Ken Kagota0
Ken Kagota

Thirty years architecting digital transformation for Dell, IBM and Siemens — now building three ventures that carry it forward.

KenKagota

Nairobi, Kenya
(Scroll)
Dell TechnologiesIBMSiemensWestconAWS re/StartAWS Partner AccreditationAWS re/Start Graduate & MentorGoogle Cloud CompetenciesCloudflare SecurityDevice as a Service (DaaS)UEM ExpertDell TechnologiesIBMSiemensWestconAWS re/StartAWS Partner AccreditationAWS re/Start Graduate & MentorGoogle Cloud CompetenciesCloudflare SecurityDevice as a Service (DaaS)UEM Expert

(About)

From enterprise server rooms to classrooms without laptops.

I spent three decades designing the digital workspaces that global giants like Dell, IBM and Siemens run on — unified endpoint management, hybrid cloud, and the MarTech/CRM stacks that hold a business together. Somewhere along the way I started asking why that same infrastructure never reached the teachers and students who needed it most. So I built the businesses that would.

30+
years in enterprise tech
500+
teachers trained pro bono
3
ventures, one architect

(The long version)

  1. 2026 — Present

    GY-Next, Greece

    COO / CIO

    Applying workforce-transformation and cloud-architecture expertise inside a live European telecom operator — proof of the same philosophy at enterprise scale.

  2. 2025 — Present

    The Shule Project

    Founder & CEO

    Architected a donor-funded platform bridging the digital divide in education — leading 1 Teacher 1 Laptop, 1 Student 1 Laptop, and 1 School 1 Lab.

  3. 2022 — Present

    KaribuKloud (KEKA Precision Technologies)

    CEO & Managing Director

    Designed TechFlex (identity & UEM), MobiFlex (mobile endpoints), and TechLease (PC-as-a-Service) for complete device lifecycle management.

  4. 2022 — Present

    Ken's Virtual Workspace

    Founder & Lead Architect

    Central hosting and cloud-services backbone for KaribuKloud and The Shule Project — domains, security, and SaaS operations.

  5. 2011 — 2021

    Dell Technologies

    Client Solutions Specialist & Site Lead

    Advised regional enterprises on client solution frameworks, holding up to 86% market share in Ethiopia. Led leadership training as Kenya site lead.

  6. 2010 — 2011

    WestconAfrica

    Regional Sales Manager, Service Providers

    Built key accounts in value-added distribution; hit an $10M+ annual target within 8 months.

  7. 2008 — 2010

    Soulco Kenya Limited

    Sales Manager

    Grew annual sales revenue from $2.3M to $7M as the key technical contact for Sun, Fujitsu, Symantec, and Siemens.

  8. 2006 — 2008

    Siemens Enterprise Communications

    Senior Corporate Account Manager

    Architected voice and data solutions for enterprise data-centre environments.

  9. 1999 — 2003

    IBM East Africa

    Regional Brand Manager, Enterprise Server Group

    Designed and sold enterprise server solutions across East Africa; delivered technical training to regional partners.

(Certifications)

AWS Partner AccreditationAWS re/Start Graduate & MentorGoogle Cloud CompetenciesCloudflare SecurityDevice as a Service (DaaS)UEM Expert

(The story)

I did not set out to run three companies.

Each one exists because the previous one ran into something it could not solve alone.

  1. 1994 — 2021

    Three decades inside the machine

    IBM, Siemens, Westcon, then a decade at Dell Technologies. I spent thirty years learning how enterprises actually run — unified endpoint management, hybrid cloud, the identity and CRM plumbing nobody sees until it breaks. That is the education you cannot buy.

  2. 2022

    Building the backbone

    I left to build the layer I kept watching institutions go without. Ken's Virtual Workspace became the hosting and cloud operations backbone; KaribuKloud followed as the security practice, because secure-by-default is a discipline, not a feature you bolt on afterwards.

  3. Throughout

    A long-standing commitment to education

    Underneath all of it is something that predates every company: a dedication to education and to empowering children. A printer here, laptops there, a box of geometrical sets — those were never the point. They were evidence. Nabwani Secondary made me Chairman of the Board and Nabwani Primary made me Patron; I applied for neither. Both were a response to a commitment that had already been visible for years.

  4. 2025

    Turning the infrastructure toward schools

    The Shule Project is what happens when you point enterprise-grade device management at a classroom. Not refurbished hand-me-downs — current, secure, managed devices for teachers and students, funded by donors and run on the same platform that serves my commercial clients.

  5. 2026 — 2027

    Where this is going

    Both Nabwani schools get a fully equipped IT lab by the end of 2026, operational in Q1 2027. That is the near-term promise. The longer one is simple: every school that wants a lab should be able to get one.

(Ventures)

Three companies. One operating philosophy.

(Need a website?)

A website that works for you.

Not a digital business card that sits there looking pretty. A site with real business logic behind it — automation, workflows, and the same infrastructure discipline I spent thirty years learning at Dell, IBM and Siemens. It is better than anything you are picturing right now.

Let's Do IT Better

(Vlogs, not blogs)

Most people don't read. So I stopped writing.

Short-form video on cloud architecture, security, and building in Kenya — instead of another blog nobody finishes.

Filming soon

Why I stopped writing blogs

The case for short-form video over the written word — and what to expect from this channel.

Filming soon

Inside a Managed Device rollout

A walkthrough of what it actually takes to get secure, current devices into a classroom.

Filming soon

Cloud architecture, plain English

Breaking down UEM, zero trust, and edge security without the jargon.

(Insights)

The long-form thinking behind the short-form videos.

Notes on cloud architecture, security, and building technology businesses in Kenya — for the few things that deserve more than a vlog.

Cloud & Security

Why every SME needs a UEM strategy, not just antivirus

Unified endpoint management explained for founders who inherited a stack of unmanaged laptops.

Coming soon
Leadership

What 30 years at Dell, IBM and Siemens taught me about scale

The enterprise playbook, translated for teams that will never have an enterprise budget.

Coming soon
Impact

Inside The Shule Project's device lifecycle

How a laptop funded today is still being tracked, secured, and maintained five years from now.

Coming soon

(Beyond the boardroom)

Architect on weekdays. Farm hand and petrol-head on weekends.

The résumé says solution architect. The rest of the story includes a couple of very opinionated dogs, a race track, and a shamba that does not care about my meeting schedule.

Formula 4 — thumbs up, heart racing
Formula 4 — thumbs up, heart racing
The dogs run the compound, not me
The dogs run the compound, not me
Shamba mornings, before the laptop opens
Shamba mornings, before the laptop opens