With a recession on the cards, there is no better time than now for enterprises to harness the value of Web 2.0 in their business by capturing innovation, collaboration and social engagement, asserts Brian Armstrong, BT’s general manager for Turkey, Middle East and Africa 

Not so long ago, Web 2.0 was the new kid on the consumer technology block, and people were excitedly speculating about its potential in business. Right now, the economic climate makes excited speculation about the potential of anything a pretty rare commodity. There is an argument, however, that a downturn or recession is precisely the climate in which Web 2.0 tools will prove their worth. The key question to examine is what hidden value they can liberate from organisations during a downturn. We believe that Web 2.0 provides a route to business efficiency – and therein lies its potential as a key to unlock value.

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February marked the first-year anniversary of the commercial launch of GSM services by Warid Telecom in Uganda. It has been a strong opening period, with the operator having added around 1.4 million subscribers in the period. Buoyed by such a positive market reaction to its service and offers, Warid aims to become a strong number two player in the next 18 months, having launched as the country’s fourth player

Warid Telecom’s success in adding more than 200,000 subscribers a month in its first year of operation brought it the Africa Com New Entrant Award

Uganda’s telecoms market is a bruising place, with the Uganda Competition Commission’s universal licensing scheme, launched in 2006, now in full flight. Four mobile operators offer service, with Warid Telecom Uganda being the last to enter the market, in February 2008. However, from the outset, the operator has made it clear that just because it launched fourth does not mean it has to remain in that position over time.

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With value and confidence around the world going into what appears to be chronic decline at the moment, it is hard to see where board room optimism might exist in any business. However, whilst there is no doubt that the regional telecom sector has, and is being impacted to some degree, it is perhaps not all bad news; and the next 12-18 months promises some interesting prospects.

Abdullah Mutawi is partner and head of telecom at Trowers & Hamlins, Bahrain

It is of course true that some of the big regional operators have recently announced substantial drops in their 2008 fourth quarter net profits including STC (62 per cent), Wataniya (33 per cent), and Etisalat (20 per cent). In other quarters, M&A deals have visibly failed to come to market or to close including the privatisations of Batelco, Algerie Telecom and the sale of a strategic minority stake in Omantel. Orascom recently announced a share buy-back plan that has helped to shore up its flagging market value. In other cases, licences have recently been acquired at bargain prices with mobile licences in Bahrain and Iran for example being won for a fraction of the types of valuations that were common in recent years.

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HP ProCurve, the networking arm of the global IT solutions provider HP, is picking up the pace in its challenge of IP networking market leader Cisco. At a business strategy event in January, ProCurve revealed its multi-vendor alliance programme with partners including Avaya, Microsoft and McAfee, aimed at propelling the networking company to the forefront of the sector. Michelle Mills reports from Paris

ProCurve, which is integrated within HP’s Technology Solutions Group (TSG), is the number two networking infrastructure player globally, though the rift between second place and pacesetter Cisco remains significant. In the EMEA region, ProCurve’s eight per cent market share trails far behind Cisco’s 50 per cent, with the latter offering not just comprehensive networking hardware but also a variety of Cisco-branded applications integrated into its network, including unified communications, telepresence and Internet security.

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A year after India’s pre-eminent voice wholesaler and broadband telecoms provider Tata Communications rebranded from VSNL, the company’s president of global data and mobility solutions and chief operating officer, Vinod Kumar believes the company is on track with its integrated service provider model. On his first visit to Dubai since the rebranding in February 2008, Kumar speaks exclusively to Comm. about why timing is everything and how Tata Communications’ three-prong strategy is based on shifting its focus to emerging markets; developing a strong managed services practice; and leveraging its expansive IP network

Vinod Kumar believes enterprises want turnkey solutions; hence Tata Communications is focussing much of its efforts on offering managed and hosted services

In the fiscal year 2008 to end-March 2008, Tata  Communications reported consolidated revenues of approximately US$2.05 billion. Profit before taxes and exceptional items amounted to approximately US$32 million, down 57 per cent from the previous year. Tata Communications is a mammoth organisation, in which volume definitely counts, as margins for the majority of its business remain comparatively low as compared to other activities in the telecoms space.

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