MMS Africa, a provider of media management software solutions to broadcasters across Africa, has partnered with inq., a Convergence Partners company, to host its infrastructure, support its IT requirements, and assist with software customization for its broadcast solution.

The founder of MMS Africa, Abdul Mathee, says “Since we opened our doors in 2017, the focus has always been on enabling the integration of multiple back-end software solutions for broadcasters who relied on these complex environments to fulfil their mandates. At the time, we partnered with international software vendors to deliver a solution, but it was still price prohibitive for many of the growing broadcasters across the continent.”

Collaborations

This served as the catalyst for MMS Africa to commence developing its own software, initially streamlining four linear backend broadcast processes to deliver a comprehensive virtualization solution. The company began collaborating with numerous television and radio stations, managing their broadcasting software needs, allowing them to concentrate on content creation.

“One of our first major contracts was that of the Namibian public broadcaster. With this deal in place, we had to invest more in infrastructure and wound up on the Teraco back end. This enabled us to more effectively scale up to meet the demands of broadcasters as they began transitioning to a digital environment.” adds Mathee.

In late November 2022, MMS Africa reached out to inq. for assistance with its infrastructure and IT functions.
Support
“Inq. did everything for us that was IT-focused. Inq. began with the hosting and supply of our infrastructure and the required support as well as assisting us with the development and customisation of our software.” continues Mathee
This comprehensive support was essential, considering the Namibian broadcaster’s heavy reliance on legacy systems and manual processes, which had remained largely unchanged since its split from the SABC in the early 1990s.
“With the assistance of inq., we sit down with broadcasters like the one in Namibia, analyse their environment, and identify the ways to improve workflows. It is about creating an ideal balance between people, systems, and processes. Our focus is about relationships and using technology to automate, enhance, and transition African broadcasters into a digital age.” adds Mathee
Having established a digital-first environment for the Namibian broadcaster, MMS Africa can now extend its expertise to customize the MMS platform for any broadcaster or media house in Africa, meeting their specific requirements.
Elevation
The inq. team’s assistance in customizing the MMS environment played a vital role in enabling MMS Africa to elevate its solution to the next level.
Sales and Marketing Director for inq. SA Ralph Berndt
Sales and Marketing Director for inq. SA Ralph Berndt, says “There was a significant amount of customisation required, but our team went the extra mile to assist MMS Africa to deliver on everything they needed.”
According to Mathee, inq.’s presence across Africa contributed to the growth of their partnership.
Expansion
“Thanks to inq., we are strongly positioned to expand into other markets and provide a complete multimedia solution without needing to spend years customising and adjusting anything. Much like Netflix can launch in 180 countries in one day, the work inq. has done with our team means we can effectively switch on broadcasters across the continent on our platform almost at the click of a button. This has been an incredibly beneficial partnership for us and one we will look at enhancing even further in the coming months.” concludes Mathee

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