EDITOR’S QUESTION
RUDIE RAATH,
CHIEF DIGITAL
STRATEGIST,
DATACENTRIX
‘D
isruptive technology’ is a
phrase that has gained
massive airtime in the media
recently, as more and more companies
across industries look at how to use
technology to do business in a more
connected and innovative way. CIOs
should take heed of three major
disruptive technology forces over the
next two years or so.
There’s no doubt that the Internet
of Things (IoT) is gaining huge
impetus across Africa, and is set to
play a significant role in building
the continent’s digital future, across
sectors ranging from agriculture,
road infrastructure and transport, to
healthcare, utilities and more. Local
businesses, regardless of industry, are
seeing the need to harness the power
of IoT to remain competitive, through
improved business models and services
and enhanced customer experiences.
This has placed the focus firmly on
investing in IoT-related technologies
now for the future.
According to Forrester Research, 82% of
companies will roll-out some form of IoT
application this year alone, giving them
access to increasing volumes of data
that will help them to predict market
trends and needs.
And this data will grow exponentially as
more and more IoT-enabled devices are
being used, highlighting the dire need
for an evolved infrastructure. In line with
this, we’re seeing the local introduction
of the low-cost IoT network, a
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technology that is particularly disruptive
to our local telco sector. These cost-
effective, low-power wireless networks
utilise batteries that can last a number
of years, connecting IoT devices to the
cloud, and helping Africa to unlock the
potential of IoT.
Cloud infrastructure automation tools
will also have a serious impact on
the African technology landscape. By
implementing a solution for hybrid cloud
automation, businesses will be able to
do away with traditional ‘bricks and
mortar’ technology infrastructure, and
leverage a combination of private and
public cloud and on-premise solutions –
essentially consuming cloud as a service.
This approach completely disrupts the
conventional IT shop model, and enables
companies of any size to consume cloud
technology in a more cost-effective,
easy to manage manner; essentially
accelerating the modernisation of many
traditional industries.
Even now, tech giant Microsoft is in
the process of building two new Azure
data centres in South Africa, a serious
investment in reliable cloud infrastructure
for the continent in its entirety.
Finally, the personalisation of data to
consumers is seeing not only a new
business approach, but a disruption of
human behaviour itself. We’re already
seeing a major change in the way
that consumers receive information,
with personalisation built into direct
communication. For instance, one of
South Africa’s largest financial services
and healthcare groups has changed the
way that customers’ health benefits are
managed based on their app usage,
including wearable sensory data.
In addition, one of our ‘big four’ banking
groups is planning to reduce the number
of physical branches it has, driving more
customers to use its app instead of
visiting their local bank. This is enabling
the organisation to reach and service
customers much faster than before.
Technology is becoming intertwined
into all aspects of our everyday lives. It
should be viewed not only as a disruptor,
but also an integrator, something that
will catapult Africa and the continent’s
population forward when it comes to
new economy transformation. n
“There’s no doubt
that the Internet
of Things (IoT)
is gaining huge
impetus across
Africa, and is set to
play a significant
role in building
the continent’s
digital future.”
www.intelligentcio.com