the integrator - east africa - sept 2012

www.screencheckme.com

ScreenCheck Middle East FZ.LLC.P.O.Box 502151

Dubai, UAE.Tel: +971 4 3910707Fax: +971 4 3245107

ID CARD PRINTERS BIOMETRIC READERS POINT OF SALE SOLUTIONS BARCODE PRODUCTS CURRENCY MACHINES

ScreenCheck Middle East provides a wide basket of products from world’s leading brands in Auto ID industry ranging from Identification, Barcoding, Point of Sale, Biometrics etc. It envisages for the channel partners, a one stop point for all business requirments. Factory trained technical consultants from ScreenCheck ensure that the customers pick the right components for their solutions and also offer dedicated help desk support.

ID Card Printer Consumables and Accessories

September 2012 | The Integrator 3

Cont

ents

Printer equipment manufacturers face a mounting challenge to their business model from a robust, if substandard, grey market in counterfeit consumables and ink refill business. Replacement cartridges and toners provide vendors with their most dependable source of income, a revenue stream now under threat. The issue, in the end, boils down to price. Printer manufacturers subsidise the cost of buying printers and then make money off consumables. These are then sold at a premium, providing an incentive for cost conscious customers to seek cheaper alternatives elsewhere.

The vendors then are being forced to get creative by taking the competition head on. Epson recently launched Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) a bulk feed ink system into the Kenyan market. CISS provides a cheaper alternative to buying cartridges but with better quality of ink supplied by the vendors themselves. This is a clear example of a company trying to adapt to local conditions.

But the problem printer vendors face in the Kenyan market is part of a larger proprietary enforcement issue. Traders in Kenya complain regularly about lax copyright and trademark protection. A recent raid by the police, with the support of Microsoft, on an illegal business hawking illegal software in Kisumu is a step in the right direction but more needs to be done. Kenya’s aspirations of becoming the African IT hub could be undone if IT companies cannot be assured of the strength country’s legal framework.

Local IT firms on the other hand continue to make their mark in the local market through innovative products. In this issue, we highlight a few of them and how they are trying to stay ahead of the competition. A common denominator in all of their stories is the need to supply the market with the latest technology. The East African buying public has become savvy and literate in that they demand the latest gadgets as soon as they are launched anywhere in the world. This is an indicator of a market that has come of age.

Local solutions hold the key

David NdichuAssistant Editor

Editorial

Publisher: Vivek Sharma Managing Editor: R. NarayanAssistant Editor: David Ndichu Art Director: Faiz Ahmed Sales Director: Alishan ZaidiSr. Sales Manager: R. Subramanyan Business Development Manager: Mallika RegoSales Coordinator: Smitha Jithesh

Disclaimer: While the publishers have made every attempt possible to get accurate information on published content in this handbook they cannot be held liable for any errors herein.

Published by: JNS Media International MFZEP.O. Box: 121075, Montana Building 404, Zabeel Road, Near GPO, Karama, Dubai-UAETel: 04-3705022 Fax: 04-3706639

Regulars

NewsEyetechStats & Trends

P - 10 Cover Story

Major printer manufacturers seek to ride the E. African IT momentum

P - 12 Feature

The second edition of VAR Conclave brings Kenya’s IT channel together

P - 14 Interview

Revolutionising East African ITComputer Revolution’s Microsoft connection

P - 16 Feature

Mitsumi for GITEX 2012Mitsumi will be at this year’s GITEX

P - 18

Integrated ProgressSmart buildings boost for AVC

P - 20 - Interview

Making experience countPC World’s focused progress

P - 22Accelerated growthComztek’s Africa-wide network keeps it in good stead

P - 24

Strength in DiversityMustek’s has a wide variety of solutions for the market

P - 25

Making all the differenceTechnology today’s brand new plan

P - 26

Powering Kenya’s industrySoftype bring Silicon Valley to Kenya

The Integrator | September 20124

Techno Brain in conjunction with the Rockefeller Foundation and SAMASource is working to create jobs in data entry, content moderation and other outsourcing jobs for hundreds of underprivileged girls in Kenya. The girls will work for giant companies such as LinkedIn, Intuit, the US State Department, and local hospitals, among others.

Techno Brain is a Kenyan based business processing and outsourcing company. “The project we are in with SAMASource is about

creating jobs to the youth from slum around Nairobi. We target those with IT skills that can help us do certain tasks for American companies,” says Lakshman Manickam, Director Operations and Human Resource at Techno Brain.

SAMASource, a non-profit organisation based in the US will bid for the contracts in the US and we will execute the tasks remotely from our offices here in Kenya. The work mostly involves ordinary outsourcing duties such as data entry, verification of contents on client’s websites, and high quality content moderation, over 100 people has been employed to carry out the tasks,” he says.

International Telecommunication Union have signed a deal with IT giant Google to make telecommunication and information and communication technology (ICT) statistics available through the Google Public Data Explorer (PDE).

Users can now explore and visualize ITU’s key ICT statistical indicators from 1960 to 2011 for about 200 economies worldwide with Google PDE. Key indicators include fixed telephone, mobile cellular, fixed (wired) Internet, fixed (wired) broadband subscriptions and penetration, as well as the percentage of individuals using the Internet.

“Teaming up with Google PDE will greatly expand the reach and usability of ITU’s ICT statistics, making them more accessible and allowing users to explore and visualize ITU’s rich datasets,” said ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré. “For the first time, even non-experts will be able to quickly and easily create compelling charts and trends analysis that will enhance their work, and will also benefit others working to further develop the ICT sector worldwide.”

East African companies took top regional honours in Microsoft Certified Partners awards during the company’s Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in Canada in July this year. Kenyan and Tanzanian firms took seven of the eight awards on offer for the East and Southern African region. The winners are firms that have excelled in delivering Microsoft solutions to small, medium and large enterprises, as well as government agencies in East and Southern Africa, according to Microsoft. “Every day we rely on our partners’ technical expertise, local insight and business agility to meet our customers’ demands,” said Louis Otieno, general manager, Microsoft East and Southern Africa. “It is through their dedication and resilience that Microsoft continues to grow stronger and more competitive each year in Africa.”

A Microsoft Certified Partner provides services on behalf of Microsoft spanning many fields including OEM, education, software providers and technical support. The partners also benefit from 24-hour access to Microsoft Support, which enables them provide better customer relations and support. To qualify as a Certified Partner, a company has to have been in business for at least five years, passed several tests, and has proven skills in their particular field. In return for participation in the program, partners gain support services and tools from Microsoft, often at a significant discount to their face value.

Microsoft AwardsTop Partners

ITU, Google in new Data Partnership

News

New Hope forKenyan Youth


Samsung Electronics East Africa is partnering with technology firm Seven Seas Technologies to help its clients in Kenya reduce their operational costs by supplying virtual desktops and laptops. The two firms plan to offer thin client solutions in Kenya for the first time to business and government organisations.

A thin client is the use of a unified server system to network multiple access devices such as personal computers, mobile phone and tablets. “Samsung has managed to combine a thin client CPU and network module, as well as monitor, speakers and adaptor into one single unit monitor to help boost business efficiency and environmental conservation,” said Robert Ngeru, Samsung electronics East African business leader.

And as part of the deal, Samsung has unveiled desktops and mini-laptops that have no internal Central Processing Units (CPUs) but rely on the cloud. The Samsung thin client solutions is targeted at commercial enterprises, education, healthcare, government, finance and retail sectors. The thin client solutions will be replicated by Samsung in other markets in the continent, as part of the company’s African expansion plan.

Seven Seas Technologies is a Nairobi-based provider of integrated business and technology solutions across Africa in the financial, telecom, and real estate.

Epson recently launched a new range of printers into the Kenyan market targeting financial institutions and diplomatic missions. The printers can be used to print visas on passports and by banks to produce specialised banking documents. The printers come with advanced security features including an in-built high-speed duplex colour scanner. According to Epson, this is meant to eliminate the risk of counterfeit cheques by combining the high resolution and high-speed scanner with an application for verifying signatures or detecting counterfeit cheques by banks.

Epson recently opened an office in Nairobi to serve its operations in the East and Central Africa region. “In our chosen markets on the African continent, we intend to gain market share at a higher rate than market growth by striving to develop and create ground-breaking innovative products at affordable prices for all market segments,” said Mukesh Bector, Regional Manager for Epson East Africa.Epson is the latest global IT company to choose Kenya as their regional hub for East Africa. Mukesh said the choice of Nairobi as Epson’s regional base was due to the country’s developed infrastructure and access to the rest of the markets in East Africa.

The SOFGEN group, an international banking IT consulting firm, recently implemented Harland Financial Solution's CreditQuest, a comprehensive end-to-end credit risk management system at Tropical Bank, Uganda.

When Tropical Bank sought to automate its credit processes, analysis of major credit risk management applications in use across sub-Saharan Africa was undertaken. The evaluation included numerous site visits and culminated in the selection of CreditQuest as the best fit to Tropical Bank’s requirements.

