TCS+

The process of transferring property from one owner to another can be a major hassle, involving a ton of paperwork and many hours. E4, a company that leverages technology to transform customer processes, joined TechCentral’s TCS+ business technology show to discusses innovating the property transfer process for a more efficient future.

Jaydev Chiba chatted to e4 Strategic IT executive Clive Bredenkamp to shed light on the evolving world of property transfer in South Africa. With a background in technology and problem solving, he explained that while South Africa's property transfer system is advanced in terms of legislation and protection, there are still challenges that need to be addressed.

Bredenkamp said e4 has been at the forefront of revolutionising property transfer processes for the past 23 years. Initially, property transfer involved manual paperwork and courier services, but e4 introduced secure electronic communication through email and digital certificates, streamlining the process.

According to him, the private sector needs solutions to enhance the front end of the process to make it more efficient and transparent. Currently, consumers lack information and face delays due to the involvement of multiple parties.

The company has been working on solutions to optimise the property transfer value chain. It has developed secure application programming interfaces, digital switches and ecosystems that bring together various parties involved in the process. By leveraging technology, e4 aims to reduce turnaround times, improve transparency and enable faster property registration.

The conversation also touched on the impact of Covid-19 on the industry. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of web-based technology, allowing remote document signing and collaboration. It also forced digitisation, lowering barriers to entry for web-based solutions.

Looking ahead, Bredenkamp envisions a future where property transfer becomes even more digitised. The use of electronic documents, data verification and transparent digital registries will enhance efficiency and reduce processing times. Security and data privacy are paramount in this digitised process, and he stressed the company’s commitment to secure data storage, encryption and compliance with privacy regulations.

The discussion delves into the benefits of digitising the property transfer process for buyers, sellers and other stakeholders. Digitisation enables greater transparency, lowers the risk of fraud and delays, and improves overall user experience. The goal is to create a secure and efficient ecosystem that simplifies property transfer and empowers individuals to track and participate in their transactions with confidence, Bredenkamp said.

About us

e4 is a technology company specialising in digitalisation. With more than 20years’ experience, our knowledge team understands the complexity of a digital journey and partners with clients to provide bespoke and innovative solutions that suit their unique needs. For more information visit www.e4.co.za or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Fortinet recently released its 2023 Cloud Security Report. The report surveyed 752 cybersecurity professionals from around the globe and across all industries to uncover the key priorities and challenges that must be addressed to empower cloud success.

To discuss the finding and related topics, Gary Peel, business development manager: cloud at Fortinet Africa, joined TechCentral’s TCS+ business technology show. He unpacked several key topics.

First up was a discussion about the current state of cloud adoption – how organisations both locally and globally are using public, private, hybrid and multi-cloud environments to drive their digital transformation, and what benefits they are experiencing as a result.

Peel touched on the benefits of the cloud, including how cloud computing offers more flexibility, scalability, agility, availability and business continuity for enterprises – and how it helps them improve their customer responsiveness and competitive edge.

Peel shared many of his own insights and those of the cloud security report into why cloud security is so important and also some of the security challenges in the cloud – how cybersecurity professionals are concerned about cloud security risks such as misconfiguration, data breaches, unauthorised access, malware attacks, compliance issues, and lack of visibility and control.

Finally, to make these issues practical to the TechCentral audience, the discussion turned to the key priorities for cloud security – how security teams are allocating their budgets, selecting their solutions, and implementing their best practices to protect their cloud workloads and data across different cloud providers and platforms.

This all helped paint a clearer picture of the impressive capabilities of Fortinet: discovery, free skills development and training, advanced certification, architectural reviews, and consulting.

Cloud security spend is on the increase and the overall spend on secure cloud networking will surpass traditional networking by 2030. This convergence is already happening, and Fortinet prides itself in consolidating its own internal capabilities through research and development and then patenting both its endpoint detections and network security functionality to provide a more integrated ecosystem.

If you are seeking clarity and need to understand more about the topic and what guardrails you may need to put in place, watch or listen to the interview. And don’t forget to read the Fortinet report. Follow the company on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, or visit www.fortinet.com.

With South Africa being a favourite target of cyberattackers worldwide, and with the threats growing in both volume and sophistication, local organisations must do more to mitigate these threats.

TechCentral hosted Richard Frost, head of product for cybersecurity at Armata, on the TCS+ business technology show and was encouraged by the sophisticated service that Armata provides to organisations of all sizes. This includes not only analysis, system “road-mapping” and detection of potential attacks, but also the ability to automate a practical response to an identified threat.

