Kazi Najib Ashraf is a Telecoms Professional and a Blogger and he is a contributor to www.handelot.com, he can be contacted at kazi.najib@playtorium.com.

These are interesting times for Technology, teenagers from across the world are running in unknown directions trying to catch virtual creatures playing Pokemon Go. There are 4000 downloads per minute on iOS and Android devices for this disruptive app. Please see for yourself live at: http://appinstitute.com/pokemongo-realtime-stats/.   I read a scary yet true statement the other day in an article that went like this, "Every time a line of software code is written nowadays, someone loses his job'. This is becoming a reality with technologies venturing out way faster than we can handle. Please see the tweet below, sort of tells us the directions of things to go.

Both Huawei and Samsung have realized that they have to break the vicious cycle of dependency on Android. Samsung has been trying with mixed reviews with Tizen (https://www.tizen.org/), they haven't reached too far but are still desperately trying to make something out of it. Here's the news from Huawei (http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/23/12011732/huawei-developing-own-mobile-os). So more and more the game moves towards excellence in software but it would still be an uphill battle as iOS and Android are not going to sit pretty and wait. While all these changes are on the horizon the hardware industry is taking a strong beating. See the beating the IT Industry took from 2011-2015, things in 2016 aren't that pretty. Industry consolidation would mean exit of quite a few players as investments go towards AR and VR devices and ancillary products.

In the meantime the integration is coming more and more towards hand held devices with defined eco systems. The world is connected like it never was and this connectivity is defining our lives on a daily basis.

In the meantime lets listen to Andy Rubin, the creator of Android:  Rubin has a theory that humanity is on the cusp of a new computing age. Just as MS-DOS gave way to Macintosh and Windows, which gave way to the web, which gave way to smartphones, he thinks the forces are in place to begin a decades-long transition to the next great platform: artificial intelligence. Just as practically every device today contains software of some kind, it could soon be nearly impossible to buy a device without some kind of AI inside. It’s hard to imagine precisely what that future will look like, but for a rough idea, think about the difference between your car and a self-driving car; now apply that difference to every object you own. A TV set that translates shows into any language in real time. A security system that can distinguish between your spouse and a burglar. Ovens that know when your food is perfectly cooked. Now this visionary leader has established a new company, providing a perfect incubator for future entrepreneurs.  (http://playground.global/)

So what are we to do in this part of the world while there is an obvious seismic shift happening in technology? Here's my conclusion and suggestion to my colleagues and friends in the Industry:

1. Distributors for established brands still have around 3 years: Apple, Samsung and Huawei are still going strong and fighting their battles. I don't think that the second tier guys would be around in the near future. The technologies and the local indigenous brands would make trading unfeasible. My take here would be for these companies to get embedded with the principal companies and work on the developing trends and take the future offerings to their markets. The big guys are working on the future and working in close proximity with them and bring in the new solutions around the devices to your markets. Don't keep counting on hardware trading. http://pocketnow.com/2016/06/23/huawei-shipments-expected-to-be-pared-back-still-market-leading (Huawei cutting shipment forecast). Work on intelligent marketing campaigns involving technology and offerings for the local market. No one should know your market better than you, your consumer is now smarter than he was a year ago so containing him would be a challenge. 

2. Traders and Whole Sellers should have red lights alighted across their offices already. If not then they are living in a pipe dream. Money is tight from lenders and the market has shrunk. You did not pay attention and the brands kept disappearing, now the desperate actions of the recent past won't help too much. Take your money and talk to the people who know technology. There would be 34 Billion iOT devices connected by the year 2020. If you love devices then this would still be your mainstay but with a twist. Smart cities are popping up everywhere and you can still have a go at it, there isn't much time left at that but you can still catch up. Hire some smart cookies to temporarily divert your attention every day to the things to come.

3. Salesmen, please learn the new trades asap. There isn't much time left and its a must that you learn the tricks of an alternate industry. I don't want to elaborate more on that.

4. Mobile Manufacturers please guide your partners on the way of the future. Your sales personnel are still hell bent upon meeting unrealistic targets forcing the distributors to over order and then dump the goods all over the world. Its time that we become sane and work with creating an eco system conducive to the development of this region.

I would like to thank everyone for following this series and providing valuable comments. 

Lets meet again with the new series of Interviews with the stake holders of the Industry.

Kazi Najib Ashraf is a Telecoms Professional and a Blogger who is passionate about talking to achievers and then relating their success stories. In today's age and time, there's a drought of wisdom and talking to real professionals with true leadership qualities is nothing less than poetry. So please join me in these conversations as well as enjoy the regular snippets about the @ Regional Telecoms @ market. You can get in touch with me on kazi.najib@playtorium.com.