Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • +44 (0)20 7454 5110
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
Return to PR Newswire homepage
  • News
  • Products
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All Public Company News
      • All Multimedia News
      • View All News Releases

      • Regulatory News

      • D/A/CH Regulatory News
      • UK Regulatory News
      • View All Regulatory News

  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads & Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking & Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film & Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers & Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalisation
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls & Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil & Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defence
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation & Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking & Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers & Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines & Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics & Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture & Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewellery
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film & Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks & Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels & Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Animal Welfare
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Economic News, Trends & Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • Labour & Union
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Public Safety
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Overview
  • Distribution
  • Paid Placement
  • Multichannel Amplification
  • Disclosure Services
  • SocialBoost
  • Rooms
    • MediaRoom
    • ESG Rooms
  • AI Tools
  • General Enquiries
  • Media Enquiries
  • Partnerships
  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PR Newswire UK provides press release distribution, targeting, monitoring, and marketing services
  • Send a Release
    • Phone

    • +44 (0)20 7454 5110 from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT

    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us

      +44 (0)20 7454 5110
      from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT

  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • News in Focus
    • Browse News Releases
    • Regulatory News
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
    • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • Overview
  • Distribution
  • Paid Placement
  • Multichannel Amplification
  • Disclosure Services
  • Cision Communications Cloud®
  • AI Tools
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • General Enquiries
  • Media Enquiries
  • Partnerships
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists

IBM Named an Innovation Leader in Big Data in Sub-Saharan Africa, Notes Frost & Sullivan


News provided by

Frost & Sullivan

03 Feb, 2014, 07:00 GMT

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX

-- Innovative, integrated solutions and emphasis on market education helps IBM expand its market share in the region

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Feb. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent research on the big data solutions market, Frost & Sullivan has presented IBM (NYSE:IBM) with the 2014 Sub-Saharan African Frost & Sullivan Award for Competitive Strategy Leadership. While most companies in Sub-Saharan Africa already undertake various forms of data analytics, one of the key challenges facing big data solutions providers is convincing companies of the longer-term pay-offs resulting from effective big data implementation. Uneven market maturity and a shortage of skilled personnel are other issues specific to the region. IBM has employed a Big Data and Analytics strategy that effectively addresses these challenges, making it a leading local market player.

IBM is already a dominant player in the emerging global big data market and the uptake of its solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa has followed a similar vein across a broad range of industries. To meet growing client demands, IBM has established the world's deepest portfolio of Big Data and Analytics research and development, solutions and software, and assembled a strong team of researchers, mathematicians, data scientists, as well as strategy, analytics and design services consultants. In addition, the company continues to secure numerous patents related to Big Data and Analytics and engage a broad range of university partnerships.

"Competition amongst IT integrators is intense, but one of IBM's key advantages is its ability to provide the full spectrum of big data services – from the infrastructure and hardware aspects through to analytics and visualisation," noted Frost & Sullivan Senior Industry Analyst Gareth Mellon. "This is something that most competitors do not have the capability to offer, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa."

IBM's ability to partner with specific industry providers at different points in the big data value chain has further entrenched the broad scope of its portfolio and allowed it to offer customisable solutions throughout the market.

Recognising that a viable cost-benefit analysis is critical to achieving big data solution buy-in, IBM has also been purposeful in its efforts to educate the market of the value it can derive from effective big data solutions. This awareness is created through the provision of training materials and online resources, the publication of numerous reports and case studies, and committed involvement with high-profile projects.

"IBM's ability to facilitate integration between the various threads of a business has been critical to its big data solutions offering," added Mellon. "As such, it has both leveraged and reinforced existing market perceptions of it as a leading ICT integrator."

The company's Big Data and Analytics solutions strategy maintains its emphasis on innovation. For instance, IBM is a leading player in the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) project which has significant and highly advanced "big data" requirements. The SKA is an international effort to build the world's largest and most sensitive radio telescope, to help better understand the history of the universe. IBM also continues to build on its renowned Watson cognitive computing system, which is able to draw on big data techniques to provide evidence-based responses.

On the skills side, IBM has gone to considerable lengths to ensure an ongoing supply of skilled personnel in Africa through its establishment of Innovation Centres – it now has three on the continent, with plans to open two more during 2014  – and the provision of online platforms such as 'big data bootcamps' and bigdatauniversity.com.

Numerous case studies testify to the uptake of IBM's solutions by a vast range of companies including banks, insurance providers, petroleum suppliers, healthcare providers, telecommunications operators, research bodies, and various government-related entities. Most recently, IBM announced a partnership with the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) through which it will establish a comprehensive database of cancer patients in Africa and use big data tools to effectively utilise this information.