Active threat hunting is a preparedness practice that Armata encourages. This involves carrying out cyberattacks on oneself to improve both internal skills and overall security posture. This is often facilitated as not only an analysis exercise, but also a learning opportunity for those company representatives who might not have cybersecurity built into their daily routine.

The conversation covers malicious attacks such as ransomware, malware and phishing, as well as unintended breaches. Frost shares a harrowing story of a CEO’s office camera being hacked using the Wi-Fi password “admin”. An innocent but careless mistake of a facilities technician who, quite simply, didn’t consider the potential impact a weak password on a camera could have on cybersecurity.

This further illustrates the point that South African organisations are vulnerable to such attacks through multiple points of access such as supply chains and third-party providers.

Malicious ransomware can sit idle inside your digital infrastructure for months before becoming active and encrypting your organisation’s data. It can behave like any other legitimate application and avoid detection. Frost’s solution is to implement precautionary measures to mitigate against potential threats and disruption because, as much as you think it might not happen to you, when it does, it really hurts.

Cybercriminals will try to encrypt or manipulate data or surreptitiously engage in privilege escalation, so you need endpoint detection and response tools in place before it happens.

With its specialised tools and expert skills, Armata approaches every client’s system with the express intention of helping uncover loopholes and hidden threats as well as improving the skills of cybersecurity personnel.

Armata is positioned as the cybersecurity arm of Vivica Holdings (formerly Vox).

Fortifying one’s most valuable assets requires additional security, yet globally these security skills are in short supply.

In this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+ technology show, Ian McShane, vice president of strategy at Arctic Wolf Networks, offers his insights into how organisations of all sizes can improve their cybersecurity posture despite the dearth of experienced IT security personnel. Watch or listen to the interview below.

A recently published Arctic Wolf survey found that 68% of organisations identified staffing-related issues as the number one threat to achieving their objectives.

The scenario is by no means unique to South Africa. In fact, if anything, the country is benefitting from public and private initiatives backfilling the market and from the shared learning that Arctic Wolf, as a global player, brings to the situation.

Large organisations have a perceived advantage in that they can afford to employ more people, have greater processing capacity and more tool stacks as lines of defence. However, the challenge of finding the right people with the right skills, nurturing that talent and building a strong security culture remains. It is a full-time commitment and comes at huge cost, not to mention the additional cost of retaining such talent.

Small and medium-sized enterprises face the same adversaries and are often so focused on business as usual that they don’t dedicate enough time or resources to lurking security risks.

McShane, whose organisation has grown from strength to strength since 2012 and has the capacity to scrutinise vast quantities of data, takes a practical view on mitigating this risk. He believes in complementing the existing skills and tools that may already exist.

Companies leverage Arctic Wolf’s expertise as a third-party MDR (manage, detect and response) service and are operationalised rapidly. The immediate threat landscape is scanned and the health check radiated on a customisable dashboard. This immediately augments the chief information security officer’s security posture and helps triage the severity of identified threats.

McShane suggests that all organisations should consider implementing 24/7/365 managed services and using the operationalised toolset and data, while addressing the skills gap and nurturing talent to become more au fait with the ever-evolving threats and response mechanisms.

To review Arctic Wolf’s 10 cybersecurity predictions, please visit its website and review its lab reports after you’ve listened to this insightful conversation.

Africa Data Centres CEO Tesh Durvasula returns to TechCentral’s TCS+ technology show for a wide-ranging discussion on the digital transformation opportunity in Africa.

Durvasula explains in the interview why Africa Data Centres is excited about what digital transformation means for the continent as well as its citizens, businesses and governments.

In this episode of TCS+, Durvasula unpacks:

• The latest developments at Africa Data Centres, including new data centre builds;

• What digital transformation entails in the African context;

• The unique challenges African organisations face in their digital transformation initiatives – and how Africa Data Centres is working to solve these;

• Examples of how success digital transformation initiatives and data centre developments have positively impacted businesses and communities on the continent; and

• The role that data centres will play in digital transformation in Africa as well as the opportunities they present for economic growth and innovation.

He also chats about the regulatory landscape and how companies should be approaching issues such as data privacy and information security, especially in the context of cloud computing.

Don’t miss the interview!

Developments in artificial intelligence are going to have far-reaching impacts on every industry, and every company needs to craft an AI strategy.

This is according to Mark Nasila, chief data and analytics officer in First National Bank’s chief risk office, who was speaking to TechCentral on the TCS+ tech show.

Nasila, who has a PhD in mathematical statistics and who is an alumni of Singularity University’s executive development programme, was named as the Corinium Global Intelligence 2020 Global Top 100 Innovators in data and analytics. He is one of the leading thinkers on AI in South Africa.

