Veeam is helping organisations in South Africa and the rest of the African continent safeguard their most valuable asset: their data.

In this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+, four senior executives from Veeam unpack the latest trends in data resilience and protection, and explore how African organisations can better protect themselves against a data disaster.

To unpack this in detail, TCS+ is joined in this two-parter episode by Veeam’s:

• Mena Migally, regional vice president, Europe, the Middle East and Africa;

• Brendan Widlake, regional director and country manager, Africa;

• Ian Engelbrecht, head of technical sales, Africa; and

• Lisa Strydom, senior manager for channel and alliances, Africa.

Topics covered in the discussion include:

• The unique challenges that businesses in Africa face when it comes to securing and managing their data;

• The role of data resilience in helping African businesses maintain continuous availability of their data in the face of growing cyberthreats.

• Securing on-premises and cloud-based environments and the challenges involved in doing so;

• How Veeam works with local partners to ensure African businesses optimise their data protection strategies and build resilience;

• How Veeam helps companies deal with ransomware attacks, both before and after they happen; and

• The emerging trends and innovations in data resilience and protection.

For more information on Veeam’s portfolio of data resilience solutions, including backup, recovery, cloud data management and disaster recovery, visit Veeam’s data resilience portfolio.

Eswatini is on a mission to roll out high-speed fibre broadband infrastructure for its citizens.

According to Themba Khumalo, MD of The Eswatini Posts & Telecommunications Corporation (EPTC), the landlocked territory will draw lessons from leaders in national fibre roll-out in other markets as it deploys infrastructure to the population.

In this episode of TCS+, filmed on-site in Cape Town during Africa Tech Week, Khumalo delves into:

• The role of EPTC Eswatini;

• Features unique to Eswatini that make the challenge of a national fibre roll-out a little easier than it might be in other territories;

• EPTC’s national fibre strategy;

• How the population will benefit from the speed upgrades that a fibre roll-out will enable;

• The proposed timelines for the competition of the national fibre roll-out; and

• The role government will play in accelerating infrastructure roll-out.

Don’t miss the conversation.

In the final episode of a three-part interview series with TechCentral’s TCS+, Digicloud Africa executives unpack what Google Cloud’s solutions mean for end-user organisations in Africa.

Digicloud Africa is Google Cloud’s enablement partner on the continent, and the company’s CEO, Gregory MacLennan, and head of technical operations Louis van Schalkwyk return to the show to chat about what Google Cloud software can do for businesses that deploy it.

In episode 1 of this series, we had a look at Digicloud, what it does, and its relationship with Google. In episode 2, we looked at the company’s reseller partner model, what it involves and how it works with its reseller partners. (LINKS TO SHOWS TO BE INSERTED WHEN AVAILABLE.)

In the final episode, MacLennan and Van Schalkwyk unpack:

• The Google Cloud advantage relative to other cloud and enterprise software solutions;

• How companies can use Google Cloud to innovate and grow their businesses;

• The importance of using open IT infrastructure like Google’s – and what this means for collaboration and information security;

• What Google Cloud offers in specific sectors, including education;

• Examples of African enterprises and government agencies doing interesting things with Google Cloud technology;

• How Digicloud Africa works with resellers to offer Google Cloud solutions to companies, educational institutions and government – and how Digicloud supports those resellers in client engagements and deployments; and

• Becoming a Google Cloud reseller through Digicloud and what’s involved.

Don’t miss insightful interview, and the others in this series!

Pinnacle, one of South Africa’s leading technology distributors, is going all-in on AI.

The company, which represents some of the leading brands in the artificial intelligence space, is working closely with its vendors and channel partners to help local companies embrace the potential of the technology and expand employee productivity.

Jacques Visage, GM for AI and Services at Pinnacle, is the man leading this charge, and he’s TechCentral’s guest in this episode of TCS+.

He unpacks why Pinnacle sees AI as a strategic imperative and how it is positioning itself as an AI leader in the distribution space.

