The Rise of Enterprise 2.0

By Sadiq Malik ( Senior Consultant MEA  Informa )

Enterprise 2.0 is a push toward integrating the social and collaborative tools of Web 2.0 into the office environment. It is also a fundamental change in how businesses operate it cuts the chains that hold back collaboration in a traditional office environment. In an Enterprise 2.0 structure, information flows laterally as well as up and down as structured order creates controlled chaos . Enterprise 2.0 has the potential to provide knowledge and content management in a surprisingly cheap and easy fashion using Web-based tools.

The Enterprise 2.0 Tools

Enterprise 2.0 tools make it easier to share and organize information. Tagging and rating provide a straightforward way to find content and make judgments about what to look at. Blogs and wikis are natural collaboration and communication platforms. Social network tools help staff find the right individual or group of people.

The Wiki

One of the most popular forms of Enterprise 2.0 is the business wiki. The wiki is a tried-and-true collaborative system that is just as good for small tasks, like keeping up with a staff directory or a dictionary of industry jargon, as it is with large tasks, like charting the development process of large products or holding online meetings.

The Blog

While wikis get a lot of press, blogs can also provide a great role in an organization. For example, a human resources blog can be used to host company memos and frequently asked questions can be quickly asked and answered in the blog comments.

Social Networking

Social networking provides a great interface for Enterprise 2.0. As the efforts to implement Enterprise 2.0 into a corporate intranet grow, traditional interfaces for operating the intranet can become unwieldy.

Enterprise 2.0 - Social Bookmarking

The process of tagging and storing documents can become an important aspect of Enterprise 2.0 as the social and collaborative efforts successfully grow the intranet into a primary resource for the company. Social bookmarking allows a person not only to store important documents and pages, but to do so using a very flexible organizational system that will quickly allow them to put a document into multiple categories if needed.

Micro-blogging

While it is easy to think of sites like Twitter as an fun way to waste a little time, they actually provide a great blueprint for greater communication and collaboration. Micro-blogging can be used to let teammates know what you are working on and to quickly communicate and organize a group.

Mashups and Applications

Office 2.0 applications can also provide a pivotal role in Enterprise 2.0. Online word processors allow for easy collaboration on documents, and online presentations can allow for quick access from anywhere in the world without the hassle of installed software and up-to-date data files.

Implementing Enterprise 2.0 

There is no such thing as an one-step-Enterprise-2.0-approach. Even with a cultural change objective and initiative upfront – the critical masses for the adoption have to be build up and carefully evolved to leverage the benefits of the network afterwards. Starting small gives you a chance to see how people react to the tools, how to manage the process and develop a social system for engaging in this “ social inline fun “ fashion Ideally after completion of your internal "Beta" project when employees are comfortable making entries, responding to one another, leaving comments and organizing the content, one can think about how to expand the effort to include other Enterprise 2.0 tools, such as ratings and bookmarks.

The Role of Telcos

Current Telco mainstream offerings to the Enterprise market are based around capacity and hosted services, sometimes complemented by IT outsourcing projects. The challenge for the carriers (and particularly the mobile operators) up to now has been how to offer services that can deepen the relationship with the Enterprise through increasing the scope of their service offering.

Telco 2.0 and Web 2.0 components creates more value to the Enterprise . For example Telco resources can be embedded with the Enterprise applications to identify the real time location and distribution of a service engineer’s customers (using Google Maps and Location feeds) to view the geography of the area covered.

The potential for improved customer retention is one of the main benefits. Increased revenues by offering higher value services by demonstrating to Enterprise customers that combining real time network knowledge and communications with Enterprise application logic can reduce costs, improve effectiveness and efficiency and increase sales.

Enterprise ICT Africa

Enterprise ICT Africa is  co-located with Africa’s largest and most well respected communications conference and exhibition, AfricaCom. Attendees to Enterprise ICT Africa will benefit from valuable, relevant learning amongst a select group of 200 ICT decision-makers, alongside networking with the 7,000+ AfricaCom telcos and 250+ technology exhibitors. For value, no other Enterprise ICT event in Africa compares.

Attendance is free to African enterprise CIOs and operator companies and early booking discounts apply to all others. Your ticket also includes access to the AfricaCom conference morning keynote sessions and 250+ stand exhibition.

http://africa.comworldseries.com/register-for-enterprise-ict-africa/

Interview with Corning - The world's largest supplier of Optical Fibre & Workshop Sponsor of AfricaCom

1) In brief, please describe your organisation and the work it is doing in South Africa.

