Vodacom's first commercially available Narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT) network is now live in Gauteng. This announcement is the latest in a string of IoT plays made by the company this year. The NB-IoT network, the company hopes, will accelerate the growth of IoT in South Africa by allowing customers to build and run Low Power Wide Area network (LPWAN) applications. LPWAN is slower than the likes of WiFi, but covers much greater areas and allows for devices to be connected more efficiently. In September 2017, Vodacom announced its three-millionth device IoT connection, and currently sees around 55 000 new devices registered on its network each...
Starting up a business from scratch is no small affair -- after all, there is tons of behind-the-scenes work that goes into registering and coordinating your company. Not only do you have legal requirements such as registering as an entity and creating sound contracts for employees, but you also have to make sure that the necessary infrastructure is there to allow you company to function on a daily basis. Luckily in the digital era, there is a slew of online services which can help you get (and stay) up and running. Here are five online services that can help your new business. Legal...
Blockchain technology is all the rage right now, but slowly it's becoming less of a fad and a more commonplace solution for big technology and financial firms. The latest to adopt it wholeheartedly is Mastercard. Already using the technology in-house, the company today announced that it will open up its blockchain APIs to developers looking to build solutions on top of its product. "Mastercard's blockchain solution provides a new way for consumers, businesses and banks to transact and is key to the company's strategy to provide payment solutions that meet every need of financial institutions and their end-customers," the company noted...
Cybersecurity has been at the forefront of conversation for companies and individuals this year, especially in the wake of the Equifax hack, the Deloitte breach, and Yahoo's big revelation yesterday. But which industries are the most attacked? Kaspersky today issued its Threat Landscape for Industrial Automation Systems in H1 2017 report that revealed some notable worldwide internet security trends. Based on the company's findings, March was the most active month for cyber attacks so far. Kaspersky also claims its products blocked around 37.6% of attack attempts on ICS computers in the first half of 2017. "This figure was almost unchanged compared to the previous...
Employees have been called the weakest link in a business's cybersecurity – a particularly notable problem in a time where high-profile hacks and ransomware attacks are on the rise. A favourite target of hackers is small-to-medium business – as they often have higher cash pools than individuals, but lack the cybersecurity of major institutions. But even if your cybersecurity is up to scratch, an employee who is unfamiliar with digital threats can cost you dearly. Here are three ways your employees can put your business cybersecurity at risk: Opening emails with malicious software While many people have wised up to the typical scams that...
Hot on the heels of MTN Business's Internet of Things (IoT) network announcement, Vodacom revealed that its IoT division is now connecting more than "three million 'things'" across South Africa. Deon Liebenberg, the managing exec of Vodacom's IoT division explained that this is a clear indication of the growth of IoT and related technologies in the country. "It’s worth noting that it took us eight years to get to two million connections and it took us only one year to get to three million," he explained. "The rate of IoT adoption is picking up speed locally and with the commercial rollout of...
MTN has today announced a dedicated Internet of Things (IoT) network that it suggests will "enhance security of business-critical information". It quoted two distinct network technologies, namely LoRaWAN and NarrowBand-IoT. LoRaWAN can be viewed as WAN's low-power, low bit-rate cousin. It transfers less data than traditional WAN, but is used to connect devices that usually feature battery-powered sensors. NarrowBand-IoT, or NB-IoT, is typically used for indoor devices, and is allocated a slice of spectrum within the LTE band. MTN's new network will carry full support for both. "e have created a dedicated network that has its own core business support systems and operational...
Starting a business is difficult enough – but making sure that everyone on the team is on the same page and constantly communicating is an entire challenge on its own. The increasing trend of remote work is making this even more apparent. Luckily, there are a variety of solutions for businesses that are both convenient and free. Here are five of the best collaborative apps and platforms that will help keep your team coordinated… Trello Trello is a productivity platform and collaboration tool that allows users to keep track of tasks, project progress and stages within a process. The site’s boards are very versatile...
According to global analytics firm Gartner and its latest global expenditure forecast, companies are no longer taking information security for granted. The firm notes that worldwide coin dropped on information security products is set to increase by 7% year-on-year in 2017. That's an overall spend of US$86.4-billion. Driving this increase are "continued data breaches and growing demands for application security testing as part of DevOps", Gartner notes in a press release. "Spending on emerging application security testing tools, particularly interactive application security testing (IAST), will contribute to the growth of this segment through 2021," it adds. Notably, spend is set to increase yet...
There’s a great deal of discussion about disruptive technologies today. From 3D printing to block chain to self-driving, autonomous cars and trucks, we’re seeing a world going digital. Thirteen disruptive technologies are commonly in use today, including: Sensors Internet of Things (IoT) devices Telematics Smart buildings Fintech Drones 3D printing Advanced robotics Wearables Blockchain Artificial intelligence It’s not at all hard to find panicked descriptions of the digital world or dire predictions of a world where all knowledge -- even the frightening things that should be kept private -- will be connected to all of the people. We are hearing vast predictions of dangers...
Yesterday Memeburn reported positive news for the South African IT space, an industry predicted to experience solid growth in 2017. Today research firm IDC has published its findings on global IT expenditure. This year's worldwide IT spend is set to increase to US$2.1-trillion, an increase of 4.5% over 2016. This after 2016 experienced a year-on-year growth spurt of 2.5%. IDC suggests that infrastructure hardware, mobile hardware and enterprise software are leading the gains. Expenditure on data centres and server hardware is set to balloon by 4% in 2017, while Infrastructure-as-a-Service spending is set to exceed US$25-billion. This increase, IDC claims, is due to...
Telecommunications company Internet Solutions (IS) has debuted a new service that allows security teams in companies to launch authentic phishing attacks on their colleagues, scaring them stiff and teaching them valuable lessons about cyber security. Dubbed PhishNet, the service aims to educate staffers about the nature, mechanics and calling cards of a phishing attack while providing the companies with data on their security practices and infrastructure. PhishNet's debut comes at a time when cyber security is paramount in media and mainstream conversation, following the recent WannaCry and Petya ransomware attacks. WannaCry in particular -- which infected more than 250 000 computers...
According to a report by research giant Gartner, South Africa's total IT spend is set to hit R266.1-billion by year-end -- a 2.4% increase over 2016. "South Africa has traditionally underinvested in IT," Gartner's VP John-David Lovelock notes, but did suggest that expenditure is slowly rising due to a keen focus on specific areas. "South African organisations continue to prioritise investments in software, as software spending is the means by which they will catch up with the rest of the world." Notably, there is a vast spending differential between hardware, software and services. Gartner suggests that software is the sector experiencing the biggest growth...
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Companies are set to spend a lot more on IT in 2018 
