30 years of Microsoft in Africa

30 years of Microsoft in Africa

Can you believe it? It’s been 30 years since Microsoft opened its first office in Africa. That’s right, 30 years of empowering Africans with technology, innovation and skills. 30 years of making a difference in education, health, agriculture and more. 30 years of being part of the continent’s amazing journey.

But we’re not here to brag. We’re here to celebrate. And what better way to celebrate than with some fun facts about Microsoft in Africa? Here are some of the highlights from our three decades of presence and impact:

  • Did you know that Microsoft was the first global tech company to launch a datacenter region in Africa? That’s right, we beat Google and Amazon to it. And we didn’t stop there. We also launched the first cloud services from Africa, enabling businesses and organizations to access world-class technology and innovation locally.
  • Did you know that Microsoft has trained over 1.7 million young Africans in digital skills since 2013? That’s more than the population of Gambia. And we’re not done yet. We’re committed to reaching 4 million more by 2023, through our flagship programs like 4Afrika, YouthSpark and DigiGirlz.
  • Did you know that Microsoft has supported over 500 startups in Africa, helping them grow and scale their businesses? That’s more than the number of lions in Kenya. And we’re not just talking about funding. We’re talking about mentorship, technical support, access to markets and customers, and more.
  • Did you know that Microsoft has partnered with over 200 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Africa, helping them leverage technology for social good? That’s more than the number of countries in the world. And we’re not just talking about donations. We’re talking about co-creating solutions, sharing best practices, and empowering communities.

These are just some of the facts that make us proud of our work in Africa. But we know that we couldn’t have done it without you. You are the ones who inspire us, challenge us, and collaborate with us. You are the ones who make Africa what it is today: a vibrant, diverse, and dynamic continent.

So thank you for being part of our journey. Thank you for trusting us with your dreams and aspirations. Thank you for letting us be part of your story.

Here’s to 30 more years of Microsoft in Africa!

Microsoft to launch Israel datacenter region in 2021

Microsoft to launch Israel datacenter region in 2021

Israel datacenter Microsoft

Microsoft will establish a new datacenter region in Israel in 2021. The Israel datacenter will start by offering customers Azure cloud services and followed later by Office 365 services. The new datacenter region will enable customers use Microsoft’s advanced technologies. Whiles adhering to data residency requirements to store data within Israel.

This will bring to six, the total number of Microsoft datacenters in the Middle East and Africa region. Increasing Microsoft’s global cloud infrastructure to 56 cloud regions. Israel and Qatar cloud regions planned to go live in 2021.

Offering Microsoft Azure and Office 365 from a datacenter region in Israel forms a key part of our investment, shares Michel van der Bel, President, Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa.

When I speak to customers across EMEA, it is clear that the power of the cloud is essential for their competitiveness. We have made significant infrastructure investments in the region. As infrastructure is an essential building block for the tech intensity that public sector entities and businesses need to embrace.

Microsoft believes startups in the country will benefit greatly from the local datacenter in tangent with its startup program.

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Microsoft experiences month on month double digit growth in Africa Datacenter

Microsoft experiences month on month double digit growth in Africa Datacenter

Microsoft’s open source team hosted the first open cloud summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. The summit powered by Microsoft Azure, showcased some of the most innovative open source technologies in the Azure cloud. Microsoft South Africa, Azure Business Group Lead, Johannes Kanis revealed key momentum and engagements of customers since opening of the Microsoft Africa Datacenter.

Joe noted that since the arrival of the datacenters Microsoft has seen thousands of customers using the service. “We are experiencing double digit growth month on month” he continued. “We are continuing to bring in more advanced services. Particularly at this event we talked about Openshift on Azure, which in the coming weeks will be live in the South African datacenters as well“.

He expressed excitement at seeing customers maturing their products in terms of cloud usage in the Microsoft Africa Datacenter. Using services like serverless and containers.

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Microsoft will continue to invest and grow services in Africa datacenters

Microsoft will continue to invest and grow services in Africa datacenters

Microsoft Commercial Partners Lead SA, Lionel Moyal has assured partners that Microsoft will continue to invest in the Africa datacenters. He was speaking to Microsoft partners at the fy19 South Africa partner awards in Johannesburg.

He shared Microsoft’s commitments to about three hundred Microsoft partners.

Microsoft will continue to invest in and grow the services in the local datacenters. While skills development remains a key priority for the organisation. In our industry, partnership is everything. Thanks to your work, together we can support organisations and businesses to thrive in this Fourth Industrial Revolution.

This year Microsoft’s Africa datacenters located in Cape Town and Johannesburg became operational. Announcing later in July the availability of Office 365 services on the datacenters.

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Check out other stories making the news in the technology ecosystem in Africa and the Middle East.

Office 365 is now available on Microsoft’s Africa datacenters

Office 365 is now available on Microsoft’s Africa datacenters

Microsoft announces the availability of Office 365 on its datacenters located in South Africa. Customers in the region can now migrate their accounts starting today according to the announcement.

We are proud to announce that Office 365 is now available on the local datacenters! Migrate your current Office 365 account today!

In March this year Microsoft announced its cloud datacenters in Africa. To be located in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. With Azure being the first of Microsoft’s intelligent cloud services to be delivered from the new datacenters.

At the launch event Microsoft said its cloud based productivity solutions; Office 365 and Dynamics 365 intelligent business application services were expected to launch by quater three this year.
However Microsoft now says customers should expect Dynamics 365 and Power Platform to be available in the fourth quarter, 2019.

What this means is that African customers can now have their data stored on datacenters in Africa. They can also expect better services with regards to latency, data residency and regulations.

Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and OneDrive for business are services Microsoft shares will be made available. As well as “many of the Microsoft Services that work in conjunction with this data, for example, but not limited to, Exchange Online Protection, Delve, Office Online, and Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection.”

With the availability of Microsoft’s cloud services delivered from Africa,
it will mean local companies can securely move their business to the cloud.

Yousef Khalidi
Corporate Vice President of Azure Networking

Check out what to know to move your data or what applies if you already have your data existing in another geo datacenter.