Emerging Technology Companies in Kenya
I am beginning to read about more and more IT start-up companies in Kenya that are trying to build up data storage sites and other forms of e-storage solutions for private individuals, companies and governments.
So, I was reading about this company in BD Africa called East African Handlers, which is launching a solution that would allow owners of mobile phones and laptops the option of retrieving their data if their gadgets were very lost or stolen or if for some reason, their computers crashed and they lose everything. The new service is called ujanja (is that a good name for it?).
Now, anyone who has a website has had to deal with server crashes and with the loss of data and it is a real pain in the behind when it happens. I was dealing with this issue last week when my site was down and I was on the phone for two days pounding my head on the table with my server administrators and they couldn’t figure it out. Finally, I had to get the manager on the phone and I told him to get me the Russian engineers because they’re much better than the Americans at resolving these issues, but you have to fight to get them because they are reserved for clients with much bigger accounts. Anyway, the Russians were able to fix the problem in 10 minutes, but my point is, dealing with server issues is not that easy.
So, when I read about a company like East Africa Data Handlers, my first suspicion is that they are leasing the technology and the server space from somewhere else, then sub-letting it out to their Kenyan customers and charging them a fee.
The reason I am thinking this is because this technology is not new, but like I said earlier, it’s also not that easy to implement or develop and the industry is filled with re-sellers, which is what I think East Africa Data Handlers are.
Re-sellers are individuals or companies that lease out server space from a larger outfit and then re-sell it to individuals for a fee (it’s sort of like renting a house from someone and then renting out individual rooms within that house to other people).
I’ve dealt with re-sellers before and they are not good. A renter will never be as committed to the house as an owner. It’s the same issue. And often times, these re-sellers cannot afford to hire the technical experts they need if something really does go wrong. They become dependent on the host’s companies level of expertise or lack thereof.
The other thing I wanted to say in regards to this issue is that if you have internet access and a credit card, you can easily sign-up with any one of the numerous data storage companies around the world that now offer on-line storage backups. You don’t have to confine yourself to a Kenyan based company. This is part of the beauty of the internet and do these Kenyan companies realize this? You are not confined to the physical boundaries of your country anymore and patriotic obligations are not a consideration: people can go anywhere and they will.
I’m not getting the sense that many of these Kenyan based start-up’s realize this yet.
**Addendum:
I have decided to use this blog in a particular way. Since I have been so unhappy with the lack of in-depth reporting in the Kenyan newspapers, I am going to link articles of interest to me here and try to expand on them with deeper analysis using information from myself and from you (the readers and commentators). So, it’s going to be collaborative learning through the exchange of information and idea’s.
KE:
There is a big difference between a service provide and a reseller or a matter of fact solution provider. Most of the times are interchangeable, how the industry has evolved over the years. Most service providers anywhere in the world use technology components from other vendors, but what they do different is to integrate everything in a solution and deliver a valued package.
However for companies that need data protection, its very critical to understand that the data is the lifeblood of that company and without it the business may suffer. Most Kenyan companies do not regard it as critical until there is major problem. So, its a start atleast for a locala company to provide this service..
As for dealing with global companies and storing the data on their servers is not that simple. There are many issues when it comes to the recovery process, time is one big issue. It takes a huge amount of time to recover data that is large in size over the internet due to the networks. Thus, most companies will always prefer a local based solution so that data is retrieved faster and backed up faster.
I guess over time you will see new companies coming up with such solutions locally, however important issue will be the cost of the service, the quality and also the after sales service which most Kenyan companies are very bad at providing.
There is a whole ecosystem that needs to be looked at in order for one to become a leader in providing such services. As a matter of fact, its not easy to make money in such services unless you have the right business model and scale….
Yo,
First of all, i don’t think that is a good name(ujanja) for it. But again that’s just the way i look at it.
Second, Congratulations on your new look. The Russians should have done more to make your site more easily navigable, but you are on the right path.
IT is obviously becoming more and more lucrative business in Kenya… For the short run… I think it will be profitable especially for the companies that are able to roll out multiple trouble shooting services.
