration, with over 40% focusing on combining migration, modernisation and cloud-native development to transform their operations. Over 50% of the survey’s African respondents reported that they already see measurable benefits from cloud adoption, such as increased productivity, enhanced customer experience, and improved decision-making.
The report also revealed that businesses across EMEA and Africa prioritise bottom-line business benefits, such as increased productivity, improved profitability and cost savings, over the next 12 months. In Africa, the drivers for cloud adoption are similar to those across EMEA, with a particular focus on ESG/sustainability benefits, improved cyber security posture, and increased agility.
Despite progress in cloud migration in Africa, businesses must overcome region-specific challenges such as budget constraints, skills shortages, cyber security risks, and navigating the changing regulatory landscape on crucial topics like data sovereignty. As such, businesses need to strike a delicate balance between economic considerations, skill development, and the strategic advancement of their technological infrastructure.
Mark Allderman, PwC South Africa’s cloud and digital leader, commented: “Such a move, whether undertaken incrementally, via migration, modernisation, or adoption of cloud native technologies, requires business transformation and investment in multiple transformative programmes and/or projects in a short time frame. The investment that hyperscale providers are making in Africa through in-country presence or country regions also supports the statistics from the survey.”
