T

O provide its customers with

the best possible technology
solutions and services, Integr8
actively explores industry trends on a
global level.
The Integr8 team looks at
international markets and global
trends and adapt models that work
internationally to suit the local South
African and African market. “What
works internationally does not
necessarily work locally,” explains
Bennie Strydom, sales director, Integr8.
“Cloud computing, for example, has
been adopted globally for quite some
time, but only of late is local user
adoption maturing to our corporations.
”A recent Gartner report signifies
a remarkably strong growth in the
cloud computing industry. It cites
an expected 16.6 percent increase
in revenue from 2009, making the
worldwide cloud services industry
worth $68.3 billion in 2010. By 2014,
says Gartner, this figure is set to reach
$148.8 billion.
Due to this rapid widespread
adoption, cloud computing can no
lo
longer be ignored by even the most

READING THE ccynical IT managers. According to

tthe research firm, cloud computing
vvendors need to have a strategy now

TEA LEAVES
aand enterprise IT organisations should
bbe studying the technology – much like
In
Integr8 have been doing.
“All organisations should have
Words Ilva Pieterse ccloud computing on their roadmap
– especially those who have various
CLOUD COMPUTING IS AT THE TOP OF MANY bbranches or international footprints,”
SStrydom advises.
A CIO’S AGENDA, BUT WHAT IS THE REALITY? Gartner is seeing more and more IT
mmanagers thinking strategically about
ccloud services or considering what the
ccompany’s IT operations will look like
in a world that’s increasingly cloud-
fo
focused. This shift in perception was
Bennie Strydom, sales director hhighly unusual a year ago.

Integr8 - special focus AUGUST 2010 23

LOCAL OUTLOOK
According to Strydom, local adoption thus
far has been relatively slow but, apart from
user maturity, this can largely be attributed to
local regulation, last mile provision and local
and international bandwidth pricing models.
However, he says, these challenges are steadily
dissipating. “We are seeing a surge in undersea
international cable provision, coupled with
local fibre rollouts and a decrease in the
cost of bandwidth. Broadband is becoming
cheaper and more accessible, and speed will
continuously increase.”
Strydom believes the new cables will help
bridge the gap between South Africa and the
rest of the world. “After which there should
be no reason why we cannot compete on an
international level,” he says.
“Our outstanding local technological
innovations and services will allow us to
showcase on international standards.”
According to the report, Gartner is sceptical
of the often-touted hypothesis that smaller
and/or developing countries will “leapfrog”
Western markets – and come to represent
a large proportion of the overall worldwide
market – through their adoption of the internet
and cloud services.
“Our model will migrate to the cloud at
the same pace as our clients adopt cloud
computing. I expect there will be a strong and
quick uptake of cloud computing in South
Africa,” Strydom states. “No one expected
mobile penetration to escalate so rapidly,
but it did.”
24
In fact, says Strydom, the high mobile device
penetration could well be the main driver
for local cloud computing adoption. “A lack
of adequate infrastructure, connectivity, and
support means that a high number of new
technology users will invest in smartphones
instead of PCs. The lower costs afforded by pay-
as-you-use applications and services will fuel
adoption and bridge the gap between us and
developed countries.”
THE CLOUD COMPUTING SWEET SPOT
Although the future of cloud computing in
South Africa looks bright, Strydom cautions that
it will not happen overnight. In the meantime,
Integr8 is customising its offerings to best suit
a client’s specific needs while keeping in mind
current infrastructure limitations. “Given our
current local challenges, cloud computing is
better suited to applications that do not require
low latency, such as e-mail,” says Strydom. “Many
Mpho Makhura, partner
factors need to be considered when deciding
what cloud computing services to adopt – size
of company, demographics, complexity of Gartner sees the worldwide cloud computing
security, governance, access to infrastructure, boom as a significant opportunity for existing IT
etc. It’s all about finding the sweet spot and services players to evolve their current offerings
remaining agile and flexible enough to cope to become cloud-enabled and try to combine
with a rapidly changing industry.” the best of the two worlds, namely traditional IT
Limitations aside, business remains services and cloud computing.
cautious against investing too heavily in “When considering cloud services, it comes
the technology while it is still in its infancy. down to three elements: the needs of the
Many IT managers would rather wait and see business; its willingness to move forward; and
how the industry develops before deploying the market itself, says Strydom.
(and relying on) too many cloud computing “And everyday, the world is becoming more
solutions across their organisations. geared towards cloud computing.”