Corning Incorporated is the world leader in specialty glass and ceramics, the inventor of the first low-loss optical fibre and the world’s largest supplier of optical fibre. Corning optical fibre is the most widely deployed brand of optical fibre in the world, with a tremendous amount of experience working with operators who deploy optical fibre throughout the world. It only makes sense, therefore, that as South Africans go through the Information and Communications (ICT) revolution, including the deployment of fibre optic infrastructure that Corning supports them by supplying high quality fibre and offering free consultations on fibre network design. Corning has supplied most of the fibre that goes into submarine cables coming to South Africa and the sub-region and is working with most operators in the country to ensure that they deploy the most appropriate fibres that enable low overall cost of network ownership. Corning also offers South African operators free training seminars on the fundamentals of optical fibre; to register visit this website: http://www.globalcommhost.com/cof/2012events/

2) How would you sum up the characteristic of the South African telecoms, media and ICT industry this year?

The South African telecom market has remained one of the largest markets in Africa and still growing. Although about 50% of all operational fibre optic cable in Africa is in South Africa, the deployment of terrestrial long haul and metropolitan networks continues unabated. Broadband adoption continues to evolve with entrepreneurs coming up with innovative broadband applications but with a broadband penetration of less than 20% and a target broadband penetration of 100% by 2020, South Africa provides for great opportunities. South Africa   is not only attracting direct foreign investment for the deployment of telecommunication infrastructure but there are huge local investments.

3) What would you say is your organisation’s priority for 2012?

Corning’s priority for 2012 is to strengthen our relationship with operators in South Africa through our free educational seminars and assist them in designing their networks.

4)  Which type of services do you think consumers are going to be calling for in 2013?

More and more consumers will be calling for emerging broadband applications such as video streaming, money transfer, electronic newspapers, and video conferencing. It is incumbent on South African operators to move away from voice as the main source of their revenue and focus instead on these new applications as alternative sources of revenue streams. However, such applications would require high quality and high speed broadband so more focus should be placed on network quality.  We also see a tremendous adaption of broadband by the public service, including the establishment e-tolls and municipality city wide broadband networks.

5) How important do you think cost-efficiency/reduction is for service providers in South Africa this year?

With so much price pressure on many services, cost efficiency becomes imperative. However, cost efficiency does not equate to operators procuring less expensive products that may compromise reliability and functionality. In the case of network infrastructure deployed to support broadband services, a cost efficient network is one whose cost per Mb/s will decline as more and more capacity is utilised. It has become common for some operators in South Africa and Africa to select turn-key solution vendors based on the lowest cost as the most important criteria for their selection. It turns out that networks that are the cheapest to deploy on “Day One”, may turn out to be the most expensive networks to maintain and upgrade over the more than 20 year life of the networks.

6)  What do you think is needed to improve connectivity for the underserved in your market?

Since connectivity to the underserved, usually rural areas, may not make good business sense for individual operators, there has to be a concerted effort between government, operators and infrastructure companies to bring connectivity to these areas. The South African regulator, ICASA, established a regulation for all telecommunication operators to contribute to a Universal Service and Access Fund to support rural connectivity. This could go a long way to improve the status of rural connectivity.  When government departments are planning for rural electrification or developing new roads to rural areas, they have to simultaneously plan to deploy optical fibre. In Southern Africa, , through the Southern Africa Power Pool, it has become mandatory for all new power lines to be equipped with optical ground wire so that any new power lines to rural areas will carry optical fibre that will facilitate connectivity to the underserved areas. Cable can also be installed along new roads, significantly reducing the civil works cost of deploying cable

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

1.       There is now adequate capacity on South African shores but more work is needed to deploy terrestrial fibre networks closer to the consumer to improve the speed and quality of broadband services.

2.       While mobile broadband will be the predominant form of broadband for the majority of South Africans, there are applications for which mobile broadband will never measure up and wire-line broadband is imperative. Therefore, as South African’s deploy next generation mobile broadband networks, fiber to the home networks and more advanced forms of XDSL, such as VDSL, should be deployed in parallel.

3.       Operators should move away from voice as their main source of revenue and embrace emerging applications such as video streaming, video conferencing, security surveillance, etc. as alternative sources of their revenue streams. Operators and entrepreneurs should create new broadband applications to solve South Africa and Africa’s unique challenges. 

8) Which key message do you want to highlight to the audience during your participation at South AfricaCom in Cape Town this September?

