Amazon opens new office in Johannesburg as cloud demand grows

Tech giant Amazon's cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS), has opened a new office in Johannesburg in South Africa.

The office aims to support growing customer demand and South Africa's burgeoning cloud market and will provide a range of services to organizations of all sizes, including startups, enterprises, and public sector agencies, the company said in a statement.

"The new office continues Amazon's growing investment in South Africa," the statement continued.

AWS first established its presence in the country in the coastal city of Cape Town in 2004, when it set up a development center aimed at pioneering technologies focused on networking, next-generation software for customer support, and software programs among other technologies.

Increased cloud adoption

In 2020, the company launched the first AWS Infrastructure Region in South Africa in Cape Town, and now increased need has spurred another office in Johannesburg.

"Johannesburg offers an incredible talent pool of highly skilled and creative people. It is home to many notable South African enterprises leading the way in digital innovation as well as fast-growing startups," AWC country manager Chris Erasmus said.

Erasmus added that there has been increased adoption of AWS technology in the country and that has fueled the need to service its customers from their center of operations.

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"The new office will support customers to innovate, lower their IT costs, and grow their organizations by leveraging the cloud. We look forward to fostering the country's pioneering spirit alongside our customers by helping them accelerate their digital transformation and deliver innovative new products and services to the South African economic landscape," he continued.

The company is also advertising a number of new jobs open in Johannesburg.

South African startup Akiba Digital CEO and founder Tebogo Mokwena said he was pleased that AWS opened an office in Johannesburg.

"This announcement reaffirms the country's position as an attractive place to invest, powered by a high volume of local, talented developers. It further accelerates our country's digital transformation and inclusive financial services, which in turn drive growth," Mokwena added.

*Top image source: Image by Allexxandar on Freepik

— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa