BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY MEDIA FOR AFRICA

Joburg Microsoft tech centre a first for Africa

Joburg Microsoft tech centre a first for Africa
Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
01 Aug 2013

Johannesburg in South Africa has become home to Microsoft’s first technology centre in Africa.

Situated in Microsoft’s Johannesburg offices, the centre is planned to help local companies of all sizes become more globally competitive and develop “next-generation solutions”.

Dubbed a “technology think-tank on digital steroids”, the Microsoft Technology Centre (MTC) has a team of technology architects and developers on-hand to help partners and customers explore more ways to grow their businesses, improve processes and optimise the technology they already own.

Microsoft SA’s managing director, Mteto Nyati, says the MTC is “a massive investment” in South Africa’s ambition to become a regional technology hub.

The centre will also play a major role in bringing to life the company’s 4Afrika initiative, according to a statement.

“This centre is all about collaboration and building an entire ecosystem of innovation. We want to dramatically speed up the pace of innovation, and help our customers and partners slash the time it takes to get solutions and applications to market,” said Nyati.

Speaking at the launch of the MTC, science and technology minister Derek Hanekom said it was important that South Africans and Africans develop home-grown technology solutions and foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly among the youth.

“There has never been a better time for businesses, government and the youth to develop solutions that can address a range of challenges. Technology hubs like these can only enhance our capacity to provide innovative solutions to the most pressing social and business challenges facing our country and continent,” said Hanekom.

The MTC includes an array of purpose-built environments for learning and development experiences. This includes a data centre, fully-equipped developer suite, three envisioning centres and a retail store, which is being run in partnership with technology retailer Incredible Connection. The centre is further planned to be available to app developers, startups and students wanting to test their solutions before taking them to market.

“We would like to create an environment where local businesses are able to create more jobs, whether here in South Africa or anywhere else in Africa,” said Nyati.

MTC manager Markus Hain says the centre offers a boot-camp curriculum of in-depth software and hardware customisation through a three-stage process of strategy briefings, architectural design, and proof of concept, at no cost.

“It’s about trying to understand what the key business challenges are,” said Hain. We want businesspeople to sit down with IT people and see if their ideas are possible to execute.”

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