In this Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Alice Bain and Naphtale Nunes, the panel discusses: the deficiencies of our broadband Infrastructure and other technology related issues in the region; and thereafter, to what extent should Caribbean businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, continue to embrace or promote working from home post COVID-19?

 

This episode is also available in Apple iTunes, Google Play Music and on Stitcher!

In addition to giving members of our ICT/tech community a platform upon which to discuss ICT-related issues of interest to them and pertinent to the Caribbean region, to some degree, our monthly Community Chat also gives us an opportunity to gauge what might be top of mind in the regional tech space.  This month, COVID-19, also known as the novel coronavirus, seems to be still dominating our thoughts.

In March, we started a conversation on COVID-19 and technology, because at that time, many Caribbean countries and countries worldwide, were introducing measures, such social distancing, work from home, school closures, and even country-wide lockdowns, in order to lower the rate of infection. As a result, individuals and organisations were beginning to rely more on ICT, and of course, there would be implications, which March the Community Chat sought to explore.

For April 2019, we are continuing the discussion of COVID-19 and technology, but first, let us meet our guest panellists.

 

This month’s guest panellists and the topics for discussion

Alice Bain

Originally from Grenada, Alice Bain, is a Project Coordinator for a programme under the Sint Maarten National Recovery Program Bureau. Alice is ICT professional with over 20 years’ of progressive experience in the industry. She has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, a Masters in Business Administration in international Business, and she also holds several ICT-related certifications. Most recently, she was the Project Coordinator of the Caribbean Regional Communications Infrastructure Programme in Grenada.

In being based in Sint Maarten, Alice is experiencing first-hand the challenges of broadband connectivity as she tries to stay in touch with her family in Grenada, and even during the recording of this episode, some of the challenges were evident. Alice was thus eager for us to discuss the deficiencies of our broadband Infrastructure and other technology related issues in the region.

 

 

Naphtale Nunes

Naphtale Nunes is a Jamaican national residing in the Cayman Islands, and has over twenty years of experience in Information Technology across a variety of industries, including but not limited to insurance, hospitality, and retail. Currently, he is the Senior Application Support Specialist, at Dart Enterprises, where his primary duties involve working closely with business units in the acquisition, implementation, and support of business applications. In addition to working full-time, he is pursuing a Master’s degree in Information Technology.

Due to COVID-19, many of us have been forced to work from home, and to some degree, we might not have much time to prepare. As a result, and generally, stop-gap arrangements have been put in place, with the expectation being that we would soon be able to return to the status quo (of working at offices away from home).  However, Naphtale is asking, To what extent should Caribbean businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, continue to embrace or promote working from home post COVID-19?

 

 

We would love to hear from you!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Image credits:   fernando zhiminaicela(Pixabay); A Bain, N Nunes

Music credit:  Ray Holman

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