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Column Insight Plus
ARE WE MAKING THE TRUE COST OF MISSED COMPANY NEWS
TECHNOLOGY TOO EASY? BUSINESS TOP JOBS
2 12
APRIL 2020 | Issue 62
Educating employees is critical
Covering the continent
Daily news and analysis of Africa’s key ICT markets.
www.itwebafrica.com
First with IT news. Every day.
www.itweb.co.za
326 Rivonia Boulevard, Rivonia, South Africa
Tel: + 27 11 807 3294
Fax: + 27 11 807 2020
IN THIS
ISSUE
CREDITS
With the world’s attention firmly fixed on the deadly
coronavirus, it is perhaps fitting that this
Publisher edition of ICT Insight highlights the readiness of
JOVAN REGASEK companies to deal with infection of the digital kind.
jregasek@itweb.co.za According to the ITWeb/ KnowBe4 Cyber Security
Survey, business owners are generally confident
Editorial Director about their security strategy, with just over half of the
RANKA JOVANOVIC respondents describing their strategy as ‘proactive’ and
rankaj@itweb.co.za 35% describing it as ‘mature’.
Additionally, businesses must up the security awareness
Editor and vigilance across the organisation because the advice
CHRIS TREDGER from experts is that cyber criminals find it easier to ‘hack’
chris@itwebafrica.com the human rather than tackle sophisticated security
technology.
Sub Editors We also feature thought leadership from tech
SIMON FOULDS professionals covering a range of topics from humans in a
HEIDI HURWITZ digital world to workload automation and dealing with the
realities of loadshedding.
Production Manager It’s a bumper issue… enjoy the read!
SINDISO KHUPE
sindiso@itweb.co.za
Chris Tredger
Designers Editor
SANE LOUW
ANA GOLIJANIN
Circulation Manager
PETER CALORE
peter@itweb.co.za
CONTENTS
Business Development Director
CARYN BERMAN
caryn@itweb.co.za
Published by
ITWEB LIMITED
326 Rivonia Boulevard 2
Rivonia Awareness training is
PO BOX 2785 the most pressing
Rivonia security initiative 6
2128
INDUSTRY INSIGHT
Web: www.itweb.co.za Cyber security 2
Tel: +27 (011) 807 3294 Cost of load-shedding 12
Fax: +27 (011) 807 2020 Digital 14
Automation 15
Printed by , a division of Novus Holdings
Copyright ©2020 by ITWeb Limited.
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or
Innovation 18
distributed in any form or by any
means, or stored in a database or
retrieval system, without the prior COMPANY NEWS
written permission of the publisher.
Opinions expressed in this publication Business 3,16,20,22 Networking 5,10 TechForum 11,22
are not necessarily those of the editors, Channel 16,20 Security 10,17 Hardware 17,20
publisher, or advertiser. Industry Solutions 5,10,20 Software 10 Telecoms 11
April 2020 | 1
COLUMN INDUSTRY INSIGHT
Are we making technology too easy?
The Iowa Caucus app debacle reveals there is little real technology literacy, just
technology functionality.
things. Frankly, if you don’t understand If a leading political organisation can
security, I doubt you actually understand the trip over this mistake, I suspect it must be
basics of technology. No matter how ‘savvy’ happening all the time. In an act of selection
you are. bias, I found a Gartner study from 2017
We call people technology literate, but I that claimed enterprise app development
would say ‘technology functional’. Just as was stagnating. Many app projects aren’t
we drive cars but know nothing about car working out, likely because the decision-
maintenance, many people can use technology makers overestimate their understanding of
but don’t understand it. technology, while technologists are happy to
This concept was solidified for me when pander to those emotions.
SASSA once claimed it could switch its systems This doesn’t stop at apps. Banks are
in a matter of months, a claim few questioned. admitting that money spent on new
Anyone with even a passing grasp of modern technology isn’t necessarily translating into
ICT would know the agency’s claim was benefits. These changes are hard to measure
JAMES FRANCIS, ITWeb contributor. ridiculous. Educated people who inform the because we are changing paradigms. The
rest of us missed that fact entirely. benefits of switching from steam to electricity
I bet someone in the US’s Democratic Party is
sorry they ever heard the phrase: “There’s
an app for that.”
The Iowa Caucus app disaster highlights this
situation. They only started developing the
weren’t easy to find at first, either, and cost a
lot to realise.
They greenlit an election app that was meant
to streamline votes gathered during the party’s
first elections towards the next presidential
contest. It was a complete disaster, ranging We call people technology literate, but I would say
from incompatibilities to crashes to users not
even able to download the software. ‘technology functional’.
Fortunately, the vote’s paper processes
could spot flaws and eventually deliver a
reliable tally. But the app’s failures grabbed the
headlines. It delayed the results enough that
the whole bandwagon ‒ candidates, media and app two months prior to use, and introduced But I don’t recall the technology world
the party itself ‒ had already moved to the next key people to it less than a month before consistently warning about uneven
battleground. primetime. It was distributed through a beta- benchmarks either (not until after the sale).
One comment I see frequently mentioned delivery network and not an app store, and Instead, it was made to look simple, because
during autopsies of the failure is that you followed a series of convoluted security steps it was courting an audience familiarised with
shouldn’t give an app to ‘boomers in that ultimately locked people out of the app. simple technology interfaces.
basements’, as the elections were often in It wouldn’t work on many different phones, I’m for more accessible technology. I am
community areas and featured older people including relatively new flagships. so happy my printer uses USB and can’t
as party representatives. But this app was This project was done too late, too sloppily potentially blow my motherboard. I refuse
spewing problems and generic error messages and with no regard to deployment, user to use network cables when WiFi gives my
that a seasoned technologist couldn’t interpret. training or change management. Somehow, devices the freedom to move. E-mail has
No amount of elite Gen-Z fiddling would have nobody questioned those shortcomings, but improved my world, as have digital cameras,
fixed the issues. who greenlit this app in the first place? GPS and other modern breakthroughs.
