Microsoft Trusted Cloud

Two men speaking in a hallway of a building

BACK TO REGIONAL HOME PAGE

SELECT YOUR INDUSTRY

INTRODUCTION TO CLOUD IN ANGOLA

Angola is undergoing a rapid digital transformation. Digital transformation is about reimagining how you bring together people, data, and processes to create value for your customers and maintain a competitive advantage in a digital-first world. Digital transformation is the next industrial revolution and every company, from large multi-national corporations to the small and medium sized businesses who have become the backbone of the local economy, will need to start thinking and operating like a digital company.

According to the Angolan government's white paper on information and communication technologies¹ ("ICT"), Angola has made remarkable progress in terms of social and economic development, to which the favourable evolution of the ICT sector has contributed greatly. The Angolan government recognizes ² that the ICT sector is an important element in the social development and economic prosperity of the country’ an essential factor in the fight against poverty and the social exclusion of the disadvantaged classes and a catalyst for modernity for the Angolan people.

At Microsoft, we agree. We believe that hyper-scale cloud services, in particular, can play a pivotal role in helping Angola unlock its key socio-economic objectives while ensuring a safer, more secure, and more effective environment which adheres to accepted international technical standards.

Many have already realised the obvious benefits of cloud services, including efficiencies, cost savings, cyber-resilience, and secure access. Increasingly, those looking to future-proof their business are also recognizing that to fully harness the potential of technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things, and augmented or virtual reality, they will likely need to rely on the hyper-scale cloud and the scalability it can offer. Use of cloud services can also provide a competitive edge.

All clouds are not created equal. The selection of a trusted cloud service provider with a long history of delivering on privacy and security commitments in a compliant and transparent manner is a critical part of the cloud journey for any customer. In a time when technology is changing almost every aspect of our lives, and the change is also causing disruption and uncertainty, Microsoft continues to draw from its past as we seek the right answers to questions about how best to realize opportunities ahead and create a trusted, responsible, and inclusive cloud.

Microsoft is one of the leading cloud technology providers in Angola and provides its customers with state of the art cloud services. Its solutions such as Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Microsoft Dynamics 365 power many different customers across the MEA region, including SMEs, large global corporates, public sector, and non-profit organizations.

In addition, Microsoft will soon deliver the intelligent Microsoft Cloud for the first time from data centres located in South Africa. The new cloud regions will offer enterprise-grade reliability and performance to help enable the tremendous opportunity for economic growth and increase access to cloud and internet services for organizations and people across the African continent. This new investment is a recognition of the enormous opportunity for digital transformation in Africa and is a major milestone in the company’s mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more in a safe, secure, and legally compliant manner.

THE REGULATORY LANDSCAPE

The use of cloud technology in Angola has, as in many other countries, been accompanied by concerns about regulatory compliance. These concerns focused, in particular, on the ability of cloud service providers to ensure a high level of security and privacy compliance. However, cloud solutions from leading providers such as Microsoft are now being recognized for their ability to offer levels of security and privacy compliance that can exceed those available via in-house solutions of even the most sophisticated organizations. Organizations can therefore move to the cloud in a way that meets and often exceeds all their security and privacy requirements.

We are pleased to have already participated in a large number of compliance conversations with customers and regulators across sectors in the region. Through these conversations, we have developed a broad range of materials to help our customers in Angola move to the cloud in a way that meets their regulatory requirements and stay at the forefront of compliance, so that our customers can be confident that their use of Microsoft cloud services meets the necessary requirements.
There is presently no specific regulation for cloud services in Angola. However, considering the characteristics of cloud computing services, there are a set of regulations and laws that are potentially applicable to Microsoft's customers. These could include: (a) the data protection law, (b) the protection of networks and information systems law, (c) the general regulation for electronic communications, and (d) the technology and information society services regulation.

Microsoft is proud to confirm that it meets regulatory and compliance requirements for use of the cloud in some of the most highly regulated industries across the globe, and can help you to achieve compliance with the regulatory and compliance requirements applicable in your sector.
- Angola's data protection rules are mainly set out in Law No. 22/2011 of 17 June, named the data protection law. This law regulates the collection, use and processing of personal data, and imposes obligations on organizations concerning matters such as notice, consent and purpose, disclosures, international transfers, security, data retention, data subjects' rights of access and correction, and subcontracting.
  
  The data protection law will require a party responsible for the data treatment (data controllers) to have a written agreement with its cloud service provider and to ensure that appropriate, reasonable technical and organizational measures are taken to protect personal information from loss, damage, unauthorized destruction and unlawful access and processing. Reasonable measures must be taken to identify risks, implement appropriate safeguards, regularly verify that the safeguards are effectively implemented and ensure they are continually updated in response to new risks.
  
  The Angolan data protection authority - the regulator appointed under data protection law - has extensive powers to investigate and fine responsible parties.
- Law No. 7/2017, of 16 February, sets out the legal regime concerning the protection of networks and information systems, and has some rules related to data storage that may be applicable to cloud computing. This law aims to regulate the safeguarding of Angola’s cyberspace, establishing several obligations in this regard.
  
  This regime regulates cyberspace protection measures, including security in cyberspace networks, critical infrastructures, encryption of electronic communications networks, response to incidents in cyberspace networks and security management in electronic communications networks. In this context, this law provides for data preservation measures, including the retention of data, the retention of traffic and location data, and preservation of evidence.
- The general regulation for electronic communications was approved by Presidential Decree No. 108/2016, of 25 May, and establishes the legal regime applicable to electronic communications. In particular, it establishes the regime of access to the activity of electronic communication operators, which consists of concession and / or licensing.
- The Presidential Decree No. 202/2011 approved the technology and information society services regulation, which regulates technology and information society services with regard to the following matters: (a) information society services; (b) documents and electronic legal acts; (c) electronic advertising communications; (d) computer programs; (e) databases; and (f) domain names.
This checklist provides a detailed look into the legal obligations that may affect your usage of Microsoft Cloud Services.

Click here to download the checklist.
In addition to general laws, industry-specific requirements may apply. You can find out more about the requirements that apply in your industry sector by selecting from Industries below.

Financial Services

Oil and Gas

Health