Navigating healthcare uncertainty across Africa
While Africa continues to face challenges around healthcare accessibility and cost, there are glimmers of hope on the digital horizon, explains Rodney Taylor, MD at Guardian Eye Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to become home to [...]
The CIPC hack has potentially serious consequences for South African organisations
A lack of visibility into the extent of the hack and the information compromised puts companies at risk of fraud The South African Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) holds the registration details of companies, [...]
Generative AI poses significant reputation and trust risks, says communications agency CEO
Sports Illustrated – which was dragged through a protracted scandal after it was found that its publisher The Arena Group allowed artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content in the magazine, and the subsequent fallout including its CEO [...]
In the race to digital wallets, don’t forget cash
Success in the digital payment space will hinge on the ability of new players and incumbents to converge the physical and digital experience into a seamless continuum for the customer. Extending the digital solution to [...]
How cutting-edge CCM platforms are reshaping CX for banks and insurers
Take a moment and reflect on how your interactions with banks and insurance companies have changed over the past few years. For many years, we had become accustomed to hearing the phrases fourth industrial revolution [...]
Using technology and data to improve healthcare in South Africa
Technology and data can improve and uplift communities in South Africa especially from a healthcare perspective Imagine the potential to pinpoint and react to a cholera outbreak with real-time medical information or being able [...]
Massive advances in collaboration technology are either an opportunity or threat
Most businesses are operating in rapidly changing and evolving environments, where new technologies and market supply convergence are causing industry disruptions that force them to not only adapt their business model, products and services, but [...]
Giving South Africa’s youth experiential tech training in a live environment is key to inclusivity
Providing South Africa’s youth with experiential training in a live tech environment gives them the ability to contribute to the workplace, adding to its diversity as well as helping improve profitability, writes Jessica Hawkey, MD [...]
The power of growing employees from within an organisation
It is a bitter irony that in a country with an unsustainably high unemployment rate that there is a biting skills shortage, especially in the IT industry. In this environment, it is not unusual to [...]
Technology is well-placed to end the scourge of solar panel theft
The extended periods of higher-stage load shedding over the past year has forced South Africans into action. It is just not feasible to sit around and hope the national power utility fixes the mess as [...]
The new normal didn’t end with the pandemic – it is here and people are burning out
Remember the cliche “the new normal” that was thrown around ad nauseam during the Covid-19 pandemic? Eventually, it lost its impact, and for the most part, many people interpreted it to mean something along the [...]
WhatsApp for Business opens doors to 21-million South Africans
By now it is widely accepted that a frictionless customer experience is crucial. Customers’ journeys with brands are vital, and no matter where you look or which insight report you read, customer experience (CX) generally, [...]
Unlocking Africa’s e-commerce potential with alternative payment methods
Africa is projected to have more than half a billion e-commerce users by 2025. In part, this can be attributed to the growing adoption of alternative payment methods in the wake of the pandemic. With [...]
How digital wallets are driving economic inclusion in Africa
Andy Jury, Group CEO at Mukuru, our client, was recently interviewed by Puleng Molebatsi, host of the Tech Africa Show on Channel Africa, to discuss the rise of digital wallets in Africa and the challenges, [...]
Cloud is key to helping SA’s colleges getting the best out of technology
Recurring loadshedding woes pose a serious challenge for the majority of South Africa’s higher education institutions, especially colleges. A change in mindset around the adoption of new technologies, as well as new public-private partnerships, are [...]
Five leading trends in the proptech industry for 2023
Property Technology (proptech) is changing the shape of the commercial and private real estate markets and is likely to continue disrupting the way things have been done for generations. By mixing real estate with technology [...]
Data Storytelling: The Last Mile of Data Literacy
Most organisations today understand the importance of data-driven decision making as a cornerstone for success. Our data-rich world has created an expectation that all workers are knowledge workers, operating within a data-centric culture to generate [...]
Investing in software development skills is a strategic imperative for all sectors
The highest unemployment rate in the world, where almost three in five youth are unemployed, and a crippling skills shortage - especially in the technology industry - exist side by side in South Africa creating [...]
