IDC’s forecast comes as analysts predict huge spend by companies as they are missing several layers in their IOT solutions.

Two of the most important tools to implement are customer relationship management and enterprise resource management, says Microsoft.

Banking, discrete manufacturing, telecommunications and professional services will be the four largest industries for ICT spending in 2018.

The IDC expects industries to continue investing in public cloud services, with forecasts showing the market will reach the $160 billion mark this year.

The Chinese smartphone maker looks to top its annual revenue target by as much as 18%, sources say.

Smartphone shipments reached 21.7 million units, spurred by ongoing economic recoveries in some of Africa's major markets, says IDC.

Although the global tablet market decline slowed in Q2, the downward spiral continued.

While smartphone sales in Africa are showing signs of slowing, cheaper basic feature phone sales are growing.

Many of the SMEs are just too busy being hands-on in their businesses to dive into the notorious complexity of Internet connectivity and cloud, says MicroMega Holdings.

Urbanisation and a reduction in available time for household chores were cited as key drivers behind the growth of housekeeping robots, says research by Juniper.

By becoming smarter, South African cities can help fight crime, analysts say.

The IDC expects total global spending on cloud IT infrastructure to reach $44.2?billion this year.