ITWeb: SMS for Life

A fantastic success that has generated a lot of media interest - this one from ITWeb

Tech giants fight malaria
IBM, Novartis and Vodafone have teamed up with the Roll Back Malaria Partnership to fight the spread of malaria in Tanzania.

The companies have started a five-month pilot called SMS for Life to help 135 villages and over a million people living in remote areas of Tanzania.

SMS for Life is a system which uses cellphones and Web sites to track the supply of anti-malarial vaccines coming into the country.

IBM CTO Clifford Foster says IBM's role in the partnership came about through its internship programme called Extreme Blue; a joint collaboration between local universities and their students.

The IBM team identified the need in Africa for a system that can manage the inventory of anti-malarial drugs, in order to make sure there is enough medication to help those with malaria.

Broader outlook
The pilot project, which started this year, is due to run until February. After that, Foster says the project will be assessed by the Tanzanian government and is expected to be expanded into other areas. Foster notes that the main objective, based on the success of the project, is to roll it out to the rest of Africa.

“Its one of those situations where innovation has risen out of need to solve a real problem,” he says. “The technology is cost-effective and is having a real impact on peoples' lives.

“Going forward, IBM will provide the project management using the IBM Lotus cloud-based solution in the support and execution of the project to make sure that the support services are executed at a low cost.”

SMS for supply
Vodafone's role, in conjunction with MatsSoft, was to develop a system in which healthcare staff in remote hospitals receive automated SMS messages prompting them to check the supply of anti-malarial drugs so they do not run out of the vital medicine.

Using toll-free numbers, staff reply with an SMS to a central database system hosted in the UK, providing details of stock levels, and deliveries can be made before supplies run out at local health centres.

Senior health officer at Tanzania's ministry of health and social welfare, Winfred Mwafongo, says the system has resulted in improvements in hospital inventory management systems in 19 rural health facilities in one district alone.

Fighting back
According to IBM, Tanzania has around 5 000 clinics, hospitals and dispensaries, but at any one time, as many as half could potentially be out of stock of anti-malarial drugs.

Designed as a public and private partnership leveraging the skills and resources of several companies, SMS for Life could have far-reaching implications for existing health systems worldwide. Several other African countries have shown interest in the project.

The mosquito-borne disease causes nearly one million deaths in Africa each year, mostly among pregnant women and young children, and many people die because they simply lack quick access to vital medication.

SMS for Life

I am truly impressed by the SMS for Life pilot - it demonstrates how the smart use of technology can have a profound impact on the lives of people in Africa.

Background
The first phase of a joint IBM, Novartis and Vodaphone initiative, called SMS for Life, has been delivered in Tanzania.

One million people die from malaria each year in Africa and this initiative will help to ensure that people can get the life-saving drugs they need. The project uses a combination of mobile phones, SMS technologies and electronic mapping to track and help manage the supply of drugs.

The solution
The idea is to report stock levels of anti-malaria drugs using weekly SMS messages. The information is then displayed in tables, graphs and on Google Maps, and email alerts are generated for health facilities which are out of stock of any of the drugs being tracked. Supply chain coordinators then use this information to determine how best to resolve the stock issues.

Early findings in the first district to go live indicate out-of-stock levels at more than 55%, confirming initial assumptions.

The solution, which may even appear trivial in the developed world, is actually ideal in its African context and meets the needs of those for whom it has been designed. "And now we have the makings of a successful pilot, we could see this solution rolled out across much of sub-Saharan Africa over the next few years", believes Peter Ward of IBM. "That really would be a great result for everyone involved!"

Additional information
Rollback Malaria article

ITWeb: Thinking smarter in the cloud

Alex Kayle posted this write-up post the recent ITWeb Cloud Computing Conference

Organisations are spending up to 70% of their IT budget on simply keeping the organisation running, and this has serious financial implications for the business.

Clifford Foster, CTO at IBM sub-Saharan Africa, explored the synergies between cloud computing, software-as-a-service, virtualisation and service-oriented architecture, during yesterday's ITWeb Cloud Computing conference in Bryanston.

Foster called for businesses to think smarter about managing their technology differently, in order to keep up with the exponential growth of data. “The world is changing and is becoming increasingly instrumented.

“We have about 33 billion RFID tags sold globally. We are gathering information in real-time and everything is becoming interconnected. We have four billion mobile subscribers, two billion Internet users, and we have a trillion interconnected devices.”

Solving problems
Foster pointed out that cloud computing is capable of helping organisations solve many of their business problems: “We have information generated and managed on such a scale so we can prevent problems before they happen, prevent power outages, and water contamination.”

Foster said IDC research reveals that 85% of computing capacity stands idle in computer centres, which results in a waste of energy resources. He added that cloud computing brings cost benefits to IT, as the hosted environment is provided on a pay-per-use basis as a services contract.

“Cloud computing is not new. However, cloud computing involves a paradigm-shift that catalyses many existing technologies and approaches.

“Cloud computing is an infrastructure management and services delivery methodology. We are truly at the point

ITWeb: Cloud computing evolves

A recent write-up done by Alex as an introduction to my presentation "How I explained cloud computing to my wife" next week.


The solution harnesses the synergies of SaaS, SOA and virtualisation.
Cloud computing is enabling technologies such as SaaS, SOA and virtualisation, says Clifford Foster, IBM CTO for sub-Saharan Africa.

Cloud computing is a paradigm rather than a new technology; however, it is driving SaaS, SOA and virtualisation in new ways, says Clifford Foster, IBM's CTO for sub-Saharan Africa.

During the upcoming ITWeb Cloud Computing 2009 Conference, on 24 November at The Campus, Bryanston, Foster will provide an overview of the synergies between cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS), service-oriented architecture (SOA) and virtualisation.

“Cloud computing extends the SaaS model to deliver other services on multiple payment options from the more typical SaaS model to a pay-as-you-use payment model. SOA fits naturally within the cloud paradigm, although it should be noted that it isn't a prerequisite.”

He adds that through virtualisation, applications are separated from physical resources, which provides benefits such as improved resource utilisation and system stability.

Evolving the cloud
According to Foster, cloud computing is evolving from proprietary and monolithic clouds to open standards-based and large-scale clouds.
Click here

“These open clouds will provide a range of standards-based services that will provide individuals and organisations with a range of options, offering differing service levels at respective price points. Cloud computing is evolving to include private clouds (within the organisation's firewall) and hybrid clouds (combination of private and public).”

