BE.Telecoms

ACHIEVING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE ONLINE

ISSUE 4 | www.bus-ex.com

INCLUDING

BICOm systems: MTN SA: Airties:

Cisco:

starts here The name Cisco has been associated with innovation since its foundation

Leading technology that delivers the best wireless in-house experience AirTies’ high-end technology provides for the most intensive wifi usage, even in the most difficult of environments.

Its patented technology provides 100% coverage, even in areas experiencing crowded wifi signals or with thick wall configurations.

From self-installation onwards AirTies provides a seamless user experience, one which addresses the challenge of streaming high definition video on all screens throughout

Air 4400

the home, without a glitch.

Air 4742

www.airties.com

business excellence

Business John O’Hanlon Editor johanlon@bus-ex.com Will Daynes Editor wdaynes@bus-ex.com Matt Johnson Art Director mjohnson@bus-ex.com Louise Culling Production Designer lculling@bus-ex.com Richard Turner Director of Sales rturner@bus-ex.com Vince Kielty Director of Editorial Research vkielty@bus-ex.com

Business Excellence brings you content from leading business influencers and strategic thinkers providing inspiration and guidance to help you and your business grow.

We showcase some of the best examples of successful organisations from around the world giving you a unique insight into how they operate.

HINT: For the best experience, click the fullscreen icon

Sharon Rooke Administration & Operations srooke@bus-ex.com Matt Day Head of Technology mday@bus-ex.com Andy Turner Chief Executive aturner@bus-ex.com

Contributors Bicom Business Software Developers Simon Hopkins Co-founder of iBE.net Michelle Drolet Founder of Towerwall Juan-Jose Juan Global Leader of Enterprise Innovation, Vodafone

Subscriptions & Enquires info@bus-ex.com

Jacquard House, Queen Street, Norwich, NR2 4SX. England

Infinity Business Media Ltd

The content of this magazine is copyright of Infinity Business Media Ltd. Redistribution or reproduction of any content is prohibited. Š Copyright 2013 Infinity Business Media Ltd.

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features

8

8 Telcoms

flexible telecom

A publishing company with telecom challenges of its own finds the ideal solution in a flexible, feature-rich platform from Bicom Systems.

16

16 strategy

Devise a Mobile Strategy or Perish

Why the growth of smartphones and mobile devices shouldn’t be ignored by businesses.

22 operations

A brave new world of work

22 4 | BE Telecoms

Companies face losing customers and revenue unless they equip changing workforces with the information sharing tools they need.

contents

28 top ten

Top ten Things To Know About Mobile Security

28

A few common-sense ways to foil persistent cyber criminals and protect data in transit.

32 operations

Why reflection is key to innovation in the enterprise

Why businesses that are able to understand their past, are best placed for the future.

32

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business showcases

36 Europe: 36 Cisco Malta

Tomorrow starts here

The name Cisco has been associated with innovation since its foundation in 1984: its Malta operations are an epitome of its global significance as the industry enters its next evolutionary phase.

48

48 AirTies Turkey

Connecting the dots

58

AirTies Turkey CEO, Philippe Alcaras discusses how the company’s success in Turkey can act as a springboard to international expansion.

58 Azercell

The future is data

Among the forces that bind the people of Azerbaijan together is its mobile communications network: we talk to Azercell’s recently appointed CEO about the technical and social aspirations of the company.

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contents

66

Africa: 66 MTN

Where others fear to tread

MTN specialises in going where it is most needed, it is a strategy that is paying off in terms of growth, most of it driven by innovation.

74 Airtel Madagascar

Making waves in Madagascar

Airtel Madagascar’s ability to bring together the economic and social strands that unite the people is making a big difference.

Asia & Pacific: 86 NTT Communications

Delivering seamless service

74

NTT Communications (Thailand) President, Tsuyoshi Kawashima, discusses how the internet and other telecoms services are becoming ever more critical to people’s lives.

98 Tridum e-Security LLC Safe and secure

Tridum e-Security is one of Mongolia’s leading providers of security and infrastructure services and solutions.

100 Australian Satellite Communications (ASC) Keeping things connected

98

The qualities that have brought ASC such success over the years and how its acquisition by SpeedCast will take the business to the next level.

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Telecoms

Flexible

TELECOM A publishing company with telecom challenges of its own finds the ideal solution in a flexible, feature-rich platform from Bicom Systems Laura Espinosa Edited by Will Daynes

Words by

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Telecoms

M

oving one’s home can be, I’m sure many will agree, a challenging, stressful experience at the best of times. The same holds true for relocating a business, something the Business Excellence team have experienced firsthand recently. As anyone in the publishing business will attest to, there is a lot more to a company like ours than simply a few individuals who produce the features you see before you. Indeed the reality is that a vast amount of infrastructure contributes towards the day-to-day running of our business, the most important of all revolving around communications. Prior to our move we had long been users of a particular telecoms service provider, however in preparation for our relocation the opportunity was taken to look into possible alternative solutions that could support our operations as we entered a new era in our own development.

Until recently, we had been using a Hosted Service Provider. We looked into various alternatives from other hosted platforms (some were actually using the Bicom Systems PBXware Cloud Edition for Service Providers as it turns out). We began to explore on-premise hardware options as it appealed to have the flexibility of using different service providers for call traffic. PBXware was billed as a software tool possessing more feature-functionality than perhaps any other product of its kind.

We are very happy to say it lives up to its billing in every way.

The Move to PBXware Given our new found familiarity with PBXware, we asked Bicom Systems

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for an install and must thank them for extending themselves in every manner.

The download burned and installed smoothly. The set-up wizard took thirtyminutes. That may seem long but it was comprehensive and efficient in setting up the Communications platform to a point of basic working. Anyone with any experience with Linux could successfully install and start using PBXware.

The best part was that most of our staff couldn’t even tell the system had changed.

While they may have noticed faster connections or clearer calls, there was no training or learning curve involved.

We did not lose any days or even hours acquainting ourselves and ‘figuring out’ the new system. Desk phones were up and running quickly so calls were not lost.

We were very pleased with the smooth transition process and impressed with the short amount of time it took.

More Feature-Functionality Than Ever Before From the day we installed PBXware we began noticing and appreciating its features and tools. Going into each of those useful features would fill far too many pages, but we will highlight our two favorites here. PBXware’s Least-Cost Routing is truly phenomenal. This is something we do use frequently with calls to obscure locations. We have enjoyed a significant drop in expenditures on those calls. While most companies boast low connection costs and rates, it is not often that those claims hold true. On the contrary with PBXware, the rates are impressively low. Being able to use Bicom Systems’ SIP Trunks has been great.

Another favorite feature is the extreme flexibility of this platform. Bicom Systems is willing to customize and create a bestfit solution for the price of off-the-shelf.

The fact that we can now control this customized platform on our own is truly amazing. That kind of flexibility makes PBXware stand out from the competition.

“Bicom Systems is willing to customize and create a best-fit solution for the price of off-the-shelf �

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We cannot imagine being restricted by another platform ever again.

While we have not yet fully taken advantage of the desktop application and softphone gloCOM, it does not take long to realize what a powerful and indispensable tool it is. Some of our employees have paired gloCOM with their desktop phones and are now able to control their phones from their desktop and enjoy features like being able to copy and paste a phone number from an excel sheet into gloCOM. We look forward to continuing to explore gloCOM and its enhancements to the desktop phone as well as its softphone features.

Telecoms

There are many other features we could discuss: conferencing, call recording and monitoring, enhanced ACD queues, routing, FoIP, instant messaging, LCR, and PSTN/VoIP trunks, to name a few. The “Advanced” section of each feature topic seems to deal with every scenario imaginable. Of course ‘every’ would be a little too far-fetched, but reading the sales literature they do have an answer to any and every missing feature!

Aside from the obvious benefits of these features and capabilities, we have noticed subtle changes in the office environment: more time to spend on customers or sales, better communication with our end users, even less stress in the workplace. PBXware and gloCOM, with their efficiency and ease-of-use, deserve some of the credit.

We are looking forward to growing and evolving with PBXware and Bicom Systems at our side and hope service providers around the world would do well to consider providing their own customers with such a value add.

More on Bicom Systems With the migration of our communications infrastructure complete and our expectations of Bicom Systems more than fulfilled it seems only fitting to take a closer look at how this particular business got to where it is today.

“About five years ago we asked ourselves a very important question; do we specialize in one part of the communications systems business or do we cover the whole breadth? We chose the harder, slower option of covering

gloCOM interface Desktop and mobile

Web User Self Care This features management and administration of: Enhanced Services and CDR (Call Details Records)

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the whole range of products,” explains the man responsible for Bicom Systems’ worldwide sales, Stephen Wingfield.

“We did this for several reasons,” Wingfield continues. “Most of our core was the same technology and the investment is there to be reused, what you learn from different onsite installs can be fed into the Hosted Edition and likewise. However, the single greatest driving factor is our belief that each reseller relationship is our most valuable asset and that in communications, you simply do not know what your next sale wants.”

Available in Business, Call Center, and Multi-Tenant editions, PBXware has been deployed to thousands of organizations from small businesses to non-profit organizations to governments to enterprises and service providers.

Increasingly, service providers are incumbents as well as challengers as Bicom Systems SWITCHware supports the growing number of large selfhealing clusters.

“We work very hard with resellers

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“With PBXware if we don’t have it, we will build it to your exact need” at pre-sales,” Wingfield states, “often providing the quotes and the materials at source so they can be adapted to local language & conditions. Often though, what wins the bid is to provide a custom solution for the cost of off-the-shelf. The argument can be devastating when up against traditional vendors. Why pay large amounts and possibly still not have exactly what you need. With PBXware if we don’t have it, we will build it to your exact need.”

