Google today announced that its cloud region in South Africa is operational, a year after the tech giant chose Johannesburg as its first site in Africa.
Cloud regions allow users to deploy cloud resources from specific geographic locations or closer to customers and give them access to many services such as cloud storage, computing engine, and key management systems.
Google says the Johannesburg region will play an important role in providing the resources “businesses need to scale, innovate and compete in the global marketplace”.
Today’s announcement follows the 2022 announcement where Google also confirmed the creation of Dedicated Cloud Interconnect sites, connecting users’ networks to the Google network, in Nairobi (Kenya), Lagos (Nigeria) and South Africa (Cape Town and Johannesburg), to provide full-scale cloud capabilities for its customers and partners in Africa. It said it would use its now-completed private undersea cable, Equiano, which connects Africa and Europe to feed the sites.
“Like all Google Cloud regions, the Johannesburg region is connected to Google’s secure network, which includes a system of high-capacity fiber optic cables under land and sea around the world. This includes the recently completed Equiano submarine cable system connecting Portugal to Togo, Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa and Saint Helena,” said Google Cloud Africa Director Niral Patel. he said in a statement today.
According to research by AlphaBeta Economics, commissioned by Google Cloud, South Africa’s cloud region is expected to contribute over $2.1 billion to South Africa’s GDP and support the creation of more than 40,000 jobs by 2030.
In addition, Patel said in 2022, the cloud region will allow its customers and partners to choose where to store their data and regions to access its cloud services, especially in the context of data sovereignty.
The ability for users to choose where to store their data is increasingly important as countries such as Kenya implement privacy and data laws that require companies to store and process data collected within their borders using locally hosted servers.
Google, which now has a global network of 40 cloud regions and 106 zones around the world, joins Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Oracle, among others with cloud regions in South Africa.
