This year is expected to usher in a heightened level of adoption and deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) across the continent.
Already, projections from experts suggest that the public cloud in emerging African states will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 84 percent over the next five years. This is expected to be a key driver of the expected ICT proliferation across the region.
Forecasts from the International Data Corporation (IDC) predict a particularly intense effect on economic development and social progress on the continent owing to the widespread adoption and use of ICT over the next 12 months.
ICT supporting economic boom
“Sub-Saharan Africa is finally realizing its potential for economic growth, and now boasts six of the top ten fastest-growing economies in the world and ICT is playing a key role in not only supporting this economic boom, but also shaping its future direction,” says Mark Walker, IDC’s regional director for Africa.
He noted, however, that the latest ICT trends are set to drive strong GDP growth across the continent, modernizing and optimizing every sector of the economy and facilitating closer intra-Africa trade. Governments with relevant, effective national ICT policies will therefore build on this and begin to dominate the economic landscape, Walker notes.
Governments fast adopting ICT for better service delivery
Governments have not been left out in the increasing adoption of ICT as an enabler of service delivery. Because of this, e-government and m-government initiatives now rank high on the strategies for addressing emerging challenges caused by rapid urbanization.
When it occurs in a haphazard fashion, urban expansion can be an obstacle to economic growth. This presents a case for the deployment of ICT in ensuring good urban governance through the use of smart grids in utilities, water supply monitoring, safety and security, and video surveillance. IDC expects a closer synergy between nations in 2015 because of the advantages from the smart ICT initiatives.
“Effective regional integration will help breach the barriers that undermine the daily operations of ordinary producers and traders of both goods and services,” Walker adds. “This includes payment systems, financial inclusion, and cross-border payments, and the increased implementation of such ICT-enabled financial transactions in 2015 will create a platform for the next stage of domestic and regional socio-economic development across Africa.”
Cloud to be a significant driver of ICT transformation
Based on these premises, the economic landscape in 2015 should see the emergence of new markets, products, and clients. This is expected to be maintained as large multinationals continue to tap into the African growth story, while others expand into new geographies via enhanced intra-Africa trade. Definitely, the cloud will be a significant driver and enabler of this transformation.
“Cloud, enterprise mobility, big data, and social technologies are new product sets that can offer significant advantages to African organizations looking to leapfrog to advanced technologies in order to address pertinent issues in their markets,” the IDC regional director explained.
He noted that with the blurring of industry boundaries in Africa’s more mature markets, this year “will offer significant opportunities for providers and end-user organizations to address the evolving requirements of markets adjacent to those they are servicing now.”
By Emmanuel Iruebo
