Page 47 - SAMENA Trends - March 2020

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Microsoft, along with a global network – leveraging best practice and specialist engagement and delivery models, SAP
of selected system integrators, to move expertise.” “Today’s announcement is and Microsoft bring both industry-specific
on-premise SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA the biggest partnership centered on SAP best practices and deep local insight to
customers to the cloud through industry- implementation in Africa. With client deliver a compelling value proposition
specific best practices, reference experience a key strategic pillar for for their clients,” says Smith. “Through
architectures and cloud-delivered Standard Bank, Project Embrace reflects Project Embrace, we are now able to
services. Barnard continues, “Enterprises the shared commitment of both SAP and better identify our business pain points
are migrating to cloud providers at an Microsoft to accelerate our customers’ and effectively address them through
accelerated rate. This makes it critical journey to the cloud,” says Cathy Smith, technologies that deliver a demonstratable
for our customers to have the right Managing Director at SAP Africa. This return on investment. Having the ability to
cloud infrastructure in place, enabling project will deliver a unified approach to more accurately predict where customer
them to unlock the power of innovation. how Standard Bank runs SAP S/4HANA in challenges and dissatisfaction will
Microsoft’s significant investment on the Microsoft Azure. Ultimately, this will help occur enables a more flexible enterprise
African continent, with our first hyperscale the bank deliver a faster time-to-market on environment. We can help our customers
datacenter regions in Johannesburg and products and services, while ensuring its transform their businesses and their lives
Cape Town, means many more partners IT infrastructure is optimized. By moving in a secure way. This is much more than
and customers are enjoying the benefits workloads to the cloud, Standard Bank will SAP and Microsoft supplying us with
of our intelligent cloud platform.” Speaking be able to access a range of features that it products. This is about fundamentally
on the SAP partnership specifically, can deploy instantly and scale according to enhancing our digital journey for the
Barnard adds, “Project Embrace has three demand. This will result in cost reductions, future,” concludes Nkwanyana of Standard
tenets at its heart: simplify, accelerate and improved system performance, and Bank SA. In addition to the work done with
innovate. By accelerating our customers’ access to innovation. “This will empower Standard Bank, the Microsoft and SAP
digital transformation journey, we are the bank to create new business models initiative is assisting customers around
enabling them to become agile, efficient and deliver more personalized outcomes in the world, and in a variety of industries,
digital enterprises on Microsoft Azure – today’s dynamic business environment. By accelerate their journey to becoming
with a cloud platform optimized for SAP providing Standard Bank with consistent digital, intelligent enterprises.

Microsoft Brings FastTrack for Azure to the Middle East and Africa to
Accelerate Customer Cloud Journeys

reinvent products and services.” FastTrack
for Azure is a customer success program
that enables the rapid, effective design
and deployment of cloud solutions. With
tailored guidance from Microsoft’s Azure
engineers, customers will now be able to
migrate to the intelligent cloud quickly
and easily, receiving support for Windows
Server, SQL Server and SAP, as well as
the modernization of enterprise apps and
the delivery of advanced data analytics.
The move comes less than a year after
Microsoft launched datacenter regions in
both the United Arab Emirates and South
Africa, serving the market’s increasing
appetite for digital transformation. The
Microsoft announced its FastTrack for journey with customized guidance directly availability of FastTrack for Azure signals
Azure program has arrived in the Middle from our engineering teams,” says Onur Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to
East and Africa (MEA), accelerating Gorur, Azure product marketing director, the economic growth of the region. The
organizations’ digital transformation MEA, Microsoft. “This program will help our Microsoft cloud is at the heart of the
journeys by migrating to the cloud. “We’re customers bring innovations to market with company’s partnerships with private and
excited to bring our global FastTrack agility, participate in the new global digital public organizations to boost up skilling
for Azure program to organizations economy by leveraging the intelligent cloud and job creation, enhancing healthcare,
across MEA, accelerating their digital – and better engage customers, empower education and public safety, and driving
transformation and supporting their cloud employees, optimize operations and societal change.

47 MARCH 2020