Foster points out that some of the benefits of cloud computing is improved resource utilisation, reduced costs, ease-of-use and flexibility as users have access to the services they want without needing to own them or know where they are run.

In addition, complexity is reduced as the applications are bundled with the other software components required to execute them.

Foster adds: “However, it must be noted that cloud computing must be carefully considered based on an organisation's specific requirements, as not all services are suitable for delivering in the cloud.”

Original article here

Smart Client

Just a quick post that links to an interview that Ruben Goldberg (Classic FM) conducted with myself on the announcement that we made regarding our Smart Client.

Smart Client was announced by IBM and Canonical that combines Lotus productivity and collaboration tools with Ubuntu Linux. The base package is available from free download and it provides a cost effective (and open) alternative to expensive office application and operation systems that require fairly high powered desktops.

Link here

I see your 6 feet and raise you another 12

Walking around the neighbourhood recently I was astounded to see how high the walls are being built around this residential complex.

I don't proclaim to understand what has resulted in this level of fear but to the casual observer it seems as if these residents are imprisoning themselves. Actually I can think of some prisons that would be proud of security like this.

I guess it is a result of following the approach of ensuring that your property is less desirable than your neighbours' - i.e. making it more difficult to enter than their properties are. But this takes "keeping up with the Joneses" to new levels. It could also have the unintentional result of making your property more desirable, as curiosity with what lies behind those walls could result in the problem occurring that it was built to prevent.

As South Africans we understand that crime is a major issue that we have to deal with; together with the social conditions that result in crime. I am just not sure that this is the answer ....

Is South Africa falling behind in the telco market?

I read so many telecommunication success stories in East Africa that it makes me wonder if South African is falling behind in this space. If not now then perhaps it is a question of when?

Examples abound ... the rest of Africa is picking up pace since the commissioning of Seacom and will accelerate when TEAMS goes live.

Kenya
I read with great interest that Safaricom has contracted Alvarion to implement a WiMax broadband network in Kenya. The WiMax network will connect urban and rurual users.

WiMax is an excellent alternative to ADSL if implemented properly. Think of WiMax as copper-in-the-sky connecting to the closest exchange and you get the picture.

Uganda
When I was in Uganda earlier this year plans were already underway by the Ugandan government to build a fibre optic network across the country connected to Seacom.

Rwanda
Rwandatel signed a deal with Seacomm a month or so ago providing their user base (3G and ADSL) with fast international access.

Likely
South Africa will most likely fall behind our Sub-Saharan cousins in the broadband market, whether it be in the price, access or service domains.

This isn't a problem but an opportunity that the rest of Africa is grabbing. Overall this is great news for the continent as the welfare of all countries in Africa impact one another.

Africa Innovation Centre Cape Town

A Satellite
We opened our second AIC (Africa Innovation Centre) yesterday (17th September 2009), this time in Cape Town. The opening of this AIC is approximately a year after the opening on the first centre in Johannesburg. The Cape Town AIC is a satellite to the centre in Johannesburg, which operates as our central hub.

I envision an ecosystem of connected AICs that leverage a shared pool of resources (people and technology) across the Sub-Saharan region - delivering innovative solutions and support to our partners and clients.

Smart
I believe that the Innovation Centres offer an ideal facility for building the type of solutions required to realise a vision of a Smarter Planet.

Firstly we use the centres to develop the required skills; secondly we support our clients and partners in building their own solutions; and lastly we are jointly able to prototype and test the latest technologies that spur innovation.

I am looking forward to the launch of the next centre ...


Press coverage
ITNewsAfrica – IBM launches another Africa Innovation Centre

Reuters – IBM Launches New Cape Town Africa Innovation Center to Help Fuel Skills Growth in...

Trading Markets – IBM opens Africa Innovation Center in Cape Town

IT Online – IBM extends Innovation Centre to Cape Town

ITWeb – IBM opens CT innovation centre

South Africa Info – IBM's second Africa innovation centre

ITNewsAfrica: IBM commits to Africa

IBM’s Chief Technology Officer, Clifford Foster, has reiterated his support for business development in Sub-Saharan Africa saying it’s an important market for his company.

Speaking to ITNewsAfrica.com recently, Foster noted that despite the global economic meltdown IBM has shown its commitment to the continent evidenced by its investments across Africa and its recent opening of offices in Nairobi and Lagos.

“ The economic meltdown has impacted on many but for us we have shown resilience through the opening of offices in Nairobi and Lagos, we’ll continue to invest in Africa as a matter of fact we are connected to sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.

The Technology supremo at IBM further explained that his organization has faith in Africa hence the graduate programme which they have established to recruit young professionals and expose them to culture and life at IBM.

“Our graduate programme is meant to show young graduates what it is like to work for IBM,” Foster noted

Upon his appointment in November last year, his stated priorities were to drive innovation through the company’s African Innovation Centre (AIC) and to establish various partnerships with universities across the continent; an initiative he is passionate about.

“My focus for 2009 will be on driving the AIC concept further into Africa. This is not a South African-centric statement; IBM will be tapping into innovation wherever it happens.”

True to his word, the Fortune 500 IT company expanded its operations in Kenya from sales and marketing offices to a fully fledged operation, in order to capture growth in the East African region.

Upon being asked what IBM was doing regarding cyber crime ahead of 2010, Foster, said they were working on a number of projects with the South African government without going into specifics.

“With 2010 coming, we are working on a number of projects, we have technology that can process vast amounts of data in real time. I’ am unable to give you specifics but what I can say is that it can be anything even border controls,” he explained.

IBM has been operating in Africa for nearly six decades and has invested more than $US120 million in the last two years as part of its strategy to focus on the world’s growth markets.

Its investments include a Johannesburg-based Africa Innovation Centre -which has a software solutions lab- cloud computing capability and a banking centre of excellence. Also, IBM has donated a Blue Gene Supercomputer, which is located at Cape Town’s Centre for High Performance Computing, to be used for research by institutions across sub-Saharan Africa.

Original article here

What's in a petaflop?

Peta-what?
This question came up today - what's a petaflop? I had to remind myself as it isn't something I discuss every day.

A petaflop is a thousand trillion flops or floating point operations per second.

IBM's RoadRunner is the world's fast super computer and was designed for a peak processing capability of 1.7 petaflops and a sustained 1 petaflop of processing. It was built at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, USA.

Where to from now though?

IBM and a group of nuclear physicists are planning a 20 petaflop machine (nicknamed Sequoia) for the US Department of Energy computer.

Sequoia will be used for nuclear safety calculations and nuclear explosion simulations. In addition it will be used for climatic modeling and other branches of science that use predictive modeling.

