MyBroadband Magazine Q1 2017

MY BRO A D B A N D Q1

VODACOM’S DRIVE TO BRING DOWN DATA PRICES 5G HYPE VERSUS REALITY THE BANKERS WHO WANT TO CHANGE TELECOMS

R 45 .0 0 i n c l va t

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EDITORIAL Welcome to the first edition of the MyBroadband Magazine. Those familiar with our website will know that when it comes to ICT, we are the destination of choice for South African executives and professionals who love and work in the technology field. The MyBroadband Magazine takes the best qualities of our online product and puts them in a print format, delivering a premium publication which you will find entertaining and insightful. It focuses strongly on the business market, providing readers with insight into what tech trends are shaping corporates, SMEs, and start-ups. In this edition, we take a look at security risks associated with using cloud services, how companies are wasting money on employee cellphone contracts, and what advice Michael Jordaan has for those wanting to make a success of their business. Headlining our first edition is insight from Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub about what his network needs to give customers an even better mobile broadband experience. Before you begin paging, a special thank you must go out to our lead designer Marius for the great layout of the magazine; and Simone, Vicky, and the marketing team for all their hard work.

KEVIN LANCASTER EDITOR

IN THIS ISSUE

06 5G hype versus reality

08 Selecting the right outsourced ICT provider 10 Why build a server room, when you can simply wheel one in?

14 TradeSwitch cutting-edge tech that’s empowering digital distribution in Africa

17 Vodacom’s drive to bring down data prices

12 Michael Jordaan’s Investment strategy 20 Why digital transformation is the key to future business success 22 Narrowband technology will be for IoT what 4G was for mobile connectivity 24 Africa’s demand for fibre will boom in 2017 26 Vodacom pursues co-build agreements to deploy fibre across South Africa 28 Robust ICT products and solutions for unattended harsh environments 30 Fujikura Fusion Splicer – connecting light to link the world and you

32 The smartest guys in the room

34 Innovation starts with us, and continues with you

48 Matrix Warehouse - From a single store to a nationwide powerhouse

50 The bankers who want to change telecoms 54 Standing on the brink of the singularity revolution 58 Putting technology to work 60 Vumatel provides free connectivity to schools 64 Make your IT work smarter, not harder 62

The security risks businesses face when using cloud services

36 The future of DStv in a Netflix world 38 How companies waste money on employee smartphone contracts 40 Great business products from CES 2017 46 Fibre visionaries take businesses into the cloud

PUBLISHER MyBroadband ADDRESS Office F01, Ashford House, Midstream Estate, Olifantsfontein, 1692 TEL +27 12 687 5159 WEB mybroadband.co.za EDITORIAL kevin@mybroadband.co.za ADVERTISING cara@mybroadband.co.za ISSN 2519-7509

66 Manage the effects of the app-data gap

68 Best smartwatches in 2017 70 Sizing up the opportunity of IoT in South Africa 72 How Hyperion Development caught the attention of Google and Facebook 74 Cloud computing and information security

5G

HYPE VERSUS REALITY

By Rudolph Muller

5G

is the new buzzword in the telecommunications market, with many stakeholders promoting the technology as the next big thing which will revolutionise broadband. With promised speeds of 10Gbps and extremely low latency, 5G is punted as the enabler of the new Internet of Things world, where everyone and everything is connected.

Reality, however, does not match the hype which is created around 5G. A global research report by UBS found that 5G today is little more than a vision and will look an awful lot like 4G LTE, using similar or identical techniques to send and receive data.

The report highlighted that 5G is facing major challenges, which include the scarcity of optimal low-band spectrum which is forcing 5G into the unchartered waters of millimetre wave frequencies. As spectral efficiency remains constrained by the laws of RF physics, the search for capacity with 5G turns to the new frontier of extremely-high millimetre wave (mmW) frequencies higher than 24GHz. While there is a lot of spectrum available in the extremely-high millimetre wave bands, it comes with drawbacks. The relatively weak propagation of high frequencies would require a superdense network of 5G small cells, which is a particularly big challenge in a large country like South Africa. High absorption also turns buildings, hills, and even raindrops into 5G’s mortal enemies.

06

For mobile operators, which are under severe financial pressure with falling voice revenues and lower margins, the costperformance analysis of 5G versus 4G does not look rosy for the new technology. Although new developments like softwaredefined networking and sophisticated antenna technology may help contain 5G’s proportionate cost, it will not be enough.

The greater cell density associated with high-frequencies without a massive spectral efficiency does not make for good 5G economics.

Despite these challenges, South Africa’s largest mobile operator Vodacom remains upbeat about rolling out 5G in the future.

Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub said through their significant investments in 4G, they have established a foundation that will enable them to offer their customers 5G services sometime after 2020 when this new mobile standard will be introduced internationally. Joosub is confident that 5G will have significant new capabilities in terms of speed, network capacity, and latency.

Joosub, however, highlighted that the path towards 5G, and the speed at which it is implemented in South Africa, will be determined by availability of spectrum. Vodacom is determined to be at the forefront of the new technology, but this will only be possible if local operators have sufficient spectrum. ■

07

ICT SERVICES

SELECTING THE RIGHT OUTSOURCED ICT PROVIDER D

espite the rapid uptake of outsourced ICT services, many South African companies still find the risks of adoption unacceptable. With data breaches a tangible risk, companies question how much they should rely on managed service providers. However, by selecting the right outsourced service provider, you can mitigate against these concerns. As experts in this field, Emid has highlighted some of the most important factors to consider when partnering with an outsourced service provider.

“Enhancing and expanding our product suite on the existing platform proved impossible and became a burning issue for the business. We wanted agile and savvy user interfaces. We needed to be able to change business direction easily, without losing sight of our business strategy. Emid knew how to enable us throughout the development and implementation life cycle.”

Trust

Security

Trust is the most important requirement for a successful partnership. With managed services vendors having access to and managing extremely confidential information, trust is the one factor that must be present. To identify trustworthy providers, search for vendors with strong reputations who have demonstrable references and testimonials.

State-of-the-art security is of utmost importance in the modern ICT scene.

Customers expect their vendors to provide the highest level of security for infrastructure, hardware, and software.

The Wall Street Journal states: “The higher the volume of sensitive data a third party manages… the greater the risk that the confidentiality of that data will be compromised.” Knowing that their data is being stored on vulnerable hardware or knowing that their service provider’s security has previously been breached can prove untenable for most customers.

Disciplined Approach In the managed services industry, discipline is of tantamount importance. Disciplined staff who adhere to mature processes and regulations are invaluable when providing managed services. Customers expect strict adherence to industry best practices, especially since the vendor might be controlling infrastructure that is essential for their day-to-day operations.

Effective Change Control Management Strong project management and change management skills and processes are integral aspects of an outsourced ICT service provider. Customers expect their projects to be delivered on time and within budget, and the ability to manage the project as well as scope creep is extremely important. Change control is an integral part of the quality management process and the purpose is to ensure no unauthorised changes are made, and that 08

Kosie Koekemoer, Old Mutual Executive

all changes are documented and approved before being applied.

However, if a service provider manages to keep their staff ahead of the curve and has stringent security and penetration prevention protocols, and carries out annual comprehensive security audits, providing the results to their customers, you can rest assured that your information is secure.

Monitoring The very essence of an outsourced service is to free up a business’s capacity for core business tasks. The aim of the managed services partner is to ensure that your IT equipment and software is always available and performing at an optimum level.

The vendor must be able to demonstrate powerful 24/7 monitoring functionality and innovative dashboards.

Benefits of ICT Outsourcing • Reduction of operating costs by reducing the staff complement.

• Since internal ICT solutions will have been outsourced, a number of staff will be freed up in order to deal with other business aspects, and management can focus on the core business.

• Due to the fact that outsourced ICT providers have a wealth of experience in the implementation field, it’s highly likely that solutions will be implemented faster than if the implementation was completed in-house.

• Quicker resolution of ICT issues, as the outsourced provider will have a large, dedicated response team that is constantly at the forefront of the curve.

As a business, you’d be looking for an outsourced ICT partner that is trusted, secure, and disciplined – the trick is in finding the right partner. Emid’s track record in the Managed ICT sector speaks for itself. Its data centres act as the beating heart for many South African businesses.

Its cutting-edge technology ensures that we have incredible uptime records, as well as zero breaches in security – this is what brings about the level of trust and satisfaction all of its clients experience. ■

Emid’s Managed ICT Solutions is the perfect fit for your organisation

We are a holistic ICT vendor, providing customised managed ICT solutions across the entire ICT spectrum.

We manage all our clients’ ICT requirements, from solution architecting, roll out to maintenance and support.

Choose the safe outsourced ICT provider, choose Emid’s Managed ICT Solutions.

Telephone: +27 12 421 5600 E-mail: sales@emid.co.za Website: www.emid.co.za

SERVERS

WHY BUILD A SERVER ROOM, WHEN YOU CAN SIMPLY WHEEL ONE IN? Y

our server room is the heart of your business, it is the gateway to the cloud and the home of your data centre, which is in turn the hub that connects all your devices to your data, in order for you to leverage the Internet of Things (IoT) in your business.

Inus Dreckmeyr CEO Netshield

Until recently, a server room has been a static environment that, because of requirements such as cooling, fire, and surge protection, as well as environmental monitoring, has had to be a permanent fixture in your office – with its own square meterage and special set of security and climate control systems. But that it no longer the case with a Data Centre in a Box (DCIB) solution from Netshield – an entire server room on wheels.

According to Inus Dreckmeyr, CEO at Netshield South Africa, a local original equipment manufacturer (OEM) subsidiary of WestconGroup Southern Africa, your business can now have its own IoT-ready “server room on wheels” at an affordable price.

The perfect solution for remote offices, mid-sized businesses, and companies who may need to “up and move” on a regular basis as a result of being a truly mobile enterprise.

“Netshield’s IP54-rated Data Centre in a Box (DCIB) is a completely self-contained, stand-alone server room that can be wheeled into your offices and deployed within minutes,” Dreckmeyr explains. “The DCIB takes away the onerous task of having to set up and deploy a server room from scratch as it houses all the components you need to manage a traditional server room environment – in a modular and mobile unit.

Think of a server room on wheels - the DCIB is exactly that.”

The DCIB is fully kitted out with an access control keypad, electronic locking, central Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) management and control device with dashboard, temperature monitor, flooding detection, an application-specific air conditioner and UPS, as well as optional humidity monitor, smoke and fire detectors, and extinguishers.

It is a complete movable asset for a company.