Develop a deep understanding of processes to derive meaningful value from digitisation
No matter where you look, it’s easy to find stories about how technology can radically overhaul a business’s efficiency and competitiveness. It’s true, but starting there puts the cart before the horse, as it is [...]
Satellite internet and how it’s changing the face of South Africa
While a lot of investment is going into fibre, that is mainly in the large cities and metros. In rural and outlying areas, satellite is the cheapest and most reliable form of access. Much of [...]
The importance of automation and data strategy in future-proofing cloud adoption
Cloud computing is one of the key catalysts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). It has single-handedly accelerated business efficiency through its ability to drive contingency, scalability, almost real-time data availability, and a reduction in [...]
Public private partnerships key to driving education technology in SA
While there has been much interest in online and hybrid learning over the past few years, actual implementation has lagged behind and this was made painfully obvious during the recent spate of lockdowns. Based on [...]
The building blocks of a technology entrepreneur
Technology platform Parket’s founder and CTO talks about his journey from selling chickens on a plot to solving one of a modern city’s biggest challenges. It’s widely accepted that entrepreneurship holds the keys to unlocking [...]
Through my lens: we have a moral obligation to hold ourselves accountable and make SA better
Anyone who has not been living in a bubble will agree that the country’s mood is not at its best currently, with erratic load shedding, state capture and revelations of corruption, political fighting, crime and [...]
Are you ready to catch the boomerang?
Boomerang rehires are on the rise as the skills shortage starts to bite. The key is retaining the employees when they return. No one would argue that the world of work has changed, quite possibly [...]
Authentic employee engagement should be a key pillar in every business’s people strategy
As businesses recalibrate to excel in a world where Covid-19 has gone from pandemic to endemic, some speak about adjusting to a new normal, which, as we know, is a well-worn phrase. On the contrary, [...]
Cash is still king… but not for much longer
There are varying degrees of denial about the truth that cash won’t be king forever. Of course, many regions around the world are well on the journey to full digitisation, while others, like Africa, are [...]
Continued data centre and connectivity infrastructure investment bodes well for SA’s digital future
Ongoing investment of billions of rands by multiple businesses into the country’s digital ecosystem - ranging from fibre optic cables to wireless networks and the data centres that host the content we consume - bodes [...]
Organisations need a smart approach to addressing security concerns
With South Africa now being the third-most targeted country worldwide in terms of cyber attacks, it is becoming critical that local companies be more guarded, take better precautions against threats, educate their staff, and even [...]
Slow down to keep up with the pace of 4IR
The rapid pace of technological evolution, sped up even more out of necessity to deal with the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, has meant that businesses - and people - have had to keep up [...]
How impact sourcing can help kickstart SA’s economic recovery
While impact sourcing is gaining traction internationally, this hasn’t necessarily been the case in South Africa, with some still sceptical about whether such business models are effective in the long term. Work by several NGOs [...]
Financial inclusion in Africa requires more doing and less talking
There’s no shortage of articles espousing the virtues of fintech’s potential to financially include hundreds of millions of people who are outside the mainstream. Despite this, one could argue that change is not happening fast [...]
A Digital Transformation Roadmap to Reimagine and Elevate Brand South Africa
With the government now firmly focused on economic recovery, with planned infrastructure spend and job creation top of mind, there is renewed emphasis on skills development and community upliftment. Yet key to this recovery and [...]
Black Friday: How your business can survive the ‘Pandemic Edition’
Black Friday 2020. It’s a date that, in the past, would herald long queues, close confines and fights over discounted television sets and kitchenware. Today, this picture needs to be framed by social distancing, masks, [...]
How IoT can drive industry growth in the post-pandemic world
With the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus forcing industry leaders to rethink traditional human capital deployment and the use of manual labour, emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G and automation [...]
Cracking the Privacy Paradox: How to future-proof trust in the fast-growing data economy
With consumers and businesses alike becoming ever more dependent on digital products, services and partnerships, our digital footprints are growing exponentially. By 2025, the World Economic Forum expects that the amount of data generated daily [...]