In the discussion, Visagie chats about:

• Pinnacle’s go-to-market strategy around AI and how it is working with its channel partners to provide AI solutions to businesses;

• The company’s key partners and technology providers;

• How conversations around AI in corporate South Africa have changed since the launch two years ago of OpenAI’s ChatGPT;

• What South African companies are doing with AI – and what they want to do with it in future; and

• The top-of-mind issues around AI in the C-suite and the biggest use cases we’re seeing so far in corporate South Africa.

Don’t miss this important and insightful conversation!

The digitisation of money is helping drive financial inclusion and improve access to complex financial services in South Africa and the rest of the African continent.

In this episode of TCS+, Hannes Wessels, GM for South Africa at Binance, explains the role cryptocurrencies are playing in the digitisation of cash as well as the potential that blockchain technology offers in enhancing the security of digital transactions.

In this episode, Wessels delves into:

• The trends, challenges and opportunities shaping the future of digital banking in South Africa;

• How Binance is capitalising on the growth of mobile banking and other advancements in financial technology;

• Examples of how blockchain technology can enhance transaction security;

• How decentralised finance can make financial services accessible to everyone in Africa; and

• How Binance is contributing to the digital cash revolution.

Don’t miss this exciting episode of TCS+.

In the second part of a three-part interview series with TechCentral’s TCS+, Digicloud Africa executives unpack how African ICT companies can become reseller partners for Google Cloud in Africa.

Digicloud is Google Cloud’s chosen enablement partner for Africa and works closely with the US technology giant to deliver its services across the continent – through a network of resellers.

In this episode of TCS+, Digicloud Africa CEO Gregory MacLennan and head of technical operations Louis van Schalkwyk unpack what’s involved in becoming a reseller partner to Digicloud Africa and Google Cloud.

The two men chat about:

• Digicloud Africa’s role as the African enablement partner for Google Cloud;

• Google Cloud’s go-to-market strategy in Africa and how it works through Digicloud Africa to support a network of resellers across the continent;

• How the relationship between Google Cloud, Digicloud and its resellers partners operate in the context of serving end-user customers;

• How IT companies can sign up to become Google Cloud resellers through Digicloud – the requirements and what’s involved;

• How Digicloud supports specialisation by its reseller partners; and

• The challenge of managing a network of resellers across a continent as vast as Africa.

Don’t miss the interview, or the others in this insightful series with Digicloud Africa.

Digicloud Africa has a big role to play in the African ICT ecosystem as Google Cloud’s enablement partner on the continent.

Two of Digicloud’s top executives recently sat down for an interview with TechCentral’s TCS+ to unpack the business, its relationship with Google, and how it serves its reseller partners and their clients in adopting Google Cloud services.

Gregory MacLennan, Digicloud’s CEO, and Louis van Schalkwyk, the company’s head of technical operations, tell TechCentral about the business and why Google Cloud services are seeing strong demand across Africa.

In this first of a succinct three-part series with Digicloud, MacLennan and Van Schalkwyk discuss:

• The history of Digicloud and how it became Google Cloud’s enablement partner for Africa;

• How the partnership with Google Cloud works, and why Google chooses to work through reseller partners in smaller markets like those in Africa;

• The solutions on offer from Google via Digicloud; and

• How companies can become Google Cloud resellers through Digicloud Africa – and why the company is encouraging more entities to sign up and go through the process of accreditation (and what’s involved).

Don’t miss the interview!

In this episode of TCS+, TechCentral speaks with Jason Oehley and Andre Den Hond, regional sales manager and senior sales engineer, respectively, at Arctic Wolf, a company specialising in cybersecurity operations. They discuss the benefits of partnering with a cybersecurity provider versus building an in-house security operations centre (SOC).

The conversation begins by focusing on the critical role of security operations in ensuring business continuity. Every organisation requires a certain level of security, which can vary based on what employees are doing and what the organisation is focused on. Security operations are about finding the right balance between the actual security level and the required level – enough to be protected but without overspending.

The speakers then explore the challenges of building an in-house SOC. The biggest challenges they see with customers trying to build a SOC are skills shortages, identifying and integrating the right security tools, and a lack of comprehensive visibility across the organisation's attack surface. They find that organisations often struggle to find the right skills and tools, and even if they do, it can be difficult to retain skilled security professionals. Customers also experience alert fatigue from too many alerts from their security tools.

