East Africa in the limelight Our first six months at the East African Integrator have been nothing but momentous. As the first publication in East Africa geared exclusively for the IT channel in the region we are truly blazing a trail. In that period, we have been proud honoured to have a front row seat to bear witness, first-hand, the transformation that is taking place within the IT industry in East Africa. From virtually nowhere, the region is fast becoming a hub for ICT trade and innovation in its own right. It is gratifying to note that trends and developments dominating conversations around the world have not escaped the East African IT scene. In this edition, we cover topics like BYOD, cloud and mobility and the solutions that local firms are offering in these areas. The digital divide is finally being breached. Dubai played host to GITEX, Middle East and Africa’s largest IT industry event, this October. With an “Africa in Focus” theme, African distributors made their presence known and returned with positive response from the visiting public. It’s the hope of local industry insiders that an equivalent show be hosted in East Africa. Such a show could potentially do for the region’s IT industry what GITEX has done for the Middle East. This publication will for the first time hold an awards night this December to rewardthe best performers of the East African IT market. With categories ranging from vendors, distributors and local resellers, the awards seek to celebrate best practices, innovation and effective marketing strategies. Running alongside will be VAR Conclave, a series of successful networking events now in its third edition in Nairobi. As we look towards 2013, we can confidently predict another bumper year for the industry in Kenya. Cloud, virtualization, mobile apps and other sectors are still largely unexploited in East Africa and avail potentially lucrative areas to be exploited.
David Ndichu Assistant Editor Publisher: Vivek Sharma Managing Editor: R. Narayan Assistant Editor: David Ndichu Art Director: Faiz Ahmed Sales Director: Alishan Zaidi Sr. Sales Manager: R. Subramanyan Business Development Manager: Mallika Rego Sales Coordinator: Smitha Jithesh
News in Detail
Content
Editorial
HP steps up anti-counterfeit efforts - P 6 E. Africa joins continent in celebrating ICT Week - P 7 Feature
Toshiba in new African agenda - P 8 Cyberoam countering risks head-on - P 10 TechKnow
Iomega moves with the times - P 12 Cisco, industry standard bearer - P 13 Focus
Techno Brain continues its African quest - P 14 Mitsumishines at global event - P 16 Distriview
Niti has grand ambitions for the continent - P 18 Insight
East African top performers to be rewarded - P 22 Interview
Red Dot makes its mark - P 20 Gestalt Gild: The Winning Combination - P 24 IBM ahead of the curve - P 26 Review
HP Ink Advantage Printer - P 27 Regulars
News EyeTech Stats and Trends
Published by: JNS Media International MFZE
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Disclaimer: While the publishers have made every attempt possible to get accurate information on published content in this handbook they cannot be held liable for any errors herein.
December 2012 | The Integrator East Africa
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News
Samsung and Rwanda ink IT deal
Africa’s top IT players at AfricaCom 2012 Africa’s largest IT event, AfricCom was held from the 13-15 November 2012 in South Africa. Approximately 250 companies representing Africa’s growing ICT industry converged at the CTICC in Cape Townfor this premier telecommunications and solutions event. Under the theme “Reaching for Growth”, the conference featured several streams including Africa Industry Outlook, Entrepreneurs Incubator Hub and Mobile Money Lab. A range of key speakers, representing the spectrum of Africa’s ICT sector, made presentations during the event. They include the likes of Kelly Ahuja, Senior Vice President, Mobility at Cisco, Omatsola Barrow, Sales & Distribution Executive, MTN Nigeria, ArunBhikshesvaran, Chief Marketing Officer at Ericsson Global, Stephen A. Carter, Executive Vice President, President of EMEA and Chief Corporate Marketing and Communications Officer, AlcatelLucent, amongst others. There were a host of themes and sub-themes serving as hot topics at this year’s event, particularly the relevance of big data analytics, mobility, innovation and connectivity to the development of commerce on the continent.
Samsung Electronics has signed an agreement with the government of Rwanda aimed at facilitating the rollout of enhanced information technology solutions in the East African country. The partnership is expected to play a key role in bridging the country's digital divide in the fast growing country while boosting its Vision 2020 long term economic and social development plan.With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) through the Ministry of Youth and Information Communication and Technology, Rwanda becomes the first African state to make a concrete commitment and step forward in adopting Samsung e-Government solutions to aid in efficient service delivery. The MoU may also see Rwanda adopt customised Samsung solutions such as a Solar Powered Internet School (SPIS). Speaking in Kigali during the MoU signing ceremony Rwanda's Minister for Youth and ICT Jean PhilbertNsengimana confirmed that the government of Rwanda is exploring feasible avenues to guide its e-Government solutions rollout. The signing of the agreement, Nsengimana explained, is the first step, towards ensuring that the Rwanda government is well positioned to adopt Samsung's patented solutions on the education, healthcare, security, and e-Governance.
Kenya top in ICT university ranking Kenyan universities edged out their East African counterparts to emerge top in a new survey focused on the adoption of information and communication technology in higher education. The survey by research firm CPS international and sponsored by the Pan African Education Trust, found that East African universities are increasingly embracing ICT in teaching and learning and compared favourably with international universities in the use of technology. Kenyan universities, the survey showed, are leading the pack in the use and accessibility of ICT in education in East Africa, while Burundi is lagging behind. Uganda came in second, Tanzania third and Rwanda fourth. The five countries make up the East African Community. The survey, conducted among 250 institutions and based on data collection and interviews, showed that ICT has opened up East African universities to sharing and accessing academic and research materials and corporate information.Kenya had invested more heavily in ICT than other East African countries while Burundi has invested the least, the survey showed.
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Windows 8 launched in Kenya Microsoft recently unveiled Windows 8 into the Kenyan market in line with launches elsewhere in the world. The latest product offers more than an upgrade on the speed and efficiency of Windows 7 offering local app developers commercialize their products using the Windows Store which will be available on more than 1000 Windows 8 certified PCs and tablets. "The Kenyan Government continues to make big investments such as the undersea fibre cable that enabled unlimited access and connectivity to the world,” said BitangeNdemo Permanent Secretary in Kenya’s Ministry of Information and Communication. “This enabled Kenyans download Windows 8 immediately it was released to the public from Microsoft’s website instead of having to receive mailed physical discs," said Ndemo.
Nigerian IBM partner opens Kenyan office Sunnet Systems, an African ICT solutions provider, and IBM have concluded a joint arrangement to improve information technology services in Nigeria and also establish a hub in Kenya to meet the needs of other East African countries. Sunnet Systems CEO, Paul Olagunju said that the Kenya office would serve Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania and Central Africa Republic, adding that operation would commence in the region by the first quarter of next year. “Currently we have two hubs through which we reach the African market. In west Africa we have Nigeria with the hub based in Lagos from where we reach Cameroun, Equitorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Precipice, Togo, Chad and Niger Republic; while in Ghana office we reach Cote D’Ivoire, Liberia, Senegal and Gambia,” Paul said.
SAP moves to improve Kenyans IT skills Global business software giant, SAP, has partnered with the Kenya ICT Board in a new initiative dubbed the SAP Skills for Africa partnership programme, aimed at enhancing the country's IT skills capacity. "The SAP Skills for Africa programme commits to deliver professional training and provide official ICT certification to 100 Kenyan university graduates over a 12-month period,”CEO of SAP Africa, PfungwaSerima said. “The programme seeks to substantially improve the employability of young, bright-minded university graduates that come from underprivileged backgrounds. This is in line with the Kenyan government's mandate to promote digital inclusion, to forge Kenya as an ICT hub for Africa while driving ICT skills development, and this resonates strongly with our corporate social responsibility policy of supporting education and entrepreneurship." Delivery of this programme includes providing certified instructors, training material and case studies. As part of the investment, SAP has agreed to waive any costs related to the programme for the students.
