LAST month African telecoms service provider Internet Solutions (IS) launched Ignite, a suite of technology solutions focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Essentially, an Ignite account gives access to a range of online services that IS and its subsidiaries (including MWeb Business and IS Direct) offer, but sliced and diced and nicely packaged with SMEs in mind.
Through a single login on the site, entrepreneurs can sign up for Internet access, employee management tools and communication services — including mail hosting (plus contacts and calendars, naturally), cloud-based PBX, and even a fax-to-e-mail line (should such a thing be useful to you).
There’s a cloud accounting package you can select for R165/month (besides a free 30-day trial of it). Other services include cloud servers and backup, and even “Web presence”, which is a simple site-building and hosting service.
It is all self-service, and priced on a month-to-month basis — meaning that it is scalable as your company grows (or downsizes), and there are no prohibitive 24-month or annual contracts to tie you down.
Of course, affordable services in this vein are not totally new. Some of the services in the Ignite suite have competing “freemium” tools out there, and software-as-a-service is now a solidly established model that has had huge uptake in the past few years, especially from smaller enterprises.
Having said that, I am impressed with the Ignite offering: the full suite from which to pick and choose and to self-manage, all from a local supplier that gives you a frankly impressive degree of control over your monthly financial commitment.
Signing up to the service is paperless, painless and quick, and once you’re on, you can obtain support from client managers and a call centre that is contactable around the clock.
IGNITE
Pros: DIY Web services, on a pay-as-you-go basis
Cons: None to speak of
Price: Mail from R78.40/month. Site hosting from R110/month
For more: http://www.ignite.co.za
Cool factor: ****
Usability: *****
Value for money: ****