STAATSKOERANT, 24 JANUARIE 2014 No. 37261 7.4 Key success factors and future trends Despite the challenges facing the IT sector, its products and services have become part and parcel of everyday business and social life. The fast pace of innovation helps the sector to remain relevant, while shaping the future of business and society. The factors below are set to drive growth in the IT sector. Digitisation, that is, the mass adoption of connected digital technologies and applications by consumers, enterprises and governments, is one of the key drivers for the success of the IT market. a) b) Consolidation among vendors As a market matures, operators and service providers tend to consolidate. In a maturing market, the survival of certain companies can be guaranteed only through mergers and acquisitions. This trend will continue into the foreseeable future. c) Growth in mobile computing A pilot project among nurses in the Eastern Cape revealed that the use of 3G-enabled smart phones helped nurses and doctors to make accurate diagnoses, prescribe the correct medication, and reduce patient mortality. Nurses and doctors were also enabled to provide up-to-date information to patients regarding their health conditions and treatment, update their own clinical knowledge and share information with their colleagues. Whilst this development may affect the PC sub-market, it has positive spin-offs in the rest of the sector, including the development of software and applications. d) Public sector Implementation of the e-government policy is critical for the success of the IT sector in South Africa. This policy deals with issues such as interoperability, IT security and economies of scale 7.5 Innovation and new applications a) Cloud computing Cloud computing can be defined as the storing, processing and use of data on remotely located computers accessed over the Internet. It involves sharing computer resources, thus giving users unlimited computing power on demand and accessing their data anywhere through the Internet, without making major capital investments. The 'sharing' aspect of cloud computing also allows users to spread their development and maintenance costs over many users, resulting in lower costs and better service quality compared with 'on-premises' IT services. b) Bring your own device This refers to the policy of allowing employees or students to bring personal mobile devices such as laptops, tablets and smart phones to their workplace or classroom to access privileged company information and applications or school work. c) IT security The amount of data processed and stored through the IT system is growing at an exponential rate. This growth is accompanied by growing concerns about security of the system. There are three main elements to IT security and these are: confidentiality, integrity and availability. 51 This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za 55