by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – DESPITE digitalisation, South African companies struggle with productivity and collaboration due to lack of a unified platform.
This according to a survey, which indicates these add to the challenges of load shedding and unreliable Wi-Fi.
This is according to a study by Zoho Corp, a leading global technology company. World Wide Worx conducted the study, called the “State of Enterprise Collaboration and Productivity in South Africa.”
“Digitalisation and adoption of productivity and collaboration tools have immensely helped South African enterprises,” said Arthur Goldstuck, Chief Executive Officer, World Wide Worx.
“When we take a closer look at the data, we find that there is an obvious need for a unified collaboration platform, especially for mid-market companies and for those adopting a hybrid model.”
“While load shedding and poor Wi-Fi emerged as top challenges, unsurprisingly, the next biggest challenge was data silos, which can hold back companies in a demanding market,” Goldstuck added.
The study revealed several anomalies in the companies in the size range 501 to1 000 employees and in some cases 201 to 500 employees.
There were clear scaling challenges, and a definite need for a unified collaboration platform.
The biggest challenges to productivity and collaboration were: load shedding (46 percent) and poor WiFi connection (40 percent), while 20 percent of the respondents also felt that information spread across too many apps was a hurdle.
World Wide Worx surveyed 410 medium and large enterprises across South Africa using a comprehensive questionnaire in June and July, 2023. Companies were selected randomly from a large database of South African enterprises.
Hyther Nizam, President, Zoho Middle East and Africa, said factors like new-age hybrid work arrangements, changing employee preferences and macroeconomic conditions in South Africa had influenced technology priorities for businesses.
The executive noted uptake in adoption of Zoho Workplace, the unified enterprise collaboration platform, amid other offerings.
“The study substantiates this trend and further helps shed light on specific collaboration and productivity roadblocks for businesses,” Nizam said.
The Indian company announced it has grown 73 percent in new revenue in South Africa in 2022. Since it opened its second office in the country, it has grown its employee size by 35 percent this year.
– CAJ News