I came across this interesting graph that shows the performance of supercomputers over time, with RoadRunner at the 1 petaflop mark (that's the 1,000,000,000,000,000 data point).


In essence a machine like this enables more simulations to be run in the same amount of time, which increases confidence in the resulting predictions.

Pigeon faster than ADSL in South Africa

I read about this article yesterday and it would be so funny if it wasn't a reflection on the sad state of affairs in our broadband market ... ok it is funny.

This is the story
A staff member of The Unlimited was so frustrated with the speed of their Telkom ADSL connection that he came upon the idea that it would be faster to send the data (to their head office) using a pigeon.

Yesterday they put the theory to the test and sent a four gigabyte package using both options: pigeon and flash-drive vs ADSL. The ADSL download had only completed 4% of the download by the time the pigeon reached their head office (in KZN).

Obviously
This isn't a true reflection of the ADSL connection as there is a limit to how far the pigeon can fly and the further the distance, the better the ADSL download would have performed ... however it is hilarious.

Thank goodness for competition in this market as we have alternatives for backhaul and the "last-mile" (hub to curb). Pity there is only one provider of fixed line though as wireless, WiFi, WiMax etc are always going to be subjected to some degree interference.

On a positive note - consider how far we have come in four years - dial-up and ISDN were the norm when I left for the UK in 2005.

MyBroadband: IBM’s solution to SA’s congested traffic

An article by Tom Manners after our discussion on Smart Planet solutions.

IBM’s solution to SA’s congested traffic

Better data processing is the key to using resources, like infrastructure and water, more efficiently says IBM.

IBM Chief Technology Officer for Sub Saharan Africa, Clifford Foster believes that Africa is better positioned to harness advances in infrastructure technologies than first world countries allowing them to operate more cleaning and efficiently.

Traffic congestion, according to Foster, is a good example of how data interpretation can resolve a problem.

In Stockholm, Sweden IBM monitored a number of ingoing and outgoing roads into the city and then applied the data to a management system which in turn reduced congestion by 20%.

South Africa, with its incoming SANRAL open road tolling system, could also become a success story. Foster suggests that by using the data compiled by such a system, authorities could better organise traffic flow during peak hour times in Johannesburg.

According to IBM the key to improving the utilisation of resources, like our roads, is effective data management.

“Bringing data to a central point is essential for South Africa,” explains Foster, in this way it can be interpreted and used to maximise existing infrastructure.


Original article here

ITWeb: Green gets smart

Write-up from the Green IT presentation last week:


“The way to address that opportunity is not in an isolated fashion. You get the biggest bang for your buck by looking at the entire value chain.”

Smarter planet
Foster explained that organisations are in a position to measure information on a scale never seen before, and that the cost of measuring devices, mainly transistors, has dropped to almost nothing. “We can sense and see the exact condition of practically anything for very little cost.”

This is coupled with a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected, according to Foster, evidenced by the explosion in telecommunications and the growing number of mobile phone subscriptions, which stands at around four billion worldwide. “People, systems and objects can communicate and interact with each other in entirely new ways,” he explained.

“Once all the information is collected, and you've connected it all together, then you're producing vast amounts of information in real-time. This is where the third concept comes in – you can make intelligent decisions,” argued Foster.

He explained that intelligent decision-making involves using the information gathered to determine how to prevent problems from happening before they occur. “It's not about doing things at month-end, or after they have happened; if you can detect what's happening in real-time you can prevent power outages on the energy grid, and wastages in terms of energy and water consumption. We can do things fundamentally differently.

“With this amount of intelligence and processing power being embedded in devices you wouldn't have thought of as computers a while ago, there's no reason why any device, person, process, or organisation can't be digitally aware, connected, and smart,” Foster added.

“Then it's a case of how to use all of that to impact your green agenda, and how to reduce costs, improve operational efficiencies and bring new products to market quicker.”

Less is more
Foster outlined three considerations in moving towards a more sustainable and cost-effective business, the first being how to do more with less. “Don't just look at one aspect; look at everything in the organisation.” According to Foster, this includes applications and data, information technology, real estate and facilities, building infrastructure, and energy management.

Another consideration for businesses, said Foster, is the need to be more responsible. “Organisations are being challenged to account for the environmental and social impacts of their activities. It starts with a clear strategy in terms of what the green agenda is, and having a governance model that sits at the forefront of the organisation, to measure and monitor processes.”

He added that companies need to consider the implications of their suppliers' and manufacturing activities on overall costs. “You cannot just assume that your trading partners are green, you have to ask for green credentials and measure what they do if you claim greenness in terms of regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations.”

Thirdly, said Foster, organisations need to be more efficient. “You need to look at building smart systems and practical applications. Intelligent systems gather, synthesise and apply information to change the way the entire industry operates.”

He cited US Department of Energy figures that show 67% of energy is lost in transmission. “Imagine if you could detect an error before it becomes critical, and send people out before the impact of the problem becomes consequential.”

Foster believes the possibilities have only just begun, with the vast amounts information being collected in real-time offering huge opportunities. “The implications of living in a socially, technologically, and economically connected world are being felt more profoundly now than ever before.”


Original article here

MMOGs vs MMORPGs

Background
In 2007 I completed a study on why collaboration works in online gaming. I provided a summary in my blog called Learning from Collaborative Play in MMOGs. The study highlights why games are superior in almost all ways in enabling collaboration as compared to conventional online collaboration tools.

G or RPG?
Last night I was lying in bed and contemplating why MMORPGs (massively multi-player online role-playing games) are generally more successful than MMOGs (massively multi-player online games). The answer is relatively simple and comes down to how players associate with their avatar (business speak) or character (game speak).

Gamers invest a lot of time and effort in developing their characters in role-playing games. In a game like WOW (World of Warcraft) you level your character from level one to level eighty, whilst continuously enhancing your character's skills, attributes and gear/clothing. Compare this to a game like DOTA (Defense of the Ancients) where you can choose your character before you play and just as rapidly discard it (when some unique twists).

Furthermore, in WOW, a lot of players spend considerable time and effort ensuring that their character "looks good". A lot of the most desirable items that you can acquire for your character are not only those items that have the best "stats" (skill enhancing points/statistics) but those that look the best. In addition there are many vanity items like extra clothing and pets.

Ego-enhancing
MMORPG players associate with their characters and these characters become an enhancement of their selves. This makes the game very sticky and is probably one of the major reasons why WOW remains so successful even though the game engine is quite dated versus some of the competition.

