Read this week's Hot Stories in Africa and Middle East

Hot Stories in Emerging Markets

SA’s big telcos prepare to launch LTE
http://www.biztechafrica.com/article/sas-big-telcos-prepare-launch-lte/4338/

Africa not just a mobile-first continent -- it's mobile only
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/04/tech/mobile/africa-mobile-opinion/index.html

Mobile Technologies Improve Healthcare in Africa
http://www.healthtechzone.com/topics/healthcare/articles/2012/10/03/310512-mobile-technologies-improve-healthcare-africa-other-regions.htm

GALAXY Note II officially launches in Middle East
http://techplugged.com/gadgets/mobile/galaxy-note-ii-officialy-launches-in-middle-east/

The Facebook game platform: Expanding into mobile, the Middle East, and all game categories
http://venturebeat.com/2012/09/28/the-facebook-gaming-platform-sean-ryan-interview/#e7QtAqre374jhloL.99

Infographic

Social Media & Smartphones Inforgraphic in SA
http://memeburn.com/2012/09/social-media-and-smartphones-in-south-africa-by-the-numbers-infographic/

Weekly Webinar

Mobile Valued-Added Services: Revenue Growth through Service Innovation
http://webinars.telecoms.com/webinar/mobile-vas/?token=dialogic

Blog Spot

Meet the Keynotes of African Telecoms
http://comworldseries.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/africa-com-stunning-key-note-line-up.html

The Com World Series team concentrates on emerging markets in Africa, the Middle East and Eurasia 24/7 – 365 days of the year. You can follow the news with us by joining our online communities.

Africa Com - stunning key-note line-up

We are so excited this year to be hosting such a truly stellar line-up of digital super-stars to deliver keynotes at Africa Com.  Click below for our mini-trailer showcasing our big names...



Also if you are a fan of polls tell us who you're most looking forward to hearing from...

and lastly don't forget to register for either your FREE Platinum Pass (giving access to all conference content) if you are an operator, regulator, broadcaster, enterprise CIO or application developer
or
for a FREE exhibition and masterclass which still gives you entry to the 300+ company-strong exhibition, networking with over 7,000 digital decision-makers and over 15 hours of free interactive training and case-studies.

We look forward to seeing you in Cape Town in November.

AfricaCom - 13 - 15 November 2012
CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa
http://www.comworldseries.com/africa

“ICT service providers must track and trace the regulatory environment and put strategies in place to comply with these laws” urges City of Cape Town Head of IT

 Interview with Ferdie Lochner, Head of IT Finance & Administration Information Systems and Technology, City of Cape Town

1)      Please briefly outline your company, role there, and your recent experience of enterprise ICT services in Africa

I am a technology analyst filling the position of Head: IT Finance & Administration for the City of Cape Town (CoCT).  The CoCT is a local government institution serving approximately 3.7 million citizens with basic municipal services and amenities.   The CoCT’s annual turnover runs into approximately 2 billion Euros, and its ICT footprint consists of 600 physical servers and 13000 computers running on Windows 7, supported by approximately 400 staff members.  The computer network runs on the Microsoft Operating System, while SAP serves as Enterprise Resource Planning application.  In fact, the CoCT constitutes one of the biggest local authority installations in the world  of SAP, now accommodating 7000 business users and more than 11 000  Employee Self-Service users with its HR module.   The CoCT furthermore operates two data centres and a broadband fibre optic network of 270 km, connecting all the most important municipal facilities – with phase 2 of this project extending to facilities controlled by the local provincial authority, i.e. the Western Cape Government.  

2)      What have been the main developments in the African enterprise ICT market over the last six months to 1 year?

The two main developments have been the addition of a third undersea cable (WACS - West Africa Cable System) since 2009 to the African continent, helping to lower the cost of bandwitdh and increasing the penetration of the Internet from the 13.5% where it currently lies, and the astonishing speed of penetration of the mobile market.

3)      What are the biggest challenges facing enterprises in Africa when it comes to ICT?

The lack of backhaul network infrastructure across the continent and the lack of regulatory harmony.

4)      Do you think ICT service providers seeing challenges around customer data usage rising much faster than revenue, as in the consumer market? How do you think they can tackle this?

