technology news
5 App Development Trends in 2020
COVID-19 and mobile app development are an unlikely but transformative combination this year. They are reshaping all sorts of industries and business leaders need to quickly adopt the latest trends in order to make the most of 2020. It is also critical for businesses to integrate the latest mobile app development technologies in order to reach a wider target audience and more importantly, to gain growth. Here is a list of some key mobile app development trends to consider: 1. Beacon technology /* custom css */ .tdi_3_059.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_059.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Beacons are wireless transmitters that make use of Bluetooth technology to send signals. Beacon technology is one of the biggest mobile app trends, it is being embraced by many industries f...
A Fallout TV Series is Being Made by Amazon and the Producers of Westworld
Sourced from Screen Rant. Amazon Studios has licensed the rights to Fallout, a series of action RPGs developed by industry leaders Bethesda Game Studios. A TV/web series is being developed by Amazon’s OTT service Amazon Prime based on the story of the games. The new series will be produced by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s Kilter Films, which also produces HBO’s Westworld. The announcement came by way of a series of tweets. The world of #Fallout is headed your way in a new series in partnership with @AmazonStudios and #KilterFilms. https://t.co/zk9s2qDN1m pic.twitter.com/r5KZHvRM1s — Bethesda (@bethesda) July 2, 2020 “Fallout is one of the greatest game series of all time. Each chapter of this insanely imaginative story has cost us countless hours we could have spent with family and friends...
eCommerce Surges by 139% Amidst Pandemic, Research Shows
Sourced from Innovation Village. South Africa’s eCommerce industry is booming retailers were forced to take their operations online due to lockdown and safety restrictions. Now, with lockdown restrictions easing, the temptation is to throttle back on online efforts and go back to the ways of old. That would be a big mistake, believes Warrick Kernes, founder of the Insaka eCommerce Academy. “Businesses really need to embrace this and make it part of their strategy.” At this time, more South Africans are delving into online buying for everything from groceries and toiletries to hardware and digital devices. But it’s when you drill down into the statistics that the true uptake becomes apparent. Just recently payment gateway PayFast released information regarding transactions during the Januar...
HPE South Africa Appoints Two New Roles
Sourced from Silicon Angle Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) South Africa has recently appointed Sandile Dube and Tumi Kgonare as its new Sales and Channel Manager and Distribution Team Lead respectively. These appointments are said to bolster HPE’s support in the local market whilst providing support to channel partners. Dube and Kgonare bring with them a wealth of industry knowledge, with more than 30 years’ combined experience in various ICT roles including sales, channel and distribution, product management and marketing. Before joining HPE South Africa, Dube was the sales head for Britehouse, a division of Dimension Data Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Kgonare the Partner Business Manager for HP Inc. Commenting on her new role, Kgonare says she is excited to be at the forefront of ent...
Security Flaw in Health Startup Exposed User Accounts and Medical Information
Sourced from LogBox. LogBox, a South African medical data startup that claims it is an “absolutely secure” way to replace paper forms and documentation in sharing patient data with doctors, has exposed user accounts and sensitive patient data following a lapse in security. Anurag Sen, a security researcher, found an exposed database belonging to the company. The database contained account access tokens for thousands of LogBox users, which if used would grant full access to the accounts and the information therein of users without even needing to input a password. Sen had reported to LogBox that their database has been exposed, but did not hear back. TechCrunch writes that the database has been pulled offline as soon as it reached out. LogBox’ database leak comes just as the country’s new d...
MTN Appoints New CEOs in Benin and Cameroon
Image sourced from Pinterest. MTN has appointed new CEOs for two of its West African operations, MTN Cameroon and MTN Benin. Stephen Blewett, the current CEO of MTN Benin, will take the helm at MTN Cameroon on 1 August 2020 when Uche Ofodile, the current CEO of MTN Liberia, will become the CEO of MTN Benin. “I would like to congratulate Stephen and Uche on their appointments,” says MTN Group president and CEO, Rob Shuter. “Both are renowned for harnessing the power of people to move businesses forward. This is evident in the significant improvements in employee engagement, as well as overall performance, at MTN’s operations in Benin and Liberia in the past few years.” Karl Toriola, VP for MTN’s West and Central Africa region, thanked Stephen and Uche for their commitment and contribution: ...
