Author: Gugu Lourie

By Staff Writer Business Connexion (BCX) has launched the first pay-as-you-go service for Windows Azure Pack out of its carrier-neutral, certified Tier IV data centre. The solution combines enterprise-class control and compliance with a fully managed service and self-provisioning, providing clients with flexibility and increasing their agility in the market. The tech firm, which is being bought by Telkom, is the only gold certified Microsoft Cloud Operating System Network (COSN) partner in Africa, “There is no doubt that local markets are becoming increasingly competitive,” says Jacques Loubser, Managing Executive of Converged Infrastructure Solutions, at Business Connexion. “Technology in itself…

By Staff Writer MTN has once again added another feather in its cap following the announcement that the mobile operator has been conferred the Icon Brand status and ranked the number one brand in the Telecommunications Category in the 2015/2016 Icon Brands Survey. The Icon Brands are brands which foster a sense of patriotism and unity and are used loyally by South Africans across the age, income, race and language spectrums. These brands define a common experience to which South Africans are committed, and plough the requisite investment to back up this commitment. The survey was conducted by the…

By Staff Writer The re-emergence of load shedding across the country has reminded consumers of the need to keep their mobile devices fully charged in the event of unexpected power cuts. In order to help consumers stay ‘powered up’, Samsung Electronics South Africa presents the external battery pack – a small but effective device which can be used to top-up any Samsung smartphone, wearable or tablet battery. Samsung’s battery packs are the ultimate accessory, ensuring that communication and entertainment don’t go off when the lights do. The stylish designs and compact sizes also make these products an essential portable…

Datatec, South Africa’s technology firm, is planning to spend $42 million (R524 million) to buy US-based Advanced Technology Integration Group (ATIG) from MCP. The tech firm the acquisition will be facilitated through its subsidiary Logicalis, which has conditionally agreed to buy ATIG, a solution provider offering system integration and professional services to enterprise and commercial customers across the Midwest region of the United States. Datatec is an international ICT solutions and services group operating in more than 60 countries across North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific. The Group’s service offering spans the technology, integration and consulting sectors of the…

By Anton Harber The Financial Times, one of the great global journalism institutions, has been sold by the Pearson Group to the Japanese media company Nikkei. This ends 60 years of benign custodianship, which has allowed the pink paper to be one of the more successful of the newspapers dealing with the challenges of the internet. The 127-year-old FT now has 70% of its audience paying to read it online and made a £25m profit this year. The FT is looking healthier than most newspapers, partly because it occupies a valuable niche, but also because it has had the shelter of…

Sophisticated yet simple analysis is critical to ensure product availability, maintain quality and control costs By David Telford At its heart, supply chain management requires a balancing of operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and quality. Managing the true cost to serve for each and every order is the aspiration to allow better negotiation and value creation across the supply chain. Customer and consumer centricity helps anticipate product and service requirements. Supply Chains are becoming more extended and complex with a consequent increase in risk and the need for resilience. There are multiple data sources making it difficult to manage and measure end-to-end processes…

By Craig Lowe, MD at execMobile In today’s digitally driven, information saturated world, data privacy is a massive issue. One only needs to look at recent high profile cases of corporate cybercrime (Sony, AshleyMadison.com) to grasp the scope of the challenge. On the local front, the imminent implementation of the Protection of Personal Information Bill (‘POPI’) is placing data privacy under a particularly glaring spotlight. As local companies prepare for POPI, they are being forced to take a hard look at their systems and processes, and to ask critical questions around various internal policies. As this process unfolds, I believe that…

By Staff Writer Entries for the annual MTN Business App of the Year Awards taking place on 13 August in Johannesburg have closed, and an expert panel of judges that is adjudicating the process is evaluating the submissions. Now in its fourth year, the awards have become the premier event of its kind in South Africa and sees developers from across the country coming up with innovative solutions for some of the socio-economic challenges that we face. “The quality of the submissions to this year’s event has been nothing short of outstanding. Our panel of judges have a difficult…

By Staff writer Solidarity Union on Tuesday in a statement lambasted Telkom for paying its ex-chief financial officer Jacques Schindehütte  close to R19 million, describing the total package as a ‘waste’. The union said that Telkom could have paid the salaries of about 80 technicians for a year with the money paid to Schindehütte. Schindehütte was paid R18.8 million, which consist of a R6.6 million guaranteed package, no short-term incentives, and R12.2 million in  fringe and other benefits. Marius Croucamp,Solidarity spokesman,  said he average technician employed by Telkom earns about R20 000 per month before deductions. Therefore, with the R19 million…

By Staff Writer Vodacom’s location-based deals app, Vouchercloud, has  reached more than 2 million users in South Africa and delivered almost R500 million in savings for local consumers in just over a year since its launch. Vouchercloud is a geo-location enabled product that seeks out the best local deals, displays them via the mobile phone, and allows users to redeem either digital or printed vouchers at participating retailers. Vouchercloud has far exceeded its original target of one million users in South Africa by March 2015. In fact, more than two million subscribers now access Vouchercloud via feature phone by dialing…