Page 2 - WIOCC Newsletter June 2019

It’s been an incredible 10 years.
Following Chris’ remarks during the 10-year celebratory events, as well as the company- wide briefing last year, here are some of the changes that have happened as WIOCC grows:
Network Expansion: The Jo’burg Metro has been undergoing further expansion, increasing the number of PoPs on the network while the Nigeria and Zambia metros are also being developed.
“Eight years ago, a typical client requirement was for 155Mbps; today, 100Gbps is not unusual”, says Chris Wood. To cater for the growing requirements, over the next few years the company plans to make large investments in the network infrastructure and other business development initiatives. This will ensure WIOCC maintains its position at the forefront of the African wholesale market with a truly hyperscale network.
The Market: Earlier last year, WIOCC announced AP Telecom as its international sales partner for new markets in Asia and the United States.
Capacity demand is increasing rapidly whilst bandwidth prices continue to fall. WIOCC is working hard to retain and upsell into its existing client base, and at the same time continuing to develop new, long-term client relationships.
Organisational Development: As a company grows, organisational changes are made to ensure it continues to develop its market position. Here are the most recent changes within the WIOCC structure.
a. Commercial Operations
To enhance support to the sales teams, all commercial analysis, pricing and sales administration are now combined into a single function called Commercial Operations. Tony Razzell will lead the team as Director, Commercial Operations.
b. Business & Process Support
Critical areas of the business are process management, quality assurance, internal audit, procurement and IT business and operational support systems – all of which are necessary to ensure WIOCC’s smooth functioning. These areas are now combined into a new function called Business Support, which is run by newly-promoted Rebecca Kariuki as Director, Business Support. Financial support for networks will also fall under Rebecca.
c. Network Engineering & Client Solutions
All network and client solution architecture, under the control of engineering, is now led by Daryl Naidoo. IP and transmission architecture will sit alongside client solution architecture to improve efficiency. The Solution Architects will report to Peter Kavita, who in turn reports to Daryl.
d. Project Management & Field Management
The current team of core network Project Managers, together with the client Order Project Managers and Field Engineers are now combined to create a larger, more flexible and more efficient delivery function, all under Christiaan Smith.
e. Change Control
As the network grows, the complexity increases exponentially. To ensure effective management of network changes, with minimum disruption to client services, requires dedicated focus and greater emphasis will be placed on this area going forward. As a result, Maina Gatheru will report directly to the Head of Operations,
Hillary Tarus.
Congratulations to the new teams!