Web Hosting for the Masses - TZ Style

I recently discovered www.tovutiyangu.com by mistake through a random google search. On the surface, it just seems like one more web hosting company sprouting in Tanzania. But look more closely and you'll see an innovative model and some creative services.

First, they're mission is very clear and their services are geared around this mission. Second, they have lowered the barrier to entry so that anyone can now have a site to promote themselves or their business for potentially zero initial cost. They are also using mobile payments to collect payments, which I personally haven't seen much of.

What I'm really glad to see is that local technology entrepreneurs in Tanzania are thinking beyond just making money and getting creative in how they do business. This they will need to continue to do if they are to survive in the increasingly competitive East African market.

Also posted at: Vijana-FM

Our Fascination with Numbers

I recently added Google Analytics to one of my websites and I've become instantly addicted to the constant feed of numbers. I realize though that this is nothing new, we are barraged with statistics everywhere. Whether it be sports games on TV or the stock ticker widgets many are glued to. I'm glad in away that the website statistics feed is not real-time otherwise I'm not sure if I would get any work done.

My fascination with this google analytics package stemmed more from the slick and organized dashboard presentation (see screenshot below) than the numbers themselves. Although there are all sorts of statistics for each page from the number of visitors, bounce rates to visit duration the mix of tabular and graphical presentation provides keen insight into the performance and usage of the site. This also allows you to infer user behaviour; so for instance if you had a lot of visitors for the home page but minimal hits on the sign up confirmation page you could infer that visitors are discouraged from signing up for whatever reason (bad form design, aesthetics etc).

Now google analytics is just for website tracking, this idea has been extended to all aspects of business from inventory control to customer service calls. The power of real time statistics and customer behavior inferences quickly turns into increased R.O.I which is why business analytics is such a rapidly growing industry.

The latest in collaboration tools…

The last few years has seen a gradual yet dramatic change in the quality and popularity of online collaboration tools available and affordable to the mass public. With the recent financial crisis looming over everyone’s heads, its no surprise that companies are looking for ways to cut costs in any shape or form. This has subsequently spurred on demand for such tools and brought about rapid innovation. We take a closer look at how these services have evolved over time and the major incentives for corporations as well as entrepreneurs to adopt their use. We also delve deeper into analyzing key features and looking at what the future holds in store.

The virtual collaboration space began with independent tools/services such as chat clients, terminal services, Voice over IP (VOIP) services and primitive combined tools such as NetMeeting which were only great for one purpose or too difficult to configure. There were also larger corporate offerings through Cisco and HP which required significant investments in facilities and equipment to setup customized conferencing centers. However, cheaper bandwidth and storage have now brought down prices enough to make these tools a mass market product. Updates to web standards as well as the new role of the browser as the central point of interaction/client have also allowed disparate services to be brought together to offer greater usability and interactivity for conversing parties. The latest tools let users simultaneously, chat, draw on a virtual whiteboard, talk, share files as well as share a desktop all in one location.

Corporate jet setting executives are beginning to realize the benefits of actually getting more work done since online collaboration tools are reducing the need to travel for meetings. Employees are also able to benefit through more flexible work schedules Entrepreneurs and small business are also now able to leverage resources located remotely while some are doing away with offices completely.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the cool features of one of these services, DimDim.

• upto 20 simultaneous users for free! – perfect for startups and small group projects
• Share desktop screen, webpage, presentation/document, or whiteboard – great for brainstorming, demos
• Either use computer microphone/speakers or dial into meeting – you can be on the road or at your desk
• Chat functionality – always a great backup
• Mashups with other web-based products – examples include Moodle, SugarCRM
• Record meetings – finally do away with meeting minutes

As we have seen with DimDim, there is a lot of innovation happening around connecting collaboration tools with other relevant web services. The aim with these mashups is to make it intuitive and seamless for the user to use the collaboration tool as if it were an included feature. Some other tools that it could be integrated with include, project management software, recruiting tools, planning software and customer support services.