Business process management specialist Emerge Africa has teamed up with mobile office provider Mobile-Sat to provide a deceptively simple solution to the problem of capturing identity data from millions of cellphone users scattered across the country.
The Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communications-related Information Act (RICA) of 2002 requires South Africa's cellular networks and service providers to record and keep information about the ownership of every cellphone in operation. The Act, which came into full effect in November 2006, requires a record of the cell number, handset number and the full name, ID number and addresses of every cellphone owner to be captured within 12 months.
The task of finding and recording every one of the country's estimated 30 million prepaid cellphone users is daunting, with a cost that has been estimated at R300 million.
"Transport is expensive and many prepaid users will consider making a verification visit costly and time-consuming, even if they know about the Act and want to comply," notes Emerge Africa CEO Jean Moncrieff. "And filing or capturing paper documents such as handwritten forms and photocopied ID books will create a data nightmare, as the banks discovered with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA)."
Instead, Emerge Africa and Mobile-Sat plan to send satellite communication vans, linked directly to the networks' databases, around the country to gather and capture user data at the source.
"The Mobile-SAT trucks can go anywhere, no matter how remote, and set up a live link via satellite to a network's system in minutes," explains Mobile-Sat's Michael Walk. "All they need is a view of the sky."
The trucks are self-powered and have been equipped with the computer hardware required for customers to access their RICA applications.
Electronic data capture, says Moncrieff, is the key. "It's quite easy to capture information directly to the networks' core systems, avoiding all the problems of lost documents and unreadable forms. We've already developed similar systems to help the banks implement FICA and can apply that experience directly in this case. There are huge cost savings in it for the networks as well as major customer relationship benefits if they can avoid the frustration of repeat visits."
Emerge Africa's solution is based on software from Global 360, the world's leading provider of business process management and optimisation solutions.
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Emerge Africa is Global 360's master value-added reseller (VAR) in Africa. Its leaders have a long relationship with Global 360 and many years experience with the company's products.
Global 360 is a leading provider of business process management and optimisation solutions for global 2000 organisations. With over two decades of experience, Global 360 provides organisations with a competitive-edge by automating, measuring and improving resource-intensive business processes across different communities, including customers, employees and partners.
Global 360 provides organisations with the insight to make informed business decisions and the flexibility to quickly adapt to changing market needs through real-time metrics that ensure business objectives and customer commitments are managed effectively. Building on its strength in financial services, government and insurance, Global 360 empowers sites for more than 5 000 installations in 134 countries.
Global 360, Inc is headquartered in Texas with operations in North America, Europe, Africa and the Pacific Rim. For more information about Global 360's BPM solutions, visit the company Web site at www.global360.com.
Mobile-Sat
Mobile-Sat, founded in 2005, supplies mobile communication and computing solutions for South Africa and Africa. The company's satellite-equipped vans, trucks and busses are used for voter registration, training centres, disaster recovery centres, mobile Internet provision and many other applications.
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