Innovation for Business Value Applications open The 2nd Annual CIO 100 Awards will celebrate 100 organizations (and the people within them) that are using information technology in innovative ways to deliver business value, whether by creating competitive advantage, optimizing business processes, enabling growth or improving relationships with customers.
Apply and stand a chance to win an Ipad 2!
Perhaps you took a risk on an emerging technology or deployed the tried-and-true in a new way. Maybe you built a better business process or fostered closer collaboration. Or maybe you found ways to get more from existing customers, to pursue new markets, to save money or to make more. Here’s your chance to tell your peers about the technology innovations that have enabled or led the way to greater success for your organization.
All applications are online. Visit: www.cio.co.ke/cio100 * Deadline for application 26th August 2011 For more information; contact info@cio.co.ke Office: +254 020 4041646/7 | Cell: +254 717 535 307
Symposium & Expo: 23-24 November, 2011
CONTENTS CONTENTS E A S T
Cover Story
A F R I C A
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR CHIEF EDITOR TECHNICAL STAFF WRITERS EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS
COLUMNISTS
HEAD OF SALES & MARKETING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER ACCOUNT MANAGER LAYOUT & DESIGN
Harry Hare Louisa Kadzo Dennis Mbuvi Peter Nalika Rebecca Wanjiku Michael Malakata Michael Odinga Bobby Yawe Sam Mwangi James Wire Lunghabo Ruth Kang’ong’oi Andrew Karanja Nicholle Myles Ivy Njerenga Samuel Jumba Navtej Dhadial Dhadialla
Research focusing on the threats posed by the growing use of personal devices on corporate networks exposed a disconnect between what workers are doing and what IT leaders believe is happening – IT leaders have no accurate figures of how many personal devices are operating in corporate networks, until there is a breach or loss of information due to an unsupported network device.
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Disclaimer ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The content of CIO East Africa is protected by copyright law, full details of which are available from the publisher. While great care has been taken in the receipt and handling of material, production and accuracy of content in this magazine, the publisher will not accept any responsility for any errors, loss or ommisions which may occur. ©CIO East Africa 2011
FROM US
4 Editors Viewpoint www.
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6 From the Publisher
48 Last Word BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
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TRENDS Trendlines
12 14 15 16
TOP TOPSTORIES STORIES
Internet costs to decrease Private sector to manage ICT assets Building an ICT literate society Mobile Ad impressions grow by 16%
International Trends
18 19 20
Global increase in tech mergers Steps to increase cybersecurity
Trend Analysis
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Android data leaks discovered
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Social networking affecting storage
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mHealth to impact treatment
TECHNOLOGY Security
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Guard your company’s reputation
Opinion
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Is RTFM dead? Technology access for the disabled
NEW PRODUCTS
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The Huawei S7 slim tablet
New Products
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The Nokia E7: Redefining success
Feature
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Document management
Technology
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Why smartphone batteries suck
Business Tips
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8 uses for an old smartphone
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Your take on the national budget
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he Kenya Minister of Finance is, for the fi rst time in Kenya’s history, soliciting opinions for budgetary priorities from the Kenyan citizens. This is the first for any Finance Ministry in the world to solicit opinions from the citizens before the national budget allocation process.
Editor’s Viewpoint
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In his address to the citizens, the Minister of Finance says (I quote): “We are currently in the process of formulating the National Budget for the financial year 2011-2012. As we establish the fiscal priorities of the country, I feel that there is still room for a more inclusive process that will allow us to factor in your priorities to a greater extent than before. Indeed, Article 10 of the Constitution of Kenya recognizes inclusiveness as part of the National Values and Principles of governance. I would thus like to encourage you all to participate in this most crucial process by giving your suggestions, ideas and proposals on the interventions or actions you would like to see in your budget.” The form is available on https://spreadsheets0.google. com/spreadsheet/viewform?pli=1&hl=en&hl=en&for mkey=dE11UWYwX1lReEgwUG1DNGxvaWkwc2c6 MQ#gid=0. The Minister is giving people the chance to select their budgetary priorities by sector, give their proposal suggestions for that sector, and give general comments concerning the upcoming budgets. I hope you were all able to participate. The Ministry of Finance and Treasury continues to lead in the adoption of ICT in its operation, and support for the growth of the ICT industry. In 2010/11 the research, innovation and technology sector to which ICT development is housed under the medium term
expenditure framework (MTEF) sectors was allocated Ksh. 66.2 billion (up from Kshs. 45.5 billion in 2009/10), 2011/12 projections set at Ksh. 68.4 billion representing a 3.3% increase. This is expected to increase to Kshs. 72 billion by 2012/13. I am in the opinion that these projections should be increased given that ICT cuts across all sectors. In 2009/10 budget proposed a 5% tax deduction on computer software, and further allowed internet service providers to offset against their taxable income the cost incurred in acquiring the right to use the fibre optic cable over a period of twenty years. Treasury has prioritized ICT oriented programmes in all other sectors. For example, the Judiciary can now afford to digitize all court records, implement a document management system, install a SMS solution, establish of LAN and WAN, install a TeleJustice system, install a case management system, implement a direct banking system, install digital display systems and support the integration of IFMIS. The Judiciary has now purchased 350 computers (from zero) and some judges have laptops. The Ministry is funding the development of BPO centers, Digital Villages and an ICT Park. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is in the process of being automated to ensure there is efficiency in their operations, there is an e-promise framework being established to keep check on the implementation of government projects and programmes, as well as an e-registry system in place to enable small business apply and pay for licenses online and through mobile payment platforms. I can go on and on about new ICT innovations that the government ministries are implementing (more information on page 30). What is clear is that ICT is playing an important role of streamlining efficiency and effectiveness in the ministries, and in the management of public fi nancial resources.
Louisa Kadzo Louisa Kadzo CHIEF EDITOR
louisa.kadzo@cio.co.ke www.
.co.ke
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
Connect to the future of work... The age of the knowledge worker, in a new work topology Technology has developed rapidly to accommodate our evolution towards the increasing need to work on the move... However, the existence of too many communication channels is becoming a burder to many. The basic building blocks are smartphones, wireless laptops and software – - to make the bridge between various communication systems. And then there is the secret ingredient – the ‘missing link’ – that makes it really work.
Th he headset is king Why? Because talking, no matter how much we evolve, will always be our primary way to communicate and collaborate. Plantronics products can significantly improve the way businesses communicate. Simply smarter communications is about integrating information across devices and applications. We offer a range of solutions that are ideal for the demands of large businesses, from wireless office systems to mobile solutions that unify PC and mobile communications and more. The Plantronics Unified Communications portfolio offers a broad range of solutions for diverse working styles, with high-quality audio and world class technical support.
Voyager Pro UC... Revolutionizing the mobile office… Unify PC and mobile phone communications. Smart call routing will route the call to the headset if you are wearing it and to your mobile if not. Voice prompts announce remaining talk time, connection status and battery level for superior call management. Intelligent communications on the go… Simply place the next generation Voyager PRO UC headset on your ear to automatically answer mobile or PC calls. With Smart Sensor technology, your Skype™ or Microsoft® Lync™ presence is immediately updated to show your availability and willingness to engage.
Communication on the go has never been smarter. Be truly mobile with the intelligent, next generation Voyager PRO UC Bluetooth® headset system.
www.smoothtel.com | plantronics@smoothtel.com | Call: 020-8000222
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Global standards for data centres
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usiness pressures and infrastructure constraints coupled with demand for enterprise data availability and security are pushing the establishment of new generation of data centers right here in the region. These were the issues discussed by experts and CIOs at the CIO Executive Breakfast in Nairobi last month. It is evident that businesses are clamoring for accelerated growth driven by technology acquisition, which is meant to enable innovation within the organization. Banks and other financial institutions for instance have invested heavily in technology in the last five years or so and they are now looking for a return on investment.
From the Publisher
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But there is a new thinking simmering driven by the “cloud” thinking. That, organizations need not invest so much on acquiring and owning infrastructure anymore with every technology vendors providing “everything as a service”. Both applications and storage requirements can be handled by managed datacenters by service providers. With this thinking businesses are now open and willing to moving their technology requirements to data centers and managed services operators. But they have their own demands for this to happen and at the center of this is “how available will my applications and data be; and how secure is your data center”. Businesses are looking for datacenters that are modular to allow them the benefit of growth when as it happens; secure to protect their information assets; automated to ensure efficiency, reduced costs and outages and they must be operated based on global best practices. With these demands, technology vendors and datacenter owners and operators now have their work cut out. Until recently, all business were asking was storage space in datacenters. This seems to have changed and continues to change as CIOs are put under pressure to deliver a on business demands and expectations and as the maturity of the sector increases.
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So what are key things that CIOs need to check when acquiring that managed service or resting our server space in a datacenter? Standards. There are standards for datacenter infrastructure. The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) came up with the TIA-942 Standard in 2005 which provides requirements and guidelines on setting up datacenters.The standard specifies features and provides requirements, which then classify the various types of datacenters. For instance a Tier 1 data center is basically a server room, following basic guidelines for the installation of computer systems while a Tier 4 data center has all the bells and whistles and is designed to host mission critical computer systems, with fully redundant subsystems and compartmentalized security zones controlled by biometric access controls methods. This standard has since seen several updates, first was the TIA-942-1 in 2008 which provided specifications for coaxial cabling in datacenters and application distances and the latest revision is the TIA-42.1 which was done last year and specifies revised requirements for temperature and humidity in data centers. These revised requirements are meant to reduce energy consumption for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; and provide more flexibility in maintaining temperature and humidity in data centers. The TIA-42.1 also amends the cabling types recognised to include and recommend augmented category 6 (category 6A) and provides additional guidelines regarding the use of transmission equipment in data centers. With the increase maturity in the market, data center owners need to use set standards and global best practices while designing and building their data centers. This is the only way they can convince their customers that their data and applications are safe with them. And for the CIOs and other professionals using data centers services, revisiting existing standards and checking with your provider if they use global best practices might just save you that unprecedented downtime or worse still embarrassment after a security breach. Harry Hare EDITORIAL DIRECTOR harry.hare@cio.co.ke BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Huawei IDEOS S7 slim tablet The most recent addition to the Huawei family is the IDEOS S7 Slim, a 7-inch tablet running on Android 2.2. Hopes are high that the phone will be upgraded to Android 2.3, 2.4 or even 3.0 in the future. The S7 Slim looks very similar to the smaller tablets of the world. Think Dell Streak and Samsung Galaxy Tab. As the name would suggest, the IDEOS S7 Slim is a sleek device, only 12mm thick and super light for a tablet at 400g. Compare this to the Optimus Pad that weighs around 600g. Huawei’s tablet looks pretty good too, with that screen dominating the front and just three touch sensitivitie keys below in portrait mode. These are back, menu and home buttons. Unfortunately, the Slim S7 is so shiny, it
will expose all fingerprints so you’ll have to polish the front very often. There’s also a front-facing camera for making videocalls. It’s 2-megeapixel which is perfect for video calling. There isn’t one on the back for taking photos though. Around the side of the IDEOS S7 Slim, there’s an HDMI port for hooking the Slim up to your TV. The Huawei IDEOS S7 Slim packs in a powerful 2200mAh battery to give you a rather long life even if you’re a heavy user of the tablet. Although Huawei has little presence in the consumer mobile device space under its own name, there’s always space for more manufacturers to come to the party.
New Products
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BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
The Nokia E7: redefining success
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he Nokia E7 is all-in-one business smartphone. It comes with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support alongside 4-inch AMOLED touch screen display and a slide out four-row QWERTY keyboard. This offers a clear, wonderful display making the E7 a remarkably handy device to work with. Dubbed “the new-age communicator” the Nokia E7 is now available the Kenyan market. Nokia has partnered with Microsoft in providing industry leading productivity solutions for professionals: Mail for Exchange, Microsoft Communicator Mobile and support for intranet and extranet portals built on Microsoft Share Point Server offer professionals direct, secure and real-time access to corporate systems. The Nokia E7 also offers business grade security solutions for secure corporate connectivity. With the Nokia E7, you are able to open and view PDF documents with the pre-loaded Adobe Reader as well as synchronise, back up and transfer important business documents and data with Ovi Suite. More importantly, with the Nokia E7 it is easy to draft and edit documents as well as use the Microsoft Communicator on the phone saving the user from the hassles of a bulky laptop. Just as a way of offering experience with a difference you are able to transfer your important files with the included Nokia USB adapter
the Nokia E7 offering further media for news and information as it breaks.