“Importantly, the DCIB can be built to your business’s exact requirements. In short, it is a stand-alone server room for which you can cherry-pick security and monitoring modules based on your business needs. All of which you can then control from 10

a single IP address,” says Dreckmeyr. “Only qualified users will be given access to the server room, and can do so onsite or remotely by way of a simple click-through interface that provides a dashboard summary of the exact alerts and statuses of a selected device within the DCIB.” The true benefit of the DCIB is that it strips away the need for a host of costly technical skills to build and deploy the infrastructure required in a server room. Furthermore, it reduces the time to operation – as you can wheel it in and get set up and working straight away, and it eliminates the costs associated with a dedicated server room that takes up expensive square metres.

“As a result of Netshield being part of WestconGroup Southern Africa, you can further tailor you DCIB to include a host of additional technologies – such as a wireless bay station, networking switches, patch panels, data blades, and any other technologies available through the company. We will preconfigure your DCIB and then set it up for you onsite. If you have multiple satellite branches that require their own server room, but you don’t have the IT resources to manage each environment, then the DCIB is the perfect solution for you.

It is secure and quick to deploy and access to the equipment it houses is only afforded to approved and certified personnel at any given point,” Dreckmeyr ends. ■

Terrified of the costs of deploying a server room for your business?

Unable to justify the IT and infrastructure costs of deploying a server room?

Then you need a Data Centre in a Box.

A fully mobile, self-contained server room that you can wheel in and set up in minutes, managed through a simple click-through dashboard from a single IP address. The Netshield Data Centre in a Box is the perfect solution for companies that are serious about their business, understand the importance of IT, are ready to embrace the Internet of Things and are geared up for the next wave of digital transformation in their organisation.

What can you put inside you ask?

• • • • • • • • •

Access control connecting to any RFID/biometric/keypad devices Smoke and heat optical detection Control and monitor solid state fire extinguishers as well as air conditioners 24/7 remote monitoring and configuration through onboard SNMP 24/7 SMS backup emergency reporting and remote SMS control Emailed reports summaries of user-definable statistical event reports Internal battery backup for controller Surge and lightning protection Monitored optically isolated WAN network interfaces

Your Data Centre in a Box is available in self-contained equipment cabinets in various sizes ­­­— 15U (wall mountable), 25U, 42U, 47U size floor-standing units — and can be ordered in a knock-down format for easy shipping.

Simply can’t live without one?

Call Luke Bainbridge Channel manager: Netshield, Westcon-Comstor +27 11 848 9000 | luke.bainbridge@westcon.com

“Stop dreaming about it and start doing it.�

INVESTING

MICHAEL JORDAAN’S INVESTMENT STRATEGY

By Rudolph Muller

M

ichael Jordaan is one of the best chief executives South Africa has ever produced. Under his leadership, FNB showed exceptional growth and became the technology leader in the local banking market. FNB was also awarded the title of the world’s most innovative bank in the 2012 Finacle Global Banking Innovation Awards.

So, when Jordaan resigned as FNB CEO in 2014 to start his own private investment company, Montegray Capital, people took note. With his knowledge of financial systems and technology, people expected him to choose technology start-ups which were likely to show strong growth and become profitable businesses.

Jordaan believes that start-ups are essential to human progress and are the best vehicles to take new ideas forward. “Large corporations and governments can also take society forward, but are far more likely to do so in a slow, incremental manner.

Start-ups can move fast, take risks, and naturally go where no one else has been before,” Jordaan told MyBroadband.

One of the main criteria for investing and getting involved in a new business is that there is a business concept which is significantly better than the status quo, said Jordaan.

“Of course the business idea needs to be backed up by a great team – the most important investment criteria – which has a track record of execution.”

He also has a long list of things that disqualify businesses from investments from Montegray Capital. “We need to be highly selective as the investments are illiquid and need to be held for a long period. Once you are in, you are committed for a long time,” said Jordaan.

Even with the selective investment process, most venture capitalists still expect half of their investments to fail – with portfolio outperformance coming from the top 10-20% of investments. The reason for turning down most applications, said Jordaan, is that some start-ups only bring him an idea and have not tried to gain any traction in the market yet. “People overvalue ideas and undervalue implementation,” said Jordaan.

The high risk associated with early start-up investments makes many investors shy away from venture capitalism, but Jordaan believes risk is not inherently bad. “In fact, the right type of risk is good because it is exactly that risk which allows for significant rewards. The main thing is that one must understand the risk and use deep knowledge and intense hard work to reduce the risk better than any competitor. As an investor, one can also diversify risks somewhat by having a portfolio of investments in different entrepreneurs and different sectors. Entrepreneurs do not have that luxury and need to be agile enough to pivot their start-ups to reduce risk.”

Jordaan’s advice for starting a business •

Stop dreaming about it and start doing it.

•

Make sure you are an expert on the topic, as the last 1% of knowledge can be as useful as the preceding 99%.

•

Get a partner.

•

Listen intently to your early customers and adapt the whole time.

•

Make sure you are solving real problems.

•

Keep your costs low.

•

Sell all the time.

With so many other asset classes available to investors, it raises the question whether Jordaan believes his venture capital fund will outperform more traditional investments like property or shares.

He is confident this is achievable.

“I’m fortunate to be investing only my kids’ inheritance, so I am basically accountable to my family.

It allows me to take a long-term view and expend all my energy on the investments themselves, without having to explain my decisions to third parties or being second-guessed by investors who have different, short-term requirements.” ■

13

DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION

TradeSwitch Cutting-Edge tech that’s empowering digital distribution in Africa ®

Save money, with MobileData’s automated, agile TradeSwitch® technology, opening your business up to up a world of opportunities in the digital era.

T

radeSwitch® manages the tracking of token-based products throughout the distribution value chain. Using a hierarchical structure to map the distribution chain, it is built with dynamic node types to replicate a company’s actual business structure perfectly.

This next-generation billing, payment, and service delivery platform benefits mobile networks, MVNOs, traditional and digital banks, digital product aggregators, and independent distributors.

TradeSwitch® enables these service providers to effectively manage their vouchers and distribution channels, while offering extensive reporting for the day-to-day business operations as well as strategic and management roles.

TradeSwitch® can be configured to act as a subledger which integrates with other financial systems, offering a real-time database synchronisation between systems. It caters for flexible accounting periods and will calculate the age analysis reflected on statements as configured for each customer.

MobileData is able to offer custom solutions for companies that can be made accessible on any device.

14

Globally, there is a trend for businesses to move away from brick-and-mortar establishments and into a mobile, online presence with digital products and services. As a result, a need has arisen for a transactional switch that is multi-channel, multidevice, and multi-product.

MobileData’s TradeSwitch® effectively meets this need.

What sets TradeSwitch® apart is that companies are not required to invest in or maintain complicated new technology.

Rather, TradeSwitch® manages the tech, while partnering with businesses to provide the solutions that will convert them to the digital economy.

In this way, companies are able to save money, automate their billing and collections, and replace their outdated technology and processes with new, agile solutions that allow them to set up quickly (in a matter of weeks) and make hassle-free changes as needed.

Besides saving costs, TradeSwitch® opens up opportunities to organisations who may wish to begin distributing virtual products, such as enabling consumers to purchase airtime, recharge their DSTV accounts, play the lotto, prepaid funeral cover, etc. The tokenisation of the digital economy is endless. ■ Contact MobileData +27 12 004 0282 sales@mobiledata.co.za www.mobiledata.co.za

Shameel Joosub Chief Executive Officer Vodacom

MOBILE

VODACOM’S DRIVE TO BRING DOWN DATA PRICES I

t’s ‌ no secret that the global economy has been under strain since the 2008/9 economic crisis. Global financial institutions and our reserve bank have downward revised South Africa’s GDP in recent years. This in turn has put pressures on the growth and investment projections that companies set themselves year-on-year while rising to the challenge of social-economic development. Mobile communication companies like Vodacom have invested heavily in infrastructure and complemented this with investment in human resources, communities, and contributions to economic transformation.

Despite the challenging economic environment, Vodacom continues to outperform its targets - evidenced by the Group’s 5.3% growth in service revenue in the first half of the current financial year and its strong performance in 2015/16.

This has enabled Vodacom to prioritise its commitment to the digital and knowledge economy by investing in its network infrastructure. Including the current financial year, Vodacom will have invested R27.4 billion in its network in South Africa over a three-year period - as pressures to keep up with coverage, speed, and quality demands intensify.

In the same period, the company invested over R270 million in communities, while total expenditure with black-owned entities amounted to R7.2 billion - of which R5

“We have been involved in a number of constructive engagements to find a workable solution to make broadband even more accessible and affordable for South Africans.”

billion was with black-women-owned entities. This is the result of Vodacom’s focus on preferential procurement as well as supplier and enterprise development.

Given the impact of the economic slowdown on the South African consumer and global trends on the cost of data, the cost to communicate in South Africa has been a hot topic in recent times. It was the focus in public hearings led by the Telecommunications and Postal Services Portfolio Committee in September 2016, while making broadband more accessible and affordable is also one of the objectives outlined in the White Paper published by the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services a month later.

Vodacom’s price transformation Accordingly, Vodacom’s pricing transformation plan has seen the company reduce the price of data and voice by more than 60% and 57% respectively over the past four years. However, Vodacom acknowledges that more needs to be done

to respond to consumer needs and the company remains committed to data cost transformation. At the beginning of 2017, Vodacom launched Siyakha (iSizulu for we build), a platform aimed at lowering the cost to communicate for the emerging market while simultaneously seeking to increase digital and social connectivity.

“The launch of Siyakha is key to helping improving the lives of people that can least afford communication costs. We also continue to improve on the segment approach that recognises the needs of various sectors of society with specific reference to the youth and base of the pyramid segments. This reflects our core belief that through investments and providing relevant communication and technology solutions, we can change people’s lives.” says Shameel Joosub, CEO of Vodacom Group.

Smaller bundles and personalised offers through Just 4 You contributed to bundle sales of more than 410 million in the most recent quarter and means Vodacom is on 17

schedule to reach over 1.5 billion bundles sold this year. According to Joosub, this positively reflects on customer satisfaction scores.

By providing customers with greater value, South Africans seem to be voting with their feet - with Vodacom’s latest active subscriber numbers rising to 36.4 million.

“It’s a complex balance to strike,” says Joosub. “On the one hand, we need to continue to invest in our infrastructure so that we meet the exploding demand for data and maintain our network and customer service advantage. On the other, there is a pressing social need in South Africa to bring down the cost to communicate for people who can least afford it.”

On the White Paper, Joosub said it is important for the government and private companies to work together to find a balanced solution. “While it is still early days in the entire process, we have been involved in a number of constructive engagements to find a workable solution to make broadband even more accessible and affordable for South Africans. These engagements are ongoing and have the clear intent of contributing to the implementation of the White Paper,” said Joosub.

The White Paper is also focused on driving transformation in the ICT sector. Vodacom believes that more transformation is required in the ICT sector and agrees that new players with strong BEE credentials should have access to spectrum. Additionally, the DTI’s new ICT sector codes have put stringent requirements on companies from a BEE and ownership perspective. Vodacom says it is committed to achieving these goals.

