South Africa's IT spending is projected to increase from $10.7 billion in 2011, to about $17.4 billion in 2015.
According to Wipro Technologies, a global IT, consulting and outsourcing firm, the country's IT end-user spending, as a portion of real gross domestic product (GDP), will reach 8.6% in 2013.
The figures seem to be attracting multimillion-dollar investments in the country's ICT industry, as several investors are scrambling to have their share.
Last week, an Irish trade mission, led by that country's trade and development minister, Jan O'Sullivan, visited SA and sealed several multimillion-dollar deals with local ICT companies.
To tap into the opportunities in SA, Wipro yesterday revealed growth plans for the region, and said it plans to set up a strategic delivery centre in SA and create opportunities in the region for around 1 000 skilled professionals in the next three years.
Both Wipro and Ireland regard SA to be the gateway into the southern African market, and into Africa as a whole.
Wipro says it has chosen SA as a market for potential growth, and created a special structure to drive global presence and business growth in the region.
Wipro adds that the country is also a gateway into other countries in the EMEA region, and it has built up significant traction in the telecoms, financial services, and oil and gas industries in Africa. Its large talent pool, with multilingual skills, proximity to the Middle East and Europe, and cultural and business understanding of the market in Africa is a huge benefit that Wipro is prepared to tap into, the company states.
Manoj Punja, senior VP and head of focus markets and global sales operations at Wipro, believes this positions the country at the upper-middle level of IT spender nations within emerging markets.
“Factors like the time zone advantage, language, cultural compatibility and skills access make SA a favourable destination for the growth of business process outsourcing and IT services,” says Punja.
“To tap the large pool of IT-educated graduates, Wipro plans to initiate campus recruitment drives and establish training and skills development programmes. These recruits will then undergo a competency evaluation test and be deputed on projects accordingly.”
Wipro currently has an office in Johannesburg, and has more than 500 people onsite and offsite servicing its clients in the region. The company says it sees the region as a high potential market for growth and will help diversify its presence and portfolio, especially in the financial and telecommunications sectors.
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