Since the re-launch in 2010, the company has elevated and consolidated the brand in the hearts and minds of consumers, and needed some fresh faces to take it to the next level.

“The media landscape is extremely cluttered, more so in the cellular category. We were looking to find creative and strategic partners that can deliver cutting edge communication that breaks through that clutter. I believe we have found that in the agencies we have chosen,” says Mandy Waddington, Cell C’s Brand and Marketing Communications Executive.

It is with this in mind that Cell C is pleased to welcome FoxP2, King James, Prima Plus and Trigger/Isobar as partners to help make that happen.

“Both ATL agencies bring a portfolio of award winning work with them and an approach that has been the brainchild behind some of SA’s best adverts. Cell C looks forward to creating some magic with FoxP2 and King James,” says Waddington.

Prima Plus will tackle Cell C’s integrated marketing and direct-to-customer materials.

“Prima Plus has a very creative and innovative approach to CRM, which is well aligned to Cell C. We believe that our shared vision will bring some fresh ideas to market,” says Garth Brown, Executive Head of Consumer Marketing.

Finally, Trigger/Isobar, will retain Cell C’s digital business. “The company has consistently delivered strategically innovative digital solutions to Cell C and we are pleased to keep them on board,” he says.

Competition on the pitch was incredibly tough and Cell C thanks all those who put forward presentations for the accounts. “We would also like to thank our former agencies for their hard work in getting Cell C’s new brand on the map.”

The appointed agencies will begin work from the beginning of March.

After a frantic few years of activity in the South African data services market, it is mobile devices and applications that I see driving the country’s ICT sector in the year ahead. With sleek new tablets and ultrabooks reaching the market and a revolution in mobile banking, we can expect to see more and more South Africans depending on mobile communications and devices to access data for work and fun while staying connected to their social networks.

Before I delve too deeply into my predictions for this year, I’ll look back on the forecasts I made near the beginning of 2011:

The year of the tablet – I expected certain brands to perform better than they did, but apart from that, the prediction that tablets would go mainstream in 2011 was correct and even exceeded expectations.

Android on the rise – Android performed really well in South Africa and the rest of the world in 2011. I was surprised, however, by just how instrumental Samsung was in driving Android’s growth.

Nokia gets its groove back – The jury is still out, but Nokia looks in better health than it has for years. I expected the revival to come from the Meego operating system, but it is a new relationship with Microsoft that has improved Nokia’s outlook.

ADSL becomes a must-have – I was far too optimistic with this prediction. Low fixed-line penetration and South Africa’s love affair with mobile broadband mean that ADSL is a niche market and is likely to remain such for the foreseeable future.

Tariffs keep dropping – The drop in voice tariffs wasn’t as sharp as I hoped it would be, but lower termination rates have translated into some real savings for consumers. There are also some great bundled deals out there.

Now, let’s look ahead to the rest of 2012 and the trends we can expect to see unfold in the local and global ICT industries.

Ultrabooks become must-have gadgets

Cynics may simply see ultrabooks as nothing more than thin notebooks or a response to Apple’s sleekest MacBooks from other PC manufacturers, but they will be one of the most talked-about gadgets of the year. Thanks to Intel’s innovations in making its chips smaller and more power-efficient, manufacturers are able to make ultrabooks that are thinner and lighter than ever before while offering better battery life. We saw many exciting products announced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and more will follow during the rest of 2012. Don’t expect the products to be particularly affordable quite yet – they’ll initially find favour with early adopters.

Tablets keep getting stronger

This prediction is as much of a no-brainer as it was last year. Researcher Strategy Analytics says 67 million tablets were sold in 2011 worldwide, up 260% from 18.6 million units in 2010, and the market is just getting started. According to one report, record tablet shipments in the US over the last festive season resulted in one in every five Americans owning a tablet or e-reader by the beginning of 2012. With the likelihood of an Apple iPad 3, better Android devices for the entry-level and high-end alike, and the arrival of first Windows 8 tablets this year, we’re likely to see fireworks in this market.

Commoditisation of traditional notebooks

So you can’t afford an ultrabook? The good news is that a run-of-the-mill laptop or notebook computer will be more affordable than ever before, thanks to the competition from the ultrabook and tablet segments. You’ll be able to buy a machine with good specs and battery life at a very low price tag by the end of the year.  

