Johannesburg, 16 Aug 2024
South Africa’s public sector is well aware of the benefits of cloud migration. However, security concerns and high costs have hindered widespread adoption. The introduction of the hybrid cloud services model presents an opportunity for public organisations, particularly government departments, to adopt a cloud-first and secure approach.
At the recent ITWeb Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Executive Forum held in Midrand, HPE executives shared the company's research findings. According to their data, 57% of respondents in South Africa’s public sector reported having over 51% of their workloads on-premises.
Factors like multi-generational IT, data sovereignty, compliance latency along with data cost and control have forced public entities into hybrid by accident, not by design.
Public organisations want to use cloud to accelerate their journey towards digital transformation, but they must address complexity, reduce spend, and avoid wasting resources.
HPE said there is a demand for tools that can enable and enhance data analysis – and the public sector emphasises the value of the data asset, with security and sovereignty at the forefront of strategy.
John Bosco Arends, chairperson, Chartered CIO Council, City of Johannesburg municipality, said the organisation’s objective is to establish a centralised resource that can provide services on any platform, at any time.
Arends said the government organisation is comprised of 13 entities, and collectively these ensure streamlined services and effective communication between departments.
He added that in this sector it is critical to identify who is the customer, because this determines the engagement strategy.
“We must bear in mind that voters and shareholders hold leaders accountable,” said Arends, who added that the municipality has invested towards a hybrid cloud, and has faced challenges such as bandwidth, and skills availability.
According to HPE research, while governments continue to pursue cloud-first methodologies, a ‘cloud-only’ model is not a good fit for the public sector.
The company added that South Africa has acquired the ability to ascertain which services are appropriate for the public cloud and which need to remain on-premise.
Democratising AI
HPE has kept up with existing and emerging trends, including a determination to help democratise AI – to make the technology accessible, practical and understandable to the broader market.
The technology should enable users to work at a faster pace, reassured of real-time visibility with which to leverage applications both on-prem and in the cloud.
HPE has undergone transformation itself, pivoting to establish itself as a leading provider of emerging technology, and services partner.
These services are highly valuable to customers that are driving their own cloud journeys.
Arends said it is important to remember that cloud is not a destination, it’s a capability.
“We are a services generator, and this capability is used with a hybrid digital platform to enhance services. In a world of digital transformation, the speed of development depends on the advancement of ecosystems,” said Arends.
He added that as a government institution, it is essential that data remains within South Africa’s borders.
“Data sovereignty is non-negotiable, factors like geo-location are highly important, as is compliance with PoPIA legislation,” said Arends.
He added that the speed to transform the City of Johannesburg meant having to upskill resources in a neutral way, to understand how best to use these skills.
Arends said with digital transformation, it is important to secure management buy-in, and the best way to do this is to ‘sell the solution for a known problem’.
Executives and board members will respond with swift adoption, according to Arends.
This where agility counts, in addition to a forward-thinking approach to digital transformation, and a thorough understanding of where technology and business requirements meet.
Share