Emerging African economies are increasingly embracing IT services solutions in a bid to support their growth initiatives.
This is according to the latest insights released today by International Data Corporation (IDC), with the global advisory services firm also explaining growing public and private sector IT spending - together with maturing and increasingly competitive business environments - are also driving IT services demand.
Lise Hagen, research manager for software and IT services at IDC South Africa, says, while each country has different requirements, there are common themes supporting the adoption of IT services in Africa. "For example, as last-mile connectivity continues to improve, Internet services are becoming more easily available over wider geographic areas at lower costs, leading to improved IT services adoption.
"Demand for IT services remains primarily focused on basic implementation and support services, but larger organisations across the continent are increasingly seeking advanced solutions such as implementation and systems integration services."
Hagen says early-adopter organisations are also assessing cloud technologies - specifically software as a service - and big data analytics, which is creating significant opportunities for service providers.
Government demand
IDC notes the government vertical in Africa is becoming one of the biggest investors in ICT in general, and IT services in particular.
"Governments in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Botswana, and elsewhere are implementing national ICT policies that are driving the adoption of technology," says Hagen.
She says governments are using ICT to enable service delivery, while e-government and m-government initiatives are high on the agenda for driving e-transformation and addressing issues around rapid urbanisation. "The continent's telecom, banking and finance, oil and gas, and mining verticals also present major ICT opportunities."
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