For those travelling often and have to go through the inevitable trouble of finding new places, the Ovi Maps is offers unparalleled experience-and relief. In addition, the Nokia E7 comes with the AroundMe app which lets you know places of business interest in your vicinity. Hence, with the E7 you’re able to get to meetings on time with In addition you are also able to send texts and emails to Ovi Maps– which offers free lifetime navigation and business contacts in an instant with Vlingo, a voice turn-by-turn voice instructions. This way you are able to recognition app. This way you are able to stay in the loop make business travel simple – track fl ights and be notified with email on the go, Microsoft outlook and calendar sync. of changes with the app. Many more business apps are available to try and download from Ovi Store. The apps from Ovi Store in the E7 will offer information, entertainment tools and maps- equally exciting and relevant Nokia provides an Eco profi le for all Nokia devices. It element for any business person on the move. The Rich app contains information on the products environmental by Aly-Khan Satchu offers up-to-date market information attributes, and also information on the environmental and news as well as investment advice for stocks in East impact of the product. The Eco profi les can be found at Africa. The Daily Nation App can also be downloaded on www.nokia.com/ecoprofi le.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
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IN BRIEF June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
The full articles are available on the CIO East Africa Web site (www.cio. o.co.ke)
AROUND AFRICA
Orange Tunisie to launch Africa’s first apps store at the end of May By Russel Southwood May 31 is a date to keep in mind because it is the day Orange Tunisie will launch its apps store. It will be the first apps store to go live in an African country. At the end of February 2011, the mobile operator also opened a development centre in Tunis with the aim of providing a space to hold training sessions on how to build mobile apps but also to offer access to the equipment needed by developers to develop and test their apps. The centre has 11 MAC, 13PC, a range of smartphones to test the apps on various mobile operating system and 2G and 3G+ mobile internet access. Developers can even book their seat online.
African telcos can claim carbon credits Nedbank Capital has designed a service that allows telecoms operators to claim carbon credits for their “green” implementations. Nedbank Capital’s new carbon credits scheme for telecoms operators is expected to help telecoms operators to generate additional revenue via carbon credits. The change for “greener” power solutions in the African telecoms industry is slow but there are some encouraging signs. Already, leading telecoms operators across the world and with operations in Africa have already pledged that they are committed to reduce their CO2 emissions.
Mobile Web Ghana rewards two local mobile apps developers Advocates of scientific and technical research in developing countries have found champions in the innovation platforms of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information and communication technology (ICT) and geographic information system (GIS). Through these platforms technologies, Africa has the opportunity to promote it agenda concurrent with advances and scientific research while expanding storage, collection and transmission of global knowledge.
AROUND THE WORLD
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A special e-book on healthcare IT’s challenges and opportunities
Advice for Industry-Switching CIOs
It’s been about 20 years since experts said the healthcare system could be improved with a dose of IT. So how are we doing so far? Computerization is slowly improving healthcare processes, but it’s a long way from living up to expectations.
Today’s CIO lasts an average of 4.1 years on the job, according to management consultancy Janco Associates. One of the myths in today’s job market is that CIOs can’t jump industries and be successful. That depends on the CIO.
This e-book -- from the editors of Computerworld -provides a report card on the progress to date and identifies where there’s room for improvement. In addition, this special report covers FDA efforts to regulate wireless networks at clinics and hospitals; the deployment of electronic health records; and how electronic alerts can change physicians’ behavior.
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Great tips to job changing CIOs: Connect immediately, in learning mode, with the senior business team; Get the right people in the right jobs; Start contributing right away by drawing on specific expertise from your past experience; and prioritize and re-evaluate all ongoing projects.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
th
th
June 15 - 18 , 2011, Nairobi,
Internet & Digital Marketing Conference Who will be there?
Will You be there? More than 10,000 Visiters More than 2,000 Business owners 200 hours of seminars, workshops & networking
Dana Todd
Michael Metz Senior Director of Web Marketing and Strategy at Cisco
Co-founder of SEMPO
400 Exhibition booths More than 100 Digital marketing Gurus & Top decision makers
Doug de Villiers CEO of Interbrand Sampson
Michael Leander Direct & Digital Marketing Expert World authority in Email marketing
LARGEST BUSINESS PLATFORM IN AFRICA
! Registration is open ! ! Book Your place Now ! Partners
For Sponsorship/ Booths/ Participation: Contact: Kelly karimi Rwigi Afri-Tech Group, LLC Marketing Director Phone: +254 702 445 474, +254 787 136 462, +254- 20-367 3414 / 202-4499682 Email: krwigi@afri-tech.com Website: www.afri-tech.com
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Internet costs to decrease by Dennis Mbuvi
Mohammed A. Sheikh, Chief Operations Officer, Swift Global
“10 years ago, Internet was very important, but today it’s just a commodity, what’s important is the extra value you get on top of your Internet connection,” says Mohammed A. Sheik h, Chief Operations Officer at Swift Global.
Due to globalizations, Internet service providers (ISPs) find that they have to provide value adds such as managed services and 24 hour support to their customers who are demanding better, more efficient and cost effective technologies. The coming of fiber 2 years ago was expected to bring down the cost of Internet services. On one hand, the Ministry of information and communication, as well as consumers have been arguing that costs are yet to come down to the levels they expected. On the other hand, ISPs maintain that Internet service costs have drastically reduced.
Trendlines
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“Internet costs cannot reduce to the levels we want in 2 years. In a period of 5 years they can be expected to go lower as volumes increase,” says Sheikh Mohammed. He maintains that the volume utilisation that providers are looking for is yet to be reached, with utilisation of sub marine capacity at about 10%. This is expected to grow to about 30 - 40% in the next 2 - 3 years.
Carol Muriithi, chief product development and service delivery officer, Swift Global
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ISPs have been blamed for contributing to the high costs by laying of t hei r ow n infrastructure rather than sharing. Carol Mu r i it h i , ch ief product development and service delivery officer at Swift Global absolves ISPs of blame. To Carol, ISPs set high costs to
recoup high investment costs on the fiber cables and therefore end up charging each other high fees for leasing of the same. “In the long run, it therefore becomes cheaper to lay your own fiber,” she says. Analysts have suggested that ISPs would be better placed if they formed an infrastructure consortium that would roll out fiber and lease it to ISPs, resulting in lower CAPEX and OPEX. Carol says that this is complex due to the long timelines involved. In addition, this is hampered by lack of a resource sharing framework from the regulator in the ICT industry. “It’s the right time for the Communications Commission of Kenya to come up with a strategic plan for infrastructure sharing,” says Carol. This would guarantee investors a better return on investment on fibre which has a lifespan of 15 - 20 years. “Fiber laying also depends on other third party costs that are yet to come down,” warns Carol. County and municipal councils have been charging high fees for digging of trenches to lay fibre coupled with annual way leave fees. She i nstead u rges such institutions to embrace the fact that laying of fibre adds economic value to their areas. It is hoped that increased awareness and efforts to streamline the charges from associated ministries will eventually Justus Ndana, bring down these costs, Chief Marketing Officer, Swift Global though Carol predicts that this will take time. So far, the impact of the sub marine cables has been experienced through easier transactions and increased capacity. Sheikh lists the availability of Kenya Revenue Authority services online as one example. Demand for security services from both government and private sector has also increased as hackers have become frequent and sophisticated. The impact is yet to be felt by most of the population who still access Internet through their phones. Swift Global plans to address high density areas that are yet to be covered by many ISPs through its network of Butterfly wireless access points. The service which was acquired from Kenya Data Networks after its restructuring will be relaunched soon.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
The surge in online marketing by Pamoja Media
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ast year, budget allocations and ad spending on online marketing surpassed that of the traditional media in the US. This is the direction our region is taking; but at a much faster rate than the West did. Just two years ago, over 60% of the things we can now do online would have been considered a myth. The push for online activities have drived the prices for modems and broadband connections drastically down. Next came the main technological tools meant for Africa; mobile phones. The cost of smart phones and tablets has reduced. The rise in mobile browsers and locally developed applications for Internet-enabled phones provides the needed kick for this sector to grow. Android has a special mention in this sector. As a result, local developers have stepped in to this new avenue, creating local solutions to local problems in all sectors including agriculture, health, education etc. Locally developed apps and sites provide an invaluable portfolio for brands to showcase and grow markets – reaching a target audience within this region. The new order in marketing is that of brands following the masses. The power of numbers cannot be better displayed than through the growth of social networks. The Facebook phenomenon for example has shaped governments and institutions in Africa. Mention Egypt, Tunisia and even threatening Museveni’s rule in Uganda. This is the e p it o m e of on l i n e communities reaching their maturity shifting from a “fun and hanging out” platform to a more decisive and impact oriented gatherings. The same decision making and discussions have extended from the politically oriented conversations to products, services and brands. Budgets for online PR and monitoring are slowly increasing as a result of executives opening up to the fact that these conversations are growing. This provides an avenue for brands to lead conversations and threaten their markets.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
Traditional media has become congested and thus more expensive. Companies are now looking for cheaper, more effective options of reaching out to a highly segmented audience. The low entry barriers for marketing online coupled with intensive tracking and analytic tools have proved to be most resourceful for selling brands online. This is especially for SMEs and start-ups that have to muscle their way to the top using the most cost-effective means. The audience has also become more segmented through specific platforms and communities, mostly based on age, geographic location and interests. The final blow is the youth. In search of income while studying, college kids nowadays spend time online to find research writing jobs thus end up creating mini-BPOs in their rooms. Upon graduation, these youths have gained an understanding of how the online scene works. This means they graduate into other money-making ventures by starting ecommerce sites or running community-based platforms. Both of these require highly developed skills in interacting with people online. It is this naturally acquired skill and experience that companies are now tapping into to execute online marketing campaigns and grow their brands.
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June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Private sector to manage ICT assets By Edris Kisambira
Rwanda to hand ICT asset management to private sector Currently, some telecom operators are using the government fiber-optic cable to deliver Internet services. The private telcos have lease agreements in place with the government to use bandwidth. Kanamugire said the cost of leasing the cable is based on the cost of running it rather than on a profit basis. He said the government invested in fiber-optic cables to reach remote areas that private players still consider not viable. At the time the government of Rwanda chose to invest in these projects, private players questioned the reasoning behind the move, saying the government was entering the telecom market to compete with them.
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he Rwanda government has begun the process to find a private manager for information and communication technology (ICT) assets worth more than US$100 million, including a 2,300 kilometer fiber-optic cable.
Other assets that are to be managed by the private sector include a national data center and the Kigali Wireless Broadband (WiBro) network in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. The WiBro network, which was deployed by Korea Telecom, offers data connectivity and VoIP services. 14
According to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of ICT (MINICT), David Kanamugire, the government has invested over $100 million in these assets. Kanamugire confirmed in an interview that the process of hiring the firm that will manage the facilities is under way. He however could not give a time frame for when the process will be completed. “These are complex processes that require careful planning to ensure we get the best man for the job,” Kanamugire said. He said transferring government assets to a private operator would ease access to these facilities by the general Rwandan public.
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Kanamugire has assured the private players that the government “had no intention to compete with the private sector but it wants to promote universal access to ICT.” MTN Rwanda Chief Operating Officer (COO) Andrew Rugege welcomed the move to put infrastructure in private hands but called for fairness in the process. Players like MTN Rwanda are expected to apply to government to run the facilities. “We hope it will be done in a fair way not to give advantage to whoever will win the bid to manage them,” Rugege said. Work on the 2,300 kilometer fiber optic cable, which cost some $93 million, was completed in January. The work included fiber installations on the Ugandan and Tanzanian borders where fiber runs to the East African coast and links to submarine cables. The installation of equipment in government institutions that are directly connected to the optic fiber is ongoing and the entire network will be fully operational and commissioned by soon. The network cable is also expected to enhance the ICT industry by facilitating IT-based foreign investment in areas such as business process outsourcing. The national data center, which will store all national data, was set up by a Swedish firm, Coromatic, at a cost of more than $5 million. The facility has the capacity to store and back-up data for neighboring countries that are interested.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Building an ICT literate society By Dennis Mbuvi
“By 2015, there will be 15 billion connected devices, devices that can process and connect to each other,” says Omar Bajaber, Intel’s Kenya Country Manager. Intel’s core business is in the design and manufacture of microprocessors for both servers and personal computers. In addition, the firm has also moved into microprocessors for embedded devices, such as consumer and home entertainment devices such as those found in the BMW i series. It is for this reason that Intel has formulated a strategy in the country, and worldwide that sees it driving demand for computers and related devices. To grow the market to a more educated workforce, Intel has developed a strategy that has seen the fi rm heavily investing in education programs worldwide. The program includes developing math and science content for schools. The reason for choosing math and science is that the two subjects are the same all over the world. The content is freely available to all countries worldwide and is in use in more than 60 countries. Skool.com hosts the content that Intel has developed and is available in 8 languages. In Kenya, Intel signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) in April 2011. The MoU will see the coming of this content to Kenya and KIE, working closely with Intel to align the curriculum to Kenya’s local curriculum. The partnership involves tasks such as voiceovers and local animations. The agreement also involves capacity building such as content hosting. The content includes both primary and secondary school curriculum. The implementation is left to KIE. Intel has also signed another MoU with the Ministry of Education (MoE) that seeks to build capacity of Kenyan teachers in the use of computers as a teaching aid. The initial stage sees teachers becoming computer literate in an effort to enable them to use computers. They then learn how to prepare lessons on computers and eventually how to teach using one. The program has trained 4000 teachers since its launch last August and hopes to train many more with the coming on board of the Teachers Service Commission. Intel is also in talks with Google in an effort to streamline its programs with Google’s recently launched gfunze. gfunze seeks to help secondary school teachers use ICT tools in teaching. “They are good programs that complement each
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
other and we both agree that they should be aligned,” says Bajaber. Challenges in the secondary school program include shortage of funding given that Intel has been funding it alone. This is expected to change as the MoE is coming in with funds to help in faster roll out of the programme. Balancing between quality and access to computers given that many teachers do not own computers is also a major setback. “It is important that the Teacher Laptop program (currently been ran by Safaricom and Microsoft) will result in making more computers to teachers. The urban rural divide has contributed to the lack of access of computers for teachers, as well as lack of internet access across many parts of the country. This is expected
Omar Bajaber, Country Manager, Intel Kenya
to improve through the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) Universal Service Fund that funds the building of telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas. Bajaber says that Intel will be working with CCK to increase rural connectivity. He also credits the Kenya ICT Board for its role in the digital village initiative and has been working closely with them to improve connectivity of the 70% of Kenyans living in rural areas. Intel invested USD 4 billion worldwide in 2010 towards the education program. The company hopes to achieve a 1 to 1 ratio of computers to kids in schools. “The idea is no to create computer literate kids, but give them tools for life,” says Bajaber. “The job market requires people with computer literacy skills, it is important that we teach them 21st century skills,” says Bajaber.