With an increase in privacy laws and associated protective measures recognised as a major trend, I definitively see increasing challenges around customer data usage.  I would recommend ICT service providers track and trace the regulatory environment and put strategies in place to comply with these laws.  The early adopter will make it a competitive advantage.

5)      What would you say is your defining 2012 ICT ‘moment’ in Africa, technology or service?

The continued liberalisation in the telecoms market makes me look forward to the first fibre to school/college/university campus/home installation for every suburb in every town, rich or poor, where access to educational, medical, and commercial institutions – to name the most important – are urgently required. 

6)      Is there enough innovation occurring in the industry? Can you provide some more examples?

Thanks to Joseph Schumpeter’s “creative destruction”, there is always a need for new innovations for countries and their businesses to remain competitive and to help create economic growth.  In spite of pockets of excellence in the industry (i.e. Silicon Savannah and ways in which the mobile market adapted for educational, medical and commercial purposes), the ICT industry needs to innovate more.  Specific focus areas are the need for sustainable energy and backhaul infrastructure,  and appropriate devices which could serve as durable, clever, low energy and multi-purpose computer  - the tablet for the masses. 

7)      Which key message do you want to highlight during your participation at Enterprise ICT Africa in Cape Town later this year? 

The need to help slingshot the African continent past the crevices of the so-called Digital Divide with innovations which are sustainable and appropriate for the continent’s needs.

Register today to Enterprise ICT Africa & secure your early bird pass and save USD$300
 
Offer expires October 5 - quote your promotion code "BLOG"
http://africa.comworldseries.com/register-for-enterprise-ict-africa/

Read this week's Hot Stories in Africa and Middle East

Hot Stories in Emerging Markets

Social network 2go has more active users in Nigeria than Facebook
http://gadget.co.za/pebble.asp?relid=5148

Four Banks & Etisalat Deploy Mobile Money Service
http://allafrica.com/stories/201209160190.html

Social secrets of the digital divide to help users cross several digital divides
http://www.gadget.co.za/pebble.asp?relid=5101

Seven ways mobile phones have changed lives in Africa
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/13/world/africa/mobile-phones-change-africa/index.html

The backbone of Africa: Entrepreneurs who refuse to quit
http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/african-and-mideast-business/the-backbone-of-africa-entrepreneurs-who-refuse-to-quit/article4565485/?service=mobile

South Africa reported to have the most expensive mobile broadband
http://www.humanipo.com/blog/1652/South-Africa-reported-to-have-the-most-expensive-mobile-broadband

Middle East operators mull social networking alliance
http://www.mobilebusinessbriefing.com/articles/middle-east-operators-mull-social-networking-alliance/25441?elq=d71ea279e9eb43c29cc47080f0d28c34#.UGREliEMLkI.twitter

Hosted offerings tailor-made for Africa compete head-on with cloud computing giants. MynextMail interview
http://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/advice/success-stories/snapshots/mynextmail-madoda-kuzwayo-and-mnive-nhlabathi/

Infographic

Smartphone usage in South Africa
http://techtalkafrica.com/smartphone-usage-in-south-africa-infographic.html/

Weekly Webinar

Bringing value to the network: Powerful and Reliable DPI Engine as key driver for competitive Network Equipment Vendors
http://webinars.telecoms.com/webinar/bringing-value-to-the-network/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+upcomingwebinars+%28webinars.telecoms.com%29

Blog Spot

The Rise of Enterprise 2.0
http://comworldseries.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-rise-of-enterprise-20.html

The Com World Series team concentrates on emerging markets in Africa, the Middle East and Eurasia 24/7 – 365 days of the year. You can follow the news with us by joining our online communities.

Nigeria Com 2012 - See your next year!

Share your thoughts on #NigeriaCom

Nigeriacom 2012: it’s all about the customer 

The 3rd annual Nigeria Com closed today in Lagos after 2 days of debate within the telecoms, media and ICT industry: a chance to take a look at the opportunities in Africa’s largest and arguably most exciting market.

The main message was that despite challenges, Nigeria offers growing opportunities to those who can take them. The key to success is to deliver what consumers want. However this seemingly simple objective is not an easy task in an environment where behaviours, technologies and trends are changing rapidly.

The first conference day focused on business models, networks, smartphones and new revenues opportunities for operators (including mobile marketing). The 2nd day brought in the point of view of different players: content providers, social media brands and financial institutions. The sessions were a success because they enabled different parts of the digital ecosystem to discuss partnerships and service opportunities to benefit all involved.

