Efficiency and cost to drive IT investments in CEMA — IDC

Manufacturers in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, or the CEMA region, must increase their spending on technology if they expect to support critical business applications and quality improvements in 2011.
This was the predictions of the International Data Corporation, IDC  for the manufacturing sector in 2011. IDC also predicted that IT investments in the CEMA region are expected to increase from US$11.1 billion in 2009 to US$18.3 billion in 2014 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.5%.
For them, Africa is expected to show the steepest average annual growth, followed closely by Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.
Research analyst for IDC Manufacturing Insights CEMA, Craig Simpson said that  "Manufacturers in CEMA will need to adapt quickly to adjust to global competitive pressures, emphasizing quality and value-added activities" .
He noted that "visibility across the entire product life-cycle will be crucial for manufacturers in the region, enabling enhanced decision-making capabilities, promoting greater transparency in supply chains and better responsiveness to demand change."
IDC Manufacturing Insights expects technology to be used by manufacturers to gain greater insight into customer behavior and demands. Technology will also be a key enabler in improving efficiency and productivity of manufacturing operations, as well as integration of supply chains.
However, Simpson added that "in more mature market segments, emerging technologies such as cloud-based applications, tablet PCs, and social media will begin to play a more significant role in making manufacturing enterprises more efficient".
The CEMA Manufacturing top 10 Predictions, 2011 discusses the top 10 predictions for manufacturers in the CEMA region in 2011 and are the trends which IDC Manufacturing Insights believes will have the biggest commercial impact on the CEMA manufacturing activities.

Broadband makes the difference, as the world reads aloud

2 Ghanaian students reading online real time with their peers abroad..... What a great experience broadband has enabled?

www.google.com, www.facebook.com


By Prince Osuagwu

As the world marked the second annual World Read Aloud Day, last week, Ericsson in conjunction with Airtel Ghana, exposed the power of broadband, enabling online, real time connection of students from three Ghanaian schools, to their counterparts in the USA, in a real life interactive reading exercise.
The three schools are Opoku Ware in Kumasi, Osu Home Junior High School and Boundary Road Cluster Junior High Schools in Accra, connected to Sidwell Friends School and Arts & Technology Academy (ATA) both in Washington D.C., Bronxville Public Schools in New York, and to New Village Academy, in California, USA.
The World Read Aloud Day is a day set aside to celebrate the power of words and stories and take action for global literacy. It was organized by a nonprofit organization, Litworld , headed by renowned literacy educator and advocate Pam Allyn.
The Read Aloud Day reached 35 countries and 40,000 participants in 2010 and this year’s celebration marks the expansion of the existing partnership between Ericsson and Airtel Ghana to Accra, with MCI and the City of Kumasi.
In 2010, Ericsson and Airtel Ghana had enabled Internet broadband connectivity to 18 junior and senior high schools in these areas as part of a MCI project to train teachers in the uses of technology and the Internet, using same for teaching the students science, math and IT.
During a 3-way video conversation, a collective story written by Sidwell Friends students and Opoku Ware students was shared alongside original stories from ATA student teams. Thereafter, they sang and danced and the students were then encouraged to discuss and ask each other questions. The questions centred on the importance of reading, how they liked to read aloud to their friends or what languages they speak and so on. The Washington students were very impressed at the number of languages spoken by the young Kumasi students.
Susan Blaustein, MCI Co-Director, who watched the live exchange from ATA, says: “the students were so excited to meet and speak with their peers in Ghana. They are already making plans for the next intercontinental Read Aloud Skype date, to be accompanied, by showing and teaching each other a local song and dance.
At Osu Home Junior High in Accra, and Bronxville Public Schools in New York, the Mayor of Accra and the Mayor of Bronxville read to children who then read to each other and enjoyed a cultural exchange.
For Alan Triggs, head of Ericsson Ghana, “it was a fantastic journey of discovery for the children, during which they made new friends of different cultures and explored life as children on another continent. For Ericsson this is part of our broader commitment to Connect to Learn, a global educational initiative promoting access to secondary education. The first schools connected are in Ghana, and it quickly becomes obvious to see what broadband and Internet can do for education in Africa.”