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June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Mobile Ad impressions grow by 16%
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nMobi, an independent mobile advertising network, released its latest Africa regional insights that provide a snapshot of mobile advertising trends on the continent between December 2010 and March 2011. Data from the report shows that InMobi now serves over 3.6 billion impressions a month in Africa and that these mobile ad impressions have grown consistently by 3% during the period. Kenya specific data includes: • 16% growth in mobile impressions in the period • 21% growth in smartphone impressions in the Kenya mobile market • Nokia OS holds 54.1% impression share, followed by Symbian at 8.3% and Android at 1.3% • 237,904,357 monthly mobile advertising impressions in Kenya on InMobi network The data also indicates that while 8 out of 10 mobile adverts in Africa are delivered on either a Nokia or Samsung device, when it comes to smart phones platforms in Africa, RIM reigns supreme; although RIM/iPhone OS/Android collectively only represent 4.1% of the total Africa ecosystem. In fact, in just 2 months, RIM has grown 2,5% share points while Nokia, which owns the majority market share (in total
number of handsets, rather than just smartphones), has remained static. “RIM Blackberry’s growth during the period is proof that the lowering cost of data plans and devices will lead to smart phone adoption in Africa,” comments Isis Nyong’o, Vice President and Managing Director InMobi Africa. “It will be critical to track both RIM and Android market penetration as a key to growth in mobile advertising ecosystem”. The report also showed that South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt represent the largest mobile markets in Africa. South Africa maintains position as the largest of thesewith in excess of 850 million impressions a month. James Lamberti, VP of global research and marketing at InMobi says, “Africans continue to increase their mobile media consumption with both advanced phone and smartphone uptake growing at a consistent pace in the last quarter. However, advanced phones still dominate with 81% market share, so smartphones have yet to gain significant traction.” The full report is available to download at www.inmobi. com/research.
16
DO M N’T IS S
Get more on: www.cio.co.ke co.
• In our COVER STORY • Information Security
• Feature • IT Governance Frameworks
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JULY edition of
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Android data leaks discovered Hackers have found a way to access Android phone calendar, contact, and picasa data via your phone. Should you worry?
A
security flaw in nearly all Android phones can leak contact, calendar and photo data to nearby hackers, researchers said. But is this a serious threat to Android security, or just an overblown bit of fear-mongering? Let’s walk through what we know to find out: What’s the issue?
International Trends
18
Several Google Android apps use a method called ClientLogin to authorize the transfer of sensitive data to web-based services. ClientLogin uses authorization tokens to pass the user’s login and password through a secure https connection to a web service, such as Google Calendar or your synced contacts. The problem, according to researchers at Ulm University’s Institute of Media Formatics, occurs once the token is validated and returned. It can then be used for up to two weeks in requests through insecure http connections, making it vulnerable to theft from a hacker over a Wi-Fi network. What are the dangers? A hacker could use the stolen token to gain access to calendars, contacts or Picasa images. The intruder could then steal or modify information within these services. Think corporate espionage or personal stalking. Who’s affected? The issue applies to all Android versions prior to 2.3.4 for contacts and calendars, and including 2.3.4 for Picasa Web albums. Researchers say it applies to 99.7 percent of Android phones, which isn’t accurate because the data they use only counts users who have recently accessed the Android Market. Still, it’s safe to say that the vast majority of Android phones are affected. What’s the likelihood of being attacked? There’s the rub. The attack requires the user and the hacker to be on the same Wi-Fi network. The researchers
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describe the possibility of evil twin networks, which spoof popular Wi-Fi access points like those at Starbucks, but the more likely threat comes from ordinary insecure Wi-Fi. Even then, we’re talking about a hacker who’s sitting in close proximity with the sole intent of stealing data. Like the Firesheep mass-hacking tool that caused a stir last year, this issue is scary to think about, but getting hit with an attack is not very likely for average users. What can users do? The best thing to do is to stick with secure Wi-Fi networks. In Android settings, you can also turn off automatic synchronization when connecting to open Wi-FI. Updating to Android 2.3.4 would solve most of the problems - although Picasa information is still vulnerable -- but that’s entirely in the hands of wireless carriers and phone makers. Should Google do something? The researchers have several for Google, including a requirement that all apps and sync services switch to https, as Google Calendar and Contacts have done in Android 2.3.4. They also recommend that Google switch to a more secure authorization service such as OAuth, limit the lifetime of authentication tokens, reject ClientLogin requests for http connections and create a way to limit automatic Wi-Fi connections to protected networks.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Global increase in tech mergers By Anuradha Shukla
Findings from Ernst & Young’s quarterly report.
G
lobal technology mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals grew during the first quarter (Q1) of 2011, according to Ernst & Young’s quarterly report, Global Technology M&A Update, January - March 2011.
Multiple small, strategic deals Companies are continuously making multiple small acquisitions and leveraging them together to address strategic business initiatives.
Ernst & Young specialises in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The firm reported a growth both in the number of M&A deals and in total value when compared to the same period last year.
Steger noted that this pattern enables buyers to maintain their competitiveness and also capitalise on current and evolving trends.
During the first quarter of 2011, companies transacted a larger number of smaller, strategically focused deals and thus continued a trend that began in 2010.
“However, given the rapid pace and competitive nature of these deals, it still demands rigorous deal valuation, structuring, due diligence and integration.”
Non-technology companies purchased 15 per cent of the quarter’s total value in disclosed-value deals, and according to Ernst & Young, this demonstrated that information technology is blurring into other industries at a rapid pace.
The report shows cloud computing and SaaS were the drivers for many deals, and in Q1 2011, there were multiple deals in which mobile device manufacturers purchased content and services providers, which ensured their entry into traditionally non-technology industries. Also, video deals were apparent in every sector in Q1, and a quest for growth was evident in the level of crossborder deals in the same period. Ernst & Young also notes a strong outlook for 2011 M&A.
“These trends speak to the rapid pace of change driven by the cloud, social networking and smart mobility, and the ways in which technology is becoming an increasing part of everyday life - not just something we do while at work,” said Joe Steger, global technology transaction advisory services leader at Ernst & Young. “On the business side, the trends reflect that information is becoming a larger component of the value of all products and services.”
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“These truly exciting technology innovations, the growing cash stockpiles that technology companies are increasingly challenged to put to good use and the strong start to the year represented by these fi rst quarter M&A results suggest a big year for technology M&A in 2011. Realistically, however, we must temper those pluses with concern over increasing divergence between buyers and sellers over valuation, geopolitical unrest, global debt issues and other unforeseeable possibilities,” Steger concluded.
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June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Steps to improve cybersecurity By Grant Gross
Small businesses should train employees about threats and develop disaster recovery plans November 2009 phishing scam. Now, the company encourages employees to raise questions about suspicious e-mail messages and other issues, he said.
W
ading into e-commerce waters can be scary for small businesses because of cybersecurity threats, but they can take steps to protect themselves, a group of security experts said Monday.
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A cyber-attack recovery plan is also important, said Cheri McGuire, vice president of global government affairs and cybersecurity policy at Symantec. In a Symantec study released in January, half of all small and medium-sized businesses didn’t have disaster recovery plans and 41 didn’t know they should have a recovery plan.
Small businesses using the Internet should develop cybersecurity and disaster recovery plans, train employees regularly on security threats, and regularly change computer passwords, said the experts gathered at a U.S. Federal Communications Commission forum on smallbusiness cybersecurity.
Forty percent of the survey respondents said data protection was not a priority for them, McGuire added. “That’s kind of a shocking statistic when you think about it,” she said. “Data ... is what your business runs on.”
Small businesses need to train employees on “proper hygiene” while using computers, said Michael Chertoff, chairman of consulting fi rm the Chertoff Group and former secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Business owners should regularly remind workers not to connect USB thumb drives of unknown origin, not to use weak passwords and not to leave their passwords where others can see them, he said.
Without a plan in place, small businesses will see increased costs and more distractions because of cyber-attacks, said Julius Genachowski, the FCC’s chairman. “Having a cybersecurity plan is a competitive advantage, and not having one is a competitive disadvantage,” he said.
Some criminals have purposefully dropped infected USB sticks in the parking lots of organizations they want to target, hoping employees will pick them up and connect them to their network, he said. “You don’t pick up and eat everything that you find on the street,” Chertoff said. “You shouldn’t pick up every USB stick and stick it into your laptop.” Small businesses should also back up their data and make employees aware of the latest methods cybercriminals are using, he added. It’s easy to fall victim to online attacks, added Maurice Jones, CEO and CFO of Parkinson Construction, a Washington, D.C., fi rm that lost about US$18,000 in a
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Computer downtime costs small and medium-size businesses an average of $12,500 a day, the Symantec study said.
The FCC have released a list of 10 cybersecurity tips for small businesses. Among the tips: Regularly download and install software patches, use a firewall and limit employee access to data. Many times small businesses don’t see themselves as targets for cybercrime when they are, Chertoff said. “This really touches everybody,” he said. Still, no one expects small businesses to have perfect cybersecurity, he added. “It’s important to recognize that what we’re talking about here is managing cyber-risk, not eliminating cyber-risk,” he said. “There will never be a program that eliminates all possibilities of a cyberthreat.”
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
Pictorial 20th May 2011, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Nairobi Storage and Data Centres
Meshack Kamau, Storage Presales, EA, HP, giving a presentation on overview of Enterprise Storage
Arlene Nazareth, Territory Account Manager EA, APC, presenting on going green with data centres
Delegates at the CIO Executive Breakfast
Vincent Wang’ombe, Chief Marketing Officer, KDN, speaking about building secure data centres
Alex deGraaf, Senior Sales Engineering EMEA, McAfee Inc. presents on securing your data storage
Jackie Gaithuma, Business Development Manager, AccessKenya, giving a presentation on managed services for data centres.
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Africa software theft hits $109m
T
he commercial value of unlicensed software installed on personal computers in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA), which excludes South Africa, reached USD 109 million in 2010 as 83 percent of software deployed on PCs during the year was pirated. This stands at almost double the global piracy rate for PC software, which is 42 percent – having risen by 3.6 points on the previous five year average. These are among the fi ndings of the Business Software Alliance (BSA) 2010 Global Software Piracy Study, which evaluates the state of software piracy around the world. During the past 5 years since 2006, Botswana’s piracy rate has dropped by 2 percent; Kenya’s by just 1 percent; while Zimbabwe’s rose by one percent in 2008 but returned to the 2006 rate of 91 percent in 2010. Zambia’s piracy rate has remained unchanged year over year. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s piracy rate of 91 percent is the second highest in the world.
Trend Analysis
22
This is the eighth study of global software piracy to be conducted by BSA in partnership with IDC, the IT industry’s leading market research and forecasting firm, using a methodology that incorporates 182 discrete data inputs for 116 countries and regions around the world. This year’s study also includes a new dimension: a publicopinion survey of PC users on key social attitudes and behaviors related to software piracy, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs.
