Digicel has been supporting the HEART/NSTA Amber Coding Academy in its efforts to transform Jamaica into a Caribbean tech hub through coding and programming skills training, especially among young people.
After the rapid growth, economic uncertainty, the rise in cases of theft and destruction of internet devices, shocks in electricity prices, and the stabilization of consumption habits in the era of COVID-19 disrupted the technology sector in 2022. Even last year challenged us. to be wise and courageous, we remain optimistic as we continue to see signs of digital expansion, greater financial impact, and the endless growth of new and emerging innovations.
By 2023, we expect governments and the private sector to continue most of their digital transformation efforts, perhaps at a slower pace, as they take into account rising inflation and forecasts of a global recession this year. While consumers may be considering how these trends will affect their wallets, we predict that they will continue to look for the latest technology and services that help them live a better digital life.
Expect AI-driven experiences
I predict that we will increasingly rely on computers to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as speech recognition, vision, decision making, and language interpretation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will become a major commodity in ways that will re-engage with employees and customers, and open up new markets in the digital world.
At Digicel, we’re using AI to improve the customer experience when interacting with Ruby, our online chat bot. MyDigicel program; find answers to frequently asked questions; and through lead generation when website visitors register, submit information or otherwise express interest in our services.
AI is part of the growing customer life cycle that businesses of all sizes and industries will be focusing on in 2023 as it enables data-driven decision-making to enhance offerings, create more personalized experiences, and increase the flow of products and services. to their customers. This is part of the business transformation that our team of experts in Digicel Business has been working hard with business staff who are focused on going digital with their customers.
In this regard, the Government of Jamaica is also showing encouraging signs through the implementation of digital services for the period of 2023. We appreciate this effort, which, in addition to providing an efficient service, will also help to test and test. Developing AI technologies that enable rapid response to emergencies, as well as multidisciplinary healthcare.
At the time of writing this message, Chat GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer), new AI is taking the digital highway by storm, using deep learning to create human-like responses such as text, code, poetry, stories. etc. Millions of people have been using technology, which is already changing the way we present information as it is created from real human data. This, thanks to the ability of Chat GPT, in seconds, to write and rewrite thousands of different types, for example, the topic.
‘App-ortunity’ in 2023
The latest State of Mobile 2023 review is data.ai, a leading provider of digital analytics and data science for the mobile industry, highlights the growing influence of mobile apps that enable people to use them in a variety of ways, including gaming, commerce, food delivery, uploading and sharing, edutech and fintech. According to data.ai, the daily time spent on apps in mobile-first markets increased by three percent to five hours per user, or one-third of our sleepless hours. New downloads of apps rose by 11 percent to 255 billion, as App Store spending fell by two percent. Advertisers spent 14 percent more or US$ 336 billion on internal advertising – another clear sign of the shift towards targeting certain people, based on their preferences.
As a mobile startup market, there is an opportunity for Jamaican developers and businesses of all sizes to position themselves well in 2023 to capitalize on the global growth where consumers are increasingly in-app and spending. In addition to their traditional role as tools for communicating with customers, apps are turning into a powerful source of leads, sales and revenue generation.
As digital operators in Jamaica, we have been supporting the HEART/NSTA Amber Coding Academy in its efforts to transform the country into a Caribbean tech hub, through training in coding and programming skills, especially among the youth. In 2023, I hope that we will continue to develop the innate skills and technical skills of these new founders, until they create one innovative app that will top the download charts and change the next wave of digital consumption. I am confident that we can do it.
IoTs and society will get more personal information
Appliances that help us maintain our homes better and make our lives easier were some of the things bought this past Christmas. By connecting to our virtual web service, many consumers can lay the building blocks for their smart homes. This trend will continue until 2023, when Wi-Fi connectivity will be standard on most home devices. In addition, periodic monitoring of homes and businesses is becoming more common, as remote cameras and sensors are relatively inexpensive.
Social media will increasingly use AI to tell short, engaging stories about our lives, based on the photos and videos we take throughout the day. AI will go so far as to understand what our friends and followers would like to see in the reels and articles by organizing the selected images and videos on our devices. The Gen Z audience is highly motivated and committed to creating more user-generated content that provides AI-based algorithms with valuable insights for mobile users, marketers, data analytics businesses, digital marketing strategies, and software developers. .
Greater opportunity for creators to engage with their audience
Subscription groups that have been setting up digital camps will be ubiquitous and powerful as they create relationships that are more direct with those who create their following on traditional platforms. By having these relationships, manufacturers are also able to leverage technology to improve investment in their operations, and become the most important place to lead sales – the result of AI-generated information on customer preferences and behavior.
This is an exciting platform for local content creators to collaborate and create sustainable online communities that can help them generate new revenue and grow their businesses.
Cybersecurity will remain top of mind
In 2023, threats will continue to increase, but the best practices are still the strongest defenses. Cyber attackers who saw the epidemic as an opportunity to take advantage of the destruction of families and organizations did not give up. Their efforts require urgent improvement, especially as many of us go digital with our banking, service delivery, business partnerships and transformation, and national infrastructure.
On the defense side, at Digicel, our cyber response teams, supported by the latest methods, technologies and skills to deal with the most complex threats, will be vigilant in providing the best security and protection to our customers and government customers. We continue to work with them to identify potential vulnerabilities, and address new and emerging threats, even as we anticipate new ways to generate revenue from ransomware organizations. Consumers are a big part of our thinking; Through events around Safer Internet Day, Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and periodic tips on cyber security @DigicelJamaica on social networks, this year, we will continue to increase awareness and their protection.
Our investment will drive Jamaica deeper into digital
We started 2023 at the entry point for our commitment to build Jamaica as a digital hub with our US$200 million ($31 billion) ‘Digital Jamaica’ investment. To date, we have spent US$100 million on delivering high-speed LTE data and broadband, expanding our network for homes and businesses in rural parishes, including Clarendon and Manchester. In addition, we will complete the final stages of installation of modern media equipment for SportsMax in 2023.
To date, our Digital Jamaica investment has delivered 99 percent of LTE coverage and reached over 100,000 households or over 500,000 Jamaicans with home Internet and TV access. In the coming months we will expand our deployment and strengthen these networks while providing stronger and more flexible communication solutions that will help consumers and businesses to take advantage of the technological trends that will emerge this year.
While these business life changes are taking place in 2023, we look forward to leading the way in the industry’s solution to combat the blocking of stolen phones on all mobile networks in Jamaica. We will also encourage stricter penalties for theft and vandalism of telecom equipment – we cannot risk all the technological gains Jamaica has made in the last decade.
In our view, 2023 will be the year Jamaica makes the most progress in creating a digitally connected society, fueled by a favorable economic environment, regulatory framework, a growing group of digital creators, more opportunities for digital education and skills development, and progress. digital concepts.
As I say goodbye to Jamaica and its wonderful people, I would like to thank, in particular, our team of hardworking and dedicated employees, our customers, stakeholders and friends of the Digicel brand for being part of our amazing digital journey. I am confident that, working together effectively, our incoming CEO, Stephen Murad, and our highly motivated team will help shape Jamaica’s digital future.
– Jabbor Kayumov is the outgoing CEO of Digicel Jamaica.
Digicel is using AI to improve the customer experience with Ruby, the MyDigicel social media platform.