Innovations in mobile banking

The cellphone is already one of the biggest electronic banking channels in South Africa, although many of the services most commonly used are based on old technologies such as SMS and USSD. But this year, we’ll see a flurry of mobile banking activity as the banks position themselves for a mobile banking revolution.

Expect plenty of action on the application front. FNB led the charge in 2011 with its tablet and smartphone deals aimed at getting mobile devices into its customers’ hands, as well as rich apps for mobile banking. The others are likely to emulate its success.

The other trend to watch is Near Field Communications (NFC), a short-range wireless technology that will allow you to eventually use your mobile phone as your wallet. Some South African banks are already trialling the technology and most newer mid-to-high range smartphones already feature NFC. Though it won’t be deployed commercially this year, expect the banks to experiment and investigate NFC very thoroughly during 2012.

Wi-Fi offloading

The costs of mobile data have fallen dramatically, but I don’t see much scope for them to tumble too much further until more spectrum-efficient technologies such as LTE are deployed widely by the South African networks.

Already, cellular networks are congested in the metros and deliver patchy performance on the best of days. I expect to see Wi-Fi networks prosper as a result – many users will use cheaper and faster hotspot access from their tablets, smartphones and notebooks when they can over cellular data services.

The HP Compaq 8200 Elite AiO is the ‘big daddy’ of the trio, geared for the high powered executive that not only requires a sleek, aesthetically pleasing design but also the power of high specifications behind the good looks.  With this in mind, this AiO is available with 64-bit Windows 7 Professional, Intel’s Q67 chipset and the option of a hard drive that packs up to 1 Terabyte (TB) of storage capacity, or alternatively a 160 Gigabyte (GB) solid state drive.  The integrated Gigabit network connection can leverage a super-fast Gigabit Ethernet network.  This model is also ideal for collaboration with its integrated Webcam and dual speakers, while the wireless keyboard and mouse further minimises the requirement for cables. In addition, this model features HP’s 3-year warranty Care Pack product on parts, labour and onsite services. This should suit the service level requirements of most businesses.

These AiO’s are suited for the business, yet creative environment, combining the need for business productivity and features that inspire and leave workspaces uncluttered and looking neat.

Botha adds, “Going green and saving on travel costs are obviously big motivators in implementing these All-in-Ones in businesses, especially when considering the cost savings of Skype communication and video conference calls. These PCs also feature HP Power assistant (energy saving), have a mercury-free WLED screen, are packaged in 100% recyclable packaging, and have received the E-Star 5.0 certification.

Not forgetting the original intent, HP has made sure that their AiO series is not only friendly on the environment, but also the consumer.  HP Protect Tools – allows you to lock down your confidential information and prevent access by unauthorised individuals – as well as HP Total Care and the pre-installed genuine Windows 7 provide peace of mind and will navigate you through any challenging day at the office or at home.

With a footprint of only 27m2, these new systems are the most compact systems in their class, fitting effortlessly into almost all existing production plants.

Fastest 30″ inkjet printer in the industry

Users can choose between three models, each with different speed ratings:

•  Océ JetStream 2300 mono: 100 mpm (2,020 A4/min) or 328 fpm (2,148 letter/min);
•  Océ JetStream 3300 mono: 150 mpm (3,030 A4/min) or 492 fpm (3,216 letter/min); or
•  Océ JetStream 4300 mono: 200 mpm (4,040 A4/min) or 656 fpm (4,296 letter/min).

All three models combine 30″ paper width and 29.5″ print width with heavy-duty offset reliability and 1,200 dpi perceived image quality and are available with Océ pigments ink. The Océ JetStream 4300 mono is the fastest 30″ inkjet printer in the industry running at up to 200 mpm (3.33 metres per second), equalling 4,040 A4/min or 24,000 B1 images per hour. From a productivity point of view, the Océ JetStream 4300 mono has roughly a 20 percent higher output per shift than other comparable systems.

Environmental considerations

These new high-speed monochrome Océ JetStream wide series models – as all other members of the Océ JetStream family – are based on core technologies such as the Océ SRA MP controller architecture and the field-proven Océ DigiDot inkjet technology, the latter being renowned for its efficient use of resources. The JetStream 4300 mono exhibits the lowest energy consumption per million A4 pages printed. Moreover, it generates only a relatively small amount of blank paper at stop/ starts, even at high speed and 30″ paper width.