Additional findings from the study include: • Globally, the value of software theft grew to a record $59 billion — nearly double that when the study began in 2003. Half of the 116 geographies studied in 2010 had piracy rates of 62 percent or higher. • Emerging economies have become a driving force behind PC software piracy. Piracy rates in the developing world are 2.5 times higher than those in the developed world, and the commercial value of pirated software ($31.9 billion) accounts for more than half of the world total. • The most cited advantages of licensed software globally are access to technical assistance (88 percent) and protection from hackers and malware (81 percent). • Among the common ways people in engage in piracy is to buy a single copy of software and install it on multiple computers. • Strong majorities of PC users around the world believe intellectual property rights and protections produce tangible economic benefits: 59 percent globally say IP rights benefit local economies, while 61 percent globally say IP rights create jobs.
Globally, the opinion survey found strong support for intellectual property rights. The survey also found widespread recognition that licensed software is better than pirated software, because it is understood to be more secure and more reliable. The problem is many PC users lack a clear understanding of whether common ways of acquiring software, such as buying a single program license for multiple computers or downloading a program from a peer-to-peer network, are likely to be legal or illegal. “Clearly, there is a strong appreciation for the value delivered by legal software,” said Lawrence Kinyanjui, Anti-Piracy Manager for Microsoft East and Southern Africa. “The results reinforce the need to educate users that software downloaded from P2P networks is often illegal, and installing software purchased for one computer on multiple home or office PCs is piracy.”
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BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Keeping pace with evolving IT needs By Mark Anderson, Regional Server Sales Specialist, Oracle South Africa
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s IT organizations look to deliver on-demand services, virtualization requirements continue to advance — and companies are realizing that server virtualization is only a partial solution. Without the ability to package complete application environments that can be deployed on demand, IT staff must manually customize solutions in order to deliver services. Perhaps the most important technology trend in recent years, virtualization is moving beyond isolated projects in the datacenter and fundamentally changing the nature of IT organizations from technology hosts to service providers for the business. Indeed, virtualization is no longer a goal unto itself — it is now a means for enabling services-based IT. By deploying application aware virtualization solutions, organizations can speed the delivery of IT services. Server virtualization Server virtualization technologies help organizations create administrative and resource boundaries between applications. This approach provides improved application performance and security, and also can be a vehicle for rapid application provisioning by delivering pre-installed, pre-configured virtual machine images of enterprise software. Desktop virtualization Desktop systems are critical to maximizing user productivity. Yet assigning one desktop system per user can place administrators in the difficult position of managing hundreds or even thousands of individual systems. In addition, many engineering and technical organizations need to supply multiple desktop environments per user, further exacerbating the problem. Complicating the situation is the desire for workplace flexibility. However, giving users the ability to move from place to place with appropriate data security without losing the functionality of traditional fixed asset environments poses a host of desktop management and security challenges. Desktop Virtualization technologies can help companies increase flexibility, take better advantage of client device independence, create true mobility for workers, streamline management tasks, and optimize security. Storage virtualization As data volumes continue to rise, datacenter managers must cope with expanding storage infrastructure and provide
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
Mark Anderson, Regional Server Sales Specialist, Oracle South Africa
around-the-clock access to data that is stored on reliable and secure media in order to support demand. A broad range of storage virtualization solutions — for example integrated storage virtualization capabilities in Oracle Solaris 10, virtual tape solutions or Automatic Storage Management can help companies achieve optimal performance, simplify storage provisioning and management, and reduce the risk of data loss and downtime. Enable private clouds An important staple in every datacenter, virtualization makes it possible to consolidate systems and services efficiently. Now virtualization is expanding and combining with intelligent management techniques to foster the distribution and automation of the entire hardware and software stack. The next step—private cloud computing— makes that efficient technology architecture available to users through a self-service interface that boasts a rich service catalog and flexible pricing. Indeed, cloud computing is a natural evolution for IT organizations. With a self-service, scale-out, pay-as-you-go premise, cloud computing offers an ideal platform on which applications can expand, contract, and adapt to business and workload requirements more quickly and easily than ever before.
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June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Social networking affecting storage By Jonathan Duncan, director for the Central and North East Africa region at APC by Schneider Electric
T
he past few years have seen a huge increase in the use of social networking technologies, from Facebook and Twitter to blogs and wikis. In fact, market research company, Nielsen carried out a study and found that US-based Internet users had spent an average of more than six hours on sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter during May 2010 alone. This increasing trend is set to hit the East Africa. The Nielsen research also showed that 75 percent of all active US Internet households visited a social networking site at some point during the month of May and that around one-fifth of American adults publish online or own a blog, and 55 percent have at least one or more social networking profi les. At the same time, both organisations and government entities worldwide are also increasingly turning to social networking to facilitate communication and collaboration among individuals and groups. Unfortunately, while there are clear benefits to this greater communication, social networks also present a number of challenges. As businesses become increasingly involved in implementing these types of interactive technologies,
they have to completely rethink their approaches to storage. This rapid growth in online demands is fuelling the need for storage, particularly in light of the fact that the data generated is not transactional in nature, but rather fi xed content, as people include photos, videos and audio. The organisations running these networking sites must ensure that they can offer constant business availability to meet the demands of users – who want access and want it now. It really boils down to availability, be it on a business or a social level, where the applications are hosted and what type of disaster recovery plans are in place. The key to redefining storage strategy is for companies to ensure that their IT infrastructure doesn’t become crippled through the downloading and storage of this type of data and that capacity planning is always kept in mind. An integral part of this is looking at the factors that aid business continuity, from power and cooling to software management, and making certain that measures have been taken to maintain availability from these perspectives. After all, something as simple as a power outage or an overheating data centre could cause downtime and, ultimately, unhappy users.
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BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
TZ Internet prices are yet to drop by Wayan Vota
Companies that connect their network infrastructure at the SEACOM landing point have dropped prices and increased bandwidth speeds. Mobile phone companies now offer great plans like Airtel’s 3GB of mobile data for $10 and the Holiday Inn Dar es Salaam has the fastest hotel bandwidth in Africa. Transmission is the issue
R
ecently, Ory Okolloh (aka @kenyanpundit) asked a pertinent question on Twitter, that I would paraphrase as: “Tanzanians - what are your thoughts on why Internet access prices are not dropping and bandwidth speed is still slow, even after undersea fiber cables landed at Dar es Salaam, as compared with other countries, especially Kenya?” I happened to see this tweet while meeting with a major Tanzanian ISP and posed the question to them. Their answer is enlightening for everyone in the ICT space. Essentially, it is a failure in regulation and transparency with the national fiber optic backbone infrastructure. Tanzania fiber cable history Back when SEACOM and EASSy were in the planning stages, the Tanzanian government entered into an agreement with the Chinese government to build a National Information Communication and Technology Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) to transport that bandwidth nationwide. The national network was designed and installed by Huawei and connects most of the major population centers to the landing points at Dar es Salaam. So far so good. Pricing at SEACOM landing point Trouble began when the government gave Tanzania Telecommunications Company TTCL, the incumbent national telecommunications operator the monopoly rights to manage the backbone, as evidenced by bandwidth pricing. SEACOM will sell 1 Megabyte per second (Mbs) of bandwidth at $230 USD per month at its landing point in Dar. If an Internet Service Provider wants to use another bandwidth provider, they can get it for as low as $175 for 1 Mbs per month at the SEACOM landing point. BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
ISPs operating outside of Dar es Salaam still have a transmission problem - how to get bandwidth to the paying customer? TTCL charges a flat $180,000 per year to transport Internet bandwidth across the country. In addition, to connect to the backbone requires custom Huawei routers because of the way Huawei built the network. These specialized routers cost $18,000 and take 6 months to manufacture. By comparison, a similar Cisco router for standard network architecture is $8,000 and in stock across Dar. If ISPs want to buy the bandwidth from TTCL rather than transmitting it on their own, its $700 for 1Mbs per month in Dar and $900 per month in Arusha. If you think TTCL’s $470 per Mbs per month mark up extreme, it gets better. TTCL has a 20-year agreement with SEACOM for bandwidth that averages out to less than $65 Mbs per month. Regulation is the problem The excessive markups by TTLC should not come as a surprise to anyone in the African telecom industry. Incumbent telcos have been using their monopoly position for rent seeking for years now. What is surprising is that this is happening in Tanzania. The mobile operator marketplace is open and very competitive - there are several private operators fighting for market share. In other industries, government-run companies were privatized and markets liberalized, unleashing a privitization economic boom that the country is still enjoying. Yet with TTCL, the Tanzanian government has given one company a monopoly power, which that company is using to monopolize the bandwidth transmission market, keeping Tanzanian citizens from enjoying the African bandwidth bonanza. | http://www.ictworks.org/news
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.co.ke
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June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
mHealth to impact treatment by Peter Nalika
T
echnology in healthcare has gradually revolutionized how patients are treated in Kenya. A number of telcos, the Kenyan government, Non-Governmental organizations and application developers have worked on projects based on mobile phones to improve prevention efforts, patients care and treatment, support and health data collection. Mobile health projects are not only revenue streams for some of these organizations, but also an awareness platform. In 2009, mHealth initiative was explored to fight Polio by UNICEF in Zambia by sending mass text messages to parents. Kenya’s Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, division of Vaccines and Immunization (DVI) use “HealthTrack” a mHealth solution to monitor vaccine stocks at various district stores throughout the country. The system collects and analyzes data, giving estimates of latest vaccine stocks based on previous data stored in databases as well as the latest stocks available in the system.
26
Through the “HealthTrack” system, DVI gets in touch with the vaccine management staff by sending them SMS text messages conveying new and emerging information about products, safety, storage tips, training opportunities and meeting schedules. AAR Kenya, a health insurer, has integrated an SMS solution that relays information to patients on validity of their insurance policies. Safaricom limited and Orange Kenya are telecoms that are active in mHealth. Recently, Safaricom introduced a healthpresence solution that extends beyond mobile technology and combines video, audio and patient medical data to create an environment same to that patients experience when they visit a health specialist. This solution is to be deployed on the “Digital centres” where rural communities will easily have access to them. Patients in rural areas will access specialized health through videoconferencing with specialist doctors from the cities. “These initiatives bring a universal quality healthcare within reach to those in the remotest villages at an attainable cost, as was demonstrated at the Connected Kenya Summit held in Mombasa,” says Slyvia Mulinge, General Manager, Enterprise, Business Unit, Safaricom
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.co.ke
Limited. CISCO is working with Safaricom to implement this solution. Orange Kenya recently partnered with “Text for Change” (TTC), a Dutch NGO that combines the increased growth of mobile telephony with the need for better health projects. TTC uses SMS communication to assess mobile phone users on their health knowledge. The programme is targeted at helping people to access “click diagnosis” services on their mobile phones. They will be able to get immediate response on the nearest clinics, availability of drugs and physicians physical locations. Private ICT application developers like Circuit Business systems (CBS), have a web based laboratory information system (Labware) solution. Through SMS alert reporting system, the system sends lab test results directly to clinicians’ cellphones. “The solution is free from human error and test contamination, when the samples are fed in the system for tests no human intervention is involved until the results are processed,” says Godfrey O. Owino, CEO CBS. The Labware solution has been installed in several mainstream hospitals and is being used to send SMS to doctors to inform them whether drugs administered on TB patients are working. Web based reports and analysis have been generated on the same. Technology is reviving the delivery of health services and health information.
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June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Manage your documents by Dennis Mbuvi
Document management unlocks revenues, efficiency
M
ost business will rarely function when their Internet connection is down. Management at this time cannot question as to why staff is idle. From this, you would think that businesses are 100% reliant on electronic communication to function, which is not the case. Businesses still rely on paper documents in this age. Some important processes are yet to be available electronically due to various reasons, mostly legal. For example, tender documents and employee contracts will be handled in hard copy. Firms that have existed for several years may also have a huge collection of physical fi les before their processes were electronically automated. While electronic documents are available at the click of a button, documents stored in physical fi les usually present a bottleneck. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Technology, Bitange Ndemo says that the best way Africans stored their records was in oral form in comparison to the Europeans better way of hard copy. However, technology came and revolutionized document management. “Technology enables for soft storage and multiple access (of information). Information is important, for example court records, and therefore requires procedure to access,” he says. Ndemo also insists that the information has to be in public domain so that the public can have confidence in the government processes.
