November 2010 - KICTANet

Re: [kictanet] Tenders for ICT Board assignments
by eonchari＠lynxbits.com 05 Nov '10

05 Nov '10

Hi Paul, On item 2 below, where does one access the EOI documents mentioned in the tender? R's Edwin ----- Original Message ----- From: pkukubo(a)ict.go.keTo: eonchari(a)lynxbits.com Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sent: 11/5/10 3:35 AM Subject: [kictanet] Tenders for ICT Board assignments Listers Please be aware that the Kenya ICT Board issued expressions if interest as published in yesterday's daily newspapers 1. Expressions of interest for the development of a Kenya ICT incubator. This is a project under the BPO/ITES development program to provide a seed-bed of Kenyan IT firms. 2. Expressions of interest, issued by the Ministry of Information for the Kenya ICT Board. We shall be looking for reputable firms to express interest in providing international country positioning of Kenya Outsourcing. Details on Kenya ICT Board website www.ict.go.ke and click on the link for tenders. Regards Paul Kukubo CEO Kenya ICT Board Sent from my iPad _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: eonchari(a)lynxbits.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/eonchari%40lynxbits.com

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Google Earth Maps Update
by robert yawe 05 Nov '10

05 Nov '10

Hi, I appreciate that we get the google earth maps for free but is there a way we can get more up to date images of Kenya especially now with the new road network. The current maps are from around 2003 which literally makes them obsolete. Updated images would also make it easier for BrandKenya and the Kenya Tourist Board to better market the country. Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

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Open Innovation Africa Summit
by Alice Munyua 04 Nov '10

04 Nov '10

The objective of the summit is to stimulate critical thinking about the role of innovation in sustainable socio-economic development and to contribute to creating a conducive environment for innovative entrepreneurial activity in Africa. The Summit will be highly interactive, and will engage participants in an active discussion using Capgemini's Accelerated Solutions Environment methodology. The aim is to facilitate discovery of how to best accelerate innovation in Africa, harnessing the power of innovation and entrepreneurship at all levels of society all the way from grassroots communities to high tech environments. We hope that participants will walk away from the Summit with new ideas for how to enhance the enabling environment for innovative entrepreneurs to succeed, as well as new network of peers that can continue to be a source of ideas and lessons going forward. Follow-up activities are also planned. The Summit will focus on following four thematic areas: - African Innovation Ecosystem - Enabling Innovation for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development - Technology Platforms - Leveraging Technology to Deliver Public and Private Services to the Underserved - Emerging Business Models for Serving the Poor - Building African Success Stories - Human Capital - Developing skills using the Power of Technology For more information, please visit http://nokia.hosted.jivesoftware.com/index.jspa --------------------------- As part of the pre-summit process Nokia has opened a website for exchanging ideas and learning from the vibrant community of emerging world thinkers around the world. This platform is not only restricted for the Summit participants, but is open for everyone. The website will also be used to share results of the summit with the wider open innovation community to ensure that no one is left behind. We would love to hear your thoughts, questions or comments about the four streams of the summit! Please also share the link with your colleagues. http://www.innovateafrique.com

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Job Opportunity: Mobile Application Project Manager with Mobile Active.
by Alice Munyua 04 Nov '10

04 Nov '10

Mobile Active.org, a global network of people using mobile technology for social change, is seeking a full-time project manager for a new, two-year programme focused on mobile security services and tools for human rights defenders and social activists. The Project Manager will: 1. Manage mobile security products and features throughout the entire development cycle, from concept to launch. 2. Gather requirements of target users in a participatory process, and turn ideas into well-planned and executed products. 3. Create a comprehensive project roadmap and execute against delivery milestones. 4. Manage the collaboration between users, designers, documentation writers, developers and vendors. 5. Facilitate user feedback and testing and incorporate findings into products. 6. Take a leadership role in the design and development of the project's web platform. 7. Work with marketing and outreach team to implement marketing strategy. 8. International travel to work with users and developers required. For more deatils, please visit their website http://tinyurl.com/23sm8wm --

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Re: [kictanet] [ke-internetusers] Professionalizing the ICT field
by Shem Ochuodho 04 Nov '10

