Ever-changing cloud requirements make flexible, future-proof connectivity essential

Death. Taxes. And change. These are life’s great certainties, and rather unsurprisingly it applies to the cloud too – so key to conducting business during the lightning-paced Fourth Industrial Revolution. Continually evolving in terms of service offerings as well as usage terms and conditions, the cloud can be an uncertain environment for businesses to get a grip on. Here’s how to get it right.

Consider the future, right now

Every business leader knows the frustration of making a decision only to find that it is insufficient or irrelevant a short time later, forcing another time-consuming relook of the same situation. When it comes to a company’s digital migration, then, it’s important to ensure your cloud-related choices are in alignment with both your current and future requirements.

The challenge, of course, is that the future is unclear and shifting. Already we’ve seen cloud platforms, and certain industries (and their decision-making bodies), change the requirements of cloud access. While some are accepting of public Internet use to access cloud services, others demand the greater – by comparison – reliability and security of a dedicated private network connection to the cloud environment in question.

In addition to mandated private, direct cloud connectivity in industries like Banking and Finance, there’s the issue of legislation, which is also not static. With the protection of personal data, a hot topic, compliance concerns may see companies restrict their cloud usage to providers with data centres physically located within their national borders. In South Africa, currently only Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services tick these boxes – at least for now.

As already noted, the current business age is one of rapid, agile response, and companies need to be able to adjust to a continually changing operating environment. And this still isn’t taking into consideration each company’s unique strategy and resource availability. You may be using the cloud today for email and backups. Tomorrow, however, with a greater budget, the cloud could be hosting your Content Management System or cloud-based data analytics to enhance your user experience.

The optimum solution

Much like how high-performance track tyres enable Formula One cars to efficiently transfer power from the roaring turbocharged engines to onto the track, similarly, SEACOM’s high-quality connectivity enables businesses to take full advantage of the cost-saving and efficiency-enhancing benefits of Cloud –based solutions.

So, to ensure you can keep pace with your cloud-centred business objectives, and avoid hitting either a capacity and capability wall, you need a cloud connectivity partner who can cater to your budget and requirements now, and in the longer term as well. They need to align with your growth vision in attitude and action.

Over the past decade, since SEACOM’s subsea cable went live along the eastern and southern coastline of Africa in 2009, SEACOM has been on a growth journey as a private connectivity and cloud services provider for business on the continent. During this time, multiple strategic decisions have been made in terms of product development and infrastructure investment to better empower African companies during their digital migration, today and tomorrow.

Partnerships and procurements have expanded SEACOM’s reach in Africa. At the same time, specific acquisitions in South Africa, of FibreCo Communications, SAI and MacroLan, are enabling an extension of SEACOM’s footprint nationally, as well as greater specialist expertise to help SMEs with their cloud journeys. Moving forward, an increasing number of local businesses in smaller cities outside the major South African metros will be able to enjoy the benefits of direct access to premium SEACOM bandwidth and cloud services.

Meanwhile, the latest addition to the SEACOM product stable is retooling and enhancing the CloudWorx cloud connectivity solution. Through the service, South African businesses across the country can connect their networks directly to cloud providers, whether based in South Africa, located internationally, or both. This is accomplished by taking advantage of SEACOM’s presence in Teraco data centres and uncontended, unshaped carrier-grade bandwidth that includes speeds of 1.5 Tbps internationally and 40-100 Gbps nationally. The beauty of CloudWorx is that it is highly flexible and scalable end to end, easy to adjust to your evolving cloud usage.

Where do you see your business next year, five years from now or even a decade away? You may have a plan, but with CloudWorx, SEACOM’s dedicated Cloud Connectivity solution, you don’t need all the answers right now because the services will scale seamlessly with you.

SEACOM is positioned to meet your evolving cloud needs, whether your organisation is a major financial enterprise in Cape Town, a medium sized enterprise in Pietermaritzburg, or a restaurant chain expanding across the interior of the country. Speak to us to discuss your cloud connectivity requirements as well as your growth strategy for the Digital Age.