Corning has been in the fibre optic business for over 42 years, remaining the industry leader due to its fundamental understanding of optical fiber, high quality products, innovations, and solid business relationships. Corning understands that the highest quality network operators throughout the world are the most successful and believe that South African operators who embrace quality in their network design, deployment, and operations will succeed.

Join Corning Optical Fiber’s free seminar on fiber optics at AfricaCom

Date: Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

As the fundamental passive carrier of all your network data, the optical fibre is one of the most important elements of a telecommunications network. The optical fibre you install today is expected to perform for 25 years or more. Therefore deciding which fibre to use is a highly important decision that determines the future performance of your network.

At the end of this seminar, the attendee will understand essential aspects of optical fibre and its application to telecommunication systems and network Design, be able to specify the most appropriate optical fibre for different telecommunications applications to ensure longevity of network performance, and be aware of the latest innovations in optical fibre technology and associated next generation optical fibers.

Who should attend?

Engineers and managers responsible for network planning and design, fibre optic specifications and cable procurement.

http://africa.comworldseries.com/conference/corning_seminar/ 

How Satellite is Helping Power a Mobile Revolution

The AfricaCom 2012 team are delighted to welcome iDirect as an exhibitor at the event. See below for a guest blog post by Richard Deasington, Director of Vertical Marketing at iDirect.

The mobile industry is booming and one area where growth has been particularly impressive is Africa. And as more users begin to switch from using traditional voice services to using data and Internet services, it doesn’t look like things are going to slow down anytime soon.

According to a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report, “7 out of 10 [mobile phones] are expected to be Internet-enabled by 2014.” This represents a huge opportunity for mobile operators to expand and grow their business, particularly in remote and rural communities where mobile phones are still the primary means of connecting to the Internet.

Of course, extending 3G and 4G services to remote and rural communities is easier said than done. As more users switch over to smart phones, mobile operators will have to process significantly more data. However, with little to no infrastructure in place, it can be difficult to backhaul this data easily and affordably.

That’s where satellite comes in. New developments in IP-based satellite systems have made satellite more powerful, efficient, and easy-to-deploy than ever before, making it the ideal medium to reach the remote and rural sites that are the key areas lacking 3G and 4G coverage. Furthermore, when combined with a new generation of small cell base stations, satellite is also an extremely cost-effective solution.

If you need more proof that satellite has become a key technology for mobile growth, just look around the show floor. Inmarsat, Intelsat, O3B, Thaicom and Avanti are just some of the many satellite operators here to talk about new opportunities for mobile operators. At iDirect, we are working with all of these companies – and many more – to help provide the ground infrastructure that enables the next generation of connectivity services.

Or you could talk to one of the many mobile infrastructure vendors here. At iDirect, we are also working with many of these companies to make sure our satellite solutions are optimally aligned with their technology.

Our work with Ericsson has been very successful in bringing 2G to the market over the past several years. And through our work with Nokia Siemens Networks, we have achieved extraordinary results with 3G network performance and are now testing 4G LTE services. The launch of high-throughput satellite (HTS) technology will play a big role here, as HTS services are expected to bring much greater power and performance at a significantly lower cost.

Likewise, in our work with small cell vendors like Alcatel Lucent, Altobridge and IP Access, we’re seeing a huge opportunity for small cells and satellite to help mobile operators cost effectively connect small towns and villages. The combination of lower cost mobile and satellite equipment, including solar-powered satellite routers that are small and rugged enough to deploy anywhere, with the new bandwidth capabilities of HTS capacity will make deploying mobile services not only easy, but profitable.

And that’s a good thing for everyone – from the mobile operator, to the satellite operator, to the end user. At iDirect, our goal has always been advancing a connected world. If you want to learn more about how we’re achieving that goal in Africa, stop by our booth and speak with a member of our team. 

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

Hot Stories in Emerging Markets

Etisalat joins Pan-Africa mHealth initiative
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/etisalat-joins-pan-africa-mhealth-initiative

40Mbps uncapped DSL guaranteed for SA
http://mybroadband.co.za/news/broadband/59347-40mbps-uncapped-dsl-guaranteed-for-sa.html

African ICT ministers seek scheme funding, mull space agency
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/african-ict-ministers-seek-scheme-funding-mull-space-agency

VMK preps Africa-designed Elikia smartphone with $170 price, fast track for apps. VMK Founder Verone Mankou will be speaking at AfricaCom in November.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/09/vmk-preps-africa-designed-elikia-smartphone-with-170-price/

WACS: business beyond South Africa’s borders
http://businesstech.co.za/news/columns/21088/wacs-business-beyond-south-africas-borders/

Blog Spot
Interview with Rob Sussman, CEO of mobile money brand ZunguZ & speaker at AfricaCom
http://comworldseries.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/interview-with-rob-sussman-joint-ceo.html

Webinar
Infrastructure Sharing
http://www.samenacouncil.org/webinars/#panel10

Picture of the week
Are you ready for the digital revolution?
http://www.wamda.com/application/rapyd/assets/mfm_012/upload/9312_McKinseyinfographic.jpg

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.

