Cloud computing helps drive growth

17/10/2017 TechTrends

Internet Service Providers Association of Zambia (ISPAZ) representative and Paratus Country Manager, Marius van Vuuren at the Zambia Information Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) Cloud Computing Forum

Advancements in cloud computing and the provision of reliable internet services has helped drive Zambia’s business and economic growth, but more needs to be done to ensure continued growth of the service. This is according to Internet Service Providers Association of Zambia (ISPAZ).

Speaking during the Zambia Information Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) Cloud Computing Forum recently, ISPAZ representative and Paratus Country Manager, Marius van Vuuren called for continued partnership between ZICTA and ISPAZ in order to drive the technology forward. His presentation was appropriately titled “Driving Technological Trends with Cloud Computing”.

Cloud Computing Forum is an annual event organised by ZICTA which explores the challenges of cloud computing and the potential to drive growth in different key sectors. Paratus was among the sponsors of the event.

“In the past, not many people knew about cloud computing, but this has changed significantly. There has been a lot of development in this area that has helped companies grow,” said Van Vuuren, The fibre infrastructure in many countries around Zambia has expanded rapidly. This has brought tremendous growth of internet capacity into Zambia, providing affordable internet to many.

He said the growth of Internet Service Providers (ISP) in Zambia has made internet accessible to many businesses across the country, especially in far-lying areas.

“The growth of internet service providers is aiding growth in rural areas. There are many customers, businesses, banks and retailers in remote areas that rely on connectivity to do business and offer services to customers.”

Paratus Country Manager, Marius van Vuuren (second left) with some of the Paratus sales team, from left: Tonde Lungu, Chipasha Musokotwane and Janet Mwanza.

Van Vuuren says there is more competition in the market with more IPS’s with the current licensing framework.

“New entrants to the market means more competition and more service providers providing value-added services to businesses.”

Cloud computing and internet are critical for storing data and backing-ups, companies should seriously consider this to secure their data.

He stressed that ISP’s and ZICTA are driving the development of ICTs in Zambia which is important for growth and development.

“ZICTA has been a long standing partner and in our collaboration as internet service providers, they have always supported us to develop ICT in Zambia. This is a positive development which actually serves the whole nation in the development of ICTs.”

ZICTA Manager Standards and Network Elliot Kabalo said the demand for cloud service is projected to continue to grow exponentially and there is huge potential growth for cloud computing in Zambia which is land-locked.