It’s fashionable in this fast-paced era of exponentially accelerating technology to deride the value of a traditional M.B.A. Indeed, some people believe that even an undergraduate degree is not particularly useful for a would-be entrepreneur, and the most vocal adherents of this school of thought are encouraging ambitious young people to drop out of college and immediately start their own businesses.

I could not disagree more.

The M.B.A. degree was created in the early 20th century as “scientific” approaches to business management were first being developed, and gained its foothold in the booming post-war years when rapidly expanding American industries needed a steady supply of new managers to administer their ever-increasing workforces. It saw its apotheosis with a pivot as the financial markets of the late 20th century glorified the arcane financial analysis and marketing skills required of the so-called Masters of the Universe in investment banking and consulting.

When I received my M.B.A. from Columbia University Graduate School of Business in 1983, there wasn’t a single course or activity with the word “entrepreneurship” in its title. Many — if not most — of my classmates were fast-tracked managers from utility companies, large retailers, consumer goods conglomerates and financial firms. But over the past few decades, as companies began to shrink and brand new upstarts like Apple and Microsoft became the most valuable companies in the world, Newsweek identified the country’s most endangered species as the “Bached White Male” corporate middle-manager.

There is no question that the game has changed, fundamentally and irrevocably. As I noted in my closing talk on The Evolution of Success at TEDxWallStreet we are moving at an ever-accelerating pace to a time in which entrepreneurship will be the cornerstone of the business world, large companies will continue to shrink, agile methodologies will replace traditional top-down management, and “career management” will be a personal rather than institutional responsibility.

In response to this core shift in the commercial world, M.B.A. programs have not remained stagnant, as some would seem to imply. Rather, they are themselves pivoting with the changing market, and squarely addressing the new realities.

I serve on the advisory boards of the entrepreneurship programs at both Columbia and Yale, and was mentor of the year at NYU’s Stern School of Business, so I have had a first-hand view of these fundamental transformations.

Originally pioneered by schools like Babson, where entrepreneurship is embedded into every class and activity, and picked up and expanded by top-tier schools such as Stanford, where their online Technology Entrepreneurship course has been taken by more than 25,000 students, academic business programs have adapted to the times. At NYU Stern, the annual business-plan competition organized by the Berkeley Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation is the heart of the program, with more than 500 teams participating in recent years. This is where companies like Pinterest and Comixology found their initial teams and their seed investors.

As The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania notes in its online introduction to its M.B.A., a modern business school degree provides a host of benefits that have great value in the new world of fast-moving, entrepreneurial innovation. In addition to the network and brand-validation that comes along with a high end M.B.A. program, these courses of study provide a true grounding in the “hard skills” of economics, finance, marketing, operations, management and accounting, as well as the “soft skills ” of leadership, teamwork, ethics and communication that are so critical for effectively creating and managing both innovation and growth.

Whether it is internalizing crucial concepts such as the time value of money, or really understanding the core values of agile project management, a 2013 version M.B.A. from a strong program represents to me an indication (along with many other factors) of someone who can potentially make a major, positive contribution to our team.

* Original post can be found on Wall Street Journal Blogs @ http://blogs.wsj.com/accelerators/2013/04/04/david-rose-m-b-a-programs-have-adapted-to-the-startup-model/ *

When it comes to technology, standing still is falling behind! Read about what our Windows Business Group Manager, Kevin Connolly, has to say about the end of Windows XP support and embracing new technologies for the modern world.

