Mobile apps, mobile ads and cloud services will drive the technology and telecommunications industry in South Africa, says a report by global market research group Pyramid Research.
The report dubbed “South Africa Telecom Market Forecast” also states the traditional voice service is not on the rise and will plateau in the next few years.
“Between 2012 and 2017 we expect that there will be a decline of almost US$2bn in total traditional voice services. SMS revenue also beginning to stagnate with the continued migration to IP-based messaging services,” the research firm said.
Vodacom’s appstore is also recording major gains, with the report stating this “is driven by a number of factors, including the dominance of BlackBerry and Symbian platforms, Vodacom’s powerful brand, its strong position in device distribution and its focus on the development of local apps.
“Over all, the success of smartphones indicates that the app market is on the rise with total spending on mobile apps projected to increase from US$31 million in 2012 to US$220 million in 2017.”
Cloud services have seen an increase in the country and will see more uptake by businesses and individuals in the future. In 2017, it is forecasted that the revenue in cloud services will have peaked at US$245 million as compared to US$72 million in 2011.
Mobile advertising is expected to grow to US$257 million worth in 2017.
Display-based advertising is the fastest growing segment, and is expected to increase its share of revenue from 34 percent in 2012 to over 50 percent in 2017. Mobile websites continue to increase in traffic, especially with the growth of feature phones.
“South Africa is a key market in the AME region not only because of its size, level of income and maturity, but also because it is the home for key players in the market, MTN and Vodacom in particular,” Pyramid Research analyst at large Jan ten Sythoff said.
