KENYA – Amazon Web Services, subsidiary of Amazon that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, has entered a partnership with Safaricom, Kenya’s largest telco, ISP and cell fee supplier, in a collaboration that might spell competitors between American cloud suppliers in Africa.
Safaricom will promote AWS companies (primarily cloud) to its East Africa buyer community.
The company has also announced the attainment of Advanced Consulting Partner status in the AWS Partner Network (APN) making the Telco one of the first APN members in East Africa.
The APN is the global partner program for technology and consulting businesses who leverage AWS to build solutions and services for customers.
The APN also helps companies build, market, and sell their AWS offerings by providing valuable business, technical, and marketing support. This achievement recognizes the skills, knowledge and experience in AWS cloud services that the Safaricom PLC team has gained.
“We chose to partner with AWS because it offers customers the broadest and deepest cloud platform, overall commitment to security excellence, and a strong culture of customer obsession. This agreement will allow us to accelerate our efforts to enable digital transformation in Kenya,” said Michael Joseph, Chief Executive Officer, Safaricom.
For now, the knowledge supplied by Safaricom is a bit sparse on the why and the way of the partnership between the American firm and East African cell, monetary and ISP supplier.
Safaricom, whose merchandise embody the famed M-Pesa cell cash product, may even change into the primary Superior Consulting Accomplice for the AWS companion community in East Africa.
The agreement will accelerate Safaricom’s internal IT transformation, lower costs and provide it with a blueprint and skilled resources to assist customers with their journey to cloud adoption.
There is a high potential for the market to adopt cloud services. Noting from the agreement, Safaricom says, their announcement has been met with interest by customers.
This includes enterprises, startups, and government agencies expressing a desire to use the partnership to build their cloud strategy.
In addition, Safaricom will be able to offer AWS services to East-African customers, allowing businesses of all sizes to quickly get started on AWS cloud and accelerate innovation.
