Google sponsor Informa's Cloud Africa event, taking place in Johannesburg 23-24 May

Global giants Google have demonstrated their commitment to the dark continent and confirmed their sponsorship of the exciting new launch event - Cloud Africa. Via their partners Grove Group, they are exhibiting at the event, and giving a presentation for the CIOs and Cloud experts of Africa.

This new conference and exhibition is being led by the Com World Series, part of Informa Telecoms & Media, founders of Africa's leading ICT event - AfricaCom.

The Cloud Africa event promises to bethe premier meeting place for those looking to join the Cloud movement in Africa. The 2 day program is led by the industry, for the industry - and the exhibition will attract global players displaying world-class solutions. No other event can be relied upon to attract the diverse Cloud ecosystem with such quality learning & networking, a one-stop shop for seeing the future of cloud in Africa and forming all important business partnerships.

www.groveis.com

Senior executives at EurasiaCom demonstrated a healthy mix of confidence, innovation, and flexibility, says Angel Dobardziev of Ovum

The 8th annual EurasiaCom took place in Istanbul on 20th and 21st March, attended by senior representatives of the telecoms, media and ICT market in Easttern Europe, Russia, CIS amd Turkey. Among the participants was by Angel Dobardziev of Informa Telecoms & Media's sister company Ovum. Angel manages Ovum's research team on emerging telecoms markets, and is a regular speaker and chairman at Com World Series events.

Angel has given an overview of the debates held at the event, where he says one of the major discussion points at the event was the industry response to slowing growth caused by increasing market maturity, and the threat from Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and other over-the-top (OTT) players.
"While there wasn’t a single “silver bullet” strategy, he says, we believe that the industry has approached the challenge with the right mix of pragmatism and innovation. This was evidenced by the insightful debates on international expansion, broadband, mobile content, mobile banking, and mobile advertising. [...] On the whole, the senior executives at the EurasiaCom event demonstrated a healthy mix of confidence, innovation, and flexibility that should put their operations in a good position to respond to the changing market. However, it remains to be seen whether they can execute on these strategies to continue driving growth across their operations."
To see the full article click here.

Ovum is a telecoms, IT services and software company that analyzes changes, threats and opportunities ahead for clients including small companies, Fortune 500 corporations and governments around the world. We provide leading European business information in the technology, information, communications and telecoms sectors.
Ovum is a global advisory and consulting firm. Its primary activity is providing value-added advisory services and consulting to retain and project clients. The company acts as a well-respected and trusted source of industry data, knowledge and expertise on the commercial impact of technology, regulatory and market changes. Ovum engages in continuous research and industry analysis to determine market dynamics in its specialist sectors.

"AFRICA24’s biggest ambition is to switch people’s perception about the continent" - say West & Central Africa Com's TV partner

Africa's first dedicated news channel, Africa24, will be TV partner at West & Central Africa Com taking place in Senegal in June. Founder Constant Nemale will give a keynote presentation on delivering compelling TV services for Africa, and a team of journalists will be covering the event with regular updates and interviews of the main speakers.
Here Africa24 gives an overview of the channel's objectives and of their participation at the event.

What is AFRICA24 ?
AFRICA24 is simply the first ever news channel broadcasting 24/7 news about the entire African continent. The whole AFRICA24 meaning stands in our motto “World News for Africa. Africa News for the World”.
AFRICA24’s particularity is that we are driving a positive message based on the notions of progress and development and the determination of a modern communication-oriented image with a clear, accurate, relevant and neutral Editorial content.
AFRICA24’s biggest ambition is to switch people’s perception about the continent. As opposed to what international medias would always relay about Africa- news on wars, hundred, sickness, AFRICA24’s contribution is not only to talk about those points but also to balance the News. Africa also has good news to communicate and nice stories to tell.
AFRICA24 addresses all Africans without distinction. We want to popularize the point of view of Africa on its vision of the world. Africa can now present itself.
Regarding the programming, the channel broadcasts news every 15 minutes as well as chronicles of the African Stock exchanges, interviews, sports and society events non-stop throughout the day.
It started broadcasting in French in February 2009. The company studios have now approximately 90 employees from 32 different origins, are set up in Saint-Cloud, a West Parisian suburb.
AFRICA24 also has correspondents in a score of country across Africa.

