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Some of the best innovations worldwide had been conceptualised and delivered during or immediately following a recessionary period, Internet Solutions MD Saki Missaikos said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Southern Africa Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference, in Port Elizabeth, he explained that despite South Africa – and the rest of world – experiencing a period of economic downturn, now was not the time to cut back on resources, especially research and development.
“Let’s not waste this crisis,” he appealed, stating it was the “wrong time” to pull back on investment.
“[Often] times of crisis have produced massive innovations.”
He said the development of applications, such as Skype, Google Voice and Blackberry’s email push service, as well as Internet computing and cloud computing, besides many others, occurred during and shortly following recessions.
“Now is [also] the time to invest in entrepreneurship,” Missaikos added.
“We are losing our entrepreneurs … the industry is just too stifled, [and] many [innovators and entrepreneurs] are moving overseas. They should be given the opportunity to thrive.”
However, he warned that end-to-end services – and not technology – would define the country’s future, and that it was likely information and communication technology (ICT) giants would face a “destroyed” industry, with entrepreneurs finding another way around communication barriers and constraints, if stakeholders did not collaborate and engage regulators.
Successful companies were increasingly fusing technology with people, online and offline, and focusing on the client experience.
The single biggest common denominator in the industry was connectivity, he stated.
“Technology is so pervasive, it touches everything we do every single day, but none of it is possible without connectivity,” he said, adding: “Everybody wants more connectivity and that is our responsibility.”
There was a “massive” obligation on the industry to deliver, but major players were separated from one another.
The South African industry “is not in great shape”.
“We do not have enough spectrum or fibre, we are duplicating infrastructure and technology and we are not talking to each other," he commented.
He pointed to the need for intensive collaboration and to break down the barriers – or face getting “stuck”.