Author: Staff Writer
F5 Networks is buying privately distributed cloud services platform Volterra for $500 million (R7,6 billion). With the addition of Volterra’s technology platform, F5 Networks is creating an edge platform built for enterprises and service providers that will be security-first and app-driven with unlimited scale. F5 Networks also reiterated its commitment to return $1 billion of capital over the next two years, including the initiation of a $500 million accelerated share repurchase in fiscal year 2021. “Current edge solutions are simply inadequate for today’s enterprise customers. It’s time to break out of closed edge systems that only perpetuate the pain of…
Seattle Coffee Company understands that while its business is coffee, customer service is equally as critical. To this end, it has partnered with Transaction Junction to make both payments and tipping a simple and easy process. In the hospitality industry, the need to focus on customer service is paramount, and delivering such service effectively is predicated on two specific angles. The first of these lies in having well-trained, focused staff to ensure that all the customer’s requirements are adequately met. The second lies in facilitating a manageable payment, regardless of which payment method the customer chooses to use. For Seattle…
The number of South African school students succeeding in maths at a school level is in steady decline. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed even more strain on learners wanting to improve and further their maths skills. Summarising the Department of Basic Education’s school report of 2019, the department claims that since 2015 there has been a steady decline each year in the number of students who sit and write exams for subjects vital to the growth of the economy such as maths and science. To participate in easing this economic concern, Ivy Academy has stepped in to fill the gap…
MTN announced on Monday that it will reward customers who download the COVID-19 Alert SA app with 1GB of free data for their efforts in fighting the pandemic. The COVID Alert SA app, which was designed by Discovery for the National Department of Health, uses Bluetooth contact-tracing technology. The app lets people know when they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. It does this in a way that always preserves app user privacy and anonymity. “One of the critical aspects of combatting COVID-19 is the ability to detect positive cases early and to isolate…
Top Sub-Saharan African banks suffered a 15% drop in fees from advising on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in 2020 as a fall in overall dealmaking transactions ate into their revenues. An estimated $523.7 million (R8 billion) worth of investment banking fees were earned in Sub-Saharan Africa during 2020, down 15% from 2019 and the lowest annual total in six years, according to data provider Refinitiv. Fee declines were recorded across M&A advisory, debt capital markets underwriting, and syndicated lending. Advisory fees earned from completed M&A transactions generated $108.3 million (R1,6 billion), down 55% year-on-year to the lowest level since 2013. …
MyBroadband Insights has released the 2020 Mobile Network Quality Report, which shows that MTN has the best mobile phone network in South Africa. The report is based on 1.2 million speed tests which were performed by 41,000 MyBroadband Speed Test App users across South Africa between 1 January and 31 December 2020. The research shows that South Africa had an average download speed of 29.33Mbps and an average upload speed of 11.24Mbps last year. MTN had the highest average download speed at 52.84Mbps, followed by Vodacom on 29.39Mbps, Telkom on 21.58Mbps, Cell C on 17.46Mbps, and Rain on 11.90Mbps. During…
Apple is in negotiations with multiple global automakers. Hyundai is one of them and we are in the early stages of talks. Nothing has been decided, Hyundai Motor Co. said in a statement. The official comments come in response to an earlier report by the Korea Economic TV, a unit of The Korea Economic Daily, that Apple has approached Hyundai Motor Group to propose cooperation in its efforts to develop an electric car as well as rechargeable batteries used in EVs. A Hyundai Motor official initially denied the report, according to The Korea Economic Daily. The South Korean automaker Chairman…
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has attacked the government for its failure to prepare for the COVID-19 second wave. The Sunday Times reported that SAMA argued that South Africa is not as well-prepared as it was for the first wave. The association also said that the government did not do enough to replace hospital workers who died due to COVID-19. On 1 January 2021, South Africa reported a record 18,000 new cases. On 9 December 2020, Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize confirmed that South Africa had entered a second wave. As of yesterday, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in…
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) announced on Monday that it has received six submissions of applications in response to the Invitation to Apply (ITA) for the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) spectrum issued on 2 October 2020. The country’s communications watchdog said submissions were received from the following entities, in no particular order: 1. Cell C 2. Rain Networks 3. Vodacom 4. Telkom 5. Liquid Telecoms 6. MTN The regulator added in a statement that it also received a further submission from Women Building a Better Society (WBBS) but unfortunately, the application was submitted after the cut-off time…
Picodi.com analytics compared iPhone 12 Pro (128 GB) prices with the average wages in selected countries in order to count the number of workdays required to buy the new Apple flagship. The official price of the iPhone 12 Pro in 128 GB version in South Africa is going to be R23,499. However, buyers will find neither a charger nor earphones in this year’s flagship’s box. According to the latest GUS data, the average wage in our country amounts to R22,579 gross (R19,327.63 net). It means that a statistical South African would have to work for 25.5 days to afford the…