TECH TALK
connectivity in Africa will continue
to evolve in the next two years with
further penetration by ultra-low-cost
mobile devices,” said Hahn. “The
proliferation of connectivity into
semi-urban and rural parts of Africa
will be a powerful force to reduce the
‘digital divide’, which is one of the
biggest social issues in Africa. It will
also empower organisations seeking to
benefit commercially from ‘bottom of
the pyramid’ opportunities.”
Entries on the Hype Cycle from the
realm of commerce and payments
highlight the relative advancement of
certain technologies that are allowing
less developed markets, such as Africa,
to achieve greater results than those
in more penetrated regions. Mobile
commerce is bringing huge social
benefits to Africa. “As this technology
enters the early mainstream, we should
expect the partnership of MTN, Millicom
and Rocket Internet currently focused in
the Middle East and Eastern Europe, to
come to Africa soon,” said Hahn.
72
INTELLIGENTCIO
“Communications
technologies
remain the
most impactful
technologies in
Africa, and are well
represented on the
Hype Cycle.”
Government remains by far the largest
vertical opportunity in Africa. It also
acts as a gateway to other industries,
such as healthcare and education. Two
entries on the Hype Cycle to carefully
consider, according to Hahn, are smart
city framework and e-visits. Smart city
framework will have a transformational
impact across Africa over the next 5-10
years. “Collating data from discrete
projects, such as those tracking the
real-time location of garbage trucks, and
making the data available to all relevant
parties, including citizens, will improve
citizens’ quality of life,” added Hahn. “It
will also create competitive advantage
for cities in South Africa as they become
more attractive destinations for workers
and tourists.”
E-visits are still at the early mainstream
stage in Africa. But once electronic health
record and portal solutions fully support
them, they are likely to become as widely
available as office visits and phone calls
in the next two to five years. A well-
implemented e-visit programme can
reduce costs, increase patient satisfaction
and engagement, increase care access
and improve clinicians’ productivity,
which are highly sought-after benefits in
emerging markets like Africa.
More detailed analysis is available to
Gartner clients in the report Hype Cycle
for ICT in Africa, 2017. n
www.intelligentcio.com