In the second episode of this series about migrating to Microsoft Azure SQL, the focus turns to what’s involved in moving from SQL Server to Azure SQL, and First Distribution’s Preegan Chetty returns to unpack the key priority of securing databases in the cloud.

If you missed episode 1 in the series, you can find it here – or dive straight into this interview.

Preegan Chetty, who is Microsoft Azure product manager at First Distribution, unpacks:

• What makes Azure SQL a secure choice for companies today, including features such as data encryption (when data is at rest or in transit), threat detection and firewall protection;

• Why companies shouldn’t simply assume that the cloud is secure because it’s being managed by a hyperscale cloud services provider;

• Azure SQL’s performance, and the optimisations that can be done to make the system fly; and

• The role of AI in cloud database management.

Don’t miss any of the episodes in this insightful series. TechCentral

Is your company thinking about modernising its IT infrastructure? Is it planning to migrate from an on-premises Microsoft SQL Server database to the cloud-based Azure SQL solution? Then this podcast is for you.

In this two-part series, we delve into greater detail on what’s involved in a cloud database migration.

First Distribution’s Microsoft Azure product manager Preegan Chetty is our guest in the studio for this episode. He unpacks:

• The risks and opportunities involved in the migration;

• What companies need to be aware of before they even embark on a migration to Azure SQL;

• How Microsoft helps companies with their migration projects; and

• The top motivating factors driving companies to migrate away from an on-premises SQL Server solution to Azure SQL.

Don’t miss this informative discussion – and be sure to catch episode 2 in this series with First Distribution. TechCentral

Matric Live is a study tool to help students in grades 10-12 supplement their in-class learning with additional exercises – and even get exam practice via a digital platform. And it recently won the FNB App of the Year award amid stiff competition from the likes of Checkers Sixty60 and TFG’s Bash.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Matric Live CEO Kagisho Masae and chief technology officer Lesego Finger tell TechCentral’s Nathi Ndlovu about their journey as a start-up and the growth Matric Live has gone through in the last few years.

They delve into:

• The inspiration behind the Matric Live app and the problem it seeks to solve for students;

• The journey from app idea to full-fledged live system and the challenges faced along the way;

• How the application is being monetised while keeping access to the platform free for its users;

• The impact Matric Live has had on South African students;

• Some success stories about students who have used the app;

• Upcoming features to look forward to on the application;

• The vision Masae and Finger have for the future of their business; and

• The significance of winning the App of the Year award.

Masae and Finger tell an inspiring story of battling against the odds and succeeding at solving one of the most foundational problems confronting South African society: the dissemination of quality education to all corners of the country. Don’t miss a great conversation! TechCentral

The operating environment in South Africa for ride-hailing services like Bolt is fraught with complexity, while the country’s crime problem only contributes to the challenge of getting passengers safely from A to B.

This complexity is compounded by the nuances of operating in different areas. Municipal districts have different permitting requirements, while competitive elements from other transport sector players, like taxi associations, presents further challenges.

Fulfilling a ride request in the Cape Flats at 11pm is a different proposition to one in Sandton at 2pm.

Simo Kalajdzic, senior operations manager at Bolt South Africa, tells TechCentral’s business technology show, TCS+, about how Bolt is approaching these challenges. He delves into:

• The overall problem that Bolt is trying to solve for South Africans;

• Bolt’s strategic approach to safety on the platform;

• The £100-million investment into safety Bolt has pledged at a global level;

• The technological solutions baked into the Bolt app for both drivers and passengers;

• The industry-wide collaborations Bolt has undertaken to address safety from an ecosystem perspective;

• How drivers and riders are empowered to be safe on the platform;

• Feedback from a recent stakeholder engagement meeting held in Cape Town; and

• Bolt’s long-term vision for safety in the South African context.

This episode is not to be missed! TechCentral

Well-known South African technology entrepreneur Stafford Masie is one of the key backers behind an audacious bid to buy a stake of up to 40% in the South African Rugby Union (Saru)-owned entity that owns the commercial rights to the Springboks brand.