Agility and customer focus key to business success going forward
Even as the spread of Covid-19, and the resulting economic fallout has disrupted business operations across sectors, predictions made at the start of the year about the need for agility and customer-centricity in order to [...]
Not so fast – this is what you should know about internet speed tests
Back when you had ADSL and tested your speed by downloading files, you often got very close to the speed of your line, be it 4Mpbs, 10Mpbs or 20Mpbs. You understood that the ‘missing Mbps’ [...]
Reshaping the business communication landscape
Today, the PBX has become a complete communications platform. Organisations can leverage it to engage with their stakeholders with more context, at improved speeds, and greater accuracy. Thanks to the unprecedented demand for data and [...]
AI, machine learning key to making business sense of all your data
Now, more than ever, harnessing data analytics, business intelligence (BI), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and robotic process automation (RPA) - made more accessible through the cloud - is crucial to business success. It [...]
What does POPIA really mean for SA’s direct marketers?
With South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) having officially commenced on 1 July 2020, the clock is now ticking for business leaders and marketers to ensure they remain compliant once the grace period [...]
The customer is always fast
The Microsoft Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report underscored the value of resolving customer issues at speed and the importance of equipping contact centre staff with the right knowledge. This customer demand is dictating [...]
Putting agility into action: How a leading software developer maintains quality during lockdown
While many South African businesses, across sectors, have extolled the benefits of rapidly moving to a remote working model (reduced overhead costs, no commuting, etc), fewer have highlighted – and proactively tackled – the weaknesses [...]
Reinventing retail for a digital world
The retail environment has come under increasing pressure given both the challenging economic environment and increasingly sophisticated customers who are looking for an integrated digital experience. This requires a rethink on how best to create [...]
Unlocking value in the SA enterprise sector with smart 5G solutions
Although many South Africans view 5G as just a faster way to download videos and rich multimedia to their smartphones, it is enterprises and the industrial sector that have the most to gain from this [...]
How an ambitious African start-up grew into a global fintech powerhouse
While many view Mukuru as a technology company, its business is centred around helping people at a very personal level. From humble beginnings in a London flat in 2005, to African fintech giant in [...]
Are garbled video conferencing calls driving you up the wall?
As handy as video conferencing (VC) applications have been for people working from home during the national lockdown, poor audio and video quality can leave employees frustrated. Does it sound like your colleagues are speaking [...]
Donating should be a financial decision, not a knee-jerk reaction
In a time of crisis, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, people’s willingness to donate money increases significantly, however, the beneficiaries of these donations, such as funds and non-profit organisations (NGOs), are often less than [...]
What game theory tells marketers during lockdown
While South African business owners scramble to mitigate the devastating economic impact of coronavirus and an extended national lockdown, marketing teams have to adjust quickly to a radically altered business and communications landscape. During the [...]
A new digital reality for South African educational institutions
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is having a profound and indelible effect on all aspects of society, sweeping in disruptive changes to the way we live, work and interact with each other. One of the key [...]
Fibre critical to serving the country at its moment of need
Beyond the impact that the lockdown has had on people’s lives, it has highlighted how essential access to reliable, high-speed fibre infrastructure has become for the economy to keep going. It should come as no [...]
Cloud migration not without challenges
While moving to the cloud might be easier than overhauling on-premise systems, there are still obstacles to overcome. Ryan Jamieson, Solutions and Innovation Officer at Altron Karabina, says many companies underestimate the costs of migration [...]
Tackling the Trillion Dollar Identity Fraud Crisis
Fraud costs trillions of dollars to world economies annually. For consumers whose identity data has been stolen, the impact on their lives can vary from being a nuisance to financial and emotional trauma Worldwide, around [...]
Enterprise software development must be underpinned by trust and transparency
South Africa is on par with the rest of the world when it comes to enterprise software development. The business demands are similar to the rest of the world and software development companies have the [...]
5G: an enabler of future tech, but challenges remain
While upcoming 5G technology will have a crucial role in providing the level of connectivity to expand broadband wireless services beyond mobile internet and into the Internet of Things and critical communications, it will not [...]
