The mobile workforce is growing at a rapid rate, and its workers need technology that enable them to be more efficient at collaborating and communicating. Gavin Sear, Manager Global Product Marketing at Plantronics talks about the new Calisto 7200 in his recent blog: "Today I have the pleasure of letting you all know that Plantronics has added to the Calisto family of speakerphones by introducing Calisto 7200 to the market. This new, sleek and compact speakerphone is designed specifically for small “huddle rooms” for up to six people, to provide a meeting experience beyond compare. With the addition of Calisto 7200, our partners can now offer their customers a complete selection of audio collaboration devices: headsets, personal and small group speakerphones. We created this product in a collaboration that began last year with Polycom, a leader in the conferencing space, as we share a mutual goal of providing users with superior user experiences. There’s no doubt the need for small conference rooms is growing quickly. A Nemertes 2018 study found 67 percent of IT leaders are evaluating now, or planning this year or next year, to invest in meeting rooms. Even in today’s open-office environments, the need for smaller conference and collaboration rooms is increasing. Calisto 7200 offers a professional audio experience on both ends of the call, powered by Polycom. Four highly-directional microphones pick up speech from every corner of the meeting room, with a great reduction of the “cave effect” of room reverberance. In addition, Calisto 7200 comes with wide band support for natural-sounding meetings with a small group of people. Noise cancelling technology filters out undesirable background noises like keyboard typing and paper shuffling when nobody in the room is actively speaking. One of the best things about this speakerphone is that it can help increase adoption of unified communications (UC) systems. Because it’s so easy to use, with intuitive, . . .
RubiBlue puts Africa at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
RubiBlue, intelligent business solutions provider, believes that now is the time for bold growth and expansion into Africa. The continent is poised on the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and has the potential to change markets, shift global perspective and translate the true value of technology. With one of the largest low-income growth rates globally, Africa is perfectly suited to the development of solutions that drive automation, lower costs and improve peri-urban exposure. “Africa is very technology savvy, not only from a creation and invention point of view, but from the ability to take a collaboration of existing technology to encompass a deeper need or requirement,” says Chris Ogden, Managing Director, RubiBlue. “Africa is the start point – technology from here is going to rapidly streamline many things, from the rudimentary to the solution on a grand scale.” Many of the technologies and inventions that are poised to emerge from Africa are solving problems that the first world isn’t even aware of. This granular level of innovation is what holds the key to unlocking Africa as the next Silicon Valley. Some of the biggest trends in this space include automation, data exchange, Internet of Things, cloud-based computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Growing connectivity and infrastructure is allowing for more and more of the continent to engage with technology and address challenges that have global significance. “This is the key to unlocking growth, financial inclusion, economic empowerment and people in Africa, “concludes Ogden. “Real world solutions designed to better the local market and that have international impact. It is going to be a slow process – first we will crawl, then walk and then run. Africa is paying more attention to this revolution and the future is very bright indeed.” To find out more about RubiBlue and how it can work with your business to create intelligent technology and ignite r, visit . . .
The Single Inbox Delivers Key Benefits for Small Businesses
Making the switch to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) enables small and medium-sized (SME) business owners to realise a host of additional benefits from their new IP-based voice and data communications system, of which cost savings is just one. “Lower communications costs are the single biggest driver for companies looking to adopt VoIP with average savings coming in at around 45% of current phone bills. “However, a huge additional plus for SMEs is the ability to plug in enterprise-class phone systems to help the start-up punch way above their weight,” says Otel Communications CEO, Rad Jankovic. “Foremost amongst these is 3CX, the gold standard of IP-driven switchboards,” adds Mr Rankovic. A tremendous advantage for SMEs is that 3CX functionality is hosted in the Cloud and available on any desktop computer or mobile interface. “Yesteryear's desk-bound PBX system is located in reception while the virtual 3CX platform is located anywhere. That’s critical for the very mobile small business still finding its feet,” says Mr Jankovic. Otel’s ability to offer the world’s leading brand name communications platforms like the 3CX hosted switchboard solution means companies of all sizes can benefit from enterprise-grade unified communications platforms without the need for clunky physical equipment. "Our flagship 3CX phone system is a unified communications platform that is finding growing favour with South African SMEs keen to keep voice and data costs in check during a critical phase of the business lifecycle,” Mr Jankovic explains. In particular, 3CX enables SMEs to enjoy all the benefits of unified communications which makes the highly-convenient single inbox possible. Unified communications means the ability to reach employees wherever they are using whatever format is suitable at a specific time. “Unified communications delivered via 3CX is perfect for a start-up where some team members may be working from home or even at other positions,” says Mr . . .
