Gary Peel, Fortinet

While the cloud can be a great alternative to outdated and inefficient legacy infrastructure, it’s not always easy to move. It can sometimes feel like a game of musical chairs, trying to decide where to place your workloads. The process is both complex and costly, requiring a significant investment of time and resources. Stumbling blocks include data privacy and security – organisations need to safeguard sensitive information and ensure compliance with data protection regulations.

Cloud calls for a different set of skills within the IT department. According to Fortinet’s Cloud Security Report for 2023, the biggest barrier to migration is not technology. Most of the respondents Fortinet surveyed said they weren’t ready for cloud adoption because of a lack of technical skills, and a lack of qualified staff. “With the global market becoming more competitive, South Africa is losing a lot of its security engineers to global opportunities, creating a deficit in local talent,” says Gary Peel, Cloud BDM, Africa, Fortinet.