This sounds tall at first but one of the things that we appreciated most about PBXware is its Open Source Flexibility and the way that flexibility is in the DNA, not just of the product, but the company. Built on Asterisk, PBXware was the world’s first Professional Turnkey Communications System to use open source. “A few times we considered whether to open up and create ‘another’ Open Source Project. However we never did. We stuck with the notions of turnkey and the commercial guarantee to work.

It’s paid off well. Others came and went, we’re still investing,” Wingfield adds.

That turnkey principal has been taken

by Bicom Systems in two directions. One is for the service provider. With their TELCOware product, a provisioning system allows the delivery of a Turnkey Phone Company.

The other direction of the turnkey principle is in Unified Communications.

Telecoms

gloCOM is the desktop application that brings together online chat, video, presence, parking, faxing and more. “gloCOM is a very major play for us,” Wingfield elaborates. “For service providers offering the hosted model it deals with their two biggest issues, stickiness & churn!”

As before what seemed like an almost extravagant claim, was justified with what was clearly a very deep knowledge and far-sighted approach by the company. Where many service providers constantly have to lower their bundle costs just to keep customers, Bicom Systems sees a very genuine alternative business model.

In the near future gloCOM will be going mobile. Not as just another SIP client that scarcely works but to treat smartphones as an equal part of the switch. Whether you are at your desk or out and about you can be seen and you can see your colleagues and interact with the same efficiency. For the service provider this means an integrated offer to customers, not just of ‘the mobile

“Our individual journey with PBXware and Bicom Systems’ support team has been exceptional” transport’, but the whole solution. More value, but significantly, a customer cannot just disassemble all of their IVRs, queues, desktop and mobile applications because a competitor is offering half a cent less to call grandmother on the weekend. The service providers that take this space first will be in a far less pregnable position going forward.

Our individual journey with PBXware and Bicom Systems’ support team has been exceptional, with a painless migration of our entire infrastructure and great support from the Bicom team throughout the process.

Over the coming months we will revisit this subject and look at how Bicom Systems is helping others, particularly service providers like our readership.

About Bicom Systems Since 2003 Bicom Systems has been researching and integrating innovative Open Source Telephony Projects to commercialize by unifying with its suite of Telecoms Management Softwares. In September 2004 Bicom Systems launched its PBXware software and became the first company to deliver an Open Standards Turnkey Telephony System. The concept of “Professional Open Standards Telephony” was born. By unifying the best of open standards telephony and its own proprietary software Bicom Systems provides SMBs, Enterprises and Governments worldwide with turnkey solutions that take account of clients’ exact needs within a very cost-effective framework. This mix takes the best of royalty-free softwares, vibrant open source communities, available custom development backed up by accountable, professional support services brought together with commercially coded Management Tools. Warranted and supported - a safe choice for all organisations. www.bicomsystems.com

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Strategy

Devise a mobile strategy or perish Why the growth of smartphones and mobile devices shouldn’t be ignored by businesses Words by

Simon Hopkins

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T

here are over 1 billion smartphones in use worldwide today. These handheld computers have a myriad of potential uses. Beyond apps, we use them to browse the web, take photos, listen to music, watch movies, and even buy goods and services. One in 10 transactions at Starbucks now uses the Starbucks mobile app. According to ComScore, 4 out of 5 smartphone owners in the U.S. shop online via their mobile browser or a retail app.

Any business that doesn’t take note of this trend and plan accordingly is going to be at a major disadvantage. Retailers, in particular, can drive engagement and increase sales with an optimized mobile website, or, even better, a dedicated mobile app. Ad campaigns on mobile devices can take advantage of locationbased marketing and add value to traditional adverts. Shoppers love to use apps in store for everything from price comparisons to in-store maps.

Business and the BYOD trend All that potential isn’t confined to retail. If you stop to consider the “bring your own device” trend, you’ll see that the enterprise is embracing mobile technology. The advantages of allowing employees to bring their own mobile devices to work are too great to ignore. Productivity

gains, greater flexibility and mobility, and big cost savings can be had with the right mobile strategy.

Mobile device management tools and security standards are improving all the time. Companies can exert greater control over the apps that are made available to their employees through enterprise app stores. This space is seeing rapid growth across all business sectors and the benefits are not industry specific – any business can enjoy them.

Assess your potential gains Every business is different, so it’s important to analyze the potential benefits of mobile technology for your company.

For sales people, a smartphone equipped with the right apps can be a pipeline to the head office. Appointment details can be updated in real-time, orders can be input on the spot, and time, billing and expenses can be accurately tracked. Stock and order management in a warehouse becomes a breeze, delivery drivers can be tracked, and even managers can be freed from their desks because their smartphones make them reachable at all times.

The old dream of the paperless office is within grasp if you enable data entry through smartphones and keep files in the cloud. Your systems and data can be accessible from any location. You can also track activity more accurately with built-in

“The old dream of the paperless office is within grasp if you enable data entry through smartphones and keep files in the cloud” 18 |

BE Telecoms

Strategy

“The adoption of smartphones is also gaining ground in the enterprise at a rapid pace and it’s not confined to big business. Small businesses can add a lot of value and improve efficiency with the right mobile strategy too” GPS and a host of onboard sensors in most modern smartphones paving the way for apps that hook into the information you need and record it in real-time.

Engage your customers Engagement levels through mobile, whether its social media interaction, advertising campaigns, or dedicated apps that add value to a brand experience, are higher than traditional approaches. An app allows you to record data about your customers, provide discounts that reward loyalty, and push new products and services. Provided you bear the golden rule of content marketing in mind – that you are offering something of value to the customer – then you will reap the benefits.

Many brands are seeing advantages in developing tools and even games to serve as delivery vehicles for advertising and to encourage a general boost in brand awareness, which translates to increased business down the line.

It’s happening with or without you Whether you jump onboard or not, the mobile revolution is here to stay. Consumer trust in mobile payments is growing all the time. An IDC report at the end of last year suggested that “worldwide purchase volume over mobile devices will exceed $1 trillion” by 2017. What business doesn’t want a slice of that?

The adoption of smartphones is also gaining ground in the enterprise at a rapid pace and it’s not confined to big business. Small businesses can add a lot of value and improve efficiency with the right mobile strategy too. Gartner analysts believe “70 percent of mobile professionals will conduct their work on personal smart devices by 2018.”

Before you dismiss the mobile revolution and decide it doesn’t apply to you, ask yourself what it could do for your business. Can you really afford to ignore it?

About the author Simon Hopkins is co-founder of iBE.net, a developer of cloud and mobile-based business management software. He began his career at Andersen Consulting in 1989 and was most recently Chairman and CEO of ROC Americas Inc., a global IT consultancy. Before that he was COO for Axon Solutions and CFO of Feanix Corporation. He has successfully led companies to IPO or acquisition and earned a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College, London. www.ibe.net

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Operations

A brave new

world of work

Companies face losing customers and revenue unless they equip changing workforces with the information sharing tools they need to take them out of the digital dark ages Words by

John O’Hanlon

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Operations

I

sector in particular seems to have n a very short space of time – less spent millions on IT systems and then than a decade really – technology millions more on setting up firewalls has changed the way people live their lives. It has also changed and restrictions to access that limit their the way they work. It was in 2008 that data geographically and departmentally Kevin Roberts, the worldwide CEO of within the organisation. The fact is that Saatchi & Saatchi, told me how his the real excitement of the digital age iPhone freed him from the constraints has been dampened by the entrenched of geography, enabling him to run the conservatism of big businesses – tankers business as effectively from his home in that are turning frustratingly slowly.

New Zealand as from his office in New The problem is not just that workers York or Lancashire, where he happened to are not allowed to use personal devices be at the time. Distinctions between work for work; managers think their job is and leisure time had all but disappeared to manage, and that to manage is to from him – the technology control. Despite all the was beginning to enable a talk of empowerment different approach to work people management “It is as if we and to the very structure is seen as directing of the organisation. the behaviour of were fish, which That was five years employees, not freeing after aeons ago, since when platforms them up to pursue the for accessing information ultimate goals of the suddenly became have progressed beyond business. To do that aware of water!” what was imaginable even would mean allowing then. In another five years access to information the capability and reach of – allowing them to knowledge storage and capture systems become iWorkers, a word which (no brand will undoubtedly progress even faster. connotations here) could be defined as The futurologist James Gleick last month intelligent workers, intuitive workers, came up as he can be relied on to do, inspired workers: reliable and skilled with an elegant insight when he said: “It employees who have 24/7 access to all is as if we were fish, which after aeons the necessary information to meet the suddenly became aware of water!” Just needs of the business and its clients. imagine what will be available to us by According to new research 2018 – and imagine is all we can do. commissioned by Ricoh Europe only Roberts and Gleick are far from being four percent of business leaders would the only people who have been excited currently describe the majority of their by the possibilities linking technology staff as iWorkers. This is based on and life, of which business is just a responses from 735 senior business and part. But it seems to have been a hard IT decision makers across eight vertical sell at the corporate level. The public sectors, education, legal, utilities/

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energy, healthcare, public sector, retail, manufacturing and financial services sectors in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, the Nordics (Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark), Switzerland and Russia.

Things can’t stay that way. Ineffective information sharing is having an enormous impact on the effectiveness of enterprises with lost revenues, lost customers and a lack of customer insight, in that order, identified as attributable to information bottlenecks.

