ITWeb will host its Technology Roadmaps Conference on 31 October, in Bryanston, Johannesburg.
In preparation for the conference, ITWeb conducted an online survey among its subscribers. The survey revealed the cost and management of ICT infrastructure and outsource partners, alongside skills shortage, data quality and integrity, and reducing the cost of doing business, will be the main issues for medium-sized enterprises in 2008.
"On the ICT management side, the top-level challenges are mostly people-related, across the spectrum of ICT skills, customer service management, change management and vendor or partner management," says Mariette du Plessis, programme director of ITWeb Events. "Management of outsource partners and infrastructure support dominated this category."
She says the prevailing skills shortage and access to the right ICT skills will feature prominently.
According to Du Plessis, skilled resources underpin business. This is key to meeting everyday challenges, such as sustainable business growth, increasing market share, improving customer service delivery and reducing overall cost of doing business.
ICT skills for quality implementations and the capacity to successfully implement technology dominated the skills challenge, Du Plessis notes.
It is not surprising that information management, data quality/integrity and the high cost of communications/bandwidth emerged as the dominant challenges, she says. "Alongside the management of data and data quality/integrity, understanding of the importance of information handling and management in a modern, competitive business were listed as the biggest challenges."
She adds that ICT vendors will be invited to participate in the ITWeb Technology Roadmaps Conference. They will share their respective technology roadmaps and demonstrate to business how their solutions will assist medium enterprises in being better prepared to meet these challenges head-on in 2008.
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