technology news
Bolt Kenya Launches Food Delivery Service to Rival Uber Eats
Bolt has officially launched a new food delivery service in Kenya after announcing this plan in 2020. So far the service – which aims to give users access to restaurants and menus from the palm of their hands – has partnered with around 200 restaurants, including KFC, Big Square, Pizza Mojo, Urban Gourmet Burger, Debonairs Pizza, Steers, Ohcha Noodle Bar, The Chef House, Wings Kenya Alchemist, Shokudo Japanese, Barista & Co, Mercado, Awash Ethiopian restaurant, Charlie’s Bistro and Bao Box. “Food delivery has been a popular request for quite some time and we are glad to bring this service to the millions of people who are using our platform. The infrastructure and experience we have built up with our ride-hailing business give us a good platform to expand and diversify our services,” s...
Liquid Expands Across South Africa with 2 New Fibre Routes
Liquid Intelligent Technologies (Liquid) has announced the successful completion of two key digital corridors – NLD5 and NLD6 connecting Durban to Cape Town via the inland route. The completion of this fibre network is expected to support the surging demand for high-speed internet as an increasing number of local businesses continue their digital transformation journeys. “The completion of these two digital corridors is yet another milestone achieved as part of our on-going investment into the South African economy. Liquid has been instrumental in the fruition of routes 1 through to 8, providing a digital backbone that connects metropolitan cities like Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban to more remote areas like Nelspruit Bloemfontein, Lady Smith, Mthatha,” says Deon Geyser, CEO of Liquid ...
Nokia Joins Forces with Safaricom to Launch the First Commercial 5G Network in East Africa
Nokia and Safaricom have joined forces to launch the first 5G commercial services in East Africa. According to the companies, Nokia’s 5G Single Radio Access Network (SRAN) technology and 5G FastMile gateways will enable ultra-fast Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services to Safaricom’s subscribers across Kisumu and the Western Province of Kenya. 5G technology is expected to enable new applications in areas such as virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence for Safaricom subscribers. It will also benefit enterprises across important energy, healthcare, education, transport and entertainment applications. “We are proud to be the first operator in East Africa to launch 5G services, bringing the benefits of 5G technology to our customers. 5G capabilities will change a lot ...
Why Cybersecurity is Crucial in the Age of Tap-to-Pay
Tap-to-Pay is by no means a new technological development, but thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become increasingly popular as a method of payment since it is ostensibly contactless. It is also a payment method that can be used even without a card, since many wearable devices such as smartwatches feature tap and go payment options. With rumours that Apple Pay will be launching in South Africa this year, it is likely to become increasingly available. However, this begs the question, what about security? When no physical card is required and often not even the authentication of a Personal Identification Number (PIN) for smaller transactions, who is responsible? The reality is that banks, merchants and users all need to play their part to minimise fraud and safeguard their money. Are c...
Payflex Introduces Online ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ Service in South Africa
Image sourced from Travel Money Oz Payflex has launched its buy now pay later online retail service to South Africa. The company – which has seen extraordinary popularity in Australia, the USA and Europe – lets users shop online and pay later, interest-free over six weeks. “Traditionally paying via instalments in South Africa has been associated with high-interest charges, as you are penalised for paying for the item over time,” says Paul Behrmann, CEO and founder of Payflex. “But by using Payflex, every purchase you make is interest-free. You’ll know exactly when each of the four interest-free payments is due and there are no hidden costs. It puts you in control of your finances.” Here’s how to use Payflex /* custom css */ .tdi_3_dee.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_dee.td-a-rec-im...
Protecting the IT Landscape in a Borderless World
The evolution of technology has pushed the perimeter of organisations further and further towards the edge, and we no longer have the monolithic structures we did in the past. The cloud, the Internet of Things (IoT), even the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating the adoption of a work from home model, have contributed to what has, in effect, become a borderless world. This means that the traditional approach to security of locking down the perimeter is simply no longer enough. The perimeter cannot be easily defined, and the way in which we access services has fundamentally changed. Cybersecurity mesh has emerged as a framework to address this challenge, with a distributed security architecture that more effectively meets the challenges of today’s landscape. Trust no one With IT infrastructure so...
