Ensuring high levels of security of data and systems, and guaranteeing business continuity are the top IT priorities among Middle East and Africa (MEA) decision makers in the healthcare industry for the next year or so, along with integrating siloed systems and advancing analytic capabilities, according to the recent research by International Data Corporation (IDC).
IDC Health Insights looked at the results of event polls conducted among healthcare IT executives attending a series of IDC CIO Summits held across the MEA region during 2015 and 2016. They survey respondents were executive-level representatives of healthcare organizations from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, and South Africa.
The survey results show that managing IT governance and regulatory compliance, meeting the growing expectations of IT users and patients, obtaining budgets for IT investments, and finding the workforce for emerging technologies are the ongoing challenges for healthcare CIOs in the region. As for managing IT security, the key challenges include budget constraints and staff-related issues that range from a lack of qualified personnel to poor adherence to security policies by employees.
Analytic technologies are clearly gaining traction among surveyed organizations: analytics (including business intelligence) was perceived as the most important in terms of supporting digital transformation, followed by mobile technologies. Among applications, analytic solutions represent the top investment priority for the next two years, including business intelligence tools and applications that are based on mobile platforms.
In terms of current adoption rates and near-term investment plans, however, mobility leads still leads the way: Over one third of respondents indicated that they have already introduced enterprise mobility, and another 55% plan to start using the technology within the next two years. Meeting the growing needs and expectations of patients is the main driver of enterprise mobility among surveyed organizations.
That said, IT security risks and hurdles associated with the management of multiple types of mobile devices and operating systems are slowing down mobility, and this is further aggravated by problems with interoperability and staff compliance with respective IT policies.
"Despite the methodological limitations of the study, especially with regard to the poor representativeness of the sample consisting of the attendees of IDC events, this survey provides some useful insights into the IT trends characteristic to MEA healthcare markets," says Nino Giguashvili, senior research analyst with IDC Health Insights, IDC CEMA. "Consistent with other research we perform in the Middle East region, mobility remains the fastest-emerging technology of the four pillars of the 3rd Platform. Private cloud and social media have made moderate progress over the last few years, while Big Data still lags behind, mainly due to uncertainties related to data validity and ROI."
For more details on the survey results, see IDC Health Insights reports: The Shape of IT in MEA Healthcare: IDC's CIO Summit Survey Highlights (IDC #CEMA40578016) and A Closer Look at Enterprise Mobility in MEA Healthcare: IDC's CIO Summit Survey Highlights (IDC #CEMA41431117).
The first study (#CEMA40578016) highlights the results of the survey's coverage of various IT-related issues, including:
• The deployment status of various technologies and solutions, including transformational technologies
• The key IT priorities and investment plans related to 3rd Platform technologies (cloud, mobile, social media, and Big Data)
• IT challenges and barriers to the adoption of various technologies
The second study (#CEMA41431117) takes a closer look at the state of enterprise mobility among the healthcare organizations represented by the event attendees. Specifically, the document covers:
• Deployment status of various enterprise mobility solutions among the surveyed organizations
• Short- and long-term investment plans with regard to enterprise mobility and state of maturity with regard to mobilizing enterprise applications
• Challenges associated with supporting mobility in healthcare
About the Author
Nino Giguashvili is in charge of developing, driving, and implementing IDC Health Insights research across the Central Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMA) region. In this role, she conducts primary and secondary research throughout the region with both IT vendors and end users. Ms. Giguashvili provides key strategic quantitative and qualitative data combined with consulting services to leading healthcare executives and industry IT vendors, addressing the challenges and trends affecting a variety of healthcare organizations in CEMA.
References:
IDC Health Insights: Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Healthcare Digital Transformation Strategies
About IDC Health Insights
IDC Health Insights assists health businesses and IT leaders, as well as the suppliers that serve them, in making more effective technology decisions by providing accurate, timely, and insightful fact-based research and consulting services. Staffed by senior analysts with decades of industry experience, our global research analyzes and advises on business and technology issues facing the payer, provider and life sciences industries. For more information, please visit www.idc-hi.com, email info@idc-hi.com, or visit the IDC Health Insights Community at idc-community.com/health.
About IDC
International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC.
IDC in the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey
For the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey region, IDC retains a coordinated network of offices in Riyadh, Casablanca, Nairobi, Lagos, Johannesburg, Cairo, and Istanbul, with a regional center in Dubai. Our coverage couples local insight with an international perspective to provide a comprehensive understanding of markets in these dynamic regions. Our market intelligence services are unparalleled in depth, consistency, scope, and accuracy. IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey currently fields over 130 analysts, consultants, and conference associates across the region. To learn more about IDC MEA, please visit www.idc-cema.com. You can follow IDC MEA on Twitter at @IDCMEA.
Contact for Media
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MEA Marketing Manager
Tel: +971 4 391 2741
Email: ashetty@idc.com
© Press Release 2016