Sunnet is an IBM Premier Partner “Being a premier partner means we can deliver the entire services range being offered by IBM technology as a result of the partnership which we started 15 years ago both for their hard and soft wares,” said Olagunju. “We are focused mainly on delivery of information technology infrastructure, customized application solutions, implementation systems support, data centre deployment and management, global integrated network infrastructure solution as well as robust and integrated learning content for all tiers of education.” December 2012 | The Integrator East Africa
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News in Detail
HP steps up anti-counterfeit efforts Hewlett-Packard has taken its anticounterfeit campaign to East Africa. This comes at a time when the multi-national IT firm is increasing its product range of printers and printing solutions in the country.HP recently released Ink Advantage series range of printers in the Kenyan market. The company has introduced new technologies, HP Mobile Authentication and Software Authentication to help protect consumers and businesses against fake merchandise. HP’s Mobile Authentication technology enables customers to verify the authenticity of their cartridge prior to purchase through the validation of coded security labels on both inkjet and LaserJet cartridges. Subsequently, customers can also validate cartridge authenticity by using the HP Software Authentication solution installed in HP printers. All authentic ink cartridges and toners will come with Quick Response (QR) code. Customers can capture the QR label with a smartphone to access HP Mobile Authentication and validate the label. Valid labels generate a confirmation message, which indicates that the cartridge has a valid code. Alternatively, customers are also able to enter the alphanumeric code printed next to the QR Code into the HP Mobile Authentication website to verify the authenticity of equipment. Using these methods, customers can independently confirm that they are making genuine purchases. The verification code will come preloaded on all new-generation machine printers and can be installed on old printers as well. 6
HP said the image of Kenya as an investment destination would receive a major boost if intellectual property rights were respected and protected in the country. “This is about ensuring greater awareness and defence of intellectual property in all its forms, whether it’s to protect a musician’s lyrics, a scientist’s patents or, in the case of HP, proprietary printer cartridge technology,” said Tina Rose, Anti Counterfeit Program Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Printing and Personal Systems Group (PPS).“This can make Kenya an even better place to do business while also protecting society from the criminal elements that appropriate the IP of others to defraud innocent consumers.” HP also said it would continue to perform audits of channel partner distributors in Kenya and to educate its customers and partners to be conscious
The Integrator East Africa | December 2012
against purchasing and using of fake printing supplies. HP has also been emphasising the advantages of dealing with only genuine products including reliable performance, better results, proven reliability, and warranties. The ink advantage printers recently launched also come with individual ink cartridges enabling customers to replace one ink at a time. HP believes this will offer better value to customers reducing the need to go for cheaper, fake versions. HP has been collaborating with law enforcement authorities in the MEA region which has led to seizures of counterfeit printing supplies. Kenya has recently stepped up its fight against counterfeit products with the latest effort targeting counterfeit phones. The country’s communications regulatory body switched off these fake phones, estimated to total about three million, on 1st October 2012.
News in Detail
E. Africa joins continent in celebrating ICT Week Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda ICT Minister, Uganda The African ICT Week (AICTW) was observed in the last week of November this year under the theme “ICT, tools for Youth empowerment for sustainable development” under the auspices of the African Union and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology from November 14th -20th 2010. Following the 2005 Tunis Commitment, African Union, organization of economic integration launched the African ICT Week (AICTW).The week was meant to provide a constant reflection of the gains Africa has made in harnessing ICTs to realize a knowledge based economy. Today, Knowledge and Information hold massive potential for propelling the African continent development process, building all inclusive knowledge economy and ultimately achieving the millennium goals by 2015. The African Union encourages the governments of the Member States to invite service providers of telecommunication and the mobile telephony operators to take an active share at the African ICT Week by organizing Open Days on
their activities by for instance providing points of free Internet access (cables and wireless) in order to make available technological opportunities offered by ICT to student and general public. Governments in East Africa joined in the celebrations. Uganda Minister for ICT, Dr RuhakanaRugunda, hailed the ICT Week. "The general objective of organising the Africa Information and Communications Technology Week is to arouse the interest of the African populations to the use of ICTs for a successful transformation of Africa from an agricultural society to a knowledge society,” he said. The day was also marked through various activities in Kenya and Tanzania. By organizing the AICTW, African Union aimed to implement the Tunis commitment on the Information Society and the ARAPKE in order to make life conditions in Africa better and fully integrated in the Knowledge Society while also fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals. The ICT week draws the attention to the values of the ICTs and ‘specifically to promote the use of ICTs and to outline the vision of the Africa in building a knowledge economy.
The Week also aims at demonstrating the values and advantages of communicating digitally and in general how ICTs could improve our life quality. By celebrating African ICT week, African Union hopes to raise the awareness of each African to profit from the possibilities offered by ICTs. By inviting African governments, the private sector as well as the civil society the AU aims to work together to improve the access to the infrastructure and the ICT and creating information knowledge society. The specific objectives to be reached are also those of the African Action Plan on Knowledge Economy (ARAPKE), in particular: • Bridging the digital divide • To promote the right of all to have equal access to ICT value added services and to experience the advantages ofusing technological services • To develop, maintain and stimulate people's curiosity, interest and enjoyment in technologies • To promote the acquisition of appropriate technological skills, concepts, principles, methods and vocabulary • Boosting security and trust in the sectors rely on the using of information networks December 2012 | The Integrator East Africa
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Feature
Toshiba
Toshiba in new African agenda With sales of computers in the developed world at a plateau, major IT companies are actively pursuing the African market. Toshiba has thus overhauled its African operations by establishing a brand new regional office.
Toshiba has revamped its operations in Africa by creating a new subsidiary to handle the African market.
achieve a year on year growth of 50per cent for the first half of 2012. “The brand equity of Toshiba notebooks in the Gulf region is the highest worldwide.Our role is to sustain the high brand equity by creating value for our customers across the Middle East, and extend this to the East and South African regions,”said Varghese.
Toshiba has established a branch office in Johannesburg to supply the South African, Central and West Africa through this new office. Toshiba Middle East will continue to handle operations in East Africa countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia. This is because as a lot of distributors in the region operate form Dubai. According to Toshiba, this is aimed at strengthening its market presence in the Africa and supporting the region with stronger and enhanced strategies and services. “Toshiba is targeting a minimum 20% market share in the East Africa region by providing the right product and marketing strategy along with specialised channel programs tuned for East and South Africa,” said Santosh Varghese, General Manager, Computer Systems Division, Toshiba Gulf. “We aim to reach out to the consumers of the region with technology, products, and promotions bespoke to the African market.” Toshiba is the latest vendor to focus anew in the African market. Africa is the next frontier as far as IT sales are concerned as much of the markets in developed economies have
Santosh Varghese General Manager, Toshiba Gulf stagnated. “We have a lot experience in developing markets and this should help us as we focus on Africa,” Varghese said. And for the first time, product launches in Africa and the rest of the MEA region will be concurrent with global launches. East Africa will thus benefit from gaining the most up to date Toshiba products, just like the rest of the developed world, according to Varghese. Toshiba aims to replicate its Middle East marketing model in Africa that has its range of notebook computers
Toshiba Gulf is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation of Tokyo, Japan. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, Toshiba Gulf Digital Products and Services Division caters to the regions of GCC, Levant and Egypt and now East Africa and aims to bring in “local-fit” products and enhance Toshiba brand equity in the Middle East regions, according to Varghese. Toshiba resale partners can count on an innovative partnership program that offers unique benefits to partners. The P4P (Profit for Performance) model offers rebates to reward top performers. The P4P initiative was introduced to reward excellent performance of B2C channel partners who excel in achieving their quarterly sales and product mix targets. “In the Middle East, we also have a “Sales and Win” program for sales staff,” said Varghese. This program is to be expanded to Africa, according to Varghese.
Toshiba and Mustek enter into new distribution deal Toshiba recently appointed Mustek Limited, a specialist B2B distributor in East Africa, to distribute its range of business-oriented notebook computers in Kenya.
business solutions, and Toshiba sought a specialist corporate distributor for its R-series and Z-series ranges of notebook computers.”
The collaboration reinforces Toshiba’s commitment to make its top end business computing solutions more readily available to businesses in Kenya, Toshiba said. Mustek, established in 1987, has a well-established footprint in the Kenyan technology market, and will distribute Toshiba’s notebook computers throughout the country.
“Our particular focus on the corporate market has given us the experience and knowledge to provide the best possible service to our business clients in Kenya,” says CorneCombrink from Mustek. “We are able to invest the time required to understand Toshiba’s needs, and to suggest and provide the most appropriate technology solutions to enable Toshiba to find the right balance within their organization. We are thrilled that we are able to add Toshiba’s R-series and Z-series notebooks to our portfolio.”
