Tech as critical as water and electricity - MTN

According to Justin Colyn, general manager of Fixed Mobile Convergence at MTN Business, technology today has become a critical operational 'utility' to business - much like electricity, telephones and water - and as such, any technology trend that is likely to impact businesses immeasurably must be explained and validated transparently in the industry. This is the only way to ensure effective decision-making by already pressured CIOs and CTOs.

According to Gartner, Software as a Service (SaaS) growth does not show any signs of slowing down. In fact, Gartner has predicted that global SaaS revenue should reach $12,1 billion in 2011, which is a 20,7% increase from the revenue in 2010. "These statistics may be indicative of global trends but considering the attention and success that cloud computing has already achieved locally, coupled with phenomenal growth rates of mobility, it is our opinion that 'everything as a service' or XaaS as it is known, will revolutionise the South African and African business landscape far more," says Colyn.

Companies choose what they want

XaaS provides businesses with a platform that offers agility and the flexibility to engage with the latest in technological services through the cloud. This means that enterprises do not need to continuously purchase and invest in the latest technology solutions for their business structures. Rather through using the XaaS platform, companies can choose services with the required levels of capacity that are needed in relation to their specific business needs. "The XaaS model not only increases employee productivity and improves efficiencies but also provides significant long-term cost saving as continually changing IT investments are no longer necessary," adds Colyn.

"It's a win-win situation for business, which is why its uptake and subsequent revolution of the technology industry is inevitable. Cloud computing has already become a must have for CIOs and IT managers as they no longer have to worry about servers running out of capacity, networks falling over, viruses spreading like wildfire on the corporate LAN or any of the myriad ICT problems that crop up on a daily basis."

The MTN Business XaaS model and offering will be made up of six key components that offers a flexible access for businesses - be it from a desk, the home, tablet, smartphone or any other mobile device.