According to recent speculation and a Bloomberg article published in January 2017, Vodacom is currently considering a BEE transaction that will boost black participation in the South African economy.

Without being drawn into commenting on the transaction, Joosub said: “Vodacom is committed to delivering on the ideals of black economic empowerment and continues to explore a variety of options with the primary objective of broad-based inclusivity and employment equity. Any transaction of this nature will be conducted through a well-governed, highly-transparent process.” ■

“Vodacom is committed to delivering on the ideals of black economic empowerment and continues to explore a variety of options with the primary objective of broad-based inclusivity and employment equity.”

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SOFTWARE

WHY DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS THE KEY TO FUTURE BUSINESS SUCCESS “One of the reasons for this is that IT guys, of which 83% identified a direct link between digital transformation and the achievement of strategic business objectives, struggle to adequately transform ‘geek-speak’ into the language of business,” explains Mcaravey.

“Furthermore, many CEOs battle to understand what technology trends have occurred and, with 75% of respondents seeing no need for a Chief Digital Officer, clearly businesses don’t understand the enormity of the task of Cloud migration.”

Additionally, 56% of all respondents identified skills shortages as the top challenge to achieving technological innovation.

Access to people with the right skill sets to manage the new age of data-driven systems is important, yet tough, in the current market.

Brendan Mcaravey Country Manager Citrix South Africa

K

eeping up with IT trends and investing in relevant new technology is critical to making your business more competitive and successful, says Brendan Mcaravey, country manager, Citrix South Africa.

Digital is currently focused on three mega-trends, namely Cloud, Mobility, and IoT. These each pose a challenge to traditional, Blue Chip companies competing against the new Digital Natives – companies like Uber or Airbnb – that were born in the Cloud. “You need to think about how you can make your own products available to anybody on any device if you want to stay competitive,” Mcaravey adds.

Migrating towards Cloud and Mobility has its own set of challenges, however, including poor support from top management, high costs, and a shortage of IT skills.

According to a study commissioned by Citrix and conducted

by BMI-TechKnowledge (BMI-T), only 31% of business respondents specified that their organisation had been driving digital transformation at the highest level. Business leaders are therefore failing to acknowledge the need to proactively invest in the future today.

20

To address the cost of Digital Transformation, Mcaravey recommends a software-first approach, as it is dynamic and can easily adapt to changing trends.

“You need a strategy of where you want to go, the costs involved, and the technology that is available to you. But it’s difficult to make a 5-year bet, and investing in software gives you the flexibility to adapt as needed.”

“You need to think about how you can make your own products available to anybody on any device if you want to stay competitive.”

To help businesses transition to the Cloud in a cost-effective way, Citrix suggests centralising a company’s applications as a starting point and giving workers access to their mobile workspace on any device.

“You’ve already invested a lot of money in your current technology and you don’t have the resources to rewrite it all.

Our solution allows you to mobilise your workforce to easily and securely access apps, desktops, data, and services from any device, over any network, with a single solution for IT to manage.” ■

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INTERNET OF THINGS

Narrowband technology will be for IoT what 4G was for mobile connectivity

By Deon Liebenberg, Vodacom Managing Executive for the Internet of Things

2

016 was a landmark year in the South African Internet of Things (IoT) space, with several organisations announcing plans to build Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) capabilities.

The previous 20 years of technological development was all about telecoms companies building infrastructure and networks for people to communicate – we are now moving into the era of building infrastructure for “things” to communicate.

In the past, ecosystems and the Internet were built for people: we are now building and orchestrating an entire new ecosystem for things, to improve human lives.

Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT) is a term for an LPWAN developed to enable a range of new devices and services.With NB-IoT, we address the need for low-power and increased-penetration applications that have historically not been served by cellular connectivity.

This brings new opportunities, for example: smart water metering, which has no power source, and smart parking monitoring, which could be in lower basement parking bays where cellular connectivity tends to be very weak.

We will see an extension of battery life to over 10 years, enabling the monitoring of many things – which was previously not possible due to power source limitations.

Through the improved coverage and increase in the number of devices supported within a cell, NB-IoT allows us to connect the billions of things around the world that analysts have been predicting for years.

Security Risk Having many things connected across the Internet becomes a potential security risk, though, as this opens targets for attackers. Many LPWAN technologies leave security up to the integrator to implement, and in others the details are still unclear.

As NB-IoT is based on an approved standard, security is integrated into the network layer – ensuring it is covered at every level in the ecosystem.

South African Enterprises What does NB-IoT mean for South Africa and local enterprise? Over the past year, we have seen significant growth in the number of things which are connected to the Internet. In the second half of 2016, Vodacom reported a 27.7% increase in our IoT base – growing to 2.6 million.

The new NB-IoT technology will benefit faster deployment, more effective connectivity, and better suitability for the types of use cases that we are building to optimally connect things – including cold chain, smart asset management, and connected agriculture.

One of the key questions that remains is how NBIoT will be monetised. Put simply, the monetisation potential lies largely in services. There is accelerated growth coming from utilities – mainly driven by the need to better manage electricity and water supply, as an example.

We face significant socio-economic challenges in South Africa, which includes the availability of electricity, water, and security. As a result, we are

seeing growth rates in the utilities sector, such as smart metering.

In the health sector, NB-IoT technology supports the wider delivery of basic healthcare services in rural areas. An example of this is Vodacom’s Stock Visibility Solution, an IoT platform developed and deployed in rural clinics to manage the process to reduce drug stock-outs.

This solution is now used in over 3,000 South African clinics and we are in the process of deploying it in harder-to-reach areas across the continent, including Mozambique, Tanzania, and Nigeria.

Changing Lives Mobile technology has changed people’s lives.

Imagine the next step in terms of billions of things being connected, communicating with each other and other objects, spaces, and places – improving our lives without us being aware of them.

NB-IoT technology will accelerate the adoption of IoT and will fast-track the number of devices which will be connected. It will also accelerate new use cases, creating new industries and value propositions.

Studies have shown that 70% of IoT opportunities lie in enterprise. In South Africa and Africa, an opportunity exists in connecting urban areas and communities. We are going to increasingly see local and regional municipalities looking to technology to help them solve their current challenges.

Vodafone’s 2016 IoT Barometer Report shows that South African business leaders feel more confident about the benefits of IoT, seeing it as strategicallyimportant in terms of their sustainability.

This means the local economy is positive about the adoption of this technology and what it can offer.

A rapid deployment of LPWANs like the NB-IoT network Vodacom is deploying, combined with communication modules becoming more affordable, will transform value chains for goods and services, supporting economic growth in South Africa. ■

“In the past, ecosystems and the Internet were built for people: we are now building and orchestrating an entire new ecosystem for things, to improve human lives.”

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FIBRE

Africa’s demand for fibre will boom in 2017

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he telecoms industry in South Africa and the rest of the continent is on the cusp of a fibre and mobile broadband boom as network operators scramble to meet the demand for video, cloud applications, and mobile solutions among consumers and businesses.

That’s the word from Suveer Ramdhani, Chief Development Officer at SEACOM, who says that the priority for the telecoms industry in 2017 should be to accelerate deployment of true broadband services so that African users can benefit from the full power of the Internet.

Says Ramdhani: “In Africa, we have seen some progress in increasing Internet penetration, but the goalposts keep shifting. Many, perhaps even most, Internet connections on the continent are sub-1Mbps connections that do not meet the insatiable demand among businesses and consumers for fast and plentiful bandwidth.”

In Africa, one major factor driving demand for highperformance bandwidth is a growing and youthful population that sees connectivity as a fundamental right, he adds. For them, broadband spells access to educational, economic, and social opportunities. Mobile broadband has an important role to play, but fibre-based fixed-line infrastructure is also vitally important in connecting mobile towers and giving users affordable lastmile access to high-speed services.

Mobile-first “Research from We Are Social indicates that that 75% of Web pages served to Web browsers in South Africa are served to mobile devices,” says Ramdhani. “Across Africa, people spend most of their time online using mobile devices because of the world’s shift towards mobility and because it is the only affordable or available means of connecting to the Internet in many regions.”

However, the way that people use the Internet on a mobile device is different to how they use their fixed-line connections.

They use their smartphones for social networking, messaging, entertainment, and utility, while desktop users do more dataintensive tasks such as file sharing and video streaming.

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Another factor is the rapid rise of video. Data from Cisco shows that video accounted for nearly 58% of data consumption in South Africa in 2015, which is expected to rise to 71% by 2020.

Streaming video services such as Netflix and ShowMax will be a major reason for this growth, Ramdhani says.

In the business market, there is growing demand for cloud computing services such as those provided by Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Salesforce.com, and a range of African service providers, he adds. Many African organisations are embracing the cloud to fast-track modernisation of their IT infrastructures.

“With the trends towards higher video consumption and cloud computing, users will need to find their way back to a fixed-line connection.”

“With the trends towards higher video consumption and cloud computing, users will need to find their way back to a fixedline connection,” says Ramdhani. “Mobile operators will need to look at their business models and decide whether they will evolve them to capture all of our data spend or whether they will continue to provide relatively-expensive services for niche mobile use.”

Ecosystem comes together Ramdhani says that many elements of the ecosystem have come together in Africa for a boom in high-speed Internet access. For example, an explosion in local data centres and deployment of content caches has brought global content closer to the end user, improving the experience dramatically.

In addition, open-access infrastructure players have reduced barriers to entry for innovative service providers, meaning that fibre to the business and home is becoming increasingly viable in African metropolitan regions. “There is city-to-city fibre and rings around the cities, but not enough to businesses’ and consumers’ doorsteps,” Ramdhani says. “Changing this is a priority for SEACOM this year.”

SEACOM is also focusing on connecting into more countries and expanding its ring around Africa, with aspirations to the West. “With such low broadband penetrations and with such high demand for data volumes, the growth possibilities are tremendous,” says Ramdhani. ■

Uncrowd your business Internet Doing serious business is just not possible when you’re sharing your Internet with every Tom, Dick, Harry and Mary.

Connect straight to the source and enjoy fibre Internet for your business that’s super fast, super reliable and truly unshared — with no data cap whatsoever. Talk to us today about how we can make your IT solutions as cutting edge as your business. Mail our team at superfast@seacom.co.za

Serious Internet for serious business

FIBRE

Vodacom pursues co-build agreements to deploy fibre across South Africa

By Louisa van Beek, Managing Executive for FTTX at Vodacom

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outh Africa may only be second to Kenya when it comes to fixed broadband speeds in Africa – according to Akamai’s State of the Internet report – but that clearly can’t be the right level of ambition.

South Africa ranked 82nd in the world in 2016, with an average broadband speed of 5.6Mbps. Only 38% of lines exceed 4Mbps. Given South Africa’s state of fixed-line infrastructure, there is a huge task ahead to catch up with the rest of the world.