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Document Management Systems (DMS) enhance efficiency as they avail needed information quickly while cutting on costs. Ndemo describes document management systems as an easier way of trying to archive information for use or sharing at a much later stage. Tyrus Kamau, head of innovation at Alliance Technologies says DMS are more or less like a library. Most firms face challenges when trying to retrieve a few documents from thousands of documents, maybe for auditing services. At the same time, Tyrus says that some departments such as sales tend to have standardised documents. These are all situations where DMS can quicken the process. Similarly, when several employees are collaborating on a document, it usually evolves into a to and fro process. A DMS can make the work easier as it provides a platform where all can collaborate on a single document. It is easy to see the original document and changes made along the way, including who made the changes. Several versions of the same document can be retrieved. Tyrus says that use of a DMS saves the fi rm storage as documents are saved in one system. More importantly, they eliminate the paper trail. The range of documents that a DMS can handle include scanned copies of already fi led documents to digital copies of current fi les that are been worked on. This can be word documents, images, artwork, videos and architectural drawings and blue prints. Some DMS like the open source Afresco that Alliance Technologies deploys have features that can integrate social media interactions such as comments on a company’s Facebook page.
Feature
Kenya Medical and Supplies Agency (KEMSA) is amongst the firms that Alliance Technologies has deployed a document management system. KEMSA is tasked with supplying drugs and commodities to all public hospitals and medical institutions. With annual transactions amounting to Ksh 15 billion, KEMSA tenders, supplies, distributes and receives field reports on a daily basis. The volume of paper handled in a day is large.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Technology, Bitange Ndemo, in his office discussing about digitization in the government
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.co.ke
KEMSA’s biggest challenge was that the firm was forced to reference paper trails dating back over several months. The firm needed a system that would boost efficiency of their operations. “They also needed a system that could assure
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
them of recovery in case of a disaster such as the physical paper store burning down,” says Tyrus.
expenditure investments, the DMS can be installed off Internet Solution’s data centre.
Alliance Technologies then implemented Afresco as part of KEMSA’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Documents including requests for quotations, tenders and approvals are scanned and stored in a database at KEMSA and another at a remote back up location. This had the immediate effect of reducing paperwork and the warehouse now generates no paper trail.
The government on the other hand has commenced the digitization of various ministries and agencies and has already completed a few. The process started in key registries such as the state law registry (which is complete) and the company’s registry (almost complete). Other key registries to be covered include judiciary, land and transport. The immigration registry already stores much of its data in digital format. Digitization of the state law office saw money collected by the office more than double from Ksh 30million to Ksh 80 million. This is attributed to an increase in efficiency and a decrease in corruption. Other benefits include reduced human traffic in government offices and redeployment of the workforce as digitization reduces the need for man power. In the next 2 years, it is expected that most key registries will have been digitised. Ndemo says the process will not leave out sub registries in ministries will also undergo digitization at a later stage. The digitized data is stored in data centres within the ministry. However, the government is building its own data centres and disaster recovery centres. The individual data centres in the ministry will then be moved to the centralised data centre, making management, especially security management, much easier.
Tyrus Kamau, head of innovation, Alliance Technologies and a colleague (Shirley) from demonstrate how to use the DMS
KEMSA’s DMS was implemented as part of its ERP system which was implemented over a four year period. KEMSA is still in the implementation process as the firm requires lots of man power to feed documents dating several years back. Tyrus cautions that one needs to be aware of challenges faced in indexing millions of documents. “It must be done in a standard way that makes retrieval easy. One must be very careful not to automate inefficiency,” he says. DMS can be configured to work along work flows where certain documents are only accessible to certain people. This can be further tuned with roles which determine various levels of access, such as read only, read and write. The Department of Defense implemented a DMS and this made document exchange safer as they no longer relied on email. DMS also provides an audit trail that shows how a document was accessed and changed. KEMSA has benefited in reducing the turnaround time required for document retrieval. By quoting a tender number, associated documents are retrieved instantly. Documents no longer have to be sent via courier from their Nairobi headquarters to its warehouses near the airport and at the coast. For institutions that are looking to minimize their capital
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
Benefits of government digitization in general include making it easy for information to be tracked online and reduce corruption by minimizing citizens’ contact with civil servants. Application developers are also expected to leverage on digitized registries to develop both mobile and other platform applications. “Kenya has done very well on that, we will see many of them producing e-government related applications,” says Ndemo. The digitization process itself is not expensive, though labour and time costs involved in it make it costly. There have also been challenges like lost physical fi les and lack of enough capacity in terms of management to fully automate and integrate at a faster pace. The PS says that the government is currently building management capacity. DPH, an Indian firm working in partnerships with a few Kenyan fi rms has been contracted to undertake the digitization of the government registries. Digitization has put the government on the correct path to increase efficiency and revenues. www.
.co.ke
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Innovating
for the citizen
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he third edition of Connected Kenya summit organized and hosted by the Kenya ICT Board between 18th and 21st of April 2011. Safaricom Limited was the lead sponsor for the second year running with IBM, Orange, Equity Bank, Seven Technologies, SAP, Accenture, Jamii Telecoms Limited, Huawei and EMC2, CIO East Africa, Homeboyz Entertainment and Deloitte co-sponsoring the event. The three-day conference provided a platform for the Kenya’s ICT industry players to network, share ideas and knowledge. Going by the theme Innovating for the citizen the event drew a wide array of participants from the public, private, business and civil society sectors in Kenya and beyond. Over 400 delegates attended the highest number of participants since the inception of the conference.
This year’s conference had three main objectives: creation of a platform that is relevant for service delivery and execution; creation of an opportunity for participating organisations and sponsors to exhibit and awarding the most innovative companies whose innovations are in line with Kenya’s vision 2030. The three-day conference provided evidence of the benefits as well as the challenges facing ICT-enabled service delivery and citizen-centric solutions development in Kenya. Presentations showcasing the various innovations undertaken by players in both private and public sector show that ICT has come a long way in Kenya in terms of growth and there is a need to keep on improving to make Kenya a Global ICT hub. Local solutions, global impact Connected Kenya seeks to bring stakeholders in the ICT sector, mainly technology firms to deliberate on trends and have a unified direction towards realizing Kenya’s vision 2030. The Kenya ICT Board is employing a reversed innovation approach to encourage local solutions to local problems. The interdisciplinary approach involves both the private and public sector to include a sharing and a sourcing of solutions from different sources.
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aul Kukubo, CEO of the Kenya ICT Board says: “In order for Kenya to be competitive we need to bring together an ecosystem of education, governance, policy and systems.” He adds that Kenya is ranked at position 106 in the global competitive Index, far off form the board’s mission to have Kenya amongst the world’s top countries.
Safaricom is the biggest provider of data connectivity in Kenya with 90% of internet consumers in the country accessing internet via Safaricom. This is done through 22,500 Mbps of capacity from Safaricom’s stake in the EASSY cable and a redundant 620 Mbps on Seacom. Collymore adds that the company now provides fiber connectivity to 500 buildings. Other services from Safaricom include farmer insurance service where farmers insure their farms against drought effects. This is in partnership with other firms such as UAP insurance.
Revolutionar y innovations like Safaricom’s mPesa have placed Kenya in the global limelight proving that the internal innovation targeted at solving local problems is what the local ICT industry needs to grow. Paul Kukubo, CEO, Kenya ICT Board
“Safaricom has been at the forefront of innovation in Kenya with the aim
of bringing down the cost of doing business in Kenya,” says Bob Collymore, Safaricom CEO. m-PESA is listed as a Safaricom innovation with the biggest impact in the country with more than 13.5 million customers. “Innovation must be linked to identified needs,” he adds.
Bob Collymore, CEO, Safaricom
ICT for better service delivery
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ealising the need for efficient service delivery to the citizens, the Ministry of Finance and Treasury are facilitating budgetary priorities for ICT development, tax incentives for an enabling environment and policy reviews for an enabling environment. Treasury has prioritized ICT oriented programmes in various sectors like the setting up of ICT laboratories and digital libraries for e-learning, electronic voter registration, digitization of court registries, automation of court processes (Telepresence system), Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) among other programmes. The treasury is using ICT to monitor and report on the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) says Ann Waiguru, Head of Governance at Treasury and Acting Director of Integrated Financial Management Information System. ESP uses an ICT tool and Geographical Information System (GIS) monitoring tools to monitor update and status updates on funds disbursement. Treasury did not have requisite skills to use the system and has partnered with other government agencies and the private sector in this. Google has provided capacity through training of treasury officers in the use of these tools while Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) provide interns to map the information.
“It was very big challenge for treasury to monitor without a tool that would allow them to do so. It meant traversing the country. In addition, the public can comment and give feedback,” she adds. ESP also marks the first government implemented project to have a presence on both Facebook and Twitter. The eGovernment is looking to implement include open databases on rights performance, land and infrastructure. Other projects to be implemented include information systems audit, eVoting, eJustice, citizen feedback, county indexing, cyber security, smart identity cards, eboarder and evisa system. All this will revolve around three pillars of access to public systems, shared information and efficient government operations. The judiciary is leading other government agencies and ministries in adoption of ICT. The innovative use of ICT in the judiciary has seen the implementation of the ICT Policy and Strategic Plan 2011- 2013 that lays a firm foundation for the achievement of the judiciary’s ICT committee vision. This has been achieved through private-public partnerships with Google, Safaricom and other partners. Through a WorldBank sponsorship programme, court records are now digitized. The digitization process employs 200 young Kenyans in a permanent basis and has digitised 35 million records. In addition, the WorldBank donated laptops that has been given to judges. The court has employed the use of Teleconferencing in the court sittings and judgments. Through a partnership with Safaricom, Judges can now have court sessions between Nairobi and Mombasa law courts without physically being present. This speeds up the process and saves time and money that would have been used travelling. The National Council for Law Reporting, ICT board, the National Assembly and Government Press are now in a public private partnership with Google. This partnership sees Google digitizing all more than 5000 editions of the Kenya Gazette. The digital archive is fully searchable and is available by searching for the “Kenya Gazette” on Google Books. Google’s mission in digitizing the service is to enrich their Kenya search index. Innovating for the citizen
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afaricom in partnership with Cisco have officially launched a remote m-health initiative at the conference. The m-health program targets citizen in the rural areas and provides them access to quality health care, via Safaricom connectivity.
another. From the tracking, traffic congestion can be determined by the rate of movement of vehicles between cells. Bill Doak, IBM Public Sector Leader for Middle East and Africa says that the transport system also provides other additional services like online vehicle identification through the registration plates, and also online fining of traffic offenders. This keeps traffic moving as cars do not have to stop to be charged.
A demonstration on how the Safaricom - CISCO m-health service works. From left to right: James Rege, Head of Parliamentary ICT comittee, a medical officer, and a volunteer from the crowd, being treated remotely from Nairobi
The program will be rolled out in digital villages and requires minimal equipment to set up. The healthpresence solution combines high-definition video, advanced audio, and patient medical data to create an environment similar to what most people experience when they visit their doctor or health specialist. Taking on m-health as a corporate social responsibility, Orange Kenya’s 10 year participation in the health sub-sector now includes M-pedigree, a solution that identifies drug authenticity, and Text to Change, an m-health system application in partnership with Text to Change (a Dutch NGO) whereby SMS communication is used to spread health communication and encourage HIV/AIDS testing. Orange Kenya has also conducted a pilot project with the ministry of Medical services and Qualcomm has equipped 10 health centers in Nairobi with software that manages HIV antiretroviral drugs stocks and patient follow up. The results has been a more than 50% rise in report submission rates while reducing time taken and cost of doing the same. IBM is looking to introduce its “smarter cities” project in Kenya aimed to make life in Kenyan cities better by making service delivery easier, more effective and smoother transport around our cities by, for example, usage of cell BTS (base transceiver stations) to track movement of cell phones from one cell to
Seven Seas Technologies has developed a national innovation forum through which one can share ideas and vote them up. Titled “Community Baraza”, one creates an account through which they submit their ideas or vote for other people’s ideas. Voting can also be done by sending an SMS with the idea number to 0717410705.
Kenya is looking at an ICT system to reduce the cost of doing business and make the process easier. Titled national single window, the platform was deployed by the Kenya Revenue Authority and Kenya Ports Authority at the country’s ports of entry. Before the single window all the stakeholders had to exchange multiple documents between them, with hard copies the same documents been handed in and manually processed by multiple operators. The results were delays in cargo clearance, high costs, corruption and loss of competitiveness by the country. With the single window system, the trader submits all required information at a single point from where all agencies and stakeholder access them and return their response through. After deployment of the system, port dwell times at Mombasa have decreased from 12.9 days to 6.7 days. This is against a world average of 3 to 6 days and Singapore’s 2.9 days. Singapore ranks 1st in the World Banks ease of doing business, while Kenya ranks 95. Nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship
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even Seas Technologies is looking to bridge the gap between the education quality and ICT industry gaps with its Knowledge for Life (K4L) program. The program includes talks to university students to help them understand the industry offerings, mentoring to the students and free industry relevant training. The K4L programs targets final year university students undertaking business and IT related courses. 400 students from the University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology have already gone through
the program with 30 been employed in various ICT industries and 20 others at Seven Seas Technologies.
did not steal M-PESA or any idea from anyone. “It’s very easy, but we can’t steal people’s ideas,” he says. The government, through the Ministry of Finance, has a virtual academy dubbed IFMIS Academy to enhance capacity and change management. This is in partnership with the Kenya Institute of Administration. This facility is open to treasury workers for enhancing their ICT skills. Dr. Kamau Gachigi discussed the Fabrication lab that has been set up at the University of Nairobi. The lab allows those who formulate ideas to come to the lab and transfer the ideas to a design and in to products using the equipment in the lab. The equipment is also capable of producing smart cards and Dr. Gachigi says that the lab is ready to produce such cards for firms in the country. The Fablab is open to anyone in the country with ideas. In future, the Fablab will be set up in its own custom location.
