Kathy Gibson reports – Government has a firm policy t drive digital innovation, with the aim of improving service delivery while helping to uplift citizens.
Nonkqubela Thathakahle Jordan-Dyani, director-general of the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, explains that digital innovation through cloud services enhanced economic inclusivity by providing access to advanced technologies for SMMEs and enables new business models.
At the same time, cloud makes technology more accessible, reducing barriers to economic participation, and heling to alleviate poverty.
It can also help to build a capable and ethical devilment environment, strengthening the state’s ability to deliver services efficiently , transparently and accountably.
“To realise the three priorities in the digital transformation agenda, we need cloud and capabilities,” she says.
The ICT priorities in the NDP 2030 aims to make high speed broadband internet universally available at competitive prices.
The Global Digitalisation Index shows that South Africa tanked 43 out of 77 countries. While there are improvements in some areas, there is still a lot of work to be done to enable digitalisation in the country, Jordan-Dyani says.
The recently-published national Data and Cloud Policy is a comprehensive framework to promote a secure, sovereign digital ecosystems for both private and public sectors.
Jordan-Dyani explains that it focuses on data sovereignty, with the localisation of sensitive data to ensure that national security is ensured, while promoting economic growth.
The public cloud infrastructure will play a key role in accelerating digital transformation across sectors. At the same time, a cloud-first strategy will enable the public sector to optimise resources and reduce the need for local infrastructure.
Jordan-Dyani says the impact and opportunity on business will be felt in several areas: incentives for local data storage, public-private collaboration; growth in cloud services; and an emphasis on security standards.
“I hope that big business, small players and entrepreneurs can innovate on this framework to make South Africa a thriving investment hub. And to enable us to unlock the many digital opportunities that are available,” Jordan-Dyani says.