Essential Business Magazine

AfricaAfrica

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www.essentialbusinessmag.com|Issue 12

Also in this issue:

WestonGroup p30

SAP East Africa p38

Tatu City p44

Ikageng Electrical p48

takeoffOne year on from our last profile we look at Denel Aerostructures and discuss the company’s history and exciting plans for the future.

Ready fortakeoffReady fortakeoffReady fortakeoff

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Welcome to the 2016’s second issue of . Spring is often associated with new beginnings

and opportunities, and in this issue there’s a running theme on the idea of training, recruitment and skills.

In our first profile we look at WestconGroup Southern Africa, and talk to their CEO about what it takes to stand out in the world of distribution.

We then have a feature on SAP East Africa, who in an attempt to close Africa’s troubling skills gap are embarking on generous recruitment schemes targeting Africa’s most talented graduates.

In our lead feature we return to Denel Aerostructures after just over a year, and check in on the progress made with the South African Regional Aircraft (SARA) project.

Spring is also a time for growth, and on that theme we look at Tatu City, an exciting new residential development project and a flagship enterprise for KenyaVision 2030.

Back to the recruitment drive and new beginnings and we have a profile of Ikageng Electrical, an electrical contractor and engineering company with a community spirit and an altruistic outlook.

We hope you enjoy this issue and are as excited about the new season as we are.

Sam Wright, Editor in Chief @essentialbizmag

P R O D U C T I O NScott JamesonPublisher

[email protected] MillingtonProduction ManagerSam WrightEditor-in-ChiefJames MacnamaraAssociate Editor

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[email protected] HossainProject Manager

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E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R SAdil Nazer | Rahim Ali | Daniel GohaEssential Business Publishing145-157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PW, Englandwww.essentialbusinessmag.com© Essential Business Publishing 2016

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Contents


A Port of Opportunities 6

Africa’s coastline offers some interesting opportunities. We have a look at the potential for development in Africa’s ports.

The Value of Water 11

Pauline Macharia talks about the future of Africa’s water industry and sheds some light on the importance of utilities to overall development.

News round-up 14

Our sector-by-sector round-up of this month’s business news, including heated discussions around a proposed oil pipeline between Uganda and Tanzania.

Denel Aerostructures 18In our lead feature we return after one year to Denel Aerostructures, and discuss the company’s history and the ongoing South Africa Regional Aircraft (SARA) project, which they are leading.

Westcon 30WestconGroup Southern Africa continue to lead the way when it comes to distribution. In our profile we discuss doing things differently in an industry that’s always changing.

SAP East Africa 38Managing director Andrew Waititu speaks to us about addressing Africa’s skills gap, the job market in Kenya and some of the company’s future opportunities.

Tatu City 44A flagship project within KenyaVision 2030, Tatu City is an exciting residential development that promises reduced congestion and an increased quality of life for its inhabitants.

Ikageng Electrical 48With the skills gap in Africa proving to be an issue for many companies, we talk to CEO of Ikageng Electrical about their approach to tackling the problem.

Cisco South Africa 54Cisco SA tell us about the company’s history and their involvement in South Africa’s Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project.

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On

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As it stands, Africa’s ports handle more than 90% of its external trade. With no land borders and air freight both costly and lacking widespread coverage, this perhaps should not be that surprising. However, somewhat

worryingly, the fi gure only accounts for around 6% of global traff ic, while six African ports handle 50% of the continent’s containers.

All in all, this points at considerable unfulfi lled potential, both for African exports as a whole, and for the diversifi cation and upgrading of the port facilities themselves.

portOn February 15,

South African President Jacob Zuma announced that

R7 billion is to be invested in new port facilities across the country.

Yet Cape Town is far from the only government on the continent that

could benefit from an improvement of container

and cargo facilities.

opportunitiesof


OnTopicOnTopic

Corruption has also frequently complicated plans to improve productivity, and delays of expansion projects at ports such as Lamu, Kenya and Bagamoyo, Tanzania are far from unique.

However, there are positive signs on the horizon. Along with Zuma’s proposed investment, gains have been made at key facilities such as Kenya’s Mombasa port, where container traff ic grew by 7.5% in 2015 following the construction of new cargo-handling infrastructure. At Luanda port in Angola, waiting times have been cut by around three days after US$75 million of new equipment, including bulk storage silos and a state-of-the-art tracking system, was installed. Meanwhile, a US$1.5 billion multi-purpose port in Ghana is underway, while progress is being made on similar plans in Nigeria.

ProspectsGiven that South Africa is situated on one of the busiest international sea routes, Zuma’s announcement was greeted warmly from those who hope that the country may be fi nally about to take advantage of the considerable opportunities off ered by its coastline.

“Through the oceans economy segment of Operation Phakisa, we are trying to solve this challenge,” he said at the time. “I am pleased that two bulk carrier vessels have been registered in Port Elizabeth, and a third tanker in Cape Town under the South African fl ag”.

Overall, an increase in containerised cargo through Africa’s ports has been strongly linked to the continent’s economic growth, which is estimated at an average of 4.5%, with projections of 5% in 2015.

Traditionally, the primary challenges facing this have been congestion and delays. Reliability is notoriously poor, while the emergence of larger vessels has meant that often upgrades are needed. Overall, the average cargo waiting time in sub-Saharan Africa is 20 days – a fi gure well above the average of one week seen in other key ports across the globe.

Overall, the average cargo waiting time in sub-Saharan Africa is 20 days – a figure well above the average of one week seen in other key ports across the globe.

February also saw the announcement of a major investment plan by Japan into Africa’s ports. This will see the country spend US$500 million on the future development of Mombasa port and related infrastructure, including a new container terminal, roads, weighbridges and a railway station with four rail mounted gantry cranes.

In a statement the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the agency that coordinates overseas development assistance for the government of Japan, said that it “will assist not only hard infrastructure development but also technical aspects such as support for smooth customs clearance and the entire maintenance and management of developed infrastructure”.

At the same time, Japan will spend US$255 million on funding the second phase of the Nacala port development in Mozambique.

“The project aims to increase cargo-handling productivity which is pivotal for exports and imports in northern Mozambique, thereby contributing to economic development and poverty reduction in the Nacala Corridor which stretches from northern Mozambique to Malawi and Zambia,” JICA added.

8

AwarenessAll this investment will be no doubt welcome – after all, Africa has an oft-reported infrastructure defi cit estimated at about US$48 billion a year. Yet JICA’s focus on the surrounding aspects of the ports, including governance such as customs processing looks to be a very wise move too.

Along with the “hard” elements of a port, such as capacity and storage, eff ective communication and management between the vast number of diff erent agencies, authorities, private terminal operators and logistics fi rms is also crucial. This is an area where Africa has long lagged behind, and one where we see the quickest gains can be made.

For this reason, any investment being pumped in to the continent’s port facilities should come with this in mind. Reducing wait times without these elements in place is a diff icult ask and, in the long term, potentially much more costly.