Masie, who chairs JSE-listed Altvest Capital – a key player in the consortium making the bid – joins the TechCentral Show with Altvest CEO Warren Wheatley to unpack the plan and what spurred it, and to explain why tech is central to the bid.

The bid comes after member unions of SA Rugby last week rejected a plan to sell a 20% in the commercial rightsholder to US-based Ackerley Sports Group for US$75-million. Ackerley has until the end of the year to submit a revised offer, but Wheatley and Masie told TechCentral that they do not expect a deal with the American firm will succeed.

The South African consortium is made up of Altvest as well as EasyEquities, RainFin and 27four Investment Managers.

In a statement, the consortium explained that if its bid is successful, it will list the special purpose vehicle that has been created to do the deal on the JSE and allow investors to buy shares.

This is not dissimilar to Altvest’s business model, which sees it taking stakes in companies on behalf of public shareholders who participate in the economic benefits thereof.

“Worth thinking about for the tech community is that our platform allows for ‘crowdfunding’ in a regulated environment that allows for participation in a funding round to anybody with disposable income – from first-time users or customers, all the way through to regulated institutions and pension funds,” Wheatley explained.

In this episode of TCS, Masie and Wheatley unpack:

• The background to their consortium’s Springboks bid – and why the consortium members came together;

• How the bidders will work with SA Rugby to commercialise the rights, assuming their bid is successful;

• How the deal could affect broadcast partners; and

• Why they believe the deal could be used as a platform for technology innovation in South Africa.

It’s an interesting discussion – don’t miss it! TechCentral

The South African Reserve Bank is working with its peers in the Southern African region to drive financial inclusion by digitising cash and making instant payments across borders an everyday reality.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show (TCS), Tim Masela, head of the National Payments System department at the Reserve Bank – he has been with the Bank for the past 30 years – tells TechCentral’s Nathi Ndlovu about the efforts it is making to create a “cash smart” society not only in Southern Africa but across the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) region.

Masela unpacks:

• Why the introduction of non-bank fintechs into the national and regional clearance and settlements systems is important;

• The importance of designing “fit for purpose” regulations that allow fintech to remain nimble and innovative;

• A detailed explanation of how the payments and settlements system worked historically, including how it has evolved in the digital era;

• The efforts the Reserve Bank and its regional counterparts are undertaking to standardise financial legislation and regulation across Sadc;

- The importance of the Transactions Cleared on an Immediate Basis (TCIB) platform, which facilitates PayShap-style instant payments across borders;

- The challenges that currency conversion poses in facilitating instant payments across borders;

- Findings from the National Payments Study conducted by the Reserve Bank and released in September;

- What a “cash light” and “cash smart” society are and why the Reserve Bank believes this is desirable; and

- Where the Reserve Bank stands on crypto assets and the road to their incorporation into South Africa’s National Payments System.

Do not miss this insightful and informative episode. TechCentral

Companies moving to the cloud – and those already there – need to be aware of the Toxic Cloud Trilogy, three pitfalls in cloud computing that must be avoided.

Bernard Montel, technical director at exposure management company Tenable for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, recently unpacked this for TechCentral’s audience in an episode of TCS+ (watch or listen to the interview below).

Montel unpacked what the three risk factors are that make up the Toxic Cloud Trilogy – critical vulnerabilities, excessive permissions and public exposure – and how to deal with each of them effectively.

Tenable recently published its 2024 Tenable Cloud Risk Report, which examines findings by the Tenable Cloud Research team based on telemetry from millions of cloud resources across multiple public cloud repositories.

In this episode of TCS+, Montel discusses:

• Tenable, its history and its focus areas in the information security industry;

• Why companies should take the Toxic Cloud Trilogy seriously, and how it amplifies risk for organisations;

• The key findings in Tenable’s Cloud Risk Report and what they mean in practice, including addressing the Toxic Cloud Trilogy; and

• How Tenable Cloud Security can help companies overcome the Toxic Cloud Trilogy.

