A smarter approach to cloud for South African businesses

Loading player...
South African businesses are spending millions on cloud – and many have very little to show for it.
That is the uncomfortable starting point for this episode of TCS+, in which Nkosinathi Ndlovu speaks to Joel Chacko, executive head of department for cloud services at Vodacom Business, and Jonathan Oaker, founder and CEO of CloudZA, about why the promise of cloud still isn’t matching the reality for so many organisations – and what it takes to close the gap.
Chacko and Oaker discuss why cloud has moved from the server room to the boardroom, with business resilience, agility and AI readiness emerging as the new drivers. They also examine why pressure to “move to cloud” can run ahead of strategy, leaving costs to climb faster than returns.
The pair also cover:
• Common pitfalls behind cost overruns, including poor governance, skills gaps and the slow adoption of cloud-native thinking;
• Why hybrid and multi-cloud architectures have become the baseline, and the strategic drivers behind that shift;
• The mindset organisations need to thrive in the cloud;
• What to look for when choosing a cloud partner; and
• What businesses should stop doing immediately, and where to redirect that energy instead.
Don't miss the discussion.
28 Jul English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

Specops' Darren James on continuous trust in an AI world

Specops Software’s Darren James explains why identity checks alone no longer stop determined attackers. Traditional approaches to access security no longer hold up in hybrid, cloud-first environments – and AI is widening the gap. In this episode, host Kevin Smith speaks to Darren James, senior product manager at Specops Software,…
7 Aug 45 min

How AI is turning hardware into a subscription service

For most of business history, buying technology meant owning it. Capital was set aside, servers and laptops were hauled into the building alongside the software licences, and the business then sweated those assets for as long as it practically could. In the age of AI, that logic is starting to…
6 Aug 19 min

Why South African workers must become supervisors of digital labour

ADG’s Cliff de Wit on why the next management challenge is overseeing teams of autonomous software agents. Not long ago, organisations were experimenting with generative AI to draft e-mails, summarise documents and answer questions. Today agentic AI is changing what the technology is for. In a conversation on TechCentral’s TCS+…
31 Jul 43 min

TCS+ | iStore Business on why Apple makes sense for SMEs

For small and medium enterprises, technology must do one thing above all else: get out of the way. Unlike large corporations with dedicated IT departments, SMEs run lean – and every hour spent wrestling with systems is an hour not spent on the business itself. In this episode of TechCentral’s…
30 Jul 37 min

How Tracker is turning vehicle data into business strategy

Vehicle tracking has come a long way from its origins as a stolen vehicle recovery tool. Today, the data generated by connected fleets – covering driver behaviour, fuel consumption, route efficiency and real-time events – has elevated telematics from an operational afterthought to a boardroom conversation. In this episode of…
1 Jul 13 min