By Kevin Connolly, Windows Business Group Manager for Microsoft Sub-Saharan Africa & Indian Ocean Islands

To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.  ~ Henri Bergson

The news has been out for a while but if you haven’t heard, take note. Microsoft is ending Windows XP support from April 8^th, 2014.This may sound scary, but moving onto a new operating system is a completely natural progression, and just like a car needs to be serviced and upgraded, so do computers. This is why Microsoft has a ten year Support Lifecycle Policy.
Windows XP was launched in October 2001. When I think back on the last 10 years, I realize just how much can change in a decade. In 2001, many of us were still using floppy disks, the very first Harry Potter film graced our screens; Africa’s Queen of pop, Brenda Fassie had just released her ‘Greatest Hits’ album, and flip phones were all the rage. Wikipedia had just launched, Facebook didn’t exist yet – and, Windows XP was the latest and greatest operating system on the market with a faster start-up time, a sleeker interface, and exciting new tools like Media Player and Movie Maker.
Over the last ten years, the floppy disk has become antiquated, seven Harry Potter movies have been box-office hits, Africa has mourned the loss of the Queen of African Pop, and flip phones have become a rarity. Wikipedia has replaced encyclopaedias, Facebook has become the most popular website in the world – and, people who are still using Windows XP are now missing out on the latest and greatest technology.
Just like pop culture, technology has changed drastically over the last decade.  As an enabler, it responds to the changing needs of its users. It empowers people by saving them time, improving productivity and removing constraints– from geographical distance to language barriers. It makes what was previously impossible, possible. And the limit to what it can do is constantly expanding. When you start to think of technology like this, it becomes clear why using outdated forms of it cause you to fall behind.
So, relying on XP, which is now 11 years old, could mean you’re doing business at half the pace of everyone else, and coming up against obstacles no one else encounters

anymore. Because of its age, Windows XP also relies on the ongoing delivery of security-related patches to remain secure. When support ends, users will no longer receivenew security updates and patches. With more sophisticated cyber threats emerging every day it’s critical that individuals and businesses have a modern OS to protect their data, customer and credit card information, and keep their IP safe!

With Windows 8 having just reached its 100 millionth license activation  and over 60 000 Windows 8 apps available in the app store, there is no better opportunity to embrace newer and better
technologies than now! When it comes to the world of technology, standing still really is falling behind.

And, the good news for SMBs, is that if they register for Windows 8 Pro before 30 June, they’ll receive a 15% discount on Windows 8 Pro and Office Standard 2013

Microsoft on Friday 22nd held a workshop with over 70 business women who run SMEs at Serena Hotel Nairobi. The workshop tackled the tools that they as Small and Medium Enterprise owners would require to scale their businesses without going to the pains of acquiring expensive software for each task in business management. The workshop was tagged “Build your Business Workshop” and attendees were women from across the country Kenya. Specifically the approach was to train them on how to use Office tools to assist them n managing and marketing of their businesses.

The event was organized under the banner of Microsoft Women of WECA (WOW) which helps women excel in ICT and also build their businesses without necessarily investing too much on ICT tools and Supa Mamas, a marketing and events company which brings together business women from different backgrounds to Inform, Connect and Inspire Mothers in Kenya by exposing them to opportunities available to grow their businesses.

The 4Ps of a business (product, pricing, placement and promotion) were addressed and attendees shown how this can be easily managed via Office tools. The tools showcased are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Lync, One Note, Office 365, Skydrive.

“By bringing together women from various SMEs across the country Microsoft hopes to significantly increase the number of women entrepreneurs using technology tools to manage and grow their businesses,” said Clare Mungai the head of the Microsoft Women of WECA organization.

The business women were shown for example, how powerful Excel is in managing business data and presenting it in a very orderly manner. They were showed how they could use the same data in presenting business progress details to banks if they needed to visualize to their banker how their business was doing. Powerpoint presentations, Word and One note were also projected as good tools in displaying, sharing and storing business information.

The SMEs also got to see how they could use Lync to interact remotely and share files over the internet. Cloud computing, which is the big word in town also got a detailing with Office 365 and Skydrive as tools to store and access data remotely in a secure manner. This is also quite handy as information backup that can be accessed from anywhere with an internet access.