Vivid print quality

The monochrome models of the Océ JetStream wide series include Océ’s multilevel mode, presenting highly dynamic and crisp images with a perceived image quality of 1200 dpi. Furthermore, the JetStream systems operate with very small user-settable droplet sizes, offering great flexibility in the choice of media. Low ink usage avoids paper curling and wrinkling, allowing immediate and effortless postprocessing. Low ink usage also contributes to lower TCOs.

Perfect fit for book printing

The new Océ JetStream mono products offer an excellent proposition, particularly in the fast growing digital book printing market. The standard configuration will be roll-to-roll for further off-line finishing. In addition, the new series offers tight web interfaces for in-line book- and newspaper post-processing systems.

Jaco Smit, DDS product manager at Océ South Africa, notes: “With these monochrome models of the Océ JetStream wide series, we’re building on the vast installed base of toner printers that has been put in place over the years in the book market. Océ pioneered in this field – and with more than 200 webfed systems installed since 1996, we’re recognised as a highly competent leader in this market.

“The new Océ JetStream mono series is set to continue this success. It allows larger production runs of books, such as straightforward trade books, to be produced at a competitive price. These kinds of jobs were until now the province of conventional printing.”

“2011 has been extremely challenging for the entire IT security industry. Despite tackling an ever-growing array of complex new threats in difficult market conditions, Kaspersky Lab has successfully achieved significant sales growth. Our global team has worked really hard to develop many new innovative technologies and to implement them in our latest products. We are proud of the high regard that our work has received worldwide,” commented Eugene Kaspersky, Chairman and CEO of Kaspersky Lab. “We are ready for the new challenges of the upcoming year, further improving technologies and developing our business success worldwide.”

To meet these new challenges, Kaspersky Lab has implemented changes to its organisational structure in late 2011. The management team is geared towards faster decision making while maintaining the flexibility and innovation of the company as a whole to ensure the best possible working practices and high motivation among Kaspersky Lab employees. The company has also recently announced that it intends to stay private, which will help to remain efficient and flexible in order to be competitive in today’s dynamic global market. Kaspersky Lab will concentrate on differentiation by technological innovation and organic growth, and will continue expanding its global partnership community basing on a localised sales approach. Product strategy continues as the major focus, targeting a comprehensive product portfolio where each product or solution addresses a specific customer.

Kaspersky Lab’s outstanding technological achievements and new innovative products resulted in new strategic partnerships during 2011, with global brands like Samsung, Sony, Ferrari, and others joining Kaspersky to achieve mutual success.

2011 also brought several Kaspersky innovative products in the consumer segment, as B2C remains a very important pillar of the company’s success. The main release was Kaspersky Internet Security 2012, the company’s flagship product for home users, which protects personal computers from all Internet threats. Kaspersky Lab also broke new ground with the launch of Kaspersky ONE – the first multi-platform, user-centric Universal Security solution on the market. Kaspersky ONE** (available in the local market soon) brings comprehensive protection for a wide range of personal devices, from PCs and laptops to smartphones, Macs and tablets. Its one-license approach makes it easy to protect multiple devices according to the user’s needs.

The quality of Kaspersky Lab’s technology was acknowledged by a series of wins and high-scoring performance in several comparative tests run by different respected independent researchers. To top off this string of success, Kaspersky Lab was hailed as Product of the Year based on multiple tests throughout the whole year. It was the only security provider to get top marks in all of 2011’s key tests.

Kaspersky Endpoint Security 8 for Windows and Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 were awarded VB100 certification after being tested along with nearly 60 other security solutions in Virus Bulletin’s unique and wide-ranging independent comparative review. Both products achieved perfect results in the three different tests for the certification. The same pair also beat all comers in complex testing by independent IT security institute AV-Test.org. Kaspersky Lab was also the only solution provider to receive the highest grade – Advanced+ — in all nine tests for AV-Comparatives’ annual awards.

In January 2012 Kaspersky Lab was officially named a “Leader” in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms.***  That recognition is partly the result of the company  launching its new corporate solution: Kaspersky Endpoint Security 8 during 2011, which uses Kaspersky Lab’s latest intelligent hybrid security technologies, combined with the deepest possible anti-malware protection and a wide range of security tools like  Kaspersky Security Center, the matching management console.

“We will continue to focus on our strategy of differentiation through technology and innovation in the next years and concentrate on our core competence, endpoint protection and security”, says Petr Merkulov, Chief Product Officer. “In 2012 Kaspersky Lab will launch a range of new and exciting products in both the consumer and the corporate area which will highlight our user centric and Endpoint Protection Platform approach.”