An additional opportunity stemming from the rise of big data solutions is the link with smart cities, an emerging field in which IBM has already developed strong competency and is recognised as a 'leading game changer.' See Frost & Sullivan's "Strategic Opportunity Analysis of the Global Smart City Market" (August 2013). Smart cities are characterised by the integration of millions of smart devices and the coordination of businesses, the public sector, knowledge institutions, and a city's inhabitants to produce real-time solutions and services. Effective big data solutions underpin such developments and, while smart cities are not yet a feature of the African landscape, IBM is well-positioned to play a leading role in their establishment on the continent.

Frost & Sullivan's research confirms that IBM has established a compelling case for the adoption of its solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa. In recognition, Frost & Sullivan is pleased to present IBM with the 2014 Competitive Strategy Leadership Award within the Sub-Saharan African big data solutions market.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has leveraged competitive intelligence to successfully execute a competitive strategy that results in stronger market share, competitive brand positioning and customer satisfaction.

Frost & Sullivan's Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About IBM Big Data & Analytics

Each day we generate 2.5 quintillion bytes of data from a variety of sources -- climate information, to posts on social media sites, and purchase transaction records to healthcare medical images. At IBM we believe that data is emerging as the world's newest resource for competitive advantage, and analytics is the key to make sense of it. IBM is helping clients harness Big Data & Analytics to provide insights needed to make better decisions, create value, and deliver that value to customers and society. IBM has the world's deepest and broadest portfolio of Big Data & Analytics technologies and solutions, spanning services, software, research and hardware.  For more insights on Big Data & Analytics visit IBM's Smarter Planet blog.

IBM Media Contact:
Lisa Rautenbach
External Relations Manager
P:+ 27-11-302-9255  
E: LISARAUT@za.ibm.com
T: @IBMbigdata and @IBMAnalytics.
For more information about IBM Big Data & Analytics and IBM in Africa

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants.

Our "Growth Partnership" supports clients by addressing these opportunities and incorporating two key elements driving visionary innovation: The Integrated Value Proposition and The Partnership Infrastructure.

  • The Integrated Value Proposition provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation.
  • The Partnership Infrastructure is entirely unique as it constructs the foundation upon which visionary innovation becomes possible. This includes our 360 degree research, comprehensive industry coverage, career best practices as well as our global footprint of more than 40 offices.

For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organisation prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?

Contact Us:     Start the discussion

Join Us:           Join our community

Subscribe:       Newsletter on "the next big thing"

Register:        Gain access to visionary innovation

Contact:
Samantha James
Corporate Communications – Africa
Frost & Sullivan
P: +27-(0)21-680-3574
E: Samantha.James@frost.com

Modal title

Also from this source

Siemens Receives Frost & Sullivan's 2025 Europe, Middle East, and Africa Company of the Year Award for Excellence in Smart Water Meter Data Management

Siemens Receives Frost & Sullivan's 2025 Europe, Middle East, and Africa Company of the Year Award for Excellence in Smart Water Meter Data Management

Frost & Sullivan is pleased to announce that Siemens has been awarded the 2025 Europe, Middle East, and Africa Company of the Year Award in the smart ...

Ameresco Receives Frost & Sullivan's 2025 Global Company of the Year Award for Excellence in Energy Services

Frost & Sullivan is pleased to announce that Ameresco has been awarded the 2025 Global Company of the Year Award in the energy services industry for...

More Releases From This Source

Explore

Computer & Electronics

Computer & Electronics

Networks

Networks

Networks

Networks

Awards

Awards

News Releases in Similar Topics

Contact PR Newswire

  • +44 (0)20 7454 5110
    from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT
  • General Enquiries
  • Media Enquiries
  • Partnerships

Products

  • Content Distribution
  • Multimedia Services
  • Disclosure Services
  • Cision Communications Cloud®

About

  • About PR Newswire
  • About Cision
  • Partnering Opportunities
  • Careers
  • Accessibility Statement
  • APAC
  • APAC - Simplified Chinese
  • APAC - Traditional Chinese
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Czech
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Israel
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Mexico
  • Middle East
  • Middle East - Arabic
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Russia
  • Slovakia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • United States
  • Vietnam

My Services

  • All News Releases
  • Customer Portal
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • Data Privacy

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via Privacy@cision.com 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact PR Newswire

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Customer Portal
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
+44 (0)20 7454 5110
from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Information Security Policy
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 PR Newswire Europe Limited. All Rights Reserved. A Cision company.