Big Data, IBM, & Sub-Saharan Africa

March 11, 2014

Recently, IBM was awarded the 2014 Sub-Saharan African Frost & Sullivan Award for Competitive Strategy Leadership because of their commitment to harnessing big data in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a premier IBM business partner, ITS, Inc. shares this commitment to innovation in big data. Read on to learn more about big data solutions in Africa.

IBM’s Efforts in Africa

By naming IBM as the winner of the 2014 Sub-Saharan African Frost & Sullivan Award for Competitive Strategy Leadership, Frost & Sullivan takes note of the ways that IBM stands out as a leader in technology in this region. IBM offers the deepest portfolio on a global scale of both research and development related to big data analytics. This allows them to provide the Sub-Saharan African region with the complete range of big data services, including hardware, infrastructure, visualization, and analytics.

IBM utilizes their big data research in Africa to develop solutions to a number of grand challenges that Africa faces. Currently, some of their main projects include:

• The Skills Gap: Unfortunately, innovation in the realm of science and technology has been hindered by a shortage of the necessary skills in Africa. IBM has established a resident scientist program in multiple schools to address the skills gap.
• Advertising for Small Businesses: Many small businesses in Nairobi, Kenya, lack the necessary budget to reach customers through advertising. IBM has developed a digital advertising solution that enables these businesses to advertise to customers through their mobile phones.
• Reducing Traffic Congestion: Traffic Congestion is another major issue in Nairobi. To reduce this issue, IBM has created a pilot solution that allows commuters to find the best driving route via their mobile phones.

Africa’s Advances in Big Data

Experts predict that when it comes to big data analytics, Africa is poised to surpass the rest of the world. Many companies in Africa are currently using big data to completely transform the operations of their businesses. For example, Santam Ltd., the premier company in South Africa for short-term insurance, is currently harnessing big data to more quickly process claims and spot potential fraud. By developing solutions with IBM, African countries are taking advantage of the many solutions that big data has to offer.

Does your company need help harnessing big data? Contact ITS, Inc., a premier IBM business partner, to learn more about the services offered by our IBM certified consultants.

Thanks for reading,

Rob Connary, President - COO

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