Says Jaco Erasmus, Dell Enterprise Specialist at DCC: “Dell is very focussed on bolstering its footprint in the enterprise space and the acquisition of the Compellent storage range approximately a year ago fills out its storage range nicely. Dell’s home grown PowerVault storage solutions are for entry level applications, EqualLogic addresses the needs of SMEs, and Dell Compellent is targeted at the very high end user – typically organisation with numerous branches, customers, transactions and/or data intensive operations.”

Dell Compellent’s standout features include a powerful data movement engine, virtualised software applications and an agile hardware platform.

Says Erasmus: “Dell Compellent’s fluid data storage technology can help slash the time and cost of managing storage by up to 80% while dramatically simplifying the management of IT infrastructure. It uses a sophisticated data movement engine to automatically place data on the right storage tier, moving data internally between different classes of disk drives based on actual usage. By moving inactive data to lower cost, high capacity drives (and eventually archiving data offsite via a public cloud), businesses need to buy fewer high-performance drives and can take advantage of more lower-tiered storage, saving money on cooling, power and space.”

Compellent supports data access from virtually all applications via multiprotocol interfaces, which provide Fibre Channel, iSCSI, FCoE, and file access. Business continuity is safeguarded through near-instant, any-point-in-time recovery. Data is protected through integrated snapshots, synchronous replication, and data migration.

Erasmus notes that the configuration of the solution will depend on the storage capacity and performance required by the client. “The Dell Compellent solution can manage up to 1000 Terabytes, and is both modular and scalable,” he notes. “Dell’s commitment is to never sell clients more than they need, so the configuration and specification of a Dell Compellent solution would depend on an assessment of the client’s environment and needs. Another advantage of using Dell’s storage solutions is its promise of non-forklift upgrades – organisations can upgrade certain aspects of the solution without having to replace the entire storage  environment.”

Sales training and product awareness support will be offered by DCC on the Dell Compellent products. Dell offers full ‘co-pilot’ or engineer level support to clients using Dell Compellent products.

According to a survey with more than 800 participants done by Business Insider.com in 2011, 41.2 percent of iPad owners use the device for between two to five hours every day.  Nearly 40 percent of the participants now use their iPads as their main business tool and no longer use laptops. When having to choose between an iPad or a MacBook Air, 80 percent of the people chose an iPad. 

Says Heinrich Pretorius, Targus Product Specialist at DCC, “These statistics and the profound increase in popularity and practical accessibility of BYOD (bring your own device) indicates that there is a real and growing need for iPad accessories, as it is fast becoming an essential business tool.  They are even replacing laptops and PCs altogether in many cases.”

The Targus Zierra Portfolio Case was designed for just this and caters to all your business needs. The case is available in  red burgundy genuine leather, imparting a touch of stylish simplicity.  On its inner flap the case has tailor made compartments for both your business cards and credit cards.  “In addition, the case features a loop for a pen or stylus and re-usable cleaning pad kept in its own pocket compartment, ensuring you have a highly mobile, professional looking case to store all the extras you may need for a business meeting, lunch or trip.”

Apart from the simple functions unique to the Targus portfolio case, the case also serves its main purpose by keeping your iPad safe by closing fast with a secure magnetic closure and cushioning it with soft, scratch-resistant material on the inside.

“Targus has given this Zierra Portfolio Case a lifetime guarantee, because they know their product is a quality one and is made to withstand the toughest environments for a long time. However, if a replacement is required, Targus will exchange your portfolio directly, rather than having to make this arrangement through a reseller. If your specific model has been discontinued, Targus will exchange your case for a later version or upgraded model,” says Pretorius.

The Targus Zierra Portfolio Case for an iPad 1 and 2 is available now through DCC at a recommended retail price of R899, inclusive of VAT.

“Many people in rural areas and small towns, where there is no ADSL or 3G service, have had to accept slow, unreliable Internet connections,” says Visser. “Their only alternative was a very expensive satellite connection, which few could afford. The new satellite technology being launched next year will change all that.”

YahClick, the satellite service that Vox Telecom is due to launch in mid 2012, is based on Ka band (19 to 40GHz) technology that has only recently become available to the public. “Ka band satellites transmit many highly focused, overlapping ‘spot beams’, each covering a relatively small area,” explains Visser. “That means you get a more powerful signal and much greater bandwidth at a lower price, even in the most rural and rugged areas.”

