If there is one phrase you can expect to hear a lot of this year it is digital transformation. Whether it is International Data Corporation (IDC), Dell EMC, Microsoft, NetApp, Ruckus, SAP or Citrix, each having their own view of the trend, and all of the companies emphasising its inevitability in their own way.

What is becoming quite clear is that the digital revolution continues to gather pace and traditional business models are undergoing unprecedented levels of disruption. This, according to IDC, has led to a wave of digital transformation initiatives across the African region. Andries Lombaard, country manager of IDC South Africa, notes that these initiatives require expert guidance to overcome the myriad of challenges and roadblocks that lie in wait. Indeed, navigating the challenges of digital transformation is not a simple process.

To that end, the research company will be holding its annual CIO Summit, in a bid to help industry leaders do just that.

Help is ahead

“IDC’s South Africa CIO Summit has served as a pioneering platform for ICT thought leadership over the past nine years. As we celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2018, we will make sense of the region’s rapidly evolving digital transformation landscape where global and local analysts, market-leading vendors and more than 100 of the country’s most influential ICT leaders gather to lay down a blueprint for thriving in the digital economy,” elaborates Lombard.

The key themes for the 2018 event, which will take place on 18 and 19 April at Zulu Nyala Country Manor,Johannesburg include transitioning from business to digital business, enabling disruptive automation, and moving beyond customer relationship management to customer experience management. Further topics that will be explored are leveraging data as an asset, driving digital business at scale and embracing a new role for the IT function.

Something new on the horizon

Lombaard elaborates that IDC recognises that the role of the CIO is changing rapidly. Thus, there are a couple of new features to the event, including the introduction of in-depth discussions with other lines of business within the organisation, to help attendees understand what their business requirements are and assist them in this transition.

“We are also very excited about adding focus groups to the programme. These sessions will be shaped by the latest developments in today’s IT environment and will include intimate roundtable discussions around topics such as cloud, IoT, smart cities, hyper-convergence and artificial intelligence,” he enthuses.

Attendees will have 24 sessions to choose from, giving them the flexibility to customise  their Summit experience to meet their individual needs.

“IDC’s South Africa CIO Summit 2018 is much more than just another ICT conference,” he asserts. “We have tailored our programme to provide a mix of valuable information sharing sessions, in-depth discussions and the chance to network in a more relaxed environment with informal activities,” concludes Lombaard.

For more information on IDC’s South Africa CIO Summit, visit https://www.idc.com/mea/events/65073-idc-south-africa-cio-summit-2018.