Digital economy blueprint

single digital market will create economies of scale 

and opportunities to grow the local and regional econ-

omies.

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4.0 DIGITAL BUSINESS

41

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DIGITAL ECONOMY BLUEPRINT

42

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CHAPTER 5.0 INFRASTRUCTURE PILLAR

CHAPTER 5.0

 

INFRASTRUCTURE PILLAR

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DIGITAL ECONOMY BLUEPRINT

5.0  INFRASTRUCTURE

5.1 INTRODUCTION

 “Infrastructure has always been important to nations’ 

economic growth and success, but the infrastructure 

needed for today’s economy is rapidly changing with 

advances in information and communications tech-

nology (ICT)…” ITIF 2016

7

.

“As the next industrial revolution sweeps the world, 

and the Internet of Things rides the wave, the reality 

here and now is that, organizations of the future are 

destined to be digital by default.” KPMG 2014

8

.

Digital infrastructure supersedes the normal infra-

structure in that it has Information Technology capa-

bilities embedded within it thus rendering it to have 

smart and more responsive capabilities  sensors to 

make them smart and more responsive. The smartness 

enables the infrastructure  to be intelligent enough to 

interconnect to other devices e.g. Smart cars, Speed 

sensors,  Traffic  lights,  Drones,  Smart  metering  de-

vices among other machines to electronically collect, 

process, analyze, store, memorize and transmit data. 

The difference between infrastructure and smart dig-

ital infrastructure e.g. smart roads, smart power and 

smart water is that smart digital infrastructure exhib-

it connectivity which enables them to support Inter-

net of Things (IoT), Machine Learning, Machine to 

Machine communication and operation of ubiqui-

tous technologies. All these capabilities combine to 

create an enabling platform for a digital economy 

which supports actualization of smart interconnected 

life through wearable technologies, smart healthcare, 

smart retail, intelligent transportation and smart cities 

for instance, Konza Technopolis.

It is therefore imperative for governments to recon-

sider how they plan and implement or upgrade infra-

structure, in respect to today’s technological strides. 

Expansion of existing infrastructure or implementa-

tion of new infrastructure should aim at transforming 

the country’s infrastructure into digital infrastructure 

to enhance a country’s readiness for a smart life and 

digital economy.

For instance, ICT can be employed in the supply of 

utilities like water, power, sewer etc. through inte-

gration of sensors and intelligent systems to monitor 

water quality, power outages, sewer leakages, among 

other disruptions. Digital technologies can as well be 

employed to enhance safety and efficiency of motor-

ized and non-motorized transportation, logistics and 

delivery of digitally traded commodities.

This chapter discusses infrastructure and focuses on 

digital infrastructure as the main driver of digital 

economy. It is important to note that in the function 

of digital trade, cost of use or provision of infrastruc-

ture forms part of the constant costs. The other costs 

are variables. Therefore, to lower cost function of a 

digital economy, the cost of use or provision of in-

frastructure including digital infrastructure should be 

all-time low.