New features were included at this year’s Nigeria Com: Speed Networking sessions, an AppGig for applications developers hosted by Blackberry, a VIP lounge and new sessions on mobile marketing & advertising, mobile financial services, OTT players and more.

Nigeria Com offered a chance to address the biggest trends in Africa’s digital market before the next must-attend event in the industry’s calendar: AfricaCom, taking place in Cape Town on 13-15 November. Now in its 15th year, AfricaCom is larger than ever: programme extended to 3 days, a larger exhibition, 7000+ attendees, 200 speakers, new sessions, 3 pre-conference events, and the biggest names in the digital industry including MTN, Cell C, Facebook, Rovio, Mxit, Amazon, Vodacom and more.

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What are your thoughts on this year's Nigeria Com?    
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Tweet about your experience using #NigeriaCom @allaboutcom on twitter!

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What our attendees said about this year's show:   
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"Nigeria Com 2012 provided insightful, practical presentations and conversations about relevant topics e.g. social media and mobile money. Both the industry players present and fellow mobile operator delegates were great to debate and network with"
Wellington Simbande, Glo, GM: VAS Applications & services

"This year’s event was fantastic. It was very beneficial for vendors and operators to improve their business. I am very glad for this opportunity"
Chiezie O., Zoom Mobile, Vas/IT/configuration

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Click here to see what our attendees are saying on twitter: 

https://twitter.com/i/#!/search/realtime/%23NigeriaCom
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Thank you to all the Sponsors of Nigeria Com 
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VIP Headline Sponsor
PCCI
 
APPGIG Sponsor
Blackberry
 
Networking Drinks Sponsor
GlobalSMSC
 
Event Sponsors
Corning
Velti
Rancard

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See You Next Year!
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To get involved early for the 2013 show, please visit our website:

Nigeria Com
17-18 September 2013,
Eko Hotel & Suite, Victoria Island
Lagos, Nigeria
Visit our website:   www.comworldseries.com/nigeria

Key visionaries shared their experiences at Nigeria Com on Day 1

***Join us for day 2!***    Share your thoughts on #NigeriaCom  
  
Nigeria Com 
26-27 September 2012, 
Eko Hotel & Suite, Victoria Island 
Lagos, Nigeria 
Visit our website: www.comworldseries.com/nigeria
 
Key visionaries shared their experiences at Nigeria Com on Day 1 
 
The 3rd Annual Nigeria Com conference and exhibition opened today in Lagos, Nigeria. Leaders from the country’s major operators, service providers, OTT players, vendors and more gathered to discuss the opportunities in Africa’s largest communications market. 

     
Innovation, new revenues streams, smartphone developments and the role of OTT players were among the topics discussed in the opening keynote – with speakers from Etisalat, Visafone, Google, MTN, Anabel Group among others. 

From the debates, Nigeria’s environment can be described as quite challenging but full of opportunities, including: local content and apps, mobile financial services and mobile advertising. Opening keynote speaker Abdoulaye Sarre, CEO of headline sponsor PCCI, said: “Operators in the changing structural, operational and technical environment are looking for ways and means to maintain their revenue per user”. As PCCI is planning to launch its operation in the country in 2013, Nigeria Com is a good opportunity to establish the company as a key player in the CRM, BPO and added value services market. 

Alongside the conference, the exhibition area is buzzing with activity: visitors checking stands, delegates engaging in Speed Networking, VIPs relaxing in their dedicated lounge, speakers being interviewed for local TV programmes and people having impromptu business meetings. 

 
“Our objective with Nigeria Com is to engage all stakeholders in the market to meet and discuss how to make the most of new market trends and opportunities; we are pleased with the level and diversity of attendance this year” says Julie Rey, Research Director at organisers Informa Telecoms & Media. 

Nigeria Com continues this afternoon with sessions dedicated to the enterprise segment and mobile marketing & advertising, followed by a networking drinks reception. Tomorrow, the focus of the programme will be service innovation, with sessions on content & apps, customer value management and mobile payments.
 
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Make sure to join us for Day 2
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There is an outstanding speaker line-up for day 2 of the event as well -   
make sure to join us tomorrow!   
     
