Association Of Software And IT Services Launched

The Ghana Association Software and IT Services Companies (GASSCOM) was on Monday launched to facilitate business and trade in software and services. It is also to be a strong advocate in soliciting government and other public sector support and encourage the advancement of the industry.

Launching the Association under the theme: "Promoting the Growth of the IT Enabled Service and Business Process Outsourcing (ITES& BPO) Industry in Ghana," Dr Benjamin Aggrey-Ntim, Minister of Communications said Ghana was uniquely positioned to be a major player in IT services in the sub-region.

"Ghana is a favoured BPO destination because Ghana has a large pool of English-speaking labour, competitive labour costs differential to USA and UK and geo-political stability." It is the vision of GASSCOM to propel Ghana's economy into the 21st century by delivering on the promise of making Ghana the services hub and gateway to Africa.

The Minister noted that the ITES-BPO sector had been identified by government as a focus area for economic development and urged all IT companies in the country to register with the Association to ensure maximum impact and realization of its purpose.

Dr. Aggrey-Ntim urged GASSCOM members to develop software that would put Ghana at par with countries such as India and the Philippines, which were Asian giants in IT. "You can achieve this if information and data on your projects are well documented," he advised, noting that data was one issue that was absent in most businesses.

Dr Aggrey-Ntim said other countries had prospered due to the way they marketed their products and this was what Ghana was lacking. He urged GASSCOM members to sharpen their marketing skills in order to make their software attractive to other countries adding that, "You all need to help government to eradicate poverty from Ghana."

A seven-ember interim executive committee for the Association was inducted into office. Dr Samuel Somuah, a former presidential advisor on IT who chaired the function, urged Ghanaian IT companies to take advantage of the Association saying "as companies come together we believe that they would be able to compete favourably with the multi-national companies'.

RELAX AND LET NATURE RUN IT COURSE

The world is the most interesting place to live in. No matter what you are going through, be it the time of pain, fears, sorrows and joy, you just have to endure whatever comes you way because there is absolutely nothing you can do.


God has a reason for creating you and has planned your life before you were born. Take a clue from what the Lord Jesus went through and put on the armor of braveness, determination and perseverance. for it is with these that the Lord endured the cross for a sinner like me .

Allow yourself to go through life and you will see it fullfilment with God on your side steering you through all kinds of weather,condition and circumstances.


Life is a free gift and the one who gives demand nothing in return but a sinlesslife. share the love and let live for each other. Life is precious and the greatest gift to mankind.


WITHOUT LIFE THE WORLD IS NO PLACE TO LIVE IN LET LIVE AND LOVE AND ENJOY THIS GREAT GIFT "LIFE"

Workshop in on-line Journalism

A two- week workshop in on-line journalism for information officers of the Information Services Department (ISD) was opened on the 17th October 2007 at the Koforidua Polytechnic in the Eastern Region.

The workshop which is being organised by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation (MINO) in collaboration with the UNDP, brought together 40 information officers from the all ten regions of the country.

The opening ceremony was performed by the Chief Director of MINO, Mr. Albert A. Ampong, In his speech he stressed on the importance of ICTs and the Internet in the managment, packaging and the dissemination of information.

He was of the view that if journalists in the country could incorporate ICT tools in their profession, it would go a long way to assist in the timely dissemination of important information and hence help to curtail conflicts that arise sometimes due to lack of information and misinformation.

He explained that the workshop was a “Train – the – Trainer” programme under which participants will be expected to impart the skills and knowledge acquired to newly employed staff of ISD therefore urged the participants to take their training seriously.

In his welcome address, the co-ordinator of the programme, Mr Alphonse Doe Koblavie, Deputy Director in charge of IT Centre of the Information Services Department, observed that the information officers will work more effectively and efficiently if they upgraded their skills and knowledge in modern trends of mass communication using ICTs.

WOMAN

Woman you are so special. You have been created this way for a reason.

You have all that it takes to move your world. For the power within you can remove every barrier that you come across. You bring forth life therefore can do anything you set your mind on. Let this knowledge push you on until you achieved your dreams.

Life is full of obstacles but don't allow these obstacles to prevent you from becoming who you want to be. Every woman should strive for the best in life no matter what it takes because we have the potential.

Hosting Guidelines

Service is the most important issue to consider when looking at outsourcing your website or applications to a hosting company. Follow this simple checklist to ensure you're getting the support you need:

Service levels - Whilst it is important to negotiate and get the most out of your SLA, too much emphasis is put on this. Meet the hosting provider. Speak to the staff. Find out how passionate they really are about what they do. After all, service levels are down to them.

Focus - Are you hosting with a specialist or a generalist? You want access to unrivalled technical knowledge and a support team that knows the marketplace inside out and where it's going.

Support - Find out who will be looking after your account and how accessible they are. How easy is it to speak to them? A named, known manager who understands your needs will go the extra mile to make sure you're always the top priority even if it's 2am in the morning!

Flexibility - Don't get tied into contracts. If there's no flexibility in terms of contract length it doesn't bode well for service levels. If there isn't, there should be a clear definition of what failures will allow an early exit.

Scalability - Your hosting needs may well change as your business grows or new projects are taken on board. Make sure you can easily change your bandwidth needs and increase your servers without penalty.

Stability - How long has a hosting provider been in the industry? How many people does it employ? Find out some background before you sign anything. You need to make sure that your provider is still going to be around in the next 12 months.

Resiliency - A hosting provider should use more than one carrier to provide insurance against downtime. They should be able to guarantee 100% network uptime. Otherwise, it's the same as a power provider not being able to supply electricity. There are no excuses.

Guaranteed fix time - Any maintenance work should be carried out in a fixed time and without the whole network being taken down. Spares should be stored on site and providers should have the technological capability to fix the hardware problem in-house - many companies have to order parts, which can take days.

Security - Is the data centre safe? Has the network been protected? Are there intrusion detection solutions on your systems? These are all vital security-related questions you should ask before handing over parts of your business to hosting provider. This must be detailed in the agreement .

Performance monitoring and reporting - This should be available, free and accessible at all times - any reliable company should be monitoring performance on a continual basis and reports should be available via the web 24 hours a day. Your host should live and breath hosting.

Lucky Dube ;The Voice of Africa is no more but his music still Reigns

The death of the famous Raggea Artist LUCKY DUBE is a shock to the whole world and particularly Africa. He was a man of simliplicity in life and this is reflected in his music as well.


Lucky Dube tried in his music to bring African countries together as one if not in body, but in music.

Why should the world be denied of such a great person without any prior notice?.
why would someone take the life of such a great person?
Guess the Lord God is the only one who knowns the answers.

But no matter what you think, the fact is this, the world will be so QUIET without the voice of Lucky Dube.

To the family of this great musician i send my heartfelt condolence and to the son and of the greater father Lucky Dube I SAY DAD might be no more but HE is with God and they are watching over you everyday.

To the one who has cost the world of the life of such a great man, all are cries, pain, loneness, fear, and burdens are on you head.

JAH RASTAFARI

God please receive your son in peace. Amen.