INDUSTRY REPORT

STATE OF
CLOUD
ADOPTION
IN AFRICA
FIRST ANNUAL STATE OF
CLOUD ADOPTION IN
AFRICA
Conversations around cloud adoption modern and data centres

2
are shifting rapidly in fascinating directions. New discussions
around automation, cloud trends, interconnection strategies,

-
sustainability and skills development are emerging as impactful
on data centre ecosystems. From previous research, we’ve seen

Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021

an evolution occur around digital infrastructure.

Users, workloads, and deployment strategies are changing.

Information and technology leaders across industries have a lot
to consider from edge to cloud, colocation to interconnection,
security to data integrity. Connectivity has become a critical
component for an enterprise digital strategy. To take advantage
of the benefits of hybrid cloud, multi-cloud, and mobile-first
environments, enterprises will need to take a flexible approach to
connectivity, enabling them to scale as needed.

This report looks at some of the most impactful trends in our

industry and where we are today. With research based on the
answers you have given, the report will help you gain a broader
picture of digital infrastructure and where your data centre plays
a critical role.
DATA CENTRE SURVEY RESULTS

My organisation has gained a The benefits of outsourcing our Colocation data centres are

3
competitive advantage through data centre services are apparent: more reliable and offer greater
new data centre technology: protection from power outages:

-
True True True

Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021

False False False

12% 15% 12%

88% 85% 88%

DATA CENTRE Power outages and the associated downtime
SURVEY RESULTS costs have impacted our organisation:

True True

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THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM False False

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ESTIMATES THAT GLOBALLY, BY 29% 22%

Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021

2025, 463 EXABYTES OF DATA WILL
BE CREATED EACH DAY. WITH THE
SURGE IN THE INTERNET OF THINGS
(IOT) AND EDGE COMPUTING, MORE
DATA WILL BE PRODUCED IN A
DECENTRALIZED MANNER.
Data gravity is central to most decisions made by IT leaders when it
comes to the geographic alignment of a data centre. This is also critical 71% 78%
to how colocation vendors define markets.

DESJARDINS, J, How much data is generated each day?

World Economic Forum.com, 17 April 2019
Demand for colocating key resources in
outsourced data centres is increasing, and we are
actively investing in new technologies to improve
our infrastructure:
DATA CENTRE True

SURVEY RESULTS False 15%

Data centre colocation

lowers our operational
overhead and improves

5
the total cost of ownership
(TOC):
ACCORDING TO AN IBM INSTITUTE 71%

-
FOR BUSINESS VALUE STUDY, 50% OF

Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021

BANKING EXECUTIVES BELIEVE THE True
HYBRID CLOUD WILL REDUCE THE COST False 15%
OF IT OWNERSHIP. Our organisation is actively
The cloud provides a viable way to deploy without the headache of working on reducing our
messy, open source technology and a costly bill. carbon footprint:
78%
Ibm.com, Hybrid Cloud Storage Solutions, 2021

True
False 15%

Organisations using cloud

services benefit from
reduced costs and increased
security:
85%
ACCORDING TO IDC, THE HARDWARE
AND SOFTWARE CLOUD SERVICES

6
MARKET IS EXPECTED TO GROW IN

-
THE RANGE OF 20% TO 30% UNTIL

Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021

2024 IN THE MIDDLE EAST, TURKEY
AND AFRICA REGION.
MALINGA, S, SA’s thriving data centre industry leads to widening skills gap,
ITWeb.com, 08 Feb 2021
 Benefits of an
Interconnection Strategy

Immediate business advantages for the

interconnected enterprise:

7
Growth – Interconnection gives the enterprise the ability to Scale – the ability and agility to do more with IT infrastructure.

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rapidly expand into new markets, tap into new channels and Support new and expanding business workloads conveniently
develop new engagement models. and with a lower overhead cost.

Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021

Speed – lower latency is the game today. If a network isn’t Engagement – the expertise to connect employees, partners
lightning fast, then it might as well be down. An interconnected and customers – wherever they are in the world.
network ensures that data travels through the most optimal
paths in all instances. Also, with distributed network architecture, Cost – since an interconnection defined architecture means
data doesn’t need to travel from a central point to all outposts converting long-haul/metro links into short/data centre links;
but can be held where it’s needed. High availability data will costs are significantly reduced through low-cost cross-connects
sit on the edge, reducing the time to get it in front of the user, to other parties in the ecosystem.
and less often accessed, non-latency sensitive data can be kept
centrally. Interconnection further provides the capability to
significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to deploy new
services.

Security – Interconnection gives the ability to achieve

the superior physical and virtual data security required to
meet a changing environment’s growing risk and regulatory
requirements.
CLOUD SURVEY
RESULTS 37%

A
Which of the following
data centre models is your
company using?

