Vusumuzi Dube
Judith Phiri ,Business Reporter
THE Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector has been urged to embrace the spirit of continuous learning, adapt to new tools and techniques, and stay one step ahead of the game.
Officially opening the Computer Society of Zimbabwe (CSZ) Winter School 2023 in Bulawayo on Thursday, PPC Zimbabwe managing director, Mr Kelibone Masiyane said the technology landscape will constantly shift, hence business intelligence was critical.
Business intelligence refers to the procedural and technical infrastructure that collects, stores and analyses business information from internal and external data sources.
“As we embark on this adventure, it’s not just about the tools, it’s about the mindset. In the world of business intelligence, success lies in your ability to sculpt away the noise and focus on the essential, the insights that truly matter. Business intelligence is your magnifying glass, revealing the hidden connections and the actionable insights that can transform your organisation’s fortunes. With the power of business intelligence as your warp drive, you can chart a course towards success, leaving your competitors in your stardust,” said Mr Masiyane.
He urged the sector to not forget the human element in the technological odyssey, which was that behind every line of code and every byte of data, there are people, the customers, employees, and stakeholders.
Mr Masiyane said they were the heart and soul of an organisation and their experiences and preferences hold the key to unlocking new opportunities.
“By harnessing the power of business intelligence, you can create personalised journeys for your customers, delighting them at every touchpoint and forging unbreakable bonds of loyalty. Think of business intelligence as a superhero, swooping in to save the day when uncertainty and risk threaten to derail your organisation’s progress. Armed with predictive analytics and real-time insights, you can dodge the bullets of uncertainty, make well-informed decisions and propel your organisation towards a brighter future,” he added.
He commended the role being played by CSZ and said collaborations like these shape the future of the digital landscape and empower the nation, while feeding into the national digital economy as enshrined in the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).
South African-based IT service-based company, DataGr8’s executive director, Mr Egideon Banda said there was need to educate organisations on adopting on-premise storage and backup solutions such as cloud.
“When we talk about business intelligence, we also have to talk about cloud adoption and how they can protect themselves through backing up and cyber security skills. Businesses need to understand that the technologies that are available and data, now does not exist on ICT systems alone but also on other Internet of things (IoT) devices,” said Mr Bands.
Working with a number of businesses in different sectors of Zimbabwe since 2015, he said they had a footprint in other SADC countries like Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and Mauritius among others where they were rolling out ICT solutions.
Deep Analytics, chief artificial intelligence scientist, Dr Panashe Chiurunge said using an artificial intelligence chatbot such as ChatGPT offered predictive analytics that enables businesses to identify patterns in customer behaviour and anticipate future trends based on past information.
He said such a capability allows businesses to develop better strategies for targeting potential customers and improving their overall marketing efforts.
Bongani Ndlovu