Partnering with a provider like Arctic Wolf can help address these challenges. Arctic Wolf will work and integrate with the customer's existing security tools and team, providing 24/7 monitoring and threat detection. This removes the burden of building and managing an SOC from the customer, allowing them to focus on business risk and strategic security management.

Arctic Wolf’s “concierge delivery model” helps customers continuously improve their security posture through a collaborative, partnership approach. This includes vulnerability management, security awareness training and incident response capabilities. This approach contrasts with a product-centric approach, which the speakers argue is not enough in today’s threat landscape.

The speakers conclude by discussing future trends in cybersecurity. They predict a consolidation in the cybersecurity market, with smaller companies being absorbed by larger ones. They also believe that the threat landscape will become more complex as attackers leverage AI and other advanced techniques. They stress the importance of a proactive and comprehensive approach to security, and the value of partnering with a security provider that can help organisations stay ahead of the evolving threat landscape.

Don’t miss this informative and important discussion!

Networking equipment wholesaler Switchcom Distribution has partnered with Huawei Technologies to bring new offerings to the South African market and elsewhere in Africa.

In this episode of TCS+, Lynton Brits, national sales manager at Switchcom, and Tanki Lebatla, account manager at Huawei, tell TechCentral’s TCS+ business technology show about the partnership and what it means for the market.

In the show, Brits and Lebatla delve into:

• The networking and backup power solutions offered by Switchcom through its partnership with Huawei;

• The training and implementation support Huawei provides to Switchcom and what that means for Switchcom’s reseller clients;

• How the two companies are shoring up the supply chain to ensure that customers have enough stock;

• The guarantees Huawei and Switchcom offer clients on the hardware, as well as the process for swap-outs and replacements; and

• The hardware innovations and capabilities of Huawei’s networking and backup power products.

This interview is not to be missed, especially for builders of networks or owners of large-scale infrastructure that cannot afford to be without power.

In this episode of TCS+, TechCentral speaks to CYBER1 Solutions executives Jayson O’Reilly, the company’s MD, and Akeel Sayed, head of its managed services division, about the benefits and challenges of using a managed security service provider (MSSP).

The conversation starts by discussing the growing complexity of cybersecurity and the financial motivations driving cybercriminals. With the underground economy expanding, MSSPs must constantly adapt to new attack methods. Early adopters of cutting-edge technology may take on higher risks, but they also build knowledge that benefits future clients, reducing their exposure to emerging threats.

The proliferation of security operations centres in South Africa, now numbering more than 30, is driven by skill shortages and the need for assurance. Many organisations still lack visibility into their network environments, which the experts identify as a key issue. Understanding what’s connected to a network and which applications are in use is essential but often overlooked.

MSSPs also help clients manage budget constraints and meet compliance requirements while keeping pace with fast-moving technological change. South Africa is seen as a testing ground for cybercriminals targeting the broader African market. Clients now prefer flexible, short-term investments over long-term contracts due to the evolving threat landscape. The experts stress the importance of MSSPs staying relevant by challenging vendors and adapting their offerings to new threats like artificial intelligence.

A major concern is the lack of governance in many industries, especially those with strict compliance needs. Organisations are realising the need to think like attackers and continuously evolve their defences. AI is highlighted as a significant disruptor, with MSSPs now focused on securing AI algorithms and leveraging AI to enhance security operations.

The podcast discussion compares MSSPs with in-house security teams, noting that MSSPs offer greater agility and a broader range of expertise. In-house teams often face resource constraints and difficulty staying up to date with new technologies. MSSPs, on the other hand, focus on governance and outcomes, allowing businesses to prioritise other critical needs.

The experts underscore the need for collaboration across the cybersecurity industry. MSSPs can share anonymised insights across clients, helping create a unified defence against attackers. Ultimately, MSSPs provide value by evolving their offerings, focusing on outcomes and using collective experience to keep clients secure in an ever-changing threat landscape.

Don’t miss a great discussion.