Zen Mobile phones hit Nigerian market

L-R Managing Director/C.E.O, BD Consult,Mr. Tola Bademosi,General
Manager ,Zen Africa ,Mr Girish Sharma and Mr.Lanre Adisa,Managing Director
NOAH'S ARK  displaying the Zen mobile brands at the launch in Lagos

 By Prince Osuagwu

 A seeming revolution happened in the Nigerian Mobile phone market  yesterday when an entirely new brand, at least in the Nigerian market, Zen Mobile, hit the high flying Nigerian mobile phone market with 6 new brand of phones, signaling that it was ready to fight for position with well known brands like Nokia, Sonny Ericsson, LG, Samsung among others.

The company said the phones have Quality, Trendy and are affordable.

General Manager, Zen Africa, Mr. Girish Sharma explained that Zen Mobile is in Nigeria to offer Nigerians best quality mobile phones at affordable prices.

According tohim, in the last one decade since the introduction of GSM in Nigeria ,Nigerians have been made to pay more for less as the cost of mobile phones are relatively too high and this is what Zen Mobile has come to address.

“Zen Mobile is here to offer Nigerians a double-edge advantage of quality Phones made with best technology which is comparable to any other leading brands in the world at unbelievably affordable prices” 

Review of the phones:

The 6 Zen Mobile phones series launched include the X 381 series basic with Dual SIM, Dual Standby with 1.5’’ TFT LCD screen, Micro SD slot up to 2 G.B,500 phonebook memory, Music/ Video player, FM Radio, Flight Mode, Touch light, 3.5mm Jack and GPRS.

The X410 series comes with a 30 day battery backup with key features like Dual SIM, Dual Standby with 1.8’’ TFT LCD screen, Micro SD slot up to 4 G.B,500 phonebook memory ,camera/video, Bluetooth , Music/ Video player, Wireless FM Radio, Flight Mode, Touch light, 3.5mm Jack.

The X430  basic with camera with key features like Dual SIM, Dual Standby with 1.8’’ TFT LCD screen, Micro SD slot up to 4 G.B,500 phonebook memory ,camera/video, Bluetooth , Music/ Video player, Wireless FM Radio, Flight Mode, Touch light, 3.5mm Jack and GPRS.

The M20 Multimedia with key features like Dual SIM, Dual Standby with 2.2’’ QVGA LCD screen, Micro SD slot up to 4 G.B, 1000 phonebook memory , 1.3 MP camera/video, Bluetooth , GPRS, WAP enable, Music/ Video player, Wireless FM Radio, Flight Mode, Touch light, 3.5mm Jack and Theft Tracker.

The Z66 Qwerty with key features like Dual SIM, Dual Standby with 2.2’’ TFT LCD screen, Qwerty keypad, Micro SD slot up to 4 G.B, 500 phonebook memory, camera/video, Bluetooth , GPRS, WAP enable, Music/ Video player, FM Radio, Flight Mode and 3.5mm Jack.

Z82 Qwerty with TV with key features like Dual SIM, Dual Standby with 2.4’’ QVGA LCD screen, Qwerty keypad, multi colour jog ball, Micro SD slot up to 4 G.B, 1000 phonebook memory, 2.0 MP camera/video, Bluetooth, GPRS, WAP enable, JAVA, Music/ Video player, FM Radio, Flight Mode, motion sensor, 3.5mm Jack Analog TV, Theft Tracker, Face book, Twitter, Nimbus, Messenger, Caller picture and Azaan Alarm.

Phone unique advantages:

Part of the unique advantages of the phones, according to Sharma, included that all the 6 series  offer dual SIM facility, 15 month warranty as well as unparallel battery span with the X410 series having a 30 days battery backup.

