Connect. Secure. Deliver QoS. Cloud Africa 2012 Conference & Exhibition closes after 2 days of knowledge sharing & consensus about the path to the Cloud for African Telcos & Enterprise

Day 2 of the Cloud Africa 2012 conference and exhibition has closed after a successful 48 hours of learning, knowledge sharing and networking. This inaugural event has provided an invaluable platform for the telecoms and IT industries, bringing them together to hear from top quality thought leaders, with unrivalled networking opportunities and therefore the perfect forum for building business partnerships and driving forward the progress of Cloud in Africa.
Telecoms operators and African Enterprise CIOs alike have pressed the message that planning for investments and planning business partnerships to successfully deliver cloud services is key, with day 2 opening presentations from Felix Martin-Aguillar, Strategy Executive & Head of Business Services from Cell C, Douglas Reed, CEO of Vox Telecom, and a panel discussion between MTN Business, Google premier partners – Grove Group, and Cell C.
The mid-morning session moved on to talk about the importance of app delivery in the cloud to boost access via mobile – probably the key area of potential for cloud services in Africa.  Kim Andersen of CxO Advisors and Ovum started, followed by Award Winner Emerging Markets Communications’ Vice President, Video Services, and Johann Van Der Westhuizen, CIO/CEO at e-Logistics.
The afternoon was tied up with a focus on security and what the future holds for Cloud in Africa, with presentations from George Sibiya from the Meraka Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and Tammy Bortz, Director at Werksmans Attorneys, finally leading into the Analyst Crystal Ball Panel with Informa Telecoms & Media, Ovum and IDC analysts.

The inaugural Cloud Africa conference and exhibition, organised by the Com World Series, has been hailed by attendees and sponsors as an all round success. The Managing Director of Gabon’s Ministry of Digital Economy, Armand Lichambany, said it was the “greatest event, strongly focusing on cloud issues in the region.” Thomas Luketich, Emerging Markets Communications’ Vice President, Video Services, commented that it was a “very informative event with key players present from the African market place. The format worked well and I look forward to working with Informa on Cloud events in Africa, and other markets.”
Informa’s Com World Series team will deliver more opportunities to learn about cloud, and network with the leading executives in the industry, at the Enterprise ICT Africa event, taking place in Cape Town on the 14th to 15th November 2012 – collocated with AfricaCom, the continent’s leading ICT and media event. www.enterprise-ICTafrica.com

Plus, Cloud Africa will return for 2013, in a new venue, the Hilton Sandton – so put the dates in your diary now to ensure you don’t miss it – 21-22 May 2013. For full details see the website: www.cloudafricasummit.com to hear more about what’s gone on at Cloud Africa 2012 check out #CloudAfricaCWS on Twitter

Don’t forget to share your thoughts on this year’s Cloud Africa

Tweet about your experience using #CloudAfricaCWS @allaboutcom on twitter!

Thank you to all the Sponsors of Cloud Africa:

- Safaricom
– Huawei
– Business Connexion
– Grove Group
– Google
– Emerging Markets Communications
– Parallels
– Microsoft
– IBM


See You Next Year!
Cloud Africa
21-22 May 2013
Hilton Sandton
Johannesburg, SA