tech news
Unlocking the Potential of Digital Transformation at DTC2020
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business cannot be underestimated. It has forced organisations to reconsider supply networks, product launches and employee well-being — all the while accelerating the speed at which digital tools or processes need to be implemented. Enterprises looking to compete in today’s marketplace are fast realizing the necessity of a comprehensive digital transformation blueprint that integrates various technologies across the board. With this in mind, IT News Africa and industry experts are set to tackle ideas on how to drive the future-of-work, future-of-connectedness, data management, connected digital experiences and digital innovation strategies at this year’s Digital Transformation Congress. The DTC2020 virtual conference — taking place on&nbs...
South Africans’ Data Allegedly Leaked Online Post Experian Breach
The personal data of nearly 24 million South Africans and 793 749 businesses were handed over to a fraudster last month. Now, reports suggest that some of this information has been leaked online. “Experian South Africa had tens of millions of personal records breached last month. Only 1.3 million contained e-mail addresses, with others including government-issued IDs, names, addresses and employment info. 66% were already in @haveibeenpwned,” says Have I Been Pwned, record exposure search engine, in a tweet. Experian says that it is still investigating the “isolated incident in South Africa involving fraudulent data inquiry.” And the credit bureau notes that it has “identified files which [it] believes contain Experian data relating to the incident on the Internet. We continue to investiga...
5 Tech Trends to Increase your Bottom Line
Technology has been constantly innovating and expanding the possibilities for organisations across the world. From AI and data gathering to overall productivity – here are five trends that could shape your companies bottom line: 1. Employees adopt AI Employees are constantly becoming more and more open to letting artificial intelligence (AI) take over some of their tasks – especially the mundane, routine tasks. Millennials are now the largest group in the workforce, and they are instinctively more prepared to use AI solutions. Yes, in fact, in the future, millennials might even expect routine tasks to be automated. In the not too distant future, in many workplaces, artificial intelligence will sort emails, proofread texts, book meetings, etc. As a company, it is, therefore, a good idea to ...
Cat Unveils New S62 Pro Smartphone
Cat has launched its new S62 Pro smartphone which is expected to be a game-changer for more demanding work environments, such as engineering, mining, manufacture, agriculture and wildlife. Compared with its predecessor, it is 12% more compact, with a 10% bigger screen. It is faster, more powerful and incredibly tough, making it the ultimate work phone. It incorporates the highest resolution FLIR Lepton thermal imaging as well as isotherm alarming which users can use to monitor a custom temperature range (anything between -20 degrees Celsius to +400 degrees Celsius) Powered by the FLIR Lepton 3.5 and the new MyFLIR Pro app, the S62 Pro offers a four-fold increase in the number of thermal pixels and an unmatched feature set within the included application. For the first time, profession...
Bolt Expands Ride-hailing Service in Kenya
Ride-hailing service, Bolt has announced that it is expanding into Kenya with a new offering – Bolt Lite. This new service aims to make rides more affordable to users in Nakuru and Kisumu. Bolt expects this more affordably priced category will “increase the number of rides and decrease the time drivers spend waiting for the next order,” writes Gadgets Africa. “We launched Bolt Lite in Nairobi in 2019 to give customers more options to choose from,” says Ola Akinnusi, Country Manager at Bolt. “With Bolt, we can meet their dynamic needs while we continue to provide affordable and convenient transportation services to everyone. We have seen tremendous support from both our customers and drivers. We are looking into meeting the increasing demand from Kisumu and Nakuru for the same service.” The...
Telkom Launches 1TB Wireless Broadband Deal
Image sourced from My Broadband Telkom SA has launched a SIM-only LTE deal that gives users 1 Terabyte (1024GB) worth of data. The telco says that with data becoming an essential need for South Africans, thanks to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, it hopes to give users more than they bargained for. This “game-changing” deal with no strings attached has: No Fair usage policy (FUP); No speed limit, truly unlimited; and No contract, it’s month to month. “More than ever, data has become an essential part of our daily lives. At Telkom, we always have our finger on the pulse and ears on the ground and we understand what people need. We are committed to giving people what they need and subsequently leave no man behind. This 1TB SIM-only deal allows you to work, learn, entertain and collaborat...
