TechCentral

Customer relationship management software giant Salesforce recently showcased the power of its latest artificial intelligence and cloud-based solutions to customers, partners and associates at Salesforce World Tour Essentials Johannesburg, held at the Kyalami Convention Centre in Midrand.

In this episode of TechCentral’s business technology show, TCS+, Zuko Mdwaba, Salesforce area vice president/Africa executive and South Africa country leader, shares highlights from the event. He also provides insight into the company’s plans for South Africa and Africa.

More than 2 200 global and local leaders attended the Salesforce event in Johannesburg, demonstrating the huge interest in AI and digital transformation in South Africa, with organisations from across a range of sectors eager to learn more about new technologies that will allow them to leverage their data more fully and grow their businesses.

The Salesforce ecosystem of partners in the South African region has grown 34% year on year, but the most significant improvement is in the area of certifications, with an increase of 43% in the same period. These partners, Mdwaba explains in the TCS+ interview, are helping organisations across all sectors to raise employee productivity and transform with real-time insights and new levels of customer experience.

Mdwaba shares data from International Data Corp, which shows Salesforce and its partner ecosystem is being fuelled by AI- powered cloud solutions and will generate US$5.8-billion in net new business between 2022 and 2028.

In the interview, Mdwaba delves into:

• The economic impact that the Salesforce ecosystem is going to have on South Africa in the next few years.

• How the combination of CRM, cloud, data and trust is transforming organisations.

• How Salesforce is ramping up its skills development and talent programme in Africa to build the workforce that will help drive its aspirations for the continent.

Finally, he speaks about some of the infrastructural challenges on the continent and where the opportunities for technological innovation and business growth lie.

Don’t miss the interview!

Braintree’s Grant van der Westhuizen and Heath Huxtable tell TechCentral’s TCS+ business technology show about how to acquire software that solves present and future business needs.

This might sound simple, but software purchases are complex and expensive. For companies to get their money’s worth, properly diagnosing the problem a new piece of software ought to solve and ensuring that the solution is futureproof are key to extracting the most value from a purchase.

In this episode of TCS+, Huxtable – MD at Braintree – and Van der Westhuizen, the company’s business applications sales manager, tell TCS+ about important considerations companies should take into account when looking to solve business problems through software.

Huxtable and van der Westhuizen delve into:

• How customers don’t really know what they want because they tend to hyperfocus on solving pain points instead of looking at the bigger picture;

• Balancing short-term vs long-term thinking in purchasing decisions;

• The importance of unlocking value versus thinking of software as a grudge purchase;

• The flexibility provided by the Microsoft suite of business applications;

• How to balance personalised solutions with maintaining a consolidated view in multi-faceted business; and

• How to deal with resistance from employees in implementation projects, especially where artificial intelligence is involved.

Huxtable and Van der Westhuizen are passionate about using software to drive value creation in business, and their energy comes through vividly in this interview. Don’t miss the discussion! TechCentral

Braintree’s Grant van der Westhuizen and Heath Huxtable tell TechCentral’s TCS+ business technology show about how to acquire software that solves present and future business needs.

This might sound simple, but software purchases are complex and expensive. For companies to get their money’s worth, properly diagnosing the problem a new piece of software ought to solve and ensuring that the solution is futureproof are key to extracting the most value from a purchase.

In this episode of TCS+, Huxtable – MD at Braintree – and Van der Westhuizen, the company’s business applications sales manager, tell TCS+ about important considerations companies should take into account when looking to solve business problems through software.

Huxtable and van der Westhuizen delve into:

• How customers don’t really know what they want because they tend to hyperfocus on solving pain points instead of looking at the bigger picture;

• Balancing short-term vs long-term thinking in purchasing decisions;

• The importance of unlocking value versus thinking of software as a grudge purchase;

• The flexibility provided by the Microsoft suite of business applications;

• How to balance personalised solutions with maintaining a consolidated view in multi-faceted business; and

• How to deal with resistance from employees in implementation projects, especially where artificial intelligence is involved.

Huxtable and Van der Westhuizen are passionate about using software to drive value creation in business, and their energy comes through vividly in this interview. Don’t miss the discussion!

A 2023 report by International Data Corporation (IDC) found that an astonishing 96% of CIOs in South Africa plan to modernise their ERP applications using cloud services. Yet actual implementation has stalled.

To discuss this, and what’s holding South African organisations back from cloud modernisation projects, TechCentral was joined on the TCS+ business technology show by executives from NTT Data (formerly Dimension Data) and SAP: NTT Data Middle East and Africa head of enterprise applications and cloud Brent Flint and SAP Africa head of partner ecosystem (MEA South) Nazia Pillay.