“This collaboration was a logical one for us,” says Erick Njuguna, country manager for Toshiba in Kenya. “Mustek sought a high-end corporate product for its range of
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Feature
Cyberoam
level performance at a much lower price point,” Surender added. The growing security threats in EastAfrica call for superior security solutions. The landing of ocean cables has resulted into bigger broadband penetration which in turn has increased the number of threats. Strict regulation is further driving security demands as companies hurry to invest in efficient and effective solutions. “We are focusing on capturing markets many times over through expansion of our partner network, technology focus and strong business execution. Towards this goal, we plan to vigorously educate our channel all the while recruiting key players to cater to the SME and enterprise markets,” said Surender.
Surender Kumar Bishnoi General Manager, Middle East, Cyberoam
Africa market is of utmost importance for businesses as personal devices proliferate within the enterprise. Networks today have gone beyond the traditional LAN with added servers, services, applications, and influx of devices such as laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones, through which employees connect to the network. As a result, the number of vulnerabilities and exploits keep growing as well, commensurate with increasing network complexity and connectivity. “In today’s compelling business environment, employees need 24/7 real-time information and businesses need to grant access to their guests, third party contractors and outsourcing
Countering risks head-on Security firm Cyberoam’s increased focus on East Africa is both timely and pertinent. As the region’s IT sector grows, so do security threats against organizations and businesses alike.
Leading the fight to protect regional systems is Cyberoam,a global provider of unified threat management (UTM) perimeter security, remote connectivity and endpoint data protection solutions that protect networks.
Innovation goes at the heart of Cyberoam’snetwork and security solutions, according to Surender. The company recently introduced into the market the NG Series appliances for future-ready security in IT networks. “The Cyberoam NG series appliances come with best-in-class hardware, along with software to match, offering up to 5 times the industry average throughputs for SOHO/SMBs, making them the fastest UTM appliances in this segment,” added Surender.
“Cyberoam’s identity-based technology which is at the base of all Cyberoam products and services provide integrated and high performance security against dynamic security threats,” said Surender Kumar Bishnoi, General Manager Middle East for Cyberoam. “All this, while simplifying the whole security infrastructure and process. Cyberoam caters to the needs of businesses across all segments securing their networks while enhancing productivity with enterprise
Cyberoam NetGenie, for home and SOHO segment, is a wireless router offering safe internet surfing to home users. It offers Internet access over devices like desktop, laptop, PDA, smart phone, iPad and more. Internet connectivity can be shared among family members along with the ease of connecting Wi-Fi enabled devices like printer, gaming consoles and more, across the home networks. As in any other regions of the globe, Network security in the ME and
East Africa is not immune to security threats facing the rest of the world. Increased connectivity rates and growing economies leave networks in the region especially vulnerable to unauthorised intrusion.
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The Integrator East Africa | December 2012
partners. All of these increase the risk of unauthorized access and introduction of malicious codes into the network,” said Surender. Cyberoam has been focusing on providing incentive driven opportunities to drive top performance by channel partners, according to Surender. “Our partners are thus enabled to gain recognition and remuneration through awards and incentives across the year. Apart from that, Cyberoam UTM has a unique and strong product offering which enables channel partners to leverage the potential of Cyberoam for capturing leading position in the security market. We seek efficient utilisation of market development funds and performance incentive rebates for partners to reap the maximum benefit,” said Surender. Security breaches for businesses essentially boil down to monetary and productivity loss and in some cases loss of reputation. In this context,
Cyberoam UTM appliances take over the monitoring, configuring and management of network security, across multiple layers of hardware and software, spanning across entire infrastructure including network, database, devices and mobile infrastructure. “Cyberoam UTM appliances thus enable administrators to prevent users from visiting malicious Web sites, secure social networking applications, and offer secure virtual private network connections to remote sites. They also enable centralized management of multiple UTMs, facilitating greater control of the network as a whole,” explained Surender. Cyberoam is present in the market across several segments including MSSP, Government and defence, education and healthcare among others. “We are focusing on working with our partners to both cross sell
and up sell our product offerings. At the same time, we are taking the precaution of focusing on key segments of the market affected by unpredictable economic climate in the present times,” said Surender. Future threat scenarioscontinue to evolve due to a number of emerging factors. These include social and human factors, proliferation of devices, applications and systems like tablets, social media, e-banking, internet TV among others.There are also network and infrastructure vulnerabilities that include network attacks, malfunction and misconfiguration. A security solution such as UTM that applies the layered security approach for protecting multiple aspects of security and comprises many components is an ideal security solution to tackle the future threat landscape. According to Surender,
UTM offers complete control of ‘who’ is doing ‘what’ in the network in real time while allowing users their specified privileges, protecting the network infrastructure from malware attacks and maintaining business continuity. “In other words, a unified threat management approach is the wholesome approach towards security. It ensures high levels of network security and secure remote access with controlled network access to road warriors, telecommuters, partners and customers,” Surender added. Cyberoam was among to recognize that UTM offered the most complete and cost-effective security solution for networks facing ever more varied and sophisticated threats. With the company’s increased focus on East Africa, the region will benefit from tried and tested solutions as it undergoes for its own economic and technological transformation.
Cyberoam launches new UTM appliances Cyberoam, a leading global provider of network security appliances, has unveiled the NG Series appliances for future-ready security in IT networks. The Cyberoam NG series appliances come with best-in-class hardware, along with software to match, offering upto five times the industry average throughputsfor SOHO/SMBs, making them some of the fastest UTM appliances in this segment. The NG Series enables SOHO/SMBs networks to become future-ready as they move towards gigabit network infrastructure and high Internet speeds. However, their network security is not ready for these trends as no security vendor currently offers them security throughputs orgigabit ports required for such networks. This is resulting in security becoming a bottleneck for SOHO/SMB networks. “Today, SOHO/SMBs are unable to fully migrate to gigabit-ready network infrastructure because of lack of securitysolutions with gigabit
Abhilash Sonwane Senior VP, Product Management, Cyberoam performance in this segment,” said Abhilash Sonwane, Senior VP for Product Management at Cyberoam. “To cope, theyeither have to compromise on security or need to expand their security budgets to buy enterprise-level security. Cyberoam NG series for SOHO /SMB meets these needs by offering the best-inclass firewall and UTM throughputs along with Gigabit ports. In fact, the entry-level appliance in the NG series comes with Gigabit firewall throughput.”
NG Series appliances come preloaded with CyberoamOS, the most intelligent and powerful Cyberoam firmware to date. The new firmware integrates with the hardware for network and crypto acceleration to deliver higher performance. The CyberoamOSalso extracts performance from a multicore platform, along with offering minimum latency and improved processing speed with use of optimized Interrupt rates and FastPath technology. The NG series appliances come with a powerful hardware consisting of Gigahertz processors for nano second security processing along with Gigabit Ethernet ports and high port density. The unique design and robust components used in the NG series support high speed I/O throughputs for better performance as well as protect against tough environment conditions, including power surge and fluctuations.