Bitange Ndemo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Technology
In the nurturing of ICT enterpreneurs, Safaricom has invested in the Safaricom Academy that will nurture application developers and teach them on how to commercialise their concepts. Collymore also called on corporates to nurture innovation in the Kenyan sector rather than steal their ideas. He says that Safaricom, contrary to widely circulated rumours,
Delegates at the Connected Kenya summit 2011
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Bring your own technology
to the office by Louisa Kadzo
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I have my blackberry and I want to receive my office emails from wherever I am
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arlier on this year, we published an article on how East African companies are inculcating the mobile phone in their business operations. Workplace mobility has become a reality that CIOs have embraced. The availability of low end smartphones, laptops, tablets, iPhones and other computer hardware has led to a proliferation of mobility devices in the workplace, bringing in the next new challenge facing CIOs – the era of ‘bring your own technology to the office’.
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Global research companies have looked into the area of mobility management, each with interesting findings. One such survey sponsored by Cisco focusing on the threats posed by the growing use of personal devices on corporate networks exposed a disconnect between what workers are doing and what IT leaders believe is happening – IT leaders have no accurate figures of how many personal devices are operating in corporate networks, until there is a breach or loss of information due to an unsupported network device. The blame does not solely lie on the IT leaders, many employees are not aware that they are using personal devices in the work place yet 95 percent of workers bring their own self purchased devices to the work place. Senior management and staff have put pressure on CIOs to open the corporate network to consumer devices for office processes. Words like “I have my Blackberry and I want to be able to receive office email” are only too familiar to IT leaders today. The process of using these devices for office work has largely been considered as consumerisation of IT. With enterprises continuous reliance on web based applications, cloud computing and the proliferation of mobility devices, this trend is not about to go away any time soon.
These risks have led many CIOs to ban employee devices in the organisations and locking down company data through various network security measures. How agile should a business be? The agility of a business all depends on the corporate goals. Farmers Choice, a manufacturing company that produces, processes and distributes meat products employing over 1000 people, and works with numerous independent distribution outlets in Kenya and outside. To streamline their operations, the company employed Microsoft Business Dynamic, linked with a meat processing module and a mobile invoicing module. Using Safaricom link, daily sales are monitored with an integrated system that runs on Samsung PDAs. Flora Kinuthia, IT Manager at Farmers Choice says that the market has been pushing for mobility particularly to ease communication between the firm and its customers. Senior Managers at the firm are given Blackberry and Nokia Smartphones, not for personal use but to ease communication for business use. “Because of the nature of our business, emails need to be responded to immediately,” says Flora.
Threats versus benefits of supporting consumer technology Consumerization has been credited for increasing productivity, lowering operational costs, enabling flexibility as well as appealing to enterprise mobility. Enterprises will benefit from the collaboration and increased productivity while users benefit from convergence of applications, knowledge and interaction methods. On the other hand, giving employees unfettered access to valuable company data on whatever device they happen to prefer is a risky proposition. McAfee, a security management company, lists the security concern areas as theft or accidental loss of the devices – meaning that data they contain is more vulnerable. McAfee also states that access to company data on an employee’s laptop, mobile phone, or other personal device can create compliance issues by making it difficult or impossible to verify that data is secure at all times. Finally, because consumer devices are not adequately protected against malware, enabling access through these unsecured devices can open a gaping hole in the company’s otherwise secure firewall. Alex de Graaf, Senior Manager Sales and Engineer at McAfee EMEA says: “Employees are the greatest threat to information mismanagement. If you want to physically limit what data employees’ access and move out of your company with, the only solution is to prevent any employee from moving out of your building, lock your building and set it on fi re. This should never be an option a CIO should consider.”
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Flora Kinuthia, IT Manager, Farmers Choice
Since the introduction of mobile phones for senior managers, Flora says that the IT team faced constant challenge of maintenance and troubleshooting of these appliances. “Sometimes over the weekend we have to attend to someone’s phone that has one problem or another,” she says. To curb this, Flora constantly trains the managers on simple troubleshooting and maintenance skills including keeping Bluetooth off when not in use to prevent unauthorized access into the phone, and also
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making sure the phone has an updated antivirus at all times. Another challenge is security, major concern being the theft of these devices. “We have lost a number of PDAs that are used by our sales staff. Many of them either forget their phones at their clients’ facility, they drop them as they transport products to the clients, or their phones get snatched,” Flora says. The devices are centrally managed so they are automatically disabled once reported lost to protect company data. Virus attacks to the phones and computers were a common problem initially. However, Flora implemented an IT policy that has put checks and measures to limit virus attacks. The policy spells out that personal device in the workplace are prohibited. It is a rule that data transfers from the phones to the computers will only be done through synchronization, cable connections are prohibited. It also spells out who is liable to receive a company phone and laptop, and who is not. Flora also installed firewalls that protect the networks from virus attacks. Practices to combat risks of consumerisation Coming up with a solid plan of integrating consumer devices in enterprises is not an easy process. Many CIOs will choose to say no to allow personal devices in the office. However, the amount of mobile apps available to end users, and the simplicity of integrating these devices to business systems continues to empower end users, making them less reliant on the IT department. Chances of them using their own devices, from simple flash disks to mobile phone synchronization and much more are high, the CIO might never come to know about it until there is a compromise in the system.
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Some companies have creatively integrated personal devices to the business, creating a win win situation. One such company is Intel California. In 2010, Intel was faced with a situation whereby young techno savvy lots were coming into employment having grown up with different
gargets. These people did not understand why they couldn’t use their faster and better gadgets that they are used to, to increase their productivity in the office. On average, Intel employees use about four different devices and multiple third party operations such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Skype and other social networking sites for business and personal activities. The company then decided to get views from their staff on what gadgets they will prefer to use, and for what purpose. After collecting views and concerns from staff, Intel implemented a new IT policy that allowed the use of specified devices to perform specified processes in the office. Soon after this decision was passed, technical challenges started arising. The IT team had to go back to the drawing board and defi ne new security policies that would allow clients to use personal devices inside Intel. One of the critical parts of any security policy is to have a solid end user license agreement. Intel came up with an end user license agreement that spelt out the rights and responsibilities of everyone involved in the consumerisation process. This agreement clearly spelt out logistical issues that were of concern. For example, what happens when an employee leaves the company? Do you give your employer the right to review and remove data from any personal device that was used for office work? Intel passed a rule that any user who wants to use their personal device to receive office mail or link in any way with the system must sign the end user license agreement. The department manager for the employee must also sign the license agreement allowing that particular staff to use that device for the stated purpose. In addition, Intel put in a tiered policy capability whereby only devices that attained certain security standards can receive email attachments; any other phone could only receive the email without any attached documents. Intel also ensured that no device can get into the system, but data can be pushed into the device. To Intel, consumerisation is productivity, efficiency and flexibility. When Intel embraced consumerisation of IT at
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the beginning of 2010, 3000 employees signed up immediately. Towards the end of 2010, 20000 employees had signed up to the policy. This was a success story. How do you handle personal appliances in the workplace With the growing integration of the mobile phone for business operation and the increase in mobile workers worldwide, the trend of consumerisation is here is stay. The security environment for company data today is complex because data is no longer contained in the walls of a business, but ends up in the users’ personal devices. What enterprises need most is control of valuable data. Therefore, a company can install a centralised policy that is auditable and scalable. “Putting simple access control to data is one way of maintaining control over information,” says Flora Kinuthia. McAfee, recommends certain steps for preparing for consumerisation. First is to deploy host and network antimalware to reduce infections and protect company systems, a firewall and network intrusion prevention system (IPS) to control traffic to and from key assets. Next is to enforce remote encryption and wiping of information and applications for company owned smartphones and other mobile devices. This will protect data in case of theft. McAfee recommends the use of network access control (NAC) to ensure employee-owned devices have proper security tools installed and are otherwise compliant with IT standards prior to accessing the network. NAC can control guest devices and other unmanaged endpoints and ensure they have limited ability to access resources or infect your network.
An alternative is to use virtualized desktops (VDI). With VDI, employees can access company applications and data on personal devices, but the application infrastructure and data remain on corporate servers behind the firewall. CIOs can also implement encryption for information at rest and in motion. If a remote device falls into the wrong hands or a transmission is intercepted, encrypted information is unusable. Note that while this strategy is practical for company-owned laptops and employee-owned smartphones, it’s difficult to enforce data encryption on employee-owned PCs and Macs. McAfee proposes a relatively new development called “PC on a stick,” in which thumb drives (USB drives) or memory cards store a customized interface or launch pad, userselected applications, and data. Users can carry this computer-on-a-stick to any public or shared machine, plug it in, and begin working with familiar tools and personalized settings. When the drive or card is removed, there is no trace of the user’s work left on the PC. Another alternative suggested is to deploy integrated endpoint security with a centralized management console to ease the effort required by security administrators and enable them to easily manage all endpoints in the system. An integrated, centralized strategy is more efficient, more effective, and ultimately less expensive than deploying a series of point solutions. McAfee is confident that if CIOs follow these recommendations and deploy a comprehensive endpoint security solution, it not only becomes possible to support the consumerisation of IT with adequate and effective security, but that doing so yields some nice benefits for the company. The greater mobility of the workforce and the ability of employees to work from home can also lighten other expenses, such as office costs.
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June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Why smartphone batteries suck By Megan Geuss
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Lithium ion batteries are nearing the limits of their possible power capacity.
f your awesome new smartphone is to have any hope of lasting longer than a day on one charge, it’s going to need more power than a typical lithium ion battery can deliver. Today, though, we’re wedded to our chargers, and glare hawkishly at people who hog airport and coffee-shop outlets for too long. Switching over to superfast 4G networks, as many smartphones will in the coming year, is only going to exacerbate this problem; and reports already indicate that 4G devices tend to have pitiful battery life. In fact, the power requirements of the technology being built into mobile devices is growing at twice the pace of battery-capacity increases, according to one Verizon executive. But catching up with mobile power requirements won’t be quick or easy for the battery industry, and continuing difficulty may discourage public adoption of new 4G devices. Unfortunately, the problem isn’t a simple matter of mobile battery R&D falling behind. It extends to the chemical nature of batteries, the way research and development is funded in the global market for mobile tech, and the many different demands users place on our phones and tablets. Constrained by chemistry
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Battery technology and smartphone technology are at two very different stages in their lifespans. “Unlike smartphones, battery technology has been evolving for over a century, and is much further down the development curve, meaning that improvements in battery technology, while steady, no longer happen at the breakneck speed of younger technology like smartphones,” says Keith Nowak of phone and tablet maker HTC. But aside from tiny incremental improvements in solidelectrolyte efficiency, lithium ion polymer batteries for handheld tech products haven’t changed drastically in more than 15 years. Almost all of the batteries that power today’s smartphones and tablets run on some variant of the lithium ion polymer battery--a cell in which the anode and the cathode are packaged with a solid, gel-like electrolyte (the substance that makes the battery conduct electricity). This solid-electrolyte design was developed commercially in 1996 as manufacturers sought a sturdier battery for mobile tech products. Previously, cell phones had run on lithium ion batteries with liquid electrolytes, which were bulky and relatively unstable. Today, battery researchers continue to increase the capacity of lithium ion polymer batteries. Since a battery’s power comes from its transfer of electric-charge-bearing electrons between the anode and the cathode, battery researchers focus primarily on optimizing the multitude of minitransfers. “A lot of chemical reactions can take on a life of their own, and battery scientists try to control that,” said Irving Echavarria of Gold Peak Industries, a company that manufactures all types of consumer batteries, including lithium ion variations. Echavarria estimates that 80 percent of the processes in a battery can be accurately harnessed. And the smaller the battery’s window of errant chemical reactions, the more efficiently the battery will provide power. Battery makers continue to achieve capacity gains by pushing closer to that 80 percent efficiency limit. But the incremental advances in efficiency aren’t keeping pace with the increasing energy demands of smartphones and other mobile devices. Frustrated by the chemical and physical limits of batteries, developers who want to get longer run times out of smartphone batteries must either add active material to the battery by making the
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inactive parts of the battery smaller (a technique that has already reached limits of its own) or move from lithium ion polymer to a different, as yet not fully researched material.
with the carrier’s older 3G network. As a result, you can count on your battery to deliver only about a day of juice to your phone, if you’re lucky.
