29/05/2012

IDG Connect Dan Swinhoe (Middle East)- Iraq: Fully Connected or Digitally Isolated?

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Dan Swinhoe (Middle East)- Iraq: Fully Connected or Digitally Isolated?

Posted b y Dan Swinhoe Company IDG Connect 05/28/2012

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What you're Saying Douglas Cohen (South Africa) - Connecting Rural Areas (Part 2)
When b usinesses talk of Iraq, the word you will hear is always 'potential.' And in part it's true. Now the comb at is over and Iraq is heading slowly towards peace and prosperity, the country is ripe for companies looking to gain a foothold as various industries start to pick up. The war has left a metaphorical clean slate for investment, and many companies, especially US ones, are looking to find a niche for them to invest into. But much of this information is outdated or lacking depth, meaning it's very difficult to know what the state of play really is within the country. A 2006 report from the US over possib le investment was pretty vague ab out the telecoms and IT industry, simply explaining, "The lack of modern office equipment or computers, and antiquated b ookkeeping and accounting systems, retard the development of small and medium sized enterprises" and then went on to describ e the lack of infrastructure and fixed land networks. More recently a 2012 b usiness guide didn't paint a much b etter picture, saying, "Infrastructure for IT services remains underdeveloped in most parts of the country. Universities have limited Internet capacity, most university faculty does not have regular access to computers at work; computer lab s for student use are inadequate and often non-functional. Many university faculty and staff lack b asic computer skills and Internet experience. Outside of major urb an centers, many academics and students do not have email addresses." Although it did point to the country's emb racing of wireless communications and a more tech-savvy youth as a plus point. On many IT reports and studies, Iraq is simply not included, making it very hard to know where Iraq's standing in the IT world actually is. In fact, b etween the sketchy government data, it's incredib ly difficult to do anything other than paint a b leak picture of the country. In a report from the World Economic Forum and Instead Business school, Iraq was listed only twice, once to show how low its internet users per 100 inhab itants and levels of digitization were. What is needed is up-to-date and detailed information to really find out what today's Iraq has, and what it needs to advance. Put enough time and effort in and you can find some information, though much of it is far older than it should b e for such a fast-moving industry. Mob ile ownership is much higher than computer, with around 20 million owning mob ile phones, compared to just over one million for landlines. Calls and text are b y far the most common uses, with using games, photos or music used b y around a third of people. There is relatively low computer and internet use; in 2008 around 14% of the population owned a computer, with just under 6% of the population using the internet, (male use outnumb ers female roughly 2:1) equating to around a million people, b ut this rate is growing fast. There is also a lack of fib er-optics, which is a hindrance in promoting wired internet adoption. Internet cafes are often a popular alternative to home use. Businesses seem to value the internet more highly than personal users, with a 2011 survey showing 15% of all Iraqi companies having their own web site, with a further 21% using email to communicate with clients or suppliers. According to stats from the Iraq government's site, in 2009 20% of people aged 19-24 and 18% of 25-30 year olds South Africa: How to connect rural areas (part 2) http://t.co/q48xUXtK Glob al: Faceb ook to launch its own smartphone? http://t.co/4oaSqNsa Follow idgconnect on Twitter Asia: China' Weib o social network applies strict users contracts http://t.co/A66VO2ie Middle East: Massive cyb er attack discovered http://t.co/NSVt6S2h Guido Sanchidrian View all comments 05-26-2012
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These are some good ideas, b ut I doub t the government will act with any haste to fix anything. Like you said, the USAF has b een untapped and implementing... Patrick 05-29-2012

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29/05/2012

IDG Connect Dan Swinhoe (Middle East)- Iraq: Fully Connected or Digitally Isolated?
Seoul Space IDG Connect Marketers ILX Group Gerdau SA Afrinnovator South African Local Government Association idgconnectlaw Popular Tags idgconnect IT Infrastructure Cloud Computing Regional Content Technology IT skills Data Management Data Security Glob al trends (ISC)2 Monster Reksoft CSC Netmagic Solutions Smart Sky Electronics We45 Solutions Business Daily Web sense Afrinnovator Business TechNode Security Cib ecs ility Mob Venafi Computing Cloud ILX Group Data CAMM IT Skills ISACA Trends Brocade Internet

rated themselves as having a good knowledge of using computers. But this figure drops dramatically to 12% of 1518s and just under 5% in 10-14s. Those on the internet have a high engagement with social media- 72% of Faceb ook users in Iraq are b etween 18 and 34 (13-17 make up 11% while 35- 60 make up 17%). Clearly if this is accurate there is a need for the next generation to b e trained and educated in how to use the technology, especially if Iraq wants to b ecome a major player in the IT sector. The same b atch of stats gives a fairly even split for internet use, with around 45% saying the purpose of the internet is for entertainment and the same amount for research and study. Contacting relatives was also important for 40% of people. News and music streaming stood roughly at 20%. Much of the Middle East suffers from high rates of software piracy (generally hovering around the 50% rate) b ut the last records for Iraq in 2007 put the numb er at a massive 85%, with an estimated value of $124 Million. It's unlikely that this has reduced much since then, as the piracy rate among other Middle Eastern countries has stayed relatively stab le and it's hard to foresee any major changes. The government is in the process of implementing its own Information Technology Crimes Act, which deals with privacy, anti-corruption, digital copyright enforcement, and data security with national economic, political, and security interests. This is a positive step which shows the government recognizes the value in its future digital sectors, although it has come under fire from freedom activists and Iraqi b loggers for b eing overly strict on freedom of speech. Access, a movement for digital freedom, pub lished a report on the act, claiming it lacked uniformity and "seemed designed for yesterday's crimes rather than emerging technology." They also said, "Extremely harsh punishments are mixed among fines and misdemeanor penalties for rather b enign crimes, with no attention to scale, necessity, or proportionality." Iraq is still finding its feet in the digital word, and the general consensus seems to b e it's still a way b ehind adopting the internet. But the high numb ers of mob ile devices mean it could b e possib le for the country to skip a b oom in home computers and catch up to the rest of the world on adopting mob ile as the chief means of accessing the internet and communicating through smart phones or tab lets.

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