“It has been a very interesting experience getting people to appreciate what online platforms can do. With tools like Microsoft Office 365, one can now have a web presence and word documents stored online that can be worked on by 2 or more people. This helps these women market and grow their small businesses on the internet. We are grateful to Microsoft for coming up with this innovative product tht aims to help the African woman.” said Christine Kasinah-Odero, founder of Supamamas.

The business women were also showed how to create a web presence by way of creating free websites on Office 365 and also on the use of social media to scale their businesses and reach out to new and existing customers. Microsoft recommended Yammer which is a Microsoft Social Enterprise Network that will help link the SMEs with individuals from other organizations.

They were also reminded that Microsoft XP is reaching end of life in year 2014 and that they adjust accordingly.

-TECWEEZ

TV whitespaces are playing an increasingly important role when it comes to providing broadband to emerging market countries. The latest project to use the technology sees Microsoft partner up with the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) and UhuruOne to provide wireless broadband access to university students and faculty in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

TV white spaces technology provides wireless broadband by tapping into unused portions of wireless spectrum in the frequency bands generally used for television. Although Africa has the highest growth rates in the world for mobile broadband penetration, wireless broadband services remain largely unaffordable throughout the region.

According to Microsoft, this pilot looks to improve that situation by focusing on broadband access in the area of education, “an effort that will increase digital literacy, teach technical skills, advance e-learning and ultimately promote economic growth”.

The pilot’s initial deployment in Dar es Salaam will target the University of Dar es Salaam, among others. “We anticipate that tens of thousands of Tanzanian students and faculty members will be able to take advantage of the wireless broadband packages offered by UhuruOne through the project,” said Dr. Hassan Mshinda, director general, COSTECH.

These packages, says Microsoft, will include a Windows 8 laptop or tablet, wireless broadband connectivity, and applications and services. Its partners are reportedly working with banks to offer small loans to cover the cost of the packages.

In addition to offering affordable connectivity, devices and services, the pilot will hire a team of students as on-campus support staff for the network infrastructure.

This isn’t the first Microsoft project to make use of TV whitespaces. Earlier this year, it launched a similar project in Kenya aimed at bringing broadband to rural areas.

Google meanwhile recently rolled out its own TV whitespaces

 project in South Africa, aimed at low-income schools.

These pilot projects and similar initiatives are part of the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative, a new series of investments which Microsoft claims are designed to enable it to actively engage in Africa’s economic development and to improve its global competitiveness.

“After announcing our ‘Mawingu’ pilot in Kenya, Microsoft has been flooded with requests from a wide range of companies and governments interested in developing similar projects,” says Paul Garnett, director at Microsoft’s Technology Policy Group. “White spaces technology and efficient spectrum management have a huge potential for expanding affordable broadband access throughout the world. We hope all governments will follow the example of forward-looking countries like Kenya, Tanzania and many others that have taken steps to support deployment of white spaces technology.”

memeburn.com

On the last month facebook announced the redesign of the timeline of the timeline with more outstanding and application friendly features.The timeline shall still counting  you days but now days in an amazing way.

So what's different about it? First, it's a bit more organized. While your posts and events used to be scattered across the two-column view, now they will be larger and stacked in order on the right column. Everything else, including boxes that house your photos, about information, and "likes" of music, movies, books, etc. will live on the left side of the screen.

A big part of the redesign is around the content and the apps that you like. You can "favorite" different movies, books, music and they will be added to that left rail. "If you're a movie buff, you can add your favorites to your movies section or use apps like Flixster and Netflix to share what you're watching," Facebook's Rose Yao wrote on Facebook's blog. The integration comes just as Netflix has announced its social watching tools, which allow you to see what your friends have been watching.

The world’s largest software and programme developer, the Microsoft Corporation, has confirmed its Senior Vice President in charge of Corporate Business, Ali Famamwy, will pay a day’s working visit to Ghana on March 4, 2013.

