Gartner hosts annual Symposium in Cape Town

The US-based research company, Gartner, is hosting its annual Symposium in Cape Town, South Africa, between 17-19 September.

The Symposium/ITxpo has addressed technology trends in the research industry and the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO).

The firm’s recent CIO survey noted the role’s importance for change and defining new business models.

According to the survey, 63% of CIOs in Africa are adopting the lead role in the implementation of new business models.

The survey also claims that IT is one of the biggest aspects of a new business model.

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“For 90 percent of CIOs in Africa, IT is very or extremely important to business model change,” remarked Tomas Nielsen, Research Director at Gartner.

“African CIOs are still catching up on their digital business efforts compared with their CIO peers globally.”

“More than half of CIOs in Africa are showing an interest or at the designing stage, while the majority of the top global performers are scaling their digital initiatives, optimising them or seeking new opportunities.”

Gartner’s Regional Vice President of Sales in South Africa, Paul Morrison, also addressed the importance of technology.

“You know and your organisations know that to overcome the challenges, you need technology,” Morrison stated.

“To deliver better public services at lower cost, to grow your business out of the recession, to optimise costs so that you can reinvest in frontline services and other growth opportunities, and to reduce unemployment and equip our young people with the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century.”

“The key to all of that is technology.”