As it stands, Africa’s manufacturing sector, to use one example, has been rendered largely uncompetitive because of its port waiting times. The time and cost of shipping overseas is prohibitive, even as fuel prices plummet due to the low cost of crude, while inventories need to be large to cover the delays between deliveries. Imports are also unnecessarily expensive.

Cutting time in port would help resolve this, while benefi ting numerous other industries. Yet to achieve this, understanding the complexities of other issues such as clearance procedures is essential. This will be no easy task, but any improvements that can be made will have anenormous impact.

Along with the “hard” elements of a port, such as capacity and storage, effective communication and management between the vast number of different agencies, authorities, private terminal operators and logistics firms is also crucial.

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ExpertExpertExpertExpert

Tell us about your background

and current position.My background is in aquatic ecology specializing in limnology and wetland ecosystems. I have been involved in water quality research in lake and river ecology, in particular the inter-linkages between these ecosystems and the challenges of water supply for small water utilities. I am currently pursuing a PhD at Vienna University of Technology on how drinking water utilities can improve water supply services through optimization of energy eff iciency, the major contributor of their operation costs.

Pauline Macharia, PhD fellow at the Vienna University of Technology, talks about her address at the upcoming Africa Utility Week, and the unique

problems faced by Africa’s water industry.


costs, some of which only require minor adjustments to gain huge returns.

What are the main challenges for the water

sector in your view?The main challenges include the demand-supply gap for water supply services, which has been accelerated by the growing population, especially in developing economies as well as a bulging middle-class with higher demands associated with changing lifestyles. There is also an increasing demand from industry and agriculture. There is strong evidence that economic growth especially agriculture-fuelled economies correlates with availability or lack of water.

Water loss in the distribution network amplifi es the scarcity challenge which translates to energy loss. In addition, in most government budget allocation, water ministries receive a very small proportion of funding to fi nance water supply services in order to upgrade the existing aging infrastructure or invest in the latest technology to curb water losses and increase connectivity. The business community is not very motivated to invest in the water sector, which is still considered a social good, compared to sectors like

What water projects are you involved in that

you are particularly excited about?I have been involved in research projects focussing on water supply, specifi cally investigating the water quality contamination chain which highly infl uences house-hold water security. One of the studies comparing water supply and quality in high and low-income populations revealed that the ‘poor’ pay far more than the rich (who receive both drinking water and waste water services) but the quality of the water they receive is highly compromised by handling and storage especially when delivered by water vendors. It was also very evident that the quality of water at home highly depends on treatment practices, irrespective of income status. The lesson learned is that in some poor rural and urban settings in-house connection might not happen in the near future, but it’s important to create awareness among individuals on the need to treat and handle water properly. Household water treatment has a very strong positive correlation with reduction of water-borne illnesses especially among children under fi ve.

The most exciting part is in working with utilities to highlight the interventions they could employ to reduce operational

energy and food, all of which are highly dependent on water.

Good governance at all levels in the water sector is another challenge and crucial for the proper allocation and management of water and therefore sustainable and inclusive economic and social development. Climate change also poses a great threat to water resources, especially with persistent droughts and fl oods interfering with a reliable supply for the increasing demand.

What is your vision for the water sector?

I envision a world with access to safe and reliable sources of water in suff icient quantities irrespective of social status by 2030. There is a need to link science to policy, which can only be achieved through data generation and dissemination to guide policy formulation. Water policies should also refl ect


local conditions to encourage technological innovations and promote involvement of the business sector. With the recent implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets, there are a lot of opportunities within the water-food-energy-ecosystem nexus framework with the realization that synergies exist between these sectors and trade-off s can also be made to enhance sustainable development.

You will address the upcoming African

Utility Week on the “Optimization of energy efficiency in drinking water utilities” – please can you tell us more about this project and the results that were obtained?Optimization of energy eff iciency in drinking water utilities is a follow-up study on how utilities can improve water supply and enhance the quality of water in households, by addressing challenges at the utility level hindering delivery of reliable water services which often results in increased cases of water-borne illnesses. Energy cost contributes the highest share of operation cost, accounting for up to 60% in some utilities depending on the age of the infrastructure, technology and type of water treated. This, coupled with ageing water

ExpertInterviewExpertInterviewExpertInterview

infrastructures, poses a great challenge in the delivery of water services to a rapidly growing population.

The current study observes that these utilities have the potential to save on the energy cost by fi rst addressing losses and pressure management within the network as water loss is energy loss. Utilities need to conduct energy audits to understand their energy consumption and areas that require optimization to enhance energy eff iciency per unit of water produced. For instance, energy audits have the potential to save up to US$400,000 with a payback period of less than one year, while pressure management has the potential to save up to 14M kWh per year, with up to 30% water loss reduction and a payback period of less than six months. These adjustments require planning an implementation strategy with supply and demand drivers in mind as they infl uence the sucsess of service delivery.

What are you most looking forward to at

African Utility Week?I look forward to using this platform to meet with key players in the water and energy sector. I hope to learn how diff erent utilities manage

their energy costs and the opportunities available in the water sector to contribute towards sustainable development.

Anything you would like to add?

Yes. Drinking water utilities have the potential to steer development towards the sustainability road. This is because water drives other sectors like energy and food supply. In addition, with reliable supply of safe water to the population to household level, incidences of water-borne illnesses are highly reduced, children can attend school and spend more time invested in securing livelihoods instead of looking for water!

Water scarcity is a global problem with local solutions and the true value of water should never be underrated.

I envision a world with access to safe and reliable sources of water in sufficient quantities irrespective of social status by 2030.


News

and reduce the complexities of what it takes to do business.

At a conference titled Forest for Future, New Forests for Africa, the former UN general secretary is reported to have said “Today there is too much bureaucracy, too much red tape in Africa – which also encourages corruption. Each time you need a permit for something, a hand comes out”.

Red tape and corruption are problems sorely in need of attention when it comes to Africa’s economy, and any progress in this area will be met warmly by Africa’s business leaders.

Mr Hassan Bello of the NSC is reported to have observed that Sub-Saharan African countries pay dearly for poor connectivity, which is not something experienced by peers in the developed world. According to Bello, transportation networks can be likened to a country’s economic arteries, and that with lots of the sub-region relying on foreign shipping countries the health of the entire system is being undermined and important trade is being lost.

Finally, in news that will be welcome to many in Africa, Kofi Annan has recently asked for the continent to follow Rwanda’s lead

The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) has said recently that poor transport connectivity,

especially to do with Africa’s ports, is still a major obstacle to trade in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) non-oil exporters are losing 30% of their export product value due to poor transportation networks between rural areas and seaports.

TRANSPORT

News


Controversy in the beverage industry has been filling headlines in the UK. Meanwhile it has been reported that

South Africa is to become the first African country joining the battle against sugar.

South Africa is planning on becoming the first country in Africa to tax drinks with a high sugar content, in order to tackle the increasing problem of obesity as well as producing much needed tax revenue.

Sugary drinks cost an average of less than US$0.50 in South Africa, which means they have become an affordable alternative to water for many people and a regular feature in an ordinary diet.

