The year-old joint venture between Accenture and Cisco may soon make its presence felt in SA as there are clear opportunities for growth on the continent.
Last year, Accenture and Cisco formed a strategic alliance that aims to create market-driven solutions in the ICT space. The venture was launched in North America, Italy, France, Spain and the UK.
Andre Hughes, global MD of the Accenture & Cisco Business Group, says there are many opportunities for the unit to expand its presence in SA and Africa. He says these regions are rich in growth and, as economies grow, opportunities in the ICT space open up.
Hughes was in SA to talk to regional Accenture clients about their needs, and determine if there is a market for some of the products that have been developed internationally. “It's always good to look at different market where you are not located.”
His visit was to confirm the scope of opportunities, and to contemplate the steps to take next.
Sectors that could provide local growth for the unit include the movement towards collaborative communication. In addition, because of the high need for electricity on the continent, there is scope for the business unit to aid power providers in building intelligent grids.
Africa-specific
He says this has application in SA, which boasts some of the world's deepest mines. It also has application in resource-rich Africa. “There are some very discrete and specific needs... that are applicable to Africa.”
Another big growth area is the space around unified communications and cloud computing, which is ceasing to be just another buzzword. Hughes says cloud computing and software-as-a-service are becoming more important as bandwidth becomes readily available.
He explains that Cisco has low-power cost-competitive solutions that can be applied in Africa. In addition, Hughes says, these solutions can aid smaller companies to trim costs and become more competitive, which will eventually boost economic growth.
“There are substantial opportunities in SA and Africa, opportunities for all of us to collaborate in ways that we haven't done to create incremental value and progress.”
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