Where can AFRICA24 be seen?
AFRICA24 is available 7 days a week for subscribers of Canal Satellite Horizons (channel 36) and on the African continent via MMDS networks. It is also broadcast on Dish Network in the US and Canad, channel 653. In France, it is available on “Orange Livebox” (ch. 166), SFR/“Neuf box” (ch. 260) and also Bouygues Bbox and on Numericable.
The station executives plan a widened expansion in Africa, Europe, Asia, the United States and the Middle East. With 24-hour African and World News from an African perspective, accurate commentary, and high-quality programming, AFRICA24 is undoubtedly a tremendous asset for anyone interested in the developments in Africa.

What is the current market positioning of the channel?
In February 2009, the AFRICA24 channel transmitted to the African continent for the first time.
Only one month after this launch, a TNS Sofres [French market research company] study conducted in March 2009 confirmed viewers’ enthusiasm for the channel, its impact, and the existence of a market and an expectation.
Since 2010, the AFRICA24 teams successfully provided live coverage on the ground of many political happenings (such as presidential elections) but also daily behind-the-scenes coverage such as the Football World Cup in South Africa and the African Cup of Nations (2010 and 212) that also helped to strengthen the channel’s increasingly high profile.
In 2011, the results of a study conducted by EMS Africa on 2.7 million people named AFRICA24 as the most watched French-language African channel on the African continent.

What are the key success factors?
Technology is undoubtedly one of the biggest assets.
Our infrastructure has been designed to respond to the desire to have a simple and progressive tool allowing for flexibility, responsiveness required to handle news and self-autonomy.
Since its creation, AFRICA24 has had a platform and a technical production and modern broadcasting capacity based exclusively on IT technologies (as opposed to more conventional video infrastructures).
The necessity to produce both on an as-required and rolling basis involves a highly structured organisation of staff, in particular for monitoring international news, across all time zones and 24 hours a day.
AFRICA24 entire organization has been fully computerised based on low cost but very effective solutions to optimise the processes and the complexity associated with our “continental” standing (critical need for mobility) and the need for reactivity.

Why is AFRICA24 participating in West & Central Africa Com 2012?
There are two main reasons for that.
First, we have to make sure the happening will be fully covered and widely broadcast.
AFRICA24 biggest challenge is to show to the world what Africa and Africans can do best. West & Central Africa Com is clearly one of the biggest events in the region where high-level senior Managers/Directors will be attending and they all have the African continent’s development in their focus. AFRICA24 mission is clearly to follow up that kind of initiative.
Secondly, West & Central Africa Com is one of the best times where professionals, particularly from technology and telecoms, can share experiences. AFRICA24 success is clearly based on the fact that technologies have been at the centre of our decisions. We would like to foster African best practices sharing. It’s very important to also show that at some point Africans can also settle organisations aligned with the international market standards and specifically in the West and Central Region.

Friday News Round Up of the Week's Hot Stories

Emerging markets are increasingly seen as hubs of innovation and creative start-ups in their own right – not just attractive investment prospects. So in this age of activity, advancement and never ending news, we thought we’d put together a list of all the Hot stories we come across.  The Com World Series team live and breathe emerging markets, so we want to make sure we spread the news!
Hot Stories in Emerging Market

Why mobile operators should consider startup funding in Africa:
http://www.techzim.co.zw/2012/03/why-mobile-operators-should-consider-startup-funding-in-africa/
30 brilliant African tech startups:
http://memeburn.com/2012/03/25-brilliant-african-tech-startups/

The Top 10 Mobile Apps in Africa:
http://www.appsafrica.com/1/post/2012/03/top-10-mobile-apps-in-africa.html

MTN to spend R24bn on infrastructure this year:
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/mtn-to-spend-r24bn-on-infrastructure-this-year-2012-03-07