Finance minister Pravin Gordhan introduced the tax in February’s budget speech, making it clear that the tax will be part of a strategy to tackle the country’s increasing budget deficit as well as a way of improving the health of many South Africans.

In other beverage news Kenyan food products manufacturer Excel Chemicals have noticed opportunities to grow its business by targeting its products at a younger market. Kenya’s relatively young population means there will be a new market for its range of fruit juices and smoothies, and new marketing strategies will be developed in order to make use of it.

F O O D&

D R I N KE N E R G Y

The construction of East Africa’s largest solar project began recently, and the event was celebrated by dignitaries from the

Ugandan Ministry of Energy as well sustainable energy investors and developers EREN Renewable Energy and Access Power.

The project, based in Soroti, Uganda, is a 10MW US$19 million solar photovoltaic plant planned to provide clean and sustainable energy to 40,000 homes by July 2016. Outside of South Africa it is the largest privately-funded solar power plant in Sub-Saharan Africa, and is owned and operated by Access Uganda Solar Ltd.

Ethiopia’s construction of Africa’s largest dam has been in the news this month, as construction is set to be monitored by satellite by a concerned Egypt. Fearing problems with its access to the Nile, a satellite called Egysat has been launched and will monitor construction of the dam by capturing high quality photos of the construction site.

The dam is more than 30% completed and will be capable of producing 60,000MW of energy.


News

A disagreement over the proposed route of an important oil pipeline is

threatening to strain business relations in East Africa.

France’s Total, the UK’s Tullow Oil and China’s Cnooc are the principle companies involved in the project, and disagreements about the route are leading to tensions between governments in the region.

The pipeline’s route appeared to be settled back in August, as the presidents of Kenya and Uganda signed a deal for it to run from Uganda’s Lake Albert basin all the way to Lamu, an important port town on Kenya’s coast.

However, it seems that, as a result of heavy lobbying from Total, Tanzania is another country that wants to be involved in the US$23 billion project.

Uganda’s oil reserves and less developed economy means it stands to gain the most from such a deal, and it seems likely that Uganda will form a partnership with Tanzania. Negotiations are still underway.

In other news, terrorist attacks continue to cause problems for Africa’s energy industry. A grenade blast on a natural gas plant in Algeria has raised security fears for oil and gas infrastructure across the region, with potentially far-reaching implications.

On a more positive note it has been reported that,

despite recent challenges including recent fl uctuations in oil

prices, an international oil

company had vowed to remain involved in Africa for “another 100 years”. US giant Chevron made the claim, with

general manager of Chevron Nigeria

Limited (CNL) Deji Haastrup reported as saying

“the combination of people, partnerships and performance has stood us in good stead, particularly in Africa”.

R E S O U R C E S

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See it, experience and test itIndoor expo: Four pavilions under one roof (Construction, Concrete, Construction IT, Civilution) and free training workshops

Outdoor expo: Showcasing heavy equipment, machinery, live demonstrations, access to experienes - test drive trucks, drilling, brickbuilders competition

Network, do business and meet your peers300+ architects, 1000 engineers, 500 contractors, 100 quantity surveyors and 240 government representatives

Maximise your exposureProduct launches, source competitive deals, gain invaluable knowledge on cutting costs and being more efficient on technology and equipment.

Admit one – valued at R495

Preregister for your ticket by visiting

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FREE EXPO TICKET

10 - 11 May 2016Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa

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Over 180 exhibitors showcasing technologies an services

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w w w . d e n e l a e r o s t r u c t u r e s . c o . z aDenel Aerostructures

take

Denel Aerostructuresw w w . d e n e l a e r o s t r u c t u r e s . c o . z aDenel Aerostructures


Aerospace

taketaketaketake

Just over a year ago explored Denel

Aerostructures (DAe)’s plans for the South African Regional Aircraft

(SARA) project. The past year has been a great one for the company, so we

decided to have a detailed look at its history and speak to CEO Victor Xaba

and deputy CEO Theo Kleynhans about the future of SARA and their impressive turnaround and plans

for diversification.

taketakeReady fortake


and landware defence in their own nation, but also to become world leaders in their field. Denel SOC has had many international clients and currently enjoys business from countries as diverse as Ecuador and Finland. Not only does it provide systems and components to its industrial client base, it also provides systems and consumables to end users. The company also benefits from its involvement with a number of equity partnerships, joint ventures and cooperation agreements with important international players in the global defence industry.

As for DAe, it now has the largest aerostructures facility in Africa, a plant with 500 staff members and 28,000m2 in which to work. The world-class facility allows for a manufacturing process that results in the assembly of ultra-lightweight aerostructures for the global aerospace market.

“The concept for SARA is that of a new turboprop airliner covering low density routes and seating 17-24 passengers, and specifically targeting destinations with short airfields not served by scheduled flights

A Brief History of DAeDAe, a division of the largest manufacturer of defence equipment in South Africa, Denel SOC, was established in 1964 as Atlas Aircraft Corporation. In 1992 it was absorbed into the Denel SOC conglomerate and its name changed to Denel Aviation. In 2006 the division was separated into what is now DAe, the manufacturing division, and Denel Aviation, specialists in the servicing and maintenance of several kinds of aircraft.

Since Denel SOC began it has sought not only to become leaders in military aerospace

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DAe’s progress and team of highly skilled employees means they are now design partners to Airbus Defence and Space, and have also been involved with other companies such as Agusta Westland, BAE Systems, Boeing, SAAB and Honda Aircraft Company.

It is DAe’s engineering solutions that make up an important part of the company’s value to their clients. In being able to offer engineering solutions that are not linked to their manufacturing programme they offer unusual depth and capability when it comes to the development of new technologies, as can be seen in the successful implementation of their products.

Dassault SystemesReaching new heights in program success.

Bold advancements remain the hallmark of the Aerospace & Defence Industry that pioneered air and space travel.

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Born in Aerospace & Defence, Dassault Systèmes has driven many innovations that have transformed how engineers, designers, and experts work. Equipping these individuals with the technology to define, communicate, collaborate, and predict how designs will perform so they can be optimized even before they are built is the role we play. This focus on performance has enabled the industry to answer past challenges.

Now the challenges of the future require a new focus - orchestrating how these experts interact. Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE Solutions tailored exclusively for Aerospace & Defence break down traditional barriers between teams, divisions, partners, suppliers, customers, and society to enable collaboration for creating truly innovative and better products.

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One Year Ago for DAeIt’s always interesting to check in with a growing company after a year has passed. However, it’s safe to say that a year in the aerospace industry, especially in terms of the development and manufacturing of aircraft, is not a long time at all. The years between the conception of an aircraft and its first flight can easily reach double figures, which is

You cannot use the soft approach – it just delays the pain


0

5

25

75

95

100



understandable when considering the costs, complexities and safety considerations that go into making an entirely new product.

When we spoke to previous CEO Ishmail Dockrat last year he introduced us to what was at the time DAe’s newest project, unveiled at the African Aerospace Exhibition in September 2014. The ongoing project, SARA, is to be led by DAe and involves a large amount of cooperation from the most important sections of South Africa’s aerospace industry.

