Unbundled

Although the 1 July deadline has been extended, you still need to formalise the process within your business as the PoPi Act is relevant to ALL businesses across the spectrum. Do you have a PoPi manual? What is your safety net for possible cybercrime? How are you processing and storing private customer information, and who have you appointed as your compliance officer? What training have you given your staff regarding the protection and flow of private customer information? CATALYTIC

Jaco and his guest debate the inner workings of 'to cloud or not to cloud'. When your core business is not IT you need to leverage technology to ensure digital transformation and business continuity. The considerations are more than just deciding on a public or private cloud-based solution. Points to ponder - has your business considered the pain points of stability issues for the server like cooling, bandwidth and constant power? Do you have SLAs? What would a reason be to move your server(s)? How safe is your data? CATALYTIC

Jaco and his guest peel back the complex layers of disaster recovery (DR). Recovery of data is not just a spare back-up living on a server. Did you know that there is a difference between recovery and back-up? With multiple users and real time recovery requirements, it becomes key to have a staged process, with a defined process to follow. Are you testing your back-ups to ensure that there is no malware in the files? How frequently is your business doing simulation and testing on recovery files? How many minutes, hours or days will it take to bring your business back up? It’s the dreary stuff that is actually your business’ lifeblood... extra measures are vital in this information age – what are you doing to protect your business continuity? CATALYTIC

Jaco Voigt does a brief overview of what has been covered in previous Unbundled podcasts. He touches on Catalytic being a trusted advisor for all your business’ IT requirements including connectivity, security, surrounded eco-systems, Unified Communication (UC), back-up and restoration of data. In the fast-paced and ever-changing IT space, it is important to remember that your IT solution should support rather than restrict your business, and be mindful that enticing pricing may not serve your business well. CATALYTIC

Does your rack tick all the boxes to ensure optimal data storage? Jaco Voigt and guest Adrian Buddingh discuss the key elements that make up a smart rack and the benefits of these 'smart components' to your business. What is the relevance of a smart rack in your IT infrastructure? What should be a concern for a business? Power, redundancy, rack cooling and security are all crucial elements in keeping your business data facility safe and going. From rack security measures like biometrics, to fire hazards and notifications, Jaco demystifies the technology of data smart racks in a server room or data centre facility. CATALYTIC

This week, Jaco from Catalytic continues to simplify and unbundle the digital workplace. A Cisco networking specialist joins the discussion to demystify the core IT infrastructure of a business, as well as Cloud networking specifications. How familiar are you with routers, switches, firewalls, overlays... and how are you protecting your business? This discussion again highlights the fact that small businesses are the gateway to bigger enterprise crimes – are you protected? Catalytic

Don't underestimate the importance of device management... it’s more than just ticking the security box via your business’s trusted IT guy! Hacking happens on all levels - the negligence of small businesses is as serious as enterprises.

The security risk increases as more staff work remotely on public and home connectivity. Would you as a business owner know if your staff bypass and breach server protocols? Do you even have device protocols? Remember, 'prevention is better than cure'... this episode explores the importance of engaging the security of your business by delving into Android, Windows and Mac devices. Catalytic

Technology implementation is a journey and not a brand buy, or a cheap and easy flip of a switch. Are you considering redundancy (failover), back-up and security? This week Jaco chats about businesses needing to take responsibility for their technology implementations by aligning strategies, looking at the business landscape, and long term holistic solutions. Catalytic

Thanks to versatility in technology and communication, employees can be productive without the need to be office or desk bound. Unified Communication (UC) has ensured not only the mobilisation of a workforce, but has made workflow tools and communication more efficient. UC facilitates collaboration, while merging the world of communication with elements like voice, video, conferencing, recording, screen and file sharing. Jaco Voigt delves into using UC to enhance customer service, the importance of a quality UC supplier, and the trends being developed in the AI and automated sphere of future communication. Catalytic

This week Jaco and his guest get practical about the key benefits of back-ups. What is your business doing to ensure active saving of valuable data? What is your plan should there be a network breach or a physical disaster? Jaco unpacks different ways to ensure that back-ups are done and discusses the harsh realities of the outcome of a global survey done in 2020 that confirms statistics like, “Only 20% of IT professionals follow best practices” and “While nearly 90% of companies are backing up data, only 41% do it daily”. World Back-Up Day is on 31 March – let this podcast shed some light on what you need to do to ensure business security and preparation! Catalytic