Kenya: Frontrunner of M2M in Africa

The International Data Corporation (IDC, a premier provider for global market intelligence and market research, conducted a survey called the Annual Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) WAN Managers Study 2013 Survey, and nearly 50% of the respondents noted that Kenya as the first in Africa that embraced and adopted Machine-to-machine communication. The survey showed that 27% of the respondents are planning on investing and utilizing M2M communications within the next couple of years. This study shows that the direction of M2M in the next few years is set to outshine other enterprise technologies such as cloud computing, videoconferencing and unified communication, among many others. It also showed that M2M solutions have been accepted in various vertical sectors as it welcomes new technology trends.

According to Mervin Miemoukanda, the senior research analyst for telecommunications, software, and IT services, IDC South Africa, the Kenyan companies have become gradually comfortable with M2M. In order to have a strong network, device and application support, service providers need to collaborate with other providers and give emphasis on customer involvement to better understand their business needs and ensure they are delivered. However, at this point, there is certain degree of constraint in M2M implementations in the country as it is limited to M2M solutions for fleet management, vending machines and security, whereas other services such as smart metering and intelligence building do not get as much exposure.

Miemoukanda said that this is due to the natural complexities involved in implementing and managing advanced M2M technologies, the shortage of IT professionals to implement and provide service, and the limitations of providers to deliver more advanced M2M solutions. The capabilities of providers to offer support for devices, application and networks is critical to Kenyan companies using M2M communications.

International coverage is also another factor. He added that the growth in cross-border trade between the eastern regions of Africa and Kenya provides them the opportunities to demonstrate strong communication capacity. This is of great essence to Kenyan service providers to showcase their competitive advantage in the market.

The lack of in-house capabilities to provide a full-fledged M2M services has remained the primary challenge for Kenya's M2M communication. However, IDC still expects a significant growth of in the M2M market, as companies direct their attention toward business transformation in the next three years.

LeadingQuest and Parlacom Brazil CEO, Clovis Lacerda, showed his excitement and enthusiasm upon learning that Kenya is Africa's leader in M2M. Mr. Lacerda said, "M2M providers worldwide are working hard to be able to deliver the right kind of solutions to country-wide, regional or sector-specific needs of various businesses. Ultimately, M2M technology aims to create a seamless method of communicating globally. And having companies looking at investing on M2M in Africa is valuable in realizing this vision. This means that with every opportunity to advance this technology all over the world, brings everyone closer to the real goal."