In this episode of TCS+, Nasila unpacks:

* Why businesses in South Africa should care about AI

* Why companies can’t ignore AI, and why every firm need an AI strategy – and sooner rather than later

* The key building blocks when it comes to developing an AI strategy

* How an AI strategy can help a business achieve its goals

* What FNB is doing in the AI space and why – including a look at its AI literacy programme

* Where AI is going to take the world – and business – in the coming years

* The impact of AI on jobs – should we be concerned?

Don’t miss this fascinating discussion with a leading thinker in the field.

The African SAP User Group (AFSUG) is a community-driven, non-profit organisation independent of SAP that represent the interests of SAP customers and partners in Africa. It does this by providing a platform to share stories, best practices and insights related to their experiences with SAP technology, assisting SAP users to address their key challenges in the African context.

Africa trails other regions in terms of digital adoption and maturity. There are many reasons for this, including poor internet infrastructure and coverage, lack of trust in digital service providers, and a lack of digital and general technology skills. African companies must also overcome a myriad internal factors that contribute to low digital maturity, including cultural resistance to adopting digital tools, a lack of organisational agility required to adopt digital tools effectively, and underdeveloped technology capabilities.

Despite these wide digital gaps and other challenges, there is clearly a desire to catch up to the rest of the world, and digital adoption and the associated infrastructure buildouts are occurring faster in Africa than in other regions.

Through events, forums and networking opportunities, AFSUG allows SAP customers and partners from diverse industries across Africa to engage around these challenges and to exchange ideas to address them, accelerating successful business implementations. Aside from unlimited access to like-minded professionals, resources and education, a further benefit for AFSUG members is being able to influence SAP’s direction in Africa and globally.

Saphila 2023

Saphila, meaning “Alive”, is AFSUG’s world-class biennial African conference, hosted in collaboration with SAP, and is making its post-pandemic comeback from 9-11 July 2023 at the Sun City resort in South Africa’s North West province. This year’s Saphila conference will also be the first-ever hybrid Saphila event, further extending the agenda to delegates who may not be able to travel to or within South Africa.

Saphila 2023 is an opportunity for attendees, both in-person and those attending virtually, to connect, create and collaborate through knowledge sharing about innovations, implementation and service delivery best practices while being exposed to local customer testimonials and panel discussions covering eight different content streams – from platform & tech, transformation and human experience management to the future, next-gen services and more.

Several world-class keynote speakers and top industry experts have been lined up to speak at the event, promising to deliver a content-rich learning experience. Additionally, the conference promises to deliver an all-encompassing immersive environment through providing access to exhibition spaces packed with SAP partners showcasing their solutions on implementing projects faster, better and within a cost-effective budget, as well as new product showcases and demonstrations presented by SAP and SAP partners.

While virtual attendees may not be able to visit the physical partner exhibition, they will still be able to enjoy access to the Saphila 2023 virtual expo centre, which includes online booths for all exhibitors. They will also have the opportunity to participate in interactive sessions and live surveys.

In this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+ show, Louise Steenekamp, head of IT at Aspen Pharmacare -- speaking in her capacity as a board member of the African SAP User Group – unpacks what to expect at the upcoming Saphila 2023 event.

The Saphila 2023 agenda is now live and can be accessed by visiting saphila2023.com/agenda. For more information and assistance with general event information and bookings, please send a message to [email protected].

This year is set to be a difficult one for customer experience (CX) professionals as entities in every sector struggle to focus on customers while staying afloat in turbulent economic times.

CX teams will need to transform, and those that can help their companies achieve their brand goals and aspirations will thrive despite shrinking corporate budgets. To do this, they need data, as it is the cornerstone of any successful CX strategy and is integral to boosting brand loyalty and advocacy.

To unpack the importance of data for business improvements, TechCentral last week hosted an episode of the TCS+ technology show that brought together experts in the field of data analytics.

TCS+ host Yaliwe Soko spoke to Frank Sherlock, vice president of international operations at CallMiner, and explored how businesses can leverage data to improve their operations, enhance customer experience and drive growth.

It emerged in the interview that data is essential for making better business decisions. Sherlock emphasised that data provides valuable insights into customers’ needs, preferences and behaviours. By leveraging data analytics tools, businesses can harness this information to optimise their products, services and operations.

Moreover, Sherlock discussed how CX is a crucial element of business success. CallMiner highlighted the importance of using data to improve customer experience, citing examples of how businesses can use customer feedback and sentiment analysis to identify pain points and deliver personalised experiences.

Data governance and security are critical, Sherlock said, and stressed the importance of implementing robust data governance policies and security measures to protect customer data and comply with regulatory requirements.

