By Zahid Jaffer, Head of Product, Solutions Management and Architecture
As digital acceleration around the world is hitting hyper-speed, businesses are now recognising the golden value, potential and opportunities hidden in embracing digital technologies and trends. We are currently at a crossroad where economy is meeting technology as its biggest driver with most industry sectors now being reformed through a new digital lens post the pandemic. A couple decades ago technology was considered as an added benefit or a booster for industries but today it has become the most fundamental and mainstream facet influencing the very basis of how industries are being remodeled to suit the demands of this technologically advanced era. Clearly, technology has evolved to become an intrinsic part of our lives, from our phones to satellite navigation maps to banking, there is an aspect of technology involved everywhere.
FROM INTERNET PROVIDER TO A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
However, this technological progression in turn has given rise to soaring digital demands from consumers thus making it mandatory for companies to evolve too, for instance Raha Limited has come a long way from being an internet service provider to a one-stop shop for all technological needs owing to the uptick in digital demands across Tanzania. When we started our operations back in 1996, the technological and digital landscape in Tanzania was strikingly different to what it is today. It was the early days of the advent of the almighty Internet and we were one of the first players in the country to introduce Internet and related services in the country. Fueled by the desire of Tanzanians wanting to know more about this new and innovative tool - the Internet, we soon became a household name. Our twenty-five-year-old journey hit many milestones, ups and downs but we persisted on our journey to emerge as Tanzania’s biggest tech company.
POWERING INNOVATION
The pace of adoption of digital infrastructure is fast-tracking like never before with over 15.15 million internet users in Tanzania and an estimated internet penetration of 25% in January 2021, according to this report. These figures are also indicative of the huge opportunities that lie ahead for the country to move in the direction of digital growth and development. As a company, we are dedicated to the socio-economic advancement of our country through technological innovations and solutions we bring to the market. Our evolution from being a traditional internet service provider to being a connectivity partner to now offering holistic technology solutions has enhanced our expertise in a manner that delivers us an edge over our competitors.
We have carefully examined the nuances of the digital landscape in Tanzania over two and half decades to provide bespoke solutions needed to meet the demands of this ever-growing economy. We are proud to serve over 1500 businesses as well as a growing number of retail customers with a range of connectivity solutions, including Fibre, Satellite, Cloud services, WiMAX and Wi-Fi all over Tanzania. We are also starting to offer advanced Cloud solutions, Cyber Security and SD-WAN services in Tanzania given the explosion of digitalisation over the past eighteen months. Our ability to carefully monitor current trends as well as to anticipate the future requirements, in order to build customer solutions in-house or in-partnership with other market-players permits us to stay ahead of the game.
CO-CREATION AND COLLABORATION: KEY TO POSITIVE DISRUPTION
To succeed in this ever-transforming digital landscape and create an outstanding level of value for our customers and at the nation at large, it is essential for us to bring innovative technological applications to the forefront of the market. Taking utmost pride in bringing the best-in-class solutions to Tanzania, we recently introduced Microsoft Azure and Azure Stack here. Microsoft Azure is an ever-expanding set of cloud services helping organisations achieve their business objectives. Whereas, Azure Stack is Microsoft’s modern hybrid cloud solution, combining public Azure intelligence, security and scalability with our managed infrastructure. Azure Stack provides the technical benefits of reduced latency and the low cost of local bandwidth to access data and applications. Meeting the legal and regulatory compliance of Tanzania, the Azure solution combines multiple benefits such as low Microsoft bandwidth costs, better quality of experience for users, fast deployment of new digital business capabilities, low risks of business innovation as well as scaling opportunities.
Additionally, we also provide SD-WAN service (Software-Defined Wide Area Networking) that is an innovative mode of routing traffic on your network which permits companies to syndicate numerous internet lines to upsurge the performance of voice, video, and cloud-based applications across single or multiple sites. With zero-touch configuration, our SD-WAN solution can be utilised by companies to configure a subdivision for a new location or an office entirely from a remote location in a short span of time, thus sanctioning scalability anywhere at any time. Some other benefits of SD-WAN include higher capacity bandwidth, centralised management, network visibility along with access to multiple connection types. Our radical solutions are backing up some of the country’s biggest sectors such as banking, retail and manufacturing in high-connectivity regions such as Dar es Salaam whilst we are also looking at branching out in Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania whose local economy is predicted to grow manifold as the city is urbanising at a swift pace.
Continuing
to walk on this path of progressive disruption, we envision to
transform the state of Tanzania into that of a digital leader. This is
the era of disruption; the era of unbounded technological advancement
and we are thrilled to be a leading contributor to this cause.
Collaboration and co-creation are the two words we live by…to thrive in
this connected eco-system where building strategic alliances is the key
to unlock growth and development of the industry and country at large.
Our transition from a connectivity provider to a digital technology
provider was driven by the need to meet Tanzania’s emerging market
requirements and today we stand at a pinnacle point where the country is
shining bright on the digital map and keeping its head for a digitally
driven future.
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