15 Aug 2013

Wolfgang Petersen, Intel: "Operators should cooperate with manufacturers to establish products demanded by consumers"

Wolfgang Petersen
Hear from Wolfgang Petersen, Director of Developer Relation Division (DRD) for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Intel.

AfricaCom team caught up with Wolfgang Petersen ahead of the AfricaCom Conference and Exhibition, taking place at the CTICC in Cape Town, South Africa - 12-14 November to find out a bit more about his experiences and focus at the event.


AfricaCom: How is Intel positioned in the African market?
Wolfgang Petersen: Africa has entered a high economic growth path. It reminds me of China 10-15 years ago. Intel’s vision is: This decade we will create and extend computing technology to connect and enrich the lives of every person on earth. With this in mind Intel will keep on investing into Africa to make the vision become reality.

AfricaCom: What strategies should operators put in place to maximise profitability in Africa ?
Wolfgang Petersen: Operators should cooperate with hardware and software manufacturers to establish products and services demanded by consumers and businesses. They must establish the infrastructure to allow everybody to access information to avoid a digital divide. 

AfricaCom:  How is the demand for data impacting operators' networks and how can they address it most efficiently?
Wolfgang Petersen: Data centre hardware (Server, storage, networks) need to be in place to ensure the accessibility of information and to provide space and computing performance for the masses. Wireless networks are mandatory to reach out to rural areas.

AfricaCom:  What will have the biggest impact on the African telecoms market in the future?
Wolfgang Petersen: Education will play a very crucial role. Quality of education for everybody is essential to move Africa to the next level.

AfricaCom:  How does Intel work with app developers? How different is the African developers ecosystem from other regions?
Wolfgang Petersen: African developers are focusing on mobile apps. The smartphone is the first computing device people hold in their hands.  This is very different from mature markets where the PC is the first computing device. The African developer ecosystem is much younger than anywhere else in the world and therefore they are not encumbered by history.

AfricaCom:  What is the main message you would like to address to African operators, developers and their partners?
Wolfgang Petersen: Develop products, solutions and services for Africa. Do not try to copy what is available outside of Africa.

AfricaCom:  What do want to achieve at AfricaCom this year?
Wolfgang Petersen: To enable and encourage developers to focus on their strength and to come up with wonderful products from Africa for Africa.

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