Lawal Abdu-Rahman is the CEO of KITS Technologies Limited. He is an experienced ICT professional having spent over 14 years in the industry most of which were in management positions. He is a creative engineer combining good blend of engineering with business, he is passionate about value  driven ICT initiative. He spoke to funmi ilesanmi.

Relationship with Gilat
Satellite communication network is very broad and there is virtually no single company all over the world that does it all alone. Gilat is a service provider that focuses on hub management and issues that has to do with space segment, they do not have a satellite in the space; they work hand-in-hand with several other satellite companies like Intelsat, Newskies, Intersputnik the owner of ABS or LMI, Panamsat, Amos among others, and they also work with equipment vendors like Shiron, Comtech, IDirect, and a lot of other equipment manufacturers; because Gilat does not manufacture equipment. So in the same vein, Gilat is also partnering with KITS. KITS focuses on earth stations issues. There are basically three major divisions in Vsat network. We have the hub, the satellite and the earth station, so our role is to manage issues that have to do with earth station in terms of site preparation, installation, configuration, and maintenance. That is simply what KITS is doing with Gilat.
Future of Vsat and Fibre in Nigeria
This is not the situation, it’s just like saying that Wimax and fibre optics are two opposing technologies, no we can’t say that, Vsat and fibre optics are complementary technologies, they are not in anyway opposing each other. Fibre is an infrastructure that delivers higher bandwidth over the terrestrial network and Vsat is an infrastructure that delivers bandwidth over the satellite network. They are two separate technologies that can be appropriately applied to deliver services to the end user depending on the situation. We have customers requiring fibre optic for their installations and we also have customers requiring satellite for their deployment, so we apply the two together to make our customers happy.
As Globacom and other communication companies are laying fibre optic cable across the globe, the fate of Vsat is simply a growth change. Several fibre optics links aside Glo1 have entered Nigeria and more will soon join, this is what everybody in this industry has been expecting and it is a remarkable growth to our local telecoms infrastructure. This has nothing to do with Vsat because fibre and Vsat are two different but complementary technologies that can run side by side and as the case dictates, the difference is that you apply the appropriate technology in the appropriate environment. For instance, the customer needing fibre optics is given fibre optics and the one that demands satellite is given satellite, so it is not an issue of rivalry between fibre and satellite but an issue of expansion of options. Certainly satellite will continue to be used for areas where satellite is most appropriate and fibre where it is appropriate, but we expect to see a change, change in terms of the areas where you had initially deployed satellite which now you have an alternative to use fibre optic then it may change to fibre but for areas where you still have to use satellite, it will certainly still be satellite.
Even for critical fibre optics link, Vsat would continue to serve as back-up for redundancy in case you have a break of fibre optics cable. And as you are aware, a number of satellites are coming up to focus on Africa, you would recollect that after the unfortunate event that led to the lost of Nigcomsat1; there is currently an ongoing process to have a replacement satellite in the space, so the numbers of satellites that are coming up are on the increase, this is evident to the fact that the necessary demand for satellite connectivity is still very relevant to complement the deployment of fibre in Africa. The only issue that will be better defined henceforth is that we now have the option of using the appropriate infrastructure for the right environment.
Value Added Services
We add value added services to our relationship with Gilat. We are very close to our customers. We visit our customers and know each of them by their names and addresses. We go to them and check their LAN for them, we check their systems for them, we do whatever is required to ensure that their link is up, running and smooth, we know that bandwidth is expensive, and we understand with our customers that every second counts, so our customers can not afford to be down without a solution that is prompt and close to them, this is the most important value adding service that must accompany any ICT products and services. I mean after sale support, and that is why we have our Customer Support Centre to guarantee excellent service for the customers, and that was the basis for our partnering with Shiron, the manufacturer of the Vsat modem /terminal that we use. We built and invested into a relationship with them as the Nigeria Shiron repair centre. Though equipment failure is not a common issue but they do happen, of course you can imagine the loss that may arise from managing a faulty modem, so, that was why we have to partner with the manufacturers of our equipment. Our technicians are trained and certified to handle hardware faults. This has helped a lot to promptly address hardware failure for equipment that is out of warranty. If there is a fault during the first 12 months of warranty period, what we do is outright replacement. And it is the same across all other products, we place emphasis on training to ensure that our technicians and engineers are well trained on all the hardware of the products that we deal in, to ensure that when there is a fault, we correct them locally. Also, we realise  that knowledge gap has been the major barrier with the end users because they are new to satellite communication, so what we do is to offer detailed technical handling training free of charge to our  customers, so that the customers will have right knowledge to fix  minor issue by themselves.