Dockrat told us about some of the market research and plans for the aircraft last year. “The evidence suggests that there are lots of these kinds of locations on the continent that would have a need for such an aircraft. For example, in the South African context, it’s places like Pietermaritzburg, Polokwane and Nelspruit, specifically those kind of municipalities, that we’d be looking at for this kind of aircraft”, he explained. “We believe that we have a contribution to make towards connecting communities and making it easier for people in

urban centres to be able to travel point-to-point.”

The gap in the market has arisen due to a combination of consumer demands and the fact that current technology is simply out of date. Current aircraft, using twenty-year-old technology, are no longer economical or fuel efficient. Few of them are pressurised, which means they cannot fly above weather – both problems SARA will be designed to address, and subsequently take its dominant place within the market.

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Just a few years ago paperwork used to be an essential part of doing good business. Today the opposite is true. Unnecessary

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At Nashua East Rand we have been at the forefront of the evolution to paperless work spaces, customising tailor-made

solutions that suit the needs of our clients’ business structures and procedures. No box dropping, no off-the-shelf

distribution and just part of our integrated business solutions offering.

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SARAA year ago DAe had recently unveiled SARA and started its leadership of this important development in South Africa’s aviation industry. SARA was born of a desire to maintain the company’s design and development capabilities, which had been taken to a new level after the creation of the Rooivalk military helicopter.

The concept for SARA is that of a new turboprop airliner covering low density routes and seating 17-24 passengers, and specifically targeting destinations with short airfields not served by scheduled flights. In the past DAe have specialised in defence, but while defence possibilities are being looked at for SARA it is currently being viewed as a civilian aircraft.

Developing an entirely new aircraft is a challenging process and a venture that can carry substantial risks. In order to mitigate this DAe have been undertaking an extensive marketing survey in order to gain insight into how the proposed aircraft might meet demand within the industry. Victor Xaba explains that “what we decided to do was to conduct an independent, international market study and we selected a consulting group and commissioned them to do the study for us. It’s a sizable team working for a number of weeks and they were able to provide us with very substantial information”.

This positive market research means that the development plan, originally anticipated to last seven years, can continue to go forward. “The funding model for an aircraft like this will always be ambitious, so taking these challenges we have now started to launch activity with industry, with government and with the aerospace community in South Africa in order to attack these aspects of the market.”

It should be noted here that the SARA isn’t DAe’s own initiative. Instead, due to their expertise and history of development and

Luckily, the information gathered seems to bring good news for the ongoing SARA project. Xaba says that “the study clearly indicates to us that there is a good market for the SARA concept. The market exists for of a number of reasons. Firstly there is the growth that is taking place in that sector, particular the zero to 800 kilometre range. There is also the fact that SARA is a point to point aircraft, which means it can operate on short airfields. In areas like Asia, Malaysia, and South America there is quite a lot of requirement for that type of point to point activity”.



Aerospace

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excellent product and many were surprised it didn’t garner significant international interest. DAe have worked with the Finnish navy, and the Swedish defence force have also expressed interest in their products. However, the international market is something they’re still keen to break, and the SARA project will be important in achieving that aim. Theo Kleynhans says that “clearly we would like to now move on and leverage off past successes in order to penetrate other markets and customer areas”.

In order to diversify their customer and product portfolio DAe have been working with US Aerospace giants Airbus and are looking to develop similar relationships with Boeing and HondaJet, with whom they have already secured a contract. They are also looking to break into the European market, and if the SARA project is successful it should find demand from around the world.

DAe’s plans for diversification are part of bold new strategies for the company, involving restructuring and moving away from the constrictions of project-led management. Kleynhans describes DAe’s new direction as a “cultural break”, which will necessitate “proper education and getting everyone on board with a joint vision, aligning everyone to their goals and making sure that we all work together if we can”. Delivering new strategies means taking a

design they have been chosen to lead a team of designers, engineers, manufacturers and investors, so that the final aircraft will not be a DAe product, but the whole project will have been led by the company.

Xaba identifies the next year for SARA as being one in which business plans become well defined and secured and can be implemented alongside the early stages of design. “We have got a number of strategies that we have launched in order to ensure that we can take us to a prototype design phase, a default business plan, a default program plan, an industry collaboration plan and a national benefit plan, so those are our specific targets for the next 12 months’, he explains.

Going internationalWhile SARA takes up a lot of DAe’s time and energy there is another ambition at play behind the scenes, and this is for DAe to break into the international market. The Rooivalk military aircraft was recognised as an

“We would like to now move on and leverage off past successes in order to penetrate other markets and customer areas



Aerospace

hard approach, explains Kleynhans: “When you make a restructure programme you have got to allow management to work quite disruptively and take the odd risk, calculated as it may be. You cannot use the soft approach – it just delays the pain”.

These strategies are seeing DAe through the final stages of a turnaround plan implemented several years ago. Kleynhans says that “we are forecasted to make profits this year. Which is of course always part of the turnaround plan, and I think we are achieving this one year ahead of target”. With good news like this it’s likely things continue to improve for DAe, and that SARA will be soon be a presence in the skies of Africa, and perhaps around the world.

Westcon Groupz a . w e s t c o n . c o m


CHANGING THE FACE OFDistribution

In this profile we look at IT products and services distributor WestconGroup Southern Africa, and hear from its CEO Paul Conradie about how the company is adapting to changes in the industry.

Westcon Group

WestconGroup Southern Africa is a value-added distributor of IT products and services, with areas of expertise including datacentre and networking technologies, security, consumer

products and cloud services and solutions. As a member of the global WestconGroup listed in the US the local company benefits significantly from support and knowledge-sharing from a parent company with international influence.

WestconGroup Southern Africa’s CEO Paul Conradie makes it clear how important Westcon’s role as a distributor is to end user customers: “We are the link between the supplier (vendor)


Logistics

and the reseller (our partners). Without this link they do not get access to the products they need to provide the services and solutions required by the end user. As an example, you wouldn’t be able to buy your mouse or game console from a retailer if it wasn’t for us. Furthermore, enterprise customers secure high-end business systems and solutions from our partners, technologies they wouldn’t have access to if it wasn’t for distributors such as ourselves”.


Change and adaptation Westcon’s business model is to develop relationships with vendors of category-leading products, and then provide those products to reseller partners who in turn sell to end users. This seemingly simple model belies the constantly changing and complex world of IT and the reality of what it takes to be a successful distributor, both of which require the ability

to adapt. Reasons behind Westcon’s success can be seen in its ambition and drive to go forward, and the company has been very busy during the past year. Conradie says that “IT is a constantly evolving industry. To stand still is to stagnate and die”.

He goes on to detail some of the company’s recent developments: “Locally Westcon merged with Comztek in 2013, bringing the expertise

“IT is a constantly evolving industry. To stand still is to stagnate and die

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support the growing capacity demanded by our customers, a staging area for pre-built and tailored designs as well as a state-of-the-art experience centre for our clients”.

