80percent or eight out of ten respondents believed that cloud computing had made a significant contribution to the government’s efforts in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. The single biggest benefit from cloud computing for the government had been remote working. The second benefit was communicating with the public followed by crisis co-ordination. A key element was whether the government embraced the cloud. Without the cloud, governments could not have carried on their duties as they did, but not having their systems cloud-ready before the crisis meant that the government systems were not agile enough to cope with the demand.
As part of the research, World Wide Worx interviewed technology decision-makers at more than 400 medium and large businesses across South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, and Malawi, to ascertain current and intended use of cloud technologies in the continent’s major markets. The report said cloud computing had become the front and center of operating businesses due to Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.