“Previous satellite systems based on C band and Ku band technology needed large dishes and were expensive to install and run,” adds Visser. “With Ku band technology, for example, the satellite’s footprint – the area covered by its transmissions – is the whole of South Africa. That delivers a much more diluted signal than you can achieve with Ka band spot beams.

Vox’s YahClick service will cover most of South Africa, with the exception of the westernmost part of the Northern Cape. “The biggest benefit of the service is that, for the first time, you can get fast, affordable internet even if there’s no landline service available,” says Visser. “ASDL is not available at all in many small towns and rural areas, and even in cities it can take weeks or months to get a service. YahClick provides the same or better bandwidth, at a comparable cost, in a couple of days.”

There is a further advantage, says Visser, of particular interest to those who use a lot of international bandwidth: “The satellite base station is in Europe and is plugged directly into their Terabit backbones,” he says. “That means you’re not constrained by the bandwidth available in South Africa – and if an undersea cable has a problem, you are not affected at all.”

Visser believes because of the added reliability, Vox’s satellite service YahClick will also be an attractive back-up option for those who already have fixed-line broadband. “If you’re a business reliant on your ADSL connection, the fact that there’s no guaranteed service is a risk. Using satellite as a backup or add-on service will enable people to avoid business interruptions caused by communication failures.”

“Online conversations are happening in every part of the world and our ability to capture them is critical to harness the potential of consumer awareness and brand power for a business. It’s critical then that relevant considerations are made for businesses that will be directly or indirectly affected by these online conversations and one way of doing this, is to turn to Sentiment Analysis,” says Dr. Corine van Erkom Schurink, Analytics Team Lead at PBT. 
 
Sentiment analysis is the method of automatically locating and analysing digital content in real time from across multiple channels such as websites, emails, forms and surveys in an attempt to hone in on customer sentiment buried within textual data.

Says Jessie Rudd, Data Analyst at PBT Group, “Many organisations do not know what to do with the information that can be obtained through social media. Through Sentiment Analysis, businesses can gain a clear understanding of the customer – as we are all well aware, customer is king – and where their prospects lie, which will enable organisations both big and small to compete more effectively and efficiently in their space.” 

“This not only allows businesses the ability to reach further than any marketing channel, but manage their brand reputation, as well as reduce churn. In fact, the accuracy of a well designed sentiment model is widely to be estimated to be between 70% – 80% – which enables businesses to measure the impact of a marketing campaign in close to real time, or being able to address customer satisfaction the moment it is verbalised – key to any business success,” continues Rudd.

“We expect a strong and continued growth on various social media platforms in 2012, and as such, a huge drive from organisations to begin analysing social and customer profiles for more tangible insights, allowing for smarter decision-making. Sentiment analysis is a branch of analytics that is still at the beginning of its journey. Best practice, appropriate tools and true understanding are all still a work in progress and as such, require the backing of a company with the knowledge, infrastructure and curiosity of a well deployed and experienced advanced analytics background to fully take advantage of the benefits such a movement holds,” concludes van Erkom Schurink. 
 
*Regus Second Annual Global Survey 2010, involving 17 000 managers and business owners across 80 countries.

With power and cooling product brands including APC and Uniflair in its portfolio, Schneider Electric is uniquely positioned as an end-to-end solutions provider to address the need for fast, flexible, easy and predictable data centre solutions. The new facility modules simplify the process of data centre construction, removing unnecessary complexity as well as saving time, money and other resources involved in field construction and integration.
 
Tony Day, director of data centre projects and professional services at Schneider Electric says: “Facility modules are a step towards the commoditisation of data centre physical infrastructure. Instead of waiting months, customers can expect to deploy additional capacity within weeks. Because Schneider Electric pre-engineers, configures and tests facility modules prior to delivery ensuring reliability and efficiency, site installation is also made simpler and speedier, reducing associated costs and the risk of human error.”

The new integrated systems from Schneider Electric address contemporary data centre challenges throughout EMEA, with solutions that are:

•  Fast – facility modules are verified for compliance for safety, energy efficiency, compatibility and security, reducing design cycles from months to weeks, installation from months to days, and reducing complexity in the whole commissioning process.
 
•  Flexible – facility modules enable infrastructure to be deployed and scaled as needed to meet demand, instead of upfront deployment with no visibility to future needs. These systems can extend the life of current data centres in need of additional power and cooling and can be transported to new locations for reuse at the end of the data centre’s lifecycle.

