In this What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, NTT DATA’s Chris Wiggett unpacks the latest trends in business intelligence and AI that South African businesses must be aware of.

Wiggett is the Head of AI and Data Analytics at NTT DATA Middle East and Africa.

He has fourteen years of experience in data analytics and is well-known for his thought leadership in Advanced Analytics.

Wiggett is also obsessed with the future of data science, with a particular passion for the business insights it generates.

In this What’s Next interview, Wiggett unpacks the latest trends in data and business intelligence that are currently shaping the industry.

He highlights that data-driven decision-making has been spoken about for a long time, but with the rise of AI, it is finally being realized in practice and at scale.

Wiggett explains how NTT DATA differentiates itself through its proven processes and extensive experience implementing powerful AI and business intelligence solutions that generate real client value.

He then emphasizes the importance of effective data access controls, ensuring that the right people, teams, and tools have access to all the data they need, while avoiding giving out data access when it is unnecessary.

Wiggett also talks about the importance of implementing guard rails for AI tools, and explains why it is crucial that organizations promote inter-departmental collaboration and coordination to ensure that the full value of data-driven insights and AI is achieved.

He concludes the interview by discussing what he is most excited about in the fields of AI and data analytics in the future.

In this What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, Tumi Mothoagae discusses how AI helps Liberty to streamline the claims process for its clients.

Mothoagae is the Divisional Executive for Claims Management at Liberty Group South Africa and has worked at the company for 13 years.

During this time, she has held the roles of Team Manager and Financial Advisor – having joined the company after being an Associate Lecturer at Wits University.

In this What’s Next interview, Mothoagae discusses how Liberty has integrated technology into its claims processes – ensuring death and funeral claims can be processed in under 20 minutes, and lifestyle claims can be processed within 24 hours.

She explains how this is enabled by the use of AI, which pulls extensive data from multiple sources.

Mothoagae then discusses the challenges Liberty faced when implementing automation into its claims processes – including dealing with increased claims volumes due to COVID-19 – as well as how employees benefit from having repetitive processes removed.

Mothoagae concludes the interview by unpacking the metrics which show how successful the integration of modern technologies has been for Liberty.

In this What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, MiWay CEO Burton Naicker discusses the latest trends in South Africa’s insurance industry.

Naicker’s professional journey began in the banking industry, before transitioning into the insurance sector when he was appointed as a Legal Recoveries Advisor at Telesure.

In the years which followed, Naicker progressed to senior management roles in the claims environment – culminating in him being appointed as the CEO of SIAS in 2010.

In this What’s Next interview, Naicker discusses his journey to becoming the CEO of MiWay – explaining how the insurance industry has evolved over the past 20 years.

Naicker then discusses the highlights of his tenure as MiWay CEO, as well as the biggest selling points of MiWay as an insurance provider in South Africa.

He also unpacks the major trends he is seeing in the local insurance industry, and provides his top advice to South African insurance clients.

Naicker concludes the interview by revealing his biggest goals for 2025 as MiWay CEO.

In this What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, Metacom CMO Marius Visser discusses the company’s impressive range of SCADA, IoT, and router products.

Visser is a 22-year veteran of the communications industry, who joined Metacom in 2010.

Before this, he worked at MTN for six years as a Solution Consultant and Business Development Manager.

He also worked at Psitek for six years as an Executive for its Access to Voice department.

Visser then joined Metacom as the Executive of Business Development for Europe and Africa.

He has since been promoted to Chief Marketing Officer, and was also appointed to the company’s board as a shareholding director in 2023.

Visser is passionate about offering innovative connectivity solutions that meet the needs of Metacom’s clients.

He details the company’s newest router range, which it launched last year, and discusses how popular these products have been.

Visser then discusses the MC7000 enterprise router – outlining why it is the best enterprise router on the market.

He also reveals the emerging technologies that Metacom is keeping an eye on for its future innovations.

Visser shares several examples of how Metacom has helped its clients succeed, too, thanks to its superior connectivity solutions.

He concludes the interview by discussing the initiatives and products Metacom is going to launch in 2025.

