Episode 07 of AFSUG Conversation Starters is live!
Join as she chats with , Business Development Chief Expert at SAP, about 鈥淎doption Catalyst 鈥� Unlocking the Shift to Cloud鈥�.

Whether you’re navigating your cloud transformation journey or looking for inspiration to get started, this episode dives into the key strategies, mindset shifts, and best practices driving successful cloud adoption.

Hosted by the , this conversation is a must-listen for anyone in the 51风流ecosystem looking to embrace the future of innovation.

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The post Conversation Starters l Adoption Catalyst – Unlocking the Shift to Cloud appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

As was proven during the pandemic, modern governments need the capability to continue service delivery even amidst widespread disruption. Considering the pace of change in what citizens and other stakeholders expect from their governments, public sector organisations also need access to the latest innovations to ensure they meet expectations and deliver a positive citizen experience.

Despite persistent challenges that include concerns over data sovereignty, the need for new budget models, and a pervasive tech skills challenge, most public sector organisations will almost certainly shift some or most of their processes to cloud environments.

The South African government, for example, published a in 2021. The policy noted the importance of harnessing the social potential of data and cloud computing, and provided several proposals for accelerating cloud adoption in the public sector.

The policy provides guidelines for cloud adoption, covering important aspects that include digital infrastructure, data protection, localisation, cybersecurity, governance, skills and innovation. And while policy interventions may take a few years to implement, there is no reason why organisations cannot start moving at least some of their processes to the cloud.

Public sector organisations that are ready to adopt the cloud, or preparing to do so, should keep certain key considerations in mind to ensure the success of their migration, including:

Review the enterprise strategy…

The cloud is not a magic wand for dispelling the organisation’s IT or business challenges. It is a powerful tool that can accelerate the pace at which the business achieves its strategic objectives. But for that to happen, organisations first need to be clear about the strategic objectives and outcomes that they want to achieve, taking particular care of the core elements of people, processes, and technology.

Once the strategic objectives are clear, organisations should seek the most cost-effective and efficient way to achieve those objectives. In the public sector, the answer almost inevitably lies in the cloud: the Department of Public Service Administration (DPSA) has even recently communicated a directive that public sector organisations consider cloud solutions as a first choice prior to any investment into on-premise solutions.

…and the data classification strategy

Once the decision is made to move certain processes to the cloud, public sector organisations must determine what data needs to be migrated. Developing a comprehensive data classification strategy that aligns with the requirements set out by the DPSA will help organisations identify and classify the data that is most at risk.

An effective data classification strategy will help ensure that each data category is stored according to prescription, which is an important element in unlocking cloud opportunities and far more effective than applying a blanket approach for all data in the organisation.

Be clear about cloud’s value case

Cloud migrations are full of promises of greater business agility, lower total cost of ownership, greater flexibility and improved scalability. But it’s near-impossible to prove any of the benefits of moving to the cloud if there is no baseline against which to measure progress.

Prior to any cloud deployment, public sector organisations should set a baseline for aspects such as total cost of ownership, the actual business value of key applications, revenue potential for key processes, efficiency gains and risk reduction. During and after the migration, public sector organisations need to keep close track of these metrics in order to objectively measure business value and determine whether the deployment is meeting organisational objectives.

One of the most attractive aspects of cloud services is that they are generally provided over a set period of time, so public sector organisations can seek a different vendor should their current provider not offer the most cost-competitive or value-adding service. Without the ability to refer back to a clear business case, however, there’s virtually no way for organisations to accurately measure whether the migration has been successful or not.

Take heed of shelfware (and eliminate where needed)

One of the perennial challenges identified in the Auditor-General’s annual reports is that of unused software, or so-called shelfware. Shelfware refers to software tools and licenses that the organisation is paying for, but that is lying dormant and unused.

In some cases this may take the form of organisations buying on-premise software with the intention to implement, but that end up unused due to budget cuts, skills challenges, project overruns or other complexities. For public sector IT leaders, the issue of shelfware calls for a reimagining of existing software roadmaps and the ruthless elimination of perpetual licenses and unused software.

Here, the cloud offers tremendous benefits. Public sector organisations could replace shelfware with cloud subscription licenses that have a clear termination date and quicker deployment roadmap. This will greatly assist with compliance to Auditor-General requirements to avoid wasteful and fruitless expenditure.

While the capital investment in previous on-premise technology is a sunk cost, public sector organisations should take a forward-looking approach. The focus should turn to how the organisation can utilise its operational budget more effectively to meet citizen service delivery needs in the most efficient way possible.