Why Reimagined IT Strategies are Mission Critical for SMEs
Image sourced from IT Web Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been severely affected by the pandemic – many of which are struggling to ensure continuity, let alone achieve sustained growth. However, the news is not all negative. We have also seen countless examples of entrepreneurs rising to the challenge and tackling the unexpected head-on. SMEs who move quickly to take advantage of new technology business models are not only keeping afloat but are actually thriving. According to an article by the World Economic Forum (WEF), SMEs make up 90% of formal businesses in South Africa. These businesses contribute 34% to the country’s GDP and employ up to 60% of the labour force. For this reason, it is crucial that these small businesses continue to embrace technology and digital solutions i...
Fixing Your Cybersecurity Issues 1 Next-Gen Firewall at a Time
Stefan van de Giessen, General Manager: Cybersecurity at Networks Unlimited Africa When did you last check your firewalls as a barrier to entry against cybercriminals? And, perhaps more importantly: does your organisation still rely on a legacy firewall, or has it upgraded to a next-generation firewall (NGFW)? And have you considered the ‘Broken window’ principle when looking at your internal cybersecurity posture, in order to have a positive effect on your business processes? These questions are posed by Stefan van de Giessen: General Manager: Cybersecurity at Networks Unlimited Africa, who says, “The broken window theory rests on the idea that a neighbourhood or community that appears to be orderly and well-kept will be less susceptible to crime. Conversely, one that has many broken wind...
3 Things to Consider When Implementing an Effective Zero Trust Access Strategy
The most secure network is one that has no connections. Of course, that idea is not only impractical, it defeats the purpose of a network. The reality is that no network is an island, and as businesses become more digital, networks inevitably become more complicated and dispersed. Today’s networks now have many “edges,” so it’s much harder than it used to be to create a single defensible boundary. In the face of these changes, the traditional network perimeter is dissolving, and it’s far more difficult to tell who and what can be trusted. To respond to increasing threats, best practices now stipulate a “trust no one, trust nothing” attitude toward network access. Protecting the network with this zero-trust access (ZTA) approach means that all users, all devices, and all web appli...
5 Reasons Why (Not Only) Financial Companies Struggle with Cybersecurity
Financial services companies have been a popular target for cybercriminals for a long time. Not without good reason, since beyond working with money, financial companies handle a slew of sensitive client data that criminals utilise in various fraud schemes or sell-off on dark web bazaars. According to Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report, in the past year alone the financial industry has suffered more than 1,500 incidents, with 448 confirmed data disclosures. Carey van Vlaanderen, CEO of ESET says that in addition to the long-standing threats, most companies have had to contend with the rapid transition to remote work. “The shift happened on extremely short notice, leaving companies with little time to deploy adequate cybersecurity measures or to prepare employees for looming c...
Paratus Zambia Introduces New Unlimited Internet Deals for Businesses
Image sourced from Patriot Paratus Zambia has introduced a new range of Infinity business deals. The telco says that these packages have been designed to give business customers access to more affordable and unlimited connectivity in Zambia, a market where a quality affordable internet connection is difficult to obtain. “We have created these Paratus Infinity packages because we fully understand how important it is for businesses to have access to quality unlimited connectivity,” says Paratus Zambia Country Manager, Marius van Vuuren. “We do not cap or shape our connectivity solutions because we know that our customers need to be always online to do their business.” The Infinity packages give customers access to uncapped and unthrottled data without dips in service quality or speeds due to...
Best and Worst Mobile Networks in South Africa Revealed
2020 was a tumultuous year for the South African telecommunications sector which saw network providers left to grapple with calls for data price cuts in the face of a pandemic-driven demand for connectivity and digital customer service. From the perspective of consumers, however, the performance of local telcos has left much to be desired. That said, having tracked over two million social media posts about Cell C, MTN, rain, Telkom, and Vodacom throughout the year, BrandsEye’s latest Telco Sentiment Index – conducted in partnership with Deloitte Africa – found that some telcos received significantly more negativity than others. MTN comes out tops while rain gets left in the gutter Newcomer rain ranked last, scoring over 20 percentage points below the industry average. On the other end of t...
