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Huawei Mate40 Pro Officially Launches in South Africa
Huawei’s newest flagship smartphone – the Mate40 Pro – is officially available in South Africa. The device incorporates Kirin 9000, the world’s first 5nm 5G SoC; Ultra Vision Cine Camera technology and user-friendly AI. The Mate40 Pro comes with the Huawei 88° Horizon Display, an ultra-curved display featuring an 88-degree arc. The practically invisible edges allow for a wider perspective that lends itself to a more immersive visual experience. The streamlined display fills the frontal view of the device, and extends beyond the edges, sitting flush with the mid-frame to produce a more comfortable hold. The smartphone sports the highly advanced 5nm Kirin 9000 flagship SoC, which packs more than 15.3 billion transistors. The cutting edge 5nm Kirin 9000 is manufactured with one of the industr...
5 Things to Do After a Ransomware Attack
In South Africa, 42% of ransomware victims pay the ransom to restore access to their data. Yet for 19% of those, paying the ransom did not guarantee the return of stolen data. However, as public awareness of potential cyber threats grows there is the reason for optimism in the fight against ransomware. Ransomware is a type of malware which criminals use to extort money. It holds data to ransom using encryption or by locking users out of their device. According to a report from Kaspersky, whether they paid or not, only 24% of victims were able to restore all their encrypted or blocked files following an attack. 61% lost at least some files, 32% lost a significant amount, and 29% lost a small number of files. Meanwhile, 11% who did experience such an incident lost almost all their data. “Thi...
South African National Treasury Awards Vodacom New Mobile Services Contract
The South African National Treasury has awarded Vodacom with a new mobile communication services contract. “Truly, we are excited to continue our partnership with government for another five years and we will deliver to accelerate its digitalisation programme through the new RT15-2021 transversal contract,” says Chief Officer for Vodacom Business, William Mzimba. “Through the previous contract, we successfully delivered significant financial benefits in costs savings, expedited and streamlined procurement of services and ushered unprecedented digitalisation of government departments, agencies, State-Owned Entities and municipalities” The RT15 served as a platform for Vodacom Business to support government and amplify their productivity while increasing efficiency. To achieve the expec...
Cell C Appointed as Preferred Service Provider to South African Government
Image sourced from Town Press Cell C has been appointed as one of the preferred service providers to the South African Government for the delivery of mobile communication services. This is for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2026. The mobile communication services contract is known as RT15-2021 and was previously held exclusively by Vodacom for a five-year period. “This award marks a significant milestone for Cell C and is testament to our understanding of the needs of government and tailoring innovative solutions that matter to them, with extra value,” says Douglas Craigie Stevenson, CEO of Cell C. “It reflects the confidence in our brand and the tenacity of the company. I’m extremely proud of the effort our team put into Cell C’s proposal.” In awarding the tender the National Treasur...
LinkedIn is Testing ‘Social Audio Experience’ to Rival Clubhouse
Image sourced from Search Engine Journal LinkedIn is testing a ‘social audio experience’, according to TechCrunch. This feature would allow app users to “connect with their community” across its network. Different to Clubhouse or other rivals being built by Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn believes its audio networking feature will connect with users’ professional identity, “not just a social profile”. “We’re seeing nearly 50% growth in conversations on LinkedIn reflected in stories, video shares, and posts on the platform,” says LinkedIn Spokesperson, Suzi Owens. “We’re doing some early tests to create a unique audio experience connected to your professional identity. And, we’re looking at how we can bring audio to other parts of LinkedIn such as events and groups, to give our members ...
Visa Could Soon Allow Users to Settle Payments with Cryptocurrency
Image sourced from Headquarters Office Visa has revealed that it could soon let customers settle transactions using cryptocurrency. According to Reuters, the company has launched a pilot programme that uses USD Coin – a stablecoin that is pegged directly to the US dollar – across its payment network. “We see increasing demand from consumers across the world to be able to access, hold and use digital currencies and we’re seeing demand from our clients to be able to build products that provide that access for consumers,” says Cuy Sheffield, Head of Cryptocurrency at Visa. This comes shortly after crypto-enthusiast and Tesla founder, Elon Musk confirmed that the electric car company will now accept Bitcoin as a form of payment – news that has caused the price of Bitcoin to rise 5%. ...
Apple Pay Launches in South Africa
Image sourced from BusinessTech Apple Pay – Apple’s digital payment platform – is now available in South Africa. The service allows users to load their bank cards – from supported banks like Absa, Discovery Bank, and Nedbank – onto their Apple devices in order to make contactless payments. According to Discovery Bank, every Apple Pay purchase is secure because it is authenticated with Face ID, Touch ID, or device passcode, as well as a one-time unique dynamic security code. Apple Pay users can also make faster and more convenient purchases in apps or on the web in Safari without having to create accounts or repeatedly type in shipping and billing information. “We are thrilled to announce Apple Pay is here for all Discovery Bank clients, providing an easy, secure and contactless way to pay,...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