The post Public Sector Considerations for Successful Cloud Adoption appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

According to Titilayo Adewumi, Managing Director for West Africa at SAP, the past few years have seen a sharp increase in the adoption of cloud technologies among West African enterprises. “The digital transformation of organisations in the region is supported by powerful cloud technologies. Organisations adopting cloud are realising greater scalability, improved data and analytics capabilities, enhanced innovation and greater flexibility to adapt to disruption or emerging opportunities. Ably supported by a growing ecosystem of expert partners, organisations in the region are taking bold steps to becoming cloud-enabled intelligent enterprises that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with top global companies.”

She adds that, due to legacy underinvestment in technology, organisations in West Africa have a golden opportunity to leapfrog several technology adoption stages and reengineer their business models using the latest cloud technologies. “Cloud technologies are helping organisations replace manual processes, improve staff retention, and achieve greater agility in how they respond to opportunities and threats.”

Cloud adoption driven by benefits, challenges

A found that the main benefits of cloud adoption for West African organisations were greater business efficiency (63%), agility or operational flexibility (63%), improved customer service (43%) and increased speed or time-to-market (60%).

According to Adewumi, the growing adoption of cloud is driven by four main factors: the need to adapt to new hybrid work models; the changing needs and expectations of customers; ongoing disruption from new technologies; and the influence of a powerful ecosystem of partners that are taking advantage of the commercial opportunities offered by cloud technologies.

“51风流works closely with expert partners in the region to ensure West African organisations have the technology and business support they need to drive successful cloud-enabled digital transformation,” says Adewumi. “This is helping organisations reimagine human capital management, exceed customer demands, adapt to the impact of new disruptive technologies and become more sustainable and successful.”

According to Adewumi and several key technology partners in the region, these are three of the main drivers of cloud adoption in West Africa:

1. New models of work

One of the most disruptive factors for companies following the pandemic is building new capabilities to manage and enable a remote or hybrid workforce.

C2G Consulting’s Lauretta Oshomoh says the main digital transformation focus for their customers is human capital management. “Cloud is key to any digital transformation initiative and can help organisations manage their growing remote workforce. Cloud is also a vital way to reach customers and employees.”

Adewumi adds that organisations are also focusing on designing consistent, high-quality employee experiences to aid workplace productivity and talent retention. “A study by Forrester commissioned by SAP, Qualtrics and EY found that the number of HR decision-makers that said employee experience (EX) is the most important aspect of their HR strategy had nearly tripled over the past two years, with EX budgets almost doubling in the same period.”

Michael A Ogunlade, IT Transformation Consultant at EY cites the remote work exodus resulting from the pandemic as a transformation driver for cloud adoption. “Companies are leveraging cloud technologies to enhance their external and internal collaboration and improve their capacity planning and workforce management in a new world of work.”

2 Changing customer needs

It’s not only employee expectations that have shifted over the past few years; customers today demand greater flexibility and personalisation, combined with exceptional customer experiences.

“Companies are having to explore new ways of reaching and engaging with customers,” explains Adewumi. “Today, empowered consumers demand consistent customer experiences and high degrees of personalisation, forcing companies to leverage data and analytics capabilities enhanced by cloud technologies.”

Oluwole Oyeniran, Enterprise Technology & Performance Leader at Deloitte, cites cloud’s role in engaging consumers and customers in new ways. “Organisations that leverage cloud technologies are unlocking new capabilities including digital-first sales and customer service, more customer-centric marketing, and seamless customer engagement through digital self-service, chatbots and digital assistants.”

EY’s Michael A Ogunlade adds that one of the main habits of digital transformation leaders is their focus on customers first and foremost. “Cloud solutions are becoming increasingly important for companies to respond to changing market conditions and increase efficiencies. Successful cloud deployments can unlock greater customer value through high consumer-centricity, better customer experiences, and higher levels of customer loyalty and satisfaction.”

3 Ecosystem of expert integrators

According to Adewumi, one of the major drivers of greater cloud adoption in the region is the role of expert partners and integrators that have both the technology skills and market insights to help organisations drive successful digital transformation projects. “A growing ecosystem of experienced implementation partners are helping organisations in the region overcome obstacles to digital transformation, in the process helping improve the region’s global competitiveness.”

Technology partners are also realising immense business benefits from driving cloud adoption in the region. C2G Consulting’s Lauretta Oshomoh says their partnership with 51风流allows them access to development resources, demand generation tools and enablement services. “Being partners with 51风流gives customers a level of comfort and confidence in the services we render.”

According to Deloitte鈥檚 Oluwole Oyeniran, West African companies leveraging the partnership between Deloitte and 51风流for their digital transformation gain access to a range of benefits. 鈥淐ompanies can use our combined capabilities to leverage proven, scalable solutions built on modern architecture, improved delivery capacity and capability, and unlock inherent analytics capabilities, all driven by proven digital transformation architecture and methods.鈥�

The post Three Factors Driving West African Organisations鈥� Rapid Cloud Adoption appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.