By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
Microsoft Corporate Vice
President, Commercial Cloud Solutions Mark Chaban has highlighted growing
interest among customers and partners in South Africa to accelerate their
artificial intelligence transformation while keeping digital sovereignty a key
consideration.
Chaban made the observation
following a week of customer and partner meetings in South Africa, where he
said he was inspired by organisations looking to advance their AI adoption
through skills development and the scaling of Copilot Cowork.
“Thank you, Vukani Mngxati,
for a fantastic week of customer and partner meetings in South Africa. What a
beautiful and vibrant market, full of energy, talent and ambition,” Chaban
said.
He said the meetings with
key customers and partners showed strong interest in accelerating AI
transformation, including building skills across organisations and scaling
Copilot Cowork adoption.
“It was inspiring to spend
time with key customers and partners who are excited to accelerate their AI
transformation further, from building skills across their organizations to
scaling Copilot Cowork adoption, all while keeping sovereignty top of mind,” he
said.
Chaban’s remarks come as
digital sovereignty becomes an increasingly important consideration for
organisations adopting cloud and AI technologies. Microsoft has described
sovereignty as encompassing issues including data protection, operational
resilience, security, governance and responsible AI adoption.
South Africa has also
emerged as an important market in Microsoft’s AI strategy. The company has
highlighted local organisations using AI and Copilot to improve productivity
and transform business operations, while continuing to invest in AI skills and
infrastructure in the country.