Walk around (with your character) in one of the major cities in WOW and you will notice that there are a lot of people socialising or merely standing there showing off their gear/clothing.

The better your clothing and gear; the better you are as a player (difficult to acquire items); and by association the better you are.

The Protocol and the House that Tweets

An IBM'er, Andy Stanford-Clark, has wired up his house to the Internet. He installed sensors on several household objects that enables him to measure what is happening in his home. Andy can measure electrical consumption and monitor security amongst others. He is also able to start and stop those appliances, as well as switch lights on and off.

Furthemore, Andy has also rigged up a number of these sensors to push their information to twitter (andy_house). Using twitter you can monitor he can monitor his electrical consumption and monitor what is happening in the house.

Underpinning this is the MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) protocol. MQTT is a platform-agnostic protocol (recently celebrsating its 10-year anniversary) that supports communication with networked objects, like sensors. MQTT is available in sever integration products, including IBM's Websphere Message Broker.

Another example of an MQTT deployment is a project that IBM did with St. Jude Medical Center. The Merlin system communicates enables home monitoring of patients implanted with cardioverter defibrillators and pacemakers.


We are well on our way to realising the "Internet of Things".

It's alive ....

A big congratulations to all those involved in the planning, investment of, and the commissioning of the Seacom submarine fibre-optic link.

This is big news, especially for east Africa that has had to rely on satellite back-haul for so long.

Now lets make sure that this wholesale broadband gets to consumers and businesses at an affordable price.

Joule and Smart Transportation

Did you know that Optimal Energy has developed a proto-type electrical car? I seem to have missed this .... it debuted at the Paris Motor Show in October of 2008 to international acclaim.

Joule is a a zero-emission vehicle that is approximately five times more energy efficient than petrol or diesel vehicles. Joule is battery operated and recharges from any electrical source. Furthermore, Joule’s lithium-ion batteries are recyclable and contain no heavy metals.

Joule is a six-seater passenger car with a range of 400 kilometer, a 0-60 time of 4.8 seconds, and a top speed of 135 km/h. Production will take place in South Africa and the venture is in conjunction with the Department of Science and Technology.

Joule's interior and body was designed by Keith Helfet, who is famous for his designs of Jaguar’s F-type concept and XK220.

This is a great example of how South Africa is helping to reduce pollution. Couple this together with less less congested motorways and we are onto something massive. The proposed Open Road Tolling System by South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL), together with initiatives like Gautrain, could be the foundation of a future smart transportation system.

Now we add in some intelligence like the system that is being developed by Garmap and Netstar that collects real-time information from over 50000 cars to determine congestion. This information is then transmitted to users and displayed on a mobile using an on-screen map. Users will then be in a position to manage their travel to reduce congestion and the environmental impact thereof. Pretty damn smart :)

What we now need to do is to bring this all together to ensure that we have a transportation network that reduces the impact on the environment, improves productivity, and improves the lives of people in South Africa.

This is achievable - we just "need to want it".

Green and Beyond

I think that we can all agree that the economic downturn and ecological reality of living in a globally integrated world has required us to rethink our approach to doing business. It is also fair to say that the approaches of the past are not sustainable and that the impact thereof on the environment can not continue unabated.

The challenge we have to accept is to reinvent how we do business, not only to survive and grow, but also to achieve the goals of conservation and pollution prevention.

I think that there are three primary questions we need to answer.

How do we do more with less?

We should build green infrastructures that take out cost and improve the efficiency of our assets and infrastructure. We must strive to maximize the efficiency of what we have; reduce the ecological footprint thereof; whilst providing the platform for business growth without adding to what we have.

How can we be more responsible?

We should build sustainable solutions that focus on increasing efficiency and abating the environmental impact of processes, products and people. There are significant benefits to measuring, monitoring and streamlining processes across the value chain. The difficult is that we can not achieve the full potential of these solutions if we work in isolation. Improvement s across the value chain will yield the most significant benefits.

How can we be more efficient?

We need to build solutions that are able to make intelligent decisions based on the wealth of information available across an entire industry. For example, we are able to use predictive analytics for water management; automate, monitor and control two-way flow of energy from power plant to plug; and build optimized transportation systems.

Let’s talk

What it takes is a willingness of stakeholders across the value chain to collaborate, share information and aspire to build a smarter planet.

edit 22/07/09: I was interviewed on this concept of Green IT - refer to the second half of the following podcast by FinWeek

On a slightly different topic

Just come back from a couple of days in Livingstone, Zambia, where we had a truly wonderful time.

I will try to summarise the experience in one sentence (which will not do it any justice): From sundowners on the sundeck of the Royal Livingstone; to G&Ts on the Zambesi with hippos for company; to abseiling and gorge swinging in the quarry; to cold showers next to the Victoria Falls; I had the time of my life (one of them at least).


So where is the technology you ask? Or the business? Well … the camera continued to work despite all the water from the Falls and a US dollar doesn’t buy you very much there.

Fin24: Smart new ideas

Simon Dingle wrote another good article on Smart Planet that I have copied and linked here.

Smart new ideas
MOST will agree that the human species could be doing things a lot more efficiently and productively. Problems such as water shortages and traffic jams shouldn't exist.

We waste a lot of energy, time and money doing things that should be achievable with less overhead. And we have fantastic technologies that could help with problems, but most of them are focused on military affairs, or turning a buck.

Think beyond day-to-day business and immediate threats, consider the long-term problems we face as a species and the need for cohesive action is clear.

The global downturn has forced us all to take a step back and reassess the way we do things - how we think about work and interaction, and what really matters.

IBM has a new initiative it calls Smart Planet which will underpin all the technology giant's future developments. The idea is that our most fundamental problems can be solved if we work together, combine efforts and share assets.

If we do this, we can converge our technological achievements and ideas to produce solutions greater than the sum of their parts.

'Billions for the better'
IBM spends more money on research and development than any other private company in the world, and will spend $6bn on research and development this year alone. It invented the hard drive, networking and countless other technologies that surround us today.

Now the firm is looking at the bigger picture in terms of global challenges, using its vast resources and ecosystem of partners to solve everything from the most rudimentary and fundamental problems to complex aspirational challenges.

Says Clifford Foster, chief technology officer of IBM South Africa: "Smart Planet is IBM's strategic agenda going forward. It is essentially saying that key drivers are changing the way we see systems needing to be built. Technology can play a role in solving our problems whether it be in healthcare, water provisioning or just about anything else.

