With rapid scalability and low cost of deployment, cloud computing continues to increase in global adoption. Many African nations including Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa look poised to increase their investment on platform as a service (PaaS), software as a service (SaaS) and cloud hosted infrastructure (IaaS) in 2014-2015 and beyond, reports IT News Africa.
While private cloud services have been the main focus of the large business sector in the country, there have been new developments in cloud computing that can improve the service offering, global coverage, price and competitiveness of African companies. As a result, African companies that choose a cloud strategy can take advantage of these new opportunities.
Here are four recent developments in cloud computing that could revolutionize the way African businesses operate:
The increase in cloud APIs
Many cloud service providers have exposed their cloud servers API, making it possible for businesses to plug into the cloud platform to do things such as open and control servers, reboot servers, custom software stacks, inject files into a file system, and more. These APIs simply ease complex processes, and speed up the development of new capabilities and services and hastening adoption.
They also facilitate hybrid cloud adoption by creating an interface between public cloud services and corporate data centers. Some cloud providers are also submitting APIs as open source projects, which serves as an indication of the direction the cloud is heading towards. This isn’t the industry’s only open-source effort; rather, it is an attempt to provide corporations more control and customization when it comes to cloud applications.
Hybrid cloud
The merits of private and public cloud models have been debated for quite some time. Hybrid cloud is a new cloud model that is giving businesses more choices for personalized solutions while satisfying security experts and big data advocates. More African companies are likely to drop the old debate and adopt this cloud model as hybrid cloud services go mainstream.
Whatever the requirements of a business may be, hybrid cloud services can provide flexibility of cloud computing and simultaneously coexist in the current environment. Service providers offering hybrid cloud services use a collaborative approach that aligns their cloud services with company strategies, setting organizations up with complete scalability to adopt to their changing needs.
Graphics as a service and web apps
Running high-end graphic applications requires a substantial investment in hardware infrastructure, but cloud computing is changing this reality. Several new cloud-based technologies from companies such as AMD and NVIDIA are allowing end users to run high-end design applications using a simple HTML5 web browser.
Also, scalability and efficiency continue to be the primary benefits of cloud computing, so service providers are also introducing cloud-based applications compatible with multiple platforms. With cutting edge initiates adding new life to HTML, it won’t be long since the web becomes the main platform for cloud applications.
Mobile optimization
The future of the cloud, one way or another, is firmly optimized on mobile. The exceptional rise in mobile devices are a contributing factor towards increasing the focus of cloud service providers to adopt a mobile approach. In the next 5 years or so, more cloud computing platforms and APIs will be accessible on mobile.
This simply means the need for optimal cloud experiences is the top agenda for companies that are embracing this technology. The trend is expected to grow more as cloud technology expands into various industries.