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THE continued introduction of disruptive technologies, which are changing and re-shaping the business landscape, is raising the possibility for new multi-million dollar industries whose operations depend on gadgets such as computers and mobile phones.
A recent report from McKinsey Global Institute – the business and economics research arm of US-based global consulting firm McKinsey – entitled “The Internet of Things: Mapping the Value Beyond the Hype” noted that there is need to go beyond the thrill that is inherent in new technologies through exploring the full potential of the Internet of Things (IoT).
IoT describes a technological ecosystem where gadgets, vehicles and buildings, which are fitted with electronics, actuators and network connectivity, are able to collect and exchange data.
Through such an ecosystem, home alarms, lights and air conditioners can be remotely controlled by internet-linked devices such as mobile phones.
The McKinsey report claims that developing countries have the potential to generate 40 percent of the IoT’s value.
“We estimate that it will have a higher overall value impact in advanced economies because of the higher value per use. However, developing economies could generate nearly 40 percent of the IoTs’s value, and nearly half in some settings.
“Even at this early stage, the IoT is starting to have a real impact by changing how goods are made and distributed, how products and services and refined, and how doctors and patients manage health and wellness,” reads part of the report.
Cumii International, a technology company that has footprints in two other African markets – Zambia and Tanzania – launched products linked to the IoT in 2014.
The company’s chief executive officer, Mr Norman Moyo, recently noted that the way new technologies are deployed in African countries differ as jurisdictions naturally have different expectations.
“Every country in Africa is different and requires high levels of technology and expertise to deploy and integrate services,” he said.
A new IoT platform called Technite, which pools together industrial engineers, auto engineers, technicians and other skilled people across Africa, just in the same way customers access Uber – an application that allows people to get chauffeur-driven cars and taxis through the net – has since been created for the local market.
“Technite is like your equivalent of Uber, only that on the other side of the App we have a highly skilled installer capable of installing home systems, fleet tracking devices, fibre-to-home, satellite in homes and business monitoring systems.
“Any customer in Africa should be able to open the App on his or her phone and search for the nearest installer and the system will scan and allocate the nearest pre-vetted, trained and accredited installer to undertake the required installation once we launch services in that country.
“This is a very unique aspect which will create significant economies of scale, skill and expertise and improve productivity to companies and reduce installation costs for customers.
“We have registered more than 1000 highly-skilled installers in 17 countries in Africa and are targeting to grow this to 10 000 and creating equally the same entrepreneurial opportunities,” added Mr Moyo.
The Connected Car is not necessarily a new phenomenon in Africa, Zimbabwe included, as tracking services have been around for a while.
“However, we are re-engineering fleet management and personal vehicle management in a progressive and disruptive manner using our big data analytics platform.
“Companies are keen on enjoying nearly 25 percent fuel and maintenance savings over and above other services such as geo-fencing which reports vehicles that stray away from defined routes.
“Connected Car has been well received, particularly by insurance companies. They like the tracking device because it can give them a lot of information about driver behaviour, distance travelled, and mitigate against fraudulent claims.
“Governments in Africa are keen to use the technology to connect all public passenger carrying buses to monitor driver behaviour thereby reducing public transport accidents,” he said.
On the other hand, Connected Home is an integrated alarm and security system that has home energy automation features like remote light switches, power consumption monitoring and air conditioner control.
Increasingly, businesses are adopting such technologies in order to reduce energy costs and improve security. Perhaps much of the impact has been felt through smart health innovations that reduce the cost of health systems through avoiding brick and mortar facilities.
All these products are being made possible by web-linked platforms.
It is understood that Cumii International is also exploring new technologies in agriculture. These are meant to make livestock tracking simpler and efficient.
Online Reporter