New ideas coming, slowly
One consequence of runaway power consumption is that the makers of mobile processors are feeling a lot of pressure to produce more-efficient chips for phones.
Small signs of innovation are visible on the battery-life horizon. The unanswered questions are how quickly they’ll emerge, and whether the technology involved will be scalable to serve the entire mobile world. Lithium ion research continues in the R&D labs of many consumer-battery makers. And university labs across the country have churned out paper after paper on the possibilities of graphene, a single-atom-thick sheet of graphite that has the potential to store and transmit energy (though any use of graphene for consumer batteries is still a long way off).
It’s the apps Smartphone apps are the final culprit in our rogues’ gallery of smartphone battery killers (with the physical limits of batteries ranking as the first culprit). An app’s power usage is one of the things Apple examines when deciding
It’s not just the battery, though Designing a mobile device is no longer just about perfecting its computing power, design, and user interface; it’s about doing all those things with far less power. At some point, consumers’ desire for faster data plans and monster multitasking capabilities will be overtaken by the simple need for a device that can remain in operation for at least one full workday. Smartphone screens are getting larger and supporting higher resolutions, both of which suck power like crazy. Lowering your screen’s brightness might help eke a few extra minutes out of your battery, but Apple, HTC, Motorola, and other major phone manufacturers are unlikely to move to smaller or duller screens anytime soon. Nevertheless, some (including Samsung and LG Electronics) are focusing on making new types of displays that are no dimmer but use less power. Another major power drain relates to increasingly complex apps, which impose ever-steeper processing requirements. Most smartphones contain Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS radios inside, and in many instances these components operate simultaneously. The GPS radio, in particular, is a notorious battery killer: You can see the battery bar getting shorter as you run your navigation app. Newer phones add a 4G radio chipset, which requires a lot more processing power to decode far greater amounts of data encoded in the LTE wireless spectrum. On top of all that, new 4G phones have two different chip sets, to connect with a 4G spectrum and
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whether to approve an app for sale at the App Store. “[Apple] wouldn’t let you intentionally ruin battery life, like if you were running a game that didn’t require GPS, they would reject the app if it was pinging a GPS signal every 10 seconds,” says Cameron Vanga, a developer with iPhone app maker 9magnets. Though the Android app market might harbor a larger number of potential power-sucking apps, more-established developers usually make an effort not to use more battery life than they need to get the app to function properly, for fear of receiving low ratings or having users delete the app. “Beyond maybe GPS applications, most users are good at correlating which apps are going to kill battery,” Vanga notes. Most smartphone users are okay with taking their phones out for the day and then plugging them in to a charger each night, but battery makers are going to have to step up soon to deal with the voracious appetites of the miniature computers that everyone is relying on more and more every day. If innovation in battery technology doesn’t pick it up a little, the breakneck speed at which mobile tech innovation has been racing along could come crashing to a halt against a usability wall. www.
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June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Guard your company’s reputation By Vasant Dhar and Arun Sundararajan
Don’t gamble your company’s reputation on data governance
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ver the last two decades, the primary contribution of information technologies in firms has been about efficiency and enablement: to improve processes, make people more productive, reduce time to market, or enable things that couldn’t be done previously. The focus has been on costs and payoffs. This decade is witnessing a new challenge: data. There is suddenly too much of it, and while firms rush to mine it, they do so without adequate regard for the risks in keeping and using it. Hardly a week goes by without yet another international scandal involving data. It made International headlines when news got out that Apple has been gathering consumer movement and use data on its devices, while Sony was hacked, with sensitive data on hundreds of millions of individuals stolen. Despite reassurances from these companies, it is hard to be certain whether and when this data will be misused. More importantly, the
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reputations of these companies have been badly damaged. Many more incidents go unreported (like the scandals within your organisations). Are these incidents any different in terms of potential impacts on franchises from product recalls due to defects in industrial products? Not really. And perhaps some companies are beginning to realize this. Indeed, one major positive development from the Sony fallout has been the creation by the company of a “Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)”. This is a laudable step that others should follow. But it doesn’t go far enough in acknowledging the real problem. Sony and many other firms view the security and use of data as a technical problem. But in fact, the governance of data is a management problem. The lapses we are seeing are not technical ones, but failures in management. Where
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data is the lifeblood of commercial activity, its management in many industries must reside in the C-suite, not in the trenches. Lapses in data governance in data-dependent industries are no different than product defects in the physical world. The reason is simple. Increasingly, it is information itself that is the product, with technology being the critical conduit for its exchange. Many industries that touch our lives on an everyday basis involve information products. If one considers the firms that we deal with every day, such as Google, Facebook, banks, media, and telecommunication companies, their products are information-based. Even when there is a physical product, digital interaction with consumers transforms part of the consumer experience into one that is information-based. Information products have different properties than traditional physical products and are subject to different economics and risks. Furthermore, the growing volume of data created as a by-product of this digital interaction brings with it significant benefits as well as risks. CEOs who are insulated from technology have largely failed to grasp the implications of this shift in the role of information technology from enabler to product and still expect their technologists to deal with all aspects of data. This is a mistake. They must partner actively with their CIOs in assessing the importance of data to their product or service and the franchise to avoid the reputational risks from the lack of effective data governance. Isn’t it time CEOs were held accountable for technology? When an automobile has a defect, it involves the CEO. If a brake or gas pedal is defective or a tire substandard, the CEO steps in immediately to manage the fallout and address its customers directly. The same must be true for data breaches and misuse. The Sony data breach was an important milestone in that its chief apologized, albeit somewhat late, for a defect in its information-based product. While Sony appointed a dedicated CISO to deal with data security, it didn’t go far enough in acknowledging that this is a management problem, not a technical one.
management through the lens of network management or potential liability is too narrow. This isn’t a legal, technological or compliance issue. Rather, it’s an executive matter, one made more critical by the continual increase of data and the corresponding increase of risk in cyberspace. As devices become more powerful, providing more and richer electronic touch points to human activity, the scope of available electronic information explodes, and the associated risks to handling these data also grow exponentially. Companies actively collect and mine this data and even sell it without considering the risks. These developments strengthen the case for the CIO being a full-fledged member of the C-suite and embracing the new role of managing their firm’s data with a more holistic and strategic approach. CIOs should partner with their CEOs in putting in place a coherent and transparent policy that defines the frequent and deliberate choices about what data to acquire, keep, use and share. A first question that such a policy might answer is: Do we keep too much data? Our research suggests that the answer to this question is generally “yes.” The less data you keep, the less you need to worry about keeping it secure. Next, it is essential to have a clear idea about the use of the data you keep, and specifically, to assess whether this use is congruent with the customers’ intent when they provided it to your firm. It took a global financial crisis to get the public to pay attention to systemic financial risk. There is equivalent and growing systemic risk in cyberspace. We hope it does not take a massive data breach at an Apple, Google or Facebook to make data governance a top executive priority. Because once that data is out there, it’s out there for good, and there’s no taking it back.
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We believe that firms need to give the same level of importance to their firm’s data governance policies as they do to their company’s products, fi nancial reporting practices, or brand equity management. Viewing data privacy
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ICT takes center stage in govt plans James Wire Lunghabo | CIO Uganda Bureau
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he 12 of May 2011 marked the swearing in of the president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda who will lead the country till 2016. In his inauguration speech, the president reassured Ugandans and the world at large of the country’s intention to become a middle income country by 2016. “In a period of almost 90 years, between 1894 when the British colonized Uganda and 1986 when the national resistant movement took over Government, we had only 28,000 telephone lines. We now have over 14 million telephone lines. You cannot build a modern economy without modern infrastructure. By this, we mean: electricity, roads, the railway, piped water, telephones, ICT network, media, as well as social infrastructure,” he said. These comments have significantly re-assured the ICT community in Uganda since it had been perceived that the Government was merely giving lip service to the sector. Lately, a number of ICT projects and businesses have found their way into Uganda with leading brands like Ericsson, A lcatel/Lucent, Huawei, TATA Communications among others set locally. The benefits of the undersea fibre cables landing on the East African coast are beginning to trickle down to the end users with connectivity prices going down significantly. The competition in the Mobile Telephony arena is so intense that it is now possible to call across all networks for Ushs 90/= per minute down from Ushs 300/= a year ago.
contracted the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology at Makerere University to train an initial group of 500 graduates in Business Process Outsourcing skills. This group graduated on the 26 of April 2011. In the past two years, a number of bills have been passed to align the ICT sector with international best practises. So far, the Computer Misuse Bill, Electronic Transactions Bill, Electronic Signatures Bill and Regulation of Interception of Communications Bill have all been passed by the 8th parliament. An IPv6 task force was set up by the Ministry of ICT to lead the migration of the country from IPv4 to IPv6. Though having started late, the realisation of its importance is what is much appreciated by the stakeholders. In a March 2011, the Minister of ICT, Hon. Aggrey Awori issued a press statement on the digital migration situation in the country. He stated: “I would, therefore, like to assure the general public that the government of the republic of Uganda through the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology will ensure a smooth and successful transition from analogue to digital television broadcasting by 17 June 2015. In preparation of this international Analogue Switch Off (ASO) date, I urge all stakeholders to join efforts to make the migration process a success.” The Ministry has made progress towards the move to digital broadcasting. A digital migration task force has been set up, a digital migration policy has been put in place, private companies are being licensed to provide digital terrestrial broadcasting services, and a regional broadcasting technical task force has been set up.
Opinion
42 The government of Uganda designed a Job Stimulus Program ( JSP) aimed at creating job opportunities for the youth (who form a large percentage of the population) mainly through the use of ICT. In line with this, the National Information Technology Association (NITA-U)
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ICT industry watchers are eager to tap into the new opportunities that are presenting themselves in Uganda. With 5 years to go, the sky can only be the limit. As the case always is, it takes one thing to plan and another to effect the plans.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Real time comm. & marketing Ruth Kang’ong’oi | CIO Rwanda Bureau
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f you use the Internet then you probably use Internet-based communications to contact family, friends, co-workers, business partners or customers. With the high cost of living, people want to save money on phone calls by sending instant messages or by using VoIP instead of making a phone call. Instant messaging has become very popular because of its real-time nature whereby you don’t have to wait for the receiver to check his or her email in order to send a reply. Four years ago, Patricia Nyirahabimana was just a simple businesswoman with a stall in Kimironko market, one of the suburbs in Kigali. Her business specialized in supplying vegetable and fruit to regular shoppers in Kigali. Fast forward to 2011, her stall supplies the same commodities to different supermarkets, all without necessarily leaving the comfort of her home. Patricia thanks this is to a blackberry that her nephew gave her for her 40th birthday. “It took me about three months to fully master the use of this phone. But now I am a pro at sending SMS’s and emailing. I owe all my blessings to this mobile phone but most especially, Facebook,” Nyirahabimana says amidst laughter. She is one of the hundreds, or probably thousands that are reaping big from the benefits of social media. Social media is advancing rapidly and has already changed the way many companies and individuals do business in Rwanda. With new computers and mobile devices offering a higher level of communication, businesses are improving their marketing and networking skills, staying in touch with the competition and their own customers, and making improvements in the way they conduct research and marketing intelligence. With help from her teenage son, Nyirahabimina developed a Facebook page, fully decorated with fresh fruits and vegetables, her business contacts and list of clients.
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“When my son suggested Facebook, I did not understand how it would be connected to my business at fi rst. I however did not discourage him and today, I am glad that his efforts have helped change our lives,” she says. Upon launching the Facebook page, phone calls trickled in slowly. Her first order came from a friend of her friend who wanted a large consignment of fruits for his anniversary party. The rest as they say is history. Besides Facebook, many businesses in Kigali are harnessing the power of social networking tools like LinkedIn and Twitter which helps them share the latest company news and reach out to their clients directly. Because these tools are interactive, businesses can use the instant feedback they receive as a way of speeding up research, helping them to develop and grow their business faster. Andrew Mugisha, a man who advises young entrepreneurs on using social media to market their businesses says that the advantages of using social media in business are vast and can move limping business to a leap in a short time. “Social media helps you build new relationships and networks. It helps you strengthen existing relationships, create brand awareness, inform customers about new products and services, get feedback from clients to improve your business and customer relations, increase customer loyalty, know your customer base better and target them more effectively among so many other advantages,” he says. With agriculture being the principal foreign exchange earner in Rwanda, the Ministry of Agriculture introduced an e-soko project. Through SMS, farmers, consumers and traders get up-to-date market price information for commodities using mobile phones. e-soko which is already being used by approximately more than 7,100 farmers was created to address the problems of lack of information on current prices of agricultural products as well as minimizing the exorbitant price hikes by brokers or middlemen who take advantage of ignorant farmers.
