Frost & Sullivan’s latest analysis, South African ICT Outlook 2018, finds emerging technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), Fintech and the adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) are disrupting the ICT industry in South Africa.
As a result, telecommunications providers will use innovation as the springboard to offer mobile application-based services such as mCommerce, mAgriculture, connected services, mLearning, mHealth and ride-hailing, in addition to end-to-end IoT, cloud and digital entertainment services.
Frost & Sullivan is expecting enterprise resource planning (ERP) in cloud, flash storage cloud-based mobile applications, non-core outsourcing, business intelligence and data analytics to create about US$1,140 million in new revenue opportunities for ICT participants by the end of this year. Frost & Sullivan’s analysis offers experts’ top predictions for South Africa’s ICT market in 2018, along with key technologies, business models, revenues by market and leading companies to watch. Trends and growth opportunities in industry sectors such as telecommunications, broadcasting, data centre, cloud, IT, BPM, IoT and AI, plus emerging technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and Fintech, are also provided.
“Mobile data-driven models will revolutionise the telecommunications market, while disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS), ERP as a service and managed security as service models will transform the cloud market,” said Deepti Dhinakaran, Information and Communication Technologies Senior Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan.
“Furthermore, AI, digital workplace and 3D printing will revamp the IT services market with chatbot altering the business process management (BPM) market landscape. ICT providers should offer these products and services to harness growth opportunities and capture new revenue streams.”
Dhinakaran recommends participants emulate innovative companies such as Telkom, MTN, Vodacom, Dimension Data, IBM and T-Systems, which have innovatively diversified through a series of smart partnerships and acquisitions to provide services across multiple ICT sectors.
Five ways to leverage growth opportunities in South Africa’s ICT market include:
- Migrate ERP software from on-premise to cloud storage to benefit from increased ERP performance, decreased operating costs, enhanced access to information, increased security, and continued support and maintenance
- Use flash storage to benefit from significantly faster data access, improved performance speeds and greater durability, while saving money through reduced energy consumption
- Adopt cloud-based mobile applications as part of your service delivery for benefits such as easier management, integration, distribution, lower security risks and for agility and combatting shadow
- Outsource non-core services such as backup and disaster recovery (DR), compliance and security to benefit from monetary savings, efficiency gains, and leaner business operations and
- Invest in AI technologies to improve customer engagement and service experience, increase productivity and operational efficiency, save time and costs and develop a competitive advantage
“In South Africa, bleak economic conditions and a grim recovery outlook are key factors curtailing enterprise ICT spend and inhibiting the development of the ICT industry,” noted added Dhinakaran.
“Partnerships and new business models will be vital to sustain future business success.”
