TechCentral

In today’s hyperconnected society, mobile connectivity is key to running a successful business, helping keep employees connected to each other, to organisational resources and to customers.

To manage communications effectively, businesses need to have a clear view of the entire Sim estate across the organisation. Monitoring usage and having the control needed to provide (or restrict) resources such as voice minutes and data quickly and easily are critical to managing costs effectively.

MSB Micro Systems is a company specialising in managed network connectivity for corporate entities. In this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+, MSB Microsystems founder and CEO Danny Stemmet talks about the ins and outs of Sim management.

Stemmet delves into:

• MSB Micro’s history and how the company changed from being a software development house to a services company;

• How the rise of hybrid work environments and remote teams have affected demand for Sim management services, especially among mobile workforces;

• How MSB Micro Systems supports Sims that perform machine-to-machine communications and other internet-of-things functions;

• How MSB’s network-agnostic approach provides flexibility its resellers and, by extension, their clients;

• How MSB’s pricing model supports businesses at every stage growth, helping them scale appropriately when they need to;

• The key benefits for a company that chooses to use a managed connectivity service rather than managing their mobile estate directly with an operator; and

• Why MSB Micro is changing its business model from being a managed service provider to a platform business.

Don’t miss this informative conversation.

Cryptocurrencies are increasingly moving beyond being seen as an investment asset as users find more real-world uses in everyday contexts. It appears that crypto is becoming more like cash – with users prepared to use it as the point of sale.

Crypto payments specialist MoneyBadger recently signed a deal with fintech Scan to Pay allowing crypto wallet users pay at more than 650 000 stores nationwide.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show, MoneyBadger CEO Carel van Wyk and Luno country manager for South Africa Christo de Wit tell TechCentral’s Nathi Ndlovu about what the partnership means for crypto platforms, their users and the broader economy.

Van Wyk and De Wit delve into:

• The mindset shift that happens when users move from being crypto investors to day-to-day users of digital currencies;

• How crypto payments allow for immediate settlement in rands and what that means for merchants and users;

• How merchants benefit by supporting crypto payments at their stores;

• Why a crypto investor might want to consider using it to make payments;

• The tax implications that must be considered before investing in or using crypto for payments;

• The role cryptocurrencies play in promoting financial inclusion; and

• The role cryptocurrencies will play as the Reserve Bank modernises the National Payment System.

Don’t miss an interesting discussion! TechCentral

Cryptocurrencies are increasingly moving beyond being seen as an investment asset as users find more real-world uses in everyday contexts. It appears that crypto is becoming more like cash – with users prepared to use it as the point of sale.

Crypto payments specialist MoneyBadger recently signed a deal with fintech Scan to Pay allowing crypto wallet users pay at more than 650 000 stores nationwide.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show, MoneyBadger CEO Carel van Wyk and Luno country manager for South Africa Christo de Wit tell TechCentral’s Nathi Ndlovu about what the partnership means for crypto platforms, their users and the broader economy.

Van Wyk and De Wit delve into:

• The mindset shift that happens when users move from being crypto investors to day-to-day users of digital currencies;

• How crypto payments allow for immediate settlement in rands and what that means for merchants and users;

• How merchants benefit by supporting crypto payments at their stores;

• Why a crypto investor might want to consider using it to make payments;

• The tax implications that must be considered before investing in or using crypto for payments;

• The role cryptocurrencies play in promoting financial inclusion; and

• The role cryptocurrencies will play as the Reserve Bank modernises the National Payment System.

Don’t miss an interesting discussion!

A South African AI start-up, led by a 19-year-old entrepreneur, Gurveer Singh, has secured the backing of Y Combinator, the prestigious Silicon Valley business accelerator. TechCentral

When most people think of Amazon Web Services, they automatically assume they should go directly to AWS. However, for the diverse ecosystem of AWS partners – including managed service providers and independent software vendors – the real secret to achieving significant growth often lies in leveraging the distributor model.

Consider this analogy: if AWS is a powerful cloud engine, then the reseller acts as the skilled driver. But who manages the complexities of operating the vehicle, such as maintenance, refuelling, training and necessary pit stops? That administrative heavy lifting falls to the distributor.

In this episode of TCS+, Senzo Mbhele, MD at Cloud On Demand, explains the AWS distribution model and its advantages.

Mbhele discusses:

• The main business challenges that the AWS distribution model addresses;

• How distributors create financial value and improve return on investment for others in the ecosystem, including end customers;

• The support distribution partners provide to internal teams, enabling them to achieve more without the need to hire additional staff;

• The expertise distributors offer to help chief information officers and chief technology officers manage risk, security and governance throughout their cloud journey;

• Common misconceptions that may cause executives to hesitate before partnering with a distributor; and

• Indicators that suggest it might be time for a business to consider the services of a distribution partner, along with the benefits this can bring.

Don’t miss this engaging conversation! TechCentral

When most people think of Amazon Web Services, they automatically assume they should go directly to AWS. However, for the diverse ecosystem of AWS partners – including managed service providers and independent software vendors – the real secret to achieving significant growth often lies in leveraging the distributor model.

Consider this analogy: if AWS is a powerful cloud engine, then the reseller acts as the skilled driver. But who manages the complexities of operating the vehicle, such as maintenance, refuelling, training and necessary pit stops? That administrative heavy lifting falls to the distributor.

In this episode of TCS+, Senzo Mbhele, MD at Cloud On Demand, explains the AWS distribution model and its advantages.

