The journey from Cairo International Airport to the Smart Village Business Park outside is usually regarded as a nightmare. The 30 kilometre commute along the ring road around the city, takes more than three hours to complete in rush hour, while the drive through inner-Cairo presents some scary challenges.

Drivers have a relaxed attitude to personal safety as they hurtle past donkeys, carts and roadside scenes echoing recent unrest, and my current taxi driver tells me the best way to stay safe on these roads is to play the Koran through the tapedeck.

We’re both praying in different directions, but we get the result we’re hoping for, safe arrival at the Smart Village Business Park, outside Gisa in the shadow of the pyramids.

A counter-point to the ancient surroundings, this is a vibrant hub of high-tech innovation, built to accommodate major multinational and indigenous companies working in Telecommunications and Information Technologies others.

Spacious green areas, waterfalls, artificial lakes and business community leisure areas form a unique backdrop to iconic office buildings. It’s like a modern oasis that looks like it would be more at home in California’s Silicon Valley than an Egyptian desert. Worth remembering that Egyptians have a reputation for innovation with modern engineers still unsure how the great Pyramids were built!
The steady growing number of national and multinational enterprises moving or seeking to move to Smart Village Cairo underlines the business park’s reputation for providing an environment that supports competitiveness, productivity and profitability.

But, it’s the high calibre and ambition of the mostly youthful people that is most awe-inspiring. The Vodafone headquarters, for example, is populated with young 20-30 year olds that are driving its next wave of cutting-edge solutions.

Education is highly valued in Egypt and large companies are capitalising on the highly qualified talent pool and university partnerships to train people in the areas where the world needs skills. These aren’t back office support roles that young Egyptians are fulfilling. It’s high end software development that will make or break future successes.

There is a tangible desire and commitment here from aspiring and ambitious youths to grasp any opportunity for progression. Education offers a clear route from poverty towards a lucrative future.

The thing is, Northern Ireland has the ability and opportunities to far exceed what Egypt is achieving, but we need to do more to transform, inspire and energise new talent. Thankfully organisations like Northern Ireland Science Park (NISP) are taking proactive steps to identify and develop a lasting relationship with our brightest before, during and after they leave.

The Generation Innovation programme, for example, holds two annual events to identify some of NI’s most promising pupils and invite them and their parents into regular high value events. The next one takes place in November and I’m excited to proud that my daughter is among the students who were nominated by their school to meet 40 highly successful innovators in local science and technology companies like SLA Mobile.

Success is earned by going further and learning again and again. We need to shift mindsets towards proactivity. In Israel, for example, students are brought together and told they are special and have a role to play in making the economy successful. Our students must be given similar direction and encouragement if we are to compete at the best of our ability.

In SLA Mobile we work with a lot of nationalities and the capability of Northern Ireland talent rates highly amongst the world’s best. It always strikes me how similar New Zealand people are to those back home, but the big difference is the motivation to work overseas, build experience and get going. Working in London or Dublin is regarded as a daunting experience to some at home, but in New Zealand travelling to Australia; Kuala Lumpur; Indonesia and Europe are common work routes.

If the dusty roads of Egypt can lead to international innovation-led business, then so too can the well travelled highways of Northern Ireland. We just need to give our next generation of economic navigators a better roadmap and the confidence to choose the route to success.

SLA Mobile has been named as one of Ireland’s ‘Best Managed’ companies in the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme. In total, twenty companies which demonstrated superior business performance were recognised at a gala awards dinner in the Burlington Hotel in Dublin on 4th March 2011.

The Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme, in association with Irish Life Corporate Business, recognises indigenous Irish companies across the island of Ireland which are operating at the highest levels of business performance.

The independent judging panel, chaired by Denis Brosnan, reviewed a broad range of criteria including strategy, capability, commitment, financials and growth potential across all key functions of the business. This year, the judging panel also focussed on how companies were planning growth in their organisations in a sustainable way.

Commenting on the winners of the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme, Pat Cullen, Managing Partner, Deloitte and judging panel member said: “Despite the negative sentiment that currently prevails, the Best Managed Companies Awards Programme shows that Irish indigenous companies are a cornerstone of growth in the Irish economy and can and will play an important role in Ireland’s overall recovery. For proof of this, you need look no further than this year’s winners.”

