IDC Directions 2020, the seminal ICT industry event for Sub-Saharan Africa, takes place at The Maslow Hotel, Sandton in Johannesburg on January 30. Hosted by International Data Corporation (IDC), the event will bring together South Africa’s most influential technology vendors, telecommunications operators, and IT service providers, delivering expert guidance on the challenges and opportunities that lie in wait as the digital economy enters a new phase of evolution.
“Over the past five years, IDC has documented the rise of the digital economy and advised organisations on their digital transformation strategies,” says Jyoti Lalchandani, IDC’s group vice president and regional managing director, who will be delivering the event’s keynote speech.
“Today, the digital economy is at a critical tipping point. In just a few short years, IDC forecasts that nearly half of all GDP worldwide will come from products and services offered by digitally transformed organisations. As such, technology suppliers must transform their approach in order to meet the new buying requirements of their digital customers and connect technology to the business goals of a new digital-inspired CEO agenda.”
Running under the theme ‘Multiplied Innovation Goes Mainstream: Thriving in the Digital Economy’, IDC Directions 2020 will see prominent IDC thought leaders share their latest forecasts and predictions for South Africa’s technology markets as they contextualise the impact of global trends on the local environment. Offering a unique opportunity to interact with IDC’s industry-leading analysts, the event will provide senior ICT industry executives with in-depth analysis of the latest trends and developments shaping South Africa’s ICT outlook, helping them to pinpoint the key sectors and segments to target.
“With greater clarity about what the future enterprise will look like and what will be required to compete in redefined industries, organisations are rethinking their digital transformation strategies,” says Mark Walker, IDC’s associate vice president for South Africa.
“As such, they are increasingly pivoting away from digital for the sake of innovation to digital for the sake of the business. There is now a focus on applying digital technologies to address the future of work, customer engagement, intelligence, operations, and leadership. Digital presents a multibillion-dollar tech opportunity for suppliers, but a new playbook is required that is focused on creating business value, scaling digital innovation, and embracing future of work.”
The event will examine the evolving priorities of C-suite executives across South Africa, while dedicated sessions will offer strategic guidance on enabling a secure, agile, and scalable digital enterprise for the future. There will also be fascinating fiscal insights from Gina Schoeman, economist and head of research at Citibank South Africa.
Comment on this article below or via Twitter: @VanillaPlus OR @jcvplus