Tunde Oladele, Chief Executive Officer, SOFGEN Africa, said, “SOFGEN created an interface between the bank’s core system and CreditQuest thereby facilitating a free flow of data between the two platforms and enabling Tropical Bank to take full advantage of its technology investments.”

SOFGENimplementsCreditQuestat Ugandan Bank

Epson unveils new printers for E. Africa

Samsung in new deal with Seven Seas


Adlevo Capital Managers, a private equity fund manager focused on investments into technology-enabled businesses in sub-Saharan Africa, and Intel Capital, Intel’s global investment and M&A organization, recently completed an expansion investment into Rancard Solutions a provider of cloud-based software for mobile content discovery and delivery in Africa.

The company has developed a cloud-based social recommendations engine called ‘Rendezvous’, which maps connections among mobile users and then uses this mapping of shared interests as a basis for recommending content to consumers.

“Africa is a market with attractive IT trends which we believe will unearth great business opportunities for us”, said Arvind Sodhani, President of Intel Capital and Intel Executive Vice President. “With technological developments playing a key role in the region’s economic growth, we are seeking out Africa’s leading technology companies and greatentrepreneurs ".

Acer announces its series of Windows 8-based products, which includes the premium Aspire S7 Ultrabook, ICONIA W Series tablets, and Aspire U Series all-in-one (AIO) desktops, featuring ergonomic designs that deliver greater convenience and appeal to the overall user experience.

“It is a watershed moment for Acer,” says J.T. Wang, Chairman and CEO of Acer Inc. “Acer has always been committed to breaking the barriers between people and technology and the leading design of these products, when coupled with the Windows 8 touch functions, will provide transformational experiences for users whether they are creating important output or simply being entertained.”

Acer collaborated closely with Microsoft and to engineer new products that will are compatible with Windows 8, according to Jim Wong, Corporate President of Acer. “This demonstrates our product development efficiencies and our ability to provide an enhanced and satisfying computing experience. By focusing on ergonomics and style, we are addressing key consumer demands, Wong said.

“Interaction between human beings and computers should be easy rather than complex. In our view, the touchscreen experience enabled by Windows 8 is a massive step forward simply because it makes computing more intuitive by offering users a backward in interface. We understand Windows 8 innovation and benefits and by utilizing Intel’s architecture and platform performance on our products, we believe we will provide users a better touch experience across devices for both consumer and commercial products,” he added.

Lenovo Group’s quarterly profit rose 30% on strong sales in developing markets but growth slowed amid global economic weakness. The world's second-largest personal computer maker said it earned $144 million in the three months ending June 30 on $8 billion in global sales. The profit growth rate was down from the previous quarter's 59% increase.

PC shipments in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America rose 59.2 percent while those to Europe, the Middle East and Africa were up 62.3 percent. Lenovo said it sold 5 million smartphones in China in the quarter, passing PC sales by number of units for the first time.

"Despite uncertainties in global economic conditions impacting the PC market in the short term, we will remain focused to outperform the worldwide PC market in a profitable way," said chief financial officer Wong Waiming. "Our strategic investments in mobile internet have started contributing to the growth in sales and improved profitability."

Lenovo Profits Rise

Acer Unveils Win-dows 8 PC Lineup

News

Intel invests in African start up


News in Detail

ScreenCheck has expanded its ID printer equipment portfolio by launching Evolis’s new Primacy, a card printer designed to deliver single or dual-sided cards for a variety of applications, from basic IDs to highly-secure cards. With Primacy, Evolis revamps its range of desktop card printers thanks to a machine that is simple to operate, yet fast and flexible. Primacy meets various printing and encoding requirements, from medium to large scale printing of cards. It provides solutions for the delivery of transportation passes, payment cards, identification badges, as well as multi-feature cards. Further, the dual-sided option can be activated on-site. Encoding options can also be installed rapidly on-site whether the need is for magnetic stripes, smart cards or RFID contactless cards.

Primacy can print up to 210 single-sided cards in colour per hour, and up to 140 on both sides. The 100-card capacity input and output hoppers are conveniently located at the front of the printer and can be easily accessed and monitored. Evolis also pays attention to the operating environment. Primacy is a silent printer and benefits from reduced energy consumption. It is shipped with Evolis Premium Suite, a software solution that offers the user control over the printer’s operation as well as support any time.

ScreenCheck is a leading supplier of innovative smart card solutions &

systems in the world. Headquartered in The Netherlands, ScreenCheck has offices in the USA, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and India and 150 plus distributors spread across the world. This network is backed by four development centres and two card manufacturing units.

In addition to the Primacy, ScreenCheck offers the Eminence SC7000, known for its high-quality ID printing solutions. Images are fused to cards in a process involving heat and pressure, printing vivid high-definition security badges and ID cards. The lamination module of this printer (CL700s / CL700D) adds a layer of laminate to this card resulting in an image capable of surviving wear and abrasion.

The SC7000 produces ID cards in high definition using the innovative retransfer technology. By printing an image on retransfer film, then fusing

the film to the card surface, the SC7000 creates an image that looks more like a crisp glossy photo than an ordinary ID badge. In addition, printing on film instead of directly on the card means that the uneven surface of technology cards can’t affect image quality, or damage print heads. The SC7000 can print up to the edge of smart chip contacts, and over-the-edge of the card. Cards produced by retransfer printing are inherently more durable and secure than other types of cards. These cards are also very secure and tamper-evident. If a counterfeiter tries to peel apart the layers, the image essentially destroys itself.

SC7000 is available either as a single (SC7000S) or dual-sided printer, (SC7000D) to match customer needs. Encoding options are also be available

as Magnetic, Contact or Contactless. Strong Security features like Black ribbon erase, encryption data transfer by IPSEC Protocol and Kensington lock compatibility make the SC7000 a much more reliable and secure machine.

ID Printinggets TechnologyBoost


IBM recently opened its first IBM Research lab on the African continent in Nairobi, Kenya, in collaboration with the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) through the Kenya ICT Board. It will conduct basic and applied research focused on solving problems relevant to Africa and contribute to the building of a science and technology base for the continent.

Key research areas that will be explored by IBM Research Africa include the management of big data through advanced analytics and cloud technologies. This can help advance e-government capabilities such as helping to reduce the cost of social services, improving efficiency and productivity, deterring fraud and abuse, improving citizen access to services,

IBM opens Lab in Kenya

News in Detail

and enabling digital interaction between citizens and the public sector.

Rates of urbanization in Africa are the highest in the world. The single biggest challenge facing African cities is improving access to and quality of city services such as water and transportation. IBM, in collaboration with government, industry and academia, plans to develop smart cities. This will include the creation of Intelligent Operation Centres for African cities; integrated command centres that can encompass social and mobile computing, geo-spatial and visual analytics, and information models to enable smarter ways of managing city services. The initial focus will be on smarter water systems and traffic management solutions for the region.

A skills shortage is hindering the leadership and innovation of new

industry in Africa. The lab, while carrying out research, will help to elevate the level of ICT and related scientific skills in Kenya by working in collaboration with select universities, government agencies and companies. Boosting the innovation culture in Kenya and engaging local entrepreneurs and innovators in developing solutions that matter to the people of Kenya and the region will also assist in accelerating economic development.

“IBM continues to expand its operations in key growth markets and we plan to lead the way by bringing Africa into our global network of IBM Research laboratories,” said John E. Kelly III, IBM senior vice president and director of IBM Research. “We plan to work closely with leading African

scientists and engineers from academia, government and industry to address some of their most pressing challenges and greatest opportunities.”

Operations at the lab will commence immediately. Expansion into other parts of Africa may be considered in a second phase. The new lab will establish a Resident Scientist Program, an international recruitment program to reach Kenyan and other African applicants. The program will aim to attract top R&D talent to work side-by-side with IBM researchers in the lab.

The resident scientist candidates will be pre and post-doctoral researchers including scientists and researchers from academia, government and industry. The resident scientists will begin with a one-year tenure with options for this to be extended. Resident scientists will be integrated into the IBM Research - Africa lab as well as IBM’s global network of labs. Each Resident Scientist can collaborate with IBM researchers throughout IBM’s global network of 12 laboratories as they carry out their research.

IBM is making a significant investment in Africa, the world's fastest growing region. The expansion program is part of a major business plan to increase IBM's presence in growth markets and support global strategy. The company is present in more than 20 African countries and recognizes the huge potential of research and smarter systems in transforming business, government and society across the continent.

Alongside its day-to-day business of providing technologies and services to clients in Africa, IBM has deployed an array of programs aimed at building economic capacity such as IBM’s employee volunteer program, Corporate Service Corps, which is modelled on the U.S. Peace Corps. For example, IBM is working with the Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) to review the country’s changing economic landscape and develop a plan to deliver financial services to rural areas.

John E. Kelly IIISenior Vice President & Director, IBM Research

Because your clients have varied requirements, the new range of Evolis Primacy card printers offers maximum flexibility.