Next step in 21st century education for students in Africa:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/19/idUS65898+19-Mar-2012+HUG20120319
Blog Spot
Tunisiana's Ken Campbell talks about his company's strategy ahead of his participation to North Africa Com:
http://comworldseries.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/tunisianas-ken-campbell-talks-about-his.html
Image of the Moment
Mobile Devices in Africa:
http://pinterest.com/pin/9218374207334586/
Webinar of this Week
Two-Sided Business Model with OTT apps and SPs hindered by risk adverse culture among telecom operators:
http://webinars.telecoms.com/webinar/telecoms-operators-and-otts/

The Com World Series team concentrates on emerging markets in Africa, the Middle East and Eurasia 24/7 – 365 days of the year.

Inspiring EurasiaCom event addresses challenges and opportunities in the new communications ecosystem

The 8th annual EurasiaCom conference and exhibition took place this week in Istanbul and showed a shift in the debates which were traditionally focused on telcos's strategies and infrastructure developments.
As participants from the region's communcations sector gathered to debate the challenges and opportunities for all stakeholders in the new digital ecosystem, the main message of the conference was one of major change in the market: with the growth of new players such as OTT and content providers, operators need to adapt to sustain growth and to maintain the relation with their customers.
Keynote speakers Cengiz Oztelcan (Director of International Operations at Turk Telekom) and Ekrem Yener (Chief International Expansion Officer at Turkcell) both insisted on the need for new business models for operators. Mr Oztelcan said his company was creating a horizontal model rather than a vertically-integrated one, covering a wide ecosystem; Mr Yener said he didn't see his company as a telecoms operator but as a technology company, and that it may change to becoming a service company. Other operators - such as MTS, Avea, Kyivstar, Antenna Hungary, Makedonski Telekom, and more - agreed that they need to innovate and to build new partnerships in order to answer customers' changing needs.
Non-operator brands were also present to give their perspectives on the market, and they raised some challenging thoughts. Salih Ozka of Nokia gave his vision of a market where "in a few years' time the top 3 global operators will be Apple, Google and Microsoft; the traditional telcos will have to adapt now if they want to stay in the game".
The event also provided many networking opportunities - the exhibition was buzzing with people continuing the debates and meeting new contacts and potential suppliers. For the first time at EurasiaCom a Speed Networking session allowed sponsors to make face-to-face contacts with senior operators. Participants also enjoyed more informal networking time at the end of the day at the Drinks Reception sponsored by Comptel.
EurasiaCom was sponsored by HP, Commscope, Comptel, Comviva and Jinny Software. It will take place again in Istanbul in 2013 on 19-20 March.

Andy Brauer - CTO at BCX - discusses Cloud in Africa

Business Connexion's (BCX) CTO Andy Brauer chatted to the Com World Series team about Cloud ahead of the industry leading event - Cloud Africa - which is taking place in Johannesburg on the 23-24 May.

CWS: How would you describe existing ‘’cloud services’’ in Africa?

AB: Cloud Services in Africa are on the increase and gaining momentum.

CWS: What would you say is the level of awareness about cloud in your country/region’s ICT market?

AB: The Awareness is high and the understanding is starting to improve.

CWS: How rapidly do you think the adoption of cloud will reducing capital and operational expenditure for enterprises in Africa?

AB: This depends on which models you use the Capex will we reduced but the Opex can under some circumstances increase.

CWS: What do you think is needed to drive improved and cheaper bandwidth in Africa for cloud?

AB: The Fibre is In the Ground it is getting the last mile fired up which will bring the real competition and lead to better prices

CWS: Have you seen an increase in IT spend (in your business/country/region), and if yes, has it included investment in cloud?

AB: Yes 15% in cloud

CWS: What do you think is preventing enterprises in Africa from implementing cloud?

AB: Enterprises cannot switch to a cloud quickly as they have current investment. What is happening is that they are going for new services Which they are moving to a cloud base. Power and Bandwidth are some of the concerns, there is still a perception about security but internet banking is a form of Cloud which most people already use.