Reasons for slow uptake, Flint and Pillay explained, include a perception that the costs involved are exceptionally high and the dire shortage of the right IT skills to handle these types of projects.

In this episode of TCS+, Pillay and Flint unpack:

• The history of the relationship between SAP and NTT Data and how the two companies work together today;

• Why there is a pressing need for companies to modernise their ERP systems and move to cloud-based solutions;

• The benefits of and costs associated with moving to SAP S4/HANA Cloud – what the software offers that legacy ERP systems can’t, and the benefits organisations can expect when migrating;

• How best to deal with the critical IT skills shortage in South Africa, especially around these types of business application modernisation projects;

• The risks associated with business application modernisation and how NTT Data and SAP help their clients address those risks upfront and during project implementation;

• The role SAP S/4 HANA Cloud can play in modernising enterprise IT infrastructure and help organisations stay competitive;

• The best practices companies should be aware of in achieving a successful migration to S4/HANA Cloud; and

• What’s coming next from S4/HANA Cloud that companies should get excited about.

If you’re in any way involved in enterprise IT, you don’t want to miss this discussion. TechCentral

A 2023 report by International Data Corporation (IDC) found that an astonishing 96% of CIOs in South Africa plan to modernise their ERP applications using cloud services. Yet actual implementation has stalled.

To discuss this, and what’s holding South African organisations back from cloud modernisation projects, TechCentral was joined on the TCS+ business technology show by executives from NTT Data (formerly Dimension Data) and SAP: NTT Data Middle East and Africa head of enterprise applications and cloud Brent Flint and SAP Africa head of partner ecosystem (MEA South) Nazia Pillay.

Reasons for slow uptake, Flint and Pillay explained, include a perception that the costs involved are exceptionally high and the dire shortage of the right IT skills to handle these types of projects.

In this episode of TCS+, Pillay and Flint unpack:

• The history of the relationship between SAP and NTT Data and how the two companies work together today;

• Why there is a pressing need for companies to modernise their ERP systems and move to cloud-based solutions;

• The benefits of and costs associated with moving to SAP S4/HANA Cloud – what the software offers that legacy ERP systems can’t, and the benefits organisations can expect when migrating;

• How best to deal with the critical IT skills shortage in South Africa, especially around these types of business application modernisation projects;

• The risks associated with business application modernisation and how NTT Data and SAP help their clients address those risks upfront and during project implementation;

• The role SAP S/4 HANA Cloud can play in modernising enterprise IT infrastructure and help organisations stay competitive;

• The best practices companies should be aware of in achieving a successful migration to S4/HANA Cloud; and

• What’s coming next from S4/HANA Cloud that companies should get excited about.

If you’re in any way involved in enterprise IT, you don’t want to miss this discussion.

A new smart payment ring has been launched in South Africa – and it’s built by South Africans for South Africans.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show (TCS), TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod chats to VezoPay founders Jake Pinkus and Lawrence Baker about the launch of the ring – it’s available in three variants at launch – and what was behind the idea.

In the interview, they not only explain why they decided to build a payment ring, but also why they’re entering what could soon become a highly competitive market globally, with both Samsung Electronics and Apple expected to launch their own smart rings later this year.

Pinkus and Lawrence unpack:

• How long they’ve been working on the payment ring, and where the idea came from;

• How much research and development was involved, and who’s backing the innovation;

• How the technology works, and what exactly is inside the ring;

• The various options available at launch;

• How it works without having to be charged;

• How the security features work (without giving the game away);

• How VezoPay is working with South African banks;

• Whether the ring can be used for ticketing (concerts, Gautrain, etc);

• How much it costs;

• The potential competition from Samsung and Apple; and

• VezoPay’s plans to expand beyond South Africa’s borders.

Don’t miss the interview! TechCentral

A new smart payment ring has been launched in South Africa – and it’s built by South Africans for South Africans.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show (TCS), TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod chats to VezoPay founders Jake Pinkus and Lawrence Baker about the launch of the ring – it’s available in three variants at launch – and what was behind the idea.

In the interview, they not only explain why they decided to build a payment ring, but also why they’re entering what could soon become a highly competitive market globally, with both Samsung Electronics and Apple expected to launch their own smart rings later this year.

Pinkus and Lawrence unpack:

• How long they’ve been working on the payment ring, and where the idea came from;

• How much research and development was involved, and who’s backing the innovation;

• How the technology works, and what exactly is inside the ring;

• The various options available at launch;

• How it works without having to be charged;

• How the security features work (without giving the game away);

• How VezoPay is working with South African banks;

• Whether the ring can be used for ticketing (concerts, Gautrain, etc);

• How much it costs;

• The potential competition from Samsung and Apple; and

• VezoPay’s plans to expand beyond South Africa’s borders.

Don’t miss the interview!

