18 minute read
Information and communications technology (ICT
ICT
Incentives are encouraging investment.
Companies and educational bodies in the ICT sector can apply for incentives from the National Department of Trade and Industry (dti). These include: • The Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme (THRIP): companies and educational institutions working to improve technology; 50/50 cost sharing grant to a maximum of R8-million • Technology Development Fund: the Technology Innovation Agency makes up to R50-million available for up to 10 years • Technology Venture Capital: managed by the Industrial Development
Corporation; commercialisation of innovative products, processes and technologies.
Liquid Telecom paid R6.5-billion in 2017 to buy South African network operator Neotel. Liquid Telecom is part of the Econet group. Royal Bafokeng Holdings will take up a 30% shareholding in Neotel as part of the deal. The transaction significantly expands the reach of the fibre network which, it is claimed, will be Africa’s largest broadband network. Twelve countries are currently connected by 40 000km of fibre network, with more expansion part of the business plan.
The Information Technology Association (ITA) is the trade and employer body of the Information Technology industry in South Africa. The ITA represents more than 200 companies which supply information technology equipment, systems, software and services. Members include IBM, Microsoft SA, Siemens, SAP and Axiz.
A new technology venture was launched when Cape Town hosted AfricArena 2017, a conference that aimed to be a “bridge between international technology stalwarts and African technology innovators”. A collaboration between Silicon Cape and La French Tech Cape Town, it brought together investors,
SECTOR INSIGHT
Fibre is being rolled out in some low-income areas. • Neotel has changed hands for R6.5-billion.
venture capitalists, start-ups and entrepreneurs. The French government has officially designated the city as one of six global French Tech Hubs. Other hubs include Tokyo and San Francisco.
French Tech Labs was launched as a fintech incubator in 2016. The same company earlier established Methys Labs. The new incubator offers mentoring support for innovators, connections to possible investors and a chance for selected candidates to travel to France.
Major banks are feeling pressure from new companies who can connect with customers without having to build bricks-and-mortar infrastructure. They are responding by spending heavily on ICT. One example is Barclays Africa Group’s expenditure of R3.1-billion on ICT in 2016. The Big Four banks spent R30-billion in the year to June 2016, with Standard Bank laying out R14-billion in that period (Tech Central).
They are also investing in innovation. Barclays Bank have invested in a fintech incubator in Cape Town, Rise. There are six other Rise sites around the world, including New York and Mumbai.
The Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative (CiTi) is another support system for the ICT sector. There are 2 000 ICT firms in the Western Cape and they have 17 000 employees.
South Africa’s appetite for fast Internet connectivity is growing. The state-owned company Telkom controls most of the country’s fibre cable but several smaller private companies are winning contracts to lay fibre optic cables around the country.
Wider access
Allowing access to the Internet to rural people and poorer people in urban areas is a policy priority. As part of its mandate, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has organised that private operators have connected more than 623 schools around the country.
Dark Fibre Africa, a Remgro subsidiary, has established a Digital Villages unit to roll out fibre in low- income areas. Another company in which Remgro has a stake, Vumatel, plans to offer uncapped broadband services in Alexandra (Johannesburg) for less than R100 per month. Marketing and delivering solutions As a professional distribution company, Kemtek is gratified to be entrusted with the channel responsibility for many of the world’s leading brands. Presently, Kemtek focuses on the following industry sectors: • Printing – digital and conventional • 3D Printing – manufacturing, medical, dental, jewellery and automotive • Auto identification and barcoding systems • Labelling – home, office and industrial systems. Kemtek’s marketing approach is based on developing a detailed understanding of the markets served and the needs of the end user. The aim is to marry the technologies and solutions provided by the principal brands to these needs, creating value on a sustainable basis. A cornerstone of Kemtek’s success is ongoing technical support and after-sales service, which all employees are passionate about providing. At Kemtek, there is a commitment to investing in leading systems to enhance the channel and distribution efficiencies, whether this be CRM and sales, procurement planning, inventory management, warehouse management and logistics. The specialised distribution division operates in excess of 25 delivery vehicles nationwide, performing approximately 15 000 deliveries per year from five dedicated sales and distribution sites nationwide. Delivery services are also extended by the use of most major courier companies for the retail chains and outer-lying regions.
If developers have an opportunity to put fibre into a new township’s infrastructure when it is built, a new level of affordability can be achieved. DFA is active in Gauteng Province and by August 2018 had installed connections in 1 000 units.
Private companies like Vodacom allocate specific budget items to rural access and in September 2017 it announced that it would zero-rate its services for university student and staff who are Vodacom subscribers. To illustrate the vastly different uses to which technology can be put, Vodacom is also developing an affordable sheep-tracking collar with farmers in the Eastern Cape.
Statistics South Africa reports that nearly 60% of households in the Gauteng city region have direct access to the Internet. This provides an opportunity to both the private and public sector, but also a challenge to ensure that government improves its online services. More than 1 500 kilometres of network fibre has been connected throughout the province, with 1 066 sites such as schools, health facilities, libraries and community centres giving community members and entrepreneurs the chance to be connected with the digital world. The aim is to have 100% broadband connectivity in Gauteng by 2020. A provincial government initiative known as eKasiLabs Innovation Centres supports entrepreneurs and young people with good business ideas.
Both Johannesburg and Tshwane have free Wifi networks with Tshwane’s covering 780 zones in places such as libraries, educational institutions and clinics.
The Small Enterprise Development Agency runs ICT incubators in several parts of South Africa. The SoftstartBTI ICT incubator is in Midrand and Tuksnovation, a high-tech incubator, is at Pretoria University. In the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality there is the SEDA Nelson Mandela Bay ICT Incubator (SNII). A new research and development laboratory was established by SNII in 2016, focussing on apps, mechanical and technical prototypes and software solutions.
SNII also hosted a national conference on “Universal Affordable Access to Communications in South Africa”. An example of what can be done to reduce telecommunication costs in rural areas was presented by the University of the Western Cape, who teamed up with the Mankosi community in a rural part of the Eastern Cape to create the Zenzeleni Network. This is essentially a community telecoms company where local calls are free, data is considerably cheaper and calls to other networks half the normal cost.
The Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) is providing connectivity for schools in five provinces and smart devices have been distributed to schools.
There are many opportunities for employment in the sector. It is ironic that in a country with a very high unemployment rate, the Johannesburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE) in 2016 put the number of vacancies in software and application development, cloud computing and information security at 40 000 (Sunday Times).
Training is available from organisations such as the Quad Digital Academy, a Standard Bank initiative, an ICT Incubator in Port Elizabeth run by the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) and from the City of Johannesburg (which runs a digital intern programme called COJEDI). Scarce skills training is offered by the City of Cape Town (in partnership with SAP Africa) in software programming. The programme is called “Western Cape Skills for Africa”.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative: www.citi.org.za Independent Communications Authority: www.icasa.org.za Information Technology Association of South Africa: www.ita.org.za State Information Technology Agency: www.sita.co.za Technology Innovation Agency: www.tia.org.za
Khabane Majestic Consulting
Agile software development and consulting.
Khabane Majestic Consulting is a software development company. We pride ourselves on implementing and perfecting our clients’ IT strategy. We build digital solutions which give our clients a competitive edge.
Our people have delivered solutions on five continents and we bring that experience to bear on providing Agile delivery practices to gain the optimal result. We deliver quality software and solutions which provide business value to clients. We are BEE Level 1 black women-owned.
Sectors
Our responsive digital business helps organisations achieve their ambitious missions – whether they are in the commercial, social or government sectors.
Four key services
Agile software development and consulting We deliver high-quality software products by being truly agile – beyond daily standups and other arbitrary Agile rituals. We focus on stimulating the culture of our client. We bring our international consulting expertise and get things done – faster and more efficiently.
User experience design We give our clients’ software product a personality by using different UX techniques combined with design thinking approaches. This produces usable software and delightful user experiences.
We combine this with a thorough testing approach that allows us to quickly validate design assumptions with real users. We can quickly know if the desired outcomes have been achieved. At each step, you can be comfortable that we will: • ensure that we are solving real user problems • ensure that the problem is worth solving • ensure that the solution is usable.
Agile delivery coaching We train client teams on how to adopt Agile software delivery in their day-to-day processes. We then combine what our clients have learnt in training and implement it via co-delivery. Here we work together, richly integrated with our clients’ delivery teams to enrich the understanding of Agile.
This process allows for a more practical and richer Agile learning experience for software delivery teams.
DevOps delivery We turn the experience of software deployment into a pleasant experience. We automate even the most mundane tasks. We turn big and slow organisations into lean and sexy machines.
Clients Include Liberty, Absa, Discovery, Unicef and Sigidi Solutions.
CONTACT INFO
Physical address: 207 Market Up Office Park, 10 Van Beek Street, New Doornfontein, Johannesburg 2094 Tel: +27 11 404 5004 Email: info@khabane.co.za Website: www.khabane.co.za
Kgomotso Sediane
BIOGRAPHY
Kgomotso Sediane founded Khabane Majestic Consulting in 2015 and spearheads the company’s operations as the Managing Director with more than 15 years’ experience in IT. Graduating with a BSc Computer Science (Software Engineering), she started her career in 1998 in the software development field as a programmer. She is passionate about making a difference to customers through collaboration between business and IT, while promoting gender equality. Kgomotso cares about upskilling people and contributing to Africa’s future.
Creating innovative IT products
Kgomotso Sediane, MD of Khabane Majestic Consulting, shares her vision for the future.
