Don't wait for another Uber to drive you out of the market

123RF

It's an era that forbids complacency in business and only allows rapid innovation to get the most you can out of technology. Those who have refused to adapt to the digital era are losing their positions in the market fast.

A classic example is the traditional taxi operators who have lost a market they unilaterally controlled for decades purely because they failed to innovate. Uber now controls the taxi business across the globe by simply using a mobile application that connects travellers to taxi drivers in a very convenient way.

With Uber, passengers do not need to wave for a taxi to stop or negotiate for fares with a cab driver. The taxi arrives at the touch of a button and the fare is calculated automatically by the application to ensure both the passenger and the driver get the best bargain.

However, the traditional taxi operators all over the world are against the new system and are fighting Uber, mainly by physically assaulting the taxi drivers who operate under its platform. But are the laggards in a position to win the fight against the digital revolution?

Going by the ICT facts and figures, which were published by the International Telecommunication Union in May 2015, information and communication technologies have grown in an unprecedented way over the past 15 years.

In 2015, there were more than seven billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, up from 738 million in 2000. Globally, 3.2 billion people are using the Internet, of which two billion live in developing countries.

“People's perception are that digital technologies have certainly made them better off,” The World Bank stated in the World Development Report 2016 on Digital Dividends.

In the 12 countries surveyed in Africa by the World Bank, 73 percent of people said mobile phones help save on travel time and costs, while more than 60 percent believe that having a mobile phone makes them feel more safe and secure.

“Digital technologies have spread rapidly in much of the world. In many instances, digital technologies have boosted growth, expanded opportunities and improved service delivery,” The World Bank said.

Leveraging technology has proved to be a powerful strategy to remain at the top and competitive in business. For instance, Kenya's leading mobile phone operator – Safaricom, deployed the M-Pesa mobile money platform in 2007 and the product has gained global popularity since, while helping the company to seize a huge market share.

Netflix, which started as DVD-by-mail service in United States in 1998, has also seen tremendous growth since the launch of its Internet TV service in 2007. Netflix services went live into more than 130 new countries around the world in January 2016. Netflix is expected to offer stiff competition to the traditional pay television providers, mainly because its Internet TV subscription is cheaper and available on virtually any device that has an Internet connection.

What is more astounding is that even the agriculture and insurance industry are finding it difficult to do business without taking into account the technology aspect. Most greenhouses in many parts of the world are now controlled with mobile phones to ensure the irrigation systems are functioning properly, while insurers have started using online mobile underwriting platforms for policy quotations and renewals.

“Mobile and web-based customer interactions increase the potential for insurance companies to use data analytics to customise and price products,” Ernest & Young said in the Insurance Opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa 2016 report.

World Bank says technology can be transformational, which has already been proven owing to the rise of fast moving tech companies. This should worry the laggards because the economics of the digital technologies favor natural monopolies.

“The personal welfare gain from having access to digital technology is clearly great. Those who have the skills to leverage technology will have an advantage,” said Jim Yong Kim, the President of the World Bank Group.

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