The people questioned predict significant change over the next five years, with 37 percent believing that by 2018 the majority of their workforce will be iWorkers.

The study also shows there are challenges to overcome prior to increasing

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“The population of iWorkers is forecast to rise significantly: the question is, are businesses ready?” the presence of the iWorker in European businesses. While almost three quarters are investing in new technologies to improve employee productivity inside and outside of the office, the majority highlight the need to review existing processes so that employees can access business critical information more easily.

Over 70 percent believe the inability to access documents from a mobile device is holding their business back, while twothirds say that unsuitable search functions are preventing employees from finding the information they need to help the business move forward. In addition 62 percent say that disjointed information silos are hindering the sharing of information.

David Mills, COO at Ricoh Europe says: “The population of iWorkers is forecast to rise significantly: the question is, are businesses ready? Business leaders are more aware than ever before of the need to further optimise the way they use technology and eliminate the information silos occurring across the business. There is an urgency to review and change traditional ways of working and keep up with technology-led change, which will continue to bring new challenges.”

Ricoh is a good example of a company that has reinvented itself to survive. Known as a supplier of equipment like copiers and fax machines – not so long ago key

Operations

vehicles for information sharing – it had to transition from its old manufacturing mindset and become a service company.

David Mills modestly describes himself as a born again photocopier salesman but he is in reality as much a futurist as James Gleick. “The next five years are as much an opportunity for Ricoh as for our clients – we are in the fortunate position of having a soft landing ahead of us.” By this he means that the company is still actually growing on the hardware side though that may not be the case by 2018.

As long ago as the 1980s Ricoh was confident that the future of the workplace was digital and set about re-engineering itself to focus on the technology that would support this vision, such as OCR, introduced in 1985. Now the company’s technology and consultancy is already helping many businesses across the globe to receive, store, search, index, digitise and extract monetary value from critical information, unlocking the power of ‘Big Data’ by making it easier to manage and understand.

It is this topic and the issues surrounding it that formed the recent research report examining the next important questions in the ‘Big Data’ challenge for European businesses. As Mills puts it: “Now is the time for organisations across Europe to optimise critical business and document processes to prepare more effectively for the future. With greater innovations and technology led-change on the way, the establishment of the iWorker as a more informed workforce is essential to realising business growth, improved business agility, efficiency, productivity and responsiveness to client needs.”

What this research confirms is that the

“The establishment of the iWorker as a more informed workforce is essential to realising business growth” majority of businesses are still in the digital dark ages. They are in no state to drive digital transformation. It’s certain that a lot more technology-led change is on the way.

Businesses will need to be able to adapt quickly to new client demands, economic conditions and to maintain a competitive advantage. To meet the challenges posed by this change, IT management should no longer be sidelined as a supporting role: instead CIOs should be given their head to influence business models, client interaction and employee productivity.

This should start with business critical processes - the number one ranked activity to impact business growth, says David Mills. “CIOs can combine technology expertise with commercial acumen to review, and change the organisation’s traditional ways of working. In turn they will gain much more than cost savings. The business will benefit from being able to move forward with a more productive and agile working model where employee knowledge sharing is enhanced and they are more responsive to client needs. In the longer term, with these strong foundations in place, the CIO can focus on the core business areas and successfully lead the organisation into a brighter digital future.” The likes of Kevin Roberts may see a bit further than this, but it would be a start.

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top ten

Things To Know About Mobile Security A few common-sense ways to foil persistent cyber criminals and protect data in transit Words by: Michelle Drolet

Top Ten

DEVICES 8 CHOOSE CAREFULLY

Not all devices and platforms are created equal – some are more secure than others.

APPS 7 CHOOSE CAREFULLY

Don’t blindly trust that third-party apps meet your security standards and requirements. You are responsible for ensuring compliance, so do your homework.

6 USE ENCRYPTION

Encryption should be mandatory for your data in transit. Consider encrypting in the cloud as well if you want to ensure there’s no exposure risk.

IS 10 MALWARE ON THE RISE

The threat of malware on mobile platforms is growing steadily as more and more cyber criminals target mobile devices in increasingly sophisticated ways.

IS 9 BYOD A CHALLENGE

There are obvious benefits to the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend, but it also creates IT challenges and exposes your company to new threats.

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1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0

0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1

1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0

0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1

1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

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1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0

1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0

Mobile security

5 REQUIRE AUTHENTICATION

Without authentication in place a lost mobile device serves as the keys to your kingdom and anyone who finds it can gain entry to everything.

YOUR 2 TEST DEFENCES

You can spend millions on a mobile security system, but how do you know that it works if you never put it to the test? Get third-party experts without prior knowledge to try and break it.

4 CONTROL CONNECTIVITY

Your file servers may be safe and secure behind a firewall, but it’s all for nothing if mobile devices share files on unsecure public Wi-Fi networks or via Bluetooth.

AN 3 MAINTAIN AUDIT TRAIL

Ensure that every point of entry is identified and every action creates a trail which can be clearly followed. You must see the flow of data in order to protect it.

1 ENFORCE MDM POLICY

You can have the best Mobile Device Management policy in the world, but if you don’t monitor, test and enforce it then it’s useless.

About the Author Michelle Drolet is founder of Towerwall, a data security services provider in Framingham, MA with clients such as PerkinElmer, Smith & Wesson, Middlesex Savings Bank, Brown University and SMBs. michelled@towerwall.com

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Why reflection is key to innovation in the enterprise Why businesses that are able to understand their past, are best placed for the future Words by

Juan-Jose Juan

Operations

I

n business - new isn’t always better. New technologies might appear attractive, but they require time and imagination before they realise their full potential.

The best business innovations don’t come from innovating for innovation’s sake nor are they always borne out of wild or prolific ideas – they come from strategic thinking and applied process.

They come from assessing existing technologies and information across industries and business functions and matching them with core competencies.

Today, many organisations look to new technologies and practices to innovate and future proof themselves to ensure the best chance for success, but little do they realise that the key to innovation is about understanding what they have and using it in news ways. In this way, enterprises can create the right tools to help them better prepare for the future.

Future proofing the enterprise The sheer size and scale of Multi-National Corporations can make future-proofing a complex task for companies seeking to enhance flexibility, connectivity and stay relevant in an increasingly competitive market.

More and more enterprises are turning to the cloud, machine-to-machine and

mobile technologies, as well as reviewing global communications strategies, to drive innovation and keep pace with the everchanging business environment. Using these technologies businesses are better placed to capture, access and analyse information to develop meaningful insights and identify opportunities that can drive creativity and profitability throughout the business.

True innovation, however, goes beyond simply being able to access greater volumes of information. It’s about how this information is disseminated and consumed throughout the business.

Making sure the right information is accessed by the right people at the right levels is crucial to ensuring the right business decisions can be made based on meaningful and accurate insight.

Something as straight forward as having the right dashboards in place is a simple but effective way of doing this. Although it sounds obvious, many dashboards reflect the complexity of the technologies and information they portray. By refining them and making them more user-friendly, they are able to provide executives with greater and more accurate visibility over a multitude of company activities and costs, such as global device deployment, enterprise wide comms or the latest sales or procurement

“True innovation goes beyond simply being able to access greater volumes of information. It’s about how this information is disseminated and consumed throughout the business” BE Telecoms

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costs at any time and on any device.

All of which makes them better able to understand them and make decisions to drive change within the business.

Angry birds for the enterprise Enterprises are also looking to innovate by developing programs and applications that people want to – rather than have to – use. Everyone is familiar with the angry bird craze that swept the nation a few years ago. What if we could develop something similarly engaging that people could use in the enterprise?

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“Many businesses have already introduced BYOD strategies and have seen the potential it has to increase mobility among employees” Many businesses have already introduced BYOD strategies and have seen the potential it has to increase mobility among employees. The missing piece of the puzzle for many however, is turning this increased mobility into increased collaboration.

The more forward thinking enterprises have already taken steps to address this.

For example, some HR departments are currently working on ways to unlock the potential of technologies already used in other industries – working with game developers to create a culture that appeals to and motivates Generation Y end-users.

They are keen to develop something that’s attractive to end-users and prospective new talent to access and use by encouraging them to interact with each other – be it sharing content or discussing problems.

Angry birds for the enterprise might be slightly overreaching because at the end of the day work and play are two very different things. However – it is achievable. Be it a central resource for sharing ideas or collaborating on issues fostering a community of help and camaraderie then it just might work – it just needs to dangle the right carrot for people to engage with it.

Operations

Big Data - obviously Of course no article is complete without the obligatory hat tip to Big Data. Many in the industry are bored to tears at the mere mention, but the fact of the matter is – it’s a very big deal, and one that’s slowly creeping across all facets of the enterprise.

Marketers are among the latest departments to innovate by aggregating the information within their mobile networks to extract customer patterns that can fundamentally change how their businesses operate. And again this goes back to having easily consumable dashboards.

Utilising this information they are able to use the network information to identify real-time patterns in people’s movements providing better visibility into how busy a shopping center is and if more staff are required to service customers, or identify how full a car park is to alert people when it is full or if there are spaces available.

Pre-dashboard era, they wouldn’t have known what they were looking at without a data scientist sat over their shoulder explaining it to them. Now however, anyone can look at their computer screen and make sense of what used to be nothing but a series of inexplicable numbers, lines and code configuration requests. Thus it’s providing the means to simply access and understand this information that is where true innovation lies in this era of hyper consumption.

Think inside the box Ultimately, everyone has access to the same technology and uses the same equipment so this in itself won’t be enough to differentiate one enterprise from another. The difference is in what you do with it.

