Routed has launched its vendor neutral cloud platform to offer what the company believes South Africa needs: a cloud platform that is reliable, scalable and secure.  

Andrew Cruise, managing director, Routed, says that the cloud market is on an immense growth curve and 2017 will be a significant year for overall adoption: “With the high availability of fibre we are seeing more interest in cloud services. This is mirrored internationally where SMBs are already adopting more cloud services in what will be the largest service adoption shift across the entire IT market space. While locally, we don’t expect such a dramatic uptake immediately, we do believe that there is significant opportunity for secure, robust and reliable cloud hosting services.”

Aimed primarily at the enterprise sector, Routed will market its’ cloud and infrastructure solutions through ISPs and managed service providers as well as other channel partners. Cruise says they collaborate closely with well-respected suppliers of hardware and software to design, deploy, manage and support Routed’s platform: “Routed is already in partnership with companies such as VMWare, NetApp, Acronis, Microsoft and Dell. We have used our knowledge across these technologies to build what we know will be the first vendor neutral, open access and most reliable cloud infrastructure platform in South Africa.”

He says the company is working on a “pay per use” model to further meet the requirements of local businesses, while also structuring its approach in a way that makes it economically viable for clients moving forward: “Cloud has traditionally been seen as expensive, which it can be, but Routed has taken its combined intellectual capital and developed a solution set that makes cloud viable for businesses now, and when they scale up and grow in the years to come. Our approach is unique and has not been seen before in South Africa. Our vendor neutral stance is a key benefit, as we work with every client to provide the best solution for them based on our pre-defined solutions that take all aspects of cloud services into account.”

Based in Cape Town with cloud locations in Johannesburg and Cape Town, Routed provides an integrated cloud platform, addressing all cloud back-up and recovery solutions as well as disaster recovery.  Routed is actively certifying with its various technology partners and has already secured clients on its platform. Also backed by industry veteran and well known technology specialist, Malcolm Siegel, and together with third partner, Benjamin Coetzer, Routed is grounded in immense expertise and knowledge, with over 35 years of cumulative experience in networking and cloud technologies. 

“The idea to launch Routed came from an obvious need in South Africa for reliable cloud services. We believe that our offering will bring much needed traction within the local cloud sector and will enable the market to grow at a faster pace.  While the cloud concept is not new, a fresh approach was needed to increase adoption. Users want easy management, integration, and flexible approach to solution sets,” says Cruise.

Routed is the ideal platform for ISPs and managed service providers who want infrastructure that they can white-label, package and sell-on with their service offerings: “Having the backing of a highly secure platform that does not require capex, can only help boost the channel and assist enterprises to migrate to the cloud in a secure and controlled environment.”