If you’re involved in protecting your organisation’s data and assets in the cloud, don’t miss this important discussion. TechCentral

Trace Network Operations, founded in 2016, provides bespoke network solutions in network management and network monitoring.

Company founder Darryl Theron saw a gap in the market for a company that provides leading solutions in this space, stemming from his many years of experience in the pan-African infrastructure market.

This episode of TechCentral’s TCS+ business technology podcast, hosted by Jaydev Chiba, delves into how Trace Network Operations supports its customers in the areas of network management and network monitoring as a service (NMaaS) with Theron and his colleague, Gert van Deventer.

The company’s solutions are built around a product called StableNet, a carrier-grade network management and monitoring system that is built from the ground up. Trace Network Operations also uses other technologies, including the Red Hat Ansible automation platform, Cubro, Sophos, NetWitness and FNT.

The company’s solutions are designed to help businesses solve problems such as:

• Lack of visibility into network activity: Many businesses lack the tools and expertise to monitor their networks effectively. This can lead to problems such as security breaches, performance issues and outages.

• Difficulty in troubleshooting problems: When problems do occur, it can be difficult to identify the root cause and resolve them quickly.

• Lack of automation: Many network management tasks are still performed manually, which is time-consuming and prone to errors.

Trace Network Operations addresses these issues by providing a comprehensive suite of NMaaS solutions that includes:

• Network monitoring: StableNet provides real-time visibility into network activity, allowing businesses to identify and resolve problems quickly.

• Network management: The company’s solutions help businesses to automate many network management tasks, such as configuration management, change management and fault management.

• Security monitoring: It integrates solutions such as NetWitness and Cobra to provide comprehensive security monitoring and management.

Trace Network Operations offers its solutions on a flexible basis, allowing businesses to tailor the level of service that best meets their needs.

The interview also includes a few case studies of how Trace Network Operations’ solutions have been used to provide value and benefits for companies. TechCentral

Information technology service management (ITSM) is more than another buzzword. It’s a concept that helps organisations design and deliver IT services to customers and, when well executed, it can have a huge impact on productivity as well as customer and employee experience.

But too often companies don’t do it right, leading to headaches and lost productivity.

To unpack the topic, Muggie van Staden, MD at open-source enterprise software specialist Obsidian Systems, joins TechCentral’s TCS+ to discuss the latest trends in ITSM and what they mean for South African organisations.

Van Staden unpacks:

• The concept of ITSM and what it involves;

• How successful companies utilise ITSM to better manage customer experience, free up IT resources, align IT with business goals, enhance security and risk mitigation, foster scalable growth, and accelerate digital transformation;

• The emerging trends in ITSM that are shaping how organisations manage their IT services and IT infrastructure;

• The role of artificial intelligence and automation in ITSM;

• The shift to Agile and DevOps integration; and

• Where Obsidian fits into the ITSM picture.

Don’t miss a fascinating conversation with a leader in the ITSM space in South Africa. TechCentral

Datafree Technologies, the company behind popular zero-rated messaging tool MoyaApp, has an ambitious plan to build a R1-billion/year business by tapping to the APN market provided by the mobile operators.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show (TCS), Datafree chief commercial officer Kruben Pillay tells Duncan McLeod about the company’s plan to build a software-as-a-service-based APN – or “access point name” – to sell to businesses. An APN is a gateway that allows a mobile device to connect to the network and the internet.

Datafree describes itself as a specialist in “mobile data optimisation” that “identified the opportunity to empower inclusive mobile connection by removing the data cost barrier to engage mobile audiences”.

To do this, it uses reverse-billing technology for data, not dissimilar to the way toll-free numbers work for phone calls.

Although many people use or are at least aware of MoyaApp, much less is known about Datafree. In this episode of TCS, Pillay tells McLeod more about the business. He also unpacks:

• His history in the telecommunications industry, including his time at Vodacom and Telkom;

• How MoyaApp is doing;

• Datafree’s R1-billion/year APN opportunity; and

• How APNs work, why companies use them (and why they sometimes run into issues) and Datafree’s APN services for business.

Don’t miss the interview! TechCentral