Countries in Africa need to “lean in” towards cloud computing even though it may be uncomfortable and could cost jobs, says T-Systems South Africa MD Gert Schoonbee.

“Data is the new currency. One of the key enablers of digitisation is the cloud, and it’s no good running away from it. We must lean into it. As Africans, we must make it work for us,” he told delegates at the Growth, Innovation and Leadership (GIL) Africa conference in Cape Town last month.

Schoonbee said big cloud platforms provided order, simplicity, scalability, and combined with proper security, peace of mind. Internet-based computing provides shared computer processing resources and data to computers and other devices on demand.

But it also has a downside.

“Digitisation does not increase jobs. It takes away infrastructure and data centre jobs, so we have to be very deliberate in the way we manage it,” said Schoonbee.

“In Africa, we’ve exported a lot of raw materials like gold and iron-ore and we let beneficiation happen in other parts of the world, with the products sold back to Africa. With public cloud platforms, something similar happens. When you click, your data gets exported. Money is leaving the country.”

But he said the digital economy was by nature a global economy and could not be defined by geography.

“It requires a different kind of collaboration, with like-minded people working together, so that we can keep data within the country, with price points and functionality that makes sense here.”

Botswana Special Economic Zones Authority chairperson Nico Czypionka said the digital revolution gave ordinary people the power to ignore governments and bureaucracy.

“African political systems are uncritical and hierarchical. But the digital revolution can empower the people from the bottom up. You have to disempower bureaucracies. Everyone tries to stop Uber and Uber ignores it. We can use technology to do that.”

Louise van Rhyn, the director and founder of Symphonia for South Africa, which partners business leaders with school principals to transform schools, said children needed to be included in the shift towards digitisation.

“Sixty per cent of children in South Africa cannot read . . . and now we want to digitally disrupt their lives. If you cannot read, it is difficult to benefit from any of this, so it is going to create a bigger divide. We need to pay more attention to bridging the gap with schoolchildren.”

She suggested that business leaders venture into the townships more often to see how they can work with fellow South Africans. They should also encourage and help schoolchildren to come to their workplaces.

“Our kids who we want to get ready for this digital revolution need more exposure to the world we live in. Let’s not leave it to technology and fibre to cross the boundaries. We need to do it ourselves, as people.”