Author: Gugu Lourie

Computers began reaching the business world during the 1980s. Companies used them to automate many routine manual tasks. This led to what economist Robert Solow dubbed the Productivity Paradox. In 1987, he famously quipped: “You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.” By Craig Blewett The problem Solow had identified was that while computers could automate manual processes, real productivity gains would only be experienced when technology was actively used to reinvent business processes. The best businesses soon realised that computers were not just a tool to improve efficiencies but to redesign business processes. This sort of…

We’re locked-into a never ceasing journey – one where technology plays an increasingly central role in our lives. By Michael Frans, T-Systems South Africa’s head: business development: business operations automotive Already, the humble phone can now monitor our blood pressure, connect us to the office, make payments at checkouts, power up in 30 seconds, hail taxis, unlock doors, stream entertainment from around the world, and regulate the temperature in our houses. The list goes on… But all of this is just the prelude to a thrilling story that will unfold over the coming years. Energised by high-speed connectivity, smart sensors, and…

The vehicle tracking company isn’t slowing down despite tough trading conditions. Cartrack racked up 72 000 new customers in the year to end February 2016, and the vehicle tracking firm foresee excellent potential for growth in the USA and will consider suitable acquisitions on merit. By Gugu Lourie Cartrack provides services related to stolen vehicle recovery, fleet management and insurance telematics through Software as a Service (SaaS). The firm informed investors on Tuesday that its global active subscribers rose by 17% or some 72 000 units to 502 849 units in the year to end-February 2016. The South African-based firm…

I recently had the honour of speaking to Executive MBA students from the University of Columbia when they visited Cape Town for a summer school. I shared with them some of the key lessons I learnt during my first couple of years of running a start-up business. By Ivan Epstein, President for Sage International (Africa, Australia, Middle East, and Asia) and Chairman of Sage Foundation I would like to share my learnings with entrepreneurs looking for some guidance.  Data doesn’t tell you everything Most successful entrepreneurs trust their gut and instinct as much as they trust formal market research. Creating a…

South Africa’s Telkom is ramping up efforts to migrate customers to wireless and fibre technologies to actively tackle cable theft syndicates. This comes as the modus operandi of cable thieves becomes more sophisticated , amounting to over 6000 incidents of theft across Telkom’s copper network in the past year. “Copper theft has become a more sophisticated crime over the past few years. These criminals now target our manholes armed with customised heavy duty vehicles, allowing them to hitch the cable to the vehicle and drive out kilometres of cable, cutting off thousands of customers, in a single incident,” explains Telkom’s…

Ghana’s MedRX has won the first ever MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge powered by Jumia. The Pan-African competition, which launched on 15 February 2016, came down to the wire on Friday, 27 May 2016 at the MTN Entrepreneurship Festival held at Philippi Village in Cape Town. The three finalists from Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania faced a panel of experienced business leaders comprising Jérémy Hodara, co-CEO Africa Internet Group, Professor Walter Baets, Director of the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business and Herman Singh, MTN Group Chief Digital Officer, as they battled it out for the US $25 000 cash prize to…

MTN, Africa’s largest mobile phone operator by subscribers, may create another empowerment scheme. By Gugu Lourie MTN Zakhele, the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) scheme of MTN, will be maturing in November 2016. “MTN continues to evaluate alternatives for a new Black Economic Empowerment(BEE) share scheme that may come into effect on the expiry of the MTN Zakhele share scheme in November 2016,” MTN Zakhele informed investors on Monday on the JSE. “As part of this new scheme, it is possible, although not yet certain, that holders of MTN Zakhele ordinary shares at the time will be granted the opportunity of…

MTN South Africa will sell tailor-made contracts, which it expects to save customers money and giving them more control, according to a media report. The City Press newspaper reported today that the tailor-made customised plan will be known as Shifta. The mobile phone operator was also developing customised prepaid contracts, which will be known as It’s On, and which would require customers to install an app on their phones. Larry Annetts,MTN SA chief consumer officer, told the newspaper that the key driver behind tailor-made contracts was to save marketing costs – money would be saved because MTN would need to…

Being alone has many benefits. It grants freedom in thought and action. It boosts creativity. It offers a terrain for the imagination to roam. Solitude also enriches our connections with others by providing perspective, which enhances intimacy and fosters empathy. By Scott Campbell To be sure, solitude is not always experienced positively. At times, and for certain people, it can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation. In that sense, solitude is a two-sided coin, as is the case with other necessities in life, like food. As with food, we can benefit from being mindful of the quantity and quality of…

PayPal is the latest company to join a long list to ditch support for the “fringe” phone operating systems: Microsoft’s Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Amazon’s Fire OS. This decision comes on the heels of Microsoft’s announcement of getting rid of a further 1,850 jobs, most of them from what remains of the staff that came to Microsoft from its acquisition of Nokia. By David Glance Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia wasn’t simply a very bad business decision from a company that is fighting its slow slide to irrelevance, the side-effect of this singularly bad business idea, was to put nearly 25,000 people…