LATEST INTELLIGENCE
Advanced Underserved
Comms next big driver
across Africa says Gartner
a charging scenario, in which connected
things are monetised. For example,
drivers will be charged premiums based
not only on how far they drive, but also
on how safely they drive and the degree
of risk associated with when and where
they drive,” said Hahn.
Although challenges to widespread
IoT adoption remain, a lack of access
to end-user devices and policyholder
concerns about data privacy, for
example, in the long term IoT data,
combined with advanced analytics, will
give insurers much greater insight into
the risks their policyholders face.
According to Gartner’s 2016 hype cycle
for Africa, Advanced Underserved Area
Comms, which is an entrant on the rising
slope of the hype cycle, may be the next
big business driver. With the proliferation
of Advanced Underserved Area Comms
into semi-urban and rural parts of Africa,
Gartner expects Advanced Underserved
Area Comms to have a transformational
business impact in Africa during the next
five to ten years. Mobile telephony will
also continue to evolve in Africa, with
further penetration by ultra-low-cost
mobile devices in the next two years.
Cloud office
includes email,
instant messaging,
file sharing,
conferencing,
document
management
“They could prove a powerful force
for reducing the digital divide,
which is one of the biggest social
issues in Africa. They could also be
significant enablers for the increasing
number of organisations looking to
benefit commercially from the large
opportunities offered by low income
Africans,” said Jeff Mann, Research Vice
President at Gartner and Conference
Chairman at Cape Town Symposium
2016.
on local businesses in the same period,
according to Gartner’s 2016 Hype Cycle
in Africa.
The Internet of Things will reach
mainstream adoption in the next two
to five years in Africa and is expected to
have the most transformational impact
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INTELLIGENTCIO
“The level of interest in, and the pace of
adoption of, ICT in Africa are increasing,
and, although Africa’s insurance sector
is small, it is a key indicator of where IoT
opportunities exist and will prove longlasting,” said William Hahn, Principal
Analyst at Gartner. “A growing number of
insurers are seriously evaluating how the
IoT might best be used, especially in terms
of improving the customer experience.”
The primary usage scenario for the IoT in
Africa’s insurance sector, initially, will be
“This will present insurers in Africa with
opportunities to prevent losses before
they occur, and prompt them to act
to prevent risk, which could increase
customer engagement and loyalty, and
thereby reduce churn,” said Hahn. In
addition, 11 technologies that will reach
mainstream adoption in two to five
years will have a high business impact
in the continent in the same period.
Among them is cloud office.
Cloud office includes email, instant
messaging, file sharing, conferencing,
document management and editing,
and collaboration capabilities. “Cloud
office is becoming more mature, and
enterprise adoption in Africa, as well as
across the rest of the world, is growing,”
said Mann. Gartner estimates that cloud
office adoption will double from 15% in
2016 to 30% by the end of 2018.
“Companies in Africa and all around
the world are opting for cloud delivery
in the desire to reduce costs, redeploy
IT staff, encourage simplicity, and
provide more functionality to users
more quickly,” added Mann. “It is
important that organisations look
beyond a like for like deployment that
focuses only on recreating previous
on-premises functionality in the cloud,
and investigate the unique capabilities
of cloud products to improve efficiency
and provide innovation.
“All medium-sized and large
organisations in Africa must decide
about cloud office deployment, even if
they decide not or not yet to opt for it,”
added Mann.
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