Google has announced that its first cloud region in Africa is now open for business. The new region, located in Cape Town, South Africa, will offer customers faster and more reliable access to Google Cloud services and products.
The Cape Town cloud region is the 24th Google Cloud region globally and the first one on the African continent. It consists of three availability zones, which are geographically separate locations within the region that are designed to provide high levels of reliability and redundancy. Customers can distribute their workloads across multiple zones to protect against service disruptions.
Google Cloud provides a range of services for businesses of all sizes and industries, including infrastructure, platform, and software as a service (IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS). Some of the popular Google Cloud products include Compute Engine, App Engine, Cloud Storage, BigQuery, Cloud Functions, and Cloud Run. Customers can also access advanced solutions for artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, and security.
According to Google, the Cape Town cloud region will benefit customers in several ways. First, it will improve latency for end users in Africa by up to 50% compared to the nearest region in Europe. Second, it will enable customers to store their data locally and comply with data sovereignty regulations. Third, it will support Google’s commitment to environmental sustainability by using renewable energy sources.
Some of the customers that are already using the Cape Town cloud region include Absa Group, a leading African financial services group; Travelstart, Africa’s largest online travel agency; and African e-commerce platform Jumia. These customers have reported improved performance, scalability, and cost-efficiency by leveraging Google Cloud.
Google also announced that it is expanding its Google Cloud Partner Advantage program in Africa to help local partners grow their cloud businesses. The program provides partners with technical guidance, sales support, marketing resources, and training opportunities. Google said it has already onboarded more than 100 partners in Africa, including system integrators, resellers, managed service providers, and independent software vendors.
The launch of the Cape Town cloud region is part of Google’s ongoing investment in Africa’s digital transformation. In addition to providing cloud services, Google is also supporting initiatives such as Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, Google.org grants for digital skills training, and Loon’s internet balloons project. Google said it is committed to helping African businesses and communities thrive in the digital era.