CWS: What do you think are the 3 key advantages gained by companies using cloud as part of their IT services?

AB: Cost Reduction - Agility - Faster time to launch New busienss

CWS: Which key message do you want to highlight during your participation at Cloud Africa in Johannesburg later this year?

AB: Cloud is about service choice and the models take on a more peer to peer nature as time progresses.

Andrew John Brauer is CTO at Business Connexion and has extensive local and international ICT experience and is involved in researching and introducing new technologies to create business value. His strengths include networking telecommunications, system management, open source software development and service-orientated architecture, and now developing cloud computing models.

Brauer has worked on most of the technologies in the ICT arena. These include: electronics, telecommunication, software development, system and network management, system integration, strategy, operations, management and business development.

The leadership roles which he has held over the years include technical director, chief information officer and executive director. His current role is CTO – being internally and externally focused. He is on the Research and Advisory panel of the Mereka Institute at the Council for Industrial and Science and a runner up in the ITWeb Visonary awards for 2011.

For more information about the Cloud Africa event click here.

Tunisiana's Ken Campbell talks about his company's strategy ahead of his participation to North Africa Com

Ken Campbell was appointed CEO of Qtel-owned Tunisiana in December 2011. He was CCO at the Tunisian operator in 2003-2004, before moving on to Vodafone Romania, Bite Group in the Baltic region, and WIND in Italy. At the time of his appointment, Dr. Nasser Marafih, CEO of Qtel Group, said: “Ken brings great experience and track record in the commercial and customer services, and will prove instrumental in ensuring that the quality of customer experience is consistently at the highest possible levels.”
The Com World Series team asked him his thoughts on Tunisia's telecoms, media and ICT market, and his strategy for the company.

CWS: What is Tunisiana’s position in Tunisia’s telecoms, media and ICT market?
KC: Tunisiana is the leading mobile operator in Tunisia. Offering mobile services directly and internet services through its Tunet affiliate, Tunisiana is also bidding for a 3G and fixed line license in order to extend its offering.

CWS: You came back to Tunisiana in late 2011 – How do you think the company has changed since you last were there in 2004?
KC:The company has certainly developed a lot since 2003. We were the challenger back then and now we are the leader. The company today has a strong, quality infrastructure with a wide range of services - and is led by a very experienced and high quality management team.

CWS: What are your objectives and how do you see Tunisiana’s strategy evolve in the years to come?
KC: Our main objective in the short term is to secure a license for fixed and 3G services. Assuming we are successful in this, our goal is to become the leading communications provider in Tunisia on all dimensions. In achieving this, we will maintain a focus on delivering the best customer experience in the country.

CWS: What are the main challenges affecting the development of the telecoms, media & ICT market in the region, and more particularly in Tunisia?
KC: Historically, I would say that the main challenge was a regulatory challenge. The market was far from transparent and the regulator was handcuffed by the political establishment. Today, we have a government that wants clear and open competition between the players and is intent on providing a strong environment for investment and growth. We also see a regulator that is more independent and intent and working in the interests of the consumer and the health of the industry. The challenge is to achieve all of this but I see a desire and willingness that will get us there.

CWS: Which trends or services do you think will shape the market in the coming year(s)?
KC: Data and IP connectivity are clearly the drivers of change and development. We are obviously looking forward to the increased performance and improved experience that will come with 3G and eventually LTE. I also see lower cost 3G handsets allowing for more people to use rich data applications. A lot of factors are converging to provide a healthy environment for growth in our market.

CWS: What has been in the impact of the Arab Spring on the business climate in the region and more particularly in Tunisia?
KC: People emerged from the revolution very optimistic about the future. This optimism is somehow offset by the economic reality that change will take time and that businesses have suffered. I think business people are still a little nervous. Investors do not like uncertainty and so they will wait to see how the government and people react to this new democracy. While I expect 2012 to be slower, I am hopeful that business will improve in 2013 as investors see the potential in this country and the people here.

