ICT Pulse Podcast

Although many an entrepreneur can have a wonderful and exciting business idea that they swear will be the next Facebook or Google, few are prepared to plunge their lifesavings to make the idea come to life. Melarka Williams of Ingenuity Technologies in Jamaica did just that – and not only lives to tell the tale, but has also created recognised tech innovation company. In our interview with Melarka, he shares some insight into why he and Ingenuity Technologies have thrived when others have failed; and now that some financial success has been achieved, what now drives him, and what are some of his goals for the future.

Show notes and useful links can be found at ICT Pulse

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Change can be achieved when you lead from in front, but also when you lead from behind, as is the case with CIVIC, the Caribbean ICT Stakeholders Virtual Community. Here, Michele Marius chats with the group's moderator, Yacine Khelladi, to learn how CIVIC has become such an integral part of the region's ICT/tech scene, along with his thoughts on the affordability of Internet service in the Caribbean, and why Open Data in the region is not as developed as it should be.

Also, let's hear from you on two questions posed during the discussion:

1. Why isn't civil society in the English-speaking Caribbean as developed, or as engaged, in discussions on important issues generally, and more specifically, with respect to telecoms and ICT?
2. What happened to the Open Data/knowledge management platform that was being implemented in Barbados? Was it successfully rolled out? Was it abandoned?

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In this our second Community Chat, Michele Marius, with members of the Caribbean ICT/tech community, Carolyn Ferguson, and Dr Kieron Swift, discuss: the future of work in the Caribbean – how technology is changing the workplace; the introduction of 10 digit dialling in Jamaica; and why does it appear that in many Caribbean countries, provisions are being included in recently proposed ICT-related legislation that seek to criminalise, or otherwise impinge upon, some of our basic or constitutional rights?

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Since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, many countries worldwide, including those in the Caribbean region have been struggling to jumpstart their economies, and believe that offshore outsourcing/business process outsourcing (BPO) could be the solution. In the podcast episode, Michele Marius speaks with Rejo Sam, of Avasant, one of the leading advisors in the outsourcing space, on what the Caribbean countries need to do to continue to grow their BPO industries well into the future.

Cloud computing has been popular for over 10 years, but it can be argued that it still has not taken off among Caribbean businesses, especially among MSMEs, which are likely to benefit considerably from adopting it. Michele Marius speaks with Scott MacKenzie, CEO of Cloud Carib, who highlights this Caribbean-based operation; key cloud trends observed in the Caribbean region; five questions a firm should ask if it is looking to secure cloud services; and more…

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With the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) coming into force in the European Union (EU) in less than 10 days, Attorney-at-Law, Bartlett Morgan, speaks with Michele Marius on what businesses located outside the EU can expect when the GDPR becomes effective, and gives some advice on what those businesses should be doing to better position themselves for the GDPR.

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In this our first Community Chat, Kerrie-Ann Vassall-Richards, Gerard Best and Michele Marius discuss Caribbean telecoms infrastructure/network resiliency – with the 2018 hurricane season soon to begin; Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) in the region; and the European Union's new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), with members of the Caribbean ICT/tech community.

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With its 14th staging is less than a month away, the Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (CIGF) is the oldest regional meeting of its kind worldwide. Nigel Cassimire, one of the key organisers of the CIGF, explains why it is important for all of us to take a greater interest in the ongoing Internet Governance discussions, and shares what he believes are the biggest issues that are being grappled with globally, plus those to which the Caribbean should be paying greater attention.

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In recognition of Girls of ICT Day 2018, here is our interview with powerhouse and mogul-in-the-making, Telojo Valerie Onu, a well-respected ICT and management consultant and business owner, who was recently quoted in Forbes magazine. She talks about, among other things, her entrepreneurial journey, her experience as a woman in business and in tech, and what she thinks the future holds for blockchain technology, fintech and cryptocurrencies.

To kick off the ICT Pulse Podcast, we spent some time chatting with Shernon Osepa, of the Internet Society, on how the Caribbean can develop its Internet economy, and strengthen its Internet infrastructure, especially in the face of the natural disasters that are regularly experienced.