“Pre-dashboard era, they wouldn’t have known what they were looking at without a data scientist sat over their shoulder explaining it to them” M2M technology for example has existed for years, only recently have business started to apply it existing technologies – connecting everything up to take real-time readings. In India, one soft drink vendor found that 20 percent of its drink dispensers were going missing. M2M was used to identify that as people there didn’t have fridges in their house, they were taking the dispensers so they could keep their milk chilled. By working this out they were able to reduce the number of fridges stolen from 20 percent to 3 percent.

In an era where pressures faced by businesses are extreme people often get caught up in trying to find out what new solution will make their lives easier.

STOP. Look around and assess your tools to see what’s right under your nose before you start laying out huge costs for newfangled untried technologies.

Those businesses that are able to look back and understand their past will be much more successful at innovating in the future.

About the author Juan-Jose Juan, Global Leader of Enterprise Innovation, Vodafone. www.vodafone.com

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Tomorrow starts here Malta’s Cisco operations are an epitome of its global significance as the industry enters its next evolutionary phase

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: james boyle 36 | BE Telecoms

Cisco Malta

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B

eing the world’s most successful networking company Cisco’s ubiquity is a given and it has been ‘present’ in Malta as throughout Europe and the Mediterranean area for decades through its channel partners.

However its physical presence only dates from 2008, when an office was set up under its current manager Ruben Azzopardi, a man with a deep understanding of Cisco’s products and capabilities as a senior executive at one of its principal local customers. In 2011 the company was the first to move into SmartCity, a joint venture between SmartCity Dubai and the government of Malta designed to make the island a hub for ICT in the region.

That was natural enough. Located on 360,000 square metres of land in the Ricasoli area close to the capital Valetta, SmartCity Malta is destined to become a flagship development: it is a state of the art ICT township, with all the buildings knit together and managed by systems based on Cisco’s infrastructure. “We believe this is an important and strategic project for the country,” says Azzopardi. “It is going to provide a focus to develop the ICT knowledge industries generally. We felt we should be part of it!” It will help transform the country, he believes.

Cisco’s presence in Malta is helping it to develop projects that will contribute to the improvement of ICT and its application in the country, Azzopardi explains. Operationally Malta falls within Cisco’s South Region comprising Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Israel, France, Italy Portugal and Spain. Malta is clearly the smallest of these economies, but

38 | BE Telecoms

Cisco Malta

$14.5 trillion Cisco’s estimate of ICT market by 2020

Nikos Botinis

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it is a country that punches above its weight in the EC and in terms of ICT it experiences no disadvantages. “We have found that having the office here allows us to be closer to our customers and to develop the sector in a more successful and satisfactory manner.

We can pull in resources from different locations according to what we need here in this country.”

In that he has the support of Cisco’s Regional Sales Manager Nikos Botinis, based in Athens. “Malta is strategically a key territory that helps us to be part of the mature markets of Europe and also the developing markets in the Middle East. But Maltese companies also need to transform their business. We feel the Maltese community is ready to take advantage of those domestic businesses – some of them very successful that are focused on the IT industry.”

Cisco’s 30-year history is a long one in ICT and the company has metamorphosed more than once. In its early years it perfected a simple architecture for ethernet switching; its second decade saw it answer the challenge of increasing bandwidth with is GSR routers; then in 2006 it launched its Human Network programme to bring it closer to the end user. Now it is anticipating the future of the internet. If we think of the growth of

Cisco Malta

Ruben Azzopardi

communications in the last 30 years as exponential, well we ain’t seen anything yet, says Botinis. Every business will be able to take advantage of what Cisco is calling the Internet of Everything. “You could call IoE the intelligent connection of people processes and things. We do feel at Cisco that this will be the trend for the next decade.” Cisco’s aim is to become the number one IT player in the world within the next three years by taking advantage, with its partners round the world,

in the next major evolution of the internet.

The fundamentals support this ambition.

Back in 1995 there were just a million internet-enabled connections. E-commerce, social media and the cloud, the most recent evolution, have escalated that to around three billion today, however Cisco estimates that by 2020 the number will rise to almost 50 billion. That translates into a worldwide business opportunity of $14.4 trillion, roughly 45 percent of them being

“We are putting in a lot of effort on our mobile providers’ behalf to help them meet the demand from their users” BE Telecoms | 41

“We are asking our partners to take advantage of this evolution and transform their business, whatever that may be” machine-to-machine, or connections that take place between objects without the need for human intervention. Within that there is a large addressable segment for Cisco: “We are asking our partners to take advantage of

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this evolution and transform their business, whatever that may be.”

The reality is that the mobile internet is already a reality the Internet of things is only just starting, as everyday objects like medical

Cisco Malta

devices learning programmes, cars, houses as well as white goods join the party that is already in full swing in industry. Cisco will be the enabler, to connect all these devices with each other and with people. Won’t Malta just be a small pawn in this massive game? No way, says Ruben Azzopardi.

Everything that happens in western Europe is relevant to Malta: “The latest information from the Visual Networking Index (VNI – Cisco’s analysis of global communications networking) forecasts there are going to be 2.1 mobile connected devices per person in

Europe by 2017, and this means mobile data traffic will have grown about eightfold over the five years between 2012 and 2017. That gives us an idea of where customers and users want to see better performance, and where the demand for bandwidth is coming from. We are putting in a lot of effort on our mobile providers’ behalf to help them meet the demand from their users.”

The whole point about the IoE is that it is also the Internet of Everywhere. Malta cannot afford to be insular – no pun intended – where these opportunities are concerned.

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So he has a multifocused strategy, part of which concentrates on Maltese businesses.

“In general,” says Ruben, “Cisco is very active in the space of service providers like Melita and Go on the Malta home front, and we are doing this by delivering solutions around what we call intelligent networks. Demand on these service providers is growing daily, and to help them meet it Cisco offers software defined networks driven by Cisco’s open network environment (ONE) that takes networks into the next, more virtual, generation. “It is about making the services a telecoms company can give more relevant to the user and more attuned to give a better user experience,” he says.

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The two rival networks on Malta, Go and Melita, have already benefited from this approach, Go having adopted Cisco Prime Network as a fault management tool that has reduced its infrastructure costs at the same time helping it provide a better service.

And Cisco helped Melita to deploy the latest generation of cable technology enabling it to take broadband access to much higher speeds of 100 MB and above in Malta. Melita was one of the first companies in Europe to roll this out on a countrywide basis and the project has become a benchmark for customers in other territories, he proclaims.

His job is to introduce leading edge technologies and stay ahead of the evolution

Cisco Malta

“We are giving Maltese companies the tools, the platforms and the development kits to take their ideas and their abilities to that market” defined by IoE and technologies like ONE. A solid ICT infrastructure can support the economy directly and indirectly, he stresses: ICT is basically a supporting infrastructure.

It creates high value jobs as well. Malta has been at a very good level when it comes to adoption and introduction of technology at various levels so I think having a healthy

ICT industry and infrastructure helps other parts of the economy. Moreover we are making sure that we have certified specialised and trained people to support the business here in Malta and by transference to neighbours in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.”

Nikos Botinis agrees: “Each country has to decide on the strategic advantages and the strategic areas it has within the EU. And then the ICT comes in as an enabler to multiply the effect on the strategy that has been decided on a country level. I would say that this is our role at Cisco, to add value and catalyse this multiplier effect.

We started in Malta with one partner and two or three resellers and we now have 25 authorised resellers and we have more than 50 Cisco engineers. Is this adequate? No, to be honest, but we feel Malta is on the right track with the adoption of programs like the Cisco Network Academy Program where we jointly develop engineers in the local market.”

Another area of focus for Cisco is the cloud and the growth of software as a service (SaaS) and for Cisco’s direct partners infrastructure as a service (IaaS). Cisco is leading the way with newly announced tools. “We have created an infrastructure platform for our

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Cisco Malta customers to be able to go on the application layer because this is the fundamental part,” says Azzopardi. A key element within ONE is a programme development kit (onePK) that allows application providers to create ‘hooks’ or new applications relating to the network.

“It is a more ‘standard’ way of interacting with the network, he explains. “It is still cumbersome to interact with a network device and you need very specific technical knowledge of how that device works. With onePK it is easier for developers to actually talk to the network and ask it to do things or ask it to give information back.”

As the internet grew it became complex.

The task now is to simplify it again and return the benefits of flexibility and ease of use to application developers. “But this also gives an opportunity to the local developers to think about what they can do to simplify the experience for their users,” says Nikos Botinis. “The network touches everything!”

Malta intends to be right in there, promises Ruben Azzopardi. “We are saying to the Maltese companies: ‘You have a vehicle.

The government is investing in creating an environment in SmartCity to develop technologies relevant all over the world, not just Europe. What you can develop here can be marketed all over the world.’ We are giving them the tools, the platforms and the development kits to take their ideas and their abilities to that market.”

For more information about Cisco Malta visit: www.cisco.com

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48 | BE Telecoms

AirTies Turkey

Connecting

the dots

AirTies Turkey CEO, Philippe Alcaras discusses how the company’s success in Turkey can act as a springboard to international expansion

written by: Will Daynes research by: David Brogan

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AirTies Turkey

A

t the time when Alexander Graham Bell and Charles Sumner Tainter carried out the first wireless telephone conversation in 1880, even their great minds probably couldn’t have envisioned how significant a part this technology would go on to play more than 120 years later. Today, barely a week goes by before a new wireless device is brought to market and the spread of the technology in developing countries has come to be one of the tell-tale signs of economic strength.