--------------------------------------------------
What are your thoughts on this year's Nigeria Com?   
--------------------------------------------------
     
Tweet about your experience using #NigeriaCom @allaboutcom on twitter!
 
--------------------------------------------------
Click on the url below to see what our attendees are saying on twitter:

https://twitter.com/i/#!/search/realtime/%23NigeriaCom
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Sponsors of Nigeria Com
------------------------  
   
VIP Headline Sponsor
PCCI
   
APPGIG Sponsor
Blackberry
   
Networking Drinks Sponsor
GlobalSMSC  
   
Event Sponsors  
Corning  
Velti
Rancard 
 

“Companies should have general passion for developing content specific to the market needs” says Endemol SA’s Sivan Pillay

 

Sivan Pillay is managing director of TV company Endemol South Africa. Since Joining Endemol South Africa in 2000 he has been responsible for all of the company's business affairs across South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa, most recently as Head of Commercial Business. Sivan also pioneered Endemol South Africa's digital media business with the launch of Mobivision in 2004, which has delivered innovative new business especially in the mobile space.
He will join the ‘Digital Gurus’ keynote panel at AfricaCom, where he will share his views on service innovation and partnerships in the digital ecosystem, alongside representatives of YouTube, Universal Music and Mlabs.
He answers a few questions ahead of his participation.

CWS - What activities has Endemol undertaken in opening new markets in Africa recently?

SP - From a TV production perspective Endemol has recently produced new shows for Cameroon, Ghana, Rwanda, Burundi,  Uganda, Tanzania in addition to Kenya Nigeria and South Africa.  Each of the shows feature cross platform opportunities on both mobile and television.

CWS - How has Endemol started adapting to major changes in an increasingly competitive international market?

SP - With regards to Endemol business in Africa there are three key areas that are vital to be competitive.  They are creativity, pricing and production delivery.  Endemol is well skilled in each of these areas and has learned to adapt to the diverse needs of the African market.

CWS - How can content companies more effectively deliver targeted content for the African market?
SP - Content companies can potentially achieve this by understanding the broadcast platforms, the needs of the market, having better relationships and having a general passion for not just selling, but also for developing content specific to the needs of the market.  

CWS - How do you believe broadcasting has changed in Africa in the past 1-2 years?
SP - The key changes seen are the increased appetite for new content both local and national.  Also, global hit formats attract much attention in Africa and audience expectations favour local versions.  In addition to this, broadcasters are starting to look at the future technical platform for broadcasting (DDT) which will create huge requirements for the acquisition of new, fresh, diverse and specific content for their broadcast territories.  What remains to be seen is, if broadcasters are actually prepared to make the necessary investments to ensure successful DDT channels.  Also, broadcasters are in the early adoption phase of cross platform broadcasting which includes mobile and tablet.

AfricaCom will take place in Cape Town on 13-15 November. 

Read this week's Hot Stories in Africa and Middle East

Hot Stories in Emerging Markets

Telcos in drive to recycle counterfeit phones
http://www.biztechafrica.com/article/telcos-drive-recycle-counterfeit-phones/4197/

3rd Operator set to enter Mali
http://www.biztechafrica.com/article/third-operator-set-enter-mali/4199/

The African mobile app that’s bigger than Facebook in Nigeria
http://www.ventures-africa.com/2012/09/the-african-mobile-app-that%C2%B9s-bigger-than-facebook/

Middle East Operators seeing the benefits of network sharing
http://www.cnmeonline.com/telecoms-world/creating-shared-success/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Mobily Launches Ground-breaking Whatsapp package
http://www.samenacouncil.org/samena_daily_news.php?news=314

Webinars

LTE Deployment
http://webinars.telecoms.com/webinar/lte-deployment-11/

Adding Value to your Existing Network
http://webinars.telecoms.com/webinar/surrounding-the-core-adding-value-to-your-existing-network/?token=tcoms

The Com World Series team concentrates on emerging markets in Africa, the Middle East and Eurasia 24/7 – 365 days of the year. You can follow the news with us by joining our online communities.

Endemol: "African broadcasters are in the early adoption phase of cross-platform broadcasting"...

Sivan Pillay, Managing Director of content house Endemol South Africa, on the new shows his company has produced recently for the African market, and African appetite for global hit formats.

