IBM: 41% of companies in Egypt and Morocco do not have big data plans

A recent study by IBM shows that 64% of companies in Kenya and Nigeria already have their own big data plans, and only 36% say they don't have any plans for big data.

This figure is very different from that in North Africa. In North Africa, fewer than 1/4 of businesses (24% of Egyptian companies and 22% of Moroccan companies) claim to have big data plans or are planning to make big data plans. Most companies in Egypt and Morocco currently do not have plans to enable big data.

Egypt: 38% of enterprises do not have plans to enable large data

Morocco: 44% of enterprises do not have plans to enable large data

The results of the IBM study also suggest that companies in both countries "lack knowledge of large data and no concept of how big Data works". In both countries, there are very few documents that assess the ROI of large data (investment returns) (76% of Moroccan companies and 64% of Egyptian companies do not have large data ROI assessments). Although in Kenya and Nigeria, a total of 63% of enterprises have not done the relevant assessment.

The different attitudes towards large data in sub-Saharan and North Africa are surprising. In fact, IBM should also be partly responsible for this result.

In recent years, IBM has invested heavily in Kenya, which is enough to cause Kenyan entrepreneurs to focus on big data. IBM's investment initiatives include the November 8, 2013 establishment of the first African Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, and a series of long-term investment projects. Over the past year, IBM has also been planning to promote the economy in West Africa, and has decided to invest in Accra, the capital of the Republic of Ghana, following Nigeria.

At present, many research centres are also looking for potential it opportunities in Morocco, but why does Morocco not always have the attention of Egypt, the country that has been in frequent trouble?

Morocco was described as: "One of Africa's most mature telecommunications markets and is often seen as a model for future development in other parts of the continent." ”

"I returned to Morocco in 2010 to see the growth of the telecommunications sector in Morocco as a result of growing customer demand," said one respondent. I have 25 years of it experience in Australia and Saudi Arabia, and Morocco has developed rapidly in the field of telecommunications, and it can even be said to have overtaken the developed world. ”

The telecoms market in North Africa is already more advanced than the markets of sub-Saharan Africa. However, at present international has begun to pay attention to those countries that have been neglected in the past. Because Nigeria has a wealth of oil resources, and Kenya is also actively engaged in e-government work, these have indeed affected the neighbouring countries. Now, Ethiopia, a country known for its famine, has surprisingly become a big data leader.

November 28, 2013: "United States" IDG

Compiling: Center for international Economic and Technical cooperation, Ministry of Industry and Information technology Zhu

(Responsible editor: The good of the Legacy)