5 Trends to Consider When Developing a Cybersecurity Awareness Training Program
Among the wide range of reasons that cause cybersecurity incidents, inappropriate use of IT resources by employees remains a challenge for businesses. In 2019, half (52% enterprise, 50% SMBs) of companies faced a data breach because of this, as revealed in a Kaspersky survey of IT decision-makers. Quite surprisingly, companies experienced this almost as often as their devices being infected with malicious software. This shows that businesses need to explain to their employees how to recognise ‘dangerous’ situations and ensure they know how to react appropriately. Security awareness training programmes are designed to teach important cybersecurity hygiene. To make sure courses deliver the desired results, companies should meet modern learners’ requirements and the current trends in corporat...
No Major Changes Expected for Facebook’s Policies Amidst Worldwide Boycott
Sourced from BBC. Facebook and its family of apps have been embroiled in a far-reaching ad boycott of its platforms. The boycott, started by civil rights groups in the US, has been joined by hundreds of companies worldwide, including the likes of Unilever, Microsoft and Coca-Cola. The campaign, #StopHateforProfit, calls for Facebook to implement stricter measures to rid hate speech and racism on its platform during a time when the US is embroiled in daily protests against systemic racism and police brutality. New reports indicate that Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg is not worried by the boycott and has no intention of changing any of Facebook’s policies regarding hate speech or otherwise on its apps. Zuckerberg allegedly says that the boycott is more of a PR issue than one that will harm t...
Commvault and Microsoft Partner to Deliver SaaS and Cloud Technology Solutions
Commvault and Microsoft have entered into a multi-year agreement that tightly integrates the go-to-market, engineering and sales of Commvault’s Metallic Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) data protection portfolio with Microsoft Azure – in the hopes of delivering ultimate scale and trusted security with simple SaaS management. Commvault and Microsoft are bringing together these two technologies – Azure and Metallic SaaS – to meet the need for proven data protection backed by powerful scale and multi-layered security. According to the companies, Metallic not only enhances the protection of Microsoft Office 365 data in the case of accidental deletion, corruption, and malicious attacks but it also offers a range of additional options from VMware and Microsoft SQL database backup to Endpoint protect...
5 Interesting New Features Coming to WhatsApp
WhatsApp has announced a set of new features coming to the app in the next few weeks, including the launch of WhatsApp Dark Mode for its desktop platform amongst others. “WhatsApp is already used and loved by more than 2 billion people around the world. While our focus remains on providing a simple, reliable and private way for people to chat with friends and family – we also continue to push forward our product design to make sure WhatsApp remains the most useful way for anyone, anywhere to connect,” a blog post about the new features reads. [embedded content] The chat service launched dark mode on its smartphone app for iOS and Android in March and now is set to roll out a version of the interface design for WhatsApp desktop, as well as a few more interesting new features. /* custom css ...
KaiOS and Econet Launch Zimbabwe’s 1st 3G Feature Phone
KaiOS Technologies and Econet Wireless Zimbabwe have launched the Atom 3G phone – said to be the country’s first 3G smart feature phone. Announcing the launch, Econet said the new handset will be bundled with a 3-month data package, offering customers 6GB of FREE data upon every purchase. The phone will be available at half the average price of a basic Android smartphone sold in Zimbabwe, making the Atom 3G one of the most affordable 3G devices in the country. “The COVID-19 pandemic has made life difficult for people in Zimbabwe. We want to help them get online, communicate with their loved ones locally and abroad via WhatsApp, Sasai or regular cellular voice calls. We also want our customers to access valuable content at this time, such as medical tips and advice,” says Econet COO, Navdee...
Google Launches Nonprofits Initiative in Nigeria
Sourced from IOL. Google has launched the “Google for Nonprofits” in Nigeria, aiming to empower NPOs across the country by providing them with free premium services. Google for Nonprofits will give access to a collection of premium apps to organisations that qualify for the program. These will be the same tools used by large enterprises. NPOs will be given the rights to use the tools at no cost. Once qualifying, NPOs can use tools such as Google Ad Grants, G-Suite for Nonprofits, YouTube’s nonprofit programs and more. These premium apps are to assist nonprofits to work more quickly and efficiently. They are to spur more supporters into action, and for them to tell their stories in more compelling ways. Nonprofits can qualify for a grant of up to $10,000 a month that is available for six mo...