Finally, he said the human element is still crucial in data analytics. Despite the increasing prevalence of automated analytics tools, human judgment and expertise are still necessary for interpreting data and making informed business decisions.

Overall, the interview provides valuable insights into the importance of data for business improvement. Businesses that can harness the power of data analytics will gain a competitive advantage by making better decisions, enhancing customer experience and driving revenue growth.

However, data governance and security are critical considerations, and human judgment and expertise remain key to effective data analytics.

Open Africa Data Centres (OADC), part of the Wiocc Group, recently completed a new data centre build in Isando, east of Johannesburg, and internet service provider Cipherwave has already become an anchor tenant in the facility.

To discuss the data centre build, and Cipherwave’s decision to deploy its infrastructure there, Duncan McLeod is joined on TechCentral’s TCS+ by Darren Bedford, group chief development officer at Wiocc Group, and by Wayne D’Sa, CEO of Cipherwave.

To kick off a lively discussion, Bedford unpacks Wiocc Group’s move into data centres, what OADC has achieved in its first year in business, and the investments the company has already made in facilities, not only in South Africa but elsewhere on the continent.

Bedford also chats about OADC’s landing of the Meta Platforms-backed 2Africa internet cable system at Amanzimtoti, south of Durban, and what’s involved in bringing these systems ashore.

He talks, too, about why OADC is also investing heavily in edge data centres, and why these are important in the local context.

The conversation then shifts to OADC’s Isando data centre and what was involved in constructing it (and in record time).

D’Sa explains why Cipherwave decided to partner with OADC, and what was involved in moving its servers and other data centre infrastructure to the new facility.

Don’t miss a fascinating discussion!

The software development process has evolved dramatically in recent years to keep up with the growing demand for delivering high-quality software in the fastest time possible.

Unfortunately, in the past security was often tacked on as an afterthought and testing only happened towards the end of the life cycle.

And in a world where threats are consistently evolving and becoming more sophisticated, this way of doing things was riddled with issues, leading the industry to realise that a new approach was needed.

Shifting left

TechCentral’s TCS+ show host James Erasmus spoke to Barry de Waal, co-owner and chief executive for strategy and sales at 9th BIT Consulting, and Hilbert Long GM of Sales for the Emea region at CYBER1 Solutions, to unpack a trend that emerged to address this challenge: “shift left”.

The “shift left” approach aims to improve software quality and cut the time spent resolving issues later in the software development cycle by seeing testing performed as code is being developed. This helps to identify and resolve bugs as early as possible in the development process.

In De Waal’s words, this approach means getting siloed activities that typically end up happening later on in the software development life cycle brought forward to take better control of what needs to be delivered.

According to Long, CYBER1 Solutions has seen development teams in organisations pulling in security teams more often. “That in itself is creating a ‘shift left’ component, because cyber teams were always the last to be pulled into the life cycle from a development perspective.”

This, he says, is one reason why CYBER1 Solutions Emea has created a partnership with 9th BIT Consulting.

Input from everybody

De Waal, adds that with a shift left approach, it’s not just the security that’s being pulled in earlier on in the life cycle. “It’s also the testing and the infrastructure that needs to be put together. Quite often you will have teams whose only priority is getting their features list out. And inevitably, down the line, it takes a lot longer -- if there is an issue with security, or infrastructure provisioning, or cloud infrastructure -- to go back and have to refactor the features that need fixing.”

So, what do these changes mean on a practical level? According to De Waal and Long, this means that everyone needs to contribute to the planning and give input into the design. Testing starts and finishes in the development environment, and developers become testers as much as internal auditing team members become planners.

The impact of this logic, according to De Waal, is huge. “People need to redefine what they contribute to their organisation. Moreover, they need to redefine their skill set and the job titles that have pigeon-holed them for so long. Multi-functional people with a breadth of skills results in greater accountability, more responsibility, more knowledge sharing, and fewer bottlenecks or points of failure.”

De Waal also warns that existing and future employees are going to have to review their skill sets to become more dynamic, adaptable and agile.

Critical thinking

Because “shift left” means testing earlier on, it helps developers think critically and get a handle on security requirements while designing software securely from the start. De Waal says this means more focus needs to be given to continuously improving one’s processes, automating what can be automated and, most importantly, getting the culture right to achieve all of this.

De Waal also says we can expect to see leadership setting the example, implementing change, and expecting all functions to enhance the cadence of delivery through the development cycle and into the production domain.

In ending, Long says CYBER1 Solutions Emea is expanding across numerous territories and will support the security enablement of numerous companies across industries, with a strong leaning towards building business ag