December 2012 | The Integrator East Africa
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TechKnow Iomega
Iomega moves with the times Iomega seems to be adapting well to a marketplace fast moving from legacy hardware storage appliances to cloud solutions. To find out how, we caught up with the firm’s regional director for Middle East, Africa and Turkey CizarAbughazaleh Most businesses in the region fall into the SMB sector. Discuss specific solutions you have for small businesses We are focused on providing solutions that add value to help SMBs scale their businesses. For instance if a customer has opened a retail store with an initial one branch and plan to expand to more outlets in the future, Iomega has the solutions to enable them scale up in accordance with theirexpansion needs. A start up should be focusing on making more money and expanding their business and not worrying about having an IT manager or technical personnel to drive their IT needs. The small investor requires an IT solution that is simple to use and allows for growth to match the business needs of the future. Scalability is essential in storage especially for small businesses. How does Iomega ensure that the growing business can rely on Iomega without incurring additional costs? I’ll give an example. Let’s say you have three offices and 15 employees and you 12
want to make sure that you are backing up all the information by creating a personal cloud between all those devices. So you link the three systems in such a way that this office will back up to the other office and vice versa. If something goes wrong with the storage infrastructure in any of the offices, you still have somewhere where the information is protected. And with the cloud solution, you can give up to 250 people from all over the world access to this information. This would work very well with a media agency, for instance, that has correspondents all over the world. A reporter can take a photo from anywhere in the world store it in the cloud and the editor will have access to this photo when needed. How do you integrate EMC technology into Iomega products? EMC acquisition of Iomega was to enable the company fulfil the storage needs of all segments of the corporate be it entry level, SMBs or enterprise. EMC has brought solutions that are able to integrate solutions such as LifeLine, RSA, VMWare in Iomega
The Integrator East Africa | December 2012
products.This matches SME needs in the way it simplifies the product itself as a solution and make it more user friendly for the small business. The small business owner does not have the resourcesor the infrastructure to troubleshoot or resources to hire an IT manager or accesstechnical support. EMC has been helping in developing solutions across the whole range in a way that no matter what product you get from the entry level through to the enterprise you still get the whole software bundle including the antivirus.Thus a customer has the software to allow them to back-up, store and protect. The video surveillance space is growing exponentially and so are the needs for storage. Discuss Iomega solutions in this field More and more surveillance is moving towards IP. Legislation is pushing IP surveillance into new territories. In some countries you must have an IP camera and then have back up the information for at least six months. At Iomega, we have the products and the
TechKnow Cisco
platform in network storage to manage these developments. We are the adding VMS (video management software) by partnering with a technology leader such as Axis. Right now we are working with Axis to make sure that all the cameras protocols are compatible with our NAS. With an IP camera and Iomega solutions, one can access all the video feeds as well as play back on a smart phone whenever there is internet access. Another exiting and developing niche in the region is the digital signage business.With an Iomega storage product, a marketing company just needs a storage box in their office and they are able to send messages to numerous screens in different locations using our cloud solutions Discuss how your partner program, the Ioclub benefits your partners The Ioclub Premier Partner Program is designed to help partners create new opportunities togrow their businesses on Iomega network storage solutions. It provides training, technicalsupport, product benefits, sales and marketing tools and a range of other benefitsavailable exclusively to program members through our partner portal. Incentives include rebates to motivate and reward eligible partners for qualifying sales, access to sales leads & incentive programs and special discount for evaluation units, among other benefits. Ioclub premier partners can purchase demonstration units of selected products at a significantly reduced price. You have also moved into the home entertainment space, a growing field in the region. Please discuss We recently launched Iomega EZ Media in the region. EZ Media & Backup Centre allows our customers to backup, share and access files on their home network. One can easily share their music library, photo slideshows and other files with friends and family. It comes with an easy to use interface and the ability to create a personal cloud and allows automatic launching of photos and videos to social media sites.
Standard bearer Cisco’sRegional Manager Amanulla Khan looks to Linksys products based on the newly launched AC technology to cement the company’s leadership role in wireless connectivity Cisco recently launched Linksys routers that connect through the new 802.11ac technology. Discuss benefits of this new technology to consumers? Cisco’s Home Networking Business Unit has launched the first Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router and Universal Media Connector both powered by the industry’s next-generation wireless technology - 802.11ac. The new technology is designed to deliver wireless speeds approximately three times faster than the current wireless 802.11n standard. How does this technology tie to the larger Cisco eco-system? The new Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router EA6500 uniquely blends the highest performance 802.11ac technology with Cisco’s intelligent Cisco Connect Cloud software platform for an experience that is both powerful and intuitive, simplifying how consumers connect, control and interact with their home devices and appliances. As consumers begin the transition to the new Wi-Fi technology, Linksys is introducing a solution that not only includes a powerful product, but has new innovation that enables them to stay connected to their devices and home wireless networks from anywhere, anytime. We deliver the most complete solution, from performance to usability to customer satisfaction. What is your strategy for the MEA region? With consumers driving innovation across the IT industry today, we are focused on understanding
Amanulla Khan Regional Manager, Cisco the consumer mindset and technologies and leveraging both for our enterprise customers and consumers. The new 802.11ac technology allows us to provide the market with innovative technology and solutions to do just that. We reach the consumer directly via sales through our retail partners as well as through service providers and business applications. We also work to leverage consumer innovation to our business customers and technologies What are the growth prospects for Ciscomoving forward? The Middle Eastand African market remains a big, strategic opportunity for Cisco and the company will participate in markets and customer segments where we can be successful, differentiated and profitable. We have the support from our partners, customers and industry influencers, who realize Cisco is in a unique position to provide value for both businesses and consumers, delivering on our vision of transforming life’s experiences by connecting people to each other, their ideas and their world.
December 2012 | The Integrator East Africa
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Focus
Techno Brain
Member registration systems Kindly name some key specific clients and solutions you have provided for them Some of our recent projects include Integrated financial management system for Local Government of Uganda, Import / Export Commodity Database (IECDB) System for Tanzania Revenue Authority(TRA), Biometric Grower Registration System for Tobacco Control Commission (TCC) in Malawi, Electronic Certification System for Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), Online type approval System for Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority, Enterprise Datawarehousing system for Tanzania Revenue
projections for the future Techno Brain is an African company that has grown from 30 people company in 1997 to over 1000 employeescurrently across 14 countries supporting verticals like government, public sector, NGOs and the private sectors. This year we expanded our business into four more African countries, Rwanda, Ghana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We shall have fully-fledged operations in 25 African countries by year 2015while building our staff strength to over 2000people by 2015. We support organizations for their IT solutions needs in various business units such as Enterprise Business, Identity Management, IT Automation Services, IT Infrastructure Services, GIS/RFID based Solutions and so on.
Techno Brain continues its African quest From its Tanzanian base, Techno Brain has grown to include 13 countries in its ever expanding market coverage. Munjal Shah, marketing director spoke to the integrator on the company’s continental ambitions.
Munjal Shah Marketing Director, Techno Brain
Briefly discuss Techno Brains operations We are an ISO 9001:2008 Certified and CMMI Level 3 Company anda leading African custom software application provider. We offer software solutions to Governments, NGOs, and large private organizations with operations in Tanzania, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, UAE, Uganda, UK, USA, and Zambia.We provide custom software application, IT Products, BPO / ITES and IT Training to clients across the globe.These solutions are in such diverse segments as Integrated Financial Management System, Electronic Cargo Tracking System, Customer Relationship Management System, Airport Revenue Management System, Document Management Systems, GIS, Donor & grant management for NGOs, Citizen services portal, Voter registration systems, Passport issuance systems and
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Authority, Document management system for UN international Criminal Tribunal System for Rwanda, Self Service interactive kiosks for Public service Pensions Fund for Tanzania, Integrated financial system for SBC Tanzaniaamong others. Discuss your vendor and resale partnerships In most cases, we offer services directly to the clients depending on the domain. We have partnerships with companies like Microsoft, SAP, Oracle and a few others. We develop our solutions using their technology based on the client verticals we support in various countries. We customize our software in-house through a team of 240 developers in Kenya and India who develop, deliver and support all our solutions Discuss growth trends for Techno Brain in the recent past and
The Integrator East Africa | December 2012
We have invested heavily into two state of the art researchcentres in Kenya and India where we train youth on development of new technologies and IT solutions. Discuss emerging trends in your sphere of operation in the East African region and your solutions for them Techno Brain has already ventured into GIS, Mobile application development, RFID based Solutions, Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing solutions keeping the emerging trends of these technologies across East Africa. At the same time, our Business Process Outsourcing segment is also on the verge of expansions across East Africa where we have two BPO delivery centres (Kenya and Uganda) employing over 400 people in both countries. BPO ITES has been cited as amajor growth area in regional development visions and Techno Brain is committed to supporting the same.
Focus
Mitsumi
thebusiness gateway to the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region. The exhibition this year ran from October 14 to 18, at the Dubai World Trade Centre. GITEX had an “Africa in Focus” theme in 2012, placing African distributors firmly at the centre of attention. Mitsumi exhibited its product portfolio from renowned global vendor partners HP, Dell, Acer, Toshiba, Lenovo, Samsung, Microsoft, Western Digital, BenQ and TrippLite at the prestigious event. The African branding and the product display attracted lot of visitors, according to Jagat. “Media coverage of the Mitsumi stand added to the overall exposure and excitement about Mitsumi. We had a good showcase for all our vendors’ products. Many of our current customers from the channel and retail segment were able to see and study the entire range on display. This year's exhibition was a very successful show for us. Successful participation in GITEX 2012 is a good sign for our future business as well,” said Jagat. Jagat Shah Chairman & CEO, Mitsumi
“We were able to achieve the benchmarks set out before the event after signing a contract and releasing the joint Press
Mitsumi shines at global event Platforms don’t come any bigger than GITEX, and Mitsumi made sure it left an impression in this, the region’s most prestigious ICT event Mitsumi IT Distribution made a successful debut at GITEX this year, standing tall among some of the biggest names in the world of technology.
Release with Dubai World Trade Centre during our first time ever participation in GITEX Technology Week,” Jagat said. Mitsumialso donated a DELL Inspiron high end notebook for the passport trial prize draw to the Dubai World Trade Centre. The company also intends to return to GITEX next year.