Mr. Famamwy’s visit will be at the invitation of rlg Communications Limited, the pioneer ICT devices assembler in Africa based in Ghana.While in the country, Mr Famamwy will be the Guest of Honour at the official Sod Cutting Ceremony for the multi-million dollar ICT Park to be known as the Hope City in Accra next month.

He will also pay courtesy call on President John Mahama at the Flagstaff House.

The Hope City Project is an integrated village with facilities for housing, ICT, recreation, business and much more and is expected to create jobs for about 50,000 people, directly and indirectly.

In August last year, Microsoft and rlg signed an agreement which allows rlg phones and computers to run on Microsoft Windows.

The influential business magazine Forbes described the rlg-Microsoft deal as a “partnership of the future.”

The deal also granted rlg Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) status, making it one of the few such organizations in Africa.

“This visit by a very senior official of Microsoft excites us because it reaffirms the growing trust and confidence the international community is reposing in us,” said Roland Agambire, Founder & Chief Executive of rlg Communications Ltd.

Mr Famamwy, who is also the President for Microsoft Middle East & Africa (MEA), has a number of responsibilities spanning business strategy and operations. He is a key member of the international leadership team that is responsible for the company’s global strategy, with a particularly visible role amongst the company’s worldwide emerging markets community.

He is directly responsible for Microsoft’s operations in MEA, one of thirteen areas that comprise Microsoft’s worldwide operations. The area represents one of Microsoft’s fastest growing and most dynamic markets and is certainly its most diverse. Microsoft MEA operates through 32 offices and covers 79 countries across three continents.

Throughout his twenty-year career in the IT industry, Mr Famamwy has held different technical, sales and managerial roles in different parts of the Middle East and in Europe with companies including Dun & Bradstreet Software, NCR Corporation, Yokogawa Marex and finally Microsoft Corporation.

Ali joined Microsoft in October 1997 as the General Manager of Microsoft Egypt. After four successful years in that role, he assumed additional responsibilities in the Eastern Mediterranean area, which encompasses Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Cyprus & Malta.

In May 2002, Ali was named as the Regional Director for Sales, Marketing and Services for a newly consolidated Microsoft Middle East and Africa region. In this role, he led efforts to transform and grow the company’s regional presence with a newly established regional headquarters. In 2004, he was promoted to President of Microsoft Middle East and Africa and in 2011 to Corporate Vice President of the Microsoft Corporation.

He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at Alexandria University, majoring in Computer Science & Automatic Control and has a MBA in Strategic Marketing from the University of Hull in the UK.

He is married and has two sons. He loves the IT industry and tendency to empower people and transform industries. He is passionate about the future of people in emerging markets. He also enjoys music, reading and the occasional round of golf

Microsoft YouthSpark is a global initiative to create economic opportunities for 300 million youth over the next three years

JOHANNESBURG, South-Africa, February 14, 2013/ -- Unemployment remains rife on the African continent. With almost 200 million people aged between 15 and 24 in Africa today, the youth community represents more than 60 per cent of the continent’s total population and accounts for 45 per cent of its growing labour force. However, the imbalance between the demands of the labour market and the supply of appropriately skilled workers in Africa is reaching its breaking point. In light of this, Microsoft Corp. (http://www.microsoft.com) today announced its ongoing commitment to driving opportunities for African youth through its YouthSpark initiative.
Microsoft YouthSpark is a global initiative that aims to create opportunities for 300 million youth in more than 100 countries during the next three years. This companywide initiative includes Corporate Social Investment (CSI) and other company programs — both new and enhanced — empowering youth to imagine and realise their full potential by connecting them with greater opportunities for education, employment and entrepreneurship.