 Zen Mobile already boasts of 10 Services centres fully stocked with spare parts and manned by qualified and well trained technicians spread across the country for a start with a plan to have more. 

Zen Mobile is a member of the Tolaram group with its root in Singapore and in operation for the last 6 decades with an estimated  global revenue of US $ 920 million as at 2010.

The group has operational presence in 6 countries across 3 continents with over 5,000 human capital from 12 nationalities.

Glo slashes tariff with ‘No conditions’

Globacom's Chief Operating Officer, Mohamed Jameel, Globacom's Executive Director, Human Resources, Adewale Sangowawa, and Glo ambassador and Nollywood actress Monalisa Chinda at the launch in Lagos.

By Prince Osuagwu

Basking from the euphoria of over taking Airtel Nigeria in subscriber base according to NCC latest statistics, Second National Operator Globacom at the weekend gave its subscribers the opportunity of paying only 25 kobo per second for calls made to any network in Nigeria.
The unique selling point of this new introduction is that it is without any rental payments, hidden charges, or conditions.
Globacom said it made the  25 kobo per second charge a flat rate which applies for all local calls irrespective of which network is being called or time of day or which part of the country the call is originating from.
The new package also allows subscribers to call one Special Number at only 2 kobo per second. Interestingly, no daily or monthly rental is charged to enjoy the very cheap rate. The subscriber, however, has an option of registering 5 Glo numbers which he can call at 18 kobo per second. Again, registration is free and there is no rental charge.
In addition, Glo is also offering up to 20% bonus on recharges made by subscribers. N500 recharge attracts a 10% bonus credit, while N1000 recharge will give the customer 15% bonus air time. On the other hand, N5,000 recharge gives a 20% bonus credit to the customer.
Glo is also offering free night calls from 12 midnight to 5 a.m. Subscribers are expected to have used up to N200 air time in the previous week to qualify to make free night calls for the next 7 days.
Group Chief Operating Officer of Globacom, Mohamed Jameel, announced the offers at a press conference, Thursday in Lagos. He said the new tariff package was designed to offer subscribers real value for their money by ensuring that what they see is what they get, without any hidden charges or conditions that are often the subject of fine print and thereby positioning Glo as best value provider in the market.
According to him, “we are offering a new tariff plan that gives the customer maximum value. You are charged 25 kobo right from the first second to the last second. Competing tariffs either charge monthly daily rentals or charge higher for the first 60 seconds and drop the rates for subsequent seconds. When you do the calculations properly and add the rental payment or consider the charge for the first 60 seconds, you will realize such tariffs are indeed not as attractive as they are made to look.
“But with the new Glo offer, the subscriber gets a truthful and easy-to-understand payment plan.  For instance, while the Glo subscriber pays N15 for first minute of call made within and outside the network, other networks charge between N24 and N30 for calls within the network and between N30 and N36 for calls going outside the network,” Jameel noted.

At MTN Nigeria, Farroukh out, Goschen in... as coy pumps in additional $1b to boost operations

Goschen in...

Farroukh out... I am going higher.. he seems to be saying!