To BCDR or Not to BCDR
When speaking to customers, I always ask what their BCDR strategies are. Sometimes I get good information from customers around their understanding of BCDR, but in most cases it seems that customers have given up [...]
How communications service providers can maximise revenue with cloud
While cloud adoption among communications service providers (CSPs) in Africa is still at an early stage – with many regional operators only now beginning to implement concrete projects – Hassen Hamza, Pre-Sales & Business Development [...]
Successfully managing risk in today’s digital environment
Business agility has become a critical enabler in today’s digital environment, and yet outages can take it away with one snap of the fingers. Kate Mollett, Regional Manager for Africa at Veeam, looks at what [...]
What can organisations do to prevent cloud application attacks?
Sebastiaan Rothman, Senior Consultant Applications and Infrastructure at Altron Karabina, looks at what organisations can do to prevent cloud application attacks. With an increase in organisations looking to modernise their applications, doing away with traditional [...]
Telecommunications expert on sharing the mobile traffic burden
Alexey Vedin, Director of Network Monetisation Products at Nexign, says it’s time to share the mobile traffic burden and work together in perfect harmony. Digital Transformation is all around us, revamping the core practices of [...]
Nexign affirms importance of digital partnerships in telecom market with latest product enhancements
MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS, BOOTH 3B40, BARCELONA, Spain (February 25, 2019): Nexign, a leading Business Support System (BSS) and Internet of Things (IoT) platform provider, today announced new capabilities to its product portfolio that will empower [...]
The impact of blockchain on telecoms
With the blockchain expected to contribute almost $1 billion to the telecoms sector within the next five years, the technology clearly offers more than just a vehicle for cryptocurrency. From Smart Contracts to speeding up [...]
Cyber security is key to smart metering deployment
As adoption of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) becomes more widespread, its appeal to cyber attackers will undoubtedly increase, and addressing security vulnerabilities across layers - and by different stakeholders - must be taken into account [...]
The impact of blockchain on telecoms
With the blockchain expected to contribute almost $1 billion to the telecoms sector within the next five years, the technology clearly offers more than just a vehicle for cryptocurrency. From Smart Contracts to speeding up [...]
AI: the CFO’s strategic ally
By Derek Bose, applications country leader at Oracle South Africa & SADC For me, the appeal of AI to CFOs comes down to three things: * Automation: AI frees employees from mundane and repetitive tasks. [...]
Retailers have no choice but to chase customer experience
Traditional brick-and-mortar retailers have no chance of surviving the onslaught from e-commerce unless they invest in their customer experience, says redPanda Software Group CEO Gareth Hawkey. If traditional retailers take on e-commerce providers at their [...]
Progressive companies should turn CX into a competitive advantage
By Chantel Troskie, Customer Experience Senior Sales Manager at Oracle Today’s high-touch customers view their interactions with a brand, from social media and sales engagements to service and support encounters, as a single continuous conversation. [...]
Hyper-availability: The competitive edge for digital banks
With downtime and unavailability significantly impacting on the reputation of a bank, fintechs are in a prime position to embrace hyper-availability and gain the competitive advantage over the incumbents. Kate Mollett, Regional Manager for Africa [...]
Why mobile is the gatekeeper of brand loyalty today
Achieving long-term brand loyalty has become brutally difficult for South African retailers. Mobile represents an unparalleled opportunity for savvy retailers to reach customers in more personalised, efficient and powerful ways – paving the way for [...]
Availability: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity in Africa
By Kate Mollett, regional manager for Africa South at Veeam Find the article on IT News Africa The amount of data in our world has been exploding, and business reliance on the ability to analyse and [...]
Vox helps SA business maximise IT investment, get cloud ready
October 2018, Johannesburg: Integrated ICT and infrastructure provider, Vox, has introduced a comprehensive IT Advisory portfolio to assist medium-to large-sized businesses review current IT strategies or set new ones, particularly making the shift from on-premise [...]
Four Ways that Mobile Can Unlock Innovation in Brick ‘n Mortar Retail
Mobile tech can boost customer engagement (and sales) for savvy SA retailers By redPanda Software, an expert in end-to-end retail software development and support with a focus on customer experience Find the article on FastMoving [...]