According to Jagat Shah, Mitsumi’s Chairman and CEO, the company was able to attract serious business visitors from all over the region at the event. “Numerous delegations from Algeria, Kenya, Libya, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Jagat emphasised that although there are challenges, the Nigeria, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tunisia have visited world needs to start having a different conversation about our stand and showed keen interest. Our participation at Africa focusing on positive stories. “For Mitsumi, the story GITEX 2012 was to cement the company's commitment to of Africa is a showcasing the story of progress, rich opportunities opportunities, available in Africa growth and a and to cement "We were able to achieve the benchmarks set out before story of political and further grow and economic the event after signing a contract and releasing the joint our reseller and vibrancy,”Jagat Press Release with Dubai World Trade Centre during our vendor partner said. Mitsumi base,” Jagat said. first time ever participation in GITEX Technology Week" had another GITEX is the successful year premier ICT event with consolidated in the region and 16
The Integrator East Africa | December 2012
revenue for 2010 -2011 reaching $171 million. As one of Africa’s largest IT distributors, Mitsumi is one of the major conduits through which technology flows to Africa. The
company maintains 15 warehouses and eight service centresacross Africa. Its regional geographical coverage and extensive customer base has made the company the largest and fastest growing distributor in Africa. With a head office in Kenya, the company
maintains a presence in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Mauritius and Madagascar including a strategic mother hub in Jebel Ali (UAE).
Tripp Lite signs up Mitsumi as distributor markets in East and West Africa while also establishing itself as a leading brand offering a large selection of UPS systems. Under the terms of the partnership, Mitsumiwill distribute a wide range of Tripp Lite products, with a focus on single phase UPS systems (up to 20KVA) for small to medium businesses.
Mitesh Shah Managing Director, Mitsumi Tripp Lite, a leading manufacturer of power protection, connectivity and infrastructure equipment has entered into a strategic distribution agreement with Mitsumi Distribution, one of Africa’s largest IT distributors. The move is part of Tripp Lite’s continuing efforts to position itself across the rapidly developing IT
“We are looking to onboard the entire VAD portfolio by close of this year and Tripplite is a strategic partnership that will aid us in our mission of bringing appropriate and cost effective solutions to Africa,” said Mitesh Shah, Managing Director, Mitsumi. Tripp Lite products and solutions promote significant savings from operational costs, seamless connectivity and a marked increase in productivity and efficiencies. The partnership will now allowMitsumito leverage Tripp Lite solutions along with other leading brands such as HP, Dell, Toshiba, Acer,Western
Digital, Lenovo,Samsung, Microsoft and Benq. Tripp Lite boasts a portfolio of over 2,500 products that allows its customers to organize, connect, control and protect IT and electronic equipment that are essential to their day-to-day operations. According to Tripp Lite senior executives, the decision to name Mitsumias its distributor was based on the company’s excellent reputation in the IT market. “Our new strategic partnership with Mitsumi Distribution ably positions Tripp Lite as a key provider of UPS systems" said Vipin Sharma, Vice President Middle East, Africa and CIS Sales, Tripp Lite. “Mitsumi’s relationship with more than 1000+ resellers across East and West Africa is the perfect vehicle for providing all sizes of businesses with top of the line Tripp Lite solutions that can help them achieve their growth goals.”
December 2012 | The Integrator East Africa
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Feature
Niti For 16 years, Niti has been supplying the African market with IT products and solutions from the largest brands in the world emerging as a truly major player in IT distribution in the continent. The company is however not sleeping on its laurels and continues to expand both in terms of product range and physical presence.
Ponnin Selvan Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Niti
time for our products through product positioning and branding on behalf of our dedicated vendors,” said Ponnin. Niti’sprojected sales for 2012 is USD 150 Million. To support its resale partners, Niti maintains RMA Support Centre at all branches, fulfilling the support on behalf of the respective brands. The company is also engaged in microdistribution and sub-distribution especially in upcountry markets. “We try to work progressively towards redefining the distribution process by bringing in technology products and solutions, fulfilling on-going market demand and adding value to both vendor and reseller through timely
Niti's big ambitions in Africa Kenyan based distributor Niti continues to expand its product portfolio to with the recent addition of Transcend to its distribution list for East Africa, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Ghana. Taipei-based Transcend is a leading manufacturer of memory modules, flash memory cards, USB flash drives, MP3 players, digital photo frames, portable hard drives, multimedia products and accessories. Transcend products are available for proprietary equipment, as well as for mass marketed PCs. Transcend will look to benefit from Niti's extensive reach in East Africa. Headquartered in Kenya, with its master logistics hub in Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai and Kenya, Niti provides in-country product availability in Dubai, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, DRC and Burundi.“Our presence in these markets is in order to guarantee prompt and reliable logistics and product availability, responsive supply chain service and localized in-country services to customers in the region,” said Ponnin Selvan, VP, sales and marketing. 18
Niti has resale partnerships with over 1,500resellers in these markets. The company has entered strategic alliance agreements with Transcend, Acer, HCL and E-POS as a Tier 1 distribution partner to promote the sales of their products through these resellers. “Each market is distinct and we focus a particular product line that is neededin the particular market and excel in making that product a success for the vendors,” said Ponnin. The company’s distribution and resell product range includes computers, servers, printers and consumable, software, UPS systems, computer components networking solutions among others. Other brands represented by Niti include HP, Compact, Sony, Microsoft, Toshiba, APC and Kaspersky etc. Niti currently has a workforce of 220 employees with well qualified sales professional handling business with the 1500 channel partners across Africa, according to Ponnin.This is backed by a 15000 sq. ft of warehouse space in Dubai and Nairobi while all the branches are each connected to a separate warehouse of between 3500 and 6000 sq. ft. “As a company we are well-equipped to handle large size logistics, while ensuring delivery on
The Integrator East Africa | December 2012
availability of the goods, product knowledge and value adding to profitable working relationship,” said Ponnin. Niti also avails micro-credit for channel partners when required, according to Ponnin. Niti targets government and other public agencies, SMBs and enterprises. An increase in IT spending by governments and businesses in Africa corresponds to a growing awareness and knowledge of technology trends in the continent. This means businesses have to ensure that they have in stock latest technologies at any given time and in large enough quantities to fulfil demand. “The continuous growth coupled with commitment to service excellence has positioned us as an emerging leader in the Middle East and Africa and the resellers' first choice for sourcing the IT products and solution from single platform,” said Ponnin. The IT market in East Africa is becoming increasingly competitive with more and more entrants seeking to make their mark in this emerging market. Niti has a clear advantage based on its long presence in Africa and the partnerships it has built in over a decade and a half of operations.
Feature
GCT
GCT seeks African expansion GCT MEA, the distributor of Genius and the regional representativeoffice of Edimax, is participating in a one-day workshop in Kenya as part of their endeavour to enter into East Africa as an emerging market. Technology has been identified as a key driver in any emerging economy and Africa nations are no exception. Observers have already forecast huge growth potential for Africa’s economy over the next five years. In light of this, GCT is taking part in the Africa focus workshop as the authorized distributor for all the brands it represents for the African market as well. “Africa is a growing consumer market and this is a universally known fact,” said Jihad Youssef, General Manager, GCT Middle East and Africa.“A virtually untapped zone of potential consumers, customers in Africa can benefit from our wide range of quality product lines. The latest technology coupled with the increase in awareness and spending power has led to the forecast that the market will grow by over $400 Billion. We have seen this first hand with our initial forays and are keen on setting the footprint of our brands in the region to help in the growth of the economy”. Kenya is an important market, based on the growth the countryhas
experienced in the past few years and the tremendous potential it shows for the future. With the World Bank predicting a growth around the 4% mark and a GDP per capita income that has grown beyond $800, potential spending power for consumers has increased significantly.
Jihad Youssef General Manager GCT Middle East & Africa
“We had a lot of potential business leads visit our stand at GITEX 2012 from the African market and we have informed them of our participation here, said Youssef. “We are also looking forward to Kenya as a market since it has history of trading with Dubai. We propose to provide the same level of support and quality of service and product as we provide here in Dubai. This workshop will provide the right avenue to present our intentions and we hope to be a part of the economic growth in the region.”
