John Jardin, chief technology officer of ICT consultancy and systems development specialist Ukuvuma Solutions, has been recognised as one of only three IBM Champions in Africa.
This is not the first time Jardin has achieved this level of industry recognition – in 2012 he became Africa’s first IBM Champion and today, three years later, he has secured this recognition for the third year running.
IBM Champions are IT professionals who have been rewarded for their influence on others, and their dedication to helping people benefit from software, solutions and services.
They share knowledge, evangelise IBM solutions, lead user group events, participate in forums, and publish blogs and podcasts. They actively pursue all channels to build an IBM solution- and social business-focused ecosystem.
In return IBM Champions are rewarded with unprecedented access to key IBM executives and technical leaders to share opinions, review strategic plans and pose questions.
Jardin says the benefits for Ukuvuma include continuous innovation and knowledge sharing.
“We want our customers to know that they have the very best-of-the-best working on their systems,” Jardin says. “I am happy to accept the challenge to up my game and take charge.”
Jardin believes 2015 will be a significant year for IBM business in Africa, with market excitement around IBM Verse and Bluemix, the increasing significance of Mobile First, as well as the aggressive positioning of IBM Domino as a rapid development platform for custom business applications.
“Now that Domino and XPages will feature as a technology on Bluemix, the sky is the limit. 2015 is the year of productivity. We need to stop blaming our internal systems for slowing us down and rather shift to systems that make sense,” Jardin adds.