Westcon has also been keeping up to date with the technologies needed to run a successful business in a competitive

and solutions of both into a company that is able to better serve customers across the continent. In 2015 we moved into our purpose-built offices as a merged entity, offices that provide additional facilities for training, a better help and support desk environment for customers, warehousing facilities that are world-class and that can

technology industry. With the emergence of cloud based solutions and the buzzword of the moment, the IoT (Internet of Things), Westcon has had to update some of its operations: “We have had to reinvent some of our traditional business practices in order to stay ahead of the technology curve so that we can enable our customers to continue innovating”.

As the IT industry changes some companies fear for their hold in the market, but Westcon has a different attitude. For a large and growing company change is opportunity, and Westcon will be seeking to capitalise on new industry trends’. Conradie says that “new technologies, new ways of conducting business and engaging, such as mobility and even social media are driving new patterns in not only how we engage personally, but in a business context too. This is presenting new opportunities and new streams of business. Cloud computing and the Internet of Things are two new megatrends that are really driving this as they work as the catalyst and basis of innovation”.

Conradie points out that companies that fail to understand and make use of these trends might find themselves falling by the wayside and adds that while there is always hype in IT, there are some megatrends that have

“Our goal as WestconGroup has always been to break the mould on

traditional distribution


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Logistics


is a challenge it is also an opportunity as it forces all of us to start thinking differently and working smarter”.

The problem of recruiting top talent is also a hot topic at the moment, and for Westcon this is no exception. Africa, like much of the developed and developing world, is suffering from a “brain drain” as well as problems with graduate employment and a troubling skills gap. With more and more people going to university it becomes harder to distinguish talent, and according to Conradie there is a “dearth of technical and management skills in IT”.

Like many companies Westcon is attempting to tackle this problem through the development of training schemes. For example, it recently sponsored a learnership programme through partners Torque IT. When asked about

crested the hype cycle and are now becoming common practice. Cloud computing and the IoT have taken their hold on the industry, and Westcon has embraced them. The company’s software practice has changed accordingly with the recent launch of a cloud solutions business, while Comstor, a distribution company under the WestconGroup wing, has had to add vendors to better serve the data centre and networking requirements of customers looking to embrace digitalisation.

ChallengesHowever, it’s not all plain sailing for Westcon. Due to the fact they rely on overseas vendors fluctuating exchange rates continue to be an issue, particularly with commodity products. On this issue Conradie returns to the same theme – turning problems into opportunities: “While this

some of the secrets behind Westcon’s success Conradie discusses the strength of his team. “I think it is also important to highlight the importance of the people of Westcon – we have an exceptionally strong local management team as well as a host of specialists

“Enterprise customers secure high-end business systems and solutions from our partners, technologies they wouldn’t have access to if it wasn’t for distributors such as ourselves


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Logistics

that support them” – in order to maintain this advantage, intelligent recruitment drives and the narrowing of Africa’s skills gap are going to be essential.

Adding valueWestcon’s idea for a successful distribution company is that it’s not enough to simply be an excellent middleman between suppliers and resellers.

“The future of distribution in the IT channel”, Conradie explains, “is in the value you can off er”. This means off ering something to your customers that others can’t match. “Our goal as WestconGroup has always been to break the mould on traditional distribution, which is widely viewed as a box dropping customs clearing house, by adding value-added services layers to each of our off erings.”

An important aspect to the way Westcon do things diff erently comes in the technical support it off ers its partners. Conradie identifi es the biggest success of the past year as “the establishment of our services business and training academy”. Westcon don’t just pass products on to their customers, the company is there for them throughout the design to the deployment and subsequent support process and have the infrastructure to step in and help when necessary. “Our customers are starting to turn to us, not only as

a provider of products, but also as an extension of their teams and a provider of key enabling services”, Conradie says.

The future for WestconThe future for Westcon looks bright, as it continues to redefi ne how distribution companies operate and ride new trends with intelligent ways of adapting. Other companies could benefi t from Westcon and Conradie’s attitude to an ever-changing, fi ckle and complex industry. The likelihood of Westcon’s continuing success can be felt through some of the awards it has recently received. Based on the highest corresponding year-

over-year growth percentage, WestconGroup Southern Africa were again awarded the Microsoft Services Licensing Agreements (SPLA) distributor of the year for the Middle East and Africa region. This is in addition to a 2014 Motorola Solutions distributor of the year award, as well as an SAPOA best industrial development award for their new off ices and warehouse building at Waterfall Industrial Park in Johannesburg. With so much already in place and the right attitude to change and growth WestconGroup Southern Africa look to continue to change the face of distribution for some time to come.

SAP Africaw w w . s a p . c o m


SAP Africa


Technology

SAP East Africa covers operations for the enterprise

application software company in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda,

Rwanda and Ethiopia. We spoke to managing director Andrew Waititu about their

recent recruitment and training initiatives and possible

opportunities for the future.

for the next generation


Training schemes designed to benefit the wider population are increasingly an important part of

how companies operate in Africa. With enormous development projects such as Kenya Vision 2030 promising the creation of millions of new jobs, gaps in education and training will have to be filled. Companies like SAP are taking it upon themselves to fill them with generous schemes

designed to give graduates valuable skills for the job market. They’re also working at the grassroots level – for example during upcoming Africa Code Week, in which excitement will be created for young students around coding and creating things via IT platforms, helping recruitment possibilities in the long term.

These schemes are not just designed to help SAP. SAP Skills for Africa, a skills development and job creation program conceived quite literally on the back of a napkin by Andrew Waititu and

“We’ve got more and more graduates out of university with

very, very good skills unable to get jobs, and this is one of the reasons

we came up with the SAP Skills for Africa program

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Technology

a colleague from Kenya’s ICT Board, isn’t there to drive the cream of Africa’s graduates towards careers with the company. Instead it’s part of a wider solution to the reported 54% mismatch between the skills of jobseekers and the requirements of potential employers.

SAP Skills for Africa started in Kenya with just six students on its pilot scheme, four of whom went on to work for SAP, with the others quickly fi nding employment. Waititu describes what the residential scheme involves: “We’d train up these guys, give them full certifi cation and see we if can link them up with our partners or existing customers, so that they get hands on experience for a three month internship, which

in turn would give that partner fi rst choice to either employ that person, or release them back into the ecosystem, now with some experience”. The programme has now become a successful initiative across the continent in key locations in which SAP does business.

Kenya’s graduatesWaititu describes the graduate employment market in Kenya as “tough, very tough”, and schemes like this are designed to alleviate the problem. A suggestion of the scale of the issue comes from the fact that the fi rst SAP Skills for Africa program, despite specifying stringent requirements such as a fi rst class honours degree and a rigorous interview process, attracted three thousand applicants.

“We’ve got more and more graduates out of university with very, very good skills unable to get jobs, and this is one of the reasons SAP came up with the SAP Skills for Africa programWaititu goes on to discuss the root cause: “Kenyans have grown up knowing that if you study hard you’ll get a job, so what has happened is that we’ve got more and more graduates out of university with very, very good skills unable to get jobs, and this is one of the reasons we came up with the SAP Skills for Africa program”.