Gen-Z and other generations are not much I have no doubt they thought they were But none of these render me technology
more technology literate than older people. onto something good, but didn’t actually literate. Literacy requires more knowledge
They are just more au fait with its interfaces understand the complexities involved. They and critical thinking. Yet we’ve been training
and user experience logic. In fact, I’ve yet to knew what an app could do, but not what the world to confuse the two, so otherwise
see a report claiming millennials or whatever it really is or how difficult it is to build. bright people are greenlighting significant
gen-suffix you want to name have the edge Sometimes people are confident because app development two months before it’s
over security. they don’t realise how little they know. It needed. If you don’t understand why that’s
All I encounter are articles conflating data also happens when people who know a lot too little time, you shouldn’t be making those
privacy and security, which are different overestimate how much others know. decisions…
2 | April 2020
COMPANY NEWS
BUSINESS
Streamlining Liferay named Gartner leader
the customer Liferay, which makes software that helps companies create digital
journeylining the experiences on the Web, mobile and connected devices, announced
customer journey that Gartner has recognised the company as a leader in the 2020 Magic
Kyocera Document Solutions Quadrant for Digital Experience Platforms, for the 10th time. “We are
South Africa has launched a new beyond excited to be positioned as a leader in the 2020 Gartner Magic
Web site that uses cutting-edge Quadrant for Digital Experience Platforms, especially as this marks
resources and elegant design our 10th recognition as a leader,” says Ed Chung, VP of Global Product
to make the user experience Management at Liferay. “We believe Liferay DXP provides the key
personalised and effective. foundational pieces needed to make complex experiences convenient.”
“After the launch of our new www.liferay.com
brand identity in April 2019,
this is the latest development
in the company’s ongoing Universe Direct annual review
digital transformation,” says Notable achievements for Universe Direct for 2019 include an increase
Sharon Peché, marketing and in turnover of 9% on 2018, continuing a trend that has seen an increase
communications manager at in turnover of almost 50% (48.8%) since 2016. This pattern can be
Sharon Peché, marketing and
communications manager at Kyocera Kyocera Document Solutions attributed to the boost received from increased e-commerce sales and
Document Solutions South Africa South Africa. the fast growth of deals with business-to-business clients (notably
www.kyoceradocumentsolutions. MMI and Takealot). The company expects this trend to continue as
co.za confidence grows in the reconditioned hardware space. Growth can
also be attributed to its staff's commitment to increased productivity.
This works hand in hand with the company's trust vision statement
Harnessing lessons and the monthly profit share for senior staff.
from 2019 for a better www.universedirect.co.za
2020
Businesses that don’t keep up with
trends will not be able to capture First 5G remote diagnosis of new coronavirus
the attention of their users online pneumonia
and convert them into customers, ZTE has employed its CPE equipment to commission 5G services by
says Bridget du Toit, head of means of outdoor 5G signals while constructing indoor coverage
Sales and Services at EasyBiz points. On 25 January, 5G indoor base stations were built and
Technologies. “My version is: ‘If it interconnected, and the conference room for remote diagnosis and
works, how can we make it work treatment in West China Hospital was first connected to the remote
better?’’’ diagnosis and treatment system. On 26 January, ZTE completed the
www.easybiztech.co.za rapid construction, optimisation, speed test and commissioning
of the 5G indoor distribution system at another core point of the
Bridget du Toit, head of Sales and
Services at EasyBiz Technologies
remote diagnosis and treatment system. After the 5G network was
commissioned, Sichuan Health and Health Commission, West China
Hospital, and Chengdu Public Health Clinic Center conducted remote
video consultation.
Enterprise mobility www.zte.com
grows, but printing
stays essential
One area that many organisations
neglect is secure, user-friendly
access to printing for mobile COMPANY NEWS
employees to print out documents
anytime and anywhere. It’s a
relatively straightforward process,
once companies fully understand To read the FULL company releases, visit
it. Mobile printing is an important
issue in the fast-moving digital
world. Business mobility solutions
www.itweb.co.za
are about increasing efficiency. Contact sales@itweb.co.za for any sales enquiries.
JP Lourens, solutions manager at www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.
Kyocera Document Solutions South Africa
co.za
3 | April 2020 April 2020 | 3
COMPANY NEWS
ENTERPRISE HARDWARE
Implementing Bringing new levels
reliability-based of eco-friendly
maintenance productivity
It is crucial to acknowledge Kyocera Document Solutions
that the journey to prescriptive South Africa has launched a
maintenance begins with a change new range of A4 monochrome
in mindset and an investment in ECOSYS products, designed to
technology. “Forward-thinking help companies manage their
plant engineers step up to the print output more securely and
challenge, elevating processes efficiently, while significantly
beyond simple reactionary mode,” reducing their environmental
says Mark Bannerman, MD: Infor impact. Built with long-life
Services at iOCO, Infor’s Master components, the units have up
Mark Bannerman, MD: Infor Services Partner in Africa. to four toner capacity options,
at iOCO www.ioco.tech and feature more eco-friendly
settings and low consumption
levels.
Kyocera Document Solutions South
Nebula boosts OneView solution Africa’s new A4 monochrome high- www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.
IT expense management is the latest feature being added to Nebula’s speed laser portfolio co.za
cloud-based technology expense management platform, OneView,
powered by Microsoft Azure. The new feature provides a well-
arranged digital view of a company’s IT-related expenses. This helps Mixing it up when copying
customers easily manage their IT inventory costs across different Have you ever needed to make a copy of letter-size and legal-size
vendors, accounts and locations by visualising and reporting on all documents in the same job? Well, it can be difficult to do on some
mentioned IT-related expenses. It complements Nebula’s existing machines. But not on your Xerox multifunction printer (MFP). You
Сloud Expense Management tool, which provides the visibility needed can easily copy mixed size originals by using the mixed size option
to manage complex cloud environments and track cloud expenditure on the copy or copy layout tab. The mixed size originals feature can
and usage. This new OneView product feature allows enterprise IT save you time and effort. No more copying each size separately and
teams to implement cost optimisation initiatives across the entire then having to merge the different sizes together manually. Not all
technology ecosystem. machines have the mixed size original capabilities, but many do. So
www.nebula.co.za check it out for your machine either in the user manual or at support.
www.bdsol.co.za
Cynthia Mgwabe and Kemashree Fraai, Print Studio managers
ZTE is fully supporting operators to help ensure the safety of employees.
