The Late Mover Advantage
Always remember that it is not critical that you must enjoy the first mover advantage to have success. Apple has built a business with late mover advantage [that is a big dose as I do not want you to think being late is good]. But on ecommerce, being late could be an advantage in Nigeria. This piece makes a case that our late arrival to cloud has turned out well because all the challenges have been fixed by the time we came to cloud party. Simply, that someone is doing something does not mean you cannot do it better.
In a sense, Nigeria, Kenya and – to a lesser degree – South Africa, are the children experiencing the wonder of cloud computing for the first time. There’s no legacy infrastructure holding them back and, because cloud is more affordable and accessible than when established markets first dabbled in it, they can jump in with both feet and see how big of a splash they can make.
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While the full benefits of cloud have not yet arrived in these markets, the fact that they can leapfrog traditional technology means they’re seeing an instant impact from their cloud investments – and Nigeria seems to be making the biggest splash.
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In Nigeria and Kenya, businesses use the cloud to overcome obstacles that get in the way of efficiency. These obstacles are usually caused by infrastructure challenges, which are the enemy of innovation. But, with the cloud, they can break down technology barriers, improve integration and, essentially, pick and choose from a menu of digital services to build entirely new infrastructures with the ability to scale.