Interview with Rob Sussman, Joint CEO, ZunguZ

We are delighted to welcome ZunguZ as participants at AfricaCom 2012.  Their Joint CEO, Rob Sussman, will be participating at the pre-show Mobile Money Lab on Tuesday 13^th November.  Below are some of his thoughts on the opportunities in both the mobile money and wider telecoms markets in Africa.

Rob Sussman, ZunguZ

What is ZunguZ’s position in the market and how do you see it develop in the coming year?

ZunguZ is unique is that it intercepts the Low Banked, under banked and unbanked at the point of purchase, offering them a full suite of banking like services that were previously accessible only to the privileged few.

ZunguZ penetrates on the same markets where user growth and adoption is aligned to the uptake in mobile banking and social internet related services

What changes are you expecting in Africa’s telecoms/media/ICT market?

With the migration to smart phone technology in emerging markets we will see a new segment of consumers and consumer related services meet at new points of engagement

How are consumers’ needs evolving and what needs to be done to address them effectively?

The consumer is more informed and able to research and be influenced by their personal trusted network prior to engaging with a merchant or committing to a purchase thereof

What are the opportunities in the mobile money market in Africa? What new types of services and partnerships are likely to emerge?

There is a big focus on mobile money in emerging markets, ZunguZ focuses on mobilising existing currencies and does not create and does not create a new form of mobile money or voucher.  ZunguZ focuses firmly on leveraging on existing banking relationships, existing banking services, existing mobile networks, and existing social networks to provide an agnostic platform which places people at the centre of existing and new innovative financial services and merchant services. With this we will see new relationships being formed between banks and mobile operators

What does it take to be a successful start-up/entrepreneur in Africa?

The most important thing is to understand the culture of people in the various regions, the technology is the same all over the world.  Also, to address the challenges when one faces when doing business in Africa an entrepreneur must be more innovative, more agile and more dynamic in order to springboard mature markets

What are your expectations for this year’s AfricaCom?

To network with the industry leaders, position our platform with the correct partners and cement new strategic partnerships

Mobile Gaming Bends Norms in the Middle East

Video games are becoming more and more popular these days, especially as enhanced graphics and other simulations have transformed the traditional gamer stereotype of nerds and shut-ins into mainstream Facebook and mobile phone users. Yet while games have begun to resemble interactive movies, the Middle East has been making a name for itself for its rapid advances in the less technically impressive realms of mobile and online gaming; on top of that, it has been doing that with the support of users outside of the traditional market of young male techies.


Angry Birds has, for better or worse, become a critical part of everyday lingo, spilling over into the mainstream from the vocabularies of vidiots and aficionados like Pac Man and Mario before it. Unlike Pac Man and Mario, this popularization is due to the cosmopolitan nature of addicting games, online puzzles, and social networking via games. Their appeal today has extended to demographics that might be hesitant to call themselves gamers, being older and less computer savvy.

In response to this trend, Nazara and other companies have invested heavily in the region, and the rapidly expanding market has encouraged a wide range of companies to develop Arabic language and regionally themed games for users interested in a homegrown feel. (Read: They are tired of killing the Arab and/or Muslim terrorists that are bad guys in practically every first person shooter.) Other companies like Yalla Games Cafe are catering to a wide audience with social and puzzle games that are more adept at rapidly growing, non-traditional markets.

One of the most prominent of these markets are women gamers, and developers are eager to explore this niche, although to date the market has been dominated by male developers in spite of its gender-diverse consumer base. Older women especially have are likely to get involved with gaming these days, it seems, playing anything from games designed specifically for women, like Hawwa Style, or more traditionally popular games like RPG's and shooters.

