Focus on the connected customer to deliver personal experiences

Magnus Nmonwu

The IDC CIO Summit took place in Lagos mid-May and focussed on how the next wave of social, mobile, analytics and cloud (SMAC) technologies will unleash innovation and productivity in the enterprise by delivering better employee and customer experiences.

Says Nmonwu: “These technologies empower people by making apps, services and information accessible everywhere (mobile), collaborative and easy-to-use (social) and tailored and responsive to their needs and context (analytics). In the background, the power of the cloud makes it affordable and easy to deploy the latest applications and solutions to users wherever they are.

“It’s all being made possible by growing Internet penetration, with more than 90 million Internet users  in Nigeria looking to organisations to provide them with digital services and experiences.”
Today’s business management solutions are tailored to the needs of a digital native accustomed to WhatsApp, Netflix and Snapchat rather than a worker used to email and old-fashioned ERP.

Analytics tools democratise data 

Analytics tools give managers and leaders access to real-time data about the business’s performance on their mobile devices for strategic decision-making. But they also extend data to everyone in the business, explains Nmonwu. At an operational level, the combination of big data and machine learning will allow companies to tailor customer and employee experiences to the needs of different segments to optimise sales and productivity.

“Paired with the Internet of Things, advanced analytics and machine learning are bringing about the fourth industrial revolution. Connected devices and sensors, cloud computing, advanced robotics, intelligent software, and a range of other technologies are enabling companies to produce complex products in a smooth, automated process using specialist robots with very little human input.

“In this environment, analytics is used to forecast issues such as machine errors or supply chain interruptions so that quality levels and uptime remain high. The Nigerian CIO’s role will be about managing the challenges and opportunities presented by digital transformation and the Internet of Things. Expect this trend to bring the same level of disruption to old-style industries such as mining, manufacturing and construction as the internet has already brought to banking, media and retail.”

*Sage is a sponsor at the IDC CIO Summit series in Lagos and Johannesburg which have already taken place this May; and Nairobi which will take place on 14 June and Mauritius on 16 August 2017.