A survey on edge computing, AI and 5G, being conducted by ITWeb in partnership with Intel and Dell Technologies, has gone live on ITWeb. The survey aims to explore whether South African companies are considering infrastructure modernisation to take advantage of Edge, 5G and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Tony Bartlett, Director, Data Center Compute at Dell Technologies, says, “Digital transformation is seen as a critical business driver for economic growth and, according to Dell Technologies’ Digital Transformation Index, 79% of organisations in South Africa have fast-tracked some of their digital transformation programs this year, which is on par with the 80% reported globally.”

As digital transformation speeds up, companies are expediting technology implementation with a view to driving long-term business success. The study highlighted the emerging technologies that South African organisations were likely to invest in over the near future as 5G infrastructure (47%), artificial Intelligence algorithms (46%) and real-time applications at the edge (44%).

Businesses are leveraging these technologies to overcome the challenges they face around processing data flowing in from multiple and siloed systems.

Citing a Forrester Consulting study commissioned on behalf of Dell Technologies Unveiling Data Challenges Afflicting Businesses Around the World, Bartlett says, “We wanted to understand why and how we can stop data from becoming one of the key barriers to transformation.”

The study revealed three ways in which companies can turn their data burden into a data advantage:

Modernise their IT infrastructure so it meets data where it lives, at the edge. This incorporates bringing businesses’ infrastructure and applications closer to where data needs to be captured, analysed and acted on – while avoiding data sprawl by maintaining a consistent multi-cloud operating model.
Optimise data pipelines so data can flow freely and securely while being augmented by AI/ML.
Develop software to deliver the personalised, integrated experiences customers crave.

With that in mind we would like to hear your story and where your company is in its data management journey and how you’ll be deploying edge computing, AI and 5G to improve your data management strategy.

In this survey, we ask respondents to list the top challenges they face when planning, deploying and managing edge solutions. We also investigate the most important benefits of 5G, and ask where organisations are at when it comes to leveraging AI-driven data analytics as an enabler for digital transformation.

Complete the survey here.

Survey explores edge computing, AI and 5G