2024 Cloud and Security Conference — MTN Business’s Dr Nkosi Kumalo on how the cloud is driving a digital future

MTN Business General Manager of Product and Capability, Dr Nkosi Kumalo, recently spoke at the 2024 MyBroadband Cloud and Security Conference, where he discussed the benefits of the cloud for businesses.

In his current position, Dr Kumalo drives MTN Business’s product strategy and innovation in the top six African markets by identifying gaps and opportunities for portfolio expansion.

He is a strong advocate for using technology to address social and economic challenges in Africa, as he believes that technology can be a powerful tool for creating jobs, improving education, and empowering communities.

Dr Kumalo also has extensive experience in sales and technical expertise, which stems from a stellar career at many of South Africa’s most prominent companies.

He previously worked as a Sales Manager at SABMiller and Cell C, before taking on prominent leadership roles at Microsoft, Vodacom, Oracle, and BCX.

Dr Kumalo graduated from the University of Cape Town and holds a Doctor of Business Leadership degree.

Conference presentation

At the 2024 MyBroadband Cloud and Security Conference, Dr Kumalo discussed South Africa’s exciting digital future and the role cloud technology will play in it.

He said that growing South Africa’s digital future is not just about giving businesses access to cloud solutions; it is also about developing the skills necessary to thrive in a cloud-native business environment.

MTN Business sees itself playing a key role in enabling this through its work with hundreds of South African SMMEs, public enterprises, and large enterprises.

“At MTN Business, we believe that everyone deserves the benefit of a modern connected life,” said Dr Kumalo.

Critical investment domains

Dr Kumalo then discussed the most crucial investment domains for South African businesses that want to thrive in tough economic conditions.

He cited research from the IDC Security Summit 2024, which found that Security Risk and Compliance was the ICT expense most immune to budget reductions – regardless of the economic environment.

“This shows that in everything that we do, we need to have security first mindset,” said Dr Kumalo.

Kumalo concluded his presentation by highlighting the four key areas where MTN Business thrives in the cloud and security sectors:

• Application Services — Delivering managed security and improving application performance.
• Zero Trust Services — Offering world-class identity and access management solutions.
• Network services — With a strong focus on network transformation.
• Developer platform — MTN Business can help you modernise your applications.

“When you engage with us at MTN Business, let’s talk about our ability to offer advisory, professional, and managed services across these four pillars,” said Dr Kumalo.

Click here to learn more about MTN Business’s cloud and security solutions.