With 15 years of operations behind it, GCT possesses the experience and pedigree to take the next logical step; make a major push into Africa, the next frontier for IT growth and opportunities
Established in 1997 as Genius Computer Technology Ltd., GCT is now one of the leading distributors and a solution provider in the field of IT peripherals, networking and display solutions. GCT represents brands such as Genius, Edimax,Divoom and Lafeada in this region. The group is headquartered in Jebel Ali, Dubai in the UAE with operations in over 35 countries across the Middle East, Africa and CIS. December 2012 | The Integrator East Africa
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Interview
Red Dot
Discuss your distribution and sales infrastructure We have our headquarters in Tanzania with sales office in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. We have strategically invested in our master warehouses in Jebel Ali, UAE and in EPZ, Kenya along with five other sub warehouses to cater for the in-country stocks to the IT resellers of our Eastern
warehouse in the country. Discuss Our move into Uganda is to address distribution challenges in the country where inventory and stock availability has been a challenge. With an incountry warehouse, this particular issue will be addressed once and for all. Customers will be the largest beneficiaries through reduced costs. We can now import larger consignments
Red Dot makes its mark Despite being a relatively late entrant into the distribution business in Africa, Red Dot has truly become a player to be reckoned with. Managing Director, Munir Bharwani, explains how they have done it.
Munir Bharwani Managing Director, Red Dot
Describe your market strategy in the region Red Dot Distribution was established in year 2001, with a vision to bridge the gap between leading IT vendors and resellers. We started distribution with HP full range of products (from laptops to high-end servers) followed by Microsoft, APC, Samsung, Toshiba, Dell and Logitech. We strategically invested in our partnership with the vendors and today we are proud to be the only HP Value Authorized Distributor (for HP enterprise server storage & networking) in the region. We are also Microsoft GOLD Distributors. With over 3000+ customers and presence in 14 countries, Red Dot’s main focus is not just sales of genuine ICT products to our reseller, but also to provide add value services like timely and efficient logistics which is key in Africa.
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and Southern African partners. We distribute genuine computer hardware and software to IT Resellers in all Eastern & Southern African countries, namely Botswana, Ethiopia, Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
at a lower price, than placing orders and waiting for delivery, a more costly proposition. Local IT players have also complained of a resilient grey market. Our investment here will help address this as the market now is assured of a steady flow of genuine and affordable products.
What are the benefits and incentives that you offer to your partners? We enrol our Resellers on our Red Dot Reseller Development Program (RRDP) where we provide product support, sales training, and pre-sales services through our certified professional staff and other development opportunities. We also engage in joint marketing activities with our vendors and resellers. Each year, a number of reseller take advantage of RRDP and accelerate their business to the next level.
Elaborate on your participation at GITEX this year The organisers of GITEX had an “Africa in Focus” programme running this year and this was part of the attraction for us. The other reason was the exposure that this event offers. We wanted a chance to meet African IT resellers looking for a reliable and strong distributor. The event was a real eye opener for us and we gained a lot of insight into the IT industry in the Middle East region and beyond from the inside out. We were also able to meet some big name vendors with whom we are currently in discussion that we expect to come to conclusion next year.
Red Dot recently opened expanded your Uganda operations by opening a
The Integrator East Africa | December 2012
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Insight
Awards
East African top performers to be rewarded The inaugural East African Integrator ChannelAwards by take place this December in Kenya. To run alongside is the 4th VAR Conclave, a combination that has the potential to deliver the highlight of the year for the Kenyan IT scene. East Africa Integrator will be holding its first ever Awards Night on the 5th of December this year at the Safari Park Hotel to reward who’s who of Kenyan IT channel. The awards will be in 17 categories applauding the best performances across East Africa. The Awards recognize the best of the best in the fast growing IT channel market of East Africa. The institution of the Integrator East Africa Awards draws inspiration from the established success of the VAR COC Awards that have been held since 2006 and recognise the best performing brands and individuals of the Middle East IT channel.
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The nomineesfor the Integrator East Africa awards were shortlisted on information made available by field staff. The final winner list is decided on the discretion of the editorial team of Integrator East Africa. The Awards Gala night is also expected to provide an opportunity for senior level executives from vendors, distributors and local resellers to meet and network and look at possible opportunities to take their collaboration a step ahead. The networking component of the Gala Night is in fact a special edition of VAR Conclave. VAR Conclave was introduced last year as a regular forum
The Integrator East Africa | December 2012
to bring the movers and shakers of the industry together to facilitate new growth partnerships. Until date, VAR Conclave has had four editions and each of them has been received enthusiastically by the local channel, an evidence of it coming from the increased turnout at each event. The one-on-one focused meetings between participating exhibitors and leading resellers have been well received. As in the regular editions, this time too, there will be a product showcase by participating sponsors that will give the attendees an idea of what the focus of the vendors would be in the regional market.
Leading brands and distributors have used VAR Conclave as a venue to announce their entry into the region’s market and discuss their intent with potential partners. Some of the companies that have used the VAR Conclave forum to date include Belkin, Mindware, Despec, Screencheck, Engenius, Redington, Mitsumi etc. This edition will see brands like WD and Genius participate. VAR conclave provides an effective forum for brands to communicate to the leading resellers of the market about their go to market strategies for East Africa and channel plans. VAR Conclaves are meant to bridge the gap between major vendors and the Kenyan channel market by bringing them together in a formal setting. Benefits spread both ways; vendors
get dozens of potential distributors and resellers in the same place at the same time while the Kenyan channel gets to experience the latest products, technologies and services from the vendors themselves.
These two events should provide the Kenyan IT industry a rallying point to look at the year that was and make plans for a brand new year. Signs point to an even more dynamic 2013 for the industry.
Interview
Gestalt Gild
Winning Combination Gestalt Gild has built a winning business model based on bringing disparate technology from leading vendors and creating solutions suited for an East African market as ShailendraYadav, CEO, explains. Shailendra Yadav CEO, Gestalt Gild
Briefly describe your market strategy in Kenya Kenya is growing market for IT and we at Gestalt Gild intend to grow our business by providing Data Centre Services along with Enterprise Systems to our customers. We see growth coming from our Services and Networking and security. We focus on designing, implementing and auditing Enterprise technologies for both Data & Voice solutions where we among other functions provide the most reliable Disaster Recovery Solutions for any organizations core Business Processes.Gestalt Gild has also seen very positive response to the Cloud based Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions offerings. Which other markets, if any, have you been involved in East Africa? We have operations in the larger East African market. We have been involved in projects in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South-Sudan. In these markets we target the FSI, Government, Telecom and Education segments with our partners who include Oracle, NetApp, Avaya, Cisco, Symantec and EMC among others. Discuss some recent projects in Kenya by Gestalt Gild We have been busy implementing many Networking and VoIP projects in Kenya. Some specific recent cases include the successful implementation of Storage Area Network Solution for the Kenya Commercial Bank. We also supplied contact centre solutions for Leading Banks and Telecom service providers in Kenya. Our Call Centre solutions lay the foundation for a total customer service solution built upon 24
proven and innovative automatic call distribution (ACD) technology. We are helping our contact centre customers to deploy multi-media contact centres to excel in their customer service The video conferencing space is growing exponentially driven by rising technological advances that have turned it into a more interactive and cost-effective solution. Discuss Gestalt Gild’s Intelligent Communication Solutions optimize operations to deliver higher quality staff productivity and better customer service to gain a competitive edge, reduce TCO and provide choice and control. The solution includes flexible migration, installation and management options. With Unified Communication (UC), convergence of real time & non real time business communication applications viz telephony, conferencing, email, voice mail, instant messaging, video and collaboration is now possible across variety of interfaces be it PC or web based clients, telephones and mobile devices or speech. At Gestalt Gild, we call this “Intelligent Communications” embedding communications capability directly into business processes by combining voice, data and internet to lower costs and take advantage of new capabilities. Do you carry out your own projects or do you have a reseller partnership on the ground? We are resellers of most of the products we sell and also have capability to project manage and do end to end implementation and post implementation support. We have skilled technical teams in-house to
The Integrator East Africa | December 2012
implement our projects. We at times sub-contract activities to trusted partners for projects which we don’t have internal skills Cloud services and virtualization are fields that are seeing exponential growth all over the world. Is this the same for Kenya and Gestalt Gild? We believe the cloud market in Kenya is growing and a lot of enterprises may move towards it soon.We are helping customers completely eliminate the cost of setting up a Disaster Recovery site, a mandatory system to have, but not necessarily where customers should put their money on. Not only do our customers avoid the CAPEX investment, they also enjoy some peace of mind as we deploy the technology end to end, make it work and also help customers test the operations of the solution from time to time. You offer managed services, a growing trend in the rest of the world with its pay-as-you-go model. Is this an area that you see potential in Kenya? We offer, through our data centre, hosting of the information technology needs for several leading enterprises. The technology allows customers to concentrate on their core businesses be it banking, ISPs, telecommunications etc. while we take care of all their critical but expensive data services. Companies can simply outsource certain critical but expensive functionalities of their respective IT departments to us which we provide at a cost effective monthly rate. It’s similar to paying for utility services like water and electricity.
