Did you know Internet Solutions (IS) has devised a strategy to provide clients with customised and  optimised technology solutions?

Baxolile Mabinya - Chief Solutions Architect

“Technology is maturing,” explains Baxolile Mabinya, chief solutions architect at Internet Solutions. “In the past, technology was very much a support function and the technical manager was not really part of the
business strategy discussion.”

Today, technology is very much a driver for business strategy, he explains. Not only are there new  business models emerging, but people are starting to communicate and use technology in new ways.  “Interaction via video and various social media platforms allow people from all over the world to communicate across multiple boundaries,” says Mabinya. “The explosion in rich content and the  increase in available bandwidth are causing a signifi cant investment in data centres. This shift in  communication technology is also causing companies to be more comfortable in outsourcing certain  business functions.”

In keeping with this S-curve, Internet Solutions has come up with its C5 strategy. The focus areas include  Connectivity, Cloud, Communications, Carrier, and most importantly Client Service.

CONNECTIVITY

The driver behind this ‘C’ is linking organisations internally and externally. “There has been a dramatic  increase in demand for bandwidth,” Mabinya says. “Businesses have been enquiring about searchable video content, or instance.” Connectivity accounts for approximately 60% of Internet Solutions’ overall  business. For this reason, Internet Solutions has focused on acquiring capacity in undersea cable  systems, rolling out national network systems and acquiring capacity on metropolitan network systems.

CLOUD

“Cloud computing is currently responsible for about 20% of the company’s business,” Mabinya explains.  “It has tremendous opportunity for innovation and is transforming the ICT industry worldwide.” Internet  Solutions has approximately 7 000 square metres of data centre capacity in South Africa as well as  small data centres in West and East Africa, the UK and the US, and is adding more capacity every year  to stay ahead of the market need.

COMMUNICATIONS

At its most basic, says Mabinya, communications is about individual people communicating with other  individual people. “This focus area is the newest addition to our solutions and it currently accounts for  about 10% of the business,” says Mabinya. “That said, however, we believe it has the highest potential for growth.”

Internet Solutions is focusing on providing alternative voice services through its backbone  network, emerging technologies that enable people to connect to the Internet and make phone calls in  clever ways, and partnering with the likes of Microsoft and Symantec to provide secure hosted  messaging and enterprise portal services.

CARRIER

According to Mabinya, this area is the only one of the four areas in which Internet Solutions has a  deliberate niche strategy. “Carrier services currently accounts for 10% of Internet Solutions’ business,”  he says. The company is advanced in the satellite space, and provides services to half of Africa’s countries through six different satellite systems. It also owns its own satellite earth station. Furthermore,  it has its own wireless network and can cover all major urban areas with wireless last-mile connectivity.  “These technologies together with Internet Solutions fibre services make it possible to provide a wide   range of last mile options for clients,” explains Mabinya.

CLIENTS

Internet Solutions serves enterprise and business clients. Organisations around the world are relying on  technology to enable business strategy. The needs of these businesses are ever evolving and require a  thorough understanding of possible business models. “In serving our clients, we make it a priority to truly  understand the needs in different market segments and respond to those with innovative and  appropriate solutions,” concludes Mabinya.