ICT solutions distributor Westcon-Comstor plans to extend its Microsoft Fast Start programme across Africa, with an initial focus on Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.

The programme is targeted at resellers looking to build a cloud computing business and was launched initially in South Africa and in Namibia shortly thereafter.

"The Global Fast Start programme will be launched in various Africa countries over the next few months with a focus on strategic countries where Westcon-Comstor aims to be the trusted advisor enabling the reseller eco-system," said Leane Hannigan, Cloud Solutions Director for EMEA at Westcon-Comstor.

According to Hannigan businesses are exploring and adopting cloud in record numbers.

"With so many choices, messages and cloud technology providers vying for their attention, making the best decisions for their organisations is getting harder every day ... Now more than ever, they need a trusted expert to put them on the right path to successfully leverage the cloud."

This is presents a clear opportunity and Hannigan believes that investment in cloud equates to a growth in revenue.

"A recent study shows that 77% of solution providers that derive 40%+ of their business from recurring cloud services saw revenue increase, while 25% of organisations with no cloud services had revenue losses," Hannigan added.

She said, " In addition to the new Microsoft Fast Start programme, we are investing heavily in enablement services, with the twin goals of optimising value for end customers while keeping resellers at the centre of the technology supply chain."

According to the company, "To attain true success in the cloud, resellers need more than a portfolio focused on the most critical cloud solutions or the most trusted and fastest-growing cloud vendors. The ability to transact quickly and then manage many technologies, licenses and customers efficiently is essential for profitable growth.

According to Oracle, by 2025, 80% of IT budgets will be spent on cloud services; all enterprise data will be stored in the cloud and 100% of application development and testing will be conducted in the cloud, with a similar case for Africa.

Earlier this year, Westcon-Comstor Southern Africa announced that local reseller partners could purchase Azure from its BlueSky digital aggregation platform.

Hannigan stated, "Customers throughout the continent have been calling for access to the Azure suite of solutions, but have been reticent to follow a direct route of acquiring it, as they have feared that local or in-country support and technical skills wouldn't be available should they require them."