Single or double-sided printing, magnetic stripe encoding, smart contact or contactless chips – Primacy can do it all, thanks to the many onsite upgrades and options that can be added and combined.

Your customers will appreciate the ease of use, speed and unmatched print quality. You will love the versatility and easy hardware and software integration.

A worthy and reliable successor to the Pebble and Dualys range, Primacy is covered by a full 3-year warranty.

The ultimate card printer!

www.evolis.com

All the flexibility you need in a card printer

ScreenCheck Middle East FZ.LLC.P.O.Box 502151, Dubai, UAE.

Tel: +971 4 3910707; Fax: +971 4 3245107

www.screencheckme.com

Authorised distributor:


Feature Printing

Restrictive prices of vendor printer consumables are invariably cited as the main reason why customers opt for compatible toners and cartridges and refill inks. Vendors deliberately sell printers at a lower price and then try to make up the difference by selling consumables at a steep price. This has seen the rise of a veritable grey market in refilling, counterfeit and compatible consumables in East Africa. This is at a time when the region is increasingly becoming a major market for print manufacturers. The consumable segment is very important to the vendors, in most cases more valuable than selling printers. Consumables are repeat purchase items, with printers falling into the single purchase category. To counter what is undeniably a major assault on potential proceeds, vendors realize the need to make it more cost effective for customers to own and use original equipment.

On a recent trip to the Middle East, Minoru Usui, global head at Epson, explained how new technology is making it more cost effective for customers looking to save on printing costs. The Japanese firm’s proprietary Micro Piezo technology, Usui explained, accurately controls the amount of ink pulled into and expelled out of the nozzles by varying the electrical charge applied to the piezoelectric elements. This enables the print head to eject ink droplets in a range of precisely controlled sizes. “Print heads that employ Micro Piezo technology are extremely durable and therefore provide reliable operation over the life of the printer”, said Usui. “Print heads based on thermal inkjet technology, on the other hand, must be replaced regularly as they soon degrade due to the application of heat.” The company last year launched large format Micro Piezo printers at a far lower price than laser but at comparable quality.

Brother on the other hand has embraced HD printing, with its higher quality graphics and photos as well as launching A3 printers. These printers save costs as they include copy and scan capabilities. “A3 scanners are quite expensive on their own and Brother is able to sell these multi-functional printers at a competitive price”, said Jai Shankar, Brother marketing manager for Middle East and Africa. East Africa is a completely different market and that is why adapting products to local conditions is crucial. For starters, it helps to have local presence. To this end, Epson has opened an office in Nairobi Kenya to handle the East African market. According to Jean-Marie Lacroix, VP, for sales in Emerging Territories at Epson, the company is trying to come up with region-specific products for the East African market as it tries to entrench its presence here. This is an already established market strategy. In Italy for instance, the company focuses

East Africa a Hard Sell

All the big names in printing are vying for the emerging East African market. Consumers will pick winners and losers based on ability to adapt to local conditions.

Epson President Minoru Usui (left) with Jean-Marie Lacroix, VP for sales in emerging territories


on printers suitable for printing on textiles based on that country’s fashion industry. In Kenya, the company has recently launched continuous ink supply service (CISS) that promises inks at superior quality than refills at a cheaper price than buying cartridges outright. Epson is also keen to protect its patents and supports local authorities fight against counterfeits, according to Usui. Another growing segment of the consumable market is manufacturing and sale of compatible cartridges. Compatibles offer a different challenge in that, in contrast with fakes or refills, their quality is almost at par with OEMs, with a far lower cost outlay, hence their growing popularity. “The compatibles market is different in that the customers usually are making conscious and informed buying decisions”, said Shankar. Machines are getting more and more complicated and customers waste potential capacity by grossly underutilizing their machines. Epson tries to solve this by actively training its first and second-tier resellers who can then pass this knowledge to their customers. The company also maintains training modules online for customers. “We try to encourage people to use all the features in their devices to get the most of them,” said Lacroix.

There is a lot of misinformation out there and firms are trying to counter that by educating customers on the risks involved when buying and using counterfeit consumables and refills. “The problem is that a lot of customers do not know the risks involved and are misled by unscrupulous resellers”, Shankar said. Warranties on printers automatically become void when one uses counterfeit or refilled cartridges and toners, he added.

The public is increasingly conscious of its own environmental impact and manufacturers are keen to tout their green credentials. “Epson’s Micro Piezo printers can both contribute to reducing consumption of resources while improving product speed and improving cost competitiveness”, said Usui. “Because the technology doesn't utilize heat for firing the ink or attaching it to the paper, this technology consumes significantly less electricity than laser printers”.Brother’s contribution to a more ecologically viable planet involves its multifunctional and duplex printers that reduce waste and costs for customers. Canon offers a comprehensive sustainability module to reduce energy use, printing costs and paper consumption. This is through a combination of Canon’s device capabilities, recycled paper and materials from certified producers. In addition, Canon’s uniFLOW allows user activity on networked devices to be controlled which reduces the amount of printing and paper that is wasted. Canon also has solutions that enable customers to submit jobs via the internet, web to print, that immediately removes the need for postage and couriers. Kenya and the rest of the developing world offer the print manufacturers the best prospects for growth as the developed world market plateaus. Contrary to popular belief, the rise in digital photography is actually leading to an increase in photo printing, according to Lacroix. “As people accumulate more data, the more material they simply have to print” he said. Managed Print Services, (MPS) offers vendors and their partners control over the entire printing and supplies business for enterprises. MPS is an outsourcing service offered by printer

manufacturers designed to assist the business end-user to streamline management and minimize costs associated with printing and imaging. This has the potential of completely locking out compatible manufacturers and the refill business. For businesses, this will remove the high cost factor blamed for the proliferation of grey marketing in the industry. East Africa, and its growing IT sector, offers a potentially lucrative market for printer manufacturers for years to come. The companies just need to navigate through the obstacles peculiar to this market. It’s especially crucial to offer products and services specific to the region. East Africa has shown a particular penchant for adopting technology from all over the world. Aptly packaged, emerging print technology will find an eager and resourceful market ready for the taking.

Jai ShankarMarketing Manager, Middle East & Arical, Brother


The third VAR Conclave Nairobi was held at the 5-star Fairmont Norfolk Hotel in downtown Nairobi on the 11th July this year. The colorful event was attended by 100 Kenyan IT channel players to network and hear from major distributors and vendors.

VAR Conclave is a series of networking platforms that seek to foster channel partnership and help clinch strategic business leads across the GCC and East Africa. The events include one-on-one focused meetings between participating exhibitors and leading resellers. The Conclave is also an ideal platform to showcase products and technologies.

Jagat Shah of Mitsumi Distribution, one of Africa’s leading IT distributors, gave the attendees a rundown of the 16-year rise of Mitsumi from a small Nairobi-based trader to a Pan African distributor with operations in 19 countries. The company is today an authorized distributor for leading

global IT hardware & software brands including HP, Dell, Acer, Toshiba, Samsung, Tripplite, BenQ and Microsoft. “MITSUMI has a first-mover advantage in Africa since the company was the first to establish a chain of in-country presence in these markets with facilities like warehousing, stocking points and support service centers in 1996,” said Shah.

Belkin is one of the top global brands for computer accessories and peripherals. It recently signed a deal with Dubai-based Accessplus to distribute its products in the African market including Kenya. Youssef El-Arif, sales manager for the MEA region, was at hand to take the audience through a visual presentation of the company’s rapid growth since its launch in 1983. This included Belkin’s humble beginnings in the garage of founder Chet Pipkin’s own

house in California and the very first Belkin product, a parallel printer cable. Since then, the company has grown to include a wide range of hi-tech products including wireless HDTV adapters, routers and Ipad accessories. Their cables today include hi-speed USB connections and HDMI cables.

Encouraging traders present to include Belkin products in their IT portfolio, Youssef played out a scenario to illustrate the business advantages of a move in that direction. “If you sell a laptop alone, you will likely get a 10% profit margin,” explained Youssef. “If you sell a Belkin product you get a 25% profit. If you sell a laptop and a Belkin product together, your profit rises to 35%”, he added.

Eurostar is keen to expand into the vibrant African market. To this end, the Dubai-based company has signed a sales partnership with Kenyan-based Nakumatt, East Africa’s largest retailer to sell its products in East Africa. Eurostar manufactures its own range of tablets, the ePad series, one of which was won by an attendee in a raffle at the event.

Silva explained the advantages of being a Eurostar distributor/reseller which include end user support, sales and marketing support, recognition, attractive margins and incentives. “You help us with the place and we take care of the rest”, explained Silva.

Speaking afterwards, Peter Mwanzia, sales director at Read Technologies commended the organizers of the event for availing the opportunity to network with other businesspeople and vendors. By the end of the night, Mwanzia had identified cables from Belkin that he had been actively seeking and was keen to partner with the accessory maker. Ninette Kung’u of Computer Revolution Africa, a leading IT business solutions provider in East Africa, was happy that the meet was professionally organized with easy access for the attendees. She plans to attend future events.