Educating and empowering the channel VAR Magazine is the leading B2B publication for the MEA IT channel with the widest readership among the region’s reseller community. With nearly 150 print issues to date, the publication plays a pivotal role in keeping the MEA IT channel well informed about the latest industry events and announcements that could potentially influence their business decisions.
VAR MEA Magazine
VAR Magazine also publishes a bilingual edition for the Saudi Market. The Arabic /English edition brings out perspectives on the trends in the strategic market of KSA based on conversations with local industry spokespeople that augment further understanding of the market.
Pioneering training series for frontline sales Conceived by VAR Magazine, ‘In Search of a champion’ is a series of multi-brand training workshops for frontline IT salespeople and serves as a platform for sales talent development. The format enables interactive training in classroom environment where sales lessons are imbibed. Participants are graded throughout their participation and champions receive grand prizes at the end of the year. Over the past couple of years, ‘In Search of a Champion’ has drawn wide appreciation from all participants and brands that have been associated with it. With its unique format and process, the event is trusted by leading Technology brands in the channel to keep the frontline sales staff abreast of product, Technology and market updates. It is currently organized in the UAE and KSA markets and is very soon expanding to other MEA markets.
IT Business Networking VAR Conclave is a series of networking platforms envisioned in several flexible formats as standalone events as well as in partnership with leading regional ICT expos across the GCC. VAR conclave fosters channel partnership opportunities and helps clinch strategic business leads across strategic markets. It includes one-on-one focused meetings between participating exhibitors and leading resellers. It is also an ideal platform to showcase products and technologies.
An essential read for the Value add IT channel The Integrator is a magazine that offers strategic insights to the systems integrator and the value add reseller channel. The magazine offers path breaking features and other content including case studies, expert columns, Round Table discussions that focuses on Industry trends which are opening up new frontiers of opportunities for the SI channel. The magazine has the intent of demystifying Technology trends for facilitating the channel’s learning of the same and empowering their decision making in Business. The magazine is distributed to an exclusive database of systems integrators and VARs in the region.
For sales queries, please email info@var-mea.com. or contact Tel: +971 4 3705022, Fax: +971 4 3706639
To read online log on to: www.VARonline.com
Interview
IBM
benefits from excellent transportation and trade links, a strong skills and talent base, a supportive and stable Government that is keen on supporting economic and social development through the application of technology. East Africa is also benefitting from current investments into urban infrastructures, telecommunications systems and fibre optic connectivity. Currently, East Africa hosts the IBM Kenya and East Africa offices, the regional hub for IBM Central East and West Africa and the first IBM Research and Development Laboratory in Africa-- the twelfth such facility globally.
Tony Mwai General Manager, IBM, East Africa
You have invested quite substantially in East Africa in the last one year. What is driving this interest in that region? Our East Africa Office covers Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Eritrea,
people of working age (15-64 years old). By 2040, that number is projected to exceed 1.1 billion, overtaking China or India. (Source: McKinsey Global Institute). This expanding labour force means that East Africa is becoming an important growing source of skills as well as revenue. • The rise of the middle-class African consumer: In 2008, roughly 85 million African households earned $5000 or more - the level about which they started spending roughly half their income on items other than food. The number of households with discretionary income is projected to rise by 50% over the next 10 years, reaching 128 million. Africa already has more middle-class households than India. (Source: McKinsey Global Institute). The growth of the middle class is driving growth in key industries such as banking and telecommunications which depend on
IBM ahead of the curve IBM seems to have just the right solutions for a rapidly transforming region. Tony Mwai, IBM General Manager for East Africa, discusses how the region can benefit from IBM’s world class technologies
Discuss your market strategy in East Africa IBM's strategy for East Africa is in line with its global strategy-to deliver higher value to our clients and partners around the world and provide the technologies and services to enable them to transform the way they work. Our business strategy and focus areas are routed in our vision for a Smarter Planet which uses new approaches and technologies to make the world more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent. IBM's Smarter Planet is focused on helping to make systems more efficient, productive, agile and responsive - changing the way people, organizations and entire industries approach what they do. How important is the East African market for IBM? East Africa is the one of the fastest growing economic blocks in Africa. As well as a good economic profile, it 26
South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi. We are seeing strong demand for our solutions and services in these markets mostly driven by: • Urbanization: Africa comprises of 52 cities of over 1 million people (more than that of Europe). In 1980, just 28% of Africans lived in cities. Today, 40% of the continent’s one billion people do - a proportion roughly comparable to China’s and larger than India’s. By 2030, this share is projected to rise to 50%, and Africa’s top 18 cities will have a combined annual spending power of $1.3 trillion (Source: McKinsey Global Institute). Urbanization requires investment in new infrastructures, systems and services which all benefit from IBM's experience and Smarter Planet strategy. • An expanding labour force: Africa’s labour force is expanding more rapidly than anywhere in the world. The continent has more than 500 million
The Integrator East Africa | December 2012
the application of modern technologies and where IBM's experience and expertise come into play. Discuss your more popular product lines and solutions in East Africa? We are experiencing strong demand for a wide range of solutions spanning hardware, software and services. In the hardware space, clients in East Africa are turning to IBM Power servers, IBM Blade servers, System x and i servers and IBM Storage technologies to help them to create resiliency, security and business integration while also reducing complexity and reducing costs. In the software area, clients turn to us for our capabilities in business analytics, data management and data warehousing solutions to enable them to turn information into insights. We also see strong interest in application
Product Review
infrastructure, business process management and smarter commerce tools to drive business integration and optimization. Our collaboration software is also popular with clients that want to connect better and optimize their working environment. In the services space, clients are turning to IBM for our expertise in IT strategy, management, maintenance and support as well as business strategy and optimization. We are targeting all key segments in the region including banking, telecommunications, government, oil and gas. What emerging trends in the region are driving IBM and the larger IT industry in the region? Clients in the region are focussed on a number of challenges and opportunities. With increasing costs and IT complexity, clients need to optimize their IT systems making them more efficient, faster and cost effective. With the huge explosion of data from internet and mobile applications, clients require more storage space and the ability to analyse and interpret data to support optimized decision making and enhanced customer service. They also need to be sure of a secure IT environment where sensitive data and critical systems protected. Clients are also looking for new ways of delivering and benefitting from IT without heavy investments in infrastructure - such as Cloud Computing, SaaS (Software as a Service). In some industries like banking, there is a need to have a backup site (BCRS Business Continuity and Resiliency Site) outside of the country of operation - thus the need for data centre and business continuity and resiliency services. Discuss what technologies you are looking to bring to the East African market in the near future IBM is a leader technology whose overall goal is to enable the planet work smarter. We leverage what is available to IBM globally to serve the market best in East Africa or elsewhere. Emerging technologies such as cloud computing, business analytics, big data, smarter commerce and others are all being brought to benefit IBM's clients in East Africa.
HP
HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 4625 Printer HP's Deskjet Ink Advantage 4625 e-All-in-One printer combines a lot of functions into one device. It’s a fully-fledged MFP, allowing users to copy, scan and fax documents, in addition to traditional printing. The “e” refers to its wireless printing capabilities allowing for printing directly from mobile devices or through email. The Ink Advantage series is a range of MFPs that enables customers to print up to two times the amount of pages for the same cost,according to HP. While the printer hardware is priced slightly higher, the cost of the ink cartridges is less in a move that goes against conventional industry norm. One surprise you notice straightaway in the 4625 is the manual control panel. At this day and age you would expect a touch screen interface on an office printer. Despite this, navigation is simple and all functions are accessible through the manual buttons. The drivers were able to install easily on my laptop as well as other computers in the office. You will need to establish a connection for the printer with the office wireless network by temporarily connecting a USB cable to the printer during the driver installation process. After this, connection is automatic. The Advantage 4625has an 80-sheet
input tray and 20-sheet output tray, as well as a 35-page document feeder. The printer also supports A4, A5, B5 and envelope formats. This makes the printer well suited for a typical SMB. Weighing at around 6kgs with a rather bulky frame, the 4625 is definitely not a portable printer. HP did consider the design elementthough and the overall aesthetics are pleasing to the eye. A valuable addition is the fact that HP offers the four cartridges individually, so users can replace one colour at a time. Replacement is easy enough and the panel opens effortlessly. Scanning documents is also simple and the printer can save these as PDF files. The PDF files were clear when I reprinted them. The Ink Advantage 4625 also delivered great colour prints. I printed a brochure and the quality of the photos was superb. The ink also dried quickly so you can comfortably do small to medium print runs. Retailing AED525 locally, the HP Deskjet 4625 e-All-in-One offers real value for money. It provides the efficiency and quality we have come to expect from HP with the added benefit of HP’s deliberate attempt to reduce the cost of printing with Ink Advantage.