Defined by the IMF as an emerging market economy, Turkey is one such country to have experienced a rapid growth when it comes to technological advances in recent times. “It was roughly around ten years ago that mass use of the internet started to really boom in Turkey,” explains AirTies Turkey CEO, Philippe Alcaras.

It was around this time, 2004 to be precise, that AirTies was established. Led by a senior management and technical team from Silicon Valley, the company’s strategic intent was, and still is, to be the market leader for the wirelessly connected home through the design and development of its own software and hardware.

“Our introduction to the Turkish market,” Alcaras continues, “saw us bring a number of innovations to the country. Perhaps the most significant of these was the opening of our own 24/7 call centre to help customers to properly install their internet service.

This is one way that we demonstrate how our origins have always been closely linked to our customers, their individual user

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2004 The year that AirTies was established

Philippe Alcaras

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experiences and the bringing to market of the best products and services.”

The opening of its own call centre in Turkey was in many ways a visionary move by AirTies Turkey, bucking the trend created by other device manufacturers that tend to outsource such services, often at the expense of forging close relationships with their customers and gaining a better understanding of their concerns and issues.

“Our decision to forge this link really helped in creating a greater level of recognition for our brand and is one of the reasons why there are now more than three million Turkish homes using our products,” Alcaras enthuses.

In addition to these domestic customers the company has also built up an impressive portfolio of business clients.

One of the unique characteristics that make AirTies stand apart from the competition is that it retains full control of its products and solutions from inception to launch. By developing its hardware and software through internal research and development and customer feedback the company is able to quickly respond to market demands.

“Today, the fundamental driver of our growth is the fact that our system is designed to guarantee 100 percent wireless coverage

AirTies Turkey

Air 7210 High Definition Hybrid IPTV/OTT/DVB-T/C Set-Top Box with dual tuners

throughout a user’s home or business; however what is now central to our business was much more of an accessory as recently as five years ago,” Alcaras states.

This all changed with the arrival of the iPad. From that point on it became clear that the days were numbered when home networking could simply be resolved using power lines and electricity to bring the

internet into every room. As Alcaras rightly points out, in the average US home today there can be as many as twelve wireless connected devises under one roof and this trend is going global at a rapid pace.

Therefore the need to be able to provide for an environment where all these devices can connect seamlessly to a strong internet connection has never been greater.

“The company’s strategic intent is to be the market leader for the wirelessly connected home” BE Telecoms | 53

“The ability to deliver a fantastic user experience time and again really typifies AirTies and gives us the edge that we have over our competitors�

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AirTies Turkey “Our solutions, products and technology allow us to create a network within a home or business that provides the best possible pathway for any content that one wishes to access wirelessly through a particular device,” Alcaras says. “That ability to deliver a fantastic user experience time and again really typifies AirTies and gives us the edge that we have over our competitors.”

Equally significant is its seemingly never-ending search for new technological advances that will enhance user experience, something that it does not just by itself but also in partnership with other industry players who the company feels share a similar vision and values.

“A lack of collaboration between companies is something that we see as a real issue within our industry with the concept of joint research and development being something that is very much in its infancy,” Alcaras highlights. “What we want to do is take this concept and move it forward. The reality of the world today is that consumer habits change and grow at a much faster pace than the industry itself, therefore the norm of taking some 18 months to deploy a new solution is too long. It is my belief that the best way to bring this time down is through honest,

Air 4400 300 Mbps Wireless Range Extender

open collaboration between companies that will ultimately reap benefits for all parties.”

When looking at what the future holds for AirTies Turkey, one of the initiatives currently in the early stages of planning involves the company rolling out its technology to Turkey’s steadily expanding hospitality sector. “Our research into this particular market has shown us that in order to ensure complete coverage throughout a hotel one requires a greater use of smart technology as opposed to networking technology,” Alcaras says. “Where we also see the hospitality market benefiting from our solutions is in the ability to self-install quickly and simply. As you can imagine, for a hotel to call in an engineer each time they need to install connectivity to a room you are

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AirTies Turkey looking at a time consuming, costly exercise.

The self-installing nature of our technology helps to lower the cost of installation while continuing to ensure maximum wireless coverage everywhere. This reason alone gives us great confidence that our products can sit well within the hospitality sector.”

While Turkey continues to be a hugely important market for AirTies, a breakdown of its annual revenues reveals that its dependence on the country has decreased slightly over the last three to five years. As Alcaras himself acknowledges, this highlights the fact that the opportunity for the company to expand internationally is at hand.

“In addition to expanding our existing presence in Europe,” Alcaras concludes, “we are also looking more and more at potential business opportunities in North America and Asia. While this makes for an exciting time for us we do realise that, good as we are, we are not yet in a position where we can provide our technology on a global scale in the short term. In order to combat this we are increasingly looking to partner with a number of premium operators so that we can better provide hardware, finished goods and licensing throughout the world. Although it is difficult to forecast precisely what the future may hold we are certainly preparing ourselves for the possibility of multiplying our current revenue by three or four in the next five years.”

For more information about AirTies Turkey visit: www.airties.com

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The future is Among the forces that bind the people of Azerbaijan together is its mobile communications network: we talk to Azercell’s recently appointed CEO about the technical and social aspirations of the company

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: David Brogan

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Azercell

s data

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Chiril Gaburici, CEO

Azercell

I

t is a truth universally acknowledged that by the urge to bring the latest technologies to everyone has to have a mobile phone these the market.” The people of Azerbaijan have a days and Azerbaijanis are no exception. right to the most recent technologies available 9.4 million people live in Azerbaijan, and anywhere in the world, he believes.

This is the approach that has brought while there are only a little less than 1.5 million landline subscribers there are more Azercell from number two in the market than ten million mobile network connections. to the position of market leader, with clear In this, Azerbaijan is not very different from water between it and its nearest rival. It is any other modern economy, but things have a matter of choice, and a majority of the developed faster here than in many European population has chosen Azercell as a direct countries. In 1997, the year after Azercell result, he is firmly convinced, of being able to entered the market, it had 20,371 subscribers: offer the right strategies and the best in breed today it has 4.4 million, 53 percent of a technologies. The company has invested more than $1 billion since it market it shares with two other significant players and started operating here more than 16 years ago. “We put 800 employees.

Azercell is part of the in the money and rolled out TeliaSonera group, Europe’s the service quickly, and that fifth largest telecoms operator was one of the things that based in Sweden but active differentiated us. Innovative across the Nordic region solutions and technology Azercell subscribers gave us the leadership – we as well as in Turkey, the had the first 24/7 call centre, Balkans, Spain and Russia among the 18 markets it now the Azercell Ekspress concept serves. The company is led by Chiril Gaburici, of a one stop shop where our subscribers who under TeliaSonera’s policy to rotate are receiving all the services of a first rate, its CEOs periodically came in September indeed world class phone network operator, 2012 into this challenging market from with specific business solutions provided by Moldova, 1,000 miles away and on the other third party partners in any areas to which our expertise does not extend. That way every side of the Black Sea. The idea is to circulate these successful Azercell Ekspress customer has a solution to and proven managers so that they can bring all his communications issues.” new perspectives into established markets: With access to TeliaSonera expertise “The telecoms sector is just about the fastest Azercell was able to lead in establishing 3G changing market there is,” he says. “New networks across the country, and has now technologies are being developed every day, become the first to offer a 4G service in the and the customers’ needs are changing just as capital Baku. The list of firsts seems never quick. Whenever we do anything we are driven ending: it was the first to roll out a GSM

4.4

Million

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service, the first with its prepaid SimSim card and the first company to achieve ISO 9001/2000 accreditation. Additionally, with more network base stations than any other operator its service is available to 99.8 percent of the population.

The key to this success, says Gaburici is the excellence of the team of engineers, which has not only done a great job in Azerbaijan but has been able to export its talent to many other markets within the TeliaSonera group.

“We have our experts working in Moldova, Istanbul, Uzbekistan and Nepal. We put the subscribers right at the front of everything we do and do our best to make them happy. Our policy is to become the world’s number one service company, presenting the whole of our offering transparently and clearly so all the information is put in front of the subscriber and he does not get any surprises.”

The company’s ISO certification, he adds, extends to personal data, privacy and data security. “We have a saying in the company that the future is data! So we are investing in network quality that will give our subscribers more speed, more capacity and a more userfriendly experience. We will double our 3G network this year compared to last year to meet the huge demand that already exists. At the same time we are developing the future

– which I believe is the 4G network.” A strong mobile ecosystem is a tangible contribution to the quality of life of the nation, and he is determined to see the full package of technology and service extended to the more remote parts of the country without delay.

Meanwhile there is a constant need to work with the device and platform developers to ensure that the ever-increasing range of applications and modalities is supported

“every Azercell Ekspress customer has a solution to all his communications issues” 62 | BE Telecoms

Azercell

Azercell’s call centre operates 24/7

by the network. Here again seen. It is also manifest in Azercell takes a proactive the way Azercell picked up stance, he says, making the sponsorship of Eurovision latest smartphones available.

2012 – having won it in 2011 The company’s latest Azerbaijan hosted the event campaign is for the Samsung last year, when it was neatly Galaxy S4, which became the won by TeliaSonera’s home Amount spent fastest selling smartphone in country Sweden. “I am proud on social projects Samsung’s history when it that we were an integral part was released earlier this year. of making it happen – before Recently it was promoting Eurovision even people in the Huawei, before that HTC, and the current company had a hazy idea of where Azerbaijan campaign is for the latest Blackberry. is but afterwards they had no doubt!