Mbhele discusses:

• The main business challenges that the AWS distribution model addresses;

• How distributors create financial value and improve return on investment for others in the ecosystem, including end customers;

• The support distribution partners provide to internal teams, enabling them to achieve more without the need to hire additional staff;

• The expertise distributors offer to help chief information officers and chief technology officers manage risk, security and governance throughout their cloud journey;

• Common misconceptions that may cause executives to hesitate before partnering with a distributor; and

• Indicators that suggest it might be time for a business to consider the services of a distribution partner, along with the benefits this can bring.

Don’t miss this engaging conversation!

E-commerce will soon reach an important milestone in South Africa: by January, according to World Wide Worx research, online shopping will top 10% of total retail sales for the first time. The move to 15% and then to 20% will come much quicker.

That’s the view of Frederik Zietsman, CEO of Naspers-owned Takealot Group – South Africa’s largest online retailer – who was speaking to TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show.

In the interview, Zietsman unpacks what’s driving the rapid adoption of online shopping in South Africa – Covid-19 was a key trigger – and what the future holds as international e-commerce giants step up their investments in the country.

He also discusses:

• How the competitive dynamics of the market have changed in recent years;

• The impact of the entry of international giants such as Amazon and Walmart and how this will reshape the market in the coming years;

• The decision to expand subsidiary Mr D’s focus from fast food to include new product categories;

• The township opportunity and how Takealot is working to crack that market;

• Takealot’s plans to move to electric vehicles in its logistics fleet, including a look at what’s needed to introduce electric motorbikes at scale;

• The challenge of crime in the logistics chain and what’s being done to fight it;

• Why Takealot is getting into the home loans business; and

• What’s going to drive the company’s growth in the next few years.

Don’t miss a fascinating conversation! TechCentral

E-commerce will soon reach an important milestone in South Africa: by January, according to World Wide Worx research, online shopping will top 10% of total retail sales for the first time. The move to 15% and then to 20% will come much quicker.

That’s the view of Frederik Zietsman, CEO of Naspers-owned Takealot Group – South Africa’s largest online retailer – who was speaking to TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show.

In the interview, Zietsman unpacks what’s driving the rapid adoption of online shopping in South Africa – Covid-19 was a key trigger – and what the future holds as international e-commerce giants step up their investments in the country.

He also discusses:

• How the competitive dynamics of the market have changed in recent years;

• The impact of the entry of international giants such as Amazon and Walmart and how this will reshape the market in the coming years;

• The decision to expand subsidiary Mr D’s focus from fast food to include new product categories;

• The township opportunity and how Takealot is working to crack that market;

• Takealot’s plans to move to electric vehicles in its logistics fleet, including a look at what’s needed to introduce electric motorbikes at scale;

• The challenge of crime in the logistics chain and what’s being done to fight it;

• Why Takealot is getting into the home loans business; and

• What’s going to drive the company’s growth in the next few years.

Don’t miss a fascinating conversation!

Seacom last week announced that it plans to build one of the highest-capacity subsea broadband cable systems the world has ever seen.

Dubbed Seacom 2.0, the cable system – which will have an expected design capacity of a staggering 2 000Tbit/s – will be larger than the company’s original system, which brought high-speed connectivity to Africa’s eastern coastline when it was launched in 2009.

The new system, which will include an “express route” from South Africa to Singapore and leg around South Africa to Lobito in Angola – and which will also cover much of the same East African coastline as the first system – will use the latest fibre-optic technology and 48 fibre pairs to deliver its extreme total capacity.

Alpheus Mangale, CEO of Seacom, sat down with TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod for an exclusive first interview with the TechCentral Show to unpack the announcement and provide much greater detail about the deployment – including its timelines and the technology that will be used.

In the interview, Mangale touches on a range of topics, including:

• What’s involved in building a submarine cable system of this magnitude;

• Why Seacom has chosen the routing for the cable that it has;

• The need for great redundancy around the African continent, and how this fed into Seacom’s planning for Seacom 2.0;

• The commercial model for the new system and what this means for the region;

• The assumptions Seacom is making about future internet demand and how that feeds into its return-on-investment forecasts;

• How the system will be funded and who is backing it;

• The risks inherent in building telecommunications infrastructure at this scale; and

• The terrestrial infrastructure that will be deployed to support Seacom 2.0, including landing stations and edge data centres.

Don’t miss a fascinating interview! TechCentral

Seacom last week announced that it plans to build one of the highest-capacity subsea broadband cable systems the world has ever seen.

Dubbed Seacom 2.0, the cable system – which will have an expected design capacity of a staggering 2 000Tbit/s – will be larger than the company’s original system, which brought high-speed connectivity to Africa’s eastern coastline when it was launched in 2009.

The new system, which will include an “express route” from South Africa to Singapore and leg around South Africa to Lobito in Angola – and which will also cover much of the same East African coastline as the first system – will use the latest fibre-optic technology and 48 fibre pairs to deliver its extreme total capacity.

Alpheus Mangale, CEO of Seacom, sat down with TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod for an exclusive first interview with the TechCentral Show to unpack the announcement and provide much greater detail about the deployment – including its timelines and the technology that will be used.

In the interview, Mangale touches on a range of topics, including:

• What’s involved in building a submarine cable system of this magnitude;

• Why Seacom has chosen the routing for the cable that it has;

• The need for great redundancy around the African continent, and how this fed into Seacom’s planning for Seacom 2.0;

• The commercial model for the new system and what this means for the region;

• The assumptions Seacom is making about future internet demand and how that feeds into its return-on-investment forecasts;

• How the system will be funded and who is backing it;

• The risks inherent in building telecommunications infrastructure at this scale; and

• The terrestrial infrastructure that will be deployed to support Seacom 2.0, including landing stations and edge data centres.

Don’t miss a fascinating interview!