Moses Kemibaro

This is an interesting article I stumbled on that gives detailed information on Africa’s Internet Usage:

http://royal.pingdom.com/?p=286

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This article has been extrated from the online edition of the Business Daily Newspaper dated 28th April 2008. The link to this article is http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7243&Itemid=5847
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Grid computing, a new technology that has been on trial for the last seven years, poses a threat to the single desktop computing. Experts says as organisations grow so is the amount of data and need to transact business faster and more cost effectively.Apart from obtaining considerable returns, the use of grid computing can improve IT utilisation and help avoid budget pitfalls.

Experts says the technology can enable users to tap into surplus processing powers of computers or servers with only an additional hardware required for the basic grid implementation.

Although some organizations currently use the technology over the Local Area Network, experts see more companies switching to the technology and deploying it over the Wide Area Network to provide faster communication on larger areas. The argument is based on the fact that the existing Internet network has evolved to a stage where it has many cables and routing equipment linked together. Most of these cables and equipment were originally designed for telephony networks and therefore lack the capacity for high speed data transmissions.

The technology will enable an individual or an organisation to rely on online applications, as the Internet speed would be fast.

Mr Moses Kemibaro, the director of Dotsavvy, (pictured right) talked to Okuttah Mark on this technology.

What is Grid technology?

Grid technology, which is also referred to as Grid Computing, involves using many standard computers in a network to act as if they are one computer to perform a specific function or task at the same time. This is normally done by using computer applications that are able to either centrally or independently distribute and manage computing resources.

Usually, Grid Computing is used in tasks that require large computer processing cycles or access to large amounts of data. Grid Computing is gaining wide adoption since it enables the utilisation of standard computers to achieve super computer performance when they are networked in the right way, and in large enough numbers, at much lower costs.

How is it different from the current desk top Internet technology being used world wide?

As opposed to single desktop or server computers performing distinct and separate computing functions, grid computing enables organizations to leverage their collective computing resources to act as one of specific functions or tasks. This means that lots of underutilized and idle computing power within the organisation can be harnessed to deliver faster results. An example is in areas such as financial markets analysis that requires significant computing power so that results that would take hours can be achieved in minutes.

How is it going to affect organizations and individual Internet users?

The advent of grid computing means that organisations will soon be able to utilise their existing computing resources more efficiently and effectively to improve overall organisational performance. At the same time, organisations and individuals alike will be able to utilise grid computing to access super computer like performance via external grid networks such as Google, Yahoo or Microsoft to achieve better individual and organisational performance.

This, to a smaller extent, is already happening with web-based productivity applications that all these companies offer today on the web.

Will this technology affect Google in anyway, if yes how and what is Google planning to do?

Google is already a pioneer and leader in the development, deployment and management of grid computing. They are extending their leadership even further by driving the sub-set of grid computing called cloud computing. Cloud computing, according to Wikipedia is an alternative to having local servers or personal devices handling users’ applications.

It is an idea that the technological capabilities should “hover” over everything and be available whenever a user wants. This is especially true of web-based applications such as Google Apps and Windows Live which conform to the cloud computing definition.

Are there any steps the government needs to put in place to ensure that Kenyans can benefit from this technology the moment it hits the market commercially?

Grid computing is already widely accessible with lots of information online on how to set-up, deploy and manage the technology. There are also leading ICT companies such as IBM and Sun Microsystems that have developed grid computing solutions, and there are also open source applications. .

Any risks involved with it?

Grid computing is fairly new as a computing approach. Therefore, at this juncture, there are no major known risks. However, as anything that is new, there are certainly security loop holes that will be found as it gains acceptance. The best thing is therefore to wait for standards to develop, as well as best practices and guidelines for deployment.

What does this mean to the future of Internet?

Grid computing will provide the underlying platform for cloud computing which is already seen as a major paradigm shift in how the Internet will evolve.

Grid computing will enable organizations and individuals to leverage superior computing resources online in a cost-effective and efficient manner. Organisations will be able to outsource their excess and underutilised computing power for a fee.

It will become easier to use applications that require high-end computing resources when its possible to harness an entire computer network instead of a couple of servers. The implications will inevitably be enormous.

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend a pretty large and well attended ICT Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. My presentation was on internet marketing within a Pan-African context. In the course of doing my research using Alexa (http://www.alexa.com), a web site ranking service, I was very surprised to learn that Kenya’s most popular web sites have changed significantly in the last year or so. Okay, there are the usual suspects like Yahoo!, Google and the Daily Nation that receive tremendous traffic, as can be expected. However, even within the top ten, as of this writing, there are many that I had not anticipated, especially those that are social networking sites. I think the following findings are extremely important for anyone looking to leverage the Internet as a key marketing channel in Kenya, targeting Kenyans:

1. Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com)

Yahoo! is the top online destination for users in Kenya. I am guessing here but I would bet that the main activity on this site is email and perhaps online chat. There are so many people who have Yahoo! email addresses and messenger accounts and this is the confirmed main activity in lots of cybercafés. So, if I were a marketer trying to reach out online in Kenya, I would buy ads in Yahoo!