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June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Is RTFM dead? HARD TALK | Bobby Yawe
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recently wrote on my facebook wall that I had purchased a book on how to use the site and other social media sites. There were a number of responses, most of which where condescending and some plainly derogatory. The attitude that if I can move the mouse around the screen then it means I am competent in using the site needs to come to an end, and soon. RTFM is critical if we are to benefit from ICT through increased productivity. It is unfortunate that I am preaching to the proverbial choir as if you have read this far in the magazine and also into the article that you fully appreciate RTFM but none the less read on as exercise to keep doing. I reminisce of the good old days when I was a newbie in the ICT field trying to understand DOS and its ilk of operating systems. Reading a manual was mandatory as there was no graphical user interfaces, all you had when you turned on the computer was a green flashing cursor. Having come from doing physics in high school and carrying around a book we fondly called Abbot, I was not one to shy away from large volumes. The DOS manual compared to the Abbot was equivalent to the Beano weekly.
Opinion
44
When you bought a computer or application software, the manuals weighed a ton. The same information plus more is today provided as a PDF or online help, does the reduced weight mean that it is no longer necessary to read? Users have access to wizards, videos, hyperlinks, discussion forums, webinars, audio notes and many other substitutes for RTFM yet we know less of the features and functionality of today’s applications than we did of those chunky old character applications. Getting back to the facebook for dummies book that I am reading, it has become very clear to me that 99% of
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those who use social media and computers have as little understanding of the features beyond login and posting. This is a situation identical to that with users of the VCR (for the uninitiated that stands for video cassette recorder) who never got to know how to set the clock. Many have since moved onto to VCD, DVD and now Blu Ray without understanding more than how to insert the media. RTFM transcends ICT to our daily life. A clear reflection was how, as a nation of educated people, we handled the issue of a new constitution where many of us opted to look, listen and comment on the document based on what we heard from others. As “learned” citizens, such an action is a slap in the face of those who took us to school. Due to the death of RTFM, productivity has in many cases dropped due to the installation (not implementation) of computer systems in organisations and in our life in general. Organisations have spent millions and will continue to do so in installing systems that will actually make them less productive all because they listened to the pitch from vendors and their ICT staff about what the system could achieve, and made decisions based on the information provided. In a previous article, I mentioned the issue of a local bank who have replaced their financial system twice in less than 5 years and there still has been no noticeable change in its operations. The staff take more steps to carry out an operation with the new systems than with the previous ones. With many such organisations, a major cause is the reduction in the time staffs spend in training on use of the system because it was “said” to have a friendly and intuitive graphical user interface. Due to the so called ease of use interface, the organisation sees no reason to provide comprehensive documentation to the staff on the usage of the application. Just like with the VCR and those smart phones we carry around and have never read the manuals, staff at all levels of organisations, even those who know better, are using the look and learn kindergarten and apprenticeship method to use applications. The result is that we have to deal with PEBKAC, PICNIC, PIBCAK and ID-10T error whose solution is RTFM.
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
Technology access for the disabled SECOND OPINION | Sam Mwangi
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n Kenya and East Africa, there is a critical shortage of resources and opportunities for people with physical or mental disabilities. One major challenge that people with disability face is low literacy levels and consequently, access of modern technology is limited. Various organizations are providing basic training on fundamentals of computer literacy that will positively impact on the lives of people living with disabilities. One such organisation is Deaf Aid, a Norwegian development organization that has partnered with Cisco Systems to establish a Cisco Networking Academy which has a lab to train deaf students with ICT skills. The academy had to develop sign languages useful in the identification of gadgets like hard disks, and the Internet. 15 students have since graduated from the Academy program, 11 of them have found internships while four have started full-time jobs. Andrew Wasike, a former student at the academy, is a technician with Computer Planet. Computer Planet is a computer maintenance and networking services company located along Mombasa Road, Nairobi. Wasike is responsible for software installation, networking and repair of computers and printers. This is a rare opportunity for a deaf student. Another organisation that has devoted its time and resources to the plight of the disabled is inABLE, a US based organisation operating in Nairobi. To improve future opportunities for the visually impaired children, inABLE has brought computers, the Internet and assistive technology to the children of Thika School for the blind. The organization believes that computer literacy will not only allow students to bridge the academic gap with their sighted peers, but also arm them with valuable skills, allowing them to enter a job market place that has dismissed them for too long. The cell phone is a device that many visually impaired people find difficult to operate. A phone has got a screen,
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keys, and switches for power and volume. One key is often indistinguishable from another by touch, the screens are small and the switches are often in inconvenient locations. Incorporating a keyboard for sending text further complicates the device. Most phones do not have audio output of the keys pressed or information displayed on the screen. Over the years, several companies have attempted to create accessible phone designs for the visually impaired. Audiovox was one of the first companies to develop a voice-recognition system for the cell phone. Its voice guidance system gave users the ability to speak a phone number to dial, and listen to incoming caller ID. Verizon soon followed with its own software, the voice genesis Vemail that allows email to be read aloud on some phones. Samsung entered the field with the concept of a Braille keyboard phone. The touch messenger would enable visually impaired users to carry on a mobile conversation in Braille. The device has two Braille pads. Messages can be typed on the top keypad and read on the lower. Some cell phones advancements can have previously unforeseen benefits for visually impaired users. Kurzweil Technologies, the inventor of various text-reading devices, has developed a device based on the Nokia N82 smart phone. This new phone literally reads to you. Take a picture of a printed page or an object, guided by a voicerecognition system. Press a button, and presto—printed material is read using a synthesized voice. So, how would the deaf use smartphones? For most smartmobile phones, they must send text messages. But that can be limiting because it doesn’t convey emotions, voice inflections or body language. Engineers at the University of Washington have developed a system that helps the deaf and hearing-challenged users communicate using video chat. For most people, video chat on cellphones is a fun application. But for deaf users, video chat could make a huge difference to their quality of life.With video chat, they can use Sign Language, just as they do in faceto-face conversations. The software, mobile ASL, can potentially run on any device. The software is specially designed to allow video chat through cellphones, without taking up a lot of bandwidth.
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June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
8 uses for an old smartphone By Rick Broida
Your first-generation smartphone may be old, outdated, and out of contract, but it can still serve a purpose (or eight). you paid good money for that once-sexy communicator, so why not get some extra bang for your buck? Below I’ve rounded up seven fun and practical ways to resurrect an old smartphone (as well as an eighth option). Not every suggestion listed here will work with every phone, but I guarantee that you’ll get at least a little more mileage from your moldy mobile. Keep an emergency phone handy: A deactivated smartphone (or, for that matter, any cell phone) still should be capable of making one kind of emergency phone call. So why not stick your old phone in, say, your glove compartment or office desk for use in case of emergency? After all, you never know when you might lose or break your primary phone. Just make sure to have some kind of power supply available, whether it’s an AC adapter, a car charger, or an external backup battery. Use it as a Wi-Fi phone: Just because you’re no longer paying a carrier for your old phone doesn’t mean you can’t use it to make phone calls. If the handset has Wi-Fi capabilities, you can bypass the carrier and use a Voice-over-IP service such as Fring, Skype, or Truphone. Bottom line: If you have access to Wi-Fi, your phone can be a phone again.
Business Tips
46
O
ld smartphones never die--they just get stuck in a drawer after being replaced by something newer and cooler. Ah, well, that’s what happens in these fast-tech times, right? Out with the outdated, in with the latest and greatest. That’s true for MP3 players and digital cameras, maybe. But smartphones? They’re another story. A smartphone sitting in a drawer is a waste of pocket power. In fact, whether you have an old BlackBerry Pearl, a Palm Centro, a T-Mobile G1, or even a first-gen iPhone, you have plenty of ways to put an aged handset to good use. After all,
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It’s still a perfectly good MP3 player: Even Stone Age smartphones like the Palm Treo can pull double duty as an MP3 player. Why bother if you already have, say, an iPod? Simple--since it doesn’t matter if your old phone takes a beating, it’s the perfect MP3 companion for mountain biking, rock climbing, jogging, and other rigorous activities that might prove too perilous for your “good” player. Not going bungee jumping anytime soon? Hand your old phone to your six-year-old--after stocking it with favorite Disney songs, of course. Who needs a Nintendo DS? So the IT department doesn’t want you to load chess on the company iPhone. That doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun on the run. You can find games aplenty for all smartphones, including older models with resolution-challenged screens and poky processors. Even if you cancel your cellular service, your old phone can still access its respective app store via Wi-Fi. Solitaire, chess, sudoku, Bejeweled--you’ll fi nd all the classics and more.
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June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
And, sure, maybe you’ve moved on to bigger and better diversions on your current phone, but the old model might make the perfect game-me-down for the kids. You’ve always wanted an e-reader: Why spend money on a Kindle when your smartphone offers the same basic functionality? All you need is an e-reader app; Amazon itself offers apps for Android, BlackBerry, iOS, and Windows Phone 7. If you want e-books for your Palm or Windows Mobile device, try eReader or Mobipocket. Sure, a phone’s screen is smaller than a Kindle’s, but it’s also backlit--a nice perk when you’re trying to read in bed. This way, you won’t need to worry about running down your phone battery while perusing the classics. It can’t hurt to have more portable storage: While I’m on the subject of saving money, why buy a flash drive when your smartphone offers the same basic functionality? Most phone models have at least a couple gigabytes’ worth of on-board storage, and most provide removable-drive-like
capabilities when plugged into a USB port. (iPhone users will need a third-party utility such as iPhone Explorer to tap the on-board memory.) Use your phone as a mobile data-storage unit for transporting large fi les, backing up important documents, and the like. Remember the Pocket PC? A mighty powerful processor lurks inside that old phone, so why not take advantage of it--even if it’s just for basic, everyday tasks? Put the handset to work as a financial or mortgage calculator, an alarm clock or world clock, a to-do list manager, or a digital notepad. Heck, if you have Internet access via Wi-Fi, you can use the phone for quick-and-dirty Google searches and other Web activities. Check sites such as Handango for oodles of software that can run on older phones. Not liking any of these options? Recycle or sell your old smartphone. After all, it’s a shame to hold on to a neat gadget that a less-cutting-edge someone else could put to good use.
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BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
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June 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 3
The great mis-experience Deja vu! It has happened before; in fact I have done it before. I am talking about a characteristic trait of the ICT industry – giving your consumer a bad experience. At one time, when I was a college student, I happened to be lucky enough to get a few jobs. The jobs were as simple as making brochure websites for a few clients. The timeline was long enough to finish the job, but come the due date, the only thing I had to show was a list of requirements. It took several more calls and meetings after that for the job to be done. At some point, my clients may have felt that passing the proverbial eye through the eye of a needle was a simpler task than engaging me as a client. It did not help that some of those clients came back to me after going through a similar harrowing experience with a different consultant. This bizarre habit did not stop there. The clients themselves had bizarre lists of requirements, often we argued whether they were really necessary or had any impact. There was one client who loved banners so much that he may have as well used a giant billboard instead of a website. The client was not satisfied until he saw a range of colours flashing everywhere and moving in opposite directions. In addition, many clients wanted to fi ll their website with information that they needed rather than what was important for their publics.
Last Word
48
Typical of websites a few years back, visitors were treated to missions, visions and speeches of various people in the organization. As you scrolled through the last pixel of the home page, there was barely any information of
what the organization is all about. Remember how University websites used to look like? The sites were full of glorious speeches of the chancellors and vice chancellors. Students had to go beyond the website to find basic details such as the academic calendar, university maps for new students and contacts of the security department after a party gone wrong. Fast forward a few years later. This time round, we are seeing all firms from the small start-up that works off the iHub to a large corporate with a high rise building as its headquarters, taking their customers through the same process. Say a customer accesses a company website today and would like to purchase a product online. What follows next is a chaos cocktail. There is the telecommunication service provider who people say that one is almost required to kiss the feet of the CEO before successfully subscribing to an E1 line. There is the mobile money online payments integrator whose product requires a visit to a certain doctor in Loliondo Tanzania before you can successfully integrate their product into your systems – calls and emails sink into a black-hole never to be replied. Then there is that Internet Service Provider (ISP) who promises you a galaxy of megabits and entertainment once you subscribe for an installation. On paying for installation, the ISP suddenly discovers that their signal coverage is nonexistent in your area. A coffee farmer will plant a new crop, harvest, sell and get paid for it before the said ISP processes your refund. I can go on and on to show you how hard it has become for clients to purchase any ICT product successfully online. We seem to take pride in complicating our business processes and providing zero after sales support. Does it take rocket science to provide a service and satisfactorily support the same?
Dennis Mbuvi
Dennis Mbuvi
dennis.mbuvi@cio.co.ke www.
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