•  Easy – facility modules have factory verified operation instead of relying on field testing, have reliable lead times, and are tuned for maximum energy efficiency “out of the box”.
 
•  Predictable – facility modules utilise manufactured components limiting product defects and reducing overall design and installation time. The enclosures are purpose-engineered with structural frames to meet data centre requirements – not converted ISO containers. All solutions have software pre-programmed and fully integrated management systems.

These factors combine to make facility modules predictably more energy efficient than typical traditional data centre builds. Other features and benefits for the new solutions include:

Facility Power Modules for EMEA:

•  Incorporating high efficiency modular UPS, which are scalable and fault tolerant;

•  Featuring hot-swappable power modules to enable users to adopt a pay-as-you-grow approach to power protection, and minimise MTTR;

•  Segregated battery room;

•  Primary and critical panels;

•  Separate cable chambers to simplify hook-up;

•  Fully integrated cooling system with free-cooling capability;

•  Inert gas fire suppression and aspirating detection system;

•  Modules can be stacked vertically or side by side; and

•  Delivery using conventional road transportation methods.

Facility Cooling Modules for EMEA:

•  High efficiency chillers;

•  Integrated free-cooling;

•  Wide operating range meeting temperature conditions found throughout EMEA;

•  Reliability;

•  Stand-by integrated management;

•  Emergency mode operation;

•  Comprise 6x 100kW chiller units to facilitate a scalable approach to cooling;
 
•  Fault tolerant in N+1 configuration;

•  Parallel buffer vessels for ride-through protection and rapid return to full cooling capacity;

•  VFD control pumps and fans for efficiency; and

•  Chiller modules at N+1 are hot swappable.
 
White Paper 163 from Schneider Electric entitled “Containerized Power and Cooling Modules for Data Centers” compares the cost of facility modules against traditional approaches to physical infrastructure, presents their respective advantages and disadvantages and identifies which environments can best leverage the facility module approach. The white paper can be downloaded at no cost from the Schneider Electric website.

For more details about Schneider Electric containerised facility modules and their application, please visit the Solutions page at www.apc.com/za.

Lucian Reynard

Reynard’s responsibilities going forward include strengthening the link between Schneider Electric South Africa and APC by Schneider Electric and the companies’ partners. He is being tasked with educating Schneider Electric South Africa on all products within the APC by Schneider Electric range, illustrating how these products add value to the holistic power management solutions created by Schneider Electric South Africa for customers’ buildings and residential establishments.

Prior to his appointment, he gained extensive experience and knowledge in the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) industry and was employed at companies such as FNB, UPS Technologies and Square One Solutions in senior consultant, technical services manager and UPS installation, service and repair positions.

He joins APC by Schneider Electric from Power Development Services, where he was employed as sales engineer and solutions architect for infrastructure and software integration. Reynard will be based at Schneider Electric South Africa’s head office in Midrand, Gauteng.

“We are pleased to welcome Lucian to the APC team. His position is a critical business role and we are confident that his expertise will be greatly beneficial to employees, partners and clients,” says Paolo Miglietta, ITB vice president for Southern Africa at Schneider Electric.

More and more South Africans are downloading eBooks and steering away from purchasing  physical books.  Over 3000 eReaders were sold on kalahari.com this festive season and the online retailing giant experienced a 100% increase on the sale of eBooks for the same period. 

“South Africans appetite and aptitude for eContent is growing. In this information age, there is no reason why this could not extend to the education sector to increase access to content, aid learning in the classroom and also reduce the cost of learning materials over time.” says Gary Novitzkas, CEO of kalahari.com.

“Every year hundreds of thousands of youngsters leave the system to all intents and purposes illiterate and innumerate with little prospect of employment. The impact on South Africa’s capacity to compete globally is undermined at its very foundations.” says Dr Michael Rice, independent educationalist and former special advisor to the Minister of Education.

“While the world around us has been rapidly transforming itself through information and digital technologies we still educate our children using a centuries-old model of educational content delivery and curriculum presentation. However, international experience in implementing digitisation suggests opportunities for circumventing some of the most intractable obstacles that impact on teaching and learning in South African schools.” says Rice.

One of the issues impeding our matriculants from tertiary institutions is the cost of learning material. University textbooks can amount to 10% of a first year student’s already expensive course fees and costing an average of R500 per book.

kalahari.com is the first retailer embarking on introducing eContent widely to learners and university students. Partnering with The PETS Foundation (Programme for Educational Tablets in Schools) kalahari.com is supporting a research project that will introduce the most effective new technology tools into the learning experience.  This project intends to explore the educational, financial, technological and logistical viability of introducing tablets, digitized texts and related technologies into the South African school system over a period of five years (2012-2016).