e² Young Engineers opens new franchise in Nelson Mandela Bay to bring STEM into Early Childhood Development in a fun and educational way
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) basics taught to develop young minds 28 May 2018 – CENTURION, SOUTH AFRICA – e² Young Engineers, a company that provides educational enrichment programmes with an engaging, hands-on learning platform for children, today announces that the company has opened it’s a franchise in Nelson Mandela Bay. The Bricks Challenge programme is aimed at children aged 7 to 8 years, and aims to impart theoretical and applied knowledge in the fields of Science, Technology, Mechanical Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Neuroscientists studies shows that our minds absorb new information through sensory integration. Feelings and sensations are critical in our thinking patterns and feelings draw our attention and give meaning to our memories which are based on pleasant or unpleasant experiences. Complex thinking processes are encouraged by challenges and discouraged by negative emotions, such as fear and pressure. e² Young Engineers’ approach provides a fun and interactive learning experience, installing positive memories and ensuring a positive connection is made with learning. In addition to educational benefits the e² Young Engineers programmes also contribute to Early Childhood Development – the programmes prepare children for the unknown future by developing their: • Interest and love for STEM • Independent, critical and creative thinking skills • Sense of curiosity • Problem solving skills • Team work capabilities • Self-confidence and a sense of self-efficacy • Computer orientation e² Young Engineers provide an engaging, hands-on learning platform. Each session starts with a theory lesson, focusing on a specific principle or concept, followed by a practical building phase where the children build a specific model using K’nex® or Lego® blocks, which practically illustrates the theory and demonstrates the scientific principles in a fun and accessible fashion; combining experiments that form scientific . . .
Caveau Provides GDPR and PCI Compliance Solutions for Leading South African Corporate Travel Management Company
Cape Town, South Africa: Caveau, the comprehensive software platform and service designed to simplify financial transactions and protect personal and financial data, has announced it’s partnering with Grindrod Travel to reduce its risks of GDPR and PCI-DSS. As one of the most established and respected travel management companies providing corporate and leisure related travel and conferencing services in South Africa, it was imperative to find a solution for safely handling credit cards and personal information of its a broad range of clients. With multiple deadlines for meeting compliance security standards for account and personal data protection looming, Caveau was able to quickly assess the travel management company’s challenges and deliver customized solutions for addressing their unique requirements. The addition of Grindrod Travel to Caveau’s client roster emphasizes the pressing need for flexible and affordable support dealing with compliance regulation worldwide. Says Gregg Scott-Brown Caveau Managing Director, South Africa based in Cape Town, “We’re excited to be working with Grindrod Travel and other hotels, agencies and a broad range of travel-related businesses in South Africa to decrease dangers and liabilities associated with GDPR and PCI-DSS.” According to Grindrod Travel Divisional Executive, Su Moller, being a single division of a large logistics company with its own IT department presented a variety of complexities in finding a solution. “The technology providers I approached to help us insisted on performing a vulnerability scan of the Travel Division, which was difficult to accomplish without including the entire organization. Time was ticking and we had to move fast. When we were referred to Caveau, their team got right to work on developing a secure vault to store our client’s credit card and personal details,” says Moller. Says Brian Dass, Caveau CSO, “Grindrod Travel’s large client database and the sheer volume of daily . . .