"There are three key pillars here. One is in the fact that the world is now digitally aware, with sensors being installed in motor vehicles, waterways and just about everywhere else. The world is also interconnected, and here Africa has a great story to tell with bandwidth projects under way.

"And thirdly, it is about being able to make intelligent decisions based on information provided in near-real time. Smart Planet is about bringing these things together and taking advantage of our instrumented, interconnected and intelligent world," he explains.

Smart marine solutions
An example of a Smart Planet solution can be found in Ireland, where the SmartBay Project has been created to monitor wave conditions, marine life, pollution levels and other factors in and around Galway Bay.

The project uses a kind of electronic buoy to monitor everything from fish in the bay to chemical consistency of the water. The buoys are solar powered, and the data they capture form part of a cohesive system that will be used by everyone from private fisheries to emergency workers and port authorities to monitor the bay in real time.

Foster says the Smart Planet way of thinking is, in part, about sharing infrastructure and systems instead of everyone trying to own and control their own, separated systems.

He uses the example of CCTV cameras installed in cities which can be used to advise on traffic flow, respond to emergencies, control crime and even monitor conditions for road maintenance. The key is in being able to share the actual cameras.

The objects being developed by IBM and its partners to aid the Smart Planet agenda include everything from next-generation circuitry to microscopic membranes used to clean water.

"Using technology to solve our real problems is not something IBM can do by itself. We are working with governments, clients and business partners to make these things happen," says Foster.

There are countless examples of Smart projects aimed at Africa's challenges, but they depend on having governments and other parties on board. Foster says IBM has been welcomed by stakeholders, and that discussions are under way to implement solutions.


The original article can be found here

Working to improve the lives of Africans

I was very impressed with Eric Cantor and his presentation on AppLab.

AppLab, a Grameen Foundation initiative, builds solutions in Africa that enables people to use phones and other mobile devices as to improve their lives and livelihoods.

They have linked up with MTN's Village Phone solution to extend the reach of their offerings beyond the penetration achievable by working with handset owners. For your interest; Village Phone is a solution where an entrepreneur in a village invests in a phone and then resells voice and data, thereby creating a viable business whilst delivering a valuable service to the community. Applab is extending the data aspect of this to deliver additional services that are focussed on alleviating poverty, improving healthcare, improving agricultural yields and providing people with access to market information.

In addition AppLab has been training and supporting local entrepreneurs to serve as information and communication hubs for value-added services. This addresses some of the language and literacy issues that are based when delivery technology-based solutions.

An AppLab application that caught my imagination was a solution that assists farmers in identifying banana diseases and helping them to take corrective action once diagnosed. Where this gets really interesting is that they gather information (GPS and photo) from the farms in the region and then collate this data for the benefit of all farmers. Farmers are then in a better position to understand where this particular disease is spreading and whether they are at risk.

Great stuff!

Safaricom goes Green

Margaret Githiri, Power Systems Manager, at Safaricom was explaining how the unreliable energy grid and high cost of diesel used to fuel generators has driven their move to green energy.

Safaricom are currently powering 115 of their 2000 sites using a hybrid power solution combining wind, solar, batteries and generators. When energy from wind is down they switch to solar and batteries. The batteries can keep the site powered for seven hours before they have to switch to generators (assuming that the wind turbines and solar panels aren’t generating energy by this time).

Safaricom are predicting significant cost savings despite the high initial CAPEX outlay to install this equipment. Maragret has estimated a payback of less than two years and there is the added benefit of reduced Co2 emissions.

Lastly Safaricom have come up with an innovative solution to helping rural mobile users that don’t have access to power to charge their phones. They installed charging booths at their stations where users can charge their phones for a small cost. This has had an additional benefit, and solved another problem, as communities are protecting the base stations themselves. They have seen a significant reduction in diesel theft and damage where this service is provided.

More innovation in Africa! Well done Safaricom.

The Lake Victoria Project - Saving the lives of fishermen

I found out today about the GSMA’s (GSM Association) Development Fund project for Lake Victoria.

GSMA, Zain and Ericsson are in the process of upgrading and extending the existing networks in the Lake Victoria region to provide 30km of mobile coverage around the lake in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.

Power is always a challenge in Africa and I understand that the sites are powered by a combination of solar energy and hybrid diesel/battery systems.

The network provides a location-based positioning system that enables emergency authorities to triangulate the mobile signal of fishermen in distress. The GSMA and Zain are working with not-for-profit organisations to establish a rescue coordination service to provide assistance to lake users.

The project is also providing additional value-added-services to users including weather services and real-time market prices, which will help boost the earnings of fisherman as they will be able to find the best prices for their catch.

This is what I mean when I say that “Innovation happens where the need is the greatest”!

Mobile Monday

Mobile Monday’s CEO, Jari Tammisto, explained how their volunteer organisation brings mobile industry visionaries and influencers together to drive cross-border cooperation.

Jari provide some interesting insights in mobile evolution and how young people are driving developments and adoption in mobile. User generated content has made 3G a truly viable technology. Additional services around entertainment, communication and social network are being developed rapidly as a result of this important population grouping.

Regarding advertising; he explained how peer-to-peer is an important addition to traditional marketing with 60-70% of purchasing decisions being based on word-of-mouth.

Jari touched on several other important points, including how network operators need to focus on ensuring that their products are easily understood and easy to pay for, in order to drive consumer retention and intimacy.

More important than these insights to me was learning about the Mobile Monday organization. I am seeing more and more volunteer organizations like these (TED is another great example) nurturing innovation and breaking down the boundaries that exist between stakeholders.

Innovation Excellence at Digital Africa

I enjoyed my first day at the conference.

What struck me is the passion and enthusiasm of the delegates – and the list of delegates is impressive: ministers and ministerial delegates from many African countries (incl Niger, Tanzania, Egypt, Uganda, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Zambia, Sudan), CEOs, CIO and CTOs.

I think that the quality and variety of the attending delegates is what makes events like this successful (or not). Whilst I have had the opportunity to present to a broad spectrum of executives from across Africa before, this is the first time that I have had the opportunity to engage with them at such a personal level. I also believe that one of the key differentiators is that this event was not run in South Africa. The mere fact that this event is being held in Uganda has influenced who has attended and given the event a far stronger African feel.

So the first day: I kicked off the Innovation stream with my presentation on Innovation in Africa. The message was simple – transform invention into innovation – using technology to solve some of the really big problems facing us in Africa. This was followed by several others presentations including an insightful view on the need to “Light Africa” by Lynne Gallagher, the CEO of Telecom/Telematique.