Online Platform Automates the Management of Business SIM Cards
In these uncertain times, we are all aware of the crunch many economies in Africa is facing. Companies are closely watching their spend and mobile data costs are no different. One option to better manage mobile data costs is to make use of a self-help platform that can monitor usage and spend on company SIMs. In the traditional office environment, managing mobile connectivity and data use was not such a serious issue for IT managers, as data costs were essentially a part of the overall fixed network spend. But with the “new normal”, where more people are working remotely, it is proving to be quite a challenge. With more companies looking for a simple, yet ingenious, way for their employees to conduct business independently it is proving essential to control and better manage mobile d...
LG Shows Off the “Wing” Smartphone Concept
LG has teased its latest smartphone concept in a new video. The “Wing” is a dual-screen device with a swivelling form factor. According to LG, this new smartphone is part of its Explorer Project which aims to “deliver distinctive and yet unexplored usability experiences, a strategy that tackles uncharted territory in the industry”. Details of the Explorer Project will be officially announced on 14 September. [embedded content] /* custom css */ .tdi_3_c85.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_c85.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “LG and platform partners feel it is vitally important to demonstrate to consumers new and differentiated user experiences in the smartphone space,” says Morris Lee, president of LG’s Mobile Communications Company. “LG has always been a pioneer in pushing t...
Here’s When the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 will Launch in South Africa
Samsung has officially unveiled its newest foldable smartphone – the Galaxy Z Fold 2 – which is expected to be available in South Africa from 25 September. The device will be priced at R49,999. The smartphone is similar to the Galaxy Z Flip and Z Flip 5G which were released earlier this year but The Verge reports that this “marks Samsung’s first major refresh for its flagship foldable phone”. “After releasing two foldable devices and listening to user feedback on the most requested upgrades and new features, Samsung unveils the Galaxy Z Fold 2 with meaningful innovations that offer users enhanced refinements and unique foldable user experiences,” says the tech company. “Galaxy Z Fold 2 combines the portability and flexibility of a smartphone with the power and screen size of...
ESET SA Adopts LifeQ’s COVID-19 Early Warning and Disease Tracking Solution
Carey van Vlaanderen, CEO of ESET Southern Africa LifeQ, the leading independent provider of wearable derived health information, today announced the South African operations of ESET, a premier global cybersecurity company, to be the first customer for its COVID-19 early warning and disease tracking solution. With the physiologic monitoring via LifeQ’s wearable-based platform, businesses can better predict outbreaks and assist employees towards recovery by leveraging a critical early warning and disease tracking system for COVID-19 in individuals. After extensive lockdowns globally in response to the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, countries and businesses have to find a new set of answers to deal with the ongoing repercussions of the pandemic as part of a much-needed drive to “get back to bu...
MTN Group Appoints Acting CFO
MTN has appointed Sugentharan Perumal as acting Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) – this comes as the telco’s former CFO, Ralph Mupita, takes up his new position as Group CEO. A chartered accountant for over 15 years, Perumal has extensive financial and accounting experience. He has served as an external auditor of MTN Group and held various key executive and board positions within the group. He is currently acting CFO of MTN South Africa and previously held the CFO position at MTN Irancell. “The board is confident in the wide-ranging experience and knowledge of MTN that Sugen brings to the role,” says Mupita. MTN also announced the appointment of Dineo Molefe as the CFO of MTN South Africa, effective 1 December 2020 – she will replace Perumal. Molefe is a chartered accountant and j...
Why Remote-Working Works
Sourced from Getty Images. An unforeseen work-from-home revolution has caught many companies by surprise as most employees have now been forced to work from home. The likelihood of returning to the office any time soon seems very unlikely. So what are the pros and cons of working from home? Working from home usually provides employees with greater autonomy over how and when they work, and also how they manage their lives and other responsibilities. Remote working also provides better job satisfaction, increased loyalty, lower absenteeism and less staff turnover. Increased productivity Remarkably, research shows that there is an increase in performance for employees working from home. Airtasker surveyed about 1000 full-time employees in the US of which 50% worked remotely. They compared eve...
