Enterprise Investments in Will Drive Worldwide ICT Market to Almost $4 Trillion in 2018

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The digital revolution continues to gather pace and traditional business models are undergoing unprecedented levels of disruption. This has led to a wave of digital transformation initiatives across the African region, and according to Andries Lombaard, country manager for South Africa at International Data Corporation (IDC), these initiatives require expert guidance to overcome the myriad of challenges and roadblocks that lie in wait.

"IDC's South Africa CIO Summit has served as a pioneering platform for ICT thought leadership over the past 9 years," says Lombaard. "As we celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2018, we will aim to make sense of the region's rapidly evolving digital transformation landscape, with global and local analysts, market-leading vendors, and more than 100 of the country's most influential ICT leaders gathering together to lay down a blueprint for thriving in the digital economy."

The key themes for the 2018 event, which will take place on April 18-19 at Zulu Nyala Country Manor, include transitioning from business to digital business, enabling disruptive automation, moving beyond customer relationship management to customer experience management, leveraging data as an asset, driving digital business at scale, and embracing a new role for the IT function.

"At IDC, we know the role of the CIO is changing rapidly and this year we are introducing in-depth discussions with other lines of business to help attendees understand what their business requirements are and assist them in this transition," says Lombaard. "We are also very excited about adding focus groups to the program. These sessions will be shaped by the latest developments in today's IT environment and will include intimate roundtable discussions around topics such as cloud, IoT, smart cities, hyper convergence, and artificial intelligence."

Attendees will have 24 sessions to choose from, giving them the flexibility to tailor their Summit experience to meet their individual needs. "IDC's South Africa CIO Summit 2018 is much more than just another ICT conference," says Lombaard. "We have tailored our program to provide a mix of valuable information-sharing sessions, in-depth discussions, and the chance to network in a more relaxed environment with informal activities."

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading media, data and marketing services company.