The formal day finished with a very interactive panel discussion on regulation, policy setting and standards in the telco industry.

Onto the evening: we were treated to Gala Dinner were I met up with some fellow CTOs. Strangely enough the conversation quickly turned into a discussion on motorbikes when we discovered that we had a shared passion in less conventional means of transport.

All in all … it was a good day.

Bandwidth for Africa

I had a fascinating discussion with WIOCC who are a major shareholder in the EASSy submarine cable. The cable is due for commissioning June next year (approximately a year after the SEACOM cable).

EASSy, like SEACOM, has multiple landing points along the eastern coast, from South Africa to Sudan. Thereafter the cable connects onwards to Europe, the Middle East and the USA.

What impressed me with EASSy is that the network is configured as a two fibre pair collapsed ring. Normally a cable cut between nodes would split the network into two. This wouldn't happen with a collapsed ring architecture as only one would be pruned from the network in the case of a cable cut in shallow water (as the ring integrity is built into the deepwater cables). A deepwater cut would still result into a network split but this is unavoidable as a true ring architecture is not possible due to coastline geography.

It will be interesting to see what effect price competition and regulation will have on end-user consumption. Multiple submarine cables will directly impact wholesale pricing, but consumer pricing will be dependent on the backhaul and “last mile” infrastructure and solutions. The most promising "last mile" solutions are HSDPA and WiMAX. I use WiMAX with great success as it provides an experience very similar to ADSL (ADSL is not available in the area that I live due to lack of available cable).

As WIOCC state in their marketing literature … “Businesses and consumers in east and southern Africa are about to experience a revolution”.

Digital Africa

I am in Uganda at the moment, typing this from my hotel room. My reason for being here? I am attending and presenting at the Digital Africa Summit.

Uganda
Flying into Uganda I was treated to a fantastic African sunset over Lake Victoria. In my opinion there is little in this world to rival the beauty of Africa at dusk.

This is my first time in the country and I had a fascinating journey from Entebbe Airport to the resort on Lake Victoria just outside Kampala. It was dark by the time we go onto the road but it seemed as if the country had just come alive. Every road had been turned into an African market to meet the needs of the Ugandans. The night was awash with people, lights and colours. Business was loud and brisk; from barbers to tailors; from butchers to internet cafes. I can’t wait to compare this experience with Uganda during the day.

The conference
I was enticed to present at this conference as the organisers have focused on “excellence driving positive change”. The theme is upbeat and I am hoping for an energising experience.

Another aspect that interested me is the format – each speaker has 20 minutes to convey their message and there is plenty of time set aside for meetings and networking. I think that the concept will work well as it can be tiresome to listen to hour long presentations all day.

My message
I will be conveying a simple message: Innovating in Africa. My 20 minutes will be spent on conveying the importance of innovation in Africa and why innovation can solve some of the really big problems facing the continent.

I will discuss how inventions in instrumentation, interconnectivity and intelligent decision making can be used to build innovative solutions for Africa. Essentially this means building sense-and-respond systems on a scale never possible before.


Africa is uniquely positioned to leapfrog many of the technologies implemented by developed economies, and to use the emerging technologies and architectures to improve the lives of people living here.

techsmart: Intelligent Society

I enjoyed this article by Thomas Mckinnon on an Intelligent Society published in techsmart.

Interconnections and instruments
Much of his writing (edit: he is referring to Thomas Friedman) concerns the idea of an information society. Wikipedia defines an information society as “a society in which the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic, political, and cultural activity.” The world in which we currently exist exhibits large pockets of this knowledge economy- with the world’s wealthiest states dominating it.

For the development of a knowledge economy we not only need to live in an interconnected world, but also an instrumented world. A world in which every object is a platform for collecting data, from cellphones, to microchipped household appliances and anything else into which we can embed a transistor and from which we can mine data.

To many an instrumented and interconnected world equals an information society.

Intelligence
Last year a number of companies such as Microsoft, Cisco Systems and IBM recognised the fact that it is not enough to live in a world that is just instrumented and interconnected.

IBM’s chief executive, Samuel J. Palmisano, put all the pieces together in a speech delivered on 6 November 2008 that highlighted the need for a more “intelligent” society, what IBM has coined a “Smarter Planet”. Without intelligence, interconnection and instrumentation could actually lead to poor decision making or even indecision- the current global recession being a potential example.

Thus Friedman’s metaphor of a Flat World exhibits some of the same shortcomings the myth of a flat earth displayed when it was debunked around the 3rd century BC (although still a powerful means of conceiving interconnectedness in isolation ). In a world of “1 billion transistors”, “a trillion networked things” and data that is intelligently mined and analysed the world is conspicuously three-dimensional. Thus competitiveness is the sum of interconnectedness, instrumentation and intelligent decision making based on sound data.

South Africa
Clifford Foster, Chief Technology Officer at IBM SA, expressed in an interview with TechSmart the belief that “Africa has an opportunity to leap frog the development process Europe and the developed world had to follow.” The reason for this is that countries with developed infrastructures will have to retrench or re-develop existing infrastructure- at huge costs- while we are currently still developing our infrastructure. He went on to say, “If we act quickly insuring our country and continent is instrumented, that our water supplies have cheap $1 dollar sensors in place, that we develop smart grids etc.- then we are implementing for the future and will become more competitive.”

A demonstrable solution
A demonstrable smart solution in SA is Guateng’s Open Road Tolling System under the auspices of SANRAL. The ORTS seeks to alleviate congestion and to an extent the emission of CO2 (bidding is still underway for the project). By charging drivers rates based on the time of day and area in which they are travelling according to information garnered from RFID tags embedded in vehicles or video captured from gantries and connected to a monitoring system, SANRAL can intelligently manage and monitor traffic.

Thought leadership
While a number of companies seek to offer such solutions IBM believes that it can offer a total solution based on its expertise in hardware, software and sophisticated analytical tools. For the time being however Big Blue sees itself as a thought leader on the issue of an intelligent society by opening up a conversation on smart grids, transportation, health and more issues. While the benefits of an intelligent society speak for themselves for the potential citizens of such a society- resource and maintenance efficiency and cost benefits not the least of which- the benefits for the company that can provide the instruments, connections and ultimately the intelligence (in what may yet be the most unashamed move towards vertical integration in history) are no less obvious.

You can read the original article here.

Metaverses

A social tool?
Currently we think of metaverses like SecondLife as a communication mechanism that allows people to interact and collaborate for pleasure and decision-making. The environment is definitely richer and more engaging than a telephone call or email. Some people would even argue that it has advantages (beyond financial) over communicating in person. This may seem foreign but there is a generation of people that naturally gravitate to this medium.