Dotafrica: Enabling an information society in the digital landscape
The availability for registration of domain names within the recently-launched dotAfrica (.africa) geographic Top Level Domain (gTLD) is helping to enable a new, transparent Africa powered by information. That is according to CEO of Registry Africa, Lucky Masilela, who says that the information society that .africa is helping to bring about on the Bright Continent can help Africans realise the African Union’s theme for Africa Day 2018: “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”. “The Fourth Industrial Revolution, or the digital revolution, is one that is being powered by information and the World Wide Web provides seamless and rapid access to such.” says Mr Masilela. “However,” continues Mr. Masilela, “The Internet needs to be more affordable, organised and accessible. Initiatives like .africa, which have already resulted in just under 16 000 .africa domain names being registered, help take the power of information to the people.” Africans are realising that the narrative of corruption and other unpleasant things that came to be associated with our continent for many decades do not have to accompany the African experience as we move further into the 21st century. “When people have access to information from varied sources, they are less likely to tolerate the misinformation that is a hallmark of corrupt societies. Societies built on transparency and easy access to information are free societies not tainted by the stain of corruption. They’re the kind of societies .africa is helping to build on this continent,” says Mr Masilela. Africa Day commemorates the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (now known as the African Union) on this day, 25 May 1963. The .africa gTLD is endorsed by the African Union Commission (AUC) and furthermore enjoys widespread support from such leading African organisations as AfriNIC, AfTLD, ATU, UNECA and Nepad. Registry Africa is proud that it is an African centre of . . .
2018’s top IT challenges that will keep you up at night and how to slay them
Many South African CIO’s today are stuck. This is the view of Nick Truran, CEO of AgileIT, a lean consultancy which assists corporate IT shops to transition from legacy and vendor commitments to highly effective partners able to deliver on the business strategy. “We call this mired state “CxO paralysis”,” Truran says, “and the causes are not easily unravelled especially given huge investments in technologies and vendor relationships that are not deriving intended value. Pressure to deliver on these and address growing demands from the business for IT to lead in innovation and growth, makes the role of the CIO an exceptionally challenging one,” he added. Of the 178 of South Africa's top public and private sector CIOs surveyed in the 2017/18 ITWeb CIO Survey, 56 % believe their roles are changing faster and more drastically than any other industry. The key drivers for this change are digital migration, competition and globalisation. Furthermore, 80% of these CIOs cited their inability to move fast enough among their chief concerns, followed by lack of available skills, inadequate budget and compliance pressures. Similar findings were listed in Gartner’s 2018 CIO Agenda Report, with growth topping the list of business priorities reported by CIOs for 2018. South Africa is no different with 87% of local CIO’s giving more focus on driving business growth and less on cutting cost. “Using IT to drive business growth is not as simple as it sounds,” Truran says, “Technology is evolving at such a rate that only the most adept of organisations have managed to keep up. This is aggravated by the fact that most IT executives have only three to five year contracts. During these short contractual periods, they are employed to deliver on very specific needs that the organisation may have at that point in time. Chances are by the time the executive has managed to get to grips with the organisation and forged a plan to address the original requirement, its needs have . . .
South Africa participates in largest crowdsourced Global Giving survey to empower NPOs
With over 150 000 charity organizations in South Africa, it is clear to see why we are known as a warm-hearted nation. With so many non-profits doing their part to elevate their various causes, it is the perfect time to dig deeper and investigate our unique stance on philanthropy. A new survey, put together by Non-profit Tech For Good is hoping to provide insight into our budding non-profit sector through the 2018 Global Trends in Giving Survey. A report which will be the first of its kind. The survey, available in five languages; Arabic, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish, aims to crowdsource the largest global survey of individual donors ever, partnering with 21 Non-profit organizations to better understand generosity in the charity space. Representing South Africa in the study, which is already in circulation, is donations based crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy, a strong contender in social giving. The organization has raised an astounding R65 Million for charities and individuals alike. “The goal of the 2018 Global Trends in Giving Survey is to gain a better understanding of how donors worldwide engage with causes and charities that resonate with them. Partnering with BackaBuddy we hope to gauge an understanding of the ‘spirit of Ubuntu’ in the emerging market that is South Africa” – says Non-profit Technology Trainer, Heather Mansfield. We would like to encourage South Africans to join the conversation and lend their voice to the report. The results will allow our charities an opportunity to learn from each other and align themselves with latest the market trends to better serve our community. The survey is 100% anonymous and only takes 5 minutes to complete. Click here: https://givingreport.ngo CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. . . .