About KITS Technologies
KITS Technologies Limited offers ICT solutions that address business problems. We offer end to end solution that covers both software and hardware. Our range of products and services include Satellite based communication, Internet distribution, Vsat, fibre optics, wireless communications, IP PBX, VPN networking, data storage, IP surveillance, video conferencing, data centre implementation, management and enterprise solar power.
We also offer some corporate technical training that provides ongoing professional and continually improved courses that reflects latest industry information and communication solutions globally. As a matter of fact, it is not as if we run a training school but being part of our vision, to be known globally as a centre for transfer of knowledge, experience and expertise; we have added well structured professional training packages to our program as our own way to share with Nigerians what we know. That is part of our contribution to improve on ICT workforce, awareness and ICT penetration in the country.
Providing Services to Cities Outside Lagos
This is very simple, irrespective of where these services are requested, we are always there, it is simple because our satellite has an excellent coverage of the entire country, so all we do is deploy our engineers to the area depending on the location of the customer, if it is from the northern part, the request goes to Kano, while the southern or eastern part is been handled by Lagos office.
Disaster Recovery and Data Centre
What I can see as reasons for some companies reluctance in embracing data protection has to do with value proposition, attitude and awareness. Many do not take things serious until there is crisis and a lot do not understand the benefits of investing in an automated storage system that guarantees 100% recovery. That is the problem and until these services are embraced just as we have all over the world several companies would still be faced with loss of critical data. Now we are talking about e-economy which means we are going to translate almost all transactions and activities into data to be kept. Imagine what will happen if you wake up tomorrow only to be told that the database that keeps your ATM pins, balances, transactions history is lost, or that JAMB after preparing the whole lot of the result claim a loss of the data, or if your pension manager claims same and other critical data like that, so we need to see the big picture of this implication and take proactive measures to address these issues.
The major barrier of these technologies is knowledge gap and awareness and then the attitude, people thinking that we can still manage and that nothing has happened after all these years without the right infrastructure. A lot of companies are running without having any storage systems at all, what is important for companies is to get the appropriate knowledge on all alternative networks available options in terms of storage so that they can implement. We need to start imagining and estimating the price of loosing critical data for us to take actions. That is why KITS offers regular knowledge transfer programme on data storage and data centre.
Challenges in Deploying CCTV in Cities Across Nigeria
Close Circuit Television (CCTV) is the analogue system video surveillance system, right now we are talking about digital video networking, running video surveillance on IP network also called IP surveillance. Its flexibility is just like other IP based services. The major challenge that IP surveillance system is having in Nigeria is mainly infrastructure and the number one of them is power. Until the power issue is solved, it will not be easy to deploy effective surveillance system in Nigeria.
The second problem is awareness which is common with many ICT solutions. For instance if we are talking about having IP surveillance system installed in a state, this is not something you just think about and then it happens, it has to go through series of bureaucratic process and most of the time people who take the final decisions may not thoroughly understand what one is talking about and how best to go about it. In fact, if surveillance system can be installed properly, it is going to bring a lot of value to the lives of the people by reducing crime rate, helping in traffic management and road accident. The people in the helm of affairs must understand the need for this technology and encourage the use of it. Surveillance is going to be like a watch dog for all our activities. The same issue also affects video conferencing; a lot of people who are supposed to be using video conferencing are not doing that at the moment, not because of cost but rather because of awareness. People are not aware of the benefits of having a technology that can enable them save money. You can imagine how much we would save in a year on all of those allowances, if the travelling rate of our executives for conferences here and there is cut down substantially by not travelling, but rather sit in your office and hold your meeting right there in your office through video conferencing.
We believe in applying technology appropriately not about all that is latest. We believe in what is latest only if it adds value to lives, we are very careful in terms of solution that we select, we focus on value to the lives of the people. If it is not going to add value definitely Kits will not encourage people to patronise it, because technology is not about wasteful on executive technological toys but getting value from technology.