“It is a sad reality that while young Africans are more literate than their parents, more of them remain unemployed,” says Djam Bakhshandegi, CSI Program Manager at Microsoft in Africa. “At the core of our YouthSpark and other CSI activities is our belief that relevant innovation holds the key to unlocking the answers to our most pressing challenges in the region. Through YouthSpark, in sub-Saharan Africa alone, we have already reached over half a million young people and made $1.1 million worth of software donations to non-Government-organizations.  In addition we have trained almost 30, 000 teachers through our Partners In Learning tools as well as equipping hundreds of small & medium businesses with relevant start up skills.



As part of its broader strategy, Microsoft views Africa as a critical investment market. Its flagship African investment and growth drive, 4Afrika, which Youth Spark falls under on the African continent, was launched in February 2013. Through 4Afrika, Microsoft will actively engage in Africa’s economic development to improve its global competitiveness. By 2016, the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative plans to help place tens of millions of smart devices in the hands of African youth, bring 1 million African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) online, up-skill 100,000 members of Africa’s existing workforce, and help an additional 100,000 recent graduates develop skills for employ-ability, 75 percent of which Microsoft will help place in jobs.



“YouthSpark forms part of this 4Afrika vision and through YouthSpark, we are paying specific attention to the next generation of our ecosystem through our work with schools, students, start-ups and the developer community to drive skills and ICT integration which will in turn trigger growth,” says Bakhshandegi. “Through our partnerships with governments, non-profit organizations and businesses, Microsoft YouthSpark aims to empower youth to imagine and realize their full potential.”

Microsoft YouthSpark goes beyond philanthropy and brings together a range of global programs that empower young people with access to technology and a better education and inspire young people to imagine the opportunities they have to realise their potential, including Office 365 for education, free technology tools for all teachers and students to power learning and collaboration, and Skype in the classroom, a free global community for teachers to connect their students with others around the world. Other YouthSpark initiatives include:

Partners in Learning Network (http://www.microsoft.com/education/pil/partnersInLearning.aspx). An online professional development platform for government officials, school leaders and educators to help them with new approaches to teaching and learning, using technology to help students develop 21st century skills.



Microsoft IT Academy (http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/itacademy/default.aspx). A career-ready education program available to all accredited academic institutions, providing students with 21st century technology.



DreamSpark (https://www.dreamspark.com). Free access to Microsoft designer and developer tools for students and educators, helping advance key technical skills during the high school and college years, a critical time in a student’s development.



Imagine Cup (http://www.imaginecup.com).The world’s premier youth technology competition, which challenges students to apply their knowledge and passion to develop technical solutions for social impact, to develop engaging games, and to demonstrate innovation that can benefit others, local communities and the world.



Students to Business (http://www.microsoft.com/studentstobusiness/home/default.aspx). A program that matches university students with jobs or internships in the technology industry.



BizSpark (http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark). A software startup program, providing young entrepreneurs with access to Microsoft software development tools and connections with key industry players, including investors, to help them start a new business.



Employability Portals. An all-inclusive platform that links users – who wish to plan their career, get career advisory, acquire training, build their capacity, apply for jobs and internships – with customized resources, counselors, mentors and jobs.



Another example is Microsoft’s Build Your Business programme (http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_on_the_issues_africa/archive/2012/02/13/building-your-own-business-a-new-curriculum-helps-young-people-find-success.aspx), a comprehensive and inter-active training course designed to support aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs. David Arkless, Manpower Group’s President of Corporate and Government Affairs, says, “Start-ups and small businesses are the backbone of Africa’s economy, and this learning course will encourage aspiring entrepreneurs to take the leap to set up a business venture. We are committed to helping new small businesses get off the ground and provide them with the skills to deal with the rigors of competition and day-to-day business tasks.”



“We are committed to using our technology, talent, time and money to help create sustainable growth across the African continent,” says Bakhshandegi. “Microsoft YouthSpark is not just about enhancing young people’s digital skills. Rather it is about helping young people having a more balanced set of skills that is required in today’s very competitive work environment.”



A full list of Microsoft YouthSpark programs can be found at the YouthSpark Hub (http://www.microsoft.com/youthsparkhub).

Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of Microsoft Corporation.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) (http://www.microsoft.com) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Microsoft Corporation Press Release

Tech giant Microsoft on Friday announced that the newest version of its flagship product, MS Windows 8, will also be in Rwanda's main language, Kinyarwanda.

Microsoft said in a statement that MS Windows 8 is available in 14 new languages, bringing the total number of languages supported to 109. The US software giant released Window 8 in October last year and has since been working on producing the software in different languages to cover the global market.

The Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philpert Nsengimana, said the release in Kinyarwanda will go a long way in building information and communication technology literacy in the country.
It means Rwandans with minimal knowledge of either French or English will be able to use their touch-screen gadgets that support the system without having to worry about language barrier.

"It will help us in taking ICT to the common man. ICT has to be owned by every Rwandan and not be seen as a preserve by some," he told The New Times yesterday when contacted for a comment.

The minister added that the development would encourage, especially the youth to learn new products.
The application can support any of the languages with language interface packs as long as it supports one of 12 application certification languages, said Microsoft in the statement.

The New Times of Rwanda

During the closing keynote of Microsoft’s Partners in Learning Global Forum over the weekend, the technology giant announced that it has started an initiative and partnership called Youth Spark – Spark a Child’s digital future. As part of the agreement between Microsoft, World Vision and the British Counsel, the three companies will implement an investment of $75-million with NGOs to give digital access to kids for the first time throughout developing nations.

Laura Ipsen, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Worldwide Public Sector, during the closing keynote of Microsoft’s Partners in Learning Global Forum.

Microsoft mentioned that they have already opened over a 100 digital hubs in Africa, where they train people on how to use digital content. While they had a massive reach with the digital hubs, those were done with only $2-million of investment.

The Spark a Child’s Digital Future will start in Kenya, and during the press conference, World Vision’s David Owens said they are finally closing the opportunity gap. “We are very excited about this project. With this, we can put the power of technology into the hands of eager young minds.”

Owens explained that “once a child’s basic needs are met, developing digital skills leads to better jobs. These jobs have a poverty-fighting ripple effect: improved family income, community contribution, and less dependency on services. This is why World Vision, Microsoft, Intel, and British Council are teaming up to improve digital access and education for African students.”

The initiative’s aim is to achieve three key goals, which will see it bringing significant technology advancements to African schools, bringing holistic digital access to classrooms with devices, infrastructure, and teacher training, and improving learning outcomes for students – in academics, life skills, and economic opportunity.

VENTURES AFRICA – Software giant Microsoft, has announced 18 educators from Nigeria, Ghana, Mauritius, South Africa, Egypt, Lesotho, Uganda, Morocco and a few other Middle East countries as representatives to the Partners in Learning Global Forum  which is to take place in Prague, Czech Republic from November 28 to December 1 2012.

The Microsoft programme which was established to catalyze innovations in schools, had a distinguished panel of regional judges to evaluate 90 educator projects, out of which 31 projects were shortlisted, with 16 handled by the 18 educators, emerging as eventual winners.

The 18 educators were selected for enhancing student success through innovative use of technology in the classroom.

One of the awarded teachers at the forum, Ayodele Odeogbola, said: “As educators, we take great pride and joy in watching our students improve their academic performance and go on to take active roles in society. To enable that progress, it is important for us to keep up with the latest teaching methods and tools, and give students the confidence to use these 21^st Century skills.”

The Abeokuta Grammar School (Nigeria) teacher, added: “The Partners in Learning Forum gives educators a unique opportunity to come together and celebrate our successes, and learn new approaches and methods from our colleagues. I’m excited to go back to Nigeria and share these experiences with my colleagues and students.”

“Every year it is inspiring to see how these incredibly passionate educators embrace technology, helping to transform learning in their classrooms and education in their local communities. After all, ICT is an essential tool for quality education, and quality education ultimately leads to a better future for students and their countries, “said Khalil Abdel Massih, Partners in Learning Manager, Microsoft Middle East and Africa.