What activities has Endemol undertaken in opening new markets in Africa recently?
From a TV production perspective, Endemol  has recently produced new shows for Cameroon, Ghana, Ruanda, Burundi, Uganda, and Tanzania, in addition to Kenya Nigeria and South Africa. Each of the shows features cross-platform opportunities on both mobile and television.

How has Endemol started adapting to major changes in an increasingly competitive international market?
With regards to the Endemol business in Africa, there are three key areas that are vital to competitiveness: creativity, pricing and production delivery. Endemol is well skilled in each of these areas and has learned to adapt to the diverse needs of the African market.

How can content companies more effectively deliver targeted content for the African market?
Content companies can potentially achieve this by understanding the broadcast platforms, the needs of the market, having better relationships and having a general passion for not just selling, but also for developing content specific to the needs of the market.

How do you believe broadcasting has changed in Africa in the past 1-2 years?
The key changes seen are the increased appetite for new content, both local and national. Also, global hit formats attract much attention in Africa and audience expectations favour local versions.
In addition to this, broadcasters are starting to look at the future technical platform for broadcasting (DTT) which will create huge requirements for the acquisition of new, fresh, diverse and specific content for their broadcast territories.

What remains to be seen is,if broadcasters are actually prepared to make the necessary investments to ensure successful DTT channels. Also, broadcasters are in the early adoption phase of cross-platform broadcasting which will include mobile and tablet.

Sivan will be speaking at the AfricaCast 2012 event, taking place in Cape Town on 14th-15th November. For more information and to register please visit http://africacast-event.com/

Internet Traffic Optimization for Enterprises

The AfricaCom 2012 team are delighted to welcome Ipoque as an exhibitor at the event. See below for their guest blog post on internet traffic optimization for enterprises.

Enterprise collaboration tools, FTP hosting, file sharing applications, customer relationship management (CRM) and sales force automation tools. Instant messaging (IM), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony, records retention and email – all mission-critical business applications, all required to be up and running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Now, imagine doing business without these tools.

These applications are some of the most essential business productivity solutions in an enterprise arsenal, they’re also the most flagrant network bandwidth hogs – and without Internet traffic management solutions in place, you might one day find yourself stuck doing business without them.

If you’ve ever been working in the office when suddenly, despite a dedicated Internet connection, your connection slows to a crawl, you’ve likely fallen victim to one or more of these application bandwidth hogs. While Internet Service Providers equip their network infrastructure to meet today’s requirements when it comes to Internet data traffic enterprises do not have this special focus on data traffic. Thus the optimization of Internet traffic has often been neglected in companies, having above-mentioned effects. The solution often is another bandwidth upgrade or accepting the reduction of efficiency within the company.

Why Internet traffic management now?

The need for enterprise-level Internet traffic management solutions has never been more apparent than today. As more and more businesses enable remote workers, partners and even customers to log on to their enterprise network, they’re often not prepared for the crush of traffic flooding their networks. So the ability to identify, classify and prioritize network traffic according to enterprise-specific needs is essential to doing business in a Web-based world.

What's happening throughout the network grid? How are applications performing? How is bandwidth being utilized? Is user and application traffic being prioritized appropriately? And are there potential areas of severe network congestion on the horizon? These are just a few of the most important questions enterprise network administrators should be able to answer to ensure their networks can handle the weight of end user data demand.

There are two simple keys to Internet traffic management: 1) Priority management that favors important applications over less important bandwidth-hogging applications, and 2) Maintaining complete visibility into network behavior.

Whether VoIP, Web browsing or audio and video streaming (or a combination of the three) is your enterprise’s highest priority – the ability to give tiered priority status to business-critical applications ensures available bandwidth is optimized.

What will your organization do without Internet traffic management?

Great question. The answer is, we don’t know.

However, what we do know is this: the demand for always-on network access is only growing, while network capacity and bandwidth resources are limited. Enterprises, just like service providers, simply can’t continue to add network capacity for bandwidth hungry applications.

The only viable solution to preventing bandwidth bottlenecks, ensuring enterprise applications have the necessary bandwidth to complete mission-critical tasks and controlling network-related operating expenditures (all while ensuring QoS), is a high-performance Internet traffic management solution that supports your high-performance enterprise network.

Read more in our work in Africa by reading about our work in Burundi and Angola in a multi-billion dollar company in Africa.