Fighting infectious coronavirus Master Builders Print Studio expands with Xerox
With great commitment to the current epidemic, ZTE is fully To offer better quality and faster service, Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal
supporting operators, promptly responding to the needs of temporary Print Studio was looking to upgrade its existing print technology. Staff
networks' construction in various places, and will continue to care for also wanted to combine leading-edge technology and highly responsive
the health of employees and related personnel by making prevention support to enable customer-centric print and design solutions. They got
arrangements accordingly. ZTE has also established communication all that and more with the Xerox Versant 180 and the Xerox D125.
channels with local governments and hospitals. www.bdsol.co.za
www.zte.com
4 | April 2020
COMPANY NEWS
INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS
The ultimate tool for superior database How to choose a cashless
monitoring system
Sequel Support, the Cape Town-based database support specialist, has South African schools have realised
launched an innovative tool, Hyperion, to automate the monitoring of the importance of offering a
databases. Hyperion was developed in-house and is already integrated secure cashless environment. As
into the company’s managed services offering. Now, however, the initiative grows, new service
organisations that perform their own monitoring can buy the tool for a providers have stepped forward
monthly fee per server. “In today’s world, data is the true competitive – but all providers are not equal.
differentiator, and so database performance has become even more To differentiate, schools must ask
important than it ever was,” says Richard Hart, Technical Manager at questions like: ‘How much does your
Sequel Support. “Hyperion makes monitoring organisations’ precious terminal cost?’ and ‘What forms of
databases both easier and more accurate – something that makes good payment does your system offer?’
business sense.” South African schools realise the www.d6.co.za
importance of secure cashless
www.sqlsupport.co.za environments.
Standardising NETWORKING
e-signatures
The Cloud Signature Consortium
(CSC) was founded to create a Nology, Minim team up
global standard for e-signatures. Nology, a leading value-added distributor of converged IP solutions,
“It’s a group of industry and is partnering with Minim to offer AI-driven WiFi management and
academic organisations committed security services to network operators, Internet service providers
to building a new standard for and systems integrators across SA. “We are excited to launch this
cloud-based digital signatures. partnership,” says John D’Amato, SVP Sales at Minim. “Nology is a
Its mission is to support Web trusted distributor of MikroTik hardware and innovative IP solutions.
and mobile applications Minim’s AI-driven platform empowers service providers to better
and comply with the most compete and retain customers. Together, we will provide top-notch
demanding electronic signature consultation, support and services to Nology’s network of partners and
Andy Papastefanou, founder of regulations in the world,” says clients.” Founded in 2001, Nology distributes and supports some of the
Impression Signatures Andy Papastefanou, founder of top international broadband, wireless, networking and VOIP brands.
Impression Signatures. www.nology.co.za
www.ioco.tech
Free bandwidth for
DebiCheck goes live office parks
Debit order abuse has been a The ISP industry is a competitive
cumbersome and expensive one. Accelerit seeks to impress with
exercise, costing banks millions its acquisition of new expertise
of rands because of unauthorised and systems geared to deliver a
debit orders going off consumers' world-class experience that would
accounts. With DebiCheck now be difficult to beat for 98% of the
live, consumers have regained covered population. It can get
power and control to electronically high-speed connectivity to areas
confirm their debit orders with where, currently, this is a dream.
their bank on a once-off basis, and www.accelerit.co.za
Lubabalo Qoto, director of Operations
banks are reaping positive results.
www.nupay.co.za
Keith Wrede, deputy MD for NuPay
ICT INSIGHT
To read the FULL company releases, visit
www.itweb.co.za
Contact sales@itweb.co.za for any sales enquiries.
5 | April 2020 April 2020 | 5
KNOWBE4 CYBER SECURITY SURVEY
By SUZANNE FRANCO
Awareness training is the most
pressing security initiative
A recent ITWeb/KnowBe4 survey revealed that companies large and small
recognise the need to educate staff and raise cyber security vigilance.
Africa. “With data being accessed from When it comes to user concerns the survey
anywhere and anytime it becomes more revealed that negligent insiders that fall prey
difficult for IT teams to centralise controls.” to phishing scams are most concerning,
Cyber criminals find it easier to ‘hack’ which was closely followed by users sharing
the human than trying to break through passwords.
sophisticated security technology, by using “Phishing is still the top attack vector of
social engineering to manipulate users into successful breaches, according to Verizon’s
participating in their scams, she adds. data breach report 2019. This means that
“A human-centric approach is needed to behind the majority of any successful
secure the environment holistically and the breaches was someone falling for a phishing
only way to do this effectively is by building attack,” comments Collard.
security behaviour into the corporate “From a risk point of view, it makes sense
culture.” to prioritise this human vulnerability. People
Attack methods that are of biggest using weak passwords across multiple sites
concern, according to survey respondents, or falling for so-called ‘credential harvesting’
ANNA COLLARD, MD of KnowBe4 Africa are phishing or spear phishing, ransomware, attacks was the second most reported vector.
and data breaches. Both of these are practices or behavior that
J ust over half of the respondents in a recent
online security described their company’s
security strategy as ‘proactive’ – having
“The rise in the sophistication of targeted
attacks using automation and deep fake
technology will make it very difficult for the
can be improved upon with effective training
and awareness programmes.”
