ENTREPRENEUR OF THE WEEK

The E-Solutions answer to the world of computers

Customers pick up some essential items

Christopher Cassells in his E-solutions centre

Internet customers using E-solutions’ services

Christopher Cassells

Monday,  January 16, 2006

In the 1970’s when he sat in class at his Primary School at Mandeville All Age – an institution located in the chilly parish of Manchester in Jamaica – there were very few computers and accessibility to the units was difficult, said Christopher Cassells.

That was a time when there were not yet a million computers in use throughout the world and youngsters like him had no clue about the rapid pace of development that would occur in the sector.

Throughout the ‘80s and the 90s Mr Cassells was, however, able to witness computers change almost everything in the world – and his own passion for the field along with it.

Now that he is in his early thirties and computer usage totals for even some of the smaller regions in the world have zoomed into the trillions, he is involved in providing a service that increases and ensures public accessibility to computers.

With Internet Cafés becoming a feature of the world’s high streets, local business E-solutions says it focuses on much more than just providing walk-in customers with Internet time. The computer boutique offers computer education and other services as well as Internet access.

Even before the web was so important computers were attracting Mr Cassells.

Academically inclined from his early years, he showed a keen interest in Mathematics, Technical Drawing and Spanish, while attending de Carteret College High in Jamaica.

After School, he worked with one of his home country’s leading employers in the field of Engineering – Alcan Bauxite Mining Company.

“For eight years I worked with that Company and was happy there because I was involved, on a daily basis, with technology and engineering,’ he said.

“As the years progressed I was simultaneously more and more interested in computer technology. I saw it as a field that was always changing and one that offered up many challenges.

“So by the time I was ready to pursue more academic studies, I decided on the computing field. At age twenty-six I enrolled in Infoserve Institute of Technology and, on completion of studies there for my Diploma in Computer Technology, I moved on over to Northern Caribbean University, also in Jamaica, where I completed my Associates in Computer Science,” Mr Cassells added.

He gives credit for E-Solutions to his younger brother who is in accounting but who also has a passion for computer technology, a degree in Computer Science and shares the workload of the business with him.

“My brother had begun his academic career with a passion for the Actuarial Sciences,” Mr Cassells said.

“However, during his early working career the largest life insurance company in Jamaica went on shaky financial ground and consequently, he decided to complete tertiary studies in another area he loved equally as much, which was computing.”

Mr Cassells and his brother run E-Solutions armed with the benefit of having spent time with their own father while he ran his furniture business.

In the same way that Mr Cassells and his brother focussed on cementing their interests in the field with courses and studies, they are also involved in studies with the services they offer at E-Solutions.

“As far as computer training is concerned, we offer courses such as Introduction to Computers and Windows XP, Microsoft Excel 2003 Levels 1 and 2, QuickBooks 2005, Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 and many other courses,” Mr” Cassells explained.

“Apart from computer training we offer Internet Café services. In a country like ours where there are many persons away from home, without their own computer facilities at hand, this service is very popular.”

He said that people come in to check anything, from their bank account balances to their email accounts. 

“They also may come to have web conversations,” he noted.

“Customers using this service include teenagers, young adults and older folks, because for them, computer and Internet access are now an integral part of their way of life.

“Especially for our Internet Café customers, and also for those enrolled in courses, who can only participate in the courses in their after-work hours, we open Mondays to Saturdays, from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm.

“Classes are held Mondays to Wednesdays, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. For these we find a higher level of enrolment coming from working adults.

“However, we also have a Saturday programme for five to fifteen year olds. These are on-going sessions that are not all computer-based. Children get tutored through the programme in Mathematics and Phonics.”

Explaining about items on sale Mr Cassells said it was virtually impossible to run such an operation without including hardware sales and services. 

“Our students and customers direct all their queries in this area when they are in here and thus we decided to equip ourselves to adequately meet their needs,” he added.

“Consequently we have in stock a wide range of computers, software, as well as parts and accessories ranging from headsets, webcams, speakers, hard drives to USB memory drives, Ultra DDR memory, memory card readers, keyboards, mice, to a wide variety of wireless cards for home computers and notebooks.”

Mr Cassells said E-Solutions is a virtual one-stop shop for small to medium-sized businesses, students and residents on a whole.

suzanne@caymannetnews.com

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