04 Nov '10

A reflection of a deeper leadership and governance deficit! But it is for Kenyan ICT professionals to solve, with some government vision and cooperation. For the information of those interested, PICTA-Kenya (Professional ICT Association of Kenya) is in the offing. To subscribe, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Picta-Kenyaor send an email to: Picta-Kenya-subscribe(a)yahoogroups.com. Exclusively for ICT PROFESSIONALS! Regards, Shem Shem J. Ochuodho, MSc (Eng), PhD, LLD (Hon) Senior Advisor Ministry of Telecom & Postal Services Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), Juba Kenya Community Abroad (KCA) 2007 Excellence Award Winner AfricaOnline 2005 Industry Pioneer Award Recipient Father of Internet in Kenya (CSK 2000) Cell: +249-955-021-040/+256-477-232025/+254-734-137371 Skype: shem.ochuodho ________________________________ From: J.R. Kirongothi <kirongothi(a)kasneb.or.ke> To: Elijah Liech <onyango.liech(a)gmail.com>; charles gathii <cgathii(a)gmail.com> Cc: Internet Users List <ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net> Sent: Thu, 4 November, 2010 10:32:11 Subject: Re: [ke-internetusers] Professionalizing the IT field There has to be a first step and in this case, Alex, please take up Liech Onyango's challenge as the first step. How about bringing all these institutions under one umbrella to make one strong front? Capt(rtd) Jessie R. Kirongothi ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elijah Liech" <onyango.liech(a)gmail.com> To: "charles gathii" <cgathii(a)gmail.com> Cc: "Internet Users List" <ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net> Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2010 8:35 AM Subject: Re: [ke-internetusers] Professionalizing the IT field > Hi All, > I wouldn't mind working with someone on this, we seem to have many > ideas that never materialize. Can we at least make this a reality. > Alex I believe has shown initiative on this, can he get all the > stakeholders on board to see how to actualize this, if we all think > it's a good idea. > > On 11/4/10, charles gathii <cgathii(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> I agree with you Alex that in the last 20 years the institutions that should >> have managed the ICT in Kenya failed. I have supported Captain with the need >> to revive ITSA. But we should also not forget that Computer Society of Kenya >> still exists and also Software Developers Association of Kenya is still >> there and many others. So to answer Liech Onyango the registration of new >> entities is not the answer. The answer lies by democratizing the already >> existing institutions Like Computer Society of Kenya and ITSA and modernize >> them to reflect and represent "we the people". I wonder what goes on in the >> ICT professional minds when we see the Law Society of Kenya holding >> elections so their members can represent the body in powerful Government >> Committees. >> >> It is this failure to have a vision and leadership that made people like >> Alex feel the Vacuum with this forum and thanks Alex for taking up this >> major role all by himself. Now the ICT professionals look for solutions to >> PS and ICT Board for Governance issues related to the ICT professional >> instead of having to issues with issues at the professional level then >> approach the Government for answers. Is it too late to collect the >> situation? >> >> Charles Gathii >> >> On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 2:53 AM, Alex Gakuru <gakuru(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Captain, >>> >>> I think the *real* problem has been too many *entities* purporting to be >>> "the" institution representing " we the people" until it became >>> confusingly >>> similar who really "the people" are? kuchanglia roho safi... asante,,, >>> >>> Alex >>> >>> >>> >>> On Wed, Nov 3, 2010 at 12:27 PM, J.R. Kirongothi >>> <kirongothi(a)kasneb.or.ke>wrote: >>> >>>> Hi all, >>>> >>>> This is a very good idea. However, every now and then somebody brings it >>>> up and then a long silence. ITSA (INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS >>>> ASSOCIATION) has been in existence since 1992 when it was founded by the >>>> late Dr. Onunga and others. How about empowering it by enlisting as >>>> members, >>>> review the TORs and establish a self regulatory profession? >>>> >>>> >>>> Regards >>>> Capt(rtd) J.R. Kirongothi >>>> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elijah Liech" < >>>> onyango.liech(a)gmail.com> >>>> To: <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> >>>> Cc: "Internet Users List" <ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net> >>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 2010 2:40 PM >>>> Subject: [ke-internetusers] Professionalizing the IT field >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Hi all, >>>>> Is someone out there thinking of a professional body to vet ICT >>>>> professionals. Why can't we have an association for ICT >>>>> professionals...that way we can have a standard way of judging who is >>>>> a professional in this field. This can also provide guidance to >>>>> institutions on the content they need to equip their students with. >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> -- >>>>> Kind Regards >>>>> Liech Onyango >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> ke-internetusers mailing list >>>>> ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net >>>>> http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> ke-internetusers mailing list >>>> ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net >>>> http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> regards, >>> >>> Alex Gakuru >>> http://www.mwenyeji.com >>> Hosting, surprise yourself! >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> ke-internetusers mailing list >>> ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net >>> http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> CHARLES GATHII >> MANAGING DIRECTOR >> MICROHOUSE TECHNOLOGIES LTD. >> 3RD, FLOOR VISIONS PLAZA MOMBASA ROAD >> TEL: 254 724-812399 >> > > > -- -- > Kind Regards > Liech Onyango > _______________________________________________ > ke-internetusers mailing list > ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net > http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers > _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers

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Voice based Services Growing Globally
by Paul Kukubo 04 Nov '10

04 Nov '10

Listers Sharing an article from globalservicemedia online on the voice based BPO Sector. Key to note here is that: 1. It is an area of growth. Kenya has identified this as an area of focus. 2. Countries need to specialize, even within the Voice offering. 3. Clients becoming more demanding about what the service providers must offer. Lower cost alone are not enough. 4. The technology companies are improving the tools to assist BPO companies provide better services. Voice-based BPO Industry is RevivingSruthi Ramakrishnan Unified communication technologies that allow integration of voice with business processes and collaboration will help voice-based BPOs reinvent their offerings Print <http://www.globalservicesmedia.com/Print-Article/8427> Email<http://www.globalservicesmedia.com/Email-to-Friend/8427> Comments <http://www.globalservicesmedia.com/Article-Comments/8427> Reprints <http://www.globalservicesmedia.com/Article-Reprints/8427> [image: Bookmark and Share]<http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=globalservices> Subscription <http://www.globalservicesmedia.com/Newsletters> Voice-based services or call center services-- the offering that actually started it all for the BPO industry in countries like India and the Philippines, has changed a lot since inception. The very purpose of outsourcing this service has undergone a radical change. “Initially, clients preferred to turn the work to service providers because the service providers offered a cost advantage or some type of 'peak volume overflow' capacity that the clients could not staff themselves,” says Sid Pai, Partner & Managing Director, TPI India. Offshore call centers offering voice-based services were the perfect answer to this and one saw a massive build up of call centers in the early part of the decade. Very soon, the industry matured. Many call centers reached a point where they couldn’t scale up or they couldn’t retain key clients. This led to a shake-up in the call center industry, especially in India, where many of them were snapped up by IT services companies ( e.g. Infosys-Progeon, Wipro-Spectramind, IBM-Daksh, etc) seeking to enter the BPO industry. BPO’s addressing the voice market had growth challenges. The way out was to shift the focus to other areas of BPO like finance/ accounting, mortgage, insurance and other niche sectors like KPO and LPO. Says Atul Vashishtha, CEO of Neo Advisory, “The market for non-voice services was expected to grow faster, as the call center sector was more mature and significantly developed ." *Revival and New Hope* The voice-based BPO industry is reviving. “Investments in technology platforms, process improvements, equipment and facilities and acquiring specific vertical capabilities, made by the service providers are outpacing those by the client. Service providers are moving up the value chain,” says Pai. Voice- based services continue to expand their domain and tailor their offerings according to the needs of their clients. “Today customers are looking at unified communications to integrate various communication systems with their business applications to improve their business processes. These improved business processes lead to higher productivity for employees and greater customer satisfaction which in turn results in higher revenues and profits,” says Minhaj Zia, National Sales Manager, Unified Communications, Cisco India & SAARC. *Expanding scope of services* Clients today have access to a wide spectrum of services under voice. “Cisco subscribes to a range of services covering the entire gamut from technology services desk for customers and employees, human resources support for employees , escalation options for customers for quick access and marketing access to and from Cisco,” says V.C. Gopalratnam, Vice President (IT) and Chief Information Officer, Globalisation, Cisco, on the internal deployment of voice services in the company. Providers are also developing expertise in niche areas within voice services. Andrew Kokes, Vice President of The Americas, Sitel<http://www.osourcebook.com/profile.asp?id=1501>, cites an example. “Revenue generation is one of the key metrics that Sitel is measured against for most customer care programs (revenue per month, revenue per call), and is a large part of our core expertise. More than half of all Sitel-managed inbound programs incorporate some form of upsell or cross-sell offer.” The maturity of this segment allows outsourcing to many more locations as compared to emerging areas of BPO and thus finding price points and capabilities according to the specific needs of the client. “In all cases the services (we subscribe to) have a “follow the sun model” with sufficient geographical spread to cover all time zones effectively,” says Gopalratnam. *Collaboration and integration- the new formulas of growth* Collaboration and integration of communication platforms and capabilities are the new formulas of growth in this sector. “Collaboration is slowly moving towards new forms such as Enterprise Social Software, UC as a Service, TelePresence etc. Cisco’s Unified Contact Center solution.... provides a VoIP contact center solution that enables organizations to integrate inbound and outbound voice applications with Internet applications, including real-time chat, Web collaboration, and email. This integration provides for unified capabilities, helping a single agent support multiple interactions simultaneously, regardless of the communications channel the customer has chosen,” elaborates Zia. Voice services are set to move to a higher degree of integration at multiple levels. Kokes says, “Voice-based contact center services are rapidly moving beyond traditional "voice" communication to include a blend of voice and live-chat (i.e., text based) engagement. In such arrangements, contact center agents are provided with real-time indicators of a website visitor’s propensity to purchase, and can invite that online consumer to chat via IM before the customer navigates away from the site. Such a model also opens the door to Pay-for-Performance client arrangements, whereby the call center fees for service can be aligned with the program’s overall success in producing incremental online sales.” Zia also sees integration and improved technology as growth drivers for this sector. He says, “Enterprises will move beyond contact center to a customer interaction network with hosted contact centers for both enterprise customers and service providers. In a central office or data center, service providers will host the contact center infrastructure software, which will be shared by multiple business customers. Subscribing business customers will have IP or time-division multiplexing (TDM) infrastructures or a combination of the two.” A suite of integrated services can also be introduced, he says, like virtual call centers, network routing with computer telephony integration (CTI), networked interactive voice response (IVR), intelligent call routing (routing calls between contact centers based on call context information, agent availability, and customer information from databases) and multimedia applications such as Web collaboration and e-mail response management. With so much innovation happening and set to happen in this ‘traditional’ sector of BPO, analysts are optimistic of its transformational capabilities for businesses. “(Its potential to transform) looks evident given the investments made by the service providers on technology and platforms. In addition, leading service providers have built modern global services delivery infrastructures and implemented best practices that allow them to effectively and efficiently leverage their scale, volume, global capacity and technology to better serve their clients.” says Pai. To this, Atul Vashishtha adds that this is a market that will become increasingly global and Tier 2 players will need to specialize to succeed. Paul Kukubo Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board PO Box 27150 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya 12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960 Fax: +254 20 2211962 website: www.ict.go.ke local content project: www.tandaa.co.ke, www.facebook.com/tandaakenya twitter:@tandaaKENYA BPO Project: www. doitinkenya.co.ke Digital Villages Project: www.pasha.co.ke personal contacts _______________ Cell: + 254 717 180001 skype: kukubopaul googletalk: pkukubo personal blog: www.paulkukubo.co.ke personal twitter: @pkukubo ____________________ Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment

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Educational Offerings from (ISC)2
by Preston Odera 03 Nov '10

03 Nov '10

To view this message on webpage, please click here. (ISC)2® is the official creator and provider of the internationally recognised Gold Standard information security credentials: CISSP®, SSCP®, CSSLP®. We are pleased to inform you that dates have been scheduled around the EMEA region for our Official (ISC)2 CBK® Review Seminars Q4 2010 as well as January 2011. Our fully licensed and officially endorsed education programmes are specifically designed to provide a vital refresher of the highly intensive CBK. Delivered in compact 3-7 day courses, the Official CBK Review Seminars are ideal for professionals seeking to achieve their CISSP, SSCP, CSSLP, or CISSP Concentration certification and will help you prepare for the highly intensive (ISC)2 Examinations, the gateway to joining an elite community of like-minded professionals... Please see our class schedule below. We encourage you to visit the (ISC)2 Website to see the full range of education products, services, and resources we offer. CLASS SCHEDULE SSCP Utrecht, Netherlands Nov 10-12 Register Brussels, Belgium Nov 22-26 Register Bedfordshire, United Kingdom Jan 10-14 Register Rotenburg, Germany Jan 24-28 Register CISSP Athens, Greece Nov 4-6 Register Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Nov 6-10 Register Bedfordshire, United Kingdom Nov 15-19 Register Belgrade, Serbia Nov 15-19 Register Brussels, Belgium Nov 15-19 Register Krakow, Poland Nov 22-26 Register Lisbon, Portugal Nov 22-26 Register Athens, Greece Nov 25-27 Register Cairo, Egypt Nov 28-Dec 2 Register Helsingborg, Sweden Nov 29-Dec 3 Register Rotenburg, Germany Nov 29-Dec 3 Register Bedfordshire, United Kingdom Dec 6-10 Register Copenhagen, Denmark Dec 6-10 Register London, United Kingdom Dec 6-10 Register Dubai, UAE Dec 7-11 Register Bedfordshire, United Kingdom Dec 13-17 Register Istanbul, Turkey Dec 13-17 Register Nairobi, Kenya Dec 13-17 Register Riga, Latvia Jan 14-18 Register Bedfordshire, United Kingdom Jan 24-28 Register Rotenburg, Germany Jan 24-28 Register CSSLP London, United Kingdom Nov 29-Dec3 Register Bedfordshire, United Kingdom Dec 6-10 Register Krakow, Poland Dec 13-17 Register Bedfordshire, United Kingdom Jan 24-28 Register ISSMP Utrecht, Netherlands Nov 8-9 Register Upcoming Industry Events (ISC)2 exhibits at several industry events throughout the year. We invite you to visit our booth to speak with a consultant about all of the education and services we provide! Infosecurity Netherlands, Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 3-4 SecureJohannesburg Conference, South Africa, November 11 SecureLondon Conference, London, England, December 7 For more information about upcoming events please visit the (ISC)2 website. We would be pleased to discuss any level of service or requirement you may have. Please contact us for further discussion. Connect with (ISC)2 Click here to unsubscribe

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Jonathan Butler Tickets ...
by Agosta Liko 03 Nov '10

03 Nov '10

Hello Listers Jazz Great Jonathan Butler is in town this weekend @ The Sierra Jazz Safari Tickets are available at http://bit.ly/bVAuVF Buy online and save Kshs500 per ticket Thanks

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CIO 100 Symposium and Awards
by Harry Hare 01 Nov '10

01 Nov '10

Dear Colleagues, For the last three months, CIO East Africa and Synovate has been conducting a survey whose objective was to identify innovative use of IT in organisations in East Africa. More than 300 willing organisations submitted applications to be considered and evaluated. This will be the basis of the CIO 100 Symposium and Awards which will be on 17th-19th November at the Safari Park Hotel. The Symposium will feature case studies of some of the most innovative projects/initiatives that were identified by our regional panel judges together with the technologies that powered these projects. The awards will be announced at an awards dinner on the 18th of November. The CIO 100 Awards will recognise and celebrate 100 organizations (and the people within them) that are using information technology in innovative ways to deliver business value, whether by creating competitive advantage, optimizing business processes, enabling growth or improving relationships with customers. If you would like to attend the Symposium or the Awards Dinner or both, you can register at http://cio.co.ke/CIO100/register.html Please drop me an email if you need any further information. Kindest Regards Harry Hare

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FW: Conference on Human Language Technologies for Development in Egypt
by Edith Adera 01 Nov '10

01 Nov '10

This may be of interest for localization of ICT services. Edith -----Original Message----- From: Adel El Zaim [mailto:AElzaim@idrc.org.eg] Sent: Monday, November 01, 2010 2:02 PM To: Lyris:Acacia Subject: [acacia-admin-cl] Conference on Human Language Technologies for Development in Egypt Dear all, It is my pleasure to share with you this call for papers for a conference organized by the African network for Localization (ANLoc) and Pan Asia Localization Network (Pan L10N) in Alexandria, Egypt, with the collaboration of the Library of Alexandria and IDRC. ANLoc and Pan L10N are two research networks funded by IDRC and working on localization of ICT in local languages in Africa and Asia. The call for papers is attached. The conference will take place from 2 to 5 of May 2011 Best regards Adel ---------------------------------- Adel El Zaïm, PhD Senior Program Specialist | Administrateur de programmes principal International Development Research Centre | Centre de recherches pour le développement international Middle East and North Africa Regional Office | Bureau Régional du Moyen-Orient et de l'Afrique du Nord +20 2 33367051/2/3 Ext. 7115 | aelzaim(a)idrc.ca | www.idrc.ca/cairo | +www.crdi.ca/cairo ________________________________________

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