Gary Novitzkas says: “Imagine a South Africa where learners have direct access to their new digital textbooks at the start of the school year. Dedicated devices will allow textbooks to be revised and updated at the press of a button, plus will allow interactive learning and a choice of content and language preference.”

Working with PRAESA, The PETS Foundation has introduced a pilot program that placed 350 eReaders, donated by kalahari.com, into the hands of learners around the country. One of the recipient groups was the Vulindlela Reading Club at the St Louis Primary School in Langa.  The Vulindelela learners were excited at the introduction of these devices, and project partners look forward to opening up many opportunities to faciliate and improve learning and literacy in these key environments.

Novitzkas says “Our challenge is to make tablet and eReader technology a viable option for education.  Each device must be lightweight, durable enough to stand up to the treatment of young users and affordable in large numbers for schools.”

Already, educationalists in Ghana, Bangladesh, USA, Taiwan, Europe and China are exploring the possibility of switching to digital textbooks.  “Students and teachers in South Africa alike are embracing the role that technology can play in improving and enhancing the learning experience and we are 100% behind this project,” concludes Novitzkas.

The conference will focus on showcasing the opportunities that the BlackBerry platform presents to developers and how they can most effectively drive revenue streams from their apps. RIM’s developer relations team will be on hand to demonstrate the simplified process for building apps for the BlackBerry platform and offer guidance on working with a number of innovative technologies, including:

•   HTML 5: building HTML5 apps for BlackBerry® smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets with native-like capabilities using BlackBerry® WebWorks™, including integration with core smartphone apps and features such as email, messaging, calendar, contacts, menus and multimedia

•   C/C++: native software development for BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, which brings together the power of the BlackBerry PlayBook with a rich C/C++ toolset for building high performance apps that are visually stunning

•   BlackBerry® Runtime for Android apps: porting Android apps to the BlackBerry PlayBook

Amongst the attendees is a group of more than 400 students from universities in Poland and the UK, the majority of which are affiliated with the BlackBerry® Academic Program. With over 300 academic institutions registered from 21 countries across the region, the BlackBerry Academic Program actively engages with students by encouraging participation at local events such as DevCon to facilitate application development in the classroom.

Alec Saunders, VP, Developer Relations & Ecosystem, RIM said: “The record-breaking attendance for DevCon Europe is testament to the interest in BlackBerry app development across this important region. DevCon Europe 2012 provides delegates with the opportunity to explore the full potential of the BlackBerry platform and to engage directly with our developer relations team. With cutting-edge developer tools, streamlined processes and a high level of dedicated support, we’re making it easier than ever for developers to enjoy a strong experience developing for the BlackBerry platform and to effectively monetise their offerings.”

Finding success on BlackBerry 

At DevCon Europe, sessions will showcase how developers are already benefiting from BlackBerry® App World™ Two billion apps have been downloaded to date and the momentum continues with 6 million downloads per day. In addition to serving an installed base of more than 75 million devices, the BlackBerry platform is also recognised as one of the most profitable for developers:

•   BlackBerry users download more paid apps on average than Android users do (Yankee  Group)

•   BlackBerry apps generate 40% more revenue than Android apps (Vision Mobile)

•   13% of BlackBerry developers made $100,000+ from BlackBerry App World apps, considerably more than Android or Apple developers (Evans Data Corp)

The path to BlackBerry 10

Attendees at DevCon Europe will also learn more about the BlackBerry® 10 developer roadmap and how this new operating system will open up even more opportunities for app developers. BlackBerry 10 combines the best of BlackBerry OS and QNX®,  offering developers a single, converged platform, built from the ground up to deliver the most powerful, secure and social mobile computing experience yet. The platform is comprised of a next-generation mobile OS and services, as well as native and HTML5 application development environments.

HTML5 will be the bridge that allows developers to tap into the millions of BlackBerry devices on the market today, plus the next generation of BlackBerry handsets. Developers are able to use it for development now and indeed, already one-quarter of all apps on BlackBerry App World today have been built using  HTML5 and the enhancements and native-like integration offered by BlackBerry WebWorks, RIM’s web development toolset.