December 2012 | The Integrator East Africa
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Eyetech
HP Omni27 The HP Omni27 is the first non-touch HP PC to feature HP’s Magic Canvas software allowing the desktop to expand horizontally and accommodate photos, videos and applications that consumers may have. Windows desktop shortcuts, task bar and start menu can all be accessed through the Magic Canvas allowing users to work without ever leaving the interface. Convenient features like HP LinkUp let users access and edit content from a notebook PC on the Omni27’s large display with virtually no file transfer hassles.
Epson Stylus TX210 All in One Printer The Epson Stylus TX210Printerincludes memory card slots and a 3.8 cm LCD viewer for printing photos without even switching on the PC. Users also save money because with individual ink cartridges one only needs to replace the colour used. Epson´s DURABrite Ultra Ink provides high-quality documents and quality photos that are resistant to water, fading and even highlighter pens.
Features • Multi-core processors, HD graphics and up to 2TB of storage • Beats Audio, a Blu-Ray disc drive and optional TV tuner • Windows 8 or other operating systems available • HP LinkUp software to wirelessly connect with other devices • Magic Canvas for horizontal expansion Key Features • Individual inks - only replace the colour used • View and print photos from your memory card using the 3.8 cm LCD viewer • Epson DURABrite Ultra Ink for high- quality documents and lab-quality photos • Remove red-eye and enhance your images with Epson Easy Photo Print • Restore colour in scans of old photos with Epson Easy Photo FixTM • Make quick copies and print photos without using a PC
Fujitsu LIFEBOOK A532
• Anti-glare display with backlight LED screen
The LIFEBOOK A532 from Fujitsu is a solid and reliable all-round notebook that comes with a highdefinition 39.6 cm (15.6-inch) outdoor-friendly anti-glare LCD display. Thanks to integrated WLAN, Bluetooth and optionally embedded 3G/UMTS you can work anytime and anywhere.
• Spill-resistant keyboard with full number pad
Features
• Embedded 3G/UMTS option, WLAN and Bluetooth • Anytime USB Charge
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• The built-in on/off-switchable webcam and microphone
Genius LuxePad ProiPad Bluetooth keyboard with case The LuxePad Pro features a hand stitched leather-style case that prevents knocks and bumps and can also be used as a stand. This unique design lets you stand iPad up for better viewing and with a magnetic stand it prevents slipping. Tailor fitted for the iPad, LuxePad Pro allows for access to all connections and ports, protecting it while giving full access and functionality. One can usethe LuxePad Pro on the desk, lap, or anywhere within 30 feet of your iPad - all because of the built-in Bluetooth technology. The compact design takes up less space on your desktop than full-size keyboards, so you have extra room for other gadgets.
WD My Book LivePersonal Cloud Storage WD My Book Live Personal Cloud Storage allows users to connect the drive to your wireless router to provide shared storage and wireless backup for all the PC and Mac computers on your home network. It also allows access of files from anywhere with a smartphone and tablet using secure remote access and mobile apps. A built-in CPU gives users the horsepower you need for the managing applications. One can also stream media seamlessly and transfer wirelessly. Key Features: • WD's mobile apps for access with smartphone or tablet • Built-in media server streams music, photos and videos to any DLNA-certified multimedia device • Store videos, music, photos and important files to one place for everyone in the home to share • Automatic, wireless backup for all computers • iTunes server support so you can to stream music PC or Mac computer with iTunes.
Key features: • Stylish and streamlined leather case design • Thin type scissor key structure • Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery (3.7V / 580mAh)
• Built-in, high-powered 800 MHz CPU
• Ultra-low power consumption
Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N ADSL2+ Modem Gigabit Router The Dual Wireless-N radio bands let you choose the one with the least interference in your area. Either one delivers high performance for streaming video, high frame-rate gaming, fast data transfers, and heavy Internet use from multiple users-- all with great range and reduced dead spots. It also connects to existing Wireless-G, -B, or -A devices.
Key Features: • All-in-one ADSL2+ modem, router, wireless access point, and 4-port switch • Radio band selectable to avoid interference • Gigabit ports offer fast connectivity for wired devices • Wireless-N's Multiple in, Multiple Out MIMO technology • Four 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet ports • Advanced wireless security and SPI firewall protection
December 2012 | The Integrator East Africa
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Stats & trends
Worldwide Enterprise IT Spending to Grow 2.5% in 2013, says Gartner Worldwide enterprise IT spending is forecast to total $2.679 trillion in 2013, a 2.5% increase of projected 2012 spending of $2.603 trillion, according to research Gartner, Inc. Banking, communications, media and services (CMS) and manufacturing are expected to offer the largest volume of growth opportunities through 2016. The manufacturing and natural resources sector will lead the vertical markets with total spending expected to reach $478 billion in 2013, up 2.3% from $467 billion in 2012. Manufacturers typically plan and manage a significant portion of their IT costs in expectation of changes in their sales. Additionally, manufacturers worldwide have been steadily reducing their IT purchases as a percentage of their sales since the recession of 2008.
The manufacturing industry's IT buying centre has adopted tighter IT cost controls amid a myriad of mixed market signals. However, IT spending rates are expected will bottom out in 2013 and will be resilient over the long run, as business confidence is restored and the value proposition of a nexus of new technology forces — social, mobile, big data and cloud — is increasingly championed by senior leaders. The banking and securities sector will have strong growth in 2013 and is expected to reach $460 billion in 2013, up 3.5% from $445 billion in 2012. Banking and securities is an IT-intensive industry, spending approximately three times as much on IT as a percentage of revenue than the average of all industries.
This trend is expected to continue due to a significant amount of IT required to run activities such as lending, payments, trading and risk management. The CMS sector is forecast to grow 3% in 2013 to $426 billion, up from $414 billion in 2012. Firms in the CMS sectors will typically spend approximately 5% of their revenue on IT on average over a five-year period, well above the median for all industries. In the short term, transportation and insurance will also be high-growth sectors with both reaching more than 4% growth in 2013. IT spending in the transportation sector is expected to total $126 billion in 2013, up from $121 billion in 2012. IT spending in insurance will reach $187 billion in 2013, up from $179 billion in 2012.
Mobile devices driving flash memory trends The NAND and NOR flash memory market landscape is shifting rapidly, with increasingly sophisticated mobile handsets playing a leading role in driving industry trends and determining which suppliers will be successful. This is according to an IHS iSuppli Mobile & Embedded Market Tracker Report from information and analytics provider HIS. Revenue for the flash memory market by year-end is projected to decline to $24.3 billion, down 4.7% from 25.5% from $25.5 billion in 2011. The NAND segment this year will account for $20.8 billion and the NOR sector will make up the remainder at $3.5 billion. While this year’s numbers are slightly down from 2011 because of a larger-than-expected erosion in NAND prices, the market will bounce back next year with growth of 11.4%, and then continue to expand at a steady clip. By 2016, total flash memory revenue will amount to $33.3 billion, equivalent to a five-year compound growth rate of 5.3%, as shown in the figure below. NOR, which blossomed in the early years of the handset business, continues to be used in lower-cost cellphones,
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despite ongoing market share losses in its total market to rival NAND. NAND flash, meanwhile, is enjoying high demand as consumers migrate to smartphones, in which data storage in the phones takes advantage of NAND cost, scale and die size. The NOR industry continues to contract, with the latest retreat occurring in the second quarter. NOR revenue fell to $837 million, down 4.6% from the earlier quarter, and down by an even steeper 28.2 % from the second quarter a year ago in 2011.
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