Scott Ambler and Mark Lines talk business agility in South Africa in July
IndigoCube will once more host the internationally renowned and locally popular Scott Ambler and Mark Lines, creators of the Disciplined Agile Framework, but this time with a principally business focus for the first Business Agility Conference hosted in South Africa. The duo will host a conference and present workshops for a week in July aimed chiefly at business people rather than IT people. “The conference is about business agility,” says Jaco Viljoen, the principal consultant and head of digital at IndigoCube. “It’s agile for the whole business, not just IT, so it’s for business people curious about modern practices for the digital enterprise and how that affects all divisions from HR to finance, marketing and the rest.” Scott Ambler, the Senior Consulting Partner of Scott Ambler + Associates, is also the founder of the Agile Modeling (AM), Agile Data (AD), and Enterprise Unified Process (EUP) methodologies and the founding Member of the Disciplined Agile Consortium (DAC). Mark Lines is Managing Partner of Scott Ambler + Associates, coach and co-author, with Scott Ambler, of “Disciplined Agile Delivery: A Practitioner’s Guide to Agile Software Delivery in the Enterprise”, which details their approach to DAD. “Scott and Mark compare this to a racing car,” he says. “IT is the engine but businesspeople put the agile, high performance engines into tractors and make them plough fields. Similarly, IT operations must become suitable high performance engines for the racing car chassis and drivetrain. Both must work together to be competitive in this extremely demanding world.” The two internationally renowned Canadians will be the main attraction at the conference on July 17, from 09:00 to 13:00 held in-conjunction with IBM at the Fairlawns Boutique Hotel. IndigoCube will provide training on Disciplined Agile (DAD) in conjunction with Scott Ambler + Associates to enable local businesses to go beyond Agile for disciplined agile solution delivery that . . .
Consistent and professional business class messaging with Ozone Information Technology Solutions
Axigen leads the communication and collaboration offering provided by Ozone’s stable of IT solutions Johannesburg, South Africa, 14 May 2018: Ozone Information Technology Solutions is one of South Africa’s leading distributors of the Axigen email communication and collaboration product portfolio. This intelligent and secure solution provides the full benefits of email communication and collaboration on a powerful mail server designed specifically to meet demanding business requirements. Axigen is fast, secure, scalable and customisable and includes an impressive bouquet of features and capabilities. “Axigen is designed to provide the business with fast and secure email communication while ensuring effective space management and 24/7 technical support,” says Henk Olivier, Managing Director, Ozone Information Technology Solutions. “Available on both Windows and Linux operating systems, Axigen is comprehensive, easy to set up and customise and, perhaps most importantly, significantly reduces the admin burden.” Axigen SmartProcessing and AxigenGrowSecure ensure fast and effective email communication and space management while ClamAV and SpamAssassin deliver additional email protection. Using Axigen, the business can synchronise email, contacts and calendars – wirelessly. It is also assured of both local and remote access - from native connectivity with Microsoft Outlook, to Ajax WebMail and POP/IMAP clients, Axigen provides email access across multiple platforms and services. “Axigen includes multi-layer security and antivirus and antispam protection, much needed tools in the current cybercrime environment,” says Olivier. “It also has a variety of automated features that ensure backup, archiving, sync and other essential administrative tasks. It is a professional and reliable solution for any organisation looking to revitalise its email and communication systems without high overheads or barriers to entry. Simple to use and install, it offers an extensive . . .
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