The company’s mantra is “Add Value: Show But it’s no surprise that Azercell was able to Respect: Make it Happen” and this, says make Eurovision happen – its implementation Gaburici, is the litmus test he uses to judge of new technology has been nothing short every project. The last part is key to the way of unbeatable. By dint of forward planning, the company has grown, as we have already network preparation and testing the

$16

Million

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equipment, services and frequencies it was able to get its 3G network live the day after the licence was granted. More recently, the implementation of 4G was similarly proactive and the team was able to throw the switch just a couple days from getting the go-ahead from the regulator.

And Azercell makes a lot of things happen

in the community as well. Chiril Gaburici is very proud of two mobile clinics that have been going round the country, especially places that don’t have the best access to hospital services. One is an eye clinic that visits orphanages to make sure children have eye tests and free glasses if they need them. The other is a dental clinic. In all, the

“Whenever we do anything we are driven by the urge to bring the latest technologies to the market�

64 | BE Telecoms

Azercell

Baku in Azerbaijan

company spent $16 million on social projects.

In 2009 Azercell founded the Barama Innovation Center in Baku. It is an incubator where young Azerbaijani entrepreneurs can develop their ICT and telecom-related innovations in a supportive environment before launching them in the marketplace. In partnership with Cisco Systems and USAID, up to 20 entrepreneurs at a time are given research space and resources for six to twelve months, depending on the complexity of their concept. “We don’t give them fish; but we do teach them how to fish!” he says.

There’s no doubt that Azercell is an effective telecoms company, and a feather in the cap of the country’s economy – it is

after all the largest taxpayer outside the oil and gas sector. In 2012 it contributed $115 million to the state – and in its 16-year history it has paid nearly $1.2 billion. In partnership with the world’s most recognised telecoms companies and with the support of TeliaSonera and its minority shareholder the Turkish mobile operator Turkcell it is in fine shape to take Azerbaijan into the 4G era and beyond, Gaburici promises. “The future is data!”

For more information about Azercell visit: www.azercell.com

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Where other fear to tread MTN specialises in going where it is most needed – anything less like a ‘me too’ telecoms provider would be hard to imagine: it is a strategy that is paying off in terms of growth, most of it driven by innovation

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Jeff Abbott

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MTN

rs d

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MTN in Afghanistan

MTN

I

t’s becoming axiomatic, if not an absolute the most valuable brand in Africa. MTN’s cliché, to talk about how Africa has shares constitute the biggest primary listing leapfrogged the ‘north’ in adopting and on Africa’s largest stock exchange, the JSE. developing mobile technology. How the In 2012, MTN was ranked first on the African continent’s need for growth has thrown continent among the BrandZ Top 100 Most up new paradigms that rely on lateral rather Valuable Global Brands, becoming the first than linear modes of thought. It is certainly and only African brand to make the list.

The national statistics are revealing, and true that the sudden appearance of Africa as a technology leader has made even the more show how MTN is at the front in capturing agile old world corporations rethink how they emerging markets. MTN is the number one do product development. telecommunication company in 15 of its As a result this is a good time to be an markets. While it has a respectable 25 million African provider of telecoms services, subscribers in South Africa, it has twice as many in Nigeria, and no whether voice or data.

Though it is based in South fewer than 40 million in Iran.

Africa, with its headquarters Well, emerging markets are in Johannesburg where it MTN’s target and its people was founded in 1994, MTN are the key to this degree of is a truly multinational integration in the market. Its employees communicate in group, selling its services five official languages and in 17 African economies MTN’s 2012 revenues represent 55 nationalities. and five countries beyond the continent – it is already In 2012, MTN invested present in Iran and Afghanistan and has R383 million on employee development recently pre-qualified to compete for a alone. In 2012 the total number of telecommunications licence in Myanmar. development interventions amounted to more With over 27,000 employees MTN is the than 61,000, with 32,000 e-learning courses fifth largest enterprise in Africa and very completed by employees. much a telecoms market leader, whether in In 2012, MTN performed well in a terms of network, technology or scale. In fact challenging environment, says MTN’s Group it is hard to avoid wowing its performance. president and CEO Sifiso Dabengwa “We grew In the year ended 31 December 2012, our customer base and traffic volumes and revenues increased nearly eleven percent to maintained market share, while accelerating R135.1 billion ($15 billion) and profits seven our capital expenditure programme to ensure percent to R58.6 billion ($6.5 billion). The the Group’s continued competitiveness and group has GSM licences in 22 countries and support revenue growth into the future.” internet service provider businesses in 13 But it’s not all about numbers. More than 24 countries. It describes itself as possessing million new subscribers joined the network,

$15

Billion

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CONCILIUM TECHNOLOGIES Concilium Technologies, a level 3 BBBEE contributor, has been serving the test, measurement and monitoring needs of telecommunications operators and their suppliers since 1999. We have built our success and reputation on trust and commitment, and have continually invested in our technical resources to ensure we can support our installations, focusing on developing local expertise.

We have a rich history of partnering with the best T&M technology companies in the world, and have been the glue that has provided continuity and stability for our customers when companies transitioned products through realignment of their own portfolios. When JDSU’s already extensive product portfolio was recently enhanced with their purchase of Agilent’s telecommunication service assurance, protocol analyzers , network diagnostics, and wireless drive test portfolios - products extensively deployed in South Africa – Concilium managed the transition with no disruption of the services to the operators.

JDSU offers instruments, systems, software, services, and integrated solutions that help communications services providers, equipment

manufacturers, and major communications users maintain their competitive advantage at each stage of the network lifecycle across the full range of applications.

JDSU’s Mobility portfolio sets a new standard for optimizing mobile network performance on multiple levels. By reducing operating costs and deployment time, JDSU offers value-based solutions that create new revenue opportunities as well as service differentiation. Agile operation is ensured by employing intelligent probes and products that can be fully integrated to fit a variety of applications from R&D through network monitoring, from the core to access devices, and in laboratory settings or live networks. Only JDSU is uniquely qualified to address your wireless challenges in such a comprehensive fashion: from silicon to apps, small cells to macro, RAN to core.

Concilium has been a supplier to MTN for many years and looks forward to building on this relationship in partnership with JDSU for many more years to come.

E. info@concilium.co.za

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Congratulations to our valued partner MTN South Africa on a great year!

MTN

almost a third of them using MTN’s data easier engagements with MTN such that services. The role that telecommunications all our customers are MTN promoters. It plays in people’s lives has changed rapidly in is a differentiated MTN-branded customer the last decade, he emphasises. “Not so long experience that we give at every touchpoint.” ago, traditional voice services defined the Launched towards the end of 2012, the updated telecommunications industry. Now they are strategy better addresses customers’ needs, he just one of a growing range of services that claims – it covers a more comprehensive range impact many areas of our lives. The need of offerings to drive sustainable growth and for a broader digital offering has led MTN to also focuses on transforming our operating refresh its vision and mission and refine its model, to bring down costs and increase efficiencies. strategic objectives.”

So what is the secret of As telecoms services MTN’s success in these new become “commoditised” markets? Probably its focus it is imperative that MTN continues to create a customer on customer experience. experience that differentiates “Our new mission – to Increase in data make our customers’ lives a it from its competition, services subscribers whole lot brighter – means Dabengwa believes. Data

41%

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“It is a differentiated MTN-branded customer experience that we give at every touchpoint” is an increasingly important part of that experience. While revenue from voice services, over three-quarters of MTN’s total revenue, remains critical to its success today, data use will increasingly define the telecoms landscape ahead, he says. “Mobile networks will become important enablers for many aspects of life, allowing intelligent systems to

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operate independently and linking consumers, businesses, and others. Within the next decade, large swathes of people will likely depend on data connectivity to deliver this ‘New World’ lifestyle. In emerging markets, in particular, we see significant underlying demand for basic services which could be best delivered through mobile communications.”

MTN

One of the best ways to illustrate this is the way MTN has been able to broaden its Mobile Money and financial services offering.

By the end of 2012 the company had nearly ten million Mobile Money users, up by twothirds on 2011. In 2012, data services were the strongest contributor to MTN’s revenue growth. It increased data subscriber numbers by 41 percent to 58.7 million and data traffic grew by more than half, driven by extended 3G coverage, investment in new technology and people upgrading to data enabled devices.

The number of smartphones on MTN’s network jumped dramatically from 10.7 to 21 million. “To maintain this pace, we need to ensure access to sufficient reliable broadband

capacity. In the year we gained access to the submarine West Africa Cable System (WACS).

MTN is in a good position to take advantage of growth in data traffic in 2013.

It plans to invest R28 billion in enhancing its services, and aims to reach 200 million subscribers before the end of this year.

“We expect 21 million new customers to have joined the MTN family,” Dabengwa concludes. “We look forward to welcoming them to the New World.”

For more information about MTN visit: www.mtn.co.za

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Airtel Madagascar

Making waves in Madagascar Airtel Madagascar is a relative newcomer to this resource rich, ecologically diverse and culturally vibrant island nation but its ability to bring together the economic and social strands that unite the people is making a big difference

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Candice Nice

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Airtel Madagascar

I

t is hard to believe that it is only just 20 years since the Bharti group listed its telecommunications business on the Bombay Stock Exchange, soon after that bringing its cellphone operations together under the Airtel brand. At the time, just ten years from the founding of the business by Sunil Bharti Mittal, it had yet to extend its coverage to the whole of India, let alone the whole sub-continent, though by 2009 it had launched into international operations by launching a network in Sri Lanka. The rapid roll-out of the business has been attributed to its pioneering outsourcing model, whereby its infrastructure is maintained by world leading organisations like Ericsson, Nokia Siemens and IBM, enabling it to offer low per-minute rates to its subscribers, while giving them a level of functionality that is every bit as good as that available in the USA or Europe.