Employment problems faced by graduates seems to be an issue felt around the world, as more and more people go to university without necessarily gaining ways to stand out to employers. This problem is being widely discussed in the UK and the United States and seems to be a problem faced by graduates and employers both in developed and developing countries.

The issue affects SAP directly, but importantly it also affects the companies they have to work with. Waititu say that “there’s always that issue where you want a consultant, but you want x number of years of experience, and that’s the importance of having these internships”. Closing the skills deficit across the board will help all employers and collectively forward Africa’s development.

Supplementing educationSAP have also formed a relationship with Nairobi’s Strathmore University in another initiative to help close Africa’s graduate skills gap. Combining SAP Skills for Africa with another of SAP’s programmes, SAP Africa University Alliances, the project is designed to supplement a normal university education and help graduates find employment soon after completing their studies. Waititu explains: “What we do is provide students at the end of a six month period, as part of their

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normal course of education, with SAP certifi cation”.

The diff erent market settings across Africa eff ects recruitment diff erently across the continent and of course brings other issues too. Thinking about East Africa in terms of being almost a subcontinent in itself, Waititu says that “once you leave the borders of Kenya you fi nd the maturity of the market and the needs of customers are slightly diff erent. So, initially you’d fi nd that you’d be going into some markets and having to explain from scratch who SAP is and what they do. However, over the years we’ve got it to the point where customers no longer question what ERP (enterprise resource planning) is and how it will help them”.

However it’s also true that changes around the continent will bring opportunities for the company. Oil and gas discoveries in countries such as Tanzania and Mozambique promise the possibility of growth. Waititu explains that what SAP are looking forward to “is the downstream impact of those oil fi nds. If you look at Tanzania, which is already seeing the benefi t of the gas they have, there will be downstream retail and marketing companies that will come about and those are the ones we look at as opportunities”.

“What we do is provide students at the end of a six month period, as part of their normal course of education, with SAP certification

Tatu Cityw w w . t a t u c i t y . c o m


Tatu City is a large urban development project and

an important part of Kenya Vision 2030, an exciting and essential mission to transform the lives of Kenyans through increased infrastructure and

development. Anthony Njoroge, acting CEO, tells us about how the project is progressing and

its intended results. Tatu City is one of Kenya Vision 2030’s flagship projects and one of the most exciting developments currently underway on the continent. A 2,500 acre plot located in Kiambu County near

the town of Riuru, Tatu City promises residential, commercial, industrial, tourist and recreational

to a decentralized

urban environment,

reducing congestion and

creating a better space for Kenyans in which

to live, work and play. Anthony Njoroge states that “ground infrastructure is progressing well with construction level power, water and road access in place. Bulk service power, water and sewerage connection is on-going.”

Tatu City and Kenya Vision 2030Tatu City is an important part of Kenya Vision 2030 and the aims of each project frequently intersect. Kenya Vision 2030 is the country’s national long-term development strategy that aims to “transform Kenya into a newly industrializing, middle-income country providing a high quality

Tatu City


Urbanisation

amenities catering to more than 70,000 residents and 30,000 day visitors.

An essential part of the design of Tatu City is a revolutionary shift from the tradition single-node model of urban development

of life to all its citizens by 2030 in a clean and secure environment.”

Developing Kenya’s economy is an important part of the project and with this aim comes huge foreign investment, something that Tatu City has also managed to secure. Tatu City is one of the largest private foreign direct investments in Kenya’s history and sees one of the largest investments in Kenya from the United States. Tatu City contributes to Kenya Vision 2030 not only through the actual urban space being created but also by creating potentially tens of thousands of jobs.

Njoroge says that “by being part of the vision, the project is poised to make a significant contribution to Kenya’s renewed growth in economic and social development. Tatu City will offer residential, business, health and education solutions for the

“Tatu City will significantly decongest

the City of Nairobi by offering a unique live, work and play

environment


of its operations and will be using sustainable technology in its design. Njoroge says that “the project will make use of solar panels to power street lights and water heating. There are plans to collect and use storm water drainage as well. From an environmental perspective Tatu City takes its responsibilities very seriously.”

Tatu City promises to be a green space in more than one sense of the word. Njoroge tells us that “a large proportion of its land is dedicated to the provision of

open green space alongside a well-established tree nursery with thousands of indigenous trees, shrubs and flowers that will be used to populate the development.”

Tatu City is more than just a residential space designed to ease some of the pressure in nearby Nairobi. It’s designed to be an environment that actively encourages the wellbeing of its residents. Essential to seeing through its ambitious aims is a rigorous planning process, hinted at by Njoroge: “we will

“Tatu City will build 40,000 affordable and middle class housing units which will bring up

to a 5% reduction in Kenya’s housing deficit

citizens of Kenya and increase employment opportunities tremendously.”

SustainabilitySustainability has become a key driver in the design of urban development and in economic growth. Tatu City promises to have sustainability at the heart

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Urbanisation

ensure that unique features of the landscape are retained for the benefit of residents and visitors alike. The beauty of Tatu City is in its planning. All the developments must adhere to a strict code designed to ensure there will be none of the congestion occurring in similar areas across the region.”

Bringing solutionsA new study has shown that on average rent and bills take up half the monthly bills for Kenyans. So affordable housing is a high priority when it comes to Kenya’s future, and projects like Tatu City are the way forward. We asked

Njoroge what he thought about the Kenyan government’s input on the situation. He suggested a path of mutual cooperation in which “private developers like Tatu City come in and partner the government to fill in the gap. Tatu City will build 40,000 affordable and middle class housing units which will bring up to a 5% reduction in Kenya’s housing deficit.”

It seems obvious then that private enterprises like Tatu City will be instrumental in tackling Kenya’s social and economic problems. Tatu City’s lead investor Rendeavour, Africa’s

largest urban land developer, has experience across 5 different countries in Africa. Its main objective is to help create the urban environment – the living and working spaces and communities – that will help sustain and accelerate Africa’s economic growth, meet the aspirations of the burgeoning middle classes, and serve as a catalyst for further urban development. As Africa continues to change and move along its path towards development, projects like Tatu City will be some of the most powerful suggestions of what lies ahead.

Ikagengw w w . i k a g e n g - e l e c t r i c a l . c o . z a


Lighting

Ikageng

Developing SkillsIt’s fair to say that, as South Africa cements its place as a world player in many different industries, recruitment is an issue that companies find themselves worrying about more and more. Expansion is something that drives successful business professionals, and when it comes to maintaining a skilled, passionate workforce capable of proving themselves on a global stage this drive can often be seen in the development of schemes designed to help society’s disadvantaged achieve what they deserve. A genuine passion for community outreach becomes a way for businesses to thrive – a form of altruism that benefits everyone involved.


Engineering

LightingIkageng are a community-minded electrical contracting

and engineering company, with a passion for helping disadvantaged

South Africans achieve their potential. CEO Goitse Moselane

spoke to about the company’s recruitment philosophy and the development of interesting

new technology related to the Internet of Things (IoT).