Upgrading existing copper-based DSL infrastructure is less viable in South Africa than in many European markets, due to longer distances and the reduction of

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line speed that this causes. South Africa consequently needs to embark on a journey to widen the footprint of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connectivity.

Due to the scarcity of spectrum in South Africa and delays in the process to award new spectrum, fibre is another way to provide additional mechanisms to deliver capacity to people to meet increased data demand.

Higher speeds will enable wider use of eLearning and eHealth applications across the country, and improved telecoms infrastructure has also been shown to correlate with increased economic growth.

Co-build agreements Vodacom is playing an active role in the provisioning of fibre. We have been able to provide more than 31,000 homes and businesses with fibre infrastructure to date. In 2016, we made significant inroads – signing wholesale agreements with two third-party network infrastructure providers – SADV and MetroFibre Networx.

We also signed lease agreements with Fibrehoods, Openserve, Century City Connect, Vumatel, and Dark Fibre Africa to deliver Vodacom Fibre products.

Through these providers, Vodacom customers will have access to Vodacom Fibre Broadband, Vodacom Fibre Fixed Voice, and value added services.

Vodacom and other parties are facing challenges today when it comes to rolling out fibre infrastructure, including: 1.

2.

3.

4.

For FTTH to reach as many consumers as possible, many service providers must come together and collaborate in meaningful and practical ways. All great projects require multiple players – and this is no small project.

There are several examples worldwide where competitors have joined forces to roll out infrastructure together, resulting in increased competition and better service quality. While these projects have not been very successful for mobile network sharing arrangements, being reduced in scale and scope due to cost overruns and delays, there are functional examples in the fixed-line and submarine cable space.

For example, in Spain, Vodafone has co-built infrastructure with a competitor – offering a second choice over the incumbent’s DSL/fibre network to 3 million households.

Large investments required Difficulty to create and maintain focus Issues to achieve economies of scale Target areas chosen are only very-highincome and easy-to-deploy

A co-build structure can provide adequate funding, establish focus in a single-purpose entity, and achieve higher volumes that result in efficiencies. The increased deployment scale will create local employment in the construction industry and reduce the cost of imported materials that cannot be sourced in South Africa due to the larger purchase volume.

The risk sharing makes it more attractive to venture into greenfield areas that are currently underserved.

This requires good governance structures that anticipate and cater for conflicts of interest. An additional benefit of co-build is it also avoids duplication of infrastructure.

Working together While Vodacom recognises that working with different providers to build infrastructure can be challenging (especially given South Africa’s advanced competition laws), we have worked with partners and shared infrastructure providers before to achieve technological and pro-competitive gains – such as in tower sharing.

Vodacom has observed that third-party network infrastructure partnerships will assist in giving access to pre-deployed FTTH networks, inclusive of access build and active equipment. This rapidly increases time to market and allows customers to enjoy fibre offerings across a wider geographical area.

In addition to ambitious co-build plans, Vodacom will continue to use third-party networks to deliver fibre to as many South Africans as possible – rather than compete for high-value areas.

South Africa has ambitious 2030 connect targets set by the government to deliver better access to Internet services to all citizens. This will be one building block that Vodacom is able to provide, in order to achieve these targets. ■ 27

COMPUTING

ROBUST ICT PRODUCTS AND SOLUTIONS FOR UNATTENDED HARSH ENVIRONMENTS Mines, factories, oil rigs, yachts, and other outdoor info devices need a solution that can stand up to the toughest challenges, says Ryan Martyn, Syntech Sales and Marketing Director.

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iada, with its industrial-grade specifications, has become the industry-leading computer brand in the local digital signage market and is rapidly being adopted as the trusted solution for harsh environments.

“The world already has great options available for small form factor computing from the established brands that we are all familiar with. These are all very good systems designed to operate in most environments,” says Martyn.

Giada’s range of small form factor computers are not generic nor designed to generically fit into most applications, “but their systems are nothing short of exceptional and intended to meet the specific requirements of applications which require more than just a PC”, adds Martyn.

Giada is one of the leading ICT product and solution providers and an expert in digital signage embedded systems. Boasting a comprehensive product line of digital signage systems, embedded PC/MB and server systems, Giada is in full trend of IoT, cloud, automation, and desktop virtualisation solutions and thus provides the ideal base for the latest industrial and business applications.

“Giada barebone systems are kept in stock locally, can be fully customised, assembled in a matter of hours, and are backed by a swop-out warranty.”

Incorporating the latest processing technology, Giada offers several ranges of completely customisable systems that perform well under the harshest environments. The systems offer interchangeable components to give users the ability to incorporate 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity, and multiple storage and memory configurations with support for up to 6 concurrent displays into a system.

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Ryan Martyn Sales and Marketing Director Syntech

The computers are also available with a fully fanless chassis that has proven to be a lot more reliable in dusty or greasy environments. The fanless design gives users a quiet work space by eliminating the ambient noises caused by internal fans. This approach decreases power consumption and improves reliability by avoiding potential dirt-related component failures.

Current applications for the systems in South Africa include digital signage solutions, PBX systems, call centres, corporate computers, marine navigation systems, and industrial computers in the manufacturing and mining sector. ■ Contact Syntech sales@syntech.co.za www.syntech.co.za

FIBRE

Fujikura Fusion Splicer – connecting light to link the world and you Fusion splicers have been around for almost 40 years now and arc fusion splicing plays a pivotal role in the installation of modern fibre networks and FTTH.

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he first step towards purchasing the correct splicer is to determine which type is the right tool for the job at hand – and most importantly, for future jobs. The experienced sales team at IC Logistix can assist with that.

Since the inception of arc fusion splicing, Fujikura has been the preferred choice of most large international optic fibre contractors, telecommunication, and installation companies.

Once determined, then most importantly, the next step is brand. As with many things in life, cheap is nasty.

The rule of thumb is to stick to a wellestablished Japanese brand. Fujikura is the world’s leading manufacturer of Splicing Equipment.

IC Logistix, established in 2011, is the sole accredited distributor for the Fujikura and Softing (Psiber) brands.

The company also sells accessories and test equipment related to the optic fibre and copper markets.

IC Logistix deals first-hand with buyers, just like you. “Our success is based on our relationships with our clients due to the integrity that we portray towards them. Our brand is our passion,” says Managing Director Zach Yacumakis. ■

Contact IC Logistix +27 78 280 7115 iclsales@iclogistix.co.za www.iclogistix.co.za

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THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM

Andre Fourie Chief Executive Officer Poynting Antennas 32

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oynting Antennas is a great South African success story.

The company, which was founded by former Wits University professor Andre Fourie and a group of fellow researchers in 2001, has grown to become a world leader in antenna technology. Financial success also followed for Poynting Antennas, which listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2008.

getting in to steal the batteries it stores. The design considers cable access, weather protection, heat dissipation, and protection against theft and vandalism.

It is, however, not the company’s growth nor its financial success which are the most impressive aspects. It is the fact that very smart South African scientists at the company’s headquarters in Gauteng are developing innovative technology products that are now the preferred equipment for many companies around the world.

Poynting is earning most of its revenue overseas, and is a globally respected brand for antenna design, trusted antennas, and specialised communication consultant services.

Under the leadership of Fourie, the company continues to innovate in the telecommunications field, and currently boasts extensive

intellectual property with over 50 patents and registered trademarks.

It is a company which shows that world-class innovation is happening in South Africa and that we can build products which benefit the continent and the rest of the world. ■

Poynting employees include graduates and engineers with doctorate-level knowledge of antenna technology. Poynting is earning most of its revenue overseas, and is a globallyrespected brand for antenna design, trusted antennas, and specialised communication consultant services.

A good example of its international success is its selection as the antenna supplier for Norway’s rescue services. Robust and reliable antennas were needed for weather stations which were spread around the mountains and rural areas of Norway, and Poynting Antennas’ products were a logical choice.

The company is also the official supplier of antennas for the German Olympic sailing team, and the Bloodhound Supersonic Car project.

Poynting has also started to tackle other telecoms-related challenges, like the damage to and theft of mobile base station equipment.

Its solution is the MagiCube – a concrete enclosure, strong enough to stop criminals from

The MagiCube, developed by Poynting, is a concrete enclosure, strong enough to stop criminals from getting in to steal the batteries it stores.

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Innovation starts with us, and continues with you.

With a specialised focus on enterprise multimedia contact centres and enterprise IP telephony, ODEK is a technology and cost forerunner that has partnered with best-in-class, global, industry leaders to offer a range of hand-picked, versatile, and customisable solutions that integrate into any other process or system.

“Changes call for innovation, and innovation leads to progress.”

Li Keqiang

The commitment and devotion the ODEK Customer Engagement team has to relationship management and top-class engineering allows them to cater for all types of communication. This enables the dynamic management of multimedia interactions, enhanced workforce mobility, improved security, and broad integration to existing systems and end-user devices that drive businesses.

Gert Swart Chief Executive Officer ODEK Customer Engagement

E

ntering a new year with many new opportunities on the horizon, ODEK Customer Engagement revels in the privilege to finally introduce itself to the world as one of the leading Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies in South Africa.

It certainly has been an impressive journey so far for the CEO, Gert Swart, with over 20 years of experience in the field of ICT – specifically in voice. Gert always knew what he wished to accomplish in life by creating and nurturing an ICT company that works with companies for better solutions. Solutions that impact their bottom line positively as a partner, not just as a supplier. He knew that it would be a long journey with many unexpected detours.

Regardless of the size and type of contact centre, ODEK continues to have an unmatched product and exceptional technical knowledge and skills. The team takes pride in their company and is committed to fuse innovation with experience with each project that presents itself, and can therefore provide any solution best suited to the customer’s need.

As an industry leader in business process automation, ODEK Customer Engagement shares expertise and cutting-edge solutions with customers, who can then capture, prioritise, route, escalate, and track every step of a process, which puts them in control. ■ Contact ODEK Customer Engagement www.odek.co.za

Gert Swart’s contact centre career began in 1996 as an ICT support engineer and developer. After assisting South Africa’s “big four” banks with Y2K testing, Gert moved abroad where he installed and configured cutting-edge contact centre technology in Kuwait, Dubai, and London.

In 2001, Gert joined Genesys, currently a trusted partner of ODEK Customer Engagement and the biggest product solution provider as well.

This brings us to the reason for ODEK Customer Engagement’s existence. In 2013, Gert ventured into an alliance, which led to the establishment of Elingo Business Solutions, as Managing Director. In 2016, Elingo Business Solutions became ODEK Customer Engagement.

ODEK Customer Engagement is focused on connecting people with people. This well-established Johannesburg, South African-based ICT company partners with customers to deliver the best possible solutions and service.