The top three cyber security issues that
purposely implemented solutions that average user to easily identify scams,” warns executive are concerned about are business
address both internal and external threats. Collard. disruption (27%), operational downtime
Furthermore, just over one third (35%) “We have seen targeted attacks using (25%), and the prospect of a significant data
believe their strategy to be ‘mature’, with a a combination of e-mail, social media breach (23%).
well thought-out plan for a layered security messages as well as voice-based phishing Indeed, the lack of security specialists
strategy. Only 13% report their approach (vishing). Educating users about these tops the list of general concerns reported
is ‘reactive’, with no overarching security threats and creating a general sense of in this survey. Other big worries are
strategy. vigilance to not trust anything you haven’t inadequate budgets for security spend and
This was one of the key findings of the 100% verified is going to be the new norm.” the weakening SA economy. How can these
ITWeb/KnowBe4 Cyber Security Survey, The survey respondents indicate they have be addressed?
which captured input from about 280 already taken this advice on board: security
security decision makers and professionals, awareness training emerged as the most About the survey?
during January 2020. The survey aimed pressing security initiative that is currently
to understand the pain points of those being worked on. It is followed by the The ITWeb/KnowBe4 Cyber Security
responsible for cyber security in SA, the need to secure the cloud; establish security Survey was conducted during January
issues they face and how this compares to culture; and step up incident response. 2020 and was completed by 282
other regions. Security awareness done right will respondents. Over 60% of those are
When it comes to security culture of their embed critical behaviors into the company decision-makers – 21% are C-level
organisation, a third of respondents believe culture, says Collard. “Some of these desired executives, while a further 40% are at
their company's employees have adopted behaviors are: being vigilant and not trusting mid-management level.
good cyber security behaviour, while 9% anything that has come in unexpectedly and While 41% work in ICT, the
reveal there is no real security culture in even verifying seemingly legitimate requests, remaining 59% hail from a wide range
place. reporting suspicious requests, applying good of industry sectors; 43% come from
“Just like technology and processes, password practices and being careful about very large companies, with over 1 000
people make up an important pillar of good not sharing too much about the company or employees, while close to 40% work in
security and governance programmes,” about one’s life online. This will make every the SME sector.
comments Anna Collard, MD of KnowBe4 user an extension of the security team.”
6 | April 2020
Cyber Security SURVEY KNOWBE4 CYBER SECURITY SURVEY
How would you describe your organisation's Which of the following best describes your
security culture? security strategy?
35% Employees have adopted good cyber security
behavior as part of their role
29% The need for good cyber security behavior by
employees is conveyed from the top, but not
generally adopted by employees
60
27% Our security culture is well established, using 52%
metrics to measure success and ensure change in 50
behavior and culture
40
9% We have no real security culture in place 35%
30
20%
20
10
0
Proactive Mature Reactive
- We have purposely - We have designed a well - We have no overarching
implemented solutions thought-out plan for a security strategy per se, but
that will address both layered security strategy have security solutions in
internal and external that addresses threats and place and are addressing
threats. risks we look to mitigate. issues ad hoc.
Which of the following are of concern to the
executive level of your organisation?
50
40
30 27%
25% 24%
23%
20
10%
10 9% 9%
8%
0
Business Operational Significant Loss of Monetary Loss of Loss of Compliance
disruption downtime data breach reputation loss productivity customers fines
xx
7 | April
| April
2020
2020 April 2020 | 7
KNOWBE4 CYBER SECURITY SURVEY Cyber Security SURVEY
From a security perspective, please rate the level of concern for meeting the following compliance mandates.
(On a scale from 1 – 5, where 1= lowest; 5 = highest level.)
∙ POPIA 3,5
∙ GDPR 3,2
∙ NIST 2,9
∙ PCI DSS 2,8
∙ King IV 2,8
∙ SOX 2,5
What are the most pressing security initiatives your organisation is working on today? Please rate the following
initiatives. (On a scale from 1 – 5, where 1= last; 5 = most.)
3,6 Security awareness training
3,5 Security in the cloud
3,5 Incident response
3,5 Establishing security culture
3,4 Privelaged access management
3,3 Multi-factor authentication
3,2 Identity management
3,1 User phising testing
3,1 Vendor security
3,0 Insider threat detection
3,0 Least privilege
2,8 IOT security
2,7 Supply chain security
April 2020 | xx
8 | April 2020Security Awareness Training
and Simulated Phishing Platform
Helps you manage the ongoing problem of social engineering
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
Old-school security awareness training doesn’t hack it anymore. Today, your employees are
frequently exposed to sophisticated phishing and ransomware attacks.
Baseline Testing
We provide baseline testing to assess the
Phish-prone™ percentage of your users through
T RA I N
a free simulated phishing attack.
Train Your Users
The world's largest library of security awareness
training content; including interactive modules,
videos, games, posters and newsletters.
Automated training campaigns with scheduled
SH
reminder emails.
ANA
Y SZ
Phish Your Users
HI
P
Best-in-class, fully automated simulated phishing
E
L
attacks, thousands of templates with unlimited
usage, and community phishing templates.
See the Results
Enterprise-strength reporting, showing stats and
graphs for both training and phishing, ready for
management. Show the great ROI!
The System Really Works
With KnowBe4's massive database, we analysed nearly 9
million users over the course of 12 months, and our 2019
research uncovered surprising results. The overall industry
initial Phish-prone percentage benchmark turned out to be a
troubling 30%.
Fortunately, the data showed that this 30% can be brought
down more than half to just 15% in only 90 days by deploying
new-school security awareness training. The 365-day results
show that by following these best practices, the final
Phish-prone percentage can be minimized to 2% on average.
See how your company’s phish-prone percentage compares to
your peers! The Industry Benchmarking feature is included
with your subscription.
Did you know that 91% of successful data breaches started with a spear phishing attack?
Get your free phishing security test and f ind out what percentage of your employees are Phish-prone
www.KnowBe4.com/PST
KnowBe4 | The Planet Art, 32 Jamieson St, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa | Tel: +27 21 300 8457 | www.KnowBe4.com | Email: Sales@KnowBe4.comCOMPANY NEWS
SECURITY NETWORKING
Sophos intros Intercept X for Mobile Networks follow apps to
Sophos, a global leader in next-generation cyber security, has the cloud
introduced Sophos Intercept X for Mobile with new security Applications are fast migrating out
capabilities for Chrome OS devices and improved mobile threat of legacy data centres to the cloud,
defence for Android and iOS devices. Leveraging the same deep which offers more simplicity,
learning anti-malware technology used in Intercept X for Windows, better economics and the potential
macOS and server, Intercept X for Mobile protects users, their devices for an improved user experience.
and their data from known and never-before-seen mobile threats. As these apps move from the data
Intercept X for Mobile is easily managed in the cloud-based Sophos centre, the network must follow
Central platform alongside Sophos’ entire portfolio of next-generation them to the cloud.
cyber security solutions. Sophos Intercept X for Mobile is available now www.troye.co.za
as a standalone licence or bundled with the new Sophos Mobile 9.5 Kurt Goodall, technical director at
Troye
UEM.