Nevertheless it really was only yesterday – in 2010 to be precise – that Airtel went truly international when it acquired the African operations of the Kuwaiti company Zain Telecom for $10.7 billion. Zain had entered the African market in 2005 through the $3.4 billion purchase of Celtel International which had operations in 13 countries in that continent. By the time the business was bought by Airtel in 2010 it had more than 40 million customers in Africa, and a presence in Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia – and Madagascar, where it takes the second place in the mobile telecoms market, with 39 percent of the market and more than 1.5 million customers.

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www.gangesintl.com

H.B.C

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Airtel Madagascar Today Bharti Airtel GANGES INTERNATIONALE PRIVATE LTD is one of the largest GIPL (Ganges Internationale Pvt Ltd), started in 1991 telecommunications manufactures and supplies Tower for Telecommunications, companies in the world with Windmills, Power Transmission & Distribution and Railway operations in 20 countries Electrification. The Company has earned the reputation in Africa and Asia. Based in for timely delivery, quality and total reliability of its tower India’s capital, the company installations. At the core of its reputation lie GIPL’s team of committed, skilled and experience professionals who is one of the four largest will oversee the A-Z of your tower installation. GIPL has mobile operators in the a production capacity of 24,000 MTPA (Metric Tons Per world in terms of number of Annum) and galvanising capacity of 28,000 MT per annum. subscribers. In India, it offers www.gangesintl.com a wide range of services: including 2G and 3G mobile services, fixed line, broadband, ADSL, IPTV and DTH, and solutions for enterprises and national and international long distance services to mobile operators. In other markets, it provides 2G and 3G mobile services and mobile banking and financial services. Bharti Airtel had over 275 million customers across its markets at the end of July 2, 2013. Moving into Africa was an inspired strategy for Airtel.

The needs of its subscribers in Asian markets are closely aligned to those in Africa, but as is well known, mobile telecommunications is an area in which Africa is now acknowledged as leading the world. Spurred by a lack of fixed line infrastructure and the geographical and political H.B.C. dispersal of populations that H.B.C. have a very good relationship with Airtel Madagascar, working with them as a main contractor since still rely on highly localised 2006. We are committed to providing our client’s with economic ecosystems for the best possible products and services, whilst also being their livelihood Africans have costeffective and affordable, without compromising quality. found innovative ways of Our experienced staff offer the best skills and service to our leveraging mobile technology client’s, enabling them to establish communication systems to their advantage. This has to suit their individual needs. made them the teachers E. hbc@moov.mg / hbc.site@gmail.com rather than the learners in

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reime

Our core philosophy is the creation of path breaking comprehensive solutions rather than just products. a) Telecom Business: Telecom vertical provides comprehensive energy management products and solutions to wireless telecom players. b) Energy Management: Reime’s pioneering R&D endeavours, aimed at developing a comprehensive range of cost- and energy-efficient solutions

for the wireless telecom sector c) Operations & Management Services: Operations and management service (O&M) is an extended solution provided for remote location management and to optimize efficiencies. The unique model is designed to manage equipment and energy. The services include diesel filling, battery life optimization and site environment management www.reimenis.com

• TELECOM BUSINESS • ENERGY MANAGEMENT • OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT SERVICES We have worked with Airtel Madagascar since 2011, providing the following: • Construction Works: 52 Pylons • Managed Services: 156 Sites Phone: +261 33 37 660 06 E-mail: sitraka.fanomezan@reimenis.com www.reimenis.com

MADAGASCAR

Airtel Madagascar

$10.7 billion Cost of Bharti Airtel’s acquisition of Zain

this sector, something that the top-down business development model of many western telecoms companies, anchored by generations of legacy, have struggled to take on board.

The Airtel offering was developed from scratch to meet the needs of today. It is not surprising that as a result Airtel is far and away the most innovative mobile cellular operator in Madagascar and one that can be said to be disrupting the market. It was the first operator to introduce many advanced services including a BlackBerry prepaid service, ‘Validité dynamique’, ‘Chat’ a national and international customer SMS service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The ‘Information Kiosk’, which sends out smart stuff that people choose to receive via SMS is particularly popular. Examples are jokes, horoscopes, exchange rates which can be crucial in cross border African trading situations or thought for the day. ‘Music Box’

“The remarkable growth of Airtel Madagascar is directly related to our desire to be an innovative company” BE Telecoms | 81

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allows a subscriber to dedicate a song to credit – for the customer’s own phone or any someone special, and ‘CpourToi’ allows the other Airtel subscriber’s. transfer of credits from one person to another In the short time that has elapsed since its in a simple and secure transaction. establishment here Airtel Madagascar, has However if you asked small business grown from strength to strength, says CEO customers and people with family living Heiko Schlittke, a German national with more away from the island the single most than 20 years of experience in FMCG, media important and differentiating and telecommunications, innovation from they would including Celtel. “Making probably say Airtel Money. services accessible to people This service allows them to in remote areas is a priority,” pay for purchases, settle bills he says. “Already Airtel has the and access bank accounts largest mobile phone coverage, securely and in real time, at with access to major cities any time. The revolutionary communities connected by the money transfer service also major highways. In fact ours is Airtel Madagascar allows person to person the only company to cover all subscribers transfers and to top up phone 22 regions of the island.”

$1.5

million

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Airtel Madagascar Achieving this level of coverage, however, is merely a service goal, essential but not to be confused with the objective of really touching people’s lives in a transformative way. “The remarkable growth of Airtel Madagascar is directly related to our desire to be an innovative company that works to achieve a positive difference in people’s lives by facilitating communication and supporting communities.” Airtel is committed, he emphasises, to providing consistently improved products and services, and opening up new worlds of opportunity.

“Our goal is to expand the world of possibilities and opportunities, whether in music or culture.”

The music sharing capabilities of mobile phones make Airtel the ideal partner for programmes that promote the many genres of music created by the Malagasy people, and the company invests in many of these, paying special attention to the most disadvantaged and vulnerable segments of the population.

Just after his inauguration in 2002, President Marc Ravalomanana established his leadership in HIV prevention. He chairs the nation’s multi-sectoral HIV/AIDS programme Conseil National de Lutte contre le SIDA (CNLS).

Airtel Madagascar is an active partner in the programme, with a special information hotline. It also supports the President’s fund for bringing infrastructure, including schools, to remote areas of the island.

For more information about Airtel Madagascar visit: www.africa.airtel.com

BE Telecoms | 85

Delivering

seamless service written by: Will Daynes | research by: David Brogan

86 | BE Telecoms

NTT Communications

NTT Communications (Thailand) President, Tsuyoshi Kawashima, discusses the growing importance of Thailand to the South East Asian region and how the internet and other telecoms services are becoming ever more critical to people’s lives

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NTT senior management team

NTT Communications

W

ith the internet age in full swing and very much a part of everyday life in the Western world and developed nations, it is in the fast-developing nations across the world that the expansion of the digital sector is most prevalent today. One such country that is currently experiencing a rapid expansion in internet usage is Thailand, where access to the technology has become an increasing necessity, not only in business, but also in personal life.

NTT Communications (Thailand) is as aware as anyone else of the importance of the network that connects Thailand to other countries and the role this network will play when it comes to companies looking to expand their global business in Thailand.

NTT Communications (Thailand) is a subsidiary of NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com), itself a division of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies. Founded in 1999, NTT Com specialises in delivering high-quality voice, data and IP services to its customers around the world. Renowned for its diverse information and communication services, expertise in managed networks, hosting and IP networking services as well as industry leadership in IPv6 technology, NTT Com currently has over 17,800 employees working from subsidiaries and offices in 87 cities in 31 countries and regions around the world.

“Here in Thailand,” explains NTT Communications (Thailand) President, Tsuyoshi Kawashima, “there is a great deal

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NTT Communications

of evidence that highlights and today has key systems i nteg r at ion , net work the growing importance of the internet and IT solutions integration and application as a whole, not least the i nteg rat ion p r oj e c t s running with over 600 key recently completed 3G NTT Com employees customer clients. frequency auction. It goes worldwide In response to the evolving without saying therefore that for many large telecoms nature of the industry the operators, Thailand has become a market of company plans to increase the number of staff it employs, while also developing more particular interest.�

Indeed this interest has led to a number detailed services such as consultation, system of multi-national companies, particularly provisioning and support. Furthermore, those based in Japan, beginning to it promises its customers with end-to-end invest increasing amounts of capital into support while connecting with international operations in Thailand. For its part NTT branches of NTT Communications in order to Communications (Thailand) has been a key support their specific needs. player in launching the Enterprise Cloud “Through a combination of our existing Services Platform into South-East Asia, services, including security services, system

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NTT Communications

integration, enterprise cloud service and has dissuaded major multi-national players in enterprise co-location services, and new the vein of Microsoft or Google from turning solutions, I believe we are extremely well their attentions to the country, as well as placed to expand our customer reach on focusing their efforts on markets such as both a domestic and international scale,” Hong Kong and Singapore.

