Vodacom MD moves to Vodafone

Absa unveils online banking changes

Absa has unveiled a beta version of its new banking platform to its 1.25 million online banking customers. The bank says the overhaul that has been in development for two years represents a distinct step-change from what was a purely transactional online service to a comprehensive suite of transactional and non-transactional services, as well as tools to better manage one’s monthly spend and assist with financial planning. “Absa Online, and Absa Online for Business, as the services are known, are [...]

Securing mobile technology

The era of mobile computing has arrived, bringing with it a number of information security risks that companies must carefully manage as end-users do more of their work from outside the corporate firewall, says Research in Motion (RIM). According to Robyn Milham, head of sales for Southern Africa at RIM, massive coverage of the country by high-speed cellular networks, falling mobile data costs, smartphones and tablets that offer as much performance punch and usability as desktop computers have all helped [...]

The changing role of the insurance contact centre

Over the course of the last two decades, contact centres have played a pivotal role in the insurance industry, and have become increasingly technologically sophisticated in terms of their business capabilities. The insurance industry differs from other customer facing sectors, in that it is characterised by a stream of interactions over time, rather than once-off dealings with customers. As such, the contact centre’s role in the insurance industry is critical, and the ability of companies to streamline and integrate their [...]

Consumerisation drives mobile management solutions

Consumerisation of IT and the mobilisation of the workforce mean that companies need to invest in cross-platform mobile device management (MDM) solutions, says Research in Motion (RIM). According to Robyn Milham, head of sales for Southern Africa at RIM, this investment would ensure that their mobile employees can be productive without compromising enterprise governance and information security. Milham says that most organisations are managing a chaotic mix of mobile devices as a result of an increasingly mobile workforce and consumerisation [...]

The 4Cs: Consumerisation. Cloud. Cyber. Collaboration.

It’s unlikely that any Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) would deny that any of the 4C’s listed in the title are credible security trends individually but they may not have made the connection between them and how the relationship between each can actually lead to advanced business security thinking. Consumerisation, in the rush to mobile and advanced consumer devices, is dramatically changing the relationship of IT within the business. However, many IT managers are still finding themselves trapped within the [...]

R78m for ICT research network

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) will spend R78 million to extend the South African National Research Network (SANREN) connection to rural sites, including the remaining six higher education institutions that are unconnected. While deadlines were not met – Science and Technology minister, Naledi Pandor, noted that targets would be met in the current financial year. “I undertook to expand South African National Research Network (SANREN) connections to all universities by December 2011. Despite increased SANREN links we have [...]

Only 38 fully functional Thusong centres - DPSA

Only 38 connected Thusong centres are fully functional and are providing a wide range of key public services, says the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA).

Speaking during her budget vote speech, acting Public Service and Administration minister, Mildred Oliphant, revealed that out of 100 ICT connected Thusong service centres across the country, 50 were validated and only 38 were declared fully functional.

“This year the ministry will strive to make sure that all the remaining Thusong service centres are fully functional in terms of ICT connectivity, as part of the effort to bring government closer to the people,” Oliphant noted.

Slow growth for African telecoms market

The African Internet has taken massive strides forward over the past three years, however, there is still a lot of hard work to be done before Internet services are accessible and affordable to every person, says Seacom. According to Mark Simpson, CEO of Seacom, massive investments in new terrestrial and submarine cables have broken many of the bottlenecks to affordable and ubiquitous broadband across the continent. Reflecting on the state of Africa’s Internet ahead of World Telecommunications Day on 17 [...]

Free BIS for 8.ta BlackBerry prepaid users

8.ta has announced that new BlackBerry prepaid customers will receive free BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) subscription for a month upon activation of the service. The offer applies to the first 5000 new BlackBerry prepaid customers on activation of their first BIS subscription effective 15 May 2012. The free one month BlackBerry BIS will be automatically activated to apply during the second month of BIS subscription. Customers will also receive 500MB of free YouTube streaming per month with BIS activation “8.ta [...]

Mobile internet use surges

Recent research has revealed that the number of Internet users in SA accelerated dramatically in the past year, due to the impact of smartphones and mobile phones. This is revealed by the Internet Access in South Africa 2012 study, conducted by World Wide Worx and backed by the howzit MSN online portal, which reveals the Internet is finally arriving in the hands of the mass market.  The headline findings showed that the local Internet user base had grown from 6.8 million [...]