The third annual Amazon Web Services (AWS) series of cloud technology events for public sector, education and healthcare in South Africa is set to explore how cloud technologies unlock value for governments, enterprises and citizens.
This year, the series will include four events throughout the year, unpacking critical aspects of public sector digital transformation, with a particular focus on education and healthcare transformation.
The event series showcases how AWS Cloud has enabled South African public and private sector organisations to grow and thrive through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The best way to do this is to highlight the successes that have been enabled by AWS Cloud technology:
Gauteng e-Waste
Cyril Baloyi, head of the Gauteng Department of e-Government, says the department is using cloud to innovate across services. A good example of this is the new Gauteng e-Waste Management System developed in partnership with the University of Johannesburg (UJ). The system aims to co-ordinate e-waste management and bring small and informal businesses into the circular economy.
“This is the first of its kind from a government point of view,” says Baloyi. “Our aim is to enable township economic revitalisation. We strive to bring in digital transformation while at the same time ensuring sustainable development, social development and social cohesion.”
Beyond vaccinations
Among them are Beyond, an IOT solutions provider that supports Unicef’s global vaccination programme with its remote cold chain monitoring solution. Ian Lester, CEO of Beyond, says: “If it wasn’t for the fact that we had this migration towards digital and cloud computing, what we do simply wouldn’t be possible. It has accelerated our business and made it accessible to the entire world to make sure that vaccines are effective in preventing disease.”
Putting Wits University on the cloud
Dr Stanley Mpofu, CIO of the University of the Witwatersrand, says: “One of the first things I did when I arrived at Wits was to put down a cloud strategy. We are on the cloud journey and we are not going back to on-premises infrastructure – now, if it’s not cloud, you have to explain why not.”
Improving efficiencies and service delivery at the City of Tshwane
Aangola Mufana, CIO of the City of Tshwane, says: “Cloud services are taking away the capital expenditure in terms of buying technology. So instead of cities and organisations spending huge amounts of funds to buy technologies and infrastructure, cloud services allow us to spend much less over a period of time as well as making it easier for us to access services from anywhere in the world.”
Giving citizens a voice with GovChat
AWS Cloud underpinned public service delivery and engagement during the challenges of the lockdown, say several AWS customers. GovChat is the official digital citizen engagement channel for the South African government. Eldrid Jordaan, CEO of GovChat, says: “COVID-19 has shown that technology is an enabler, making it possible for organisations like GovChat to scale through the amazing work of AWS.”
Boosting collaboration and innovation in South Africa
Rashika Ramlal, Country leader at AWS, says the series is a part of broader AWS initiatives to enable growth and progress in the country. She notes that AWS has been an active contributor to South African development: “We have contributed over 3 900 direct jobs and over 7 000 indirect jobs. We also have a R365 million investment programme to grow small and medium-sized businesses so they can become sustainable in the South African economy and contribute to job creation in both rural and urban areas. We are also very passionate about skilling people, and have invested over R155 million to skill people in South Africa, including learners at school level and communities in underprivileged areas,” she says.
From a public sector perspective, Rajeev Rao Eashwari, Director of e-Health & Hospital Services at the Gauteng Department of Health, says: “Close collaboration between industry, academia, the government and NGOs is important. If we can work together, we can achieve more.”
For more information and to register for this event, click here.
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