Of the 30 countries it tracks, SA is one of the leading destinations for offshoring, says research house Gartner.
Speaking at the Gartner Symposium, in Cape Town, Partha Iyengar, VP and distinguished analyst, said the country of origin of ICT will be irrelevant by 2015. ICT will go beyond globalisation and will become borderless, which is an opportunity for growth for SA on the supply side.
SA's offshoring sector expects to add 40 000 jobs by 2014, and there are 120 000 staff in the domestic global insourced sector, said Iyengar. He added that offshore contact centre jobs are expected to grow from 8 000 in 2010 to 30 000 in 2015.
Iyengar noted that SA needs to focus on long-term economic health and has to believe the world will get there. Although the worst ever post-war recession continues to linger, around 2014 the globe will return to reasonable economic health, with anticipated growth rates of about 3.1%.
The combined market size of BRICS is almost half that of the entire global population and contains three of the fastest economies in the world, he said. Two have added a population equal to the size of Europe to their middle class over the past few years.
Iyengar pointed out that SA needs to work out how to leverage its relationship with BRICS countries and can use them to expand the market to which ICT is sold. These countries can also provide SA with expertise.
The local ICT industry is affected by several trends, including a dearth of skills. However, there is also an increasing merger and acquisition focus on SA, which can spur skills development, he said.
* Nicola Mawson is hosted at the symposium courtesy of Gartner.
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