Africa’s cloud is a matter of data sovereignty and national security

The ever-changing relationship between man, labor, and material has always been a contentious topic for the future of humanity. It is even more contentious in the age we live in.

Through the various industrial stages, we have moved from manpower to machine production powered by steam engines, ushering in the mass production era. What followed then was the discovery of electricity and the innovation of the internal combustion engine. These new energy sources allowed increased automation in production. This would later be followed in the late 20th century by the introduction of electronics and microchips which ushered in the age of automation.

Cloud technology allows on-demand network access to shared computing resources. This model allows for the managing, storing, and processing of data via the internet. The big selling point behind the technology is the scalability to which clients can use the shared digital platforms thus saving costs.

Africa’s largest cloud companies are mostly multinational technology companies. The lack of authentic domestic participation, is a developmental dilemma that must be taken seriously and it needs to be urgently addressed. Increased localization of data centers is a must for Africa.

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