CWS: How important is the North Africa Com event in promoting the telecoms, media & ICT market in the region and what do you expect from your participation?
KC: I am very pleased that Tunis is hosting this event. I look forward to meeting my regional counterparts and talking about our challenges and mutual growth opportunities. I expect good discussion and sharing throughts - and I welcome our counterparts in the industry to Tunis.

Ken Campbell will be a keynote speaker at North Africa Com, taking place in Tunis on 15-16 May, alongside other leaders from the region's operators, regulators, content providers, investors and more.

Dmitry Kromsky shares Vimpelcom's CIS strategy ahead of EurasiaCom

Dmitry Kromsky heads the CIS business unit at Russian-based telco VimpelCom. he began his career in telecommunications over 15 years ago, working at Samsung Electronics, Vostok Mobile.b.v. holding and MCT Corp.
He came to VimpelCom in 2002 as the Central region director before being appointed General Director of LLP Kar-Tel (TM Beeline in Kazakhstan) and having his remit extended to look after other acquired companies in the CIS. In 2009 he became Vice President, CIS Business Development, and has headed the CIS business unit of VimpelCom Ltd since 2010.
Here he answers questions from the Com World Series team on his company's strategy in the emerging markets of the CIS and on how to adapt to changes in the telecoms, media & ICT market.

CWS: What is Vimpelcom’s regional strategy in the CIS?
DK: The CIS business unit’s purpose is to grow faster than the market, to increase the market share and demonstrate positive dynamics in subscriber base. Strategic focus of our business is still the development of broadband Internet access, both mobile and fixed.
Moreover, as a part of VimpelCom group we will continue to be on the delivery of our Value Agenda and the 2011 financial results provide a good platform for profitable growth and improved cash flows.

CWS: Which markets offer the best opportunities for growth?
DK: In comparison with developed markets, emerging markets of the CIS countries have the great potential to growth in different directions. For example in Kazakhstan where internet penetration rate is about 53% of the country's population*, we are focusing on FTTB network development. As a result, fixed-line broadband subscribers base increased 5 times in 2011.
But in some CIS counties, such as Tajikistan or Uzbekistan, even mobile penetration is below 90%**, thus we have huge opportunities there. Overall, the expansion goes very rapidly and despite of intensified competition, VimpelCom revenues continued to grow at double-digit rates YoY in all CIS markets as a result of improving macroeconomic conditions, strong product offerings, and efficient sales and marketing efforts.

CWS: How is Vimpelcom adapting to new market conditions such as increased competition from new players like Google or content providers?
DK: Increasing competition from content providers forces operators to adjust their business models to maintain business growth and achieve an acceptable level of profitability. VimpelCom follows such changes very closely and ready to correct its approach if necessary.

CWS: How is the operator’s business model changing, and what shape will it take in the future?
DK: The main trend in operator’s business model is focus shift from voice services to data transfer. Increasing data traffic trend let us double data revenue of CIS business unit in 4Q 2011 YoY.
The most considerable growth was noted in those countries where we recently started 3G networks development, such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. So, for example, in Kyrgyzstan data usage trends drove a significant mobile data revenue increase of 151% YoY.

Unfortunately, Dmitriy Kromsky will be unable to attend the EurasiaCom event in Istanbul on 20-21 March. The event will include presentations from leading regional operators (including Turkcell, MTS, Turk Telekom, Kyivstar, among others) as well as telecoms & ICT vendors, regulators, digital media specialists, content providers and more.

*The Statistics Agency of Kazakhstan 2011
**ComNews Research data 2011

Mbugua Njihia CEO Symbiotic, Founder of MMA East Africa & Mobile Monday Kenya to speak at East Africa Com on social platform Sembuse

Mbugua Njihia is CEO of Symbiotic Media – the company that created Sembuse, an SMS based messaging service for Africans looking to enjoy social networking. Mbugua is also a Safaricom Innovation Board Member, a Founding Member of the East African chapter of the Mobile Marketing Association, as well as the Founding Chair of Mobile Monday (Kenya Chapter).

