90% reduction in data processing times
24/7 mission-critical climate monitoring across 11 nations
Automates workflows to ensure secure, error-free deployments
Optimizes cloud costs by 40% through rightsizing and event-based scaling
With Google Cloud, ICPAC transformed into a 24/7 climate intelligence platform—delivering early warnings 90% faster than before.
With Google Cloud, ICPAC transformed into a 24/7 climate intelligence platform—delivering early warnings 90% faster than before.
Providing fast, reliable climate services with a scalable cloud foundation
In the Greater Horn of Africa, climate change is a reality that affects the lives and livelihoods of millions every day. As weather and climate patterns become less predictable, the region faces an increasing need for reliable data to manage drought risks and food security. The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) serves as a vital resource for 11 nations (Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania), providing the forecasting and early warning services that farmers, pastoralists, and governments need for proper planning and resilience.
For years, providing these essential services was a challenge due to infrastructure limitations. Relying on on-premises data centers meant that power outages or internet disruptions could interrupt necessary warnings at pivotal moments. Seeking better reliability, ICPAC began a transition to Google Cloud in 2017. However, the need to get services online quickly led to a monolithic architecture where overprovisioned virtual machines weren’t as cost-effective or as fast as they could be. To ensure its infrastructure could fully support its regional mission, ICPAC worked with Google Cloud partner Incentro Africa B.V.
Together they conducted a full environment audit that uncovered misconfigured network settings and security gaps. Incentro helped the ICPAC team prioritize these findings and build a remediation roadmap—laying the groundwork for a more secure, cost-effective infrastructure, allowing it to scale its impact across the region.
“Technology’s the foundation of our work in enhancing resilience for the region, and we needed to ensure we were using it effectively,” explains Leonard M. Kimotho, IT admin at ICPAC. “By optimizing our Google Cloud environment, we’ve created a primary platform for mission-critical systems that are available 24/7, no matter the conditions on the ground.”
Technology’s the foundation of our work in enhancing resilience for the region, and we needed to ensure we were using it effectively. By optimizing our Google Cloud environment, we’ve created a primary platform for mission-critical systems that are available 24/7, no matter the conditions on the ground.
Leonard M. Kimotho
IT Admin, ICPAC
Accelerating climate insights through microservices and automated workflows
ICPAC moved away from a monolithic setup toward a microservices approach using Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE). By breaking their systems into independent services for messaging, data ingestion, and user feedback, ICPAC ensured that the system remained stable even when one component needed an update. This efficiency is most evident in the East Africa Hazards Watch platform, where ICPAC uses Cloud Run to process massive amounts of geospatial data. In the past, complex data tasks could take up to eight hours. Today, they’re completed in just 30 minutes—a reduction of more than 90%. Rightsizing overprovisioned virtual machines, migration to modern cloud infra like Cloud Run and optimization of the hosting environment realized over 40% in cloud services costs.
This transformation also redefined how ICPAC handles its internal workflows. Previously, manual deployment processes were time-consuming and carried the risk of errors. Now, by using Cloud Build and Artifact Registry to create automated CI/CD pipelines, updates are pushed with total confidence. Security has also been improved by moving data into Cloud Storage buckets and adopting custom service accounts using Identity and Access Management (IAM). This has eliminated the vulnerabilities associated with default, shared credentials, and significantly reduced the platform's attack surface. This ensures that while data is easily shared with partners, the underlying infrastructure remains protected.
The shift to microservices and automated workflows has removed a significant burden from our team. With our data now sitting securely in Cloud Storage, we also have total confidence in the reliability of the early warnings we send to our mobile users across the region.
Jason Kinyua
Lead Developer and Data Officer, ICPAC
Given that ICPAC’s users access information on the move, the team used Google Cloud’s global network and efficient resource scaling to create mobile-first solutions. By using GKE’s autoscaling capabilities, the platform automatically adjusts its resources based on traffic, ensuring that even users on low-bandwidth mobile connections get the data they need quickly. “The shift to microservices and automated workflows has removed a significant burden from our team,” explains Jason Kinyua, lead developer and data officer at ICPAC. “With our data now sitting securely in Cloud Storage, we also have total confidence in the reliability of the early warnings we send to our mobile users across the region.”
Building a future of conversational climate reporting with Gemini
The impact of these improvements is felt far beyond the infrastructure layer. Because the platform is now highly available and optimized for various devices, government officials and disaster management teams can access actionable reports from anywhere. Whether it’s monitoring vegetation stress or predicting rainfall deficits, ICPAC’s tools provide the clarity needed to manage climate risks. By optimizing cloud costs through rightsizing virtual machines and using event-based scaling, ICPAC ensures that its funding is used as effectively as possible to support its mission.
The organization is now looking toward a future where climate data is made even more accessible through generative AI. ICPAC plans to use Gemini to create conversational interfaces, allowing users to ask questions in their local languages. A farmer in a remote area could soon ask their phone for the best time to plant crops and receive a personalized, easy-to-understand response based on complex meteorological data. With plans to combine this AI vision with Husika platform and high-performance computing on Cloud GPUs, ICPAC is setting a new standard for how technology can foster climate resilience.
“Our work to modernize our infrastructure has allowed us to stop focusing on maintenance and focus even more on providing climate knowledge,” says Kinyua. “We’re now equipped to provide insights to help our communities stay resilient and prosperous, and we’re excited to see how Gemini will help us reach even more people.”
Our work to modernize our infrastructure has allowed us to stop focusing on maintenance and focus even more on providing climate knowledge. We’re now equipped to provide insights to help our communities stay resilient and prosperous, and we’re excited to see how Gemini will help us reach even more people.
Jason Kinyua
Lead Developer and Data Officer, ICPAC
ICPAC is a climate center accredited by the World Meteorological Organization, providing climate services to 11 East African countries to build resilience against extreme weather.
Industries: Non-profit, Other
Location: Kenya
Products: Artifact Registry, Cloud Build, Cloud GPUs, Cloud Run, Cloud Storage, Gemini, Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), Identity and Access Management (IAM)
About Google Cloud partner — Incentro Africa B.V.
Incentro Africa B.V. is a digital service provider that specializes in cloud solutions, app modernization, and data intelligence to help organizations achieve digital transformation.