Conclave aHit in KenyaConclave aHit in KenyaThe meeting room at the Fairmont Norfolk in Nairobi was abuzz as the third edition of the VAR Conclave Kenyan edition came to town.

Feature VAR Conclave

Protect your customers

from counterfeit software.

Counterfeit software can be a serious security risk for customers.Are you sure your customer’s business is safe?

It is natural for customers to look for good deals when purchasing software. But in their hunt for lower prices, they run the risk of trying to save money by acquiring counterfeit or non-genuine Windows® software. If this is the case, they may get a whole lot more than they bargained for.

At Comztek we understand that counterfeit software can expose customers’ computers to malicious code or other dangerous malware, leaving them open to costly system failures, data loss and employee downtime, which ultimately will result in business loss. Remember that prices which appear too good to be true,

may in fact be far too good to be true, and could end up costing your customers more in the long run.

But how can you ensure you aren’t falling prey to counterfeits trying to pull the wool over your eyes? Remember that the easiest and most cost-effective way to get Windows software on a new PC is pre-installed by your PC manufacturer. You can also ensure your customers are protected by turning to a reputable software distributor and ensuring you ask for genuine Microsoft software pre-installed when buying a new PC.

Make sure your customer’s business is safe. Visit www.microsoft.com/genuine

Comztek East Africa Recommends Genuine Microsoft® Software

@ 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

2nd Floor, Mecer PlaceCrescent Road, ParklandsNairobi

+254 020 375 117/9

www.comztek.com

I built this business fromthe ground up.

Now I worry about what could bring it down.


Discuss your operations in East AfricaComputer Revolution Africa began its operations in Kenya in 1995 aiming to integrate IT innovation and technology in the country’s business sector. We have since grown to become a regional player with operations in Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania in addition to our Kenyan offices. Our aim is to provide first-rate IT solutions and services to a diverse regional clientele.

Discuss your partnership with MicrosoftWe are a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Data Security Provider, and Enterprise Software Advisor (ESA). We are certified to sell licenses and provide software solutions to the corporate sector. Computer Revolution Africa has been a Microsoft partner for 15 years. What corporate solutions are you able to provide?Our corporate customers fall into two categories, SMBs whose IT requirements fall between five and 249 users and enterprise clients ranging from 250 to thousands of PCs. We will

either deal through our distributor channel or receive licenses from Microsoft directly depending on the size of the enterprise requirements. Between five and 249 licenses, we go through the channel. Beyond that, we deal directly with Microsoft. We offer two kinds of programs, Open Value (OV) for SMBs and Enterprise Agreement (EA) for larger corporates. Customers will then sign with us an Open Value Subscription (OVS) or an Enterprise Sales Agreement (ESA) respectively

Please elaborate on OV and ESAOpen Value is the recommended program if you have a small to mid-size organization with five or more desktop PCs and want to simplify license management, manage software

costs, and get better control over your investment. It also includes Software Assurance, providing access to valuable benefits such as training, deployment planning, software upgrades, and product support help you boost the productivity of your entire organization. Enterprise Sale Agreements, on the other hand, are for large corporates with a 250 minimum number of desktop PCs. ESA targets the commercial (Enterprise Subscription Agreement) and government (Enterprise Subscription Agreement for Government) market segments. Pricing is based upon the number of PCs and the client will sign a three year renewable agreement. This is a subscription type license with either annual or up-front payment options. Physical media is provided while licensed products can be downloaded for no additional charge.

What other products and services do you offer?Apart from Microsoft we are also resellers for Dell allowing us to deliver and support Dell integrated products and solutions which include cluster/grid, consolidation, mobility, protection and virtualization solutions. We are also GFI Gold Partners, enabling us provide business clients with efficient web and mail security, archiving back up and fax solutions as well as networking and hosted services solutions.

What is the key to Computer Revolution’s continued growth?The key to thriving in this market is innovation. You have to have a deep understanding of the product and services so as to understand what you

recommend to your customers. You need to compare where you are and where you want to be vis-a-vis the rest of the industry. Our efforts have seen Computer Revolution awarded by Microsoft year on year. We were named Microsoft’s Partner of the year for the East African region in 2011 and Management & Virtualization Partner of the Year and Software Asset Management Partner of the Year 2012 for East and Southern Africa.

What is the future of Computer Revolution and the IT industry in Kenya?The future of IT in Kenya looks bright as more and more companies embrace IT. Companies in the region are now realizing the benefits of having fully-fledged IT departments and the value technology can bring to an organization.

Revolutionising East African ITComputer Revolution Africa has in 15 years become one of the most reliable Microsoft partners in East Africa. Integrator spoke to Enterprise Account Manager at Computer Revolution, Ninette Kung'u.

Ninette Kung'uEnterprise Account Manager, Computer Revolution

Interview Computer Revolution

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Feature Mitsumi

Jagat ShahChairman & CEO, Mitsumi

Mitsumi setfor GITEX 2012Mitsumi setfor GITEX 2012

Mitsumi IT Distribution, one of Africa’s largest IT distributors, is set to make its debut at the GITEX Technology Week, the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region’s premier information and communications technology (ICT) event. GITEX Technology Week 2012 runs from October 14-18, at Dubai World Trade Centre.

This year, for the very first time, Mitsumi will exhibit its product portfolio from renowned global vendor partners like HP, Dell, Acer, Toshiba, Lenovo, Samsung, Microsoft, BenQ and Tripplite at the prestigious event. The Mitsumi stall will be located at A8-10, Hall 8 during GITEX 2012.

As part of its “Africa in Focus” campaign, GITEX this year embarked on an African roadshow across the continent, spanning 12 countries in East, West and North Africa. The team met with key government organizations, industry associations, embassies, and leading ICT companies to discuss opportunities available to companies in Africa looking to expand their businesses across boundaries. Mitsumi is thus expecting an increase in the number of delegations from African countries as well as global companies seeking new African partnerships. “Mitsumi’s participation at GITEX 2012 is indicative of our company's commitment to showcasing the rich opportunities available in Africa and to cement and further grow our reseller and vendor partner base”, says Jagat Shah Chairman and CEO at Mitsumi.

The roadshow kicked off in Nairobi, Kenya on 12 April 2012,

GITEX’s focus is on Africa this year, fitting then that Mitsumi, one of the largest players in the African IT market, will be taking part in the exhibition for the very first time.

where the GITEX team met representatives from Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. In Nairobi, the team met officials from the Kenya ICT Board, who earlier in the year announced the East African country’s bold ambition to be among the top 10 ICT hubs in the world. Kenya’s national ICT Master Plan, an initiative by the Ministry of Information and Communication, aims to drive aggressive growth in the ICT sector by 2017, contributing up to 25% to the country’s GDP.

Last year, GITEX attracted over 3,500 exhibiting companies and over 138,000 attendees from 144 countries. The Africa in Focus campaign last year saw a 20% increase in visitors from Nigeria, Sudan, Kenya, Libya and South Africa. GITEX 2012 will also be targeting trade delegations from Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, India, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. “Last year, we witnessed a huge increase in visitors from different parts of Africa and therefore Mitsumi has decided to participate this year. We realise that GITEX is an excellent platform to showcase Mitsumi’s Africa operations and consolidate partnerships,” says Jagat, adding, “At GITEX 2012, our main message and thrust will be to increase partnerships thereby propelling our PC and components portfolio forward.”

Mitsumi is one of the largest distributors of IT products in Africa having established a chain of in-country presence in key African markets with facilities like warehousing, stocking points and support service centres since 1996. Mitsumi has 15 warehouses, eight service centres and sales offices in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, DRC, South


Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Mauritius and Madagascar. “We will remain invested and create new business avenues to enhance life styles in Africa,” said Jagat. “We have established a reputation as one of the most dependable and customer-centric distributors in Africa. We have a Pan Africa distribution strategy/vision, strong in-country presence and targeted marketing campaigns which will take Mitsumi distribution to the next level” Jagat added.

GITEX Technology Week is the number one IT exhibition in the MEASA region with over 138,000

ICT professionals from 144 countries expected this year. Among these are 18,000 plus C-level executives from key industry verticals. There are also over 3,500 ICT companies from 77 countries exhibiting incorporating over 80% of the top ICT brands. This year’s event takes special significance as ITU Telecom World 2012, the leading platform for high-level networking, strategic debate and knowledge-sharing for the global ICT community takes place alongside GITEX. Telecom World 2012 is organised by ITU, the

United Nations specialised agency for ICT.

With Africa’s growing economic potential, there is keen interest among technology companies in

the continent to expand their business across borders to keep up with the demand. This has led to an increase number of African exhibitors looking to utilise GITEX as their platform for growth.

Long ignored by foreign investors, African nations received about USD80 billion of FDI in 2011, a 27% jump from the prior year. On a global basis, Africa now accounts for almost one-fourth of total FDI.

