With cloud computing, big data, mobile adoption, and developments around telecoms infrastructure, 2014 has been an eventful year in the local ICT industry.
This is what some industry executives believe is in store for business in 2015:
Technology for the mainstream
Greg Vercellotti, executive director at IT services company Dariel, believes 2015 will see more South African businesses adopting technological innovations.
"Machine-to-machine will become part of the mainstream. Decision-makers will increasingly use this technology that allows both wireless and wired systems to communicate with a variety of devices to track, measure, and monitor the mission-critical aspects of their organisations."
While mobile apps have become part of daily life for many, Vercellotti says next year will be the year in which business-aligned solutions come to prominence. "Businesses will be looking to build small apps that deliver measurable returns, quickly. This will see an incremental investment in mobile apps in 2015 that are designed to reduce costs and improve service."
Armande Kruger, sales director at business intelligence solutions company PBT, agrees. "Mobile devices are no longer seen as a tool, but rather an extension of an individual. Looking ahead, mobile is definitely becoming more personal and becoming the electronic fingerprint of people. We will see mobile devices used for verification, tracking, commerce, classification, identification, and many other components."
Integrating mobile apps
Grant Theis, co-founder of mobile app ttrumpet, says the drive towards mobile apps will lead to the creation of a more immersive shopping experience through location-based technologies. "Consumers will be turning on their 'discoverability' buttons to link brands, businesses, and retailers. Geo-fenced content and iBeacons will allow consumers to interact with brands in shopping centres and high streets."
This increasing connectedness will see an increased focus in 2015 on the software and cloud services to make the Internet of things (IOT) connect, upload data, and drive analytics that generate insights and enable business improvements, says Theis.
Going wireless
As part of this push to live in an IOT world, WiFi technology will have a continued impact on consumers and businesses of all types. "The smartphone revolution continues to remake the wireless landscape as users in all geographies and all socio-economic groups flock to these devices that can do so much more then place a voice call," says Michael Fletcher, sales director for Ruckus Wireless sub-Saharan Africa.
Fletcher believes WiFi has become a utility, like running water or electricity. "You expect it to be there, and if you don't have it, you are at a serious quality-of-life disadvantage. In the case of the business world, lack of reliable WiFi puts you at a serious competitive disadvantage."
He says WiFi will continue evolving at "breakneck speed". With 802.11ac Wave 2 expected to emerge in 2015, Hotspot 2.0 Release 2 poised to completely redo the WiFi user experience, and value-added services based around location, says Fletcher, next year will herald a significant change in business strategy when it comes to the technology.
Data remains key
Kruger goes on to say data will become an essential part of doing business, as it will no longer be just about marketing campaigns but will become all-encompassing. "Think of things such as buying patterns, stock-keeping levels, fraud detection, incentive programmes, consumer manipulation, and preferential treatment. These will not only see mass consumption of data, but will also drive adoption of data."
Given the focus on data in recent times, the potential for information overload still remains. As such, Kruger believes developers will focus efforts on creating algorithms that will automate 80% of all decisions, like which e-mails or messages to read, which photographs to keep, and so on.
Focusing on strategy
Moving beyond hard technology, Gys Kappers, CEO of social enterprise platform Wyzetalk, says companies will continue to look for greater efficiency, simplification, consolidation, expert advice and intelligence from big data input.
"Next year will see an increasing focus on engagement, knowledge and partnerships. Companies need to bring their networks of suppliers and customers closer to the core; we're already seeing high demand for the new social intranet that is anything but social.
"The interest in developing strategies to bridge the generation gaps within organisations is increasing as the skills shortage remains an inhibiting factor to growth. Innovation is still a keyword as companies look for new revenue streams, optimise processes, insight from big data strategies and talent to interpret and fast-track results."
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