Forecasts for the new year suggest that technology will have a strong impact on
businesses as well as consumers. Industry experts weigh in on how information
and communications technologies could shape economic growth in 2014.
Challenging the status quo
With current technology evolving and growing at a rapid pace, the ability of
governments and businesses to harness its benefits and provide prudent
oversight to its impact will be tested. Frank Rizzo, technology sector leader at
KPMG Africa says: “The exponential growth in the volume and speed of access to
information and communication has numerous effects. It can generate new
markets and challenge existing institutions but what we are likely to see is:
• Big data initiatives creating better insight for both public and private sector
entities;
• The boundary between what is considered public and what is considered
private for individuals becoming increasingly blurred;
• New social service models enabled by technology;
• The evolution of security initiatives and policing to focus on dealing with the
increase of cyber threats and cyber crime;
• A transformation of communication due to increased mobility demands by
consumers and the workforce.’
Smartphone sales dominate
According to the US Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecasts, industry sales
growth is forecasted to increase by 4.5% with industry revenues reaching
$211.7bn.
George Ferreira, vice president and COO of Samsung Electronics Africa,
comments: “There is no doubt that the smartphone – and more specifically the
premium smartphone – has made huge inroads across Africa in recent years and
this is not set to change any time soon due to demand and compatibility. As a
result, building locally and relevant content and services directly related to the
African market will remain key to consumer electronic brands – as this not only
demonstrates company commitment to the continent, but positively impacts and
enhances the lives of consumers.’
The rise of digital content
The International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that the big data market will
grow at a rate of 31.7% until it reaches $23.8bn in 2016, due to increased
demand for digital content.
Martin Rennhackkamp, CIO at PBT Group says that as a result, interest in and
the application of influence analysis will likely rise.
“The biggest change I foresee is on the social media/social analytics front. Many
organisations are doing, or are interested in doing sentiment analysis. It’s all
good to analyse what is being said – and what the sentiment of that is – but we
also need to consider the influence and context of the speaker/tweeter/poster,’
remarks Rennhackkamp.
Dawie Harmse, co-founder and head of technology at Maven Agency agrees,
saying: “With all the data comes the remarketing of it and the opportunity to
analyse and interpret it to best suit the business. As a result, customer
relationship management (CRM) and email re-marketing should see a rise in
popularity once more. Through in-depth analysis of the data, businesses can
send the consumers on targeted journeys of communication that fits their
interests and criteria.’
A breakout year for Wi-Fi
As demand grows for free and accessible Wi-Fi, solving congestion issues for
mobile network operators and increasing open access networks in public
spaces, will be imperative.
“We are likely to see more Wi-Fi in malls, stadiums and public places,’ says
Michael Fletcher, sales director for Ruckus Wireless Sub-Saharan Africa. “While
we have seen a large uptake from the hospitality and education sectors, we are
likely to see more Wi-Fi in public places and hotels that will be forced to provide
good quality Wi-Fi and in most cases for free.’
Creating niche content
Generating content which is readily available on all forms of mobile devices for a
specific target audience is going to be a big trend in 2014.
“Brands will need to focus on genuine quality of their content to not only build
solid brand awareness but also loyalty. Additionally, by making some content
available only to a select audience, brands can build value into key relationships.
“Images will outrank words for valuable data. Less will become more and a big
trend will be to simplify marketing messages in 2014, taking away the guess
work and leaving a solid impression on the consumer,’ adds Harmse.
Consumer is key
Advances in various sectors, particularly technology, have empowered people to
demand a degree of transparency and participation in all aspects of decision-
making.
Says Rizzo: “Consequently, growing individual empowerment will present
numerous challenges to government structures and business processes, but if
harnessed, could unleash significant economic development and social
advancement.’
Kappers agrees, concluding: “With the convergence of technologies we are
seeing more business centric solutions as companies need to look at
collaborative ways of working/operating that will encourage both employees
and their consumers to become actively involved in the business or brand. As
such, we are bound to see a big focus on collaborative software (social business
software) and a slow migration away from email centricity.’