Mitsumi is one of the largest distributors of IT products in Africa having established a chain of in-country presence in key African markets with facilities like warehousing, stocking points and

support service centres since 1996.


Feature AVC

AVC Systems is an integrator of audio-visual systems working to harmonize IT and AV and provide one unified solution. To this end the company undertakes structured cabling, music over IP, video/audio conferencing and alarm systems. “We are able to design and implement solutions of residential and commercial automation. We offer full service voice, data, video and fibre optic structured cabling design and turn-key installations, including fibre optic cabling design and installation”, said Asif Latif, Director at AVC.

For corporates, AVC offers solutions to maximize the communication experience during formal meetings or conferences by enabling automation and control of the room environment, lighting controls, multimedia equipment including DVDs and VCRs, audio visual components that include microphones, cameras, speakers, projectors, screens, and computers. “All these can be integrated and managed through a single access point or even remotely using smartphones” said Asif.

An exciting development in the country is the rise of virtual offices for NGOs and consultants, according to Asif. A virtual office is a business location that exists mainly in cyberspace. Physical facilities are restricted to an address for mail delivery, professional phone-answering service, office equipment and office space and conference rooms hired as needed. Otherwise a virtual office setup allows business owners and employees to work from any location by using technology such as laptop computers, cell phones and internet access. Meetings are conducted via teleconferencing and video conferencing, and documents can be transmitted electronically. A virtual office can provide significant savings and flexibility compared to renting a traditional office space. “AVC has products and solutions to cater to the virtual office setup”, said Asif. One of the providers is ClearOne, whose range of audio conferencing solutions make it possible to conduct business anywhere while saving resources on expensive telephone calls.

Technology offers improved and cost-effective ways for health provision. Telemedicine allows health care professionals to use connected medical devices in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of patients in other locations. These devices are enhanced through the use of telecommunications technology, network computing, video-conferencing systems and CODECs. “Medical students can also observe operations remotely and in real time from anywhere instead of the inconvenience of being physically present at the operation room”, said Asif. AVC partners with LifeSize, the division of global IT manufacturer Logitech that focuses on video conferencing products and solutions.

The Kenyan government is aggressively pursuing digitization of the country’s education delivery through the creation of smart schools, according to Asif. This provides an opportunity for AVC to provide students access to high-quality interactive education experience. E-learning ensures that professors and students have full access

Integrated Progress

Asif LatifDirector, AVC

Technology continues to permeate every aspect of our lives. To put the various pieces together are system integrators like Audio Visual Control (AVC) Systems.


to the curriculum from anywhere, at any time. Teachers can share lectures live via video conference and streaming to web-enabled PCs and can record lectures for students to play back when convenient to them. Universities can also communicate face-to-face to share content and connect with corporations, cultural institutions, science centres, and other knowledge centres. AVC partner eInstruction offers interactive classroom solutions for students, teachers and administrators.

For the hospitality industry, AVC offers centralised IP systems. All facets of a luxury hotel including guest rooms, ballrooms / meeting rooms, pool, spa, restaurants, and nightclubs can be controlled virtually. Hotel guests can easily control their environment and the various audio visual products in their hotel room. “Such solutions are important in the hospitality sector as they provide the tools to enhance the comfort level of their guests as well as increase revenue” says Asif. Internet Protocol Television (IPTv) is one of the services that now can also integrate with the structured cable network of a building. This TV distributed method significantly improves signal quality, interactivity and control, giving the operators several options to monitor, add services, maximize audience and improve return on investment.

In advertising, AVC offers digital signage, technology used to describe the display of up to the minute information on electronic devices such as plasma screens, LCD panels, and projectors. Information can be common or unique among any number of display devices and information from multiple sources can be displayed simultaneously. “Wherever you need to advertise, educate or inform customers, consumers, staff, students or partners, digital signage is a fast, reliable and simple way to get your message heard”, said Asif. This technology is meant to replace and enhance traditional signage methods, whether billboard signs, printed material or static bulletin boards. “Digital signage is helping to merge the industries of advertising networks, point of purchase display merchandising and information signage,” he added.

Safety conscious customers now have a state of the art security monitoring and control systems. “AVC can offer security systems that interconnects your lights, alarms, web cameras, mobile phones and the internet, so that you can live life safe in the knowledge that your home and family are protected at all times”, said Asif. If an alarm does activate for instance, the system will automatically turn on your lights to deter any would-be intruders and automatically send you a priority email alert. Security cameras have become a very popular option nowadays. AVC can connect CCTV cameras from partners GKB to allow one view their home from anywhere in the world at any time using an iPhone app, according to Asif.

The company has been certified by CDI and is a member of Infocomm, the international AV professional association as well as authorised the Ministry of Information and Communications in Kenya.

InfoComm Middle East and Africa 2012 exhibition is to be held from the14-18 October 2012 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event will be co-located with GITEX 2012. More than 80 exhibiting companies will offer their latest products and expertise for diverse applications. Visitors can see the newest AV and information communication equipment being demonstrated, learn new ways of using AV/IT technologies in their business from the free education programs presented, and consult with industry specialists and experts.

InfoComm International is the leading non-profit association serving the professional AV communications industry worldwide. Founded in 1939, the association offers industry expertise and market research serving press and others seeking information about the industry. Through activities that include tradeshows, education, certification, government relations, outreach and information services, InfoComm promotes the industry and enhances members’ ability to conduct business successfully and competently.

Exhibitors will present their solutions for videoconferencing, e-classroom, smart buildings, projection and display systems, digital signage and digital out-of-home (DOOH) media advertising, broadcast and entertainment production and delivery, security and safety surveillance, emergency or operations command and control, digital network integration, and more. Today, AV systems are increasingly used in diverse industries to increase efficiency and enhance asset value - from education and training, transportation, retail and marketing, sports and entertainment to building facility management, and corporate IT services. The Middle East/Africa pro AV market is projected to grow to $3.14 billion by 2012.

InfoComm Exhibition in Dubai


Interview PC World

Briefly discuss your market strategyPC World is a reseller for HP, Dell, Samsung, Lenovo, IBM, Microsoft, Blackberry, Logitech, Kaspersky among others and we are also distributors for Genius. HP and Dell are our core brands for whom we are Gold Partner and Preferred Partner respectively. HP is our top selling brand. The HP Reseller program is very strong and structured. We get full support from them in terms of marketing, training, pricing, etc. HP also has dedicated Account Managers in different products categories, who work very closely with us in developing their brand and our business. Dell is our second best-selling brand due to strong customer demand. Most of our corporate customers also have standardized their operations with HP or Dell platforms, further boosting demand for these two brands. The other brands fit into both our corporate and retail strategy. The Genius and Logitech products cater mostly to our consumer/retail customers through our various retail outlets in Nairobi and Mombasa.

Is Kenya a growth market as far as PC World is concerned?Kenya is definitely a growth market, both for retail and corporate sectors. The retail sector in Kenya is still largely under-explored compared to South Africa, the Middle East and Europe. This presents huge opportunities for resellers. However it is very challenging to acquire prime locations for retail stores but this is one area we will continue to invest in and develop.

The corporate or business sectors also present attractive prospects. Many multinationals, diplomatic missions and businesses maintain their regional headquarters in Keny. The country’s strategic location, also makes it a regional hub. A lot of commerce for Rwanda and Sudan either passes through or is done from Kenya.

Discuss your breakdown in terms of retail vis-à-vis corporate segments40% of our business comes through consumers/retail and 60% through corporate/enterprise. Moving forward, we intend to maintain that ratio for strategic reasons. Retail gives us the visibility in the market and generates good cash flows, as retail is a cash-only business. Corporate business gives us volume (in sales) and value (through solutions) which we can leverage with our suppliers and vendors.

Discuss your after sales support structureWe provide most of our support in-house with our own IT specialists. However we do outsource specialized services, depending on the project. Warranty matters are managed through the various Warranty Service Centres.

Discuss any regional expansion plansAt the moment we are very focused on strengthening our position as a dominant player in the Kenyan market. We believe we have captured less than 20% of the market; therefore we are concentrating on the other 80% potential market. We are looking at countrywide expansion within the next two years. We opened a branch in Mombasa in Dec 2011 and are currently working towards expanding into Kisumu and Eldoret. What challenges do you face in the Kenyan marketplace?The biggest challenge is getting reliable, experienced and honest manpower, and when you finally do, retention becomes the next challenge. Increased operating costs are also slowing down business considerably. These include high rent rates, sky-high bank interest

rates, erratic currency fluctuations, and restrictive costs of work permits whose rate has doubled since July, among others. There’s also a general disrespect for law and order in the country resulting in poor debt collection and business growth. There’s currently pervasive political uncertainty, especially with elections approaching in 2013, which again slows down growth. Despite these challenges we remain optimistic and have projected 20% growth this year a target we have already realized this far.

