SAP Interview Fire-Chat

Hosted by Dumisani Moyo (Marketing Director – SAP Africa)

Questions

Below are the questions that will form part of our discussion, please review and propose
changes as you see fit:

1. Much has been said about the role of technology in Africa's development; how does
Namibia fare? How important is technology in Namibia's development?

In my opinion, Namibia is doing well in terms of Technology utilisation and advancement

from an African perspective. This is evident in the use of various technologies across
Namibia’s key economic sectors such as mining, tourism, fishing and agriculture. As well as
the investments being made in technological infrastructure and the drive to making
technology more accessible.

At a State level, the importance of technology was also realised. When in 2021, President
Hage Geingob appointed an 8 Member Task Force to assist the government in preparing
for the Fourth Industrial Revolution or the digital revolution. The team was tasked to look
at the readiness of Namibia for the Fourth Industrial Revolution through industry wide
consultations. A key objective was also to make recommendations towards progressive
policy and legislative frameworks to achieve Namibia’s Fourth Industrial Revolution goals.

However, there is still work to be done to ensure that more Namibian centric technologies
are developed locally to assist and support economic growth.

2. How significant has technology been in your organization? What has technology done for
your company?

At NamWater, our organization is driven by technology, many of the key processes within
our company are linked to Technology. If one looks at the Water Supply Process;
 (1) Water Abstraction (raw water is sourced – from dams, boreholes, aquifers)
 (2) Pumping of Raw Water (recording flow charts, water quality, distribution
planning and management),
 (3) Conveyance of Water through pipelines (Monitor Operations through SCADA
Systems)
 (4) Water Treatment Process (Water Sampling, Water Oxidation, the Disinfection
Process) – Add Adding Lime, Chlorine and other water purifiers
 (5) Moving Water to storage (like Reservoirs for Consumption (Potable Water) The
water we drink
 We use many form of technology in all those process to provide efficiency in how we
produce the water and to ensure we produce quality water. From GIS Systems, Telemetry
Systems, Enterprise Resource Planning Systems and various Application Interfaces.

3. Service delivery to citizens has been a hot topic in recent times; how is technology enabling
you to better serve your customers, the Namibian citizens?

The water industry in Namibia is currently faced with change, challenges and opportunities.
The recent drought we had, population growth leading to increased water demand, the
vast geographical area of the country, ageing infrastructure, changing customer
expectations, changing regulations in the industry and climate change which all have an
impact on service delivery.

Technology is helping us to better serve our customers by;

 Using early watch systems to proactivity respond to water supply issues and allow
for efficient and effective communication with customers on water interruptions
 Moving towards providing self-services options and smart metering for customers
to enable customers to better manage their water consumption and to automate
the reading of water meters
 Technology has allowed us to make water more accessible, by improving the
planning of our water networks and supply points using GIS and SCADA Systems
 Efficient customer interaction and stakeholder engagement through video
conferencing and meeting technologies
 Using technology to analyse trends, customer behaviour to better understand
customers’ and provide more customer centric service and solutions
 Most importantly, with technological advancements leading to process
optimisation and improved water security, it allows for provision of quality water
at an affordable price for the customer

4. Cloud computing has been a game changer in technology, allowing for improved scaling
and deployment of solutions as well as lower total cost of ownership with a pay-as-you-go
model. What are your thoughts on the cloud? How has adoption been in Namibia?

Many organisation within Namibia are now looking towards the cloud. The prospect of
shared computing services has many benefits, such as no longer needing to source and
maintain expensive hardware, software and personnel. However, it is important that
organisations also understand potential hazards of cloud computing. On one hand, the
cloud provides cost-effective ICT solutions, diversity of business models and flexible
capacities to innovate service delivery. On the other hand, shared computing reduces the
control an organisation has over the flow and storage of information and data hosted with
third party. Every technology comes with advantages and disadvantages, so the decision to
be part of the cloud ecosystem should ultimately be based on a sensible assessment of the
positive and negative consequences for Namibian organisations.
5. There is no doubt that technology provides enormous value to organizations; however, the
journey can be challenging. Having a reliable technology partner can make a significant
difference. How has your experience with SAP been in this regard?

NamWater’s Journey with SAP started in the year 2000 when NamWater implemented the
SAP R/3 ERP. Since then the partnership has gone from strength to strength. Where
NamWater has been able to rely on SAP for premium technology based solution to address
various challenges and opportunities presented to the organisation. With SAP we are not
only able to rely on their technology, but also on their skills and expertise, as well as various
training interventions offered to upskill our internal resources.

Notes

1.1 The Fourth Industrial Revolution is the current and developing environment in which
disruptive technologies and trends such as the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, virtual reality
(VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) are changing the way modern people live and work. The
integration of these technologies into manufacturing practices is known as Industry 4.0.