Google Cloud has announced its Johannesburg cloud region in South Africa is ready for customer use.
Google Cloud director for Africa, Niral Patel, said the region in Johannesburg would accelerate the African tech ecosystem, providing organisations with the resources they needed to scale, innovate, and compete in the global marketplace.
“Businesses of all sizes across the continent now have access to high-performance, secure and low-latency cloud services,” Patel said.
The Johannesburg region is Google’s first in South Africa and Africa.
Patel said the continent’s Internet economy was estimated to reach $180 billion (R3.36 trillion) by 2025, accounting for 5.2% of its total gross domestic product.
“Google alone has committed $1 billion (R18.67 billion) to boost Africa’s digital transformation, recognising that key drivers of the continent’s growth will include investing in infrastructure, nurturing the growing tech talent pool, and enabling a vibrant startup ecosystem,” Patel said.
The addition of the Johannesburg region takes Google’s overall network to 40 cloud regions and 121 zones, developing Google Cloud services to over 200 countries and territories worldwide.
Patel explained that the Johannesburg region was connected to Google’s secure network, comprising a system of high-capacity fibre optic cables under land and sea around the world.
“This includes the recently-completed Equiano subsea cable system that connects Portugal with Togo, Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa, and St. Helena,” he said.
“We are excited to partner with organisations across the continent and help them discover the advantages of digital transformation.”
Among the companies in Africa that Google Cloud has partnered with or has as existing customers are Deloitte Africa, FNB, Liquid, MTN Group, and retail giant Pepkor.
Niral Patel, director of Google Cloud Africa.
