In response to the need for digital transformation and the demand for cloud computing in the Ghanaian market, Alibaba, one of the best providers of cloud computing services and solutions in the world in collaboration with WASP Digital and the Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana (IIPGH) has extended its cloud services to the Ghanian market to serve the rising demand for cloud computing services.  This was at the launch of Alibaba Cloud in Ghana on 3rd August 2022, at the premises of IIPGH.

The rationale behind this launch is to promote technological innovation and nurture the digital talents in Ghana in cloud technologies and solutions, support the local businesses in their digital transformation, and propel the nation’s digital economy in the region. The newly launched cloud service will help businesses share information efficiency and boost productivity by focusing on core tasks that matter whiles ensuring business continuity and disaster recovery.

The Managing Director for Alibaba Cloud, Lixiang Baumann, connecting remotely, said the service will offer a wide range of cloud computing services and solutions, a step that will enable local companies and institutions to digitize their businesses, employ the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, raise work standards and enhance businesses.

“Alibaba cloud has grown rapidly in recent years, and the pandemic has also brought about significant change in the African market. We have seen many startups emerge, indicating that African businesses are rapidly transforming across Africa, and Ghana is a leader in cloud transformation. Looking at some of the cloud specifics, we can see that Ghana is in range number seven. It is a fantastic opportunity for us, and we intend to use all of Alibaba's cloud key technology and solutions to assist and grow with our local partner. To serve the Ghana market, we have several strategies in place that will help make this transformation a reality, and we are excited to see the Ghanaian market grow,” she said.

She praised Ghana's efforts to champion the digitalization agenda, emphasizing that Alibaba's entry into the market will significantly contribute to closing the technological gap.

“Africa has changed dramatically in the last few decades, and I must say that it is truly inspiring. Ghana's digital capabilities and ongoing efforts to employ digital innovation have really impressed me. We look forward to bridging the technology gap and transforming African technology for local business with our intelligence team and partners WASP and IIPGH,” she added.

On his part, Managing Director for WASP Digital, Grant Webber said the introduction of Alibaba cloud service will help provide businesses with the latest digital storage services, and solutions that will ensure its full protection and security.

“Having a cloud service provider gives us the opportunity to deploy digital solutions without the need to have an army of technology people. It allows businesses to deploy immediately and cost-effective with the basic security to be online all the time and I must say it a game changer in terms of digital transformation.

The importance of security cannot be overstated, and the good news is that when you deploy your solutions with a top-tier cloud service provider like Alibaba, the security ratings are far superior to what you could have on your premises. "It can be deployed immediately as a fintech, e-commerce provider, retail provider, or banking or any industry," he said.

He emphasized the importance of businesses leveraging newly introduced cloud services to scale and improve their industries.

“The challenges we face in Africa are numerous, but with cloud services and a partner like Alibaba, the opportunity to be a tech company is finally a reality. It is not expensive and can be done on a subscription basis as you scale up. All we need to do now is focus as a country while also transforming our businesses, which has become easier now that we have the capabilities and backup from a partner like Alibaba cloud,” he added.

Executive Director for the Institute of ICT professionals Ghana, David Gowu said his outfit together with the Alibaba Academy have also put in measures to train and enhance young individuals in cloud computing skills. He noted that the training will provide participants with hands-on training courses giving them access to exclusive contents. “We are looking at providing training in cloud architecture and cloud solutions. Cloud computing has a lot of areas that people can specialize and we as an institute have deployed the best human resources together with other resources to train young individuals and provide them with accredited certification from the Alibaba Cloud Academy,” he noted”.

The Institute, as a professional body, believes in building the capacity of professionals, young graduates, and students in emerging technologies, to position them to take up critical roles in the development of the ecosystem, and creating meaningful jobs for the youth.

Alibaba Cloud is a cloud computing company that provides cloud computing services to online businesses and Alibaba's own e-commerce ecosystem. It is accelerating the digital world, and globally recognized for technological innovation. As a global leader in cloud computing and artificial intelligence, Alibaba Cloud provides services to thousands of enterprises, developers, and governments organizations in more than 200 countries and regions. Committed to the success of its customers, it also provides reliable, secure, easy-to-use cloud services that are intelligence-driven, and data processing capabilities as a part of its online solutions.

Cloud computing is on-demand access, via the internet, to computing resources, applications, servers (physical and virtual servers), data storage, development tools, networking capabilities, and more—hosted at a remote data center managed by a cloud services provider. Cloud computing transforms IT infrastructure into a utility. It allows you to ‘plug into' infrastructure via the internet and use computing resources without installing and maintaining them on premises.