(CETA), in order to create a development programme that helps disadvantaged individuals gain skills that benefi t both themselves and employers. With a particular focus on engineering, programmes like this have the aim of plugging skills gaps in industries that require skilled workers in order to continue to grow.

However, improving the employment situation in South Africa is not just a side project for a company busy providing its own services in a competitive industry. Moselane says that “Our aim is to not only be pioneers in our service, but also to attempt to eradicate unemployment on a larger scale, by providing on the job training to unskilled workers formerly unemployed, students completing their work-integrated learning programmes, as well as to enhance the existing skills of scarce skilled workers”. This synergy between successful business practice and a generous approach to recruitment has been explored by several companies operating in Africa, and indeed around the world, but rarely is it so essential to the way a company operates.

Ikageng CEO Giotse Moselane is aware that within South Africa’s disadvantaged youth there is an untapped resource waiting to be discovered. The company has partnered with the Central University of Technology and Motheo TVET College, together with South Africa’s Construction Education and Training Authority

The electrical engineering industry is one in which technical skills are gold dust, and so nurturing them and, importantly, retaining those employees that have them is a concern that other industries don’t feel quite so much. By working with reputable institutions, as well as providing

“Our aim isto not only be pioneers

in our service, but also toattempt to eradicate unemployment

on a larger scale

“Our aim isto not only be pioneers

in our service, but also toattempt to eradicate unemployment

on a larger scale

I k a g e n g E l e c t r i c a l

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excellent on-the-job training, Ikageng are ensuring their workforce keep up to date with some of the complex tasks expected of them, and making provisions for the company’s continuing growth. Moselane is passionate about holding on to his valuable employees and fostering a sense of community within his team. He tells us that “Considering the scarcity of skilled engineers and electricians, we understand the importance of retaining our staff by providing an environment conducive to growth and development. We also encourage leadership training by allowing skilled individuals to lead and carry projects, thereby teaching the qualities of accountability and responsibility. We have found this to be uplifting and creates a sense of ownership among the team”.

Street Light Control SystemThe Internet of Things (IoT), an area of vast potential for business in Africa, is about the future of objects and the way that, due to the internet, they will soon be communicating with us, and with each other. The phenomenon promises to change how we interact with the world and to streamline many aspects of technology and infrastructure that previously required time and manpower to perform tasks better achieved via digital means.

One of Ikageng’s latest projects is a perfect example of the IoT in operation. Most of us don’t notice street lamps, except for the fact that they helpfully light the way after sunset, and seem to do so without much input from us. Of course, this isn’t the case – lighting streets is large operation, requiring a lot of skill and technology to implement and maintain. It might not seem like such an important concern, but intelligently lit streets are a reliable signal of a successful infrastructure. Ikageng

“One of Ikageng’s latest projects is a perfect example of the IoT in operation.

I k a g e n g E l e c t r i c a l

Engineering


has developed a web-based street light control system that promises to save energy as well as reduce maintenance costs. The control system can be controlled on mobile devices, making this project an excellent example of how the IoT is changing things around us that we normally take for granted. The system will have an intelligent feedback feature able to notify engineers automatically when discharge lamps need to be replaced, and the system can be programmed

to detect unwanted tampering, such as the theft of cables.

Ikageng are also involved in renewable energy projects, and have recently submitted a tender (currently under adjudication) for a 10MW solar farm. Other projects include cable fault location and maintenance, electrification in hospitals and commercial and industrial premises and high mast installation, as well the projected growth of their street light control system. The relationship between a country’s infrastructure and the skills and health of its workforce could hardly be better illustrated by Ikageng’s continuing success.

“The control system can be controlled on mobile devices, making this project an excellent example of how the IoT is changing things around us that we normally take for granted

Cisco SystemsCisco SystemsCisco Systemsw w w . c i s c o . c o m


EverythingEverythingThe internet ofEverythingThe internet ofEverything


Technology

Cisco South Africais laying the global foundations for the next stage of the Internet

– the Internet of Everything. spoke to Cathy

Smith, general manager, about the promise of connectivity and

the company’s plans for the future.


Cisco Systems, Inc. was founded by the husband and wife team Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner.

While they were both employed by America’s Stanford University in the 1980s they wanted to email each other from different buildings, but found that they couldn’t using the technology available to them.

They pooled their knowledge and created a multi-protocol router that quickly became commercially successful, largely due to the flexibility of its operating system that allowed for easy upgrades as the IT boom took hold. Today Cisco’s employee count sits at over 70,000 and its revenue reached $12.68 billion during first quarter of the fiscal year 2016.

Cathy Smith, General Manager of Cisco South Africa, says that “over the last 30 years, Cisco has been the world leader in connecting people, things and technologies - to each other and to the Internet with our products, services and integrated solutions.

In today’s increasingly digital world, we help customers in every industry use technology -

and specifically the network - to grow their businesses, drive efficiencies and gain competitive advantage.”

Cisco System, Inc. develop and sell a large range of solutions in order to achieve this aim. With over 300 product families they have a wide range of technology targeted at a spectrum of customers with vastly different expectations.

Cisco is focused on becoming the number one technology company globally

C i s c o S o u t h A f r i c a


Smith elaborates. “Most Cisco products use a confi gure-to-order production model. Products are built based on confi rmed customer orders. A large percentage of Cisco growth comes through acquisitions, and they bring their own supply chain requirements and processes that need to be integrated into Cisco core operations.”

In other words since the inception of its very fi rst product the idea of customer-centric solutions has been essential to Cisco’s philosophy.

Innovation has also always been at the heart of what Cisco do. According to Smith Cisco’s “unique selling point is our focus on innovation” and “we understand that our innovation is the core of why our customers are confi dent in our ability to help address their challenges.”

This focus on innovation has allowed Cisco not only to constantly develop new technologies in order to meet its customer’s demands, but also pioneer new strategies in the way they sell their products.

A well-known example of this was their decision to launch a campaign to introduce a new router solely on social media advertising. The launch ended up being one of the top fi ve in the company’s history and over US$100,000 were saved on normal launch expenses.

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Helping Africa ConnectWe spoke to Cathy Smith about some of the ways Cisco has been helping to develop Africa’s IT infrastructure. She told us about Cisco’s involvement in the Square Kilometre Array project, an international eff ort to build the world’s largest radio telescope, with a square kilometre (one million square metres) of collecting area. The Square Kilometre Array project will represent a huge leap forward for astronomy and promises to be one of the most exciting developments for the scientifi c community in the coming years.

“A fl agship project which Cisco, in collaboration with the South African Department of Science and Technology, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, the Council for Scientifi c and Industrial Research has invested in, is the Square Kilometre Array project. The SKA is a natural extension of the Internet of Everything in that it will bring together people, processes, data and things to change outcomes and pioneer research in optical transport and big data – and South Africa will be at the forefront of these exciting developments.”

Smith told EBA that Cisco’s support towards SKA comprises of four main areas.