The 2Africa submarine communications cable, which will be the longest such system in the world when it’s completed, is already helping one South African internet service provider find an alternative route for its data traffic between KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.

2Africa’s eastern segment – known as 2Africa Gera – is largely complete, and traffic is already flowing across the section that connects Durban and Cape Town, thanks to a newly concluded agreement between 2Africa investor WIOCC Group and FirstNet Technology Services, an ISP in the First Technologies Group stable.

To discuss this development and unpack it in more detail, TechCentral invited WIOCC director of sales for South Africa Carlos De Almeida and FirstNet GM Sean van Niekerk onto the TCS+ business technology podcast.

In the show, De Almeida discusses the scale of the 180Tbit/s design capacity 2Africa cable, its state of readiness and WIOCC’s investment in the massive system, which, when completed, will stretch a staggering 45 000km and connect countries with a combined population of more than three billion people.

De Almeida and Van Niekerk discuss:

• Why FirstNet acquired capacity on 2Africa to carry network traffic between KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape – becoming the first company to do so;

• Why routing via a subsea cable, rather than using traditional terrestrial long-distance routes, should mean far fewer service interruptions for FirstNet customers;

• FirstNet’s focus as an ISP, and why it launched a brand called UrbanXConnect dedicated to the gaming community and their specific requirements around latency and network quality;

• The reliability, speeds and latencies possible on the 2Africa cable, and why this is critical for FirstNet; and

• Why, in WIOCC’s view, other ISPs could and should follow FirstNet’s lead in using the 2Africa cable for their national long-distance internet traffic.

Don’t miss a fascinating discussion about a pioneering agreement. TechCentral

The 2Africa submarine communications cable, which will be the longest such system in the world when it’s completed, is already helping one South African internet service provider find an alternative route for its data traffic between KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.

2Africa’s eastern segment – known as 2Africa Gera – is largely complete, and traffic is already flowing across the section that connects Durban and Cape Town, thanks to a newly concluded agreement between 2Africa investor WIOCC Group and FirstNet Technology Services, an ISP in the First Technologies Group stable.

To discuss this development and unpack it in more detail, TechCentral invited WIOCC director of sales for South Africa Carlos De Almeida and FirstNet GM Sean van Niekerk onto the TCS+ business technology podcast.

In the show, De Almeida discusses the scale of the 180Tbit/s design capacity 2Africa cable, its state of readiness and WIOCC’s investment in the massive system, which, when completed, will stretch a staggering 45 000km and connect countries with a combined population of more than three billion people.

De Almeida and Van Niekerk discuss:

• Why FirstNet acquired capacity on 2Africa to carry network traffic between KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape – becoming the first company to do so;

• Why routing via a subsea cable, rather than using traditional terrestrial long-distance routes, should mean far fewer service interruptions for FirstNet customers;

• FirstNet’s focus as an ISP, and why it launched a brand called UrbanXConnect dedicated to the gaming community and their specific requirements around latency and network quality;

• The reliability, speeds and latencies possible on the 2Africa cable, and why this is critical for FirstNet; and

• Why, in WIOCC’s view, other ISPs could and should follow FirstNet’s lead in using the 2Africa cable for their national long-distance internet traffic.

Don’t miss a fascinating discussion about a pioneering agreement.

Asokan Moodley is leading Nedbank’s drive into the world of AI – and it is already starting to have a meaningful impact on productivity in the bank.

In this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+, Moodley – Nedbank Group Technology’s head of end user and communication experience, infrastructure and operations – unpacks what the bank is doing with Copilot for Microsoft 365 and the lessons learnt so far from the deployment of the technology.

Nedbank, which is one of the first organisations in South Africa to deploy Copilot for Microsoft 365, has made the technology available to select employees, including senior management, ahead of a planned wider deployment.

In the interview, Moodley discusses:

• Why Nedbank decided to be a relatively early adopter of Copilot for Microsoft 365;

• Which employees the technology has been deployed to initially and why they were chosen;

• The business challenges the bank is hoping the technology will address;

• The important lessons learnt so far, and how other companies should be approaching their deployments;

• The potential pitfalls of using advanced AI tools in a highly regulated industry like banking;

• The security concerns, and how Nedbank is addressing these; and

• How the bank helped employees embrace AI tools in their day-to-day work, and the feedback they have provided regarding their use of the technology.

Moodley also shares his views on whether AI tools, including Copilot for Microsoft 365, provide a competitive edge in both the short and the long term.

If your organisation is thinking of deploying AI technology to its employees – and especially if it’s considering Copilot for Microsoft 365 – this is a conversation you shouldn’t miss, especially as Moodley shares his views on how leaders in other organisations who have embarked on a similar journey should approach this. TechCentral