Kamal Ramsingh (Technology Head at Deloitte Consulting, South Africa) was asked to comment on the state of information technology in South Africa. If you would like to contact Kamal, his email address is kramsingh@deloitte.co.za.
A Comment on the State of IT in South Africa
by Kamal Ramsingh, Head of Technology, Deloitte Consulting, South Africa
When I was asked to comment on this subject my first reaction was a desire to obliterate the historic perception of South Africa being the poor cousin of the west that patiently waits for the Christmas “hand-me-downs” from Europe and the US. On reflection I came to two key realisations. Firstly, proof of us no longer being the “poor cousin” can be found via a quick trip to Dubai Duty Free – iPads there cost the same as back home – with a guarantee restricted to the UAE only! More importantly though, my second realisation was that there is significant activity around IT – in all sectors of our economy – but with very little tangible progress in areas that matter. So, like any good consultant – my thoughts have been framed in terms of key indicators and relative scores.
Government as a key buyer of IT services
The past year (or so) has been adequate proof of the spending turmoil in the public sector. SITA has a new CEO and we await its transformation with bated breath. Apart from the GCIO post still being vacant, the DPSA now has a new minister which will have its own implications on timing of next steps on IT. The good news, of course, is that Minister Padayachie drove the recently published “Vision for 2020 – Setting the ICT Agenda” document. Hopefully this will mean more traction for a focused ICT strategy. With the DPSA also having oversight of SITA – we would like to think that we could also expect a more meaningful deployment of IT within the public sector to improve service delivery and enhance government effectiveness.
Scoring for the Future: Government has not adequately supported the IT agenda to date. They have been lacking as a strategic spender that shapes and drives demand as well as a key enabler through legislation and standards. This is a fundamental risk as other African countries are rapidly presenting more attractive options for IT. The future does look brighter and we can but live in hope. Score of 4/10.
Private sector access to innovation
If the rate of market entry of Indian SI firms in anything to go by, then we must represent one of most lucrative markets on the planet! We have representation from all major global SI’s, Indian SI’s product vendors and consulting firms. There is definitely no apparent shortage of access to global IP or innovation. We also finally have PayPal and even Amazon delivers to SA now!
Scoring for the Future : We believe that we have successfully dispensed with the “poor cousin” stigma. Our businesses have viable access to global IP and our country is continuing to attract product and service organisations from around the globe. We definitely have work to do in broadening citizen access to the internet in historically underserviced areas. Score of 8/10.
Skills pool and Development
Minister Padayachie recently noted in the “Vision 2020 document” that it is financially more lucrative to hire and re-train a foreign graduate than it is one from our own country. Our dependency on foreign. low-cost locations such as India has – over the years – created a significant skills deficit in the IT domain. This has had a multiplier impact in acting as a deterrent to new entrants into the sector. As a consequence our pipeline of talent is notably weak with a vast majority of experienced practitioners reaching the latter part of their careers. As a consequence, there is limited succession planning in technology organisations and massive challenges in staffing key leadership positions in the same organisations. Our lack of planning and creating and integrated education process has significantly impacted our current ability to make a meaningful impact into most IT areas – without strategic partnering and sourcing with other countries.
Scoring for the Future: We have a lot of ground to cover – starting at the grass roots level and reaching far into the private and national government levels. The recent job creation commitments from the DoC created a stir – but thus far remain as the only real commitments made. We have to also mention that SITA’s use of the Integrated Financial Management Systems (IFMS) programme to attempt to stimulate both the SMME sector and the creation of local technology skills is commendable– but is still academic. Score of 2/10.
Made in the RSA – Home-Grown innovation
We are often very critical of the constant flight of entrepreneurs and technology ideas to US shores. We are equally in awe at the mass of technology start-ups originating from India. This must beg the question … why not “Made in the RSA”? It is my opinion that the total lack of a venture capital market for technology innovation must be blamed for both the flight and resulting absence of home-grown innovation. We have the CSIR that makes a business of R+D but lacks in the ability to commercialise. The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) has been created with this primary objective in mind – but it remains a state agency and subject to the boundaries that come with this status. Let’s not forget the Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) that is mandated to seek and fund innovations that enhance service delivery. We definitely have several viable channels and mechanisms that can be used to enhance local innovation – but yet we lack them. We need more Shuttleworths to really put us on the map!
Scoring for the Future: There is definite merit in the structures that are in place. Even the IDC has a VC fund that can be used for local content based technology start-ups. However, we should look to borrow from the Americans and Indians and promote the creation of a real VC “fund” for technology specific innovation. This will have the immediate effect of stimulating new SMME development in the sector – which is the engine room of any economy – and we are lacking this. Score of 5/10.
Telecommunications as a key enabler
No discussion on IT can be complete without a meaningful swipe at the telecommunication operators. The fact is that our telecommunications cost, availability and quality are significant inhibitors to the adoption of key technologies such as Cloud Computing, “Everything” as a Service and Enterprise Mobility solutions. The strategic intent to grow our Business Process Outsourcing sector remains under pressure as a consequence. The rapidly emerging market for mobile application development will see a significant step-up in the number of new entrants. These will come in the form of students and young entrepreneurs, all of whom will be dependent on the high availability of low cost broadband services.
Scoring for the Future: Whilst some strides have been made in this regard, the cost of telecommunications remains a significant and self-imposed barrier to meaningful entry into the new practices of IT. This is a material challenge as the majority of the next (and the next) evolution of applications and technologies will assume these fundamentals are in place. Score of 5/10.
Based on these indicators several key points of conclusion are appropriate. Firstly, we believe that both public and private sectors have meaningful access to thoughtware, innovation and services that are in-line with anywhere else in the world. In this sense, we are fully connected into the global economy and should comfortably shake-off the “poor cousin” mentality. We also believe that there are important and relevant channels for innovation and research.
However, we have to accept that we (as a country) are significantly behind the curve when it comes to the development of key skills. Whilst we are convinced that Government has a key role to play in releasing significant spend on IT towards improved service delivery – we are also key proponents of the philosophy of partnership between the Public and Private sectors in order to create the appropriate environment for cultivating growth for IT in SA. This environment must include establishing a VC market for technology innovation and alleviating the historic challenge of the cost of telecommunications.
Finally, and probably most importantly – we as a country lack a singular vision for our role in the global IT economy and with that, we lack a single point of ownership to make this vision real. We are clearly expending a fair amount of effort at multiple points but actions in the absence of a clear vision can amount to wasted energy.
There has never been a better time than the present to capitalise on new waves of technology and in so doing, leapfrog past leaders through innovation and collaboration.
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Filed under: Information Technology, Centre for Public Service Innovation, cio, cloud computing, CPSI, CSIR, Deloitte, development, DoC, DPSA, enterprise mobility, GCIO, government, ICT Agenda, IDC, IFMS, information technology, Integrated Financial Management Systems, IT, Kamal Ramsingh, SITA, skills, talent, Technology Innovation Agency, telecommunications, Vision for 2020
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