Partners in Learning are a 10-year, nearly $500 million commitment by Microsoft to help education systems around the world. Since its inception in 2003, the Partners in Learning program has reached more than 196 million educators and students in 119 countries.

ventures-africa.com

Summary: Microsoft will need to work hard to convince enterprise users in Africa to migrate off older versions of Windows onto Windows 8.

Windows 8 adoption among enterprise IT users in sub-Saharan Africa is likely to be slow and patchy, with most of the appetite for the new operating system to be found among organisations with large mobile workforces.

While analysts and Microsoft business partners said Windows 8 offers a compelling bridge between consumer devices and enterprise IT infrastructure, they questioned whether the value of the new operating system is persuasive enough to prompt enterprise users in Africa to migrate in the short to medium term future.   

Mark Walker, director for Middle East, Africa and Turkey at IDC, said that the excitement of a new platform may help to bump PC sales in the region for the fourth quarter after a sluggish third quarter. But he said that it is unlikely that many enterprises who have not already been testing Windows 8 will adopt it straightaway.

"The ecosystem is more complicated than it was when companies were migrating to Windows XP or Windows 7. There is a lot of pushback from the businesspeople, a lot of confusion about the impact on the architecture. The decision to migrate is not a straightforward discussion," Walker said.

African companies grappling with the management and security implications of the cloud and bring your own device (BYOD) are ones who may find Windows 8 most compelling, said Walker. "From a technology point of view, Windows 8 is an impressive platform. But the on-ramp will be slower."

Walker said that adoption rates will vary markedly among different African countries, with faster adoption of the platform in those such as Kenya and South Africa where bandwidth is greater since some many of the key features of Windows 8 are designed for an always-online world.

Availability and cost of bandwidth are key, agreed Paul Conradie, MD of southern and eastern African distribution group Comztek. Kenya, for example, can be expected to adopt Windows 8 faster than Zamibia, where speeds lag and costs are still high.

The speed of adoption of Windows 8 will depend on the nature of the business, said Conradie. Those with large mobile workforces will adopt the platform quite fast to take advantage of the commonality it will bring between tablet, smartphone, desktop and notebook platforms. "They are going to say, 'our security and infrastructure has been set up for Windows 7', so moving to Windows 8 is not a big leap."

With more wireless devices shipping in Africa than traditional PCs, Microsoft needs to focus on the apps ecosystem for Windows 8 to compete effectively with the likes of Google and Apple, said Bradley Bunch, chief innovation officer at Dimension Data, a systems integration and outsourcing firm with a presence in more than a dozen African countries.

Windows 8 may lag Android and iOS in apps availability, but Microsoft’s large powerful OEM, distributor and reseller base across the continent will prove to be a major advantage for the company, he added.

"Windows 8 represents an interesting bridge from enterprise to consumer devices. Google and Apple have been winning the race because Microsoft has been slow to respond to the changes in how consumers use technology," said Bunch.

"Consumerisation is affecting companies' operational costs because the number of devices and platforms [to be managed] has increased. Offering mobile devices and PCs on the same platform is a good strategy, but is it too late?"

Many of Dimension Data's big African customers are still using Windows XP and the company is involved in a number of migrations from XP and Vista to Windows 7. Dimension Data expects Windows 7 to be the enterprise operating system of choice for the foreseeable future, with Windows 8 coming into many organisations through tablets and smartphones, said Bunch.

One observer who is upbeat about the prospects for Windows 8 in Africa is Traci Maynard, GM of the software division at Tarsus Technologies, a South Africa-based IT distributor with branches in Botswana, Namibia and Mauritius. Windows 8 introduces a range of long-awaited a number of security features that CIOs will want to embrace, said Maynard.

