Africa needs to do more to keep up with global trends in the fourth industrial revolution according business leaders who attended the 2018 “Decoding the DNA of a digital future” event organised by In2IT Technologies in Johannesburg.

In an evaluation of the continent's ability to respond adequately to digital challenges and opportunities, Edward Agostinho, Consulting Systems Engineer in IOT and Digitalisation at Cisco said Africa is still lagging behind.

"When we look at the US or even Europe and compare the type of innovative projects in IOT for example, we do not have that rapid force of innovation happening in Africa that we would like to see. In Europe the guys are starting to connect roads by putting sensors in them to understand the conditions on the road. They are putting down infrastructure that is already enabling vehicle-to-vehicle communication. We've got a little bit of catching up to do, although there are sectors where we are doing well like mining, where we are leading, but it is not the same in other areas."

Agostinho recommends a holistic approach if businesses on the continent are to exploit opportunities presented by digital technology. When implementing an IoT solution for example, he suggests partnering with different service providers for better chances of achieving profitable results.

“You've got this ecosystem that you must to put together. I don't see a lot of the African CIO's embracing this ecosystem because they usually go to a single person who can provide a portion of the solution. They've got to look at this ecosystem to provide end-to-end solutions.”

Johan Pistorius, Chief Information Officer at African Rainbow Minerals Limited agrees with Agostinho’s view that mining in Africa is leading other economic sectors in the adoption of digital technologies, although he feels progress in that field is also slow.

"Mining is not going to change very much in the near future. We see a lot of technology challenges and the adoption thereof. Whereas in the past we could plan for three or five years, it is now difficult to plan for six months. We need to optimise how we deal with our resources and there is some technology going into that. In broad terms yes it is true that mining is changing heavily, with the adoption of things like drones and various other technologies. That is why we partner with various technology providers - because we know mining, but we are looking to them to provide us with packages that can help to change the face of mining going forward."

Prioritising business outcomes

Pistorius adds that digital technology has allowed mining companies to communicate effectively with stakeholders about the work they do particularly as mining often takes place in far flung areas with poor connectivity.

“I think one of the things we should look at are prepackaged (technology) solutions for instance in milling or logistics and all the other different areas in the mining value chain. Mining has no secrets because the way we mine and beneficiate iron ore for example, is the same for everybody. If we can pre package those solutions in a way that make them easy to implement and to run then that is an area where we can benefit hugely.”

Thinus Mulder, Chief Executive Officer of Dark Fibre Africa shares Pistorius’ view that the roll out digital technology in businesses should be in line with concrete business objectives.

"I think there should be a viable business case when you plan this digital transformation and it should add value either to your own business or to your stakeholders, like your customers. I think that is as crucial as being able to transform while you operate."

As part of its FutureScape: Worldwide Digital Transformation 2018 Predictions, the International Data Corporation (IDC) anticipates that global digital transformation spending will reach US$1.7 Trillion worldwide by the end of 2019, a 42% increase from 2017.

Shawn Fitzgerald, research director for Worldwide Digital Transformation Strategies at IDC says the inability to embrace digital transformation has serious consequences for business.

"While we are seeing more companies becoming more digitally capable, there is a widening gap between leaders and laggards, with significant implications for those organisations that cannot make the transition to a digital-native organisation."