Discuss future growth plansWe are currently exploring distribution of certain retail products/brands that will complement our retail outlets. We are also looking at enhancing our service offerings for networking and business solutions. We want to offer a true one-stop solution for businesses.

Bobby GadhiaDirector, PC World

PC World looks to ride the Kenya’s thriving IT sector leveraging its nearly two decades of operations and corporate brand recognition. Director Bobby Gadhia spoke to Integrator on the company’s continued development.

Market Pedigree


Several years ago, you were highlighting the menace of software piracy. Has the position improved, or does it still affect profitability within the channel?Well, vendors like Microsoft and Adobe have taken steps to improve the standing of those with non-compliant software. The Kenya Copyright Board has also been proactive in ensuring compliance, and several blue-chip customers have invested more sensibly in proper software licensing. But that doesn’t mean piracy is any less prevalent. In fact it remains a profitable business for those prepared to put themselves and their customers at risk of prosecution. By and large, the channel is becoming more responsible, and various ‘Get Genuine’ campaigns have been worthwhile.

Comztek is known in East Africa primarily as a software distributor – do you sell many hardware products?Comztek has recently brought Ruckus Wireless into its networking portfolio – it is a fantastic product and is already proving popular for smart management of high density hotspots, particularly in hotels and shopping centres. Comztek

also distributes Fujitsu products, and the Zero-Client offering and high-end server and storage solutions, match the high quality of Fujitsu ‘Ultrabooks’ and PCs.

What other products have you introduced into your portfolio recently?We are pleased to have become a distributor of Kaspersky Lab software – both on the retail/consumer side, and on the corporate licensing side. Kaspersky has seen great growth in the region, partly because it’s an excellent product, but also because Kaspersky is a vendor that ensures a reasonable profit margin for everyone in the channel, so encouraging people to be ‘champions’ of its products.

What new sales or training initiatives have you introduced into the channel, if any?We see sales and training as running hand-in-hand. Our ‘Comztek In Search of a Champion’ programme has been successful and fun, and provides incentives for our partners based on their levels of participation, sales success, and product certification. In addition, we have installed a 24-seat

Zero-Client training lab and demo room at our offices in Westlands. We can train resellers and end-users on any product, and the facility provides a first class demonstration of the computing power and economic savings of Fujitsu’s Zero-Client offering.

How have your plans for retail sector growth progressed since we last spoke?We have seen reasonable growth, and the retail sector is still a key focus for us in East Africa. Microsoft also intends to concentrate more completely on this sector in the months ahead.

What about regional expansion? Have you opened offices in new countries?Yes. We’ve opened an office in Mauritius, and we’ve increased our presence in Angola, Botswana, and Mozambique. These are supported from our existing offices in South Africa, Namibia and Zambia. In East Africa we’re constantly looking to improve our levels of support to all our customers, and we’ll implement appropriate plans during the next 12 months.

Accelerated growth

Comztek, one of Africa’s leading communication systems distributors, has its head office in Johannesburg. The distributor expanded its operations into East Africa six years ago exclusively distributing Microsoft products. Soon afterwards, Comztek introduced other software products to its portfolio, including Symantec and Adobe. Matthew Rudd, Regional Manager at the distributor speaks to The Integrator in the following interview about the company’s expansion and focus areas

Mathew RuddRegional Manager, Comztek

Interview Comztek

VAR Magazine is the leading B2B publication for the MEA IT channel with the widest readership among the region’s reseller community. With nearly 150 print issues to date, the publication plays a pivotal role in keeping the MEA IT channel well informed about the latest industry events and announcements that could potentially influence their business decisions.

VAR Magazine also publishes a bilingual edition for the Saudi Market.The Arabic /English edition brings out perspectives on the trends in the strategic market of KSA based on conversations with local industry spokespeople that augment further understanding of the market.

Educating and empowering the channel

Conceived by VAR Magazine, ‘In Search of a champion’ is a series of multi-brand training workshops for frontline IT salespeople and serves as a platform for sales talent development. The format enables interactive training in classroom environ-ment where sales lessons are imbibed.

Participants are graded throughout their participation and champions receive grand prizes at the end of the year. Over the past couple of years, ‘In Search of a Champion’ has drawn wide appreciation from all participants and brands that have been associated with it. With its unique format and process, the event is trusted by leading Technology brands in the channel to keep the frontline sales staff abreast of product, Technology and market updates. It is currently organized in the UAE and KSA markets and is very soon expanding to other MEA markets.

Pioneering training series for frontline sales

The Integrator is a magazine that offers strategic insights to the systems integrator and the value add reseller channel. The magazine offers path breaking features and other content including case studies, expert columns, Round Table discussions that focuses on Industry trends which are opening up new frontiers of opportunities for the SI channel. The magazine has the intent of demystifying Technology trends for facilitating the channel’s learning of the same and empowering their decision making in Business. The magazine is distributed to an exclusive database of systems integrators and VARs in the region.

An essential read for the Value add IT channel

VAR Conclave is a series of networking platforms envisioned in several flexible formats as standalone events as well as in partnership with leading regional ICT expos across the GCC.

VAR conclave fosters channel partnership opportunities and helps clinch strategic business leads across strategic markets. It includes one-on-one focused meetings between participating exhibitors and leading resellers. It is also an ideal platform to showcase products and technologies.

IT Business Networking

VAR MEA Magazine

For sales queries, please email [email protected]. or contact Tel: +971 4 3705022, Fax: +971 4 3706639

To read online log on to: www.VARonline.com

VAR Magazine is the leading B2B publication for the MEA IT channel with the widest readership among the region’s reseller community. With nearly 150 print issues to date, the publication plays a pivotal role in keeping the MEA IT channel well informed about the latest industry events and announcements that could potentially influence their business decisions.

VAR Magazine also publishes a bilingual edition for the Saudi Market.The Arabic /English edition brings out perspectives on the trends in the strategic market of KSA based on conversations with local industry spokespeople that augment further understanding of the market.

Educating and empowering the channel

Conceived by VAR Magazine, ‘In Search of a champion’ is a series of multi-brand training workshops for frontline IT salespeople and serves as a platform for sales talent development. The format enables interactive training in classroom environ-ment where sales lessons are imbibed.

Participants are graded throughout their participation and champions receive grand prizes at the end of the year. Over the past couple of years, ‘In Search of a Champion’ has drawn wide appreciation from all participants and brands that have been associated with it. With its unique format and process, the event is trusted by leading Technology brands in the channel to keep the frontline sales staff abreast of product, Technology and market updates. It is currently organized in the UAE and KSA markets and is very soon expanding to other MEA markets.

Pioneering training series for frontline sales

The Integrator is a magazine that offers strategic insights to the systems integrator and the value add reseller channel. The magazine offers path breaking features and other content including case studies, expert columns, Round Table discussions that focuses on Industry trends which are opening up new frontiers of opportunities for the SI channel. The magazine has the intent of demystifying Technology trends for facilitating the channel’s learning of the same and empowering their decision making in Business. The magazine is distributed to an exclusive database of systems integrators and VARs in the region.

An essential read for the Value add IT channel

VAR Conclave is a series of networking platforms envisioned in several flexible formats as standalone events as well as in partnership with leading regional ICT expos across the GCC.

VAR conclave fosters channel partnership opportunities and helps clinch strategic business leads across strategic markets. It includes one-on-one focused meetings between participating exhibitors and leading resellers. It is also an ideal platform to showcase products and technologies.

IT Business Networking

VAR MEA Magazine

For sales queries, please email [email protected]. or contact Tel: +971 4 3705022, Fax: +971 4 3706639

To read online log on to: www.VARonline.com


Feature Mustek

Point of Sale (POS) systems popularity continues to grow in Kenya as traditional informal shops increasingly give way to formal retailers. According to a recent Citigroup survey, 30% of all shopping in Kenya is today done in formal outlets, a figure second only to South Africa in Sub-Saharan Africa. This points both to a market that is ready for a more organized shopping experience as well as potential for growth. Mustek East Africa, incidentally a company with South African roots, provides Posiflex brand of POS systems for this evolving Kenyan market.

“Traders in Kenya are realizing the benefits of having a POS system including loss prevention, staff and stock management, ease of operations while makes financial sense in the long run,” said Esleen Maritim, product manager at Mustek. Posiflex range of touch screen terminals can run on multiple software, hence are more adaptive to customers' diverse needs. Mustek is strong in the hospitality industry in Kenya as well, selling Posiflex touch screen products and solutions to hospitals, restaurants and hotels, according to Maritim.

Founded in 1984, Posiflex Technology Inc. is a Taiwanese company specialized in the design and manufacture of touch screen terminals and peripherals. These terminals have been deployed globally across multiple industries and applications including retail point-of-sale, health care, hospitality, kiosks and more. The company also manufactures all the peripherals, printers and cash drawers that are part of the POS system. Posiflex maintains a network of global sales channels to fulfil local market demands together with service centres worldwide for after sales and technical support.