If you are interested in learning more about BlackBerry DevCon Europe 2012 or to keep up to date on all the latest from the show, visit www.blackberry.com/devconeurope.

Deon Liebenberg

Says Deon Liebenberg, MD of Samsung South Africa; “As Samsung has been a long-time supporter of African football, we felt it only natural for us to invest in such an application; the application will offer fans an opportunity to keep up to date with the latest information and results around the event, with ease and while on the move.”

The application features competitions, galleries, live scores, downloads and fixtures for the 2012 tournament and is available for fans to download for free.

“We are committed to our customers and through this app we aim to offer the best possible enjoyment of the tournament. Fans can now follow the tournament passionately and not miss out as we understand that it is not always possible to catch all the live action. We, at Samsung, are again meeting the needs of our consumers – in this case sports fans – and are providing them with content that not only allows for great entertainment, but fuels the spirit of African soccer,” concludes Liebenberg.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2010 consolidated sales of US$135.8 billion. Employing approximately 190,500 people in 206 offices across 68 countries, the company operates two separate organizations to coordinate its nine independent business units: Digital Media & Communications, comprising Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, and Digital Imaging; and Device Solutions, consisting of Memory, System LSI and LCD. Recognized for its industry-leading performance across a range of economic, environmental and social criteria, Samsung Electronics was named the world’s most sustainable technology company in the 2011 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com

By its very composite nature, unified communications (UC) application platforms can be modular and exhibit evolutionary growth.

Perhaps you’re already using a form of it, rudimentary or at least potentially quite advanced. Or maybe you’re not sure where to start. Chances are you could use some help with realising the many benefits open to you in using this collection of collaborative and communication technologies.

Read on, because that help is close at hand:

1. Start with IPT – Internet Protocol-based Telephony, otherwise known as IPT or Voice over IP (VOIP), is considered by many to be the basis of UC. In truth, VOIP is just one of many UC applications, but an IP PBX is indeed an easy platform on which to start building a UC environment. With VOIP, you’ll need IP phones, from Polycom, Snom or another vendor of your choice, and your data network or LAN will have to be voice-ready. However, with most of the new data switches, this is no problem at all.

2. Next you will want some form of unified messaging – voice mail to e-mail, fax-to-e-mail, or fax from the desktop. This is one of the most rudimentary forms of UC; it could even be called a precursor. There are low- or no-cost possibilities within your current consumer-grade e-mail solution, such as Gmail, but for a better corporate image with more potential for extension down the line, try solutions allowing you your own domain, mailboxes and service level agreements.

3. At this point you may consider desktop productivity integration of your messaging solution. Benefits could include identifying incoming calls and responding appropriately (available, voicemail etc).

4. With IPT as the basis, remote and home extensions can come into play. Such workers can make or receive calls from their extension, as if they are at the office. Incoming calls ring simultaneously on their desk phone and laptop-based soft phone, smartphone-based soft phone client or remote IP phone.

5. The next layer of UC may involve directory integration – whether on their iPad, notebook or office phone, users can find colleagues and transfer calls to them remotely.

6. Since many laptops have integrated webcams – and can handle USB webcam if not – the company may consider instant messaging (IM) and peer-to-peer videoconferencing.  Desktop collaboration like sharing of documents while working remotely or from regional offices, can also increase productivity significantly.  Again, there are consumer-grade solutions that do this, but to guarantee a level of quality, it is best to procure a solution that is architected properly.

7. Here’s where it gets exciting, as presence management becomes the next logical option. Presence allows users of the system to set and see someone else’s availability and location, although the latter option may be considered a bit intrusive for some people. With calendar integration, it is also possible to see if someone is in a meeting.
 
8. With conferencing, participants can log into the conference bridge, allowing the organiser or participants to share video, desktop or server files and so on. Should the customer be smaller in size, a one-to-many solution may not be what is called for.

9. Finally, mobility allows users to manage their presence not just on their PC or laptop, but also on their smartphones, on any network. Not only can the remote worker make or receive calls as though physically present at his or her desk, but they can walk into and out of the corporate or home wireless LAN, and their call in progress will hand over seamlessly between the public GSM network and the WiFi network as required. With presence and directory integration, the smartphone warrior can transfer calls, set availability and otherwise enjoy all the other UC features that desk jockeys do.

No stress

Unified communications need not be a major disruption to your business. There is a logical order to how most people adopt new functional components, and each new module should slot in with minimal effort.

* Tellumat is the South African distributor of ShoreTel systems.