10 key considerations on your path to enterprise mobility

by Kamal Ramsingh, Head of Technology at Deloitte Consulting, South Africa. Kamal may be contacted directly at kramsingh@deloitte.co.za

The mobile technology space has definitely not lacked in activity. Less than 12-months ago – the world waited with bated breath for the launch of RIM’s PlayBook. Today – we wait with bated breath on the future of the very same organisation. Google buys Motorola, Apple in lawsuits around Android, Nokia loosing global market share and Windows mobile not as pervasive as expected.  The tablet market has been just as tumultuous. Apple’s iPad is still the undisputed leader, HP and others offer weak alternatives thus far with probably the most disappointing being RIM’s PlayBook. HP is looking to mimic IBM as a software services firm which could see them exit the PC market.

However, despite this extreme volatility in the technology domain, the battle to connect the unconnected in Africa and other developing countries continues. There is no doubt that the mobile revolution is upon as and that we as leaders will need to respond or at least plan a response in the immediate term. Mobile technologies and the maturing device market present real opportunities to improve business processes,  innovate on new products or just simply improve our businesses efficiencies.

With this mind, we thought we’d share a view of the key considerations to be borne in mind when commencing your exciting journey on the path of enterprise mobility. 

1. Recognise the Stage – This means recognizing that we are at the initial stage of mobility as a key value-add to business. The implications are several. Firstly, this means that expansive projects and investments should be a last resort. It also means that we cannot expect the “typical” enterprise brands to come to our rescue as they are still developing their own license models and specific solutions. We are at early mover stage with the related benefits and risks.
2. Accept the power – Like all other points of transformation – know the reason for the pain as the pain will come and you will need to explain the reason! We need to accept and even evangelize the power of mobility. Study upon study reveals the increasing levels of mobility amongst our workforce. Typically administrative “desk jockeys” are spending as much as 20% (and rising) of their lives away from their desk – this is the equivalent of a day a week. This means that business processes that have assumed a static workforce are now broken for at least 20% of the time. Mobility can offer  new products or even change the way you interact with your customers. Starbucks  allows orders to be placed from the queue – making overall customer experience better as queues move faster. Recognise the power of mobility – the challenge is on how we harness and manage it for our good.
3. Scope, Re-scope and De-scope – This is the age old principle of keeping it simple (KISS) – taken to the next level. De-scoping will become the new buzzword for Mobile applications. Mobile applications will work best when they are small and focused. Similarly, make the process scope small and possibly even at the task level and ignore multiple geographies initially. Mobile apps and Enterprise apps are different beasts (see point below) – so too are the related projects. Keep it simple  – and focused – for maximum return. 
4. Invest in learning – Accept that the first 1, 2 or even 3 attempts are investments in learning. There is a need to learn about the technology, validity of the business case assumptions as well as the organization and/or customer’s ability to accept and adopt the changes in a positive manner. The younger the targeted audience, the more readily will these changes be accepted – but – value needs to be provided immediately or it won’t be used again. Delivery models and partnerships may also be tested. All-in-all – the IT shop has to accept that even they need to learn through this!
5. Business benefits rule – The discipline of investing for business benefits cannot be ignored, even if the project or scope is limited. This needs to be clearly defined and tested upfront – with the same rigor as would be applied for a larger project. 
6. Mobile vs Enterprise Apps – Successful mobile applications will be singular in purpose and focused in operation. This differs from an Enterprise application that allows the user to move through multiple aspects of a single business process. Mobile applications are focused on tasks or task elements e.g. record time in a specific week. Most enterprise application functionality has been driven by users with a view to interacting with the application as part of their jobs. Mobile applications will be used “on-the-go”  – between meetings, cups of coffee or even traffic light changes! 
7. Research Ideas – Find out Who has already done What . Not all ideas are in production mode and not all may be applicable to your business problem. However, significant effort is being expended at universities, mobile operators, software OEM’s or even freelance developers. Any Enterprise Mobility effort should include an external research role that finds and reviews innovations from other quarters – including that of your competitors! 
8. Consumerisation cannot be ignored – This is the phenomenon that could have a very positive or negative impact on mobility. The bring-your-own technology wave will impact the way in which we design and distribute applications, track and protect mobile assets and data as well how we build a business case. The modern knowledge worker will not always forego his/her Macbook in the name of standardization. 
9. Partner where possible – Extend the project to include customers or even suppliers that may be part of the process you are looking at. This will increase collaboration, reduce costs and possibly enhance the business case. The partnership model should even extend to mobile operators and/or software development houses. It is expected that the majority of the mobile applications will be custom built in the short to medium term. It is not unlikely that aspiring software developers will recognize value in the partnership allowing you to further reduce costs associated with development. 
10. Cloud is an Enabler – The Cloud is seen as a key means of mitigating the risk associated with application change and configuration management. By placing selected applications onto a private cloud, organizations can make standard functionality available to all users – without having to deal with multiple platforms or data fragmentation challenges. Whilst there will be some device specific elements, this is a definite consideration in any Enterprise Mobility Plan.

