Taking the next big step with Big Data in South Africa

Big Data is the it thing in the technology space at the moment. It has the potential to revolutionise the way we do business, and the way that we deliver products to users. It brings with it a wealth of opportunities and efficiencies that were never able to be monopolised before.  And even though South Africa is behind the curve, we are still on the right path in terms of moving toward leveraging our businesses with the use of data to enhance every facet of our productivity. For more on the topic, Alec Hogg was joined by Wayne Speechly from Internet Solutions on CNBC Africa's Power Lunch. – LF 

ALEC HOGG:  To discuss this concept of Big Data and Disruptive Technology is Wayne Speechly from Internet Solutions.  Hi there Wayne, it's good to have you on the program.  Discovery are a leader in global fields in their own area, in many parts of the world.  That's why we have the Pru and Humano who are partnering with them, but the one thing they've been doing aggressively is investing heavily in this thing called Big Data.  Why would a company like Discovery, for instance, find that an interesting place to place their bets?

WAYNE SPEECHLY:  Firstly, Big Data is changing the way we analyse information on a much larger scale.  It's not only about quick collection from a huge number of sources, but also the ability to make decisions about that information in a timely fashion.  Often, what you'll see is that the current competing landscape for many enterprises, just cannot scale and the fact there are a lot more data points to start collecting, really does make it quite a difficult one.

ALEC HOGG:  Wayne, I'm sorry.  We seem to have a technical problem.  We have audio guys in the studio in Cape Town this morning and somebody's forgotten to open your microphone.  I'm sure that's going to happen in just a moment.  I'm afraid we were watching your lips move.  It was like an old Hong Kong karate movie, but unable to see what you were saying.  I sincerely hope that your microphone is now open.  Let's go back into that question about Big Data and why a company like Discovery would find it such an interesting area to make some bets.

WAYNE SPEECHLY:  Okay Alec, I'm hoping that you can hear me now.

ALEC HOGG:  You're perfect.  Wayne, we can hear you 100 percent.  I'm sorry about that.

WAYNE SPEECHLY:  Excellent – no problem.  Really, it's around this need to start to collect huge amounts of data from your customers and from your value chain, and being able to process that on a much larger scale.  One of the challenges that we see is that the current competing environments of customer environments and of enterprises just cannot scale to take on all of that information.  Be that as it may, the timing input in terms of how it is that you can collect that data, process it, and start to make decisions requires a lot of infrastructure and that's where the dynamic of Big Data and the marrying of the technology to what the enterprise is looking for, becomes a key requirement.

ALEC HOGG:  Wayne, you're going to have to start speaking English to us.  Enterprise, requirement…you're using big words there.  Let's keep it real – nice and simple.  Every day, you and I go somewhere we do something with our cellphone or with our credit card.  Data is generated from it.  Somebody can analyse this and make better business out of it.  Where are we in this whole cycle, if you like, of being more scientific about analysing what consumers are doing?

WAYNE SPEECHLY:  Let's use an example in retail.  You walk into a shopping centre and in that shopping centre, you have a lot of movement, and you have a lot of interest.  One of the challenges that the shops are experiencing is that they don't know how to create the right experience based on the requirements and what their users have in mind.  What you're starting to see now is the ability to collect a lot of information, whether it be where people are, what interests them, where their movements are, and where they pause.  In fact, what you can now do is by collecting that information very quickly and vast amounts of that information, you can start to correlate it against other pieces of information like what day of the week it is.  What is the weather outside and what is the current economic climate?

When you start to put all of that data together, what you really start to create is the ability for businesses to start understanding their clients and to start making decisions.  I think the benefit to that is in real time, you can actually customise what it is that you give to your potential shoppers or the visitors to your store, based on what their preference is.

ALEC HOGG:  But doesn't this give the big guys even more of an advantage?  If you're small…if you're a start-up/an entrepreneur, are there opportunities for you as well, to benefit from this wealth of data that you can apply more scientifically?

WAYNE SPEECHLY:  Well, one of the nice things about Big Data is that the sources of the different types of data are becoming widely accessible to everybody and that is because of technologies like the Internet and Cloud, which are becoming far more mainstream.  You are correct in saying that large businesses are probably able to accelerate the adoption of Big Data and make its usefulness ready a lot sooner.  Having said that, many smaller organisations are now able to get access to these tools because Big Data, Cloud technology, and the availability of that information just makes it that much more easily accessible.

ALEC HOGG:  As far as you guys are concerned at IS, have you been investing heavily to ensure that your clients can tap into this?

WAYNE SPEECHLY:  I think what you're seeing right now in South Africa is that we're definitely trailing what's happening in the U.S., so there's a lot of interest in the market around how Big Data can be used.  At the same time, I think many businesses are starting to get their heads around the actual practicality.  From an IS point of view, because of the infrastructure we have in place and because of the relationships we've had, what we're really looking to achieve is to bring that information together into a shared data source and make it available to our clients.  I think the reality is that at this point, clients want to understand – and they don't want to make a substantial investment or take on a lot of risk – how it's actually going to impact their business right now.

ALEC HOGG:  Fascinating insights.  Wayne Speechly from Internet Solution.  If you are an entrepreneur or indeed, wanting to jack up your business in some way if you deal with the public, Big Data is the way to do it.  Discovery have made some big investments in this field.  If you just have a look at the way you buy Discovery Insurance now on your car, they analyse everything that you do in your car, make sure that you're a good drive, and you get a discount for it.  It's a whole new world.