Mustek offers more than point of sale systems though. Its product range include a full range of Mecer computer products including desktop PC’s, notebooks, servers, uninterruptible power supplies and flash drives. They are also distributors for Toshiba, D-Link, Epson, Samsung and Brother printers, as well as Microsoft software. This is backed by a team of skilled technical staff who continuously receive training from computer suppliers in Taiwan, Mustek South Africa, D-Link, Samsung and Posiflex. “Mustek provides a complete solution in assembling, incorporating sales, marketing, distribution, service and technical support infrastructure,” says Esleen Maritim. Mustek also maintains its own in-house warranty centre to provide after- sales service offering a guaranteed 48-hrs TOT.

In a first for East Africa, Mustek maintains its own PC production line housed at their headquarters in Parklands, Nairobi. There, the company

manufactures its own line of Mercer brand PCs for the East African market. The plant is also able to manufacture custom made computers built to customers’ specifications.

Mustek operates through a network of authorized dealers throughout the country and the rest of the East African region. “We ensure that our partners are trained in all our products. Mustek East Africa has a commitment to give the best possible value both to the dealers as well as the end users of our products” said Maritim. Mustek provides market support by

aggressively marketing to the consumer market and then bringing in resell partners to sell, according to Maritim. The company is strong in the larger The company’s major verticals include Government and other affiliated public organizations, educational institutions and the supply of computer components to support and enable local PC assemblers to build computers. The company is currently providing computers for the Kenyan government’s Computer for Schools program.

The future for the company looks bright, according to Maritim. The Kenyan economy continues to expand a large part driven by the country’s booming IT industry. The industry and the rest of the economy feed into each other, with the IT industry pulling other sectors of the economy along who then push the demand for computer products and services.

Strength in DiversityMustek seems to have its finger on the pulse of the Kenyan economy with a marketing strategy focused on key areas of growth. Its diversified product offering only helps drive the momentum.

Esleen MaritimProduct Manager, Mustek


Feature Technology Today

Kenya’s voracious IT sector shows no signs of slowing down, good news for Kenyan tech companies like Nairobi-based Technology Today. Marketing manager Didier Tshilombo says the Kenyan economy is in the middle of its rapid growth stage and East Africa’s biggest economy should continue to flourish for the foreseeable future. Part of the growth is fuelled by an increasing number of international firms establishing their regional offices in Kenya.

Technology Today partners with HP, Toshiba, Compaq, Acer and others in hardware, Microsoft in software and Cisco in networking. The firm offers ICT support services, configured multi-vendor computer products, on-site systems maintenance, ICT asset management, and hardware repairs. The company has a strong presence within Kenya’s corporate sector providing solutions to SMBs, public bodies, NGOs, manufacturing industry among others. Beyond selling IT Solutions, Technology Today maintains an in-house consultation service providing customers with unbiased advice to companies on what products and services match their IT needs, according to Tshilombo.

Technology Today is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, a Cisco Premier

Certified Partner and an HP Imaging and Printing Preferred Partner.

The rise in Kenya’s standing in Africa’s technology industry is a blessing and a challenge. Attracted by the country’s potential, international IT firms are also establishing bases here and pushing competition with homegrown firms to a new level. This is challenging local IT firms to up their ante in terms of products and services to compete. “This challenges local companies to become more competitive the result

being that Kenya is setting standards for the rest of the East African Market,” says Tshilombo.

Like elsewhere within Kenya’s IT landscape, HP is the company’s strongest vendor. Tshilombo attributes this to HP’s massive public brand awareness as a result of its extensive marketing campaigns. “HP works to provide support for its partners including sponsoring training events for our staff”, says Tshilombo. That said, the company is keen to partner with even more global vendors to expand its regional footprint. The company counts Red Dot and Redington as suppliers.

Technology Today was a participant at the VAR-conclave held in July by The Integrator’s sister company VAR

(see related story about VAR conclave on page 12). Regular participation in such rendezvous is part of the company’s market strategy, according to Tshilombo, as these events provide excellent networking possibilities and an opportunity to learn and understand emerging trends in IT. According to Tshilombo, every company has to carve its own niche which the company has to fill ''The Kenyan market is unique in that loyalty to your customers is critically essential for corporate survival, otherwise they will just as easily more their business elsewhere" says Tshilombo. To ensure quality, the company employs an in-house service team to honour warranties providing to guarantee a 24-hrs diagnosis and 3-4 working days TOT, according to Tshilombo.

Making all the DifferenceFor Kenya’s Technology Today, attaining the highest certification by top vendors is the ultimate guarantee of quality and value for clients.

Didier TshilomboMarketing Manager, Technology Today


Feature Softype

Integrator: Discuss your African operationsNana: We are currently working with many firms in Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia. Some of our clients include among others a diversified metals group, agro-processing companies, a large global FMCG company, an internet infrastructure company, and several NGOs.

What are prospects for growth for Softype in Kenya?There are a lot of opportunities in Kenya. Kenya, with the rest of Africa, is the best performing region economically in the world at the moment. A lot of international companies are establishing their operations in the country as existing ones expand. The country is also home to a large number of NGOs both local and international. NetSuite is particularly strong in providing

solutions in the SMB market the category in which a lot of Kenyan firms fall.

Discuss the amount of savings you could potentially save a customer?There are many ways that a customer can manage their costs by using a system like NetSuite. Through the use of supply chain parameters and by tracking supplier performance, the user will be able to more tightly control raw material inventory. For example, if an SMB customer maintains raw material inventory at the rate of 60% of their total monthly sales of say 150M Kshs and would like to reduce this to half of that by employing Kanban methodology, they can literally manage this through a combination of strict best-practice purchase controls along with supply chain alerts maintained in the item record and bring this down in a deliberate

Softype, a Silicon Valley-based NetSuite Solution Partner has for the past few years been making significant inroads into Kenya’s commercial ERP solutions market. The Integrator caught up with Nana Luz during the latest of her frequent trips to Kenya as Softype’s African sales manager.

manner over a period of a few months. Since the current cost of borrowing in Kenya is in excess of 20% per annum, a reduction by 50% of inventory (from 90M Kshs to 45M Kshs in this example) on a sustained basis can save up to 9M Kshs per annum to a company in just finance costs. The additional benefit of such a reduction in inventory not included in this calculation will also reduce loss of material due to damage, pilferage and so on.

What other tangible benefits can NetSuite offer to a customer?Using a system like NetSuite, a customer can more tightly control their inventory, prevent stockouts and identify fast moving items to ensure that material to sell is available. On the other hand, the system can also give the user the opportunity to identify dead inventory and permit the user to take proactive steps to sell the stock and free the cash.

Powering Kenya’s industry

Nana LuzSales Manager, Africa Operations, Softype


A customer can use NetSuite to manage sales as well using the inbuilt credit control systems with alerts and even lockouts of customers who choose to operate outside of the established credit norms. Furthermore, the system includes many useful attributes including the ability to produce monthly customer statements, full reporting around items that a customer has requested and/or has ordered and the ability to create pricelists to a group or even to an individual customer.

Additionally, since the solution is totally cloud-based, requiring only a browser, the user can focus on their business without worrying about servers, IT resourcing, backups, obsolescence and so many other issues common to software purchases. As the business grows, the company can be confident that the system will not become too small for it and will continue to perform with an uptime on par or exceeding any critically required solution or service like banking, electricity, internet or telephony.

Discuss Softype’s market strategy in Kenya moving forwardKenya is primarily an agricultural-based economy. Softype has developed agGrow Dairy powered by NetSuite specifically geared to the dairy farmer supply chain and the dairy processing industry. This solution provides a full accounting and management solution covering the entire dairy value chain from daily purchases of raw milk, full traceability of milk sourcing to the processor, and a full cycle purchase/sales platform with complete accounting control for farmer raw milk sales against human and animal food purchases as well as agrovet services using smart cards and cell phones. If required, the entire system can be linked to a fully integrated manufacturing solution called agGrow Manufacturing that includes lot-based manufacturing of milk, yogurt, cheese or other dairy products.

Softype Inc. is a global supplier of cloud computing business management software from NetSuite Inc. NetSuite's web-based computing software enables companies to manage all key business operations in a single system, which includes Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Accounting, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Ecommerce all from the cloud. Softype also offers a variety of consulting services such as NetSuite implementation, training and support, back office support, accounting and financial reconciliation and NetSuite customization. The company has been involved in the Kenyan market for more than more than five years and maintains offices in Palo Alto, California and Mumbai, India.

Softype has developed several vertical solutions on the NetSuite platform include MM Mid-Manufacturing for discrete manufacturers, edERP for higher education, PBM Preventive and Breakdown Maintenance for Factory Equipment and Fleet Maintenance Management and the agGrow Suite for agro-processing industries.

Because agro-industries rely on large numbers of raw material suppliers, the agGrow Dairy solution is designed to handle large amounts of transaction details which are stored electronically so that payment reconciliation and settlement is reduced from the current

3-4 months to two-four weeks, with verifiable, reliable results.

