Enterprise IT
ProLabs and the ‘New 5G Backhaul Economy’
Marcel Fouché, Networking and Storage General Manager at Networks Unlimited Africa As we navigate our way through the COVID-19 pandemic, we are finding that economic and social survival is tied to the ability to work and play at a distance. If ever there was a time for a revolutionary new internet technology to take hold, now would seem to be that time. So says Raymond Hagen, Americas Product Manager at ProLabs, a global leader in optical networking infrastructure. He notes in a recent blog entry that: “Visionaries may state that 5G will offer access to new applications like artificial intelligence and smart city infrastructure that could define the next industrial revolution. Companies and countries failing to act now will find themselves left behind global and regional powers that a...
3 Tech Trends that will Transform 2021
2020 can be defined by dramatic change. On every front, from health to economic, political to social, the pandemic has forced individuals and businesses to adapt in a hurry. The long-term effects will not be truly understood for at least another year, but in the short term, some more agile businesses are making quick decisions and shifting priorities. How? With the ability to transform quickly thanks to two enablers – a culture where change is anticipated, and a stable platform of digital capabilities. Take DHL Express, for example: Suddenly faced with the unprecedented growth of online shopping deliveries, it quickly scaled its IT platform to fulfil this demand. Or Philips, which invested in best-in-class process excellence to ensure business continuity and well-documented enterprise arch...
Microsoft Introduces New Employee Experience Platform
Microsoft has launched Microsoft Viva, an employee experience platform which aims to bring tools for employee engagement. According to the company, Viva has been designed to help employees learn, grow and thrive with the productivity and collaboration capabilities in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams. “We have participated in the largest at-scale remote work experiment the world has seen, and it has had a dramatic impact on the employee experience,” says Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “Every organisation will require a unified employee experience from onboarding and collaboration to continuous learning and growth. Viva brings together everything an employee needs to be successful, from day one, in a single, integrated experience directly in Teams.” Microsoft Viva builds on the power of T...
Print Versus Digital: Is The Office Printer Dead?
There’s been talk of a paperless office for years – but the office printer isn’t going anywhere soon. It’s just changing to adapt to life in the digital age. At least, this is the prediction of Gareth Brenchley, MD of Itec Cape Town. He believes that even in an age of sustainability, smart mobile working and digital collaboration, most companies still have print-reliant workplaces, and spend tens of thousands a year on print. “Businesses are still extremely reliant on printing for their business processes, but the print environment has grown up. The printer isn’t just a ‘dumb device’ in the corner of the office: it’s become part of a connected, intelligent network, with modern multifunctional printers (MFPs) giving users new abilities to digitise their documents and manage their informatio...
5 Cloud Computing Trends for 2021
Sourced from ZDNet. When it comes to the world of work, 2020 will be remembered as a year that accelerated technological change. Forced out of their comfort zones, companies either adopted or more fully embraced technologies that they might have given short shrift to previously. Cloud computing is no exception. According to the most recent “Cloud in Africa” report, cloud technology was vital in helping businesses manage the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Among the most common uses of the cloud were disaster recovery (91%), remote working (82%) and customer service activities (52%). Just a few years ago, they might not have been able to survive the storm in the same way. As recently as 2013, just 50% of businesses in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria were using some form of ...
4 Priorities Shaping CIO Strategies in 2021
With the economic rollercoaster ride of 2020, CIOs and business leaders are formulating and finalising strategies for what is hoped to be a new year of growth and recovery. There can be no doubt that technology and IT infrastructure will underpin and shape the majority of 2021 strategies – with the global pandemic having radically accelerated many digital transformation journeys (while propelling other businesses into newly formed digitisation initiatives). Arguably, the key to successfully leveraging technology to drive growth and recoveries in 2021 will be determined by the clarity of thinking around IT strategies – as well as leadership’s commitment to simplifying complexity while simultaneously harnessing emerging technology tools and platforms. All too often, decision-makers sway betw...
Bizerba Investing in Digitization and Additional Location
Site in Eastern Europe A positive development and the continued growth lead to the fact that production capacities at the German sites are reaching their limits. At the same time, new regions have evolved as clear growth markets in recent years. “Eastern Europe unfolds strong dynamics and is, therefore, a strategically important market for Bizerba”, says Andreas W. Kraut. With this additional site, Bizerba will be able to react to trade restrictions between the USA and China in a more flexible way and thus contribute to greater independence in the flow of goods and money. Therefore, the company will build a new site in this region in order to increase production capacities. As a global player, investing in growth regions is crucial for Bizerba to be as close as possible to the customer. “E...
4 IT Security Tips for Businesses in 2021
Sourced from Forbes A shift to remote work, financial constraints due to economic recession and the growth of cyber threats due to the global pandemic will affect the day-to-day role of cybersecurity professionals in 2021. Understanding the challenges but also perceiving opportunities in IT and IT security management is key for companies to maintain their protection. The recent Kaspersky report, “Plugging the gaps: 2021 corporate IT security predictions” suggests advice for each role related to cybersecurity, including CEOs or business owners, CISOs, SOC team leads and IT managers. Here are four of the main trends: Protecting the perimeter is no longer enough – home office assessment and certification will be needed. There should be tools to scan the level of security in a workplace – from...
Vodacom Business Enables Businesses to Digitise their Supply Chain Network
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create significant challenges for the manufacturing and retail industry globally, the need for a resilient and agile supply chain network has never been greater. Vodacom Business has developed various digital solutions to help businesses achieve a true connected supply chain network to help improve efficiencies and withstand disruption and unpredicted hurdles in the future. Today’s supply chain network is more complex than ever. It has become a digital ecosystem of suppliers, logistics companies, customers and other value chain partners that stretch across the globe. The supply chain network relies on the synchronised movement of thousands of interrelated parts to meet the ever growing customer demand for better, more innovative products and on-time, l...
Why Now is the Right Moment to Explore Innovations
In 2020, there was a meme on LinkedIn with a poll asking who leads digital transformation in your company. Surprisingly, the choice was not a CEO or top manager, but COVID-19. This picture perfectly illustrates how at the beginning of the pandemic many companies were forced to urgently implement new technologies or rebuild their business model to survive. But today, when many countries are experiencing a second wave of the virus and implementing social distancing restrictions again, new questions arise. Should companies invest in long-term innovations in such an uncertain and difficult period? Or wouldn’t it be better to focus on the core business and save capital on costly investments until more stable times return? In the European Summer of 2020 we, with the help of independent research ...
Commvault Launches Metallic BaaS Portfolio in South Africa
Commvault has launched its Metallic Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) portfolio in South Africa. In addition, Metallic is adding new data protection solutions, features, and enterprise workload support. “We have seen an aggressive push to cloud, automation, and an increased requirement for intelligence as companies transition to a new reality,” says Gerhard Fourie, District Channel Manager for South Africa at Commvault. He continues, “At Commvault we understand the increasing need for a solution that’s easy to undertake, purchase, and manage without any large upfront investment. Our built-in best practices mean customers receive fast, secure backups with speedy, granular recovery to protect them against data loss. Furthermore, Commvault’s deeper integration and collaboration with Microsoft Azure ...
