Connectivity in Africa too often fails where it matters most: at the edge. When fibre is cut or mobile coverage falters, businesses are left counting the cost in lost revenue, disrupted operations, and customer frustration. For SMEs, the financial hit can be crippling; for larger enterprises, it multiplies across every branch.
Furthermore, global networking solutions are often ill-suited to the realities of Africa. Many imported SD-WAN platforms assume stable fibre, require expensive hardware, charge dollar-based annual licensing fees, and rely on overseas support teams. As imported solutions, they come with costly Dollar-based pricing complexity that makes them inaccessible to most SMEs, and a questionable return on investment even for bigger players.
It is a problem that is as much about economics as it is about engineering.
“Connectivity is the lifeblood of modern business, but it is pointless if it is not affordable, resilient, and secure where it matters most, i.e. the edge,” says Ralph Berndt, Head of Sales and Marketing at inq. South Africa. “Africa needs solutions that work here, not ones adapted from somewhere else and marked up for our market.”
A home-grown alternative to SD-WAN at a quarter of the cost
That philosophy led to the development of inq. EdgeSentry. This is a fully managed connectivity and security service designed specifically for African infrastructure conditions, rather than trying to squeeze African businesses into a global template, inq. EdgeSentry begins with the realities on the ground: diverse last-mile options, awareness of power instability, and a range of IT capabilities across organisations.
inq. EdgeSentry combines intelligent failover, built-in security, and real-time network visibility into a single solution. It can protect a single-site SME just as effectively as a multi-branch enterprise. And because it is developed and supported locally, it delivers enterprise-grade features without enterprise-sized costs.
“This is not another imported box with a new sticker on it. Inq. EdgeSentry is made in Africa for Africa. It is familiar with our infrastructure, our challenges, and our price sensitivities. We have built it to deliver maximum value at a price point that works for SMEs, while still scaling for the largest enterprises,” says Berndt.
Solving the downtime problem
One of the unique strengths of inq. EdgeSentry is its ability to tell the difference between a network outage and a power outage. For African businesses, this is critical. Too often, SLA conversations with service providers are clouded by guesswork. For example, was it the fibre line that failed, or did local power instability cause the site to go offline?
The inq. EdgeSentry solution cuts through the uncertainty with clear reporting that pinpoints the root cause. That means your SLAs are based on facts, not assumptions, and your IT team knows exactly where to act.
At the same time, inq. EdgeSentry prevents downtime with automated LTE failover. If the primary link (whether fibre, microwave, or satellite) goes down, the system switches to LTE in seconds. A multi-SIM design ensures access to the best-performing mobile network in the area, reducing the risk of coverage gaps. Because LTE usage is billed on a pay-per-use basis, you never pay for bandwidth you do not use.
For companies with multiple sites, this failover capability can be extended across locations using pooled data, further optimising costs.
“We are not asking you to double your spend to double your reliability. We are giving you the same resilience global companies take for granted, but tuned for African budgets.”
Security built in
inq. EdgeSentry integrates security directly into the service, removing the need for separate appliances and subscriptions. Features include DNS filtering, managed threat feeds, vulnerability scanning, and zero-trust guest Wi-Fi. Administrators can block malicious sites, enforce safe browsing, and control access to applications from a single dashboard.
For SMEs, this means enterprise-grade security without the need for a dedicated security team. For regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, and logistics, it provides compliance-ready controls and reporting. Monthly activity reports and automated SLA breach alerts provide IT teams with actionable insights, eliminating the need for manual data crunching.
“Security cannot be optional, even for the smallest business. Inq. EdgeSentry bakes it in from day one, so you are protected without having to bolt on complicated, costly extras,” continues Berndt.
Visibility and control
With the inq. EdgeSentry Portal, businesses can see the real-time status of every site, track uptime, and drill into incident logs.
A key differentiator is the transparency of automated SLA reporting. EdgeSentry does not just record “downtime”. It also distinguishes between network outages and power outages, so SLA discussions are based on facts rather than assumptions. Reports can also be configured to show performance within office hours only or across 24×7 operations, giving each business a true picture of availability against the commitments that matter most to them.
This clarity empowers IT teams to resolve issues more quickly and escalate them with confidence, backed by accurate evidence. Alerts can be sent via WhatsApp, email, Microsoft Teams, Slack, or webhooks, ensuring the right people are notified instantly.
Beyond the edge
While inq. EdgeSentry focuses on secure, resilient connectivity, inq. also offers a 360° security portfolio that extends protection from the edge to the core. This includes Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR), Security Information & Event Management (SIEM), Zero Trust Architecture, and Managed Security Services through its Security Operations Centre. It is also bundled with the option to centralise all traffic through a state-of-the-art Next Generation Firewall for complete perimeter security, suitable for businesses of all sizes.
For many clients, inq. EdgeSentry marks the beginning of a broader digital transformation.
“You solve connectivity first, because without it, nothing else works. But once you have that stable, secure foundation, you can layer on advanced security and cloud services to really modernise your operations,” he says.
Built for growth
Whether it is a small retailer with a single point of sale, a regional logistics firm with multiple depots, or a national enterprise with dozens of branches, inq. EdgeSentry is adaptable. Site-specific SLAs enable each location to have the uptime guarantees and redundancy it needs, without incurring unnecessary costs for excess capacity.
Most importantly, the service is delivered as a managed offering, reducing the burden on in-house teams and eliminating the steep learning curve of complex networking platforms.
“We have taken what was once the preserve of big corporates and made it accessible to every African business. Because when African companies can connect reliably, securely, and affordably, they can compete on any stage,” concludes Berndt.
inq. EdgeSentry — Simpler. Seamless. Solutions. Built in Africa, for Africa.
