Cloud Computing in KenyaA 2013 Baseline Survey

Dr. Tonny K. OmwansaSchool of computing and Informatics

University of Nairobitomwansa@uonbi.ac.ke

@tomwansa

Prof. Timothy M. WaemaSchool of computing and Informatics

University of Nairobiwaema@uonbi.ac.ke

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

Overview

• Research arm at School of Computing and Informatics, UoN• ICT4D• Cloud Technology

• Policy brief provided gives a clear summary of this study

• The entire report will be on website in a week time www.c4dlab.co.ke/research

Presentation- Background- Approach- Findings- Recommendations

BackgroundNon-Functional aspects Economic considerationsElasticity Cost ReductionReliability Pay per useQuality of Service Improved time to marketAgility Return on investmentAdaptability Turning CAPEX into OPEXAvailability Going Green

There is the promise that developing countries are expected to gain most.

Medium & large businesses using cloud services [top three in Africa - 2013 Cisco survey]

50% in South Africa48% in Kenya36% in Nigeria

Background

• Objectives– Explore the current status of CC adoption in Kenya– Establish gaps in adoption and impact of CC in Kenya – Make recommendations to better grow the sub-sector

• Justification– Hardly any research has been done in this area– Innovations tend to lead policy and regulation– Need to understand gaps in the sub-sector – We need policies informed by solid research

Approach

Scope:– Institutions that have a physical presence in Nairobi

• Most HQs are in Nairobi• Budget limits• Not national representative

– Respondents• Providers

– Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)– Software as a Service (SaaS) – Platform as a Service (PaaS).

• Consumers– Public cloud– Private clouds.

• Policy makers

Conceptual FrameworkDETERMINANTS: Affect cloud performance & its outcomes/impacts

>Deployed TechnologiesInvestment cost, Reliability, Agility, Usability, Technology availability & Sustainability

>Local firms technology capabilities

>Policy and legal frameworksAvailability, Flexibility, Comprehensiveness, Effectiveness

>MarketCertain actors dominating, Availability, Readiness

>Institutional legitimacy to the cloudGovernment support , Institutional innovation culture

Conceptual FrameworkSTRATEGIES/ACTIONS OF CC ACTORS: Instrumental in delivering cloud outcomes/impact• Costing• Promotion• Training and capacity development• Adoption• Usage • Cloud-related entrepreneurship• Deployment decisions (e.g. open source or

proprietary solutions

Conceptual FrameworkOUTCOMES/IMPACTS OF CC: The ‘value’ created by the cloud • Improved operational efficiency

• New products and services

• Extended/enhanced market reach

• Export of cloud related services

• Job creation

• Enhanced security enhancement

Sampling

Quantitative– 207 organ’s identified

– 60 sampled

– 54 participated

Qualitative– 12 in-depth

interviews planned with industry leaders

– 7 were available

Cloud computing stakeholders’ taxonomy

Data collection• Extensive desktop research & literature

review

• Conceptual framework transformed to predominantly 5 point likert scale questionnaire

• Collection between October 10th, 2013 and November 10th, 2013

• ICT Managers, Information Security Managers, Network Administrators or Chief Information Officers were interviewed

Category Population Sample

Government entities 14 8

Banks 10 4

Consulting firms 5 4

Insurance firms 10 4

Hospitals 9 4

Universities 10 4

Business & Industries 24 8

Tech companies 25 8

SaaS Companies 11 8

PaaS Companies 3 0

IaaS Companies 18 8

Total 207 60

Findings• Cloud computing has

been around since 2000– most organizations

adopted between 2010 & 2011

– 69% use some form of cloud.

• Private cloud is more pronounced than public.

• IaaS option is the most prominent

Year 2000 (2)Year 2006 (2)

Year 2009 (4)

Year 2010 (9)

Year 2011( 12)

Year 2012 (4)

Year 2013( 4)

Cloud Deployment

Findings

Three skills lacking in the Kenyan market: • Security (networks, data etc) skills [highest]• Cloud architecture and design skills • Storage and virtualization skills

Cloud value is appreciated

Skills gap Cloud reliability

What determines cloud reliability offered?

• reliable connectivity and infrastructure• dependable technical support • systems uptime [power?]

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Providing/utilising cloud services is sustainable

More agile than traditional so-lutions

Cloud technologies received are reliable

FindingsPolicy, Legal frameworks & Standards

• 80% did not know of any policy framework• 80% did not know of any legal framework• The few how knew about policy framework, also knew about legal

– What do they know about?

• 75% not aware of any standards

Those who know a framework Agree

Policy framework gives you flexibility to exploit CC as you wish? 27%Existing policy framework is comprehensive 27%Policy framework is effective enough to facilitate growth in the sub-sector 45%Legal framework give you flexibility to exploit CC as you wish? 33%Legal framework is comprehensive 33%Legal framework is effective enough to facilitate growth in the sub-sector 16%

FindingsPolicy, Legal frameworks recommendations by respondents

Policy Legal

Increased awareness of availability & power of CC

Mechanisms for controlling cyber crime & offenders

Guidelines for enforcing security, privacy and standards

Mechanisms for guaranteeing privacy

Guidelines for service level agreements Mechanisms to enforce SLAs

Appropriate licensing and certification of providers

Mechanisms for conflict resolutions and addressing liability

Mostly suggest that ordinary consumers are anxious and sensitive about their data.

FindingsMarkets

• Market is ready for cloud: 90% say YES• Largest consumers:

– Financial and telecommunication sectors – Education and government are moderate users

• Majority of Kenyans are unaware of CC and its benefits• There are many misconceptions about cloud technology• Safaricom, Dimension Data and KDN are market leaders

Support received

• Government support has been generic, e.g. development of infrastructure like fibre connectivity

• Some financial support has been received• Many not aware of government initiatives towards CC development

FindingsRespondent recommendations to Government

Capacity building and Sensitization

Cyber security enhancement

Adopting cloud services in government and encourage local providers

Subsidizing cost of technology and provision of incentives

Enforcing security, SLA and privacy

Ensuring standardization and appropriate legislation

FindingsActions by providers that would determine uptake and usage

• Promoting CC to potential consumers [98%]• Training and capacity development [96%]• Promoting cloud-related entrepreneurship [94%]• Deployment decisions & approaches (e.g. open source/proprietary solutions) [96%]

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

One new product or service to their organization

CC resulted in enhanced market reach

CC resulted in security enhancement

Outcomes/Impact of cloud computing

Conclusions & Recommendations• Assessment of Kenya’s cloud readiness:

– clearly understand the national status through an elaborate national study.

• Develop national cloud strategy: – focus on capacity building, architectures and implementation.

• Government to champion cloud services: – set pace for better uptake by private sector.

• Enhance relevant legal & regulatory frameworks: – protect of users, – address cyber security challenges, – guarantee secure online payments, – privacy – data security

Conclusions & Recommendations• Develop human resource capacity:

– technical skills, – legal skills – management skills

• Enhance awareness of cloud technologies: – through a multi-stakeholder approach, – demystified the technology

End…

• Report will be available at www.c4dLab.ac.ke/research in a week time

• Thanks to partners in this study:– C4DLab– ICTA– Microsoft

Dr. Tonny Omwansa, tomwansa@uonbi.ac.ke, @tomwansa

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI