ICT infrastructure: it's not what you've got, it's what you do with it

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 30 January 2008 16:10

IT Industry - Market

The authors say that businesses have to show imagination in the way they use technology. As a complement to the Scorecard they surveyed IT managers who operate internationally to gauge their satisfaction with the fixed-line and mobile infrastructures and services offered in a range of countries.

They say that "Somewhat to our surprise, most were quite satisfied with the state of affairs they found. This could suggest that the low scores on our Scorecard are misleading, but it more likely suggests that businesses do not grasp that even existing technologies can be used much more intensively. For example, some mobile banking services and electronic transaction services are better developed in African countries than in the US or Canada."

The Connectivity Scorecard claims to have found many market opportunities for telecoms operators. "[The Scorecard] shows that few markets are truly 'saturated'. Operators will have to look at the specific strengths and weaknesses of each country and spot the potential for expansion...In addition, we emphasis 'smart' Connectivity - ie the ways in which networks are used – hence there is much room for operators to assist firms by providing best-in-class training in usage. Thus operators need to re-focus their attention on 'smart' sales." The full report is available at http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com/connectivityscorecard