There has been a rapid adoption to cloud solutions in parts of Africa as compared to one year ago, according to cloud industry experts.

Speaking at the Oracle Digital Day Kenya, Cherian Varghese, Managing Director Sub-Saharan Africa from Oracle said that the adoption of cloud services in parts of Africa are at global standards and the continent is no longer playing catch-up to the rest of the world.

"We have no lag compared to the most advanced country in the world. What you are getting in Kenya today is the same technology you would get in Silicon Valley," Varghese said.

He added that a year ago it was difficult to introduce companies to the cloud but now everyone is embracing the change and the adoption is going to be faster in the future.

According to Oracle the future looks bright for cloud adoption. By 2025 Oracle expects that 80% of corporate owned data centres will move to the cloud. Also 80% of IT budgets will be spent on the clouds and not on traditional IT systems.

An impending report by International Data Corporation (IDC) reverberated the same. According to the IDC's Digital Transformation Index, 74% of the 250 companies interviewed in Africa and Central Eastern Europe are already using cloud or planning to adopt the technology, while two-thirds of them are implementing or planning to implement mobility solutions.

"Are we ready for this in Africa? I say yes," said Janusz Naklicki, Vice President Technology at Oracle for Russia, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe. "We have been in this journey of digital transformation for our clients in Kenya for the last 3 to 4 years and we have seen great successes."

He added that most people are not only adopting cloud services as part of digital transformation but also taking advantage of mobility and analytics to push products and services to their clients.

Even with the concerns about security, more clients are leveraging cloud support. "The question about security is diminishing as time goes by," Naklicki said.

The Oracle Digital Day Kenya aims to showcase some of the digital innovations around cloud, mobility, analytics and security.