Other uses
We have used metaverses for a range of communication and collaboration activities with great success. However, it doesn't need to end there. Metaverses are a great tool for learning, simulation, rehearsal and roleplay activities. It provides a tool for developing skills that are difficult or costly to execute in real life. This would probably have to be complemented with real life training and experience in certain situations.

Visualising whats there
This is where is gets really exciting. Imaging visualising the real-world in a metaverse and then using that information to aid decision-making. This could include business processes and manufacturing.

But take this one step further and we can visualise the real-world ... the "internet of things". With more and more of the world's devices becoming smart and connected, there is no reason why we could not represent this information in a metaverse. The ability to manage and manipulate information in three dimensions is exceptionally powerful and natively intuitive.

I can see a not-too-distant-future where we represent energy grids, natural water systems and traffic (amongst others) in metaverses. Consumers, operators and decision-makers will use these tools and information to make better decisions and make them quicker.

Makes good business sense, doesn't it?

Tying 3 concepts together (cloud, SOA & virtualisation)

Tying these three concepts together is easy, and hopefully clear, when depicted graphically.



Obviously this isn't the only option available, and it is highly simplified, but it works well at a conceptual level.

Access where and when you want it

Tired in Dubai (so excuse the grammar)
It is 02:45am in Dubai and I still have another two hours before my flight departs back to South Africa. I am tired but appreciating the fact that I can sit at a Starbucks, drink my espresso and make use of the free internet access.

It was a similar situation at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul - free internet access with the coffee that I had paid for. This is a little misleading as you can actually sit anywhere and avail yourself of the free connectivity; but it is so much more pleasurable to have a decent cup of coffee at the same time.

So why the ramble? Well I am tired and bored. Reason enough. However, I was reflecting on how tremendously powerful it is to have access to information where and when you want it.

And as always I think about how this can work in Africa.

Challenges
There are several challenges in realising something similar in Africa, foremost of which are infrastructure, devices and literacy.

The infrastructure is coming - just look at the new submarine cables and the expansion of cellular companies across the continent.

The most dominant device is, and will continue to be, a phone rather than a personal computer. Cost is an important driving factor as is computer literacy.

A solution


Voice will remain the killer application for some time and therefore the technology that most excites me in this arena (wrt Africa) is the concept of a SpokenWeb. Here people can interact (in the language of their choice) with voice sites navigating voice links. The interaction models include publish and transact models.

Imagine sitting at a cafe in Nairobi and phoning a local voice site to gather information about your travels and publish your blog via voice. Naturally the "traditional" Web 1.0 and 2.0 applications and interactions will be available but the penetration will be significantly greater with voice and voice technologies.

The important difference with this concept is that the technology-based solution is design and deployed in a manner that truly meets the needs of the community and users.

In summary
It is always smart to remind ourselves that we should find solutions to problems rather than finding problems for our solutions. This applies to Africa as much, if not more so, than anywhere else.

A different way of looking at Africa

Came across these interesting maps at worldmapper.org.

The ICT data is slightly outdated (2002) but the overall impression is compelling.

Land Area
This map changed my perspective of Africa's land area in relation to the world.
Internet Users 2002
I love this map - it shows the massive potential within Africa.
Cellular Subscribers 2002
It would be great to have a current and projected (2012) map for cellular subscribers.

Cloud Computing vs Virtualisation

Another fairly common question - and worth answering as it is quite topical.



Both have a common objective of abstracting what you want to do from where it is done. There are some fairly clear differences though.

• Cloud Computing is a deployment architecture as I previously mentioned. From a consumer's perspective it means that the user is not aware (philosophically speaking) of where the service is executed (i.e. could be in any data centre, on any server, anywhere in the world as long as the SLA is met).
  

• Virtualisation by contrast is a term describes the decoupling of software from hardware (at its simplest level). The term can be employed more widely to refer to any level of abstraction, including data centres. Decoupling software enables a business to make deploy-time and run-time decisions about where to deploy a software stack. Benefits include resource maximisation, eg server consolidation, and resilience by moving a software stack between machines as and when required.
  

These terms and concepts will intersect as a service deployed within a cloud could be part of an application software stack that is virtualised on a hardware/resource stack.

Ideally the cloud platform itself is virtualised, in order to scale quickly, which many argue is a key characteristic of a cloud platform.

FinWeek: Rethinking the planet

Simon has written a great article on Smart Planet that was published in Finweek, a top South African business publication.

You can view the full article online.

Green is Green

Energy costs are fast becoming the largest data centre operating cost, whilst up to 85% of computing capacity sits idle in distributed computing environments. Datacentres are physical structures that require tremendous amounts of power and cooling in order to operate and it is easy to see how improving this can translate into “greenbacks” for the organisation.


Baseline
From my perspective there are several key areas that organisations should tackle, but first and foremost, it is critical for themto implement a system to measure and track energy use. This will provide the baseline for driving a strategy to reduce energy consumption; reduce the impact on the environment; and improve operational efficiency.

There are some key enabling technologies that should be considered as part of an overall energy efficiency programme; and those that most impress me the most are virtualisation, cloud computing and purpose-built data centres.

Virtualisation
Virtualisation, both server and storage, is probably the fastest and easiest way to drive energy efficiency. The concept is a simple one: Maximise available resources (processing and storage), whilst “switching on” new resources when they are required. The separation of virtual machines/resources from physical machines/resources is implementable today and the business case proven.

Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is an interesting element in this overall story. Whilst we are still in the early stages of cloud maturity and adoption, it is definitely worth investigating. A cloud is essentially a pool of virtualised computer resources that we access as services.

The cloud platform is green by design as it dynamically provisions, configures, reconfigures, and de-provisions servers as needed. This separation (as with virtualisation) of what we want to process versus where it is processed provides us with the opportunity to maximise processing efficiency and drive green computing.

Data Centres
Now onto the actual data centre itself as the benefits of scaling a datacentre diminish if it is too large and requires too much energy.

There is an optimal efficiency that can be reached in a datacenter by matching the machines to the building (or vice versa). We can attain maximum efficiency by optimising all of the components that reside in the physical building, and monitoring power and heat with sensors that feed back into the systems management capability.

We can take this one step further by designing data centres with the type and load of processing in mind. This is the concept of a purpose-built data centre and not the current paradigm of adding servers and cooling to an existing building. There may be even be a variety of different types of datacenters, based on their respective purpose, within an overall network of processing capability.


