A DAY IN THE LIFE
GET TO KNOW...
On the lighter side of things, we ask the industry-
experts what makes them tick…
Jonathan Somen
CE0, Eldama Technologies
What would you describe as your
most memorable achievement?
This would have to be the number of people who I mentored
and grew while at AccessKenya. I had people who joined
the company at entry-level and went right up to join the
senior management team. On top of that I am super proud
of having built an organisation that gave people great pride
in their work, job security and in every sense the feeling of
participating in the business/brand growth. AccessKenya grew
to become the first ICT company to be listed on the Nairobi
Securities Exchange and very much a Kenyan brand.
What first made you think of a
career in technology?
I had always been fascinated by technology in my teens
and used to play around with computers in their infancy. My
brother and I were looking around for a business to start and
then we came across a phone service called Callback and
that’s how we started. We then moved into store and forward
fax services before then deciding that Internet was the future.
What style of management
philosophy do you employ in your
current position?
I always seek to mentor and coach people. A business
cannot grow if every decision refers to me so I push hard
to grow and develop my teams so that they can make
decisions. This is not to say that all decisions will be correct,
but people learn in the process, this is the only way to grow
a company, when people learn to make decisions and then
everybody in the organisation has a responsibility and
there’s ownership. I have always run an open door policy
and anyone who wants to see me can just walk in and talk to
me about whatever they need to discuss.
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What do you think is the current
technology trend of 2017 and why?
Cloud services are the future and this was a main motivator
to start Eldama Technologies. We are Microsoft’s first tier 1
cloud solutions partner in Kenya and are looking to grow to
become the number one cloud partner in Kenya. Working
with a cloud provider takes away the headache and capital
outlay managing a data centre and all that comes with it;
power, security, CCTV and other requirements needed to
manage a data centre. As more businesses become constantly
challenged with making decisions that affect bottom line
and growth, within budget, the cloud market will significantly
grow. The challenge will be for us to educate potential clients,
constantly creating awareness of new developments to
existing clients and manage the migration. Globally, the cloud
market is growing very fast and this is expected to be the case
for Kenya as more companies realise it is the future.
How do you deal with stress and
unwind outside of the office?
I like to do things with my kids such as sport and travelling. I
unwind by playing squash, which I have just resumed after
recovering from an ankle injury, I also play hockey and go to the
gym so sport and exercise are a big part of my unwinding. I also
have a Private Pilots License and flying is also one thing that gets
me totally out of the office, as you have to stay 100% focused.
If you could go back and change one
career decision, what would it be?
None. I made mistakes but they greatly formed part of the
lessons that I have taken out, moved forward and done
better. Each mistake gives you an experience to make a
better decision in the future. n
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