A similar system for the tea industry called agGrow Tea Estate as well as coffee industries called agGrow Coffee Producer is also ready and available to handle all or part of those value chains.


Eyetech

The EnGenius ECB350 is a 300Mbps wireless-n multi-function gigabit AP/CB router which offers unlimited coverage, strong penetration, secure network management and 802.3af PoE connection. This enables it to process robust transmit power, enhanced receive sensitivity and its MIMO (Multiple In/Multiple Out) antenna array extends wireless coverage and enhances connectivity to client devices even in areas where connections have been previously challenging or non-existent.

Key Features:

• Wireless speeds of up to 150 Mbps

• 5dBi external antenna

• 5× more coverage

• 6 operation modes: AP/AP Router/

WDS AP/WDS Bridge/CB/Repeater

• 8 SSIDs + VLAN

• POE support

The Nokia 808 PureView is the latest smartphone from the Finnish phone maker to hit the Kenyan market. The 808 features Nokia's PureView technology, a pixel oversampling technique that reduces an image taken at full resolution into a lower resolution picture, thus achieving higher definition and light sensitivity, and enables lossless zoom. It features a 41 megapixel 1/1.2" sensor and a high resolution Carl Zeiss lens, HDMI and DLNA outputs, NFC and Wi-Fi.

EnGenius ECB350

Nokia 808 PureView Key Features

• 16GB of built-in memory, expandable to 32GB• 4.0 inch Display size in Corning Gorilla Glass• 1.3GHz processor • Nokia’s Symbian operating system• Ambient light detector• Brightness control

MSI’s new GT60 and GT70

The GT60 and GT70, MSI’s ultimate gaming notebooks feature Intel's third generation core processor and new generation Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M discrete graphics card, one of the fastest one of its kind on the planet. Specifically designed to meet the demands of top gamers around the world, these notebooks also boasts innovative peripherals.

Features• Professional SteelSeries keyboard.

• Professional grade Killer Gaming Networking.

• Supports Up to 32G of memory.

• Next-generation Dynaudio sound technology.

• Over 1,000 lighting effect combos.

• AMP Audio Boost sound solution.

• Gold flash audio jack exclusively for earphones.


The TP-Link SC3171G IP surveillance camera connects directly to a local network using the camera's 54Mbps wireless or wired Ethernet connection and can send live video to a PC or through the internet to a Web browser or Smartphone, anywhere in the world. The TL-SC3171G uses 12 IR (Infrared) LEDs light to produce clear images in the dark and an ICR (IR Cut-filter Removable) during the day ensuring vivid video. The camera comes with wireless connectivity at speed up to 54Mbps, and dual MPEG-4 and MJPEG simultaneous streaming.

TP Link SC3171G IP surveillance camera

Key Features:

• 1/4" progressive scan CMOS sensor • 54Mbps wireless connectivity brings flexible placement• 2-way audio • Digital input / output ports for external alarm and sensor• 3GPP compliant for video surveillance from 3G phones• Bundled management software accommodates up to 16 cameras at the same time• Motion triggered e-mail alerts

LG BS275 Business Projector

The LG BS275 SVGA business projector has colour management functions allowing for customisation of gain (contrast), saturation, and colour tones exactly to your specifications. LG’s Brillant Colour technology provides increased brightness for non-primary colours, and boosts overall intensity by amplifying mid-tones. Auto power off saves power and prolongs lamp life.

Key Features:• SVGA (800 x 600 ) resolution• 2200:1contrast Ratio• 3500hrs life time (lamp)• 1.1X zoom Ratio• Up to UXGA+1600x1200@60Hz input signal compatibility RGB• 1080i/720p/576p/576i/480p/480i input signal compatibility (component video)• NTSC-M/NTSC 4.43/PAL/PAL-M/PAL-N/SECAM input signal compatibility (composite video)

Lenovo’s new Android-powered Ideapad A Series tablet features a 7” screen with capacitive multitouch capability. It supports flash and offers instant synching. It comes with more than 10 preloaded apps, with more available via Lenovo App Shop and Android Market. The ideapad offers GPS navigation in offline mode with integrated front (0.3M) and back (3M) cameras. For connectivity there’s micro-USB and microSD card reader. It’s available in black, white, pink or blue.

Key features:

• ARM Cortex™-A8 1.0GHz processor• Android 2.3• 7” premium display with multitouch capability• Measures 7.7” x 4.9” x 0.5” and weighs 400g • Up to 5 hours battery life (up to 7 hours for web browsing)• Up to 16GB storage• 512MB LP DDR memory• Integrated Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi

Lenovo Ideapad A Series Tablet


Stats & trends

Worldwide sales of mobile phones to end users reached 419 million units in the second quarter of 2012, a 2.3% decline from the second quarter of 2011, according to research firm Gartner. Smartphone sales accounted for 36.7% of total mobile phone sales and grew 42.7% in the second quarter of 2012.

In the second quarter of 2012, Samsung's mobile phone sales remained very strong, up 29.5% from the second quarter of 2011 (see Table 1), and managed to extend its lead over both Apple and Nokia quarter on quarter. This quarter's growth was driven by record sales of Galaxy smartphones, meaning smartphones now account for 50.4% of all Samsung mobile devices, or 45.6 million units. Demand for the new Galaxy S3 was particularly strong, exceeding Samsung's own expectations, with a reported 10 million units reached in the two months after its release. The Galaxy S3 was the best-selling Android product in the quarter and could have been higher but for product shortages.

In the second quarter of 2012, consumer demand for the Apple iPhone weakened as sales fell 12.6% from the first quarter of 2012, but grew 47.4% year on year. Depending on the exact launch date of the new iPhone, Apple might experience another weaker-than-usual quarter in the third quarter of 2012, while Apple will be ready to take advantage of the strong holiday sales in North America and Western Europe that have historically remained immune to economic pressure.

Nokia's mobile phone sales declined 14.8% in the second quarter of 2012. Nokia is battling fiercely with white-box and new emerging device manufacturers to defend its feature phones sales. Nokia

Despite sluggish sales, conventional notebook PCs equipped with hard disk drives (HDD) as their main storage medium are unlikely to have their market share threatened in the near term by Microsoft’s new Surface tablet PC or by rival notebooks that entirely eliminate HDDs and instead employ solid state drives (SSD), according to information and analytics provider IHS.

Among all notebook PCs outfitted with either HDD or SSD as their storage media, models with hard disks larger than 500 gigabytes (GB) and priced from $450 to $550 accounted for the biggest share of the market in the first quarter, at 32 percent. The second-biggest segment of 26 percent belonged

succeeded, to a certain extent, in winning feature phone market share as its sales grew quarter-on-quarter. While posting sequential growth in the feature phone market, Nokia's Lumia devices continue to struggle to find a place in consumers' minds as a replacement for Android.

In the smartphone OS market, Android extended its lead with an increase of 20.7percentage points in market share in the second quarter of 2012 (see Table 2). While Apple's iOS market share slightly grew year over year (0.6%), it declined 3.7 percentage points quarter on quarter, as users postponed their upgrade decisions in most markets ahead of the upcoming launch of the iPhone 5.

Gartner analysts said the arrival of the iPhone 5 should provide the greatest upgrade opportunity yet as the expected new design with a larger screen and likely other stylistic changes to the form factor will certainly make a strong case for iPhone 4 users to upgrade.

Samsung Tops Smartphone Market

Company

2Q12Units

2Q12 MarketShare (%)

2Q11

Units 2Q11 MarketShare (%)

Samsung 90,432.1 21.6 69,827.6 16.3 Nokia 83,420.1 19.9 97,869.3 22.8 Apple 28,935.0 6.9 19,628.8 4.6 ZTE 17,936.4 4.3 13,070.2 3.0 LG Electronics 14,345.4 3.4 24,420.8 5.7 Huawei Device 10,894.2 2.6 9,026.1 2.1 TCL Communications 9,355.7 2.2 7,938.9 1.9 HTC 9,301.2 2.2 11,016.1 2.6 Motorola 9,163.2 2.2 10,221.4 2.4 Research In Motion 7,991.2 1.9 12,652.3 3.0 Others 137,233.4 32.8 152,989.70 35.7 Total 419,007.90 100.0 428,661.15 100.0

Source: Gartner (August 2012)

Worldwide Mobile Device Sales to End Users by Vendor in 2Q12 (Thousands of Units)

HDD-based PCs maintain near-term dominanceto notebooks integrating hard disk drives larger than 320GB and priced between $350 and $450. Only 3 percent of the market belonged to 128GB SSD laptops or very high-end HDD notebook PCs both priced above $900.

The notebook PCs in consideration were those that use entire HDDs or SSDs as their storage capacity; not included were notebook PCs featuring a hybrid form of storage media—such as a hard disk drive complemented by a cache solid state drive, as in the case with the newly popular Ultrabooks; or a hard disk alongside a separate layer of NAND flash memory.

the integrator - east africa - sept 2012

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