8
-
Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021
33% D B 7%

C
23%
Radar Chart 01

A - Enterprise data centre B - Managed services data centre C - Colocation data centre D - Cloud data centre
(owned and managed internally) (owned, but managed by a third-party) (owned by a third-party) (100% in the cloud)
CLOUD SURVEY
RESULTS 21%

A
At which stage of
implementation is your
organisation’s cloud journey?

9
9% F B 3%

-
Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021
49% E C 3%

D
Radar Chart 02 15%

A - Assessing company’s B - Gathering information C - Determining which D - In process of moving E - Already moved
needs/strategy on vendors applications go to the cloud applications to the cloud applications to
the cloud
F - No plans to move to
the cloud
CLOUD SURVEY
RESULTS 25%

A
What type of cloud strategy
is your organisation
considering?

10
-
Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021
4% D B 30%

C
41%
Radar Chart 03

A - Private Cloud Strategy B - Public Cloud Strategy C - Hybrid Cloud Strategy D - No plans to move to the cloud
 Colocation
& the Cloud

Colocation and cloud both offer businesses different ways to

store and manage their data.

Some businesses use a combination of one with

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other IT infrastructure solutions or both.

-
The main difference between cloud and colocation is how
data is managed and stored. With cloud, servers are owned

Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021

by the cloud provider and the data is managed virtually. With
colocation, servers are owned by the business that is renting
the space.

The accessibility of cloud is a key factor in the growth of cloud

hosting but the volume of data can grow quickly, which can
inflate costs.

Colocation is an ideal solution for businesses that need a

combination of hybrid and multi cloud deployments. Colocation
results in more secure infrastructure due to intra data centre
deployment and provider occurs through secure interconnection,
but Colocation requires businesses to provide their own servers
and storage. This could potentially cost more than using
public cloud services, but it results in a much more secure
infrastructure.

Cloud and Colocation both offer cost savings to businesses

(compared to owned on-premise data centres) providers offering
shared public resources virtually.
CLOUD SURVEY
RESULTS
Always available access
to applications/data

Reduced workload for Reduced on-site

In your organisation, internal IT department infrastructure needed
what are the primary

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factors driving potential
interest in cloud services?

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Moving capital expenses

Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021

to operating expenses Cost savings

More storage capacity Improved

Interest in mobility for the
workforce
Cloud Services

Scalability/flexibility in the
amount of capacity needed
Improved data
backup services/
disaster recovery

Control over the Improved productivity

cloud environment

Long-term IT strategy
CLOUD SURVEY
RESULTS
Reliability / SLA
(Service Level
Agreement)

11 Considerations Security

13
When Choosing a Carrier Neutral /
Data Centre

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Network Density /
Access to IXPs Carrier Diversity

Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021

Flexibility and
Standards & Scalability
Compliance (ISO Data Centre (Build to Suit)
certifications etc.) Considerations

Cloud onramp Backup Power

Cooling Location

Interconnection
 14 - Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021
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CLOUD SURVEY RESULTS

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CLOUD SURVEY RESULTS What is the principal industry in which your
organisation operates?

Results

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Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting

Art, Entertainment, Recreation

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Construction

Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021

Goverment

Finance and Insurance

Healthcare

Education

Manufactoring

Media, Publishing, Telecommunications

Mining, Quarrying, Oil and Gas Extraction

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

Retail Trade

Telecomunications

Transportation and Logistics

Utilities
 ABOUT
Teraco provides carrier and cloud-neutral colocation data centres,
and with an ecosystem of over 22,000 cross-connects, is Africa’s
most interconnected data centre hub. As the first provider of
highly resilient, vendor-neutral data environments in sub-Saharan
Africa, Teraco brings global content closer to the digital edge.

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With its world-class data centre infrastructure and network dense
ecosystems, Teraco forms a vital part of the African Internet’s

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backbone and is an essential part of the modern enterprise’s

Teraco - State of Cloud Adoption in Africa 2021

digital transformation strategy. It’s ever-expanding ecosystems
move Teraco beyond colocation and firmly establish it as an open
marketplace for digital growth and innovation.

Discovering new business partners, making strategic

interconnection choices, on-ramping to your choice of cloud, and
reaching new markets globally – Teraco provides a highly secure,
flexible and resilient home for digital organisations the world over.

Purpose-built and operated to global best practice by an expert

organisation with an absolute focus on data centre technology and
infrastructure, Teraco offers all its clients secure, cost-effective,
sustainable, scalable and resilient data centre services through its
Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town facilities.

CONTACT US TODAY TO LEARN MORE

ABOUT WHAT TERACO CAN DO FOR YOU.
WWW.TERACO.CO.ZA