By Prince Osuagwu

MTN Nigeria yesterday, announced an investment potfolio of about $1 billion to shore-up its operations in the country and maintain its market leadership. This is even as the company’s parent body, MTN Group has appointed the CEO of MTN Ghana, Brett Goschen to replace Ahmed Faroukh who is now the Vice President in charge of the West and Central Africa (WECA) region.
Faroukh was CEO of MTN Nigeria for almost five years and recently acting VP for the WECA region, which includes Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Congo Brazaville, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Liberia and Benin.
Dropping the hint yesterday, Corporate Services Executive of MTN Nigeria, Mr Wale Goodluck said that MTN considered Nigeria a very important market to the existence of the company and would do everything possible to inject funds that can stabilize operations here.
According to him, the company do not only see the Nigerian market as a prime market to its economy but also value the Nigerian professionals working in the company and therefore from time to time, elevate them to decision making executive positions.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Mike Ikpoki who was MTN Nigeria’s Sales and Distribution Executive, now replaces Goschen, as the CEO of MTN Ghana. Ikpoki joined MTN Nigeria as Regulatory Advisor in 2001 and was promoted to General Manager: Regulatory Affairs in 2004.
According to information from MTN, Goschen, a chartered accountant, has provided strategic, operating and financial leadership to MTN’s large operations in West Africa in his capacity as Chief Financial Officer of MTN Nigeria from 2002 to 2006 before he was appointed MTN Ghana CEO.
Goodluck revealed that the $1 billion investment MTN planned for Nigeria would be spread across all operations of MTN in the region including strenghtening its network, data services, optimisation and making sure that radiowaves of its base stations are always on the right position to provide quality services for its teeming subscribers.
On the changes as announced by MTN Group, the  President and CEO Mr Phuthuma Nhleko congratulated the executives on their appointments adding that “Faroukh’s contribution to MTN Nigeria as well as to the WECA region has been most valued and appreciated. Goschen’s wide experience and in-depth knowledge of MTN Group and MTN Nigeria makes him aptly equipped to lead MTN Nigeria.
“Through his exposure to various facets of the business, Ikpoki has gained extensive experience in public policy, stakeholder engagement, as well as exposure to sales and distribution and commercial operations at a senior level

NCC holds 61st consumer parliament

The NCC monumental edifice in Abuja  ..... Can the telecoms growth ever get to this height?

By Prince Osuagwu

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, holds its 61^st Edition of Telecom Consumer Parliament tommorow, Thursday 10th of March 2011 at the Lagos Country Club, No 2 Joel Ogunnaike Street, Off Mobolaji Bank Anthony way Ikeja, Lagos, by 1.30 pm.

According to the commission, the main discussion at the parliament would be: Sim Registration, why you should register and the mileage covered so far.

I think it would be interesting to be there and see what they have to say.

I will be there, you can also elect to be there too. It wouldn't be a bad idea, I guess! 

 

Motorola warns customers, beware! fake motorola products are around the corner

Before you are cheated:    these are original Motorola two-way radios

By Prince Osuagwu

Most recently, counterfeiting has become so pervasive in Nigeria that not only consumer products, such as household items, mobile phones and automobile spare parts are involved, but professional telecommunication devices,such as two-way radios are becoming affected too. 

Mobile Equipment manufacturers, Motorola, has alarmed its teeming customers that several counterfeit Motorola products have recently hit the market, all of which lack the quality and ruggedness of the original, leaving users unable to rely on their functionality.

Regional Sales Manager, Motorola Solutions, Africa, Nicolas Coussinou who made this known, explained that “Nigeria is a priority for Motorola in the African market and so we want users of 2-way radios who rely on Motorola’s product integrity to know that they can only buy genuine Motorola products from our official local distributors and resellers, such as Danimex Nigeria and Briscoe Technologies. Our professional partners are also the only ones to answer any requests on Motorola products and are also the only ones qualified to provide technical support. They will also be able to advise on the right products and the right price,” he added. 

For him,“buying original Motorola products is the only way users can be assured of the product’s integrity, reliability and performance in even the most extreme circumstances.”

Wireless technology is revolutionizing the ways first responders and others who work under difficult circumstances conduct their jobs, empowering them with the best information when and where it matters most to best serve and protect their communities and Motorola says that its solutions  provides mission-critical solutions ranging from two way radio communications products and systems to an array of mobile computing devices.

Coussinou says that Motorola products go through rigorous international testing in severe and extreme environments, and adhere to international military standards even as local accredited resellers have received wide-ranging technical training and provide the highest standard of pre- and after sales support. 

I think that Motorolla is saying that to before warned is to before armed.