While Facebook fads and angry birds may come and go, it seems that mobile gaming is here to stay in the Middle East. Recently, Orange Telecom made a deal with Gameloft to develop mobile games on phones as a value-added feature of its services, and The Mobile Show just became the first expo in the Middle East dedicated to mobile phone apps in Dubai. Earlier this year Saudi Arabia hosted an all-female gaming convention for the first time in the Middle East.

It is difficult to say whether the internet and mobile are changing the way people in the Middle East spend their free time, but current trends suggest that young, educated men are not the only ones benefiting from the region's technology boom.

Source: Arabnet

Join our Mobile Gaming panel @ Digital Services Middle East on December 4th 2012

Register to attend today quoting your promotion code “Blog” – FREE for Middle Eastern Operators

http://me.comworldseries.com/register-2/

About Digital Services Middle East: The only event identifying innovative digital services and business models

Digital services Middle East is a new launch event from the Com World Series – organisers of the continent’s leading telecoms, media & ICT conference & exhibition.

This conference-led event, with co-located exhibition, is the premier meeting place for those looking to join the digital services movement in the Middle East. The 2 day programme 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 digital services ecosystem with such quality learning & networking, a one-stop shop for seeing the future of digital services in the Middle East and forming all important business partnerships.

Enterprise connectivity services revenue in Africa will increase at a CAGR of 12% from 2012 to 2017

Operators are investing in the access networks that will make connectivity services more ubiquitous and affordable.


The market for enterprise connectivity services in Africa will grow from USD8.2 billion in 2012 to USD14.6 billion in 2017 at a CAGR of 12% from 2012 to 2017, as enterprises start to use sophisticated applications that have greater capacity requirements and are latency sensitive. Operators are investing in their access networks that will make connectivity services more ubiquitous and affordable.

Spending on connectivity services in Africa will grow as fibre and mobile broadband become more available

Business users in Africa are constrained by a lack of bandwidth in the access network, and face high prices for a limited selection of connectivity services. Operators are just starting to deploy fibre in access networks and many locations continue to rely on expensive satellite connectivity. Operators are investing in HSPA+ and LTE to increase the capacity and capabilities of their mobile networks, which will also help drive growth in demand for connectivity services.

Figure 1: Revenue for enterprise connectivity services, Africa, 2012–2017 [Source: Analysys Mason, 2012]

Businesses in Africa are looking to take advantage of applications that will improve productivity and reduce costs

As elsewhere, businesses in Africa want to run applications that will help them become more productive, as well as reduce their operational costs, such as:

• office applications: including software specific to a particular industry such as reservations systems, and business process tools such as customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems

• voice and messaging communications: including applications such as VoIP and unified communications (UC) systems that enable person-to-person communication

• collaboration applications: software that enables users to share information in real-time, or near real-time

• IT services: applications such as security, antivirus and email in a hosted or managed environment, either on-site or in a data centre access via the 'cloud'.

Access technologies vary in their capabilities and suitability for the applications that businesses need

While some applications require only minimum amounts of bandwidth, most require high capacity, and the most advanced are also sensitive to latency. All these factors influence businesses when deciding which access technology to use. In addition, IT managers also consider the availability, flexibility, reliability and redundancy of the technology.

• Fibre is often the best access technology, because it can be a dedicated connection, and offers higher capacity than other access technologies. However, fibre in access networks is rare in Africa.

• Fixed broadband (for example, xDSL and WiMAX) is more common than fibre in Africa, but is still generally only available in urban centres, and does not offer the capacities of fibre.

• Mobile broadband (CDMA, HSPA/HSPA+, LTE) has broader geographic coverage than both fibre and fixed broadband, and is beginning to catch up with fixed broadband in terms of capacity with the advent of 3G and HSPA.

• Satellite is widely available, and is good for areas where population density is low (that is, much of Africa). The major downsides are that it is expensive, and has high latency, which makes it unsuitable for videoconferencing and other real-time applications.


Source: Analysys Mason, 2012


Register to attend Enterprise ICT Africa - Operators and Enterprise companies with operations in Africa (excluding telecoms companies and African regulators) may attend free of charge.

Please quote your promotion code: "Blog"

http://africa.comworldseries.com/register-for-enterprise-ict-africa/

About Enterprise ICT Africa


Enterprise ICT Africa is co-located with Africa’s largest and most well respected communications conference and exhibition, AfricaCom. Attendees to Enterprise ICT Africa will benefit from valuable, relevant learning amongst a select group of 200 ICT decision-makers, alongside networking with the 7,000+ AfricaCom telcos and 250+ technology exhibitors. For value, no other Enterprise ICT event in Africa compares.