“Firstly there’s the Cisco Net Academy and Knowledge Centre in the remote town of

Carnavon, Northern Cape, where the SKA is hosted. The purpose of the Academy is to help local community members develop basic and intermediate ICT and networking skills.

Then there’s the Optical Transport Research, also in partnership with Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in support of the SKA in South Africa, which involved a donation of Cisco equipment, as well as a fully-fl edged, multi-million dollar, state of art lab facility donation, and direct access to key expert resources in the Cisco optical engineering business unit.

Thirdly we managed to organise the donation of state of the art, next generation data centre fabric lab equipment to the SKA South Africa project off ice, to enable testing and validation

of the central signal processing architectural and technical specifi cation requirements.

Finally there was the donation of a Cisco Telepresence system to SKA South Africa and its key partner sites, providing high defi nition immersive video capabilities to enable and facilitate collaboration both locally and internationally.”


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Cisco is also investing a lot into the continued development of South Africa as a world player in science and technology. They are doing this partly because they recognise the workforce requirements are shifting as increasing technological infrastructure continues to influence how businesses operate. They are dedicated to addressing the challenge of educating a workforce that will be faced with exponential digitization in the coming decades. Smith says that “it is essential to work towards solving this problem now, by investing not only in the technology required to be competitive with the rest of the world, but also in the skill sets needed to implement this technology.”

It’s exciting to see a large company investing in their potential future employees, as well the employees in other areas of the industry that will be needed as the world becomes more and more connected. As well as some of the projects Smith describes above Cisco are also investing at a more fundamental level.

Smith tells EBA that “Cisco has developed the Networking Academy programme and formed several partnerships with businesses, governments and educational institutions across Africa in line with this way of thinking. There are more than 870 academies throughout the continent linked to NGOs, schools and universities, with 60 000 active students taking part in the programmes offered. From computer clubs for young children and courses teaching

The SKA is a natural extension of the IoE in that it will bring together people, processes, data and things

basic knowledge of how to use a computer, to A+ computer technician courses on understanding hardware and software, Linux Essentials courses, CCNA accreditation and even networking courses in Sign Language for the deaf community, the aim is to equip students with practical skills to succeed in the working world.”

It’s clear then that Cisco South Africa is deeply involved at all levels in progressing IT in South Africa and the continent. With companies acting so generously it’s easy to be hopeful about Africa’s place in the world’s continuing digitization and connection.

This brings us to another focus of Cisco, and one of the hottest buzz words of the moment – the Internet of Everything.


Comstor - FP 012016.indd 1 2015-12-11 01:46:06 PM


The Internet of EverythingNote that this is not just the Internet of Things. The Internet of Everything takes that concept and brings it to another level. As a company whose essential product and expertise is connection, Cisco have placed themselves at the forefront of this exciting global phenomenon.

While the Internet of Things involves objects being able to communicate digitally and cooperate without human intervention, the Internet of Everything brings humans, systems, companies and well… everything also into the mix. The Internet of Everything is the idea that, in the not too distant future, in some way everything will be connected to everything else. Cathy Smith and Cisco are very excited by this idea and it’s at the very core of Cisco’s business strategy.

The Internet of Everything is already becoming a big thing in the developed world. Part of Cisco’s strategy of investment is

their desire to get Africa more involved. Smith suggests that “the world’s developing and emerging economies should embrace the potential of ICT to drive social and economic transformation and catch up with other nations.”

This presents governments and companies with some huge tasks. Smith summarises what needs to be done.

“In order for African cities, countries and economic systems to embrace the Internet of Everything, each institution must become fully digitised. And if you want to become a digital business you’ll need an agile IT model and the ability to rethink core processes for the digital era. Embracing new security, cloud, mobile, social and analytics technologies required to become fully digitized takes imagination, investment and expertise.”

Judging by what Smith has been telling us, Cisco South Africa can’t be accused of lacking those three essential qualities.

AIT Consulting

AIT Consulting have been providing advanced consulting services since 2010, mostly in the datacenter and security field.

AIT Consulting primarily provides consulting services through Cisco and Gold partners. This ability to engage CCIE skills on a per project basis relieves pressure on internal resources and results in quicker project implementation for clients. AIT Consulting have been especially busy for the last five years with many Cisco ISE projects, firewall projects and four large datacenter projects, all from design through to implementation, at some of the large corporates in Southern Africa. AIT Consulting also assists partners in the pre-sales and solution architecture process.

New Problems, New SolutionsImplementing the Internet of Everything will bring untold benefi t to people’s lives and is a key aspect to the growth of the developing world. However, as with anything else, new systems bring new problems and it takes the three qualities Smith describes above to provide solutions to them.

Smith identifi es the biggest problem facing a more connected world as cyber security. While businesses grow and embrace new information technologies security has sometimes been an afterthought,



Technology

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and this is a problem that needs addressing. Smith explained to us that “in the past there was a disconnect between business and IT. CEOs never paid sufficient attention to cyber security, and mobile defence was regarded as an afterthought. However, as cyber-attacks increase in frequency, CEOs and employees are now forced to take cyber security seriously.”

Security is a huge part of Cisco’s operations as they recognise that the process of connecting must also involve the process of securing. Smith says that “Cisco has been securing organisations of all sizes for decades, and we understand the rapidly changing security landscape. Our customers need to maintain a secure end-to-end environment to protect critical infrastructure, data and intellectual property.”

The vast increase in mobile connection also brings the problem of security to the average consumer. Rather worryingly for those of us who don’t necessarily think about these sort of things Smith comments that “an example of a key driver in mobile security breaches is the reality that most apps developed are not secure by design as many developers use open source components, which result in vulnerabilities.”

Let’s hope that Cisco have got our backs when it comes to our day to day app usage too.



Technology

What Next?Smith doesn’t mince her words when it comes to describing the aim of Cisco Systems, Inc. “Cisco is focused on becoming the number one technology company globally”, she says. Cisco are currently embarking on a campaign to help companies realise how much value will be gained by implementing the Internet of Everything in the coming decade. According to Smith “the Internet of Everything will deliver $19T of value to individuals, businesses and countries globally. Our goal is to be a strategic partner to our customers as they move from traditional to digital businesses.”

Smith also told EBA about its plans for operations in South Africa. As well as investing in education and

resources Smith also suggests that South Africa’s Critical National Infrastructure must be improved. Smith describes security as “a key enabler to the digital economy” and their dedication to this problem is one of the most visible aspects to their presence online, and the enormous increase in wearable devices will also be important to Cisco’s future.

All of these strategies are related to Cisco’s dedication to the Internet of Everything, and their core belief that a world with better connections will be a better one in which to live. It’s clear that Cisco’s passion for developing IT in Africa is genuine, and we look forward to witnessing how their infl uence helps Africa to grow.

the SKA project they are looking at several fundamental long term strategies.

These including increasing the service providers that bring high bandwidth access and IP services to Africa, and healthcare in order to improve the citizen’s quality of life. In order to sustain South Africa’s natural

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