How did the business begin?
Khabane Majestic Consulting was created by a group of young black technologists who believed there was a gap in the South African software development industry. This industry is notorious for being predominantly white-male owned and run. KMC’s vision was to create a female-led IT company which celebrates diversity and innovative thinking. What started as a humble company running from a garage has morphed into a hub for young futuristic thinkers.
Describe the journey so far.
It has been an interesting journey so far. Trying to get new clients and building credibility was hard. Competing with companies with decades of experience and existing relationships with potential clients was a good lesson for our young company. This battle to earn our slice of the cake helped us hone our brand, build awesome software, get people talking about us and attract some of the best talent in South Africa. Today, we are expanding our consultancy operations to service clients outside our country.
What sets you apart?
When you walk into our Maboneng offices, you are greeted with stickies, whiteboards, doodles, collaboration and all-round awesomeness. This sums up the culture within KMC. Our unique service offering allows us to create innovative and disruptive digital products using Agile, Design Thinking and Extreme Programming practices. KMC is a diverse company that encourages collaboration despite seniority.
What gives you the most satisfaction?
Seeing young black technologists go to infinity and beyond.
Is SA ready for the 4th Industrial Revolution?
The ideas are there, but the problem is the lack of accessibility to tech for all South Africans. Good broadband infrastructure will allow kids from rural areas to have the same exposure to technology and information as a child from Sandton.
Prompt IT Solutions
Working together for high-impact ICT solutions.
Prompt IT Solutions is 100% black women-owned IT company which has been in existence since 2004, with Level 1 BEE Status.
Vision
Being a partner in identifying impactful Information and Communications Technology solutions.
Client as partner
Our knowledgeable technology team produces work that is up to standard with our clients’ expectations through solid as well as professional strategising, conceptualising and implementation of IT solutions.
Every Information and Communications Technology service provided must involve, engage and build upon the company’s image and, most importantly, strengthen the consumer/product bond.
The challenge for the private and public sector is to find innovative and alternative solutions that adhere to business needs. Solutions need to be understood, relevant and experienced on an intensely personal level by the consumer to strengthen the relationship they have with their service providers. The service provider should know the needs of their consumers to make sure that they work efficiently and productively.
Company focus
Our strategy is to ensure that we offer our clients the best highquality and cost-competitive service, thereby enabling them to respond quickly to any changing market dynamics and increasing their competitiveness.
Services
• Infrastructure development data • Voice and wireless connectivity • Networking installations and maintenance (Molex
Certification) • End User Computing (Accredited with MICSETA) • Server support and maintenance • Electrical and CCTV installation and maintenance • Laptop, computer, printer repairs and service • Computer consumables sales • Computer hardware and software sales
CONTACT DETAILS
Address: 56 Cetu Street, KwaMagxaki, Port Elizabeth 6201 Tel: +27 (83) 585 4822 Website: www.promptit.co.za PromptIT
J O U R N E Y I N G W I T H Y O U
Staff
Prompt IT has a dedicated team of software and hardware engineers. We derive from a base of freelance specialists should the need arise, because core to sustainability for us is job creation. The approach of combining a wealth of expertise on a project basis enables us to meet each of our clients’ specific needs in the most suitable, creative and cost-effective manner.
Clients include
The Post Office, Aberdare Cables, Shoprite, Enel Green Energy, Airports Company South Africa, Sarah Baartman District Municipality, Eastern Cape Provincial Government Departments (Social Development, Health, Education).
Azola Socenywa
PromptIT
J O U R N E Y I N G W I T H Y O U
BIOGRAPHY
Port Elizabeth-born Azola Ngwekazi Socenywa completed courses on the technical side of computers and a national diploma with Damelin. Work for Coca-Cola Sabco led to a posting to Business Connexions, the only female among 16 technicians. Success in the SAB Kickstart Programme was the stimulus to start PromptIT. In 2015 she joined VW’s incubator programme, Raizcorp. Azola is a board member of the Eastern Province Children’s Home and on the Advisory Committee of MES, a poverty relief organisation.
PromptIT lives its name with on-time delivery
The CEO of PromptIT, Azola Socenywa, recounts how a gap in the market became a thriving business.
How did PromptIT come into being?
I worked for Coca-Cola Sabco before being outsourced as a junior technician to Business Connexion. I proposed projects because there were not many black children exposed to the ICT sector. In 2004 I saw a gap in the market and started PromptIT. Having done well in the SAB Kickstart Programme I started an Internet cafe in the township which was registered with MICSETA to teach Computer Literacy. Since 2015 the incubator Raizorp has mentored me in business.
What have been the highlights in your business journey?
After 14 years of being in business I have been recognised and a few ICT organisations are seeing the need of partnering with PromptIT. The journey has not been easy, but we are still standing and growing our network. We would like to continue to grow our skills.
What are your company’s key services?
Our core services are network cabling, data, voice, fibre installation and maintenance, cyber security and professional IT support.
Please tell us about the capabilities of your workforce.
Most of our staff are project managers and qualified Cisco engineers. We assign junior technicians to shadow the seniors to grow their skills as it is important for us that we give them exposure.
What sets you apart in terms of your business processes?
Our philosophy is Trade not Aid. We are a black woman-owned and managed business in a male-dominated industry. Despite this we have managed to thrive and grow. This is the spirit that sets us apart. We deliver customer centrality, delivery on time, co-creating with our customers. Our staff has joint ICT experience of 25 years, having worked for multinationals such as Microsoft, SAP and IBM.
Do you have experience with projects in the public sector?
We have contracts with the Coega IDZ, Transnet PE College and the Department of Health. We believe that ICT should be an enabler towards service delivery.
Emalangeni Technologies
Emalangeni Technologies is a specialised systems integrator, website development, graphic design, networking, hardware and software troubleshooting and solutions provider in the information technology and security fields. Emalangeni Technologies is a 100% black-owned company with extensive experience in a range of ICT services.
Originally founded with a main focus on website development, software development, graphic design, computer hardware and software trouble-shooting and networking solutions.
Emalangeni Technologies has gained valuable in-depth knowledge and expertise in these fields and the best practice of ICT. The company has over the years increased the amount and quality of services rendered, including Internet connectivity and VoIP system connectivity. The team has grown continuously, and the company strives to remain at the forefront of the latest technological innovations.
From the outset the aim with Emalangeni Technologies was to provide clients with the best possible information technology products. To this end, diversification has led to increased service offerings over the years.
Emalangeni Technologies can today cater for the information technology needs of clients in every possible way. Emalangeni Technologies has distinguished itself not only for the originality and quality of its products, but also for its comprehensive services.
Services
• Domain and email hosting • Website development • E-commerce web development • Corporate branding • Full-service graphic design • Specialised software engineering • CCTV installation • Content management systems (CMS) • Search engine optimisation • Google adwords management • Basic and advanced flash animation • Monthly maintenance and support • Point of sale installation and maintenance • Hardware supply and maintenance • Rocketseed authorised key reseller • VoIP telephone system and connectivity • Internet connectivity
Clients
We have worked with a range of start-ups, SMEs and large corporate companies. Projects include provision of Internet to Mpumalanga Public Libraries for three years, installation and maintenance of VoIP system for Chief Albert Luthuli Local Municipality and Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, installation of CCTVs, networking and setup equipment for OTJ Holdings, and development of a website for Phumelela Bible College. Also, integrating client websites with Basecamp, YouTube and Facebook APIs and the development of various CRM systems.
CONTACT DETAILS
Address: Suite 146 Ground Floor, Caltex Building, 32 Bell Street, Nelspruit 1200 Tel: +27 13 004 0180 and Cell: +27 76 303 3278 Email: info@emalangenitech.co.za Website: www.emalangenitech.co.za
Striving for the best way
The CEO of Emalangeni Technologies, Sifiso Magonyane, explains how his company’s growth path began.
Sifiso Magonyane
BIOGRAPHY
Sifiso Magonyane was born in the Shabalala area of Hazyview, Mpumalanga. He has more than five years’ experience working as a systems analyst. As the founder and CEO of Emalangeni Technologies, Sifiso is a visionary who strives for perfection in his work and the work of his company which was founded in 2009 and officially registered in 2013.
What is your main service offering?
Our main service is VOIP, hardware supplier, software development and point of sales.
How have you diversified over the years?
We have grown from just focussing on website development to software development, VOIP, Internet connectivity, hardware supply and point of sales. Growing in these different spheres has also led to us growing our list of clients, providing our services to bigger entities in the public and private sectors.
How did you get started in the business?
We started as a small web and graphic design company that was just focussed on small private clients. At the time our clients were either individuals or SMMEs which themselves were trying to break into the business sector. We had to give a lot of discounts or even cancel our invoices at times. However, this never interfered with our work ethic. We believe that in technology, you either do it the best you can, or you don’t do it at all.
What gives you the most satisfaction when you tackle a project?
Even before the completion of a project, it is always satisfying to know that we were trusted by the client. The fact that our company can be seen as competent enough to be handed any project is always an honour. This fuels our team to apply their abilities in a project and to find innovative ways to execute a project.
Please tell us about some of your clients.
• The Mpumalanga Department of Sports, Culture and Recreation: we work on providing Internet connectivity to public libraries. • City of Mbombela Municipality: providing maintenance and support of all computer hardware and CISCO devices. • Retail shops: installations and maintenance of point of sale systems.
What principles underlie the way you run your business?
Integrity, respect and transparency is the core of our business. We make sure that these principles are implemented in every project and with every client.