For the long run… I think it will even out to just normal profits as opposed to super normal profits in the short run. Again thats just my opinion.
Good luck with your new make over buddy.
P.S.. I like the Motto you used before … ” Entrepreneurship is the the last resort of a trouble making individual.”….
It kind of matched with me… since I’ve always been a trouble maker… especially in Nairobi..
Anyways enough said…
Demigod:
Wouldn’t the time frame for recovering the data speed up once Kenya gets high speed internet access?
PC:
The Russians did not design my site. I did it, but what do you mean when you say that it should be more easily navigable? I’m always looking for suggestions that would make it easier for people to navigate the site and leave comments. So, let me know what you would like to see and I’ll see if I can “code” it in.
On the quotes:
I decided to go with a new quote for the new look, but I will be changing the quotes occasionally just to try new things out.
@ kenyanentrepreneur:
KE:
Even if you have high speed networks in place like you are mentioning with the new fibre links, it still not be fast enough for recovery of large sets of data. Internet is built on the LAN protocol called TCP/I..TCP/IP was never built for the internet it was only meant for the local area, however it evolved and has become the dominant internet protocol. TCP/IP has issues such latency and packet loss, thus longer the distance for data to travel, the slower it becomes, and it becomes even worse when you are moving large junks.
So, its a myth when people say that if i have more bandwidth my network become faster, its not true…Its all to do with latency and packet loss. This is why alot of companies who use video, usually cache their data on some servers around the world near where the users are, thus it seems faster. Enterprise companies use technologies that help to cache their data within their branch offices..
In short, hosting or backing up data outside Kenya is a good idea, but its not practically for recovering that data if its a huge chunk that you need to recover. If you have any one in Kenya, ask them to recover 20GB of data, it will take them ages to do that, and even if the fiber comes in the recovery is still slow, but probably faster than before….
This is why its important for Kenya to become an ICT hub for East Africa. Unfortunately the idiots at government ministries do not understand the impact of technology and how to make it an economic success. There is a lot Kenya can do to take the lead in ICT for East Africa, unfortunately these guys are too selfish and not outward looking. They think by getting a fibre link it will change the ICT landscape, tell me how? The reason ICT becomes a huge success, it is because of CONTENT. CONTENT drives the use of internet, this is why you see Facebook, Myspace, Youtube etc etc all taking a huge lead for future growth. This is why Microsoft is building the next integrated software to power your lifestyle….
Well,
For easy navigation… I think the hyperlinks need to have a date and time when uploaded, it would also be good if it showed how many responses it has. I know you have this on the upper left side, but its missing with the main stories on the main page.
Other ideas may be using minimalism… which is making the best use of the web space and lay out without compromising content. The style you used is almost like an ad. It’s a little hard to tell which stories to pay attention to since they all look the same i.e as in they are all in headline form.
I assume you get the picture, I’m sure gradually you’ll move away from this.
Good luck buddy.
Demogod:
The above sites you mentioned (youtube, facebook, etc, etc) are developed by highly skilled software programmers. Yes, their appeal is driven by content, but before you can get the content onto those sites, someone has to code in the software and I don’t see those sets of skills coming to Kenya anytime soon. 99% of these internet portals are being created by Americans and there is a reason for that.
So, when you say that Kenya needs to become the ICT hub for East Africa, what exactly do you mean? Doesn’t that just involve wiring the place up? which shouldn’t be that difficult to do.
I’m beginning to think that maybe people are becoming overly excited about this fiber optic cable. Yes, it would be nice to have high speed internet services in the country, but there’s only so much you’ll be able to do with it if the population is not upto par on skill.
KE,
Your observations are as good as mine in particular concerning the quality of service and capacity of IT know-how and skills coming from Kenya.
Personally,I am an IT graduate. Indeed, what you do in those lecturer classes is way out of what you find in the real life out there. Believe you me, IT is one career which is better advanced with practice.
Nonetheless, I applaude guys who came up with this data handling solutions entity.
To me, this is they way to go. It will,possibly, check vices like soaring rates of unemployment.
But that should and must never be an excuse for compromising quality of services given to their prospective clients
Cheers!