One of the world’s leading IP telecommunications service providers with specific focus to the emerging markets is SkyVision. Offering a rich bouquet of solutions that combine satellite service platforms with high-capacity fibre to deliver mission critical services via its gateways in Europe, North America and the Middle East, SkyVision has grown to become a household name in Africa, with Nigeria being a major market where the company plays actively in. Given the importance of the company and the contributions it has made in Nigeria’s telecom revolution, we asked the CEO of the company, MR. DORON BEN SIRA to comment on the company’s business so far and the plans for the future:

Question: SkyVision has been in the business for quite a while. What are new grounds you are breaking to give your clients an edge in the fierce completion they have to face?

Answer: When looking at the rapid pace the Nigerian market is developing, we knew that the demands of our customers will have a direct impact on our strategy. We always strive to bring quick, reliable solutions for our clients and assist them in succeeding in their daily business challenges. In order to bring us even closer to our clients and the market, we recently established a local office in Nigeria and developed our own Point of Presence (PoP) and teleport to enable various services that will serve the governmental and corporate markets. Our Virtual Private Network (VPN) services provide the edge our clients need and combines fibre, wireless and satellite means to create the winning VPN service suited for the Nigerian market.

Between price and quality, what will you described as SkyVision's Main area of focus in deliver products and services to its clients?

SkyVision is well known for its quality services; we invest heavily on redundancy, resilient infrastructure to ensure highest Service Line Agreement (SLA) possible. We also have a 24x7 multilingual Technical Assistance Center and Network Operating Centre (NOC) with the advanced monitoring and reporting tools. Nevertheless, we found that high quality doesn't have to be expensive; we make it a point to maintain our quality while making sure our solutions are priced attractively to keep them as the best cost effective option in the Nigerian market.

What really is SkyVision’s Africa footprint plan? And what strategies are you adopting to achieve this target?

SkyVision is a true Pan-Africa player with full coverage over Africa connecting to the Middle East, Europe and the United States all with a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network. Our network and coverage allow us to maintain our "Glocal" approach: We cater to our customers global solutions to enable them to communicate inside the African continent and with the world but we maintain the local presence, support and intimate touch that makes us unique and deserve our customers' appreciation and respect. Our plan is to continue expanding our footprint through additional PoPs, Hubs and teleports. We are also moving into new and exciting market segments such as the corporate arena.   

How will the coming of submarine cables in Africa, especially in Nigeria, affect your product and service offerings?

Fibre is already an existing part of our service portfolio. We sell multiple Synchronous Transport Module level-1 (STM-1) in the Nigerian Market already and are one of the leading players in this field.  We strongly believe in this market, investing in it and can already see results. We plan to open additional PoPs all over Nigeria and with our partners we can reach any place in Nigeria. Our recent provision of fibre connectivity to Starcomms is evidence of this. SkyVision was selected as broadband fibre connectivity solution provider for Starcomms. The SkyVision solution connects a variety of Starcomms PoPs across Nigeria to SkyVision’s PoP in Lagos and, by way of international submarine cables, enables high quality connectivity to Tier-1 Internet Service Providers.

While business may be good, there could be some challenges you wish could go away so you can do your business much easier and better. What are these challenges you have encountered delivering services to Africa?

We have experienced several challenges related to local logistical issues with transport issues when needing to deliver equipment across the country. Another, greater challenge relates to our fibre business. Capacity abounds on fibre at the shores but intra-city and last mile connectivity is a great challenge. The challenge is with the availability of infrastructure inside Nigeria and its pace of deployment. Luckily, SkyVision has internal capabilities of distribution with its well developed VSAT system that enable us to create hybrid solutions for the benefit of our customers.

How will you describe the Nigerian market for your products?

The Nigerian Market is a relatively developed market compared to other markets we operate in. Our customers are very knowledgeable and demanding and keep us on the edge. In Nigeria, SkyVision has invested millions of Naira over the years and our services suite continues to grow. We provide International broadband through fibre and wireless means and VSAT Internet and VPN connectivity to both carriers and corporate enterprises.  We recently began a campaign specifically tailored to the Nigerian market: "Connect Now and pay after Independence Day". Our campaign is a type of “Try & Buy” for SkyVision VPN Services.  Our level of confidence in this service is very high, we believe in this service and its advantages for the Nigerian market. We have already received a high volume of positive feedback from this promotion and plan to continue in this direction.  

Does SkyVision have provision for any corporate social responsibility for Nigeria and Africa?

We strongly believe in investing in the Nigerian people and do so through several activities such as ongoing training (over the past four years) and manpower development free-of-charge to young Nigerians. SkyVision also employees local Nigerian staff and local Nigerian Representation. We recently partnered with AfriHUB to connect over 20 universities to the internet and have plans to establish internet centres in strategic locations.  We have also, made direct foreign investments of N2bn in hardware, hub and other equipment.

Mr. Doron Ben Sira in Brief

Before mounting the helms of affairs of SkyVision as CEO, Mr. Doron Ben-Sira served as President of NICE APAC Ltd since May 2002. Prior to that, he was the vice president of the assembly division of Orbotech Asia Pacific. From 1996 to 1998, Mr. Ben-Sira was the Eastern European regional director for Cisco Systems and also served as the Eastern European and Middle Eastern channel director for Cisco.

He also held management positions in Siemens Data Communication (Germany) and in Mashov Computers (Israel). Mr. Ben-Sira holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management and a Master’s degree in Business Administration, both from Tel Aviv University.