Covid-19 an opportunity to rewire basics for next-generation digital growth
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As SA navigates its way through lockdown measures and confirmed Covid-19 cases head towards 600,000, it's time to take stock and act. Many industries can regard this challenge as an opportunity to rewire the fundamentals of the way they do business.
This is an opportunity for SA to completely embrace digital transformation. Indeed, the wealth of opportunity at our country’s disposal in terms of technological skills ensures it is uniquely positioned to support broader digital transitions that can unlock more than R5-trillion in value over the next decade, according to Accenture.
We have seen sectors across SA respond well amid the crisis, with telecommunications and IT companies well set to lead the way. The banking sector’s “early adopter” mentality allowed the industry to transact without traditional branch support. Additionally, while the retail sector and our health services struggled with both the positive and negative effects on their businesses — they have organically reshaped their abilities to respond to a population in lockdown.
There is no doubt that the tourism industry has been one of the hardest hit sectors, followed by manufacturing and oil and gas, which have struggled to navigate the unique circumstances affecting their business models.
The past decade saw the word “disruption” take on a new technology-fuelled and opportunity-laden meaning. But the first few months of 2020 reintroduced its traditional meaning: an interruption to the way we conduct business. This global pandemic is forcing businesses to rethink the very foundation of what they offer. It is calling on businesses to radically transform as a matter of survival.
History will look back on this time as the moment of sudden acceleration for digital transformation in business and society. If there is anything the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us, it’s the critical importance of technology solutions that enable speed, flexibility, insight and innovation.
In fact, industries are finding that choosing which technology platforms power their business is the most consequential decision they can make. Technology platforms are the basis of competitive advantage in the 21st century, and opportunities can mean greater progress. For example, we should not stop progress in enabling greater financial inclusion on the continent.
The SA Reserve Bank’s Vision 2025 has set out the strategic objectives in building a world-class national payment system (NPS) to better serve South Africans and the economy inclusively and as a whole. Covid-19 may be the long-awaited catalyst needed to motivate the ...
This is an opportunity for SA to completely embrace digital transformation. Indeed, the wealth of opportunity at our country’s disposal in terms of technological skills ensures it is uniquely positioned to support broader digital transitions that can unlock more than R5-trillion in value over the next decade, according to Accenture.
We have seen sectors across SA respond well amid the crisis, with telecommunications and IT companies well set to lead the way. The banking sector’s “early adopter” mentality allowed the industry to transact without traditional branch support. Additionally, while the retail sector and our health services struggled with both the positive and negative effects on their businesses — they have organically reshaped their abilities to respond to a population in lockdown.
There is no doubt that the tourism industry has been one of the hardest hit sectors, followed by manufacturing and oil and gas, which have struggled to navigate the unique circumstances affecting their business models.
The past decade saw the word “disruption” take on a new technology-fuelled and opportunity-laden meaning. But the first few months of 2020 reintroduced its traditional meaning: an interruption to the way we conduct business. This global pandemic is forcing businesses to rethink the very foundation of what they offer. It is calling on businesses to radically transform as a matter of survival.
History will look back on this time as the moment of sudden acceleration for digital transformation in business and society. If there is anything the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us, it’s the critical importance of technology solutions that enable speed, flexibility, insight and innovation.
In fact, industries are finding that choosing which technology platforms power their business is the most consequential decision they can make. Technology platforms are the basis of competitive advantage in the 21st century, and opportunities can mean greater progress. For example, we should not stop progress in enabling greater financial inclusion on the continent.
The SA Reserve Bank’s Vision 2025 has set out the strategic objectives in building a world-class national payment system (NPS) to better serve South Africans and the economy inclusively and as a whole. Covid-19 may be the long-awaited catalyst needed to motivate the ...
