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| *Dr. Evans Woherem |
The
International Data Corporation, IDC has in its latest report, predicted that
connected devices around the world will continue to soar and would reach an
estimated total value of $1.7 trillion by the year, 2020.
In
the report, IDC believes that the latest technology trend, the Internet of Everything
(IoE) has enormous opportunities in Africa especially against the backdrop of
the prospect of the continent likely to accommodate one billion connected
devices by the end of this decade.
Interestingly,
this year’s edition of Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition billed for
June1-3 is focusing on Internet of Everything (IoE), especially considering the
fact that the new technology has become the new driver for innovation in the 21st
century.
Dr.
Evans Woherem, Executive Chairman of Digital Africa Global Consult, organizers of
the annual technology show while explaining the rationale behind the choice of
Internet of Everything as the focus for this year’s event, observed that the
Internet of Everything (IoE) has gone from a small and interesting topic of
conversation to an industry with the potential to change the way the world
functions.
“More
and more objects in our physical world are now able to communicate with each
other or with us through embedded sensors, tags, and actuators without human
involvement. These ‘smart objects’ can see, hear, feel, and smell the world
around them. Intelligence embedded into personal items, household appliances,
cars, clothing, factory equipment, and infrastructure generates vast amounts of
valuable data that can be collected, networked, and analyzed for a wide range
of business, societal, and personal advances,” Woherem said.
Senior
research manager at IDC Sub-Saharan Africa, George Kalebaila noted that the
opportunities in IoE are endless, with the spread of IoE enabling smart
industry, smart health, smart
living, smart energy, smart transport, smart
buildings, smart cities, and an overall smarter planet, adding that the only
forces restricting the application of IoE are imaginations and the rate at
which policy frameworks can catch up to regulate the industry.
He said the Internet of Everything (IoE) has the ability to
transform the lives of citizens, providing tangible solutions to many of
society’s ills. That said, partnerships between the public and private sector
will be key in ensuring that these are fully realised.
“If you look at Rwanda, for example, they have realised that
for them to enable a smart city, they need a platform that everything can plug
into. They have already started putting those building blocks in place so that
their transport, health and education systems plug into the same platform to
exchange data, where possible, to enable end-to-end solutions,” says Kalebaila.
Woherem added that Africa needs leaders that have a good
vision of the modern Africa, countries, cities and villages they want to create
to modernise, enhance economic growth, increase standard of living, make life
more pleasant and convenient for her people. He, therefore, urged Africa to get
ready to embrace the new trend, IoE.
The 2016 edition of Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition
is the fourth in the series of successful events earlier held in 2013, 2014 and
2015. It has attracted renowned ICT experts to discuss Africa’s ICT sector
development as well as proffer solutions to the challenges limiting the
continent’s advancement to the point of digital singularity with the rest of
the globe.
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