2. Google Kenya (http://www.google.co.ke)

Google, unless you have been under a rock for the past few years is a company bent on world domination, seriously! Their mainstays, and core business remains internet search and online ads. Google recently set-up shop in Nairobi which is the regional HQ for East Africa. Google Adwords (http://adwords.google.com) and Google Adsense (http://adsense.google.com) are the money machines behind their record earnings these last few years. Currently, Google is in the process of finalizing their acquisition of DoubleClick (http://www.doubleclick.com), one of the world’s leading online advertising networks. The number three (3) ranked site in Kenya is Google’s global site at http://www.google.com.

4. FaceBook (http://www.facebook.com)

Who doesn’t love FaceBook! I was pleasantly surprised to find just how popular this site is at number four (4) in Kenya. This ranking also suggests to me that lots of companies are losing productivity as all their workers are busy poking and adding friends to their lists every day. At the same time, any marketer should salivate at the opportunity to reach the Kenyan FaceBook market. A few months ago, FaceBook launched profile pages which let companies market themselves to FaceBook users. This initiative, in conjunction to buying ads on FaceBook presents a compelling proposition to reach Kenyan’s online.

5. Windows Live Search (http://search.live.com)

Windows Live Search is Microsoft’s Search Engine. A latecomer to the search game, Live Search has grown significantly in the last few years but still lags a distant third to Google and Yahoo! Search. However, in terms of indexing and quality results, it’s been quite impressive. Like with the other leading search engines, Live Search enables advertisers to market their offerings using sponsored listings, much like Google Adwords. As of this writing, Microsoft’s bid at US$ 44 Billion for Yahoo! could significantly change the prospects for Windows Live Search which is already quite popular in Kenya.

6. Hi5 (http://www.hi5.com)

Hi5, like FaceBook, is a popular social network. On a global scale, it lags far behind but for some reason seems to do better across several African Countries. This site, like FaceBook, presents an interesting marketing platform.

7. YouTube (http://www.youtube.com)

I must admit that the high ranking of YouTube at number seven (7) was a big surprise. I say so because the Google owned YouTube is the world’s leading video sharing web site. Now, in Kenya, where we are well accustomed to slow internet connections and erratic online experiences, people are actually spending a significant amount online watching streaming videos! It’s also refreshing to see Kenyan organizations such as NTV (http://www.youtube.com/user/NTVKenya) and the Kenya Red Cross (http://www.youtube.com/user/KenyaRedCross) having channels on YouTube. A BIG hint is that video growing fast online and any marketer should look at repurposing their content for a YouTube.

8. MSN (http://www.msn.com)

MSN is Microsoft’s online portal that consolidates services such as email, chat, news, jobs, etc, much like Yahoo! has done. The site, which integrates a whole host of Microsoft offerings, has done well in the last few years as more and more users and businesses migrate to online business. As a marketing channel, together with Windows Live Search, this site presents an excellent platform to reach Kenyans.

9. Blogger (http://www.blogger.com)

Blogger is a leading site for users to create their own blogs. As blogs gain more and more momentum online, Kenya has not been left behind and a good number of Kenyan themed blogs are out there. So, it would seem that Kenyan’s are following lots of blogs on Blogger and it would be an excellent marketing location for marketers to have corporate blogs here too.

10. RapidShare (http://www.rapidshare.com)

RapidShare is a file sharing web site that lets you upload up 100 megabytes as a single file. The free service is surprisingly high at number ten (10), especially considering that like YouTube, Kenya does not have the best internet infrastructure for this kind of thing. It would also appear that users in Kenya like to exchange files, probably in the form of music, applications and documents, online.

These sites round off the top ten. In terms of the best of the rest, here are the notable sites with online marketing opportunities in the top twenty (20):

11. Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.com)
15. MySpace (http://www.myspace.com)
16. The Daily and Sunday Nation (http://www.nationmedia.com)
20. The East African Standard (http://www.eastandard.net)

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/02/08/kenya.election.ap/index.html

This news, this long awaited news, has made my day. Finally, here we stand on the precipice of a golden moment for Kenya. After all the senseless bloodshed and pain could this be it? The miracle? The chance we have been waiting for? We pray, we hope, we dare imagine. Far too much has been lost. Let us start rebuilding. Let us renew our African Dream.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7222114.stm