The Com World Series team caught up with Mbugua ahead of the East Africa Com conference and exhibition (Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, 17-18 April) to find out a bit more about this speaker’s experiences and focus.

CWS: How would you sum up the characteristic of the East African telecoms, media and ICT industry this year?

MN: One word – Evolving. Market forces and innovation are ensuring that all players in the ecosystem are constantly on the lookout for new opportunities. The biggest challenge remains the business models to be employed as cut throat competition, especially in the telecoms space, sees mobile operators enforce strict KPI’s on their managers that mean they are not flexible to explore differentiated models. The investments done to realize mobile data have also forced the MNO’s to frown on data revenue share as they seek to recoup their costs.

CWS: Which type of services do you think consumers are going to be calling for in 2012?

MN: Mobile commerce will grow in demand with increased mobile phone utility and a better exposed consumer base. I use mobile commerce as opposed to e-commerce as the channel for these payments will be mobile.

Mobile entertainment still ranks high in consumer demand; the challenge is to innovate both on content, delivery and business model.

CWS: How important do you think cost-efficiency/reduction is for service providers in East Africa this year?

MN: With increased competition, service providers must cut costs but retain service quality. We have seen Airtel outsource certain functions to IBM to cut costs and focus on core business. This means providers must look at tools and partnerships that help meet these two objectives.

CWS: What do you think are the 3 key attributes needed to succeed in East Africa’s telecoms, media and ICT industry going forward?

MN: Innovation, partnerships and capital

CWS: What do you think is needed to improve mobile services for the underserved in Africa?

MN: I think the entry of governments in the provision of government centric services on mobile will drive both adoption and awareness of services. This will affect positively the rollout improved mobile access by the MNO’s as there will be a better case for ARPU with increased demand for data driven services. Private sector innovation will then follow suit leveraging on open data initiatives and increased consumer demand.

CWS: Which key message do you want to highlight to the audience during your participation at the MMA Summit @ East Africa Com in Nairobi this April?

MN: Local competency on matters mobile development is available and its imperative that brands and other players seeking to make use of the channel to meet their business objectives tap into it. Mobile is an indispensible part of the marketing mix. For the mobile network operators, be flexible on piloting different business models and open up access to network resources that will allow for increased innovation on services.

Mbugua Njihia is CEO of Symbiotic Media, Safaricom Innovation Board Member, Founding Member of the East African chapter of the Mobile Marketing Association, Founding Chair of Mobile Monday (Kenya Chapter).

@mbuguanjihia www.mbuguanjihia.com

Symbiotic Media is an emerging leader in mobile business, mobile entertainment and custom web and mobile application solutions. The company’s expertises stretch from development of public services, mobile and web based software platforms, business process improvement, distribution and monetization of content, and more.

www.symbiotic.co.ke

East Africa Com is endorsed by those at the top of regional telecoms, and delivers a heavy-weight speaker-line up that features established giants, new, smaller entrants and everything in between.

You’ll gain a comprehensive overview of all the latest “need to know” topics in the multi-streamed conference while meeting potential new suppliers and partners in the 25 stand networking exhibition which is packed with some of the world’s foremost technology and solution providers.

If you do telecoms business in East Africa, this is an event you cannot afford to miss www.eaafrica.comworldseries.com

Sergey Nichiporuk of MTS Ukraine joins the group of speakers at EurasiaCom next week

Sergey Nichiporuk, Head of the Strategy Department at MTS Ukraine, will join the panel discussion on broadband strategies in the region at the EurasiaCom conference taking place in Istanbul on 20-21 March. The panel will also include representatives of operators Delta Telecom from Azerbaijan, Makedonski Telekom from Macedonia, and the Turkish ICT regulator.
EurasiaCom is the leading event for the telecoms, media and ICT industry in Turkey, Eastern Europe, Russia and the CIS. The conference will look at the changes in the industry in light of new technologies, new services, innovative business models and the arrival of alternative players. The event is sponsored by HP, Commscope, Comptel, Jinny Software and Comviva.