5G is the new race to moon and another giant leap for humanity

FASTER, better technology brought by 5G will require enterprises to transform in a very real way. Last month, the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that successfully landed on the moon. Reflecting on that moment when US astronaut Neil Armstrong took the first steps – uttering the famous phrase “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” – the entire globe is in consensus that it ranks among the greatest moments in the history of the world. After 1969 anything seemed possible, and the technological advances that followed came at a pace that dwarfed the pace at which development was happening before. Today, 50 years on, we are standing on the edge of the next great technological revolution, 5G. In a world and a time where nothing is impossible, it is difficult to compare 5G to the moon landing. But in 10 years, the way the world interfaces with technology will be so different that it’ll be hard to imagine how life was before 5G. Unlike 3G and LTE/4G, 5G will offer high speed, high capacity, low latency networks that have not to been realised yet. The processing of large amounts of data remotely will allow mobile devices to perform complex analytics in real time. It will take artificial intelligence to the next level, enabling machines to communicate with each other in real time and make decisions based on external stimuli. Autonomous driving, smart factories and truly smart cities will all use 5G. Many governments and companies already know that 5G is the new race to the moon, but with so much more value at stake. South Africa is experiencing the highest unemployment rate in 10 years and cannot afford to miss the enormous business opportunities that 5G will enable. Local companies are becoming increasingly exposed to competition from global rivals. Think of what Uber did to the public transport business, including local minibus and meter taxis. Business cannot afford to be too slow to latch on to new technologies that will reduce the cost of delivering improved products and services to customers. Businesses can embrace this great opportunity by firstly understanding the transformative changes that will affect their internal and external environment then reinventing how they view themselves, their customers and how they can create value for their customers. The transformative changes can be grouped into two areas namely; impact on the customer and impact on cost.

Impact on the customer

Traditional means of processing information or delivering services to customers will radically evolve. Customers will become more demanding as they seek faster service delivery, cheaper products/services and mobile-based solutions. 5G will transform how customers view or receive services, how enterprises deliver the services and the types of products and services available. An extreme of this will see some industries or products being replaced. Machines will be able to use behavioural inputs from social media or SMS scanning to create targeted bespoke advertising campaigns.

Impact on cost

How human resources are utilised will radically be transformed; 5G and machine learning will change the manner in which we view job roles. This will result in traditional roles being made obsolete and will also result in new roles being created. The manner in which functions are executed will also drastically change as the ability to work remotely, quicker and more efficiently will be greatly enhanced. Cost of manufacturing will reduce as machines learn more efficient techniques and reduce waste. In the banking sector, for example, machines will be able to predict financial constraints of their customers beforehand and automatically restructure debt to suit the individual’s circumstances.

Reinvention process

As a business you will need to question everything about your current existence. Why are we here, what is our value creation process and what are our customers’ needs? Why do we exist, revisit our reason for being and ensure it aligns with changes to come? Should we deliver products or experiences, provide services or integrated solutions. An independent uninhibited view will critically review an enterprise’s focus. What is our value creation model: where does value creation start and end. Is this process done in the most efficient manner? Are there any legacy activities that do not add value but are so entrenched in traditional value creation that you blindly pass these costs on to your customer? Change can be daunting and is often resisted due to fear. An honest evaluation of the value creation process will reveal transformative changes Changing customer needs – irrespective of sector these have changed or are changing. Are we positioned to identify and fulfil these needs? Customers’ ability to compare products at a global level means they have access to best in class at a global scale. A consumer in Joburg will look at services provided in Hong Kong and demand similar or better quality. This process will demand radical changes to business. Businesses that cautiously make incremental changes to their model will lose to transformative businesses. These models will have to deal with faster output, price pressures and transformed products and services. Leading enterprises will be ones that focus on consumers’ needs and create services and products that meet these needs. If you don’t embrace 5G-enabled technology, your competition certainly will.

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