Google Cloud Lands in South Africa
- By CDOTrends editors
- October 11, 2022

Google announced the launch of a cloud region in South Africa to compete with other cloud storage providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, which already have footholds on the continent.
South Africa has become the latest addition to Google's network of cloud computing regions and zones, which already span more than 35 countries and 106 zones worldwide. The announcement comes on the heels of Google’s recent previews of regions in Malaysia, Thailand, and New Zealand.
A recent AlphaBeta Economics report commissioned by Google Cloud predicts that by 2030, the country's growing digital economy will contribute over USD2.1 billion to its gross domestic product and create more than 40,000 jobs due mainly to increases in productivity brought about by cloud solutions.
Google Cloud regions allow users to deploy resources from specific geographic locations. They also enable users to access cloud storage, compute engines, and key management systems.
“We are excited to announce the first Google Cloud region in Africa. The new region will allow for the localization of applications and services. It will make it really easier for our customers and partners to quickly deploy solutions for their businesses, whereby they’re able to leverage our computer artificial intelligence or machine learning capabilities and data analytics to make smarter business decisions as they go forward,” said Google Cloud Africa director, Niral Patel.
Google is also building Dedicated Cloud Interconnect sites in Nairobi (Kenya), Lagos (Nigeria), and South Africa (Capetown and Johannesburg). These facilities allow Google’s partners to connect their networks to Google’s cloud infrastructure.
To power these sites, Google will tap its private subsea cable Equiano — which connects Africa to Europe and has been under development since 2019 — and make four landings: in Togo, Namibia, Nigeria, and South Africa.
“What we’re doing here is giving customers and partners a choice on where they’d like to store their data and where they’d like to consume cloud services, especially in the context of data sovereignty. This allows customers to then store the data in the country should they choose to do so…I guess for me, the most important element is that it gives customers the element of choice,” Patel said.
To grow cloud computing businesses in Africa, companies must navigate different privacy and data protection laws across the continent's many countries. Some countries have stricter privacy and data laws than others — like Kenya, which requires that companies store their data within borders and process it through servers hosted locally.
Image credit: iStockphoto/SL_Photography