Building a response to Enterprise Mobility along these key points will assist with completeness of thinking and provide the focus needed. The readiness of your organisation to accept and capitalise on this trend remains in the hands of the C-Level leadership.  Best of luck.

Your comments and feedback is most welcome.

Four key success factors to growing agriculture opportunities in Africa

This article was prepared by Omri van Zyl, Head of the Deloitte Africa Agribusiness Unit, which discusses the four key success factors to growing agriculture opportunities in Africa. For further information, you may contact Omri van Zyl directly at ovanzyl@deloitte.co.za  

Food security and the future

With food security becoming one of the main themes for the future survival of nations on the planet – agriculture is one of the cornerstones in elevating this challenge.

The aftermath of the Global Economic Crisis created more poverty and hunger than can be measured. Today, with the future of food security more precarious than ever, governments around the world are finally focusing on agriculture and taking the first steps towards long-term solutions.

The 1996 World Food Summit in Rome defined food security as existing “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.”

At the time, it seemed realistic to expect to halve the proportion of chronically undernourished people by 2015. This goal was at the heart of the Rome Declaration on World Food Security, and formed the basis of the first Millennium Development Goals.

The roots of today’s food insecurity go back 30 years, when investment in agriculture started to decline. In 1979, aid to agriculture was 18% of total assistance. By 2008, it was just 4.3%. In developing countries, government investment in agriculture also fell in this period, by one third in Africa and by as much as two thirds in Asia and Latin America.

In many developing countries, particularly low-income countries, decreased investment was accompanied by a policy vacuum. Governments dismantled older, costly instruments that had supported agriculture, but did not replace them with new, more effective ones.

When global food prices soared from September 2006 to June 2008, in many cases almost doubling, it became apparent that the world was facing a new era of uncertainty. Indeed, volatility returned to some food commodities markets in 2010.

In addition, the world’s population is expected to rise from 6.7 to 9.1 billion by 2050, with most of the growth in developing countries. Increasing population sizes create more demand for food, water and land at a time when agricultural land is being increasingly used for bio-fuel production. At the same time, climate change is expected to put millions more people at risk of hunger in the coming years.

Africa is a continent with one of the largest proportions of arable land available in the world. Given the current production potential – many nations are looking at Africa for the production of food. Countries like China and India have already started the acquisition of land in various countries to plan for future shortages.

Download the full article . . . . Four key success factors to growing agriculture opportunities in Africa

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Doing business in Africa and mitigating risk

Experience has shown that risk and reward are inter-related and businesses cannot maximise reward (Shareholder Value) without taking a calculated risk. The art and science of calculating risk is the challenge faced by executives on a daily basis. An in-depth, informed risk analysis is critical to achieve shareholder value.

The African continent is perceived to be world’s greatest opportunity for corporate expansion. However, lack of proper risk analysis has meant many organisations have been unable to maximise shareholder value and have either under-achieved or failed in their African expansion endeavours.

The Africa Risk Map provides a unique view on the pervasive and interconnected nature of risk, giving executives a useful tool to identify the specific risks pertaining to their organisation when operating in Africa.

Overall, the Africa Risk Map helps you focus on the right things and serves as a graphic reminder of what you are doing and why. Don’t risk growing your business in Africa without customising the Map, based on risks that impact your specific organisation. Areas could include regulatory, geographic industry and company-specific issues.

