Technology

Microsoft flags trends that will shape nature of tech disruptions

cloud

Among hurdles often cited for businesses before they adopt the cloud are public perception and fragmented, confusing regulations. file photo | nmg

That Kenya is distinguished as a hotbed of technological innovation and creativity is not in dispute.

Experts however reckon the challenge going forward is how the country consolidates the gains in order to improve the quality of life for its citizenry.

A while back, talk on cloud computing would have earned a person blank looks. Today however, cloud storage of programmes, documents and data is now a pre-occupation of IT managers.

Techies aver that the onset of the Internet of Things, big data and cloud computing have revived hope and presented endless possibilities to organisations who are now able to use data to positively influence almost every facet of their operations.

However, reports indicate that the missing link is that currently not all mobile devices (including laptops and phones) used to access data in the cloud are connected. While many organisations want to make use of big data, IT departments have difficulty in making it comprehensible and cost-effective – largely because, up until now, it has been neither.

“We’ve found that key to mitigating costs in organisations, begins with housing your solution in one place, a single app,” said Sebuh Haileleul, the General Manager for East Africa at Microsoft.

Among hurdles often cited for businesses before they adopt the cloud are public perception and fragmented, confusing regulations.

Microsoft flags out three major trends that will shape and shoulder disruptions in the future. They include astronomical explosion of data, cloud adoption and Artificial Intelligence.

READ: Why Kenya is yet to fully embrace cloud computing

These trends were evident at the just concluded Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, where more than 2,400 exhibitors showcased their latest mobile innovations, majority of which focused on emerging technologies.

This year’s mammoth congress which was dominated by a huge buzz around 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT), earned itself the title the “year of Intelligent Connectivity”.

5G is the latest of the mobile technology that will significantly lower latency and increase throughput to meet the swelling mobile data consumption.

At present, Kenya is the clear leader in Africa when it comes to Internet and mobile penetration, which stood at 89.4 per cent in June 2017, with the next three lagging further behind: Morocco (58pc), South Africa (56) and Nigeria (54). The continental average is 31.2 per cent.