These include key enhancements to the BitLocker and AppLocker features as well as the RemoteFX technology that allows Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure remote desktops to run graphics-intensive applications through a virtualised graphics card hosted on the server.

 

By Lance Harris for African Enterprise

Zdnet.com

Summary: Microsoft will need to work hard to convince enterprise users in Africa to migrate off older versions of Windows onto Windows 8.

Windows 8 adoption among enterprise IT users in sub-Saharan Africa is likely to be slow and patchy, with most of the appetite for the new operating system to be found among organisations with large mobile workforces.

While analysts and Microsoft business partners said Windows 8 offers a compelling bridge between consumer devices and enterprise IT infrastructure, they questioned whether the value of the new operating system is persuasive enough to prompt enterprise users in Africa to migrate in the short to medium term future.   

Mark Walker, director for Middle East, Africa and Turkey at IDC, said that the excitement of a new platform may help to bump PC sales in the region for the fourth quarter after a sluggish third quarter. But he said that it is unlikely that many enterprises who have not already been testing Windows 8 will adopt it straightaway.

"The ecosystem is more complicated than it was when companies were migrating to Windows XP or Windows 7. There is a lot of pushback from the businesspeople, a lot of confusion about the impact on the architecture. The decision to migrate is not a straightforward discussion," Walker said.

African companies grappling with the management and security implications of the cloud and bring your own device (BYOD) are ones who may find Windows 8 most compelling, said Walker. "From a technology point of view, Windows 8 is an impressive platform. But the on-ramp will be slower."

Walker said that adoption rates will vary markedly among different African countries, with faster adoption of the platform in those such as Kenya and South Africa where bandwidth is greater since some many of the key features of Windows 8 are designed for an always-online world.

Availability and cost of bandwidth are key, agreed Paul Conradie, MD of southern and eastern African distribution group Comztek. Kenya, for example, can be expected to adopt Windows 8 faster than Zamibia, where speeds lag and costs are still high.

The speed of adoption of Windows 8 will depend on the nature of the business, said Conradie. Those with large mobile workforces will adopt the platform quite fast to take advantage of the commonality it will bring between tablet, smartphone, desktop and notebook platforms. "They are going to say, 'our security and infrastructure has been set up for Windows 7', so moving to Windows 8 is not a big leap."

With more wireless devices shipping in Africa than traditional PCs, Microsoft needs to focus on the apps ecosystem for Windows 8 to compete effectively with the likes of Google and Apple, said Bradley Bunch, chief innovation officer at Dimension Data, a systems integration and outsourcing firm with a presence in more than a dozen African countries.

Windows 8 may lag Android and iOS in apps availability, but Microsoft’s large powerful OEM, distributor and reseller base across the continent will prove to be a major advantage for the company, he added.

"Windows 8 represents an interesting bridge from enterprise to consumer devices. Google and Apple have been winning the race because Microsoft has been slow to respond to the changes in how consumers use technology," said Bunch.

"Consumerisation is affecting companies' operational costs because the number of devices and platforms [to be managed] has increased. Offering mobile devices and PCs on the same platform is a good strategy, but is it too late?"

Many of Dimension Data's big African customers are still using Windows XP and the company is involved in a number of migrations from XP and Vista to Windows 7. Dimension Data expects Windows 7 to be the enterprise operating system of choice for the foreseeable future, with Windows 8 coming into many organisations through tablets and smartphones, said Bunch.

One observer who is upbeat about the prospects for Windows 8 in Africa is Traci Maynard, GM of the software division at Tarsus Technologies, a South Africa-based IT distributor with branches in Botswana, Namibia and Mauritius. Windows 8 introduces a range of long-awaited a number of security features that CIOs will want to embrace, said Maynard.

These include key enhancements to the BitLocker and AppLocker features as well as the RemoteFX technology that allows Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure remote desktops to run graphics-intensive applications through a virtualised graphics card hosted on the server.

By Lance Harris for African Enterprise

Zdnet.com