www.sophos.com
Innovation in connectivity for Africa
Investment in undersea infrastructure to increase connectivity to and
Sophos enhances MSP Connect from the African continent has been on the rise over the past year, with
Sophos has introduced enhancements to MSP Connect, a program both Google and Facebook announcing plans to link Africa in different
that makes it easier for managed service providers (MSPs) to deploy, ways. Google's Equiano cable will link Portugal to SA, and there are
manage and sell Sophos’ entire product portfolio. New security plans to create branches to Nigeria and, potentially, to other African
offerings for managed detection and response and cloud security, as countries at a later stage. Facebook's planned Simba cable will seek to
well as new professional services automation and remote monitoring link Africa's eastern, western and Mediterranean coasts, with a view
and management integrations will help MSPs to unlock revenue to providing the social media giant with a dedicated connection to the
opportunities, increase productivity and lower operational costs. “To African market. Equiano is scheduled for completion in 2021.
further support this growth, Sophos is expanding its MSP program www.calix.com
with optimised offerings that directly meet the evolving needs of MSPs
and their customers,” says Scott Barlow, VP: Global MSP, Sophos.
www.sophos.com Faxing over IP networks
A customer tip has been developed to offer information on faxing
over IP. The document is geared towards the network administrators
Security inhibits digital or service providers to help with configuring settings within an IP
transformation network that will be providing telephony service for the Xerox fax
The gain via application and network device. Packet jitter is the other possible issue with faxing over an IP
transformation is undone when network. Jitter is a variation in the delay between packets. Remember
companies fail to transform their that some printers will require a fax kit if the option is not built into the
security. The legacy castle and moat system, and not all printers will have faxing capabilities. Refer to the
architecture is still in play today and specifications of your printer to see if faxing is available.
breaks the benefits and design of www.bdsol.co.za
cloud and SD-WAN. This is because
you have to backhaul all your traffic
back to the on-site centralised
gateway to apply security processes. INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS
Stuart Hardy, director at Accelerate,
Zscaler’s partner for Africa www.acceleratesp.co.za
Skillcraft removes limitations with SYSPRO 8 in
the cloud
Skillcraft was started in 1991 as a general wholesale supplier of tools,
general hardware, security products, architectural hardware and
household fittings. In the years since, Skillcraft has morphed into a
COMPANY NEWS brand-focused hardware wholesaler. Over the quieter end-of-year
business period, RPM Resources facilitated Skillcraft’s upgrade from
SYSPRO 6.1 to SYSPRO 8 and the move to the Microsoft Azure cloud.
By the time the business reopened in early January, the upgrade was
To read the FULL company releases, visit completed and the teething problems associated with new systems
www.itweb.co.za had been ironed out, causing no inconvenience or disruption of
services. SYSPRO dedicates itself to the success of its partners and
Contact sales@itweb.co.za for any sales enquiries.
customers alike.
www.syspro.com
10 | April 2020COMPANY NEWS
TECH FORUM TELECOMS
Introduction to data and analytics at scale
Data is risk mitigation. It’s opportunity forecasting. It’s behavioural
analysis, and so much more. Data is a by-product of every business,
and technology has made it easier than ever before to operationalise
data and monetise insights. As more competitors adopt this approach,
can businesses afford to be left behind? Every journey starts with the
first step. Finding the right partner is that step. Information Builders
can help businesses make data work for the bottom line, and at scale.
Cutting costs and getting lean is the name of the game, and it all starts
with trusted data-driven business intelligence.
www.itweb.co.za Craig Duggan, commercial manager at Transaction Junction
A year of change in payment, financial sectors
IDC, Liferay release CX trends report In the e-commerce sector, from both a shopping and a payment
The insurance sector continues to be one of the largest investors in point of view, the use of mobile phones for these purposes will go
technology for optimising business processes. In fact, IDC research from strength to strength. Craig Duggan, commercial manager at
estimates global IT spending in this segment will exhibit a compound Transaction Junction, says, after all, mobile shopping is already being
annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.1% through 2022, reaching $126 widely embraced, as it essentially means users have a virtual shopping
billion worldwide. According to a joint report by IDC and Liferay, the mall in their pocket.
technologies that are most driving this growth are those relating to the www.transactionjunction.co.za
optimisation and improvement of customer experience (CX). Spending
on CX solutions will grow 7.9% per year to reach $27.9 billion in
2022, when they will account for 22% of overall IT expenditure in the Enabling
insurance sector. supercomputing
www.liferay.com platforms
Mellanox Technologies, a leading
supplier of high-performance, end-
Gen Z prefers working with noise to-end smart interconnect solutions
Over half of gen Z (55%) and millennials (56%) say they want open for data centre servers and storage
offices, despite the associated distractions, according to a new study systems, has recently announced a
from Future Workplace commissioned by unified communications partnership with Dell Technologies to
company Plantronics (Poly – formerly Plantronics and Polycom) continue moving the arenas of high-
(NYSE: PLT). The findings highlight how the four generations at work performance computing (HPC) and
today think about their workplace environments, including what AI technologies forward. Mellanox
drives productivity, how they function in the office and how they Marcel Fouché, networking and solutions are distributed in Africa by
handle distraction. “When you consider how many different work storage GM at Networks Unlimited value-added distributor Networks
Africa
styles and different generations are thrown together in one place, it’s Unlimited Africa.
no wonder that almost everyone reports being distracted at work,” www.networksunlimited.africa
said Amy Barzdukas, CMO and executive VP of Poly.
www.headsetsolutions.co.za
SOFTWARE
Time for new, daring domain names
Adapting to the times means considering a more modern approach ScopServ presents opportunities through call
to all aspects of the business, especially how you position centre analytics
yourself in the industry through marketing, says Domains. The Quality management is not new to call centres, but the needs around
Internet has been levelling the playing field for years, giving it have taken a shift and many are falling short on this point. Call
small businesses the same opportunities as large corporations. centre analytics solutions then come into play to fill the gap by offering
An optimised, user-friendly and creative Web site is the key to monitoring and reporting tools on calls that allow performance to be
unlocking the potential of the World Wide Web, and it all starts reviewed from every angle, and the analytics software can be defined
with a recognisable domain name. Traditionally, the options for as solutions that seize and monitor call data for all traffic that goes
domain name extensions were restrictive, but today .tech, .online, through the call centre. ScopServ provides more than just software; it
.capetown and .africa, to name a few, are reshaping the domain makes sure it offers a turnkey solution that creates a tangible difference
name industry completely. in the call centre.
