The podcast for project managers by project managers. Hear about Connected Conservation’s pilot plan in a private game reserve in South Africa. Doc Watson tells us about the project and the impact it has to track and apprehend poachers and save endangered animals. Table of Contents 01:00 … Meet Doc 01:38 … Rhino Poaching Problem 03:08 … Doc’s Passion for Conservation 04:06 … Dimension Data 06:06 … Tour de France Innovations 09:15 … Connected Conservation Beginnings 12:40 … A Proactive Solution 14:27 … Tracking Humans 17:54 … Connected Conservation Stakeholders 18:43 … Opposition to the Project 20:20 … Risk Assessment and Recruiting 22:40 … Keys to Project Success 25:11 … Why the Horns? 27:08 … Looking Back 30:06 … How can You Help? 31:50 … Find Out More about Connected Conservation. 33:09 … Closing DOC WATSON: I think there was almost a calling, if I could call it like that, where I could marry technology to conservation and have a look at saving species.  NICK WALKER:  Welcome to Manage This, the podcast by project managers for project managers.  Every two weeks we meet with you in mind, you who are living and working in the field of professional project management.  What we do is try to get inside the brains of those who are involved in all sorts of projects, big and small; see what has brought them success and how they foster success in others. I’m your host, Nick Walker, and here along with Bill Yates.  We’re going to be talking about, among other things, a project that brought together some of the greatest minds in technology to save a species. BILL YATES:  Yeah, this is so fascinating to me, Nick, because Doc is going to talk to us about wedding technology with a really serious issue, a very serious passion point for him.  And to hear him explain it, this is going to be great. Meet Doc NICK WALKER:  Well, let’s meet our guest.  He’s Doc Watson.  For 32 years he’s been part of Dimension Data, a South African tech company.  Between 1998 and 2002 he was on the company’s board of directors and was responsible for developing the group’s global networking services operations, and all operations in the U.K. and Europe.  In 2015 he launched a groundbreaking project called Connected Conservation, which uses technology to help eradicate the poaching of endangered species.  Doc Watson, welcome to Manage This. DOC WATSON:  Thank you very much indeed.  Thank you. Rhino Poaching Problem NICK WALKER:  Before we get into the specifics of this project that we want to talk about, can we just talk about how big the problem of poaching is?  I mean, the figures are staggering.  Almost 6,000 rhinos have been killed by poachers since 2008.  At one point they were being killed at a rate of one every eight hours, a rate that, if it persists, means the extinction of the species in six years.  Why does this tragedy tug so fiercely at your heartstrings? DOC WATSON:  Okay.  So I come from the computer world.  My passion is wildlife and conservation.  To give you your specifics, rhinos are still being killed one every eight hours, which is three per day.  And if it continues at the rate that it’s going, about 2025 we will have no rhinos left in this world, and certainly in South Africa.  And so I think from my point of view, being passionate about it, I think there was almost a calling, if I could call it like that, where I could marry technology to conservation and have a look at saving species.  And I’m sure you’ll be aware that there are 7,000 species around the world that are endangered currently.  This is just looking initially at Africa, where we want to save, not only rhino, but also the elephant, pangolin – which is a scaly anteater – as well as lion.  And those are all highly endangered animals currently in Africa. Doc’s Passion for Conservation BILL YATES:  Doc, this passion of yours goes way back; right?  I think I’ve heard you speak and say that you travel the world just to understand endang...