Doubling of Cloud Revenues Projected in South Africa and Kenya by 2018

The burgeoning world of cloud computing is all set to witness stunning growth in South Africa and Kenya, with combined revenues projected to more than double from the US$114.6 million generated in 2013 to a staggering US$288 million by 2018. This sudden surge can be attributed to the rapidly expanding bandwidth capacities brought about by the landing of undersea cables in these regions.

According to a detailed report by the market research firm, Frost & Sullivan, the increased bandwidth availability in these countries has led to a significant rise in the data centre proliferation, thereby establishing a solid foundation for the development of cloud computing services.

The study, appropriately titled “Overall Cloud Computing Market in South Africa and Kenya”, throws light on how South African and Kenyan enterprises are gradually shifting towards outsourcing and managed services, driving the migration to cloud computing. It goes on to predict that Software as a Service (SaaS) will emerge as the most popular cloud computing platform in these regions.

However, while cloud computing has been in the limelight in Kenya and South Africa for a few years now, adoption rates vary. “Enterprises have understood and embraced cloud computing to varying degrees,” Frost & Sullivan noted, adding, “By and large, actual adoption of these services continues to be dependent on sector, and more pertinently, on enterprise size.”

While the initial focus has been on private cloud services, especially for tier I competitors in the large enterprise sector, there has been a gradual shift towards public clouds in both countries. “Small and medium enterprises, in particular, are turning to cloud computing, motivated by the accessibility of affordable and convenient public cloud offerings,” says Lehlohonolo Mokenela, an analyst specializing in information and communication technologies at Frost & Sullivan.

Nonetheless, security concerns and a lack of trust in third-party services deter some enterprises and governments from availing data centre services. This sentiment is particularly prevalent in the financial services and healthcare sectors, where security and compliance take precedence. Despite these hurdles, insurance companies and banks have started migrating their less critical applications to the cloud, seeking to cut costs.

“Non-core applications, such as email and customer relationship management, will be the most commonly migrated solutions as organizations test the reliability of cloud services,” Mokenela added. This move highlights the growing trust and reliance on cloud computing. However, to further boost the uptake in the South African and Kenyan cloud computing domain, service providers need to emphasize the security of their solutions to alleviate consumer apprehensions.

(*Image: Undersea cable / Caption: Undersea cables – expanding bandwidth capacities*).

This article was updated in 2025 to reflect modern realities.

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*Source: BizTech Africa*