www.domains.co.za www.scopserv.co.za
11 | April 2020 April 2020 | 11INDUSTRY INSIGHT: LOAD-SHEDDING
The true cost of missed business
opportunities during load-shedding
Load-shedding can have a devastating impact on your company,
but there are simple (and often affordable) measures that can be taken
to mitigate the losses.
online – and literally speaking, in business. Particularly if your business has already
It might not be a comfortable thought, shifted critical workflows and tools into
but the sad reality is that many business the cloud environment (for example,
leaders and owners are not taking e-mail and phone/VOIP), then there is not
responsibility for the simple (and often much further to go in terms of building in
affordable) measures they can take to much-needed mobility and continuity.
mitigate the losses associated with current Brilliant news, right?
load-shedding. That said, one non-negotiable is to
Feeling uncomfortable? Read on… invest in an inverter and battery packs
Unsurprisingly, given the global shift so that you can immediately switch to
towards flexible, remote and cloud-based batteries when the lights go out (this buys
workforce solutions, there is a great deal of you two to three hours of uptime).
highly accessible and intuitive technology If you have already switched over to
to keep businesses up and running during VOIP phones for the business, then make
power outages. sure each phone is not on an individual
Chief among them, of course, is cloud power socket and they can all be controlled
Rob Lith, Chief Commercial Officer of computing, which has become even more via a single switch.
Telviva. of a necessity because of the mobility – and Today, the vast majority of VOIP phones
W ith load-shedding now a grim
near-daily reality for South
African business owners and leaders, it is
critical to get a grip on what missed calls,
There is a great deal of highly accessible and
interactions and opportunities during intuitive technology to keep businesses up and
power outages are really costing the
business. running during power outages.
For a busy e-commerce site, one missed
interaction can result in that customer
turning immediately to an online rival for
the same purchase, eroding loyalty. On
a bigger scale, one missed trade (which continuity – it gives businesses that are can be effectively driven by Power over
can occur in milliseconds) can cost a fund otherwise, well, sitting in the dark! Ethernet.
manager or commodities trader millions There is a great deal of highly accessible Now, a critical – and often overlooked
of rand. and intuitive technology to keep businesses – feature of today’s VOIP phones is the
The point is that every company can – up and running during power outages. ability to forward calls to alternative
and should – quantify the losses incurred If we loop back to the calculation of numbers when there is no connectivity
from being offline and losing critical what missed opportunities are costing on one line. So, for example, if your Cape
communications with customers and staff. your business, then having this figure in Town office is in the dark and no longer
Why? Simply put, if you truly mind would quite possibly make the idea connected online, you can make sure
understood this figure, you would likely of instigating a few strategic investments VOIP calls are directed to the office in
take more proactive action to invest in and far more palatable… possibly even non- Johannesburg which is still online (or to
install the infrastructure that can keep you negotiable. your home office). This way, your business
12 | April 2020INDUSTRY INSIGHT: LOAD-SHEDDING
and staff will not miss a trick.
Another important tool which savvy
South African businesses can be harnessing
is the emergence of softphone software
for mobile devices (in addition to PCs and Indeed, the cloud is fast becoming the critical
laptops).
Essentially, softphones allow users
lifeline for local businesses.
to make VOIP calls directly over their
computers – but with recent mobile
trends, many developers have begun
integrating softphone software directly critical lifeline for local businesses – so it Moreover, as new data centres come
onto users’ mobile devices. Consequently, is imperative that leaders and decision- online in SA and more data becomes
mobile users are given the same softphone makers ensure they have the right ‘resident’ in SA (as opposed to sitting in
features they would have on their desktop. supporting infrastructure and tools to data centres abroad), we can expect even
Increasingly, as telcos such as Vodacom maximise the cloud environment (mobile faster, more responsive and more robust
and MTN struggle to keep their own VOIP apps, call forwarding, etc). cloud environments in the near future.
networks up and running during outages, Even more good news? Data centre So, although load-shedding can give
advanced softphone software and mobile providers that essentially power your business leaders a persistent headache,
VOIP apps will arguably become even more cloud environments have proven to be it also represents a great opportunity to
critical to businesses that simply have to reliable and have not been offline once leverage world-class cloud infrastructure
stay connected to survive. despite frequent and ongoing countrywide – and build ever-increasing mobility,
Indeed, the cloud is fast becoming the load-shedding. agility and resilience into your business.
13 | April 2020 April 2020 | 13INDUSTRY INSIGHT: DIGITAL
Society 5.0: Humans in the digital world
Welcome to Society 5.0, where cyberspace and physical space collide,
and information overload, fake news and social media addiction are
commonplace digital problems.
context-relevant searches using techniques Access to information is no longer a
such as frequency for relevance, where search big obstacle; rather, making sense of the
engines provide information according to information and presenting it in such a way
popularity. that it is accessible is the focus of new teaching
The access to information also links to the models.
opportunities for skills training, where humans
can now not only have access to unlimited Threats
online courses, but institutions are constantly One of the biggest concerns we have
renewing curricula to be more relevant in a currently in a changing world is the threat of
changing world. manipulation of information for propaganda
purposes. Fake news is a reality and we
Weaknesses cannot believe what we read on many of the
One key weakness that we are currently forums on the Internet.
experiencing in this digital world is information A lot of attention is given to the fact that
Alta van der Merwe, Deputy dean, teaching overload. We often find ourselves asking: some of the larger platforms do not respect
and learning within the EBIT Faculty at the
What should I do next? At what should I look the use of personal information for personal
University of Pretoria.
next? What is the most important? How do I use. Mail platforms use special software to
T he concept of Society 5.0 was introduced
in Japan in the 5th Science and
Technology Basic Plan. It follows the hunting
society (Society 1.0), agricultural society
(Society 2.0), industrial society (Society 3.0),
There is a blur between the real world and the
and information society (Society 4.0). virtual world.
The Cabinet Office of Japan defines Society
5.0 as: “A human-centred society that
balances economic advancement with the
resolution of social problems by a system that
highly integrates cyberspace and physical distinguish what to spend time on and what protect our mail boxes from overflowing with
space.” not? offers based on searches done within our
ICT expert Bruno Salgues urges that we Information overload, also known as browsers.
need more research to understand the infobesity, is where we struggle to make There is a blur between the real world and
situation of humans in the digital world. decisions since we have too much information the virtual world – often we find ourselves
In his book, which focuses on the concept pertaining to an issue. engaging in activities in the virtual world for
of Society 5.0, he argues that humans are As a result of access to information across hours. The gaming world, in particular, has
defined by different needs and that digital national boundaries, there is disappearance and made use of exploring this phenomenon to
technology allows us to respond to the need reduction of the influence of nation-states. create software that engages the player in real
for knowledge if we know how to make use of Also of concern is the time spent by humans world activities but focuses on participation
the tools in the digital world. on media – new phenomena emerge, such as through virtual world activities.
In this article, the focus is on the situation gamification and social media addiction. The overload of information may cause
of humans in the digital world, using and a threat that we are so focused on what is
elaborating on Salgues’s SWOT analysis. Opportunities out there that we don’t distinguish between
The digital world has created many information and knowledge. Knowledge
Strengths opportunities, both in the business world and focuses on understanding, while information
The first and foremost strength in the digital in our personal world. In many sectors such as is just data. Obtaining information does
world is access to information. Humans health, the digitisation and use of technology not necessary mean there is a level of
now have access to information as needed, has given us access to a mass of information understanding of the meaning of the
when needed, with the only limitation the previously not available. information.
applicability of the information as provided We are also now able to use all the In the digital world it is easy to reproduce
by search engines. information more effectively and educate in a where new business models need to be
Researchers are constantly improving more effective and efficient way. considered to be still economically feasible.
14 | April 2020INDUSTRY INSIGHT: AUTOMATION
Central manager in workload automation
Unwrapping the mystery or perceived complexity of workload automation
and uncovering some of the potentially beneficial outcomes.
define the workloads. As the single unified Gartner has much to say on the subject of
graphical interface, this can provide visibility automation, with predictions that 2020 will see
of all work running across the entire more than 50% of current manual operational
enterprise, no matter what operating system tasks in infrastructure managed services being
platform the work is running on. Multiple replaced by intelligent automation services.
windows of information can be defined to 2021 is forecast as the year that intelligent
display exactly only what each user needs to automation will generate an additional 20%
see – for example, jobs in trouble which can in savings over what is achievable today in
then be managed by exception. application testing services for end-users.
The demands of data management are said Moreover, by 2022, organisations utilising
to have out-paced the capabilities of most active metadata to dynamically connect,
organisations. optimise and automate data integration
Effective unified automation also helps to processes will reduce time to data delivery by
eliminate the need for new day processing, 30%.
Michael Brink, Chief Technology Officer of
CA Southern Africa.
I n this second of three Industry Insights on
workload automation, I examine the role The demands of data management are said to have
of the central manager, who orchestrates
workloads across multiple platforms and
out-paced the capabilities of most organisations.
can provide dependencies between jobs
in different applications, ensuring those
workloads run in the correct sequence and
that they run as soon as any dependant tasks thus improving agility by removing the The demands of data management are said
or events have successfully completed. unnecessary management server overhead to have out-paced the capabilities of most
Because everything is now managed task of building and distributing daily organisations. Because of this, it is noted that
centrally, the business can now easily run or schedules. IT leaders will rapidly innovate by leveraging
schedule reports that display the success or Operational tasks are easily performed important new technologies and trends.
failure of jobs across the entire enterprise. using the graphical user interface, allowing In order to deliver effective data
It is important to understand that this operations staff to manage the workload management solutions, it is predicted that
series of articles is not intended to take a automation environment and the running of organisations will apply automation to data
granular look at workload automation – workloads efficiently. management, allowing expert personnel to
it’s not possible to do that and it would It also relegates diagnostics and problem complete other valuable projects.
require a work closer to the size of Tolstoy’s resolution from the realm of nightmare Although enterprise resource planning
masterpiece, “War and Peace”. into a few clicks of a mouse that help you to software is often integral to core business
My goal is to unwrap the mystery or explore errors from the graphical interface. processes, it can be slow and inefficient,
perceived complexity of the subject and I think I have extolled the virtues of requiring unreliable manual input that holds
highlight just some of the potentially workload automation quite enough to back the rest of the organisation. A modern
beneficial outcomes. acquire the interest of any CIO trying to workload automation solution should be
At a glance – future technologies such as improve efficiencies and reduce costs. able to bring agility to the entire enterprise,
Hadoop, for example, which may not yet be The next question is: What are the analysts aligning this software with cutting-edge front-
on your radar but as soon as you are ready and the market saying about automation? end tech. This helps to reconcile the multi-
to take advantage of these technologies, you The market advocates automation. generational structures outlined by Gartner as
can rest assured that advanced integration, According to IDC’s Enterprise Cloud and an integral step for the modern enterprise.
inherited dependencies, load balancing DevOps Management Survey, 46% of Companies will have to manage older
(allowing work to run on a number of organisations agree that “increased use of systems and at the same time connect
nominated servers) and job scheduling will automation” is among the most important them to modern digital programs, because
all be available. drivers and requirements shaping their multigenerational IT involves different layers of
Moreover, monitoring is performed company’s overall IT strategy from today technology, all of which need to be automated
using the same graphical interface used to through 2020. from the bottom-up.
