Businesses will have to embrace smart technology or risk being left behind

App-based taxi-hailing business has been praised as an efficient and affordable option but there is a dark side to it. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

What you need to know:

  • In essence, smart technology is about making products and services as efficient as they can be.
  • To realise the true benefits of the digital age, we need to be open to new ways of doing things.

Smart technology is one of those floating terms that has increasingly become a catchphrase in nearly every marketing guru’s presentation.

However, few understand what smart technology really is.

Given the existing ambiguity around the word and what benefits it could yield for small, medium and large businesses, I would like to help answer the question — what is smart technology and why should your business pay attention to it?

KONZA CITY

In essence, smart technology is about making products and services as efficient as they can be.

This way, process inefficiencies are reduced and greater value is delivered from a smaller amount of resources.

While business and IT leaders know the world of business is going to dramatically change over the next few decades, 93 per cent told Avanade in a survey that they are already investing in smart technologies because they see significant economic and other benefits stemming from their increased use.

In 2015, Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA), developers of Konza City in Machakos County, announced that they would develop its infrastructure through smart technology.

BUSINESS

This sparked debate about the role of smart technology in developing economies with some proponents citing efficiency and reduced costs and opponents claiming that this would deepen the employment crisis in Kenya.

Yet while we could focus on the negative press, many remain convinced that smart technology is the future of business and embracing it not only gives them competitive edge but also allows them the opportunity to focus capital on more business-critical issues and innovation.

Seven years ago, Mobile Decisioning (MODE) launched in Kenya with their flagship product, airtime credit services.

SUBSCRIBERS

We profiled subscribers, allowing them to borrow and repay loans effortlessly and conveniently based on different parameters.

Suddenly, subscribers no longer had to worry about distance or availability.

They simply used a short code to access airtime, and paid back on their recharge.

The spread of MODE footprint and the increased volume of data necessitated the use of smart technology, instrumental in mapping customer behaviour and predicting uptake and penetration.

UBER

Smart technology has had a great impact in the success of MODE in over 26 markets across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The launch of Uber in the Kenyan market in 2015 brought with it a lot of controversy — as most disruptive technologies tend to do.

Top among these has been debate around the regulatory and operational validity of this new concept.

A lesser known product offered by Uber is a service known as Uber for Business, or U4B.

BENEFITS
While previously many companies needed to partner with transport companies to provide business-related transport for their employees and await an invoice at the end of the month, which would need to be reconciled with the company’s own records, this new service offers a platform that is designed to provide seamless transportation services for employees while centralising the billing process.

The benefits of shifting to this new smart technology have been instant and tangible.

Because Uber already has a massive database of drivers who use the app, employees are able to get a ride from point A to B faster, thus reducing time spent waiting for a cab to arrive.

IT TRANSFORMATION

Further, companies can register and have their employees start requesting trips immediately, which means very little investment required to shift to the smart technology.

This level of accountability was not previously possible, thereby leaving much room for misuse of company-provided transport by employees.

According to an article published in the Harvard Business Review on competition, we are now entering what is being described as the third wave of IT transformation — where smart technology becomes a key part of products so that they can communicate with us and interact with other products without human intervention.

REVAMP

This is providing leading businesses and forward-thinking governments with the opportunity to pioneer new approaches to creating more sustainable businesses.

To realise the true benefits of the digital age, we need to be open to new ways of doing things.

Businesses are changing. Existing markets are opening up to new entrants and displacing incumbents, while new markets and economic models are emerging.

If you want your business to survive, embrace smart technology and begin to enjoy its benefits today or risk being left behind.

The writer is the director of Innovation at MODE. [email protected]