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VIDEO ON DEMAND

The future of DStv in a Netflix world

By Jan Vermeulen, MyBroadband Technology Editor

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Stv’s competition is online services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube, even though their businesses may be based on different technologies. Where South Africa’s broadcasting giant previously had no real rivals to worry about, it must get ready to face international media powerhouses.

Although it initially launched as a value-add for DStv Premium subscribers with PVR decoders, MultiChoice planned to make an online version available from the beginning. By 2013, the Internetbased version of DStv BoxOffice was launched.

A barrier to entry for South Africans who desire streaming services is a lack of connectivity. Few people in South Africa can afford the high-speed broadband connection, and the associated large data cap, you need for video streaming.

In addition to preparing for a future in which TV is streamed and not broadcast, Cumming said the launch of disparate online services presents a new opportunity.

During November 2014, MultiChoice believes that following the launch of “History will show us streaming video, whether its first Explora decoder, live or on-demand, is the DStv announced Catch Up that pay TV is the better future of television, but it Plus. This expanded the business model.” also doesn’t think satellite existing on-demand Catch TV will disappear anytime Up catalogue on your DStv soon. decoder, with hundreds more titles available for download from the Internet.

“History will show us that pay TV is the better business model,” said DStv Digital Media group Catch Up Plus features recently-aired movies and general manager Graeme Cumming. series, and in 2016 the M-Net Movies Collection was added to the catalogue – expanding it to 1,000 films.

Cumming said the problem with streaming video is This is comparable to services like Netflix and that it not only faces the high capital costs of buying ShowMax in South Africa. Although Netflix has and producing content, but high variable costs, too. over 15,000 titles on its platform in total, roughly Bandwidth is one of these escalating operational only 5,000 of these are available in the United States. costs, said Cumming. The more content you deliver In South Africa, the title count grew to over 1,000 to subscribers, the more you pay. during 2016.

There’s no question that video streaming is what people want, but whether it’s a better business, Going mobile whether there’s more margin in it, and whether it’s sustainable is the argument, he said. But the world is Another Internet-based service MultiChoice moving to streaming, so that’s what DStv must plan launched in November 2014 was DStv Now, an app for. for Android and iOS devices that lets subscribers stream or download videos from Catch Up. It A lack of high-speed also lets DStv Premium subscribers live-stream several channels over the Internet, from M-Net to broadband SuperSport.

Netflix, for example, recommends a 5Mbps line for HD streaming and a 25Mbps line for UHD content.

This gives DStv time to prepare for a future where most video entertainment is delivered over the Internet.

On-demand content is not a new concept for DStv, however, with the company launching its BoxOffice service in 2011. BoxOffice is a transactional videoon-demand service that lets you rent movies like you would in a video store.

Where you previously might be able to get all your video entertainment through one service on one box, with streaming services it is spread across multiple apps – potentially on multiple boxes. For consumers, this may present an inconvenience.

“There is opportunity for someone to offer all the services people want through a single interface with unified search and content discovery, and without having to subscribe to each service separately,” said Cumming. ■

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Antony Seeff, Tariffic CEO

How companies - from big corporates to small businesses waste money on employee smartphone contracts

T

he biggest mistake companies make when selecting smartphone packages for their employees is choosing the wrong contract – and with over 10,000 combinations of packages in South Africa, it’s an easy mistake to make.

Tariffic CEO Antony Seeff – whose company specialises in cellphone bill optimisation – said it is almost impossible for individuals to select the right package for themselves, meaning companies face a mammoth task when picking contracts for multiple staff members.

Seeff said Tariffic is able to save companies up to 40% on their cellphone bills simply by ensuring that employees are on a contract which meets their needs.

Corporates wasting money “We see large corporates often waste more money, on a per-contract basis, than smaller businesses.

However, SMEs are still paying too much,” said Seeff.

“We find the biggest overspend for SMEs comes from employees being on the wrong packages, companies not adding bundles as necessary, and companies being charged for extra costs – such as WASP services – that should be removed immediately.”

Seeff said large companies are also plagued by dormant contracts, which often occurs when an employee leaves the company and their unused contract continues to be paid for every month.

Tariffic stated that 11% of the corporate lines it analysed had no usage. “Usually when an employee leaves a company or moves roles, the SIM cards land up gathering dust in a desk drawer,” said Seeff.

A policy of forcing employees to have a “work phone” and a separate “personal” phone is not necessarily an answer to overspending problems, said Seeff. Conversely, letting employees make personal calls or use data for personal browsing on work phones is allowed by companies – as long as it is not excessive.

Companies must keep an eye on this usage, though, as cases have been discovered where employees were sending airtime to other SIM cards using their work device. These factors combined lead to billions being wasted each year, said Seeff.

Vodacom leading the pack Vodacom owns the business market, according to Tariffic, with the lion’s share of corporate cellphone deals. At the end of 2016, over 80% of all corporate contracts analysed by Tariffic were on the Vodacom network. Seeff said a contributing factor to Vodacom’s success was “inertia”.

“Inertia is a powerful force in the cellular industry, with many people and companies not choosing to move networks due to perceived complexity, or a variety of other reasons.”

Vodacom was also perceived by businesses to possess 2 of the 3 S’s – Signal and Service. “Being able to make a call is priority – Signal. This is followed by the ability to be able to contact someone if they have a problem – Service,” said Seeff.

“Last is Savings. Vodacom is perceived to dominate the market when it comes to Signal and Service, and even though their Savings aren’t anywhere near as significant as the other operators, this is still reason enough to convince corporates to give Vodacom their business.” ■

“We see large corporates often waste more money, on a per-contract basis, than smaller businesses.

However, SMEs are still paying too much.”

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GADGETS

GREAT BUSINESS PRODUCTS FROM

CES 2017 The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was held in Las Vegas in January, bringing together the global technology industry at the largest tech show in the world. The event showcases products and solutions from over 3,800 companies, including manufacturers, developers, and suppliers. This year, many companies unveiled business-focused products at the event, including robots, security products, and efficiency tools.

We selected a few of the most innovative products from the show.

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LG Airport Guide Robot The LG Airport Guide Robot is an information assistant for travellers, answering questions in four languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. The airport robot offers directions to destinations inside an airport, along with estimated distances and walking times. It can also escort travellers to their gates or any other airport location.

Norton Core Wireless Router The Norton Core wireless router uses advanced machine learning and Symantec’s global intelligence network to defend your business Wi-Fi. The Core router will defend all devices connected to it against malware, viruses, and hackers. The router features a 1.7GHz dualcore processor, two USB 3.0 ports, and four gigabit Ethernet ports. It also sports a 4×4 MUMIMO platform, which is designed to achieve maximum throughput speeds of 2.5Gbps.

2017 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 The 2017 ThinkPad X1 Carbon is the lightest 14-inch business notebook in the world. It weighs only 1.1kg and features a 14-inch IPS display. The new ThinkPad X1 Carbon offers up to 15 hours of battery life and has been redesigned to include Thunderbolt 3 ports, LTE-A Wireless WAN, and Wi-Fi Certified WiGig options. A fingerprint sensor with a dedicated chip that handles biometric processing helps secure and simplify the Windows Hello login.

Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate GT USB flash drive The Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate GT drives offer superior quality in a high-end design and are made of a zinc-alloy metal casing for shock resistance. The drives will ship in February and will be available in 1TB and 2TB capacities.

Intel Compute Card Intel unveiled a new modular compute platform called the Intel Compute Card, which aims to transform the way computing and connectivity can be integrated and used in future devices.

The Intel Compute Card has all the elements of a full computer, including an Intel SoC, memory, storage, and wireless connectivity with flexible I/O options so hardware manufacturers can optimise their particular solutions – from interactive refrigerators and smart kiosks to security cameras and IoT gateways.

FIBRE VISIONARIES TAKE BUSINESSES INTO THE CLOUD

By Wayne D’sa, Managing Director at CipherWave No longer a buzzword, South African businesses are reaping the many tangible and quantifiable benefits that Cloud brings.

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he connectivity landscape for businesses (and consumers) looked lacklustre in 2010 – unreliable, slow, and expensive.

While the rest of the country was at fever pitch for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a dynamic team of visionary entrepreneurs founded CipherWave with the mission of enabling South African businesses to do more, grow faster, and thrive with fast and reliable Internet.

The world becomes more bandwidth hungry every day as the Internet continues to transform the way we live and work. For a business customer, it is essential that its provider has the right capacity to deliver the bandwidth required to meet its needs and those of its customers. CipherWave partners with leading carrier providers to ensure that it can meet the requirements of customers – to stay connected 24/7 and to have a failover option in the case that something might go wrong.

Cloudy, with a chance of increased productivity and profits A natural progression of CipherWave’s business has been towards the Cloud. No longer a buzzword, South African businesses are reaping the many tangible (and quantifiable) benefits it brings. This includes not having to own or maintain server infrastructure, directing working capital to other strategic areas, deploying new business services much quicker, and enabling employees to be more productive by accessing business systems and applications from anywhere.

Identifying the right Cloud partners has been key to enabling CipherWave to deliver enterprise-class Cloud offerings. It has built its Cloud offering on the back of partnerships with industry leaders such as Microsoft, VMWare, and Veeam. This is supported by a Cloud infrastructure built on industry-leading hardware.

CipherWave snubbed traditional copper technology and, instead, hedged its bets on the future: Fibre. It created a worldclass fibre ring network in the country’s main business hubs – the big three, plus Bloemfontein and East London. CipherWave partnered with network infrastructure players to enable its customers to benefit off its network. Fibre connectivity is quick to deploy and easy to scale, which makes it the ideal option for the SME that is gearing for growth.

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CipherWave owns and manages a state-of-the-art data centre in Midrand, with full replication and redundancy to a secondary data centre in Isando. This allows CipherWave to provide secure facilities for businesses to store or backup their data or host their productivity applications in the CipherWave Cloud environment.

As a local player, CipherWave provides its Cloud customers with excellent support, quick turnaround, speedy data retrievals, and an intimate understanding of local legislative and compliance requirements. Whilst there has been much hype regarding international Cloud providers, business owners must mitigate risk by carefully assessing whether an international provider can offer the same.

The future is calling After years of a monopolised local telecommunications environment, businesses today have the freedom to choose from a range of voice service providers. In the same way that customers are abandoning physical server infrastructure, so too are they bidding the traditional PABX farewell – the huge, costly, and complex on-premise equipment hidden in the basement or utility room.

The Cloud has opened a new world of telecoms freedom, which provides more than just calling features.

With Unified Communications, companies can acquire voice services quickly and cost effectively – and can easily scale these as business needs dictate. CipherWave believes the key to providing customers with a quality, competitively-priced, and reliable Unified PBX and voice solution is owning the infrastructure that the service operates on. CipherWave’s voice offering is scalable, flexible, and affordable, enabling the company to provide Unified Voice telephony services regardless of where a customer is located.

Local is lekker From inception, CipherWave had an unwavering commitment to delivering on its promise and managing and exceeding customers’ expectations. CipherWave understands the local business environment and the challenges its customers face.

For this reason, the company continues to innovate to bring to market services and solutions to help customers be more productive and profitable.

Its services are backed by enterprise monitoring systems to ensure the availability and uptime of connectivity and cloud services. CipherWave has invested heavily in its network infrastructure and data centres to ensure that it can deliver world-class services to business customers. With local network infrastructure, local data centres, and local support, CipherWave is geared to become the provider of choice for Connectivity, Cloud, and Voice services. ■

Contact CipherWave +27 11 541 9940 info@cipherwave.co.za www.cipherwave.co.za

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M

atrix Computer Warehouse opened its first store in Alberton in 2000 – fast forward to 2017, and the computer, gadget, and technology retailer now has 90 whollyowned and franchised stores across South Africa.

Part of the company’s success can be attributed to its amazing deals, helpful service, and spot-on tech advice. This great service is thanks to stores being owner-managed, which ensures customers are always looked after and find what they are looking for when they visit a Matrix Warehouse outlet.

Whether its pre-built powerful gaming PCs, business laptops, new Intel processors, external hard drives, peripherals, or the latest drone, Matrix Warehouse has you covered.

Brand refresh Matrix Warehouse recently started its brand refresh project, which aims to further streamline the shopping experience.

The company’s flagship head office megastore in Alberton was the first location to receive the upgrade – giving it a brighter, bolder, and more refined look and feel. Every techno widget you could possibly need is all within eyeshot from any part of the store, said Matrix Warehouse.

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“Within seconds, you will be assisted by an extremely-helpful and knowledgeable tech consultant who will make sure that your specific needs are explicitly met.”

The new Matrix shopping experience will roll out to more stores during the course of 2017.

As part of the upgrade, the company has also launched a new website – www.matrixwarehouse.co.za – which offers online shopping with rapid navigation and a refined user interface.

Magazine Partner On top of the great shopping experience at Matrix Warehouse, customers can also pick up a free copy of the MyBroadband Magazine at its stores nationwide.

Matrix Warehouse is a premium distribution partner of MyBroadband and will have free copies available for customers at stores in Gauteng, Cape Town, Durban, Bloemfontein, and Richards Bay. ■

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THE BANKERS WHO WANT

TO CHANGE TELECOMS

Paul Harris Former Chief Executive Officer FirstRand Limited

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S

outh Africa’s telecommunications market has a handful of dominant players and many people are eager for a fresh face in the local broadband scene to shake things up.

To build a new broadband network from scratch can be challenging and time-consuming, which led WBS to sign an agreement with Vodacom that allows it to lease aspects of Vodacom’s sites and facilities.

Telecommunications is a capital-intensive business, though, and to take on large companies like Vodacom and MTN requires deep pockets. It is therefore not surprising that two bankers – former FNB CEO Michael Jordaan and former FirstRand CEO Paul Harris – are behind the country’s latest broadband network.

Harris said they will have at least 500 sites active on Vodacom’s network by March 2017, 2,000 by the end of 2017, and 5,000 by 2020. WBS also plans to have a further 5,000 sites in operation, consisting of its own sites and sites of other telcos and tower companies.

Jordaan and Harris are majority shareholders in Multisource, which acquired iBurst parent WBS Holdings in 2016. WBS owns spectrum in the 1.8GHz and the 2.6GHz bands, which is perfect for rolling out a 4G broadband network. Following the acquisition, Harris, who serves as WBS chairman, announced a multi-billion-rand investment in a new high-speed LTE-A national data network for South Africa.

The two bankers have been successful in striking deals and raising funds to roll out the national LTE-A network – but why did they decide to invest in the telecommunications market in the first place?

The investment Jordaan said there are remarkable similarities between mobile connectivity and digital banking.

“In fact, some experts predict that the two industries will converge in future as more banks start offering MVNO services – like FNB Connect is already doing successfully – and mobile networks start offering payment services like M-Pesa has done in emerging markets,” said Jordaan.

Other similarities are that both industries offer intangible products – billing in the telco world is similar to an account in the banking world - and both industries are dominated by a few large players.

Pricing in both markets is also relatively high and complex.

“Banking and telecommunications are also utilitylike, in that we take them for granted until the service is interrupted and then business and social life grinds to a halt,” said Jordaan.

Jordaan and Harris were attracted to telecommunications because data has become the lifeblood of the modern economy and data demand is exploding everywhere. “Soon, everything will be connected and connectivity is everything,” said Jordaan.

They also do not have historic income streams to protect, which gives them the freedom to develop pricing models without having to worry about revenue cannibalisation.

South Africa has a robust and competitive local telecoms market, but Jordaan and Harris are confident there is a space for a smaller player to be successful. “We think that data prices are relatively high, that pricing packages are complex, and that pricing practices like paying more for out-of-bundle services and losing data at the end of the month are not consumer-friendly,” said Jordaan.

Their investment in the South African telecommunications market is not only due to the commercial opportunities. The link between an increase in broadband access and economic growth means this new network can contribute to muchneeded economic growth in South Africa. It will also enable over-the-top and Internet of Things players to bring new services to the South African market.

“Voice services are going to become just another data app – like WhatsApp or Skype – and will be free in time.”

Jordaan acknowledged that the investment does, however, carry huge risk. “We must be the only LTE start-up in the world. Globally, the third and fourth operator in mobile markets tends to struggle, so we will be targeting a data niche rather than competing in a full-frontal attack,” said Jordaan.

Jordaan said it will take up to three years before they have a nationwide network, which means their initial target market will be fixed-mobile – where their main competitor is fibre. “We hope that we can help customers without digging up pavements or in neighbourhoods or business districts where there is insufficient take-up of fibre to warrant a roll-out,” said Jordaan.

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One of the biggest advantages for WBS is that it can enter the market without any legacy network technologies: 2G, 3G, and LTE. This means it can roll out an LTE-A network from the start and migrate to LTE-A Pro and 5G when these technologies become commercially available.

The risk is worth it considering the potential benefits, he said. “We hope to put South Africans and businesses in a position where they use data as if it is a human right and abundant,” said Jordaan. ■

Michael Jordaan Former Chief Executive Officer FNB

SINGULARITY

STANDING ON THE BRINK OF THE SINGULARITY REVOLUTION Singularity represents an era where humankind and machines collide to become one civilisation, but what will it mean for us, asks Rudie Raath, Digital Technology Strategist at Datacentrix.

T

he Enfield Council in North London recently hired a new employee called Amelia to answer customer queries. What makes Amelia stand out from the rest of the staff, however, is that Amelia is a robot.

Nevertheless, Amelia can analyse natural language, understand context, apply logic, learn, resolve problems, and even sense emotions. Unlike other AI technologies that merely detect and match words, Amelia applies context to distinguish between different uses of the same word.

Raath believes this is a sign that “we are seeing the beginning of singularity – not as something still coming in the future, but as a reality that is already here”. Singularity is the concept of artificial superintelligence triggering accelerated technological growth, resulting in fundamental changes to civilisation as we know it.

The Showcase will also present a live interview lunch at Montecasino’s main theatre, where a hard-hitting journalist will be interviewing a panel of industry leaders about the reality of singularity. Delegates will be able to help drive the interview by voting for questions through the new Business Showcase app.

The app will be available in June on both Android and iOS, and will also allow delegates to arrange meetings, plan sessions, and much more.

“We are living in the most fortunate era in the history of humankind because we are on the brink of a paradigm shift.

And if we embrace it, we will be part of a revolution,” Raath concludes. ■ For more information and to register for the conference (free to all end customers), visit: www.datacentrix.co.za/showcase-2017

“We are living in the most fortunate era in the history of humankind because we are on the brink of a paradigm shift. And if we embrace it, we will be part of a revolution.”

“The world is progressing so quickly that we are relying more and more on technology to do the thinking for us. In fact, if I told you what the temperature is in New York right now, you’d possibly not believe me, but you’d trust an app on your phone.

This demonstrates how much faith you are already putting into technology,” Raath explains.

For the first time in history, technology is becoming advanced enough for singularity to become a reality. “We are on the brink of the singularity civilisation, if you think of the velocity at which AI technology has advanced in the last 10 years and imagine that same velocity in just the next five years,” Raath adds.

“The reality of singularity” will be explored in depth at the 2017 Datacentrix Business Showcase, taking place at Montecasino on 13 July 2017. The Showcase will feature the popular 20-minute speed breakout sessions that were introduced at the 2016 conference, featuring more use cases and interactive sessions with industry experts.

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Rudie Raath Digital Technology Strategist Datacentrix

BUSINESS

PUTTING TECHNOLOGY TO WORK N

eo Ntshole’s business really took off from the deep desire she had to help solve people’s problems. In a previous role as a facilitator, she met with a number of micro enterprises in the townships and rural areas, and in various discussions she had with the small business owners, many raised issues they were experiencing relating to stock acquisition. These issues required them to close shop and leave the premises, while they also faced challenges relating to routes to market and financial management. Their biggest challenge, however, was receiving stock at the right time.

After spending time with the shop owners, Neo knew she could find a way to develop a business that would help solve these challenges in the communities. She joined a 6-month Raizcorp business growth programme in order to develop her idea into an operating business and after completing the programme, she can now proudly boast that she is in the process of building an app. She firmly believes that technology can address challenges relating to time and distance and her app – which is in the prototype phase – will go a long way to help connect the tuckshop owners and their suppliers.

“With tech anything is possible!” says Neo when asked about her business. “I want to show these shop owners the value that technology can bring to their businesses and in turn help them become educated and empowered. So far, it has been an exciting and often tough journey. I don’t have an IT background, so learning to trust people with my product and my ideas has been taxing at times. Being on the programme helped me realise that I don’t necessarily need the technical background to make my business work.”

“I knew I could find a way to develop a business that would help solve people’s challenges through technology. By joining a Raizcorp business growth programme, I received invaluable knowledge, mentorship, and support which helped me build a prototype and move towards building a business that solves challenges.”

The corporate which sponsored Neo to be on the 6-month Raizcorp programme provided her with mentors and technical experts who imparted invaluable knowledge and expertise. She was able to access their research lab and developers worked closely with her to build the prototype of her app. The general business skills and knowledge that she learned while working with Raizcorp’s Guides (business “mentors”) helped her focus and manage her accounts correctly and she gained a better understanding of what her business was and what she wanted to do.

Neo Ntshole Founder and CEO Tsebo Information Solutions

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“Going forward, I am focusing on relationship building with the wholesalers, new producers, and small-scale farmers. I am trying to make new brands accessible to the market as small business owners very often can’t afford big brand names. I am looking forward to having a community for producers and growing alongside them. I could not have achieved what I have so far without the knowledge and mentorship received on the programme. It has opened my eyes and now I know that I am not just doing things blindly. I can now help solve challenges.” ■

We offer established business growth programmes that have a world-renowned track record of creating highly successful entrepreneurs.

Join our community of entrepreneurs Raizcorp – Africa’s most successful and established for-profit business incubator model – provides business support for enthusiastic entrepreneurs, offering them a platform that fosters learning and guidance, which can be translated into practical business success.

We’ve partnered with corporates who are looking to sponsor and develop growth-hungry entrepreneurs in the ICT industry.

As part of our business growth programmes, entrepreneurs have access to: Financing Institutions Markets Business Guidance Back Office Support Specialists Entrepreneurial Learning Infrastructure The Raizcorp Community

To apply for our programme SMS

MBICT to 44332.

FIBRE

VUMATEL PROVIDES FREE CONNECTIVITY TO SCHOOLS V umatel is rolling out free uncapped open access fibre optic infrastructure to every Primary and High school passed during the deployment of its network. Each school receives a 1 Gigabit per second line and can choose from a variety of Internet service providers for free uncapped connectivity.

The Click Foundation has seen such success in the programme at Parkhurst Primary since the introduction of improved connectivity, that they have donated an additional 20 computers to the school. “Without adequate connectivity,” says Sanjeev, “none of this would be possible.”

Vumatel piloted this initiative with Greenside High, Hoërskool Linden, and Parkhurst Primary. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Since the pilot, Vumatel has connected almost 40 schools to fibre and aims to connect another 40 in 2017.

This programme contributes to the enrichment of learning English at the school. Most of the students do not speak English at home and only get exposure to the language at school. The majority of the pupils are from Alexandra and Soweto, with the remaining from the inner city and surrounding suburbs. The fact that they can access this literacy platform is extremely enriching for their English education. The Click Foundation has also found that when comparing children of the same level and demographics, the students at Parkhurst Primary are able to get through their lessons faster and more seamlessly.

“The introduction of this e-learning tool has also changed the way children learn computer skills.”

The installation of fibre at the St Vincent School for the Deaf has made a significant impact on the learners, as told by their principal Ingrid Parking. She said: “Teaching deaf learners by means of iPads and Smartboards is far more effective than the previous methods, as these are visual learning tools. Having fibre optic Internet connectivity has enabled teaching and learning at a speed previously unimagined, and has vastly improved the output of work in general.”

Sanjeev Maharaj, the principal of Parkhurst Primary, speaks of the impact that Vuma fibre has had in his school. In 2014, The Click Foundation introduced an e-learning literacy programme to the school called Reading Eggs. “Since introducing the fibre connection, we have found that the children are getting through more lessons, more quickly.”

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“The introduction of this e-learning tool has also changed the way children learn computer skills,” says Sanjeev. “Previously, the focus was on computer literacy. Now, the focus is on learning, and computer literacy comes naturally as a byproduct.”

Vumatel aims to provide free high-speed connectivity to approximately 80 schools this year. Niel Schoeman, the CEO of Vumatel, insists it is vital to connect our children to the information age. “Vumatel challenges other providers to follow our lead and support education in South Africa,” he said. ■

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THE SECURITY RISKS BUSINESSES FACE WHEN USING CLOUD SERVICES T

he use of cloud services is commonplace in many businesses today, with companies like Amazon Web Services making it easy for corporates to migrate large amounts of data to the cloud.

Amazon launched its Snowmobile project towards the end of 2016, which allows businesses to move large amounts of data online via a connected shipping container which plugs into a network via multiple 40Gbps connections.

When using cloud services, though, there are multiple security risks which must be taken into account.

Dominic White, CTO at SensePost, said the biggest shift is arguably the ability of employees to access services which were previously only available within the company.

This means a user who uses “Password” for their password faces a greater risk of exposing a company due to the external availability of cloud services.

“The easy response to this is to use two-factor authentication, but that’s not always bundled into cloud roll-out plans,” said White.

Prepare for the attack White said companies often start using cloud services because individual employees are doing so.

“The simplest example of this might be work communications going through personal Gmail accounts, more advanced examples might be developers building their own test environments within places such as Amazon’s AWS cloud,” said White.

Taking resources online presents the risk of a business’s services or infrastructure coming under attack, and, as was seen recently with the Mirai DDoS attacks, networked devices being hijacked by botnets.

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“The issue of the Mirai botnet was related to embedded hardware such as DVRs and cameras. On the one hand, it’s a requirement for manufacturers to make these things more secure to prevent widespread takeovers such as this. However, an organisation can architect their network to prevent these devices from being easily contacted over the Internet. A good firewall architecture can do more to prevent these attacks than an IoT anti-virus or something equally silly.”

Companies also face an increased risk of coming under an online attack, if news headlines in recent months are a metric to go by.

Large DDoS attacks against DNS service providers like Dyn and gaming platforms like Sony’s PlayStation Network have drawn much attention from the security and IT industries.

White said this could be because there are actually more attacks, or companies have got better at spotting them – or a combination of the two.

Mitigating an attack “As for mitigations, there’s not a simple answer,” said White.

“The attacks are done by human beings, who can’t be treated like a natural phenomenon. For example, a tsunami may never have caused a rise in water level of x metres, so tsunami defences can be built at x+20m to make sure they defend against future tsunamis. Human beings, on the other hand, will treat a defence as a target. If they’ve never jumped a 10m wall, building a 15m wall will just encourage them to learn how to clear 15m. What this means is that a good defence is made up of multiple controls at multiple levels and that these controls need to be able to react to a human attacker (through detection and response).”

Dominic White, Chief Technology Officer SensePost

“It’s also increasingly clear that these defences can’t be general defences. The more successful defences are those contextually relevant to the organisation. For example, defining a list of known safe software for a business function and limiting it so only that can be executed is likely to be more successful than just installing an anti-virus.”

White said SensePost offers three primary services to clients to help protect their networks and databases: security assessments, managed security services, and security training.

“The services we provide are aimed at helping customers to understand their exposure, giving them expert advice, and teaching them what we know.”

This includes reviews of critical software and reducing vulnerabilities in new applications before launch, providing managed vulnerability scanning and managed phishing services, and teaching security practitioners – from beginner to advanced – to defend their networks. ■ 63

IT MANAGEMENT

Make your IT work smarter, not harder Today, with the rapid growth of IT requirements, companies need IT infrastructure that is faster and more reliable than ever before.

Keith Mclachlan Chief Executive Officer Sintrex

A

s ‌‌ a leader in IT Infrastructure Management, Sintrex has earned a reputation for world-class end-to-end solutions with a personal touch. While many products and services in the local IT sector are based on imported products, Sintrex provides local solutions.

By listening to and adapting services to each client’s unique needs, Sintrex offers a complete end-to-end service, with accurate, realtime data that ensures a desired level of performance is achieved and maintained in all IT assets throughout the business.

This service is built on the following four service pillars, which work to form a comprehensive IT management solution designed to enhance the customer’s experience of their IT:

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•

Sintrex Infrastructure Management: This allows you to become a long-term partner in the accurate and efficient management of their IT infrastructure.

•

Sintrex Asset Management: Sintrex delivers real-time information on your assets to ensure the business is operating at maximum efficiency.

•

Sintrex Application Management: Sintrex strives to proactively detect and diagnose application performance problems to maintain a superior level of service for the business by monitoring and managing the performance and availability of software applications.

•

Sintrex SLA Management: Sintrex Service-level management provides for continual identification, monitoring, and review of the levels of IT services specified in the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) the business has with multiple third-party suppliers and service providers.

What really sets Sintrex apart, however, is the motivated, credible, and attentive team. Through a culture of excellence, partnership, and fun, Sintrex attracts and empowers staff with an inspirational work experience, world-class software, and globally-renowned partners.

“Sintrex delivers great results because it mentors a great team,” said Keith Mclachlan, CEO at Sintrex. “With a culture of open participation, results are achieved through great collaboration.

A shared passion for client-focused IT visibility solutions brings the staff together, productively.”

Mclachlan contends that South African companies need to be at the forefront of developing young people and creating jobs. Keeping revenue local empowers companies investing in the future of South Africa to mature their products, drive innovation, and ultimately create employment opportunities.

Sintrex has a strong internship programme that currently sees 80% of its interns joining its team full-time. ■

The Natural Choice in IT Infrastructure Management

Sintrex enables business and management decisions through the delivery of credible and consistent IT Management Solutions.

+ 27 (0) 21 931 9202 | + 27 (0) 11 318 0744 | info@sintrex.com | www.sintrex.com

COMPUTING

MANAGE THE EFFECTS OF THE APP-DATA GAP When your applications slow down, you’ve hit the App-Data Gap. Faster storage alone isn’t enough, because 54% of issues are not directly caused by storage, says Nimble Storage co-founder Umesh Maheshwari.

D

ata needs to be immediate. It’s essential to every business and every person, and it must be available at any time.

Even a slight disruption in IT infrastructure causes an AppData Gap that will leave you wanting.

Nimble Storage is the answer to preventing these disruptions.

Nimble eliminates the App-Data Gap, giving customers around the world the opportunity to experience the fastest, most reliable access to data.

“In 2007, I remember my co-founder mentioning that flash drives could be used for enterprise storage. I remember thinking that we have been building filing systems for hard disks for decades, where you would be shipping drives with lots of gigabytes at that time, and all that they would be used for is an additional spindle. Flash changed all of that,” says Maheshwari.

As such, Nimble was founded in 2008 with the core belief that flash, cloud, and big data analytics would disrupt the storage market – and were they right. “Our mission is to deliver data velocity; enabling customers to accelerate core business processes,” adds Maheshwari.

Yet, while flash is a game changer, on its own is not enough.

To experience absolute performance, non-stop availability, and cloud-like agility, you can embed predictive analytics in a unified flash fabric. Nimble’s Predictive Flash Platform delivers two unique capabilities: Predictive Analytics for radical simplicity and Unified Flash Fabric for freedom of choice.

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Predictive analytics attacks the root cause of the App-Data Gap: infrastructure complexity. InfoSight predicts and prevents problems beyond just storage - so you can simplify operations and accelerate all your apps. Predictive analytics helps Nimble deliver 99.9999% measured uptime.

The Nimble Unified Flash Fabric is a single consolidation architecture that enables flash for all Enterprise Applications.

For the most performance-sensitive apps, Hybrid Flash for tier 2 needs, or these combined, you can use All Flash to consolidate, scale on demand, cut your TCO by 33-66%, and shrink your data centre footprint up to 5-times.

“Until now, enterprises have been forced to choose between Hybrid Flash and All Flash arrays, but that’s no longer the case with the Nimble Unified Flash Fabric,” Maheshwari says.

