Johannesburg, 16 Jan 2017
It can easily be said that 2016 was a year few will forget. It has been 12 months of historic change, startling revelation and significant political upheaval. The impact of these events will be felt for years to come, rippling outward amidst the ever-evolving landscapes of technology and client expectations. New players will appear in the channel market and trends will twist to reveal new ways of engaging with clients and industry. Want to know what's coming next? Here are some predictions.
It is highly likely that both Azure and Amazon Web Services will both set up data centres in South Africa in 2017, bringing an interesting dynamic to the channel and existing players in the market. Both these providers are stable and flexible, and both have demonstrated solid results over the past few years.
The global economy will take another hit, especially in Europe, and this will have far reaching consequences across continents and markets. Connectivity pricing will bottom out in South Africa and many ISPs will be absorbed by their larger players. This impact to connectivity pricing will likely be the result of a number of factors, not least of which being a large scale national investment in fibre to the business and home that is finally gaining traction.
Another very possible shift will be with telecommunications giant Neotel - the company will finally turn a financial corner and start re-investing in its own growth and infrastructure. It will be interesting to see how it will affect other players in the market as this giant makes its move to re-establish its products and capabilities in the South African market.
Finally, one of the biggest trends for 2017 will be how security and governance will dominate conversations. From boardroom to back room, these issues will become the primary topic of conversation for all organisations, regardless of size or location. As ransomware and malicious attacks become prevalent all businesses will take a new look at risk mitigation and management through new security measures such as end point encryption.
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