Download the Deloitte Africa footprint and Africa Risk Map

Visit the Deloitte Into Africa web page

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Africa poised for growth

by Lwazi Bam, Director for Corporate Finance at Deloitte

The debate is no longer about whether there will be significant growth on the continent of Africa or not, but rather about the scale of the growth, writes Lwazi Bam, director for corporate finance at Deloitte.

There is a general acknowledgment that the African continent is poised for growth in the 21st century, with some commentators even going as far as calling it the African century. The debate is no longer about whether there will be significant growth on the continent or not, but rather about the scale of the growth.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, between 2012 and 2015 the average growth of the sub-Saharan regional economy is forecast at nearly 5% per annum. The World Bank is also forecasting similar growth percentages (5.5% for 2012) for sub-Saharan Africa, making it among the fastest growing regions in the world.

The M&A market is usually a good indicator of the economic growth expectations. Generally, investors will invest in industries that they perceive to have the greatest growth prospects. The value of M&A transactions surged to a record high of US$44 billion in 2010, which was more than double the value of US$17.5 billion in 2009 (source: Investors Monthly).

SA was the most targeted sub-Saharan country with 54% of M&A activity in 2010.

As a continent rich in natural resources, it is not surprising that the majority of M&A transactions over the past 12 months has been in the resources sector. According to the Thomson Reuters Sub-Saharan Africa IB Analysis report, the value of natural resources transactions during 2010 in sub-Saharan Africa rose from US$4.7 billion in 2009 to US$11.3 billion.

There is still a lot of appetite for African natural resources, particularly from companies in the East. China and India accounted for 36% of the value of all transactions.

In many respects, SA is seen as the Hong Kong of Africa, and as the platform from which to launch expansion into Africa. It has the proven and established legal, banking and regulatory systems that are attractive to foreign investors.

While foreign investors are still attracted to Africa’s natural resources, consumerism has now become a huge factor. With the continent’s massive population of more than a billion people all growing their disposable incomes and buying cars, cellphones and products from retailers, investors looking for growth are keen to invest in Africa.

What has been even more interesting regarding M&A growth in Africa has been the diversification into industries other than resources. Telecommunications, financial services and consumer businesses are just some of the sectors that have experienced a surge in M&A activity.

The Bharti Airtel takeover of the Zain operations in Africa has had a significant impact on the telecommunications market in which they operate. Bharti Airtel has completely disrupted the market by slashing the prices by more than 80% in some cases (source: BMI Industry Overview, August 2010). While this is disruptive to the industry, it is of course a huge advancement in the ordinary lives of most African citizens.

Certain African countries, particularly those in east Africa, have seen basic infrastructure growth outpaced by the growth in technological advances. The introduction of M-PESA, the cellphone-based money transfer service, in Kenya is an example of this rapid expansion.

It is acknowledged that there is still a lot that needs to be done in terms of basic infrastructure, but their technology biased infrastructure presents a lot of opportunities for both the investors and the citizens.

So what are the big prospects for the next few years?

The panic over the shortage of natural resources that drove up demand and prices has eased. Significant new oil discoveries in countries such as Ghana, Uganda and Sierra Leone will be the key driver of activity in the resources industry and will likely be more country specific.

The big talk at the moment is of food scarcity. Africa, with its vast arable land, has to be in a great position to respond to this, so the prospects for agri-business should be good.

Financial services’ penetration is still quite low, so that still has some prospects. The consolidation and recapitalisation of the Nigerian banks could create potential M&A interest in the banking sector there.

As the middle class continues to grow in these countries, there will also be greater demand for private education.

In terms of M&A, the story that will be dominating the next few years is likely to be the diversification of African economies and more transactions that are looking to take advantage of the massive consumer market.

*Lwazi Bam is director for corporate finance at Deloitte.

You can contact Lwazi Bam at lbam@deloitte.co.za

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Africa’s Growth Prospects

There is a general acknowledgment that the African continent is poised for growth in the 21st century. Some commentators have even gone as far as calling the 21st century the African century. The debate is no longer about whether there will be significant growth from the continent or not, but rather about the scale of the growth. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, from 2012-2015 the sub-Saharan regional economy is forecast average growth of nearly 5% per annum. The World Bank is also forecasting similar growth percentages (5.5% for 2012) for sub-Saharan Africa, making it amongst the fastest growing regions in the world.

Read more on the Deloitte SA blog  . . . . Africa’s Growth Prospects