15 | April 2020 April 2020 | 15COMPANY NEWS
CHANNEL
Governing data in the cloud Uplogix, Networks
SPI, the African distributor for utility software products and services Unlimited Africa
to the open systems segment of the IT industry and the sole sub- enable robust ROBOs
Saharan Africa distributor for USA-based Innovative Routines Out-of-band management
(IRI), has announced the latter’s IRI Voracity data management allows remote IT staff to manage
platform will run on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). Voracity is remote office/branch office
a data management software stack built on Eclipse and powered by (ROBO) site networks as if they
the decades-proven and -enhanced IRI CoSort data manipulation were onsite, without the cost
program. Voracity in OCI will enable modern PaaS and SaaS options and delay of travel. To this end,
for SME and enterprise customers seeking faster, more affordable Networks Unlimited Africa
and highly secure cloud execution of ETL jobs, plus data masking has partnered with Uplogix,
and synthesis, data quality and migration, and data wrangling for which provides integrated
analytics. remote management solutions,
www.spi.co.za distributing Uplogix platforms
throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Anton Jacobsz, Networks Unlimited www.networksunlimited.
CEO africa
BUSINESS
Epsidon Technology e4 CFO wins
Holdings acquires Excellence in Finance
Nology – Leaders award
Epsidon Technology Holdings has Adri Führi, e4 Group CFO,
acquired Nology, a leading specialist has been announced as an
value-added distributor of converged ‘Excellence in Finance -
IP solutions to service providers, Leaders Award’ winner for her
network operators, systems contribution to the financial
integrators and resellers across sector at the FiNext Awards &
southern Africa. Founded in 2001, Conference 2020, held recently
Nology imports and distributes some at Le Méridien Dubai Hotel &
of the top global brands, including Conference Centre. The Fintech
Yealink, Zyxel, MikroTik, 3CX, software specialist partners with
Debbie Abrahall, MD of First Technicolor and Axiros. clients to provide innovative
Distribution, a division of Epsidon www.firstdistribution.com solutions.
e4’s Group CFO, Adri Führi
www.e4.co.za
Users love us, says IDU
Holdings Even Flow announces strategic partnership with
IDU Holdings’ recent recognition in Ubiquiti in Africa
the G2 Crowd Winter Report 2020 is Even Flow Distribution has been appointed as a distributor for Ubiquiti
a proud moment for the company. It in Africa. Ubiquiti manufactures wireless data communication products
is thrilled to have received awards for for enterprise and wireless broadband providers with a primary
"Highest User Adoption" as well as focus on under-served and emerging markets. This partnership will
“Users Most Likely to Recommend” provide partners with access to the full range of world-class Ubiquiti
in the Budgeting and Reporting Networks solutions and products. Adrian Bush, Director of Even
Mid-Market Category. As part of this Flow Distribution, says: “Even Flow's vast experience in the product
recognition, G2 Crowd has given IDU category, and our position as a subsidiary of Epsidon Technology
Holdings the badge: “Users Love Us”. Distribution, makes Even Flow ideally suited to expand the Ubiquiti
Kevin Phillips, founder and CEO
of IDU Holdings www.idusoft.com brand throughout South Africa and the rest of the African continent.”
www.evenflow.co.za
COMPANY NEWS
To read the FULL company releases, visit
www.itweb.co.za
Contact sales@itweb.co.za for any sales enquiries.
16 | April 2020COMPANY NEWS
HARDWARE SECURITY
More connectivity Your digital landscape and the hidden risks
from Poly’s Voyager South African companies are not moving forward in an innovative way
Office Series with regard to their risk identification and risk evaluation processes
Bluetooth headsets and methodologies, says RubiQ. Organisations still insist on hanging
Plantronics has launched the onto their old Excel risk registers or static siloed risk management
Voyager 4200 and Voyager 5200 tools, coupled with subjective human-based approaches to inform
Office Series. These Bluetooth the risk registers. There is little to zero adoption of ‘SMART: Context
headset systems are an extension of the Organisation’ risk identification approaches, linking risks
of the popular Voyager 4200 UC back to achievement of objectives with a performance focus, using
and Voyager 5200 UC Series, technology enablement in a mature and well-developed manner. Old
designed for mobile office risk identification approaches are not agile enough to deal with the
workers, and provide multiple overwhelming variables.
connectivity options in the www.rubi-q.com
widest range of wearing styles to
Poly’s Voyager Office Series meet office mobility needs.
Bluetooth headsets offer more www.headsetsolutions.co.za
connectivity options.
Smart MFP from OKI Europe keeps
construction projects on schedule
OKI Europe has launched the MC883, a versatile A3 colour smart
multifunction printer (MFP) that’s fully equipped to support
construction businesses where the ability to print and scan documents
and plans to a professional quality at any time is key to keeping
projects on track and customers satisfied. Having a reliable printer is
essential for construction businesses where meeting tight deadlines is
critical to project delivery, costs and timelines. OKI’s MC883 is a smart ESET has been recognised with gold and bronze awards in the AV-Comparatives
Summary Report 2019.
MFP construction professionals can depend on. Easy user maintenance
eliminates the need for engineer callouts, ensuring documents can be AV-Comparatives awards ESET consumer
scanned, stored, copied or printed at all times. products
www.okisa.co.za ESET has been recognised with gold and bronze awards in the AV-
Comparatives Summary Report 2019. AV-Comparatives, a leading
independent testing organisation, uses one of the largest sample
collections worldwide to create a real-world environment for highly
accurate testing. The Summary Report 2019 provides commentary on
the consumer anti-virus products.
www.eset.com
Konftel unveils its next step in video conferencing and conference audio at trade shows.
Memory and security
Xerox copiers, printers and multifunction products all contain some
Konftel unveils strategy at ISE, ITEXPO trade type of computer and software that allows them to perform all the
shows tasks and run all the features available on the machine. The internal
Swedish-based Konftel, a global leader in products for effective computers in these machines may have a disk drive or other kind
distance meetings, will be previewing some of the year’s of non-volatile storage. This memory is where the job image data is
newest products at ISE 2020 in Amsterdam and ITEXPO in Fort written during processing. The image may be temporarily written on
Lauderdale. The video portfolio is expanding to include Konftel this memory during processing. Xerox recognises the potential risk of
CC200, an all-in-one solution comprising a conference cam with data being recovered from non-volatile storage and has built in features
integral video codec. and countermeasures in its devices to help you protect your data.
www.headsetsolutions.co.za www.bdsol.co.za
ICT INSIGHT
To read the FULL company releases, visit
www.itweb.co.za
Contact sales@itweb.co.za for any sales enquiries.
17 | April 2020 April 2020 | 17You can also read
