Roadmap success

A successful roadmap process provides technical solutions to the current problems experienced in a particular society. These challenges could be in the form of social, economic, technical or any other human factor. For the roadmap to be a success, these factors have to be critically assessed so that the roadmap solution addresses the challenges at hand.

The success of the roadmap is dependent on key characteristics such as trustworthiness and transferable ideas. A well-developed roadmap should be able to be used in other areas and the users should have an understanding of the roadmap. Linking the success stories of roadmaps to the roadmap framework, as initially described in previous chapters, it is important to identify where the Finnish roadmap which is explained above fits into the roadmap snapshot in Figure 7:2. S 12 S 13 S 15 D1 D2 Infra B Infra C D2 Infra B, C Infra C D2 Infra B Infra D D4 D1

The Finnish Roadmap for communication technologies, services and business models, VTT technical research Centre of Finland

Reasons for success: experts from the Finnish industry and the research organizations; sketched the vision of technology beyond 2015; with interviews and in

several workshops with GIGA’s expert groups; shows main ICT trends by

2010; A good network of experts and external

reviewers ; proper supporting policy in place

Figure 7:2 Assessing the roadmap framework – using the Finnish roadmap

Unlike the roadmaps for developing countries, as shown in Figure 7:1, the Finnish roadmap plans for future ICT services such as service 15, which is hybrid broadband services such as cloud computing, digitalization, globalization and social networking. Possible devices and the required infrastructure are given for each service. The use of a business models and the involvement of different ICT experts have increased the success of the Finnish roadmap. An interesting finding, which is a similarity to the developed roadmap framework, is that the mobile

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and wireless infrastructure remains popular with the use of mobile devices, computers, radios and TVs.

Assessing of roadmaps using the methodological framework

The methodological framework shown in Figure 4:5 is used to assess the existing roadmaps. The aspects identified in Figure 4:5 are considered for each roadmap. Using the Pakistan roadmap, the economic aspect is addressed by encouraging agricultural services. Health and education cover the social aspects of the Pakistan roadmap. The localization of content is meant to ensure the social aspects within Pakistan. The Pakistan roadmap encourages services which create economic opportunities, but the country’s lack of proper ICT policies has meant that the governmental aspect is not fully accommodated.

The Malaysian roadmap focused on technical aspects. Environmentally friendly applications are recommended once the wireless infrastructure is provided. The Malaysian roadmap suggests services that improve the educational system and health standards, thus fulfilling social needs. The developments of the banking sector improve the economic prospects of the country.

The Lesotho roadmap encouraged services that uplift the socio-economic aspects of the people. This is enabled by government commitment, which is important in ICT policy making. The Lesotho roadmap focused on eGovernment, eCommerce and eHealth services (Motsoahae, 2005). These services improve the social and economic issues of Lesotho. The roadmap also aims to offer ICT services that cater for disabled people. This eliminates discrimination and improves the social standards of the country.

The South African roadmap mentions health and educational services to improve its service delivery to rural areas. The encouragement of small entrepreneurs and agriculture is important in promoting economic development. The role of policy making is also supported in the South African roadmap and this encourages government support. The existing roadmaps address social, economic, and political areas. The technical aspect is not clearly addressed in the existing roadmaps.

It was observed that, in order to ensure development, ICT should add value and improve the standards in the respective areas that are being targeted (Avgerou & Walsham, 2000). Five variables relevant to address the context, which are almost identical to the already mentioned

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variables in Chapter 4, Figure 4:5 were considered. The ICT roadmap framework considers the following aspects:

Culture: Societies or groups in a society vary in their sets of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices. Culture deserves careful attention when ICTs are introduced in the development context (Westrup et al., 2003). In this case culture is considered a central variable.

Environment: Physical conditions (heat, cold, dust, humidity, etc.) need to be considered in order to establish a suitable ICT solution design. The development of green ICT services in rural areas could increase environmental safety.

Organization: The structure of any organization (in the broadest sense of the word) determines the implementation strategy of systems, both in the developed and developing world.

Economy: The current and future economic situation of a country, sector or organization should serve as a determinant in its ICT investment decisions.

Political climate: Some governments are more restrictive in their ICT guidelines than others. Openness is not always appreciated and some governments have ‘partnerships’ with hardware and software suppliers.

Other variables, such as the technical and societal aspects, are also important; this is indicated in Chapter 4, in Figure 4:5. Government plays a significant role in ensuring that the public has access to services at a low cost. According to Fourier (2008), proper ICT infrastructure and community involvement are some of the key requirements for ICT development.

The discussed ICT roadmap framework plays a great role in accommodating the five variables mentioned by Avgerou and Walsham (2000). Using these variables, the roadmap framework through the ICT devices, services and discussed infrastructure, addresses these aspects. This is supported by Figure 4:5, as explained in Chapter 4. Any of the services identified for rural areas improve the rural livelihoods in different ways, i.e. socially, economically and politically, and provide rural ICT users with up-to-date information.

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