“With the number of 3G users in the Kawashima continues. “Our strategy for the short and long-term future calls for us country growing, and with this in turn having to meet the growing demands of both Thai a significant positive impact on internet and international customers. In terms of the usage, now appears to be the perfect time former, one of the primary to capitalise on the business ways we intend to do this is opportunities that a new through the construction and state-of-the-art data centre opening of a new data centre could bring,” Kawashima here in Thailand.” enthuses. This view is Until now Thailand has clearly one that is shared When NTT’s new lacked such infrastructure, by those in government, Thailand data centre is a fact that many, including with the Thailand Board expected to open Kawashima himself, believe of Investment announcing

2014

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NTT Communications (Thailand) President, Tsuyoshi Kawashima

NTT Communications

“While we will continue to pursue geographic expansion, we will also remain true to our commitment to increasing our local presence” in 2011 that said data centre would in fact be larger than first imagined, occupying some 5,000 square metres of space. With construction now in its advanced stages, the data centre is set to come online by the end of the second quarter of 2014.

“There are three core aims that we have when it comes to the development of our business in the coming months and years,” Kawashima states. “The first revolves around bringing in new services, such as the NTT Enterprise Cloud service, which are tailored directly towards the ever-changing needs of both our existing and future customer. The second meanwhile is focused on bringing our data centre into operation as a means of attracting investment into Thailand from abroad, while the third aim has been dubbed ‘Thailand+1’, which is all about expanding our geographic footprint outside of our home nation into other countries within the Mekong region.”

Key projects recently undertaken include the launching of NTT Communications offices in Yangon, Myanmar, Vientienne, Laos, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in the last few years, as well as bringing ISP services into the said countries. “These are among the countries that we anticipate becoming more important in attracting Thai business in the years to come,” Kawashima says. “We want to create

something of a synergy between our country and those in the Mekong region and thus it is very much part of our strategy to introduce IT services across it, particularly in Myanmar, where we have had some very positive talks with Myanmar Post and Telecommunications (MPT) about future opportunities.”

Clearly Kawashima has huge confidence that Thailand and the Great Mekong region will continue to go from strength to strength. “We are extremely excited about what is going on in this part of the world,” he concludes. “It is in part because of our confidence in the market that we have been able to carefully and clearly set out our ambitions for the future. These clearly focus on increasing our capacity through the creation of the new data centre, improving our product range and introducing new services such as storage and data migration offerings. While we will continue to pursue geographic expansion, we will also remain true to our commitment to increasing our local presence and reach in the fast growing market that is Thailand.”

For more information about NTT Communications visit: www.th.ntt.com

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Safe and

secure One of Mongolia’s leading providers of security and infrastructure services and solutions

written by: Will Daynes research by: Will Kirby

Tridum e-Security LLC

S

ince 2005, Tridum e-Security has been providing high quality services and solutions to all manner of industry fields including the finance, enter pr ise, t e l e c o m mu n i c a t i o n s , transportation, logistics, mining and government sectors.

Today the company is recognised for offering information and communication systems securit y and professional network infrastructure services, as well as being an expert provider of planning, implementat ion a nd maintena nce solutions that are linked to banking software and hardware.

Tridum e-Security boasts a workforce made up of qualified and experienced individuals, among them certified engineers who have graduated from both domestic and foreign universities, and have a track record of exchanging experience with specialists from the likes of Cisco, Thales, and many other wellknown companies.

These employees are one of the primary reasons for the company’s success and are fundamental to its ability to provide its clients with customised solutions. It also provides professional services in the form of network architect, architecture design, security and encryption product development and evaluation, information security, unified communications, a liaison centre, data centre, and application delivery and service management.

Tridum e-Security commits itself to guaranteeing stable network performance

and excellent efficiency via best practice and advanced technologies so as to help customers to reduce operation costs.

The company’s mission is to be a leading company that provides update information and technology with its customers on the basis of demand for aggregated solutions of information and communication, using revolutionary techniques.

For its part, Tridum e-Security has formed business and technical alliances with some of the world’s leading providers of IT solutions such as Cisco Systems, Thales Group, Diebold Inc., Hewlett Packard (HP), Giesecke&Devrient. Therefore, the International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) has recognised Tridum e-Security LLC as an Accredited Training Centre in Mongolia.

Tridum e-Security possesses a long list of successful projects that have taken place across Mongolia on behalf of all manner of clients, from the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism and the Information, Communication, Technology and Post Authority to Khan Bank, Mobicom Corporation and of course Oyu Tolgoi Co., LTD. For the latter, the company has completed projects including the supply and installation of network equipment, the configuration of various software platforms and the first two phases of IP phone development.

For more information about Tridum e-Security visit: www.tridum.mn

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Keeping things

connected

100 | BE Telecoms

Australian Satellite Communications ( ASC)

The qualities that have brought ASC such success over the years and how its acquisition by SpeedCast will take the business to the next level

written by: Will Daynes research by: Peter Rowlston

BE Telecoms | 101

S

ince it was established in 1985, Australian Satellite Communications (ASC) has provided a wide range of satellite communications solutions throughout Australia and surrounding regions, building up a reputation along the way as being the leading provider of reliable, turnkey satellite communications solutions, focusing on the mining, oil & gas, construction, education, defence, and maritime, industries.

“Right from the business’s inception,” explains Paul Krzystoszek, Solutions Director, “the vision that the founder and previous managing director Chris Joseland had for the business was for it to always endeavour to be at the forefront of the sector and first with new technologies, solutions and innovations.

Utilising his considerable knowledge of the market and the industry he really helped establish the level of entrepreneurship that the business has retained ever since.”

In the years that followed the company led the industry with the development of a number of technologies including being the first to adopt its iDirect broadband IP platform, which essentially marked the dawn of the era that saw the very small aperture terminal (VSAT) being supplied on mass to customers throughout the region.

The success of ASC in the last decade can in significant part be linked to Australia’s mineral and resources boom that commenced during 2005. “In many ways,” Krzystoszek continues, “our timing in adopting the iDirect technology coincided beautifully with the boom. It was the demand of this sector for such systems

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Dish maintenance

Australian Satellite Communications ( ASC)

Dish installation

that saw us grow several-fold rapidly and that also created what remains to this day a hugely competitive market in Australia.”

Given this competitive climate it has never been more important for a business to stand out from amongst the crowd. Fortunately, as Krzystoszek goes on to highlight, this has never been an issue for Australian Satellite Communications. “Today, we use three specific words to describe ourselves: Credible, Flexible and Reliable. These are the key characteristics that have helped make ASC what it is today. In the early years we drew particular attention to

our flexibility and our ability to deliver solutions in timeframes that others simply couldn’t achieve, thus setting the standard for delivery times that exists now.”

Credible and reliable, meanwhile, are two of the most common terms used by the company’s clients to describe their experiences of working with ASC. “It was Chris Joseland’s philosophy that every little detail of what the company did would contribute ultimately to the experience of the customer,” Krzystoszek states. “He also believed that it was important that the company take an ‘under promote and over deliver’ approach. This became almost a

“The vision that the founder and previous mD Chris Joseland had for the business was for it to always endeavour to be at the forefront of the sector” 104 | BE Telecoms

Australian Satellite Communications ( ASC)

1985 The year that ASC was established

motto of the business and helped breed that strong sense of satisfaction from our clients that we constantly strive to retain to this day.”

In the early days of the resources boom the industry was a much different place where every customer was essentially after a basic system or product that could connect to the internet. “We have photos of the very first system to leave our facility, which consisted of a dish on a tripod stand, with a cable running from a modem into a single PC: it was that basic,” Krzystoszek says. “Today, mine sites are much more sophisticated and a much more educated market means that the focus is now on delivering value added services. These include things like wireless distribution, VoIP, link optimisation such as acceleration, web filtering and firewalling and many other associated value add services.”

With the needs of its clients evolving in such a rapid fashion it is all the more necessary for ASC to embrace innovation. It is for this very reason that the company pays particular attention to Product and Solutions Development divisions specifically tasked with investigating new technologies and developments within the industry. This division has a very simple mission and that is to help ASC get more out of the tools and solutions it has.

BE Telecoms | 105

“When it comes to the resources sector,” Krzystoszek says, “we know for a fact that there are a great number of projects out there that are looking specifically at how to achieve greater automation of their operations. This drive towards automation is resulting in greater bandwidth requirements at the mine sites themselves as more data throughput will be required to control various equipment and processes.

This therefore is a real area of growth that we expect to take off as more automation in mines becomes a reality.”

In December 2012, an announcement was made declaring that SpeedCast Ltd, a Hong Kong-based global network and satellite communications service provider, had completed a buyout of ASC. In joining the SpeedCast Group, ASC will be able to offer its customers a wider portfolio of products and

“In joining the SpeedCast Group, ASC will be able to offer its customers a wider portfolio of products and services and better serve thier needs”

Remote site trailer

106 | BE Telecoms

Australian Satellite Communications ( ASC)

Remote site communication

services and better serve its global customers’ needs beyond Australia. Meanwhile, SpeedCast will leverage ASC’s outstanding team to deliver continuity of experience for existing ASC customers, while augmenting SpeedCast’s own team.

“The biggest plus for us by joining by SpeedCast is clearly the fact that they are a global player,” Krzystoszek enthuses.

“SpeedCast has the infrastructure already in place and that means that today we can provide services on a global scale and gain access to a vast variety of solutions that we didn’t previously have. The net result for ASC is that we can now become a more aggressive player on the world stage and one that will be

on par with known global brands worldwide.”

The established immediate plan for ASC is to ensure that it remains a well organised and structured organisation, even as its integration with SpeedCast continues at pace. “We are pushing forward with remaining at the forefront of the industry in the ever changing and highly competitive industry. We have a strategy and plan in place to remain sector leaders, competitive and as always, profitable.”

For more information about Australian Satellite Communications (ASC) visit: www.ascs.com.au

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