Nimble Storage has achieved the highest satisfaction rating in the storage industry with solutions that are the foundation for on-premises private clouds, SaaS, and managed services – for companies of all types and sizes, in virtually every industry. ■

Contact Virtual Works www.virtualworksafrica.com

ADAPTIVE ACCELERATED FLASH STORAGE FOR THE MODERN DATA CENTRE Nimble Storage combines primary and backup storage systems into a single solution

To close the app-data gap you need the two unique capabilities our Predictive Flash Platform delivers: Predictive Analytics for Radical Simplicity

Unified Flash Fabric for Freedom of Choice

Predictive analytics attacks the root cause of the app-data gap: infrastructure complexity. InfoSight predicts and prevents problems beyond just storage—so you can simplify operations and accelerate all your apps. Predictive analytics helps us deliver 99.9999% measured uptime.

Use All Flash for the most performance-sensitive apps, Hybrid Flash for tier 2 needs, or combine them.

Consolidate, scale on demand, cut your TCO by 33-66%, and shrink your data center footprint up to 5x.

Unwavering Customer Commitment Our Net Promoter Score (NPS) is tops in the storage industry, underscoring our deep dedication to customer satisfaction.

NPS scores based on publicly available data.

Virtual Works is a leading Information Technology Distribution Company, delivering Enterprise IT solutions on a Value Added Distribution model in Sub Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean Island markets.

011 463 8336 sales@virtualworksafrica.com www.virtualworksafrica.com

BEST SMARTWATCHES

IN 2017

10:10

Apple Watch Series 2 The Apple Watch Series 2 has a built-in GPS, is water resistant up to 50m, and features a lightning-fast dual-core processor. The display is twice as bright as the previous model, and it offers a wide range of features and apps to help you to stay active and connected.

Samsung Gear S3 The Samsung Gear S3 comes in two designs: the Gear S3 Frontier and Gear S3 Classic.

The Frontier is a rugged, outdoor watch, while the Classic features a minimalist, elegant style. The watches feature wireless charging to a 380mAh battery, and Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC connectivity.

Both devices are powered by the Tizen OS and sport 1.3-inch Super AMOLED displays.

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Sony SmartWatch 3 The Sony SmartWatch 3 features a 1.6-inch 320Ă—320 TFT LCD Transflective display and is rated IP68, meaning it is dust-tight and waterproof. Sony has specified that the SmartWatch 3 will be water resistant up to 1.5m in fresh water as long as all ports are closed.

Tag Heuer Connected Watch The Tag Heuer Connected Watch combines luxury materials with tech innovation and expert craftsmanship. It sports a sandblasted titanium bezel and a brown calfskin strap with black rubber lining. The watch features a 1.5-inch circular LCD display and a 410mAh battery which offers 25 hours per charge.

Garmin Vivoactive HR The Garmin Vivoactive HR is a GPS smartwatch with a high-resolution colour touchscreen. Users can easily customise their watch with free watch face designs, widgets, and apps from Garmin’s Connect IQ store.

Users will also receive smart notifications and smart coaching from Garmin Connect when paired with their phone.

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INTERNET OF THINGS

Sizing up the opportunity of IoT in South Africa “The Internet of Things (IoT) opens up numerous opportunities for solving the resource allocation and utilisation issues that cities face as a result of rapid urbanisation,” says Reshaad Sha, CEO of SqwidNet. He further explains how South Africa should take advantage.

Reshaad Sha Chief Executive Officer SqwidNet

I

n a country like South Africa, where cities face increasing demands to support the needs of their citizens and businesses while under budget, facility, and service constraints, IoT innovations offer ways to use these resources in a much more efficient and productive manner.

SIGFOX partners have already developed devices and applications to deliver smart-energy, smart-water, and environmental-monitoring solutions that can be deployed on the SqwidNet network in South Africa. These solutions will enable cities to manage the distribution and utilisation of these resources more efficiently. In some cases, such as smart energy, new business models can enable the renewable energy that is produced by businesses and citizens to be harvested and brought back onto the grid to supplement the energy supply that is available to cities. IoT is ultimately paving the way for real-time, contextual, and relevant services that unlock value for citizens and businesses.

business users and consumers, as well as the service providers and system integrators that will deliver these services to end users.

SIGFOX, a global IoT network, has established an ecosystem consisting of low-cost devices with long battery life, low connectivity costs, and long-distance transmission capabilities.

It is expanding its coverage to IoT, and the availability of cost-efficient South Africa via SqwidNet, a “The Internet of Things (IoT) opens up IoT connectivity, also provides a real wholly-owned subsidiary of DFA, numerous opportunities for solving opportunity for businesses to become the premier open-access fibre the resource allocation and utilisation more cost efficient and productive – network provider. SqwidNet will issues that cities face as a result of rapid increasing their competitiveness. In deploy and operate the SIGFOX urbanisation.” verticals such as logistiscs and supply network nationwide and distribute chain, IoT applications help to reduce risks, improve operational the IoT connectivity services and solutions through its partner efficiency, and raise service levels. The increased sustainability channels. Full national coverage will be available in 2018. of these businesses boost their economic and broader social contributions to cities. IoT applications and devices that are “South Africa will need to shape its future cities as hubs of currently available in the SIGFOX partner ecosystem can also culture and commerce that promote high-quality, streamlined be used to provide pervasive and contextual public safety and living. And to get this right they need to evolve to become smart security services, making it safer to live and do business in cities. cities enabled through the IoT,” Sha concludes. ■ Investment in IoT will drive innovation at the application and service layers. Entrepreneurs and larger players will have the opportunity to create compelling propositions that benefit 70

Contact SqwidNet www.sqwidnet.com

The Internet of Things is here.

SqwidNet is the SIGFOX network operator for South Africa. It provides an ecosystem for IoT innovation and the development and delivery of IoT solutions by enabling: • long-range, low-cost, and low-power devices and modules • low-cost connectivity.

SIGFOX is a global IoT network deployed in over 26 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

The SqwidNet network roll-out started in January 2017.

National coverage is expected during 2018.

For more information or to sign up as a SqwidNet partner, visit www.sqwidnet.com.

DEVELOPMENT

HOW HYPERION DEVELOPMENT CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF GOOGLE AND FACEBOOK

W

hat started as a small, Durban-based tech firm has grown into a company which not only caught the attention of Google and Facebook, but is now considered one of the most innovative start-ups in Africa.

Among Hyperion Development’s standout achievements since its inception are it being awarded R3.27 million in funding from Facebook in October 2016, seeing over 8,000 students graduate from its courses since 2012, and becoming the leading training provider in Python in South Africa.

Facebook’s funding builds on a funding award and partnership with Google, making it the first South African start-up to be financially backed and supported by both Facebook and Google.

The need for developers Now headquartered in Cape Town, part of Hyperion’s success can be attributed to the high demand for developers in Africa.

“One of the rarest skills to find in South Africa are software developers,” said Hyperion. “Besides Java, much-needed programming skills are PHP and the Microsoft suite of languages, including .Net and C#.”

Mobile developer skills are also on the rise, with companies offering thousands of developer positions due to the short supply of suitable candidates in South Africa.

“Hyperion bridges this gap and is paving the way in growing the amount of developers in Africa.”

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The company can achieve this through its online education system which uses Dropbox to provide students with text files and marking. This removes the need for a constant Internet connection – something the “whole online education industry has not managed to achieve”.

“Through educational partnerships established with the British Computing Society and the University of Cambridge, Hyperion has adapted overseas education in cutting-edge tech skills to what Africa needs,” it said.

Corporate training Hyperion has also branched out into corporate training for current and new employees, providing them the opportunity to upskill in software development areas, such as Python, Java, and Data Science.

“One of the rarest skills to find in South Africa are software developers.”

“Our B-BBEE Level 1 company offers training in the form of workshops, blended learning, as well as full online with courses tailored to the organisation’s needs,” said Hyperion.

Organisations which have employed these services include CapaCITI, CSIR, SEACOM, DotModus, and the Department of Education. ■

CLOUD COMPUTING

CLOUD COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SECURITY

T

he financial business case to adopt cloud computing is indisputable. It makes sense to buy computing infrastructure as opex instead of capex, to not have to employ staff to manage IT hardware, and to have the ability to scale up and down as needed without capex and human resources implications.

A huge question mark over the cloud decision is cyber security, says Willem Rossouw, Executive: Strategy & Technology at Bytes Systems Integration.

When an enterprise moves into cloud computing, especially if it uses a public cloud, the risk of cyberattacks increases simply because its computing activities are no longer confined to its own premises. Companies also sacrifice a level of governance in the move to the cloud.

However, the security upside far outweighs the risks, says Rossouw. “The infrastructure and environment provided by the hyper-compute vendors is far more secure than anything an enterprise can afford to establish on its own.”

Willem Rossouw Executive: Strategy & Technology Bytes Systems Integration

As a result, these vendors can prevent potentially disastrous events, such as DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks that occur when multiple systems flood a target’s bandwidth or resources with traffic from multiple compromised systems.

It therefore comes as no surprise that enterprise customers cite security as one of the main reasons for their decision to move to cloud computing.

Good reasons, however, do not guarantee a successful migration.

According to Rossouw, enterprises fail in this regard because they do not fully understand the cloud environment, they neglect “The infrastructure and proper due diligence, and they environment provided by the do not use cloud and cloud hyper-compute vendors is far access security brokers.

The reason is obvious. Large cloud providers invest in cybersecurity as a means to differentiate their more secure than anything data centres from the competition.

In Rossouw’s experience, the an enterprise can afford to They build redundancy into their conditions for a successful data centres, conduct continuous establish on its own.” migration also address the backend maintenance that obviates security question: “Enterprise the need for downtime, and employ dedicated security and customers should appoint a cloud broker to secure the best threat management teams to monitor the cyber landscape and deal, which includes watertight security, and they must empower proactively respond to potential threats. They also conform to themselves with knowledge by reading the excellent reports international security standards – a minimum requirement to on cloud safety that are produced annually by bodies such as be competitive in the increasingly-crowded cloud marketplace. the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA).” ■ 74

DELIVERING SUSTAINABLE VALUE Bytes Systems Integration (Bytes SI) is a specialist Outsource Service Provider which designs, implements, services and manages customised ICT services and solutions. We provide a full range of IT infrastructural services, such as service desk, end-user computing, server support, data security, network support services, data centre storage solutions and IT outsourcing, as well as contact centres, biometrics and identity life-cycle management, workforce management and cloud-based solutions. As an end-to-end ICT Solutions Aggregator, Bytes SI maintains extensive leading vendor partnerships to deliver world class technology across the African continent.

Johannesburg:

+27 (0) 11 205 7000

Durban:

+27 (0) 31 571 4500

Cape Town:

+27 (0) 21 818 1400

Richards Bay:

+27 (0) 35 789 0859

Email: sales@bytes.co.za

www.bytessi.co.za

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