Damian Fadden, Director, Irish Life Corporate Business, and fellow judging panel member said: “Irish Life Corporate Business is delighted to support the Deloitte Best Managed Companies initiative. Ireland’s economic recovery can benefit hugely from the contribution made by its indigenous business sector, and this initiative helps companies in that sector to showcase their success and to benefit from expert mentoring to help them move to the next level. Our staff have met many of the participating companies and have been very impressed with their innovation and determination – on behalf of Irish Life Corporate Business I would like to wish all the companies every success in 2011 and beyond.”

The Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme is open to companies from all 32 counties on the island of Ireland. It is the only awards programme that considers a business’ performance from every perspective. Details of entry for the 2012 Awards will be issued in the coming weeks on www.deloittebestmanaged.ie.

The ’Best Managed’ designation is an important marketing tool for the winning companies – but, perhaps most importantly, the awards provide a reason to celebrate the efforts of the entire company.

About Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards

The Deloitte Best Managed Companies programme, in association with Irish Life Corporate Business, promotes and recognises excellence in Irish owned and managed companies. It is the only awards scheme on the island of Ireland that considers a business’ performance from every perspective. Entrants to the programme will compete for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates the calibre of their management abilities and practices.

Programme sponsors are Irish Life Corporate Business, the Irish Management Institute and the Sunday Business Post.

For further information, visit www.deloittebestmanaged.ie

by Nic Stirk

In the wireless industry talk about embedded/connected devices, and the associated M2M communications they require, is a hot topic of conversation. Estimates of the number of connected devices the world will see in the coming years is truly mind boggling, and are actually so large as to lose relevance. Kind of like the amount of money required to bailout a bank, how am I supposed to internalize a number with more than nine zeros behind it?

Compounding the problem is the fact that, unlike bank bailouts, a tidal wave of embedded devices has yet to materialize. In the US the three largest wireless carriers announced their respective embedded device connections for the first time for 2Q10 (http://bit.ly/aMY026). In 3Q10 AT&T came in first place with 8.5 million connections. Verizon was in second place with 7.9 million connections. Sprint did not report this figure for 3Q10, but took the third spot with around 1.9 million connections in 2Q10.(Interestingly,Sprint has pointed out that ARPU for connected devices is significantly lower than for traditional subscriptions, but the cost is also significantly lower, resulting in higher margins.)

A recent blog post by David Pringle goes a long way toward explaining the disconnect between forecasts and reality (http://bit.ly/dBIyVV). As he deftly points out, the basic infrastructure currently in place is adequate to facilitate the anticipated explosion in connected devices. But there are two obstacles that stand in the way. The first is cross-border compatibility, “The way the telecoms market is structured and regulated, on a nation-by-nation basis, means some of these embedded solutions could be difficult to implement in some markets and the industry could struggle to scale.”

The second issue is trust. The data generated by billions of devices has the potential to create both positive and negative effects on society. Without the proper safeguards in place, adoption by both businesses and consumers will be limited.

These barriers highlight the need for connected device platforms that enable easy on-boarding and device management and, importantly, have the flexibility to allow seamless cross-boarded connectivity. At the same time carriers need to educate consumers and regulators on how this information will be used, and how it will be protected.

By Keith Mitchell

Vodafone made headlines earlier this summer when they announced quarter-over-quarter revenue growth for the first time since 2008 (http://bit.ly/cUoAef). Seeing as many analysts had predicted a revenue decline, this is broadly viewed an impressive achievement and a positive indicator for the overall economy. Indeed revenue growth is always better than a decline, and we may well be climbing our way out of the economic hole we’ve inhabited for the past two years. But does this really signal a turnaround for the largest wireless company in the world outside of China?

A closer look at the results reveals that revenue in Western Europe declined 1.7%, with only Germany and the UK showing modest growth. Declines in the rest of the countries dragged the financial results into the red. Operationally, voice was predictably in negative territory posting an 8.6% decline. Surprisingly, messaging was only modestly positive, posting 1.5% growth.

So where is the growth coming from? Geographically, look to the East and South. Operationally, look to data.

Revenue in Africa/Central Europe grew by 3.7%, and revenue in AsiaPac/Middle East grew by a whopping 10.5%. It is important to note that these two regions now make up over a third of total revenue. Operationally, data led the way with 23.3% growth in Europe.

While Vodafone’s quarterly performance metrics may or may not be indicative of macro-economic improvements, we can certainly draw one conclusion from these results: the company’s future growth will come from providing data services to emerging economies. Mobile Internet services that leverage the assets of Vodafone’s network will mark the future of the company. This will be aided by their ability to effectively market themselves in Central Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia/Pac. Keep an eye out for Vodafone’s next earnings announcement in early November for further proof points.