Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 09 | Page 76

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 76 INTELLIGENTCIO 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