So green is green; from an eco-friendly and economic perspective.

Building a Smarter Planet in Africa

I am very passionate about IBM's Smarter Planet strategy and how we as technologists can use IT to solve some of the really big problems facing us within Africa.

However, this isn't just an eco-friendly make-over.

It is a dual agenda of reducing the impact that we have on the environment whilst maximising the benefit we can derive from available resources to drive business profitability whilst have a positive impact on society. Phew!

As such I wanted to share the video that I composed as an introduction to the speech that I delivered at the IDC Africa CIO Conference.

I hope that you enjoy it!

The Sixth Sense

I believe that the future of personal computing is starting to become clear.

Wearable computing .... forget that! This is about integrated computing!

If you haven't seen this video yet then I recommend that you look at it now. Forget the slight clunky nature of the device and imagine what is possible.

Enjoy.

ITWeb: IBM looks to save water

IBM is pumping more than $6 billion (R57.9 billion) a year into researching technologies, which – it believes – will help alleviate water shortages in countries around the world. IBM Sub-Sahara Africa CTO Clifford Foster says the initiative is aimed at starting discussions with heads of states on issues such as water contamination and shortages.

"Regardless of industry or geography, smarter water management is an issue faced by every business and government on the planet," says IBM Big Green Innovations VP Sharon Nunes.

The development of IBM's smart water offerings is a result of IBM's Big Green Innovations initiative, a company statement says. The initiative, which was announced in October 2006, as part of IBM's $100 million (R965 million) investment in 10 new businesses, has concentrated its efforts on water management, alternative energy and carbon management.

“In SA, we plan on finding opportunities for the private industry to participate in our water management initiative,” says Foster.

Developing new technologies

The computing company has been working on various water management projects around the world, Foster says. This includes collaborating with The Nature Conservancy to build practical Web-based tools for river basin management, and also IBM's Smart Bay sensor, which monitors wave conditions, pollution levels and marine life.

The Smart Bay system is the result of collaboration between IBM and the Marine Institute of Ireland. The system provides real-time information to stakeholders in the Irish maritime economy, runs on a cloud computing platform, and is able to predict water conditions critical to those stakeholders.

IBM plans to spread information collected on water conditions and contamination to African stakeholders using technologies such as mobile phones, which are predominant on the continent, Foster says.

“We have started discussion with African heads of state about introducing our instruments to detect water quality and contamination. The point of this all is to lessen the impact of water crises on the environment as a whole.”

Original article

techsmart: IBM’s smart water solutions

Thinking about water

IBM unveiled its smart water portfolio of services and technologies today at the World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey.

The smart water portfolio forms part of IBM’s larger Smarter Planet strategy in which the company intends to encourage the development of more intelligence driven societies by more effectively using instrumented and interconnected devices.

"Regardless of industry or geography, smarter water management is an issue faced by every business and government on the planet," said Sharon Nunes, Vice President for Big Green Innovations at IBM. "Without sufficient insight into near- and long-term factors affecting your water supply and usage -- complex issues such as access, quality, cost and re-use -- you increasingly run the risk of failure."

IBM also announced a water filtration breakthrough with the development of a new membrane which can more effectively remove salts and toxins from water supplies.

An excellent example of a demonstrable smart water solution in action is the SmartBay sensor system, which monitors wave conditions, marine life and pollution levels in Galway Bay, Ireland. The system, which runs on a cloud computing platform, provides real-time information to interested parties in the Irish maritime economy and is able to predict water conditions critical to those parties.

Clifford Foster, CTO at IBM South Africa, believes that the promise of a smarter planet offers South Africa, and Africa as a whole, the opportunity to leap frog the development processes that Europe and America followed by moving directly to the use of smarter technologies. While this won’t be a cheap process he believes that it will be far cheaper to implement these technologies while building infrastructures rather than having to overhaul infrastructures down the line, as the developed countries will have to do.

original article

Cloud Computing vs SOA

I am often asked what is the difference between these architectures or whether Cloud Computing is replacing SOA (Service Oriented Architecture).

Let's remind ourselves:

• Cloud Computing is a deployment architecture that abstracts what we want to do from where it gets done. In addition a cloud is a pool of virtualised resources that ideally offers exceptional scalability.
  
• Service Oriented Architecture is an architectural style at the application architecture or even enterprise architecture level. SOA is fundamentally about building services that when composed deliver a rich application or business process.

These two worlds can and will intersect ... when a service is deployed in a cloud it becomes a cloud service.

eSports … the future of live sports?

Just Imagine
Can you imagine playing a video/electronic game and being paid for it?

Can you imagine big brands like Intel and Adidas sponsoring electronic gaming competitions and teams?

Can you imagine supporters following electronic sports teams and paying to view the competition?

Can you imagine people betting on the outcome of competitive electronic games?

Can you imagine that a gamer or gaming team could have the celebrity status of a professional footballer/football team?

Now couple that with a gaming industry that is now bigger than DVDs, box office, movie rentals, books and music and you have a recipe for massive growth and success.

Now stop imaging and start believing because it is happening.

What is e(lectronic)Sports?
eSports is a term used to describe the playing of electronic games competitively, either at a professional or amateur level.

eSports leagues and tournaments are organized where teams and individuals compete against each other for an ever increasing pot of prize money and prestige.

Typically eSports are based on first-person shooters but is expanding into sporting and other genres.

eSports are played over the Internet or to reduce latency issues they will be played over local networks at gaming events (sports stadiums of the future). Spectators can view the event on video screens at the event or over the Internet.

Currently some of the biggest eSports platforms host games like Counter-Strike, Halo, Warcraft III, Quake, FIFA (football); and the exceptionally successfully World of Warcraft mmog(massively multiplayer online game).

If you want to explore this a little more then head over to SK Gaming.

The change and the potential
Most parents of teenagers or pre-teens can see it happening … we have a future generation of arm-chair sportsmen.

A new generation of businesses are spawning to support eSports and the demand for resilience are no less important to those involved in eSports than we currently demand from financial institutions.

Perhaps even more demanding as gamers have often been born with a joystick, gamepad and mouse in their hands. They will demand sub-50 millisecond response times and require the platforms that they interact with to handle millions of concurrent (yes I know I said that) transactions and users. They will demand that the games are fairly played and that security is tight to prevent exploits as well as protect their online privacy.

Love it or hate it but the world is changing and those that embrace this change can build new innovative business models and personal wealth from it.


Will your child be the Tiger Woods of eSports?