In this What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, Ryan Switala discusses the technologies Liberty is using to improve its life insurance products.

Switala is the Head of Simple Life Solutions at Liberty and has worked at the company for 18 years — beginning as an Actuarial Specialist in 2006.

He then held several notable positions at Liberty before being appointed to his current role — including Head of Risk for Product Development, Actuarial Consultant for Group Reinsurance, and Chief Specialist for Partner Integration.

In this What’s Next interview, Switala discusses how Liberty’s digital transformation strategy is helping make life insurance more accessible to its clients.

He unpacks the powerful technologies that are being used to streamline the customer journey and make life insurance easier to understand for the average South African.

Switala then expands on Liberty’s use of AI and machine learning to deliver ever-evolving, highly personalised client experiences.

He concludes the interview by sharing the most exciting digital innovations that Liberty plans to incorporate into its life insurance offerings.

In this What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, Shenge Buthelezi discusses Vodacom’s extensive MVNO offerings.

Buthelezi is the Managing Executive of Wholesale and Carrier Services at Vodacom South Africa.

He has worked at Vodacom for over 16 years and has held several important roles in the company’s Wholesale and Carrier Services business unit during this time – including Executive Head, Programme Manager, and Account Manager.

In his current role, Buthelezi leads this business unit and is focused on fostering, maintaining, and growing strategic partnerships that grow revenue and profitability for Vodacom South Africa.

In this What’s Next interview, Buthelezi discusses what makes Vodacom Business South Africa’s most trusted enterprise telecommunications provider, in South Africa.

He then focuses on the company’s MVNO offering and the signing of its first MVNO partner: Mr Price Mobile.

Buthelezi explains why Vodacom has entered the MVNO industry and why the network provider is a great partner for companies that want to launch their own MVNO.

He highlights that Vodacom has built a mobile virtual network enablement platform to support its MVNO offering.

Buthelezi concludes the interview by discussing the many exciting opportunities Vodacom’s wholesale business is working on moving forward.

In this Driving Sustainability with Aki Anastasiou interview, SolarAfrica Energy’s Brandon Horn discusses Electricity 2.0 – a new virtual power solutions suite for South African businesses in the commercial and industrial sectors.

Horn is the Head of Commercial at SolarAfrica Energy and boasts over 16 years of experience working for multinational corporations in local and international markets.

This has included working at Puma Energy, Brent Oil, and Centurion Systems.

In this Driving Sustainability interview, Horn explains why volatile electricity price increases are an upcoming crisis for South Africa, and reveals the major drivers behind these rises.

He then unpacks what businesses can do to combat electricity tariff increases, before discussing SolarAfrica’s Electricity 2.0 suite – including why a business will choose it over other power solutions.

Horn outlines how a business can start wheeling energy through Electricity 2.0, and what businesses must look out for when choosing an electricity wheeling provider.

He concludes the interview by noting how to get in touch with SolarAfrica to learn more about Electricity 2.0.

In this What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, First Technology’s Barry Neethling discusses the power of AI technologies in the workplace.

Neethling is the Chief Technology Officer at First Technology Group – and has worked at the company for 40 years.

He is an expert in assisting South African companies to get the best value for their Microsoft licenses, and has been involved in licensing for about 30 years.

In this What’s Next interview, Neethling discusses why it is important for South African businesses to experiment with and embrace the latest AI technologies – like Microsoft Copilot.

He unpacks the major security and privacy concerns that come with AI tools accessing company data, and explains how businesses can address these challenges.

Neethling then discusses the potential benefits of AI in the workplace – including its impact on productivity and employee satisfaction, and how AI can be used as a “superpower.”

He provides his view on the pace of technological change and the future capabilities of AI, and concludes the discussion by giving advice to people who are hesitant about embracing AI and other new technologies.

Website: www.firsttech.co.za

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-technology-national/

In this What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, gicom’s Stefan Hilger discusses how retailers can improve their profitability by using SAP solutions.

Hilger is a Co-Founder of gicom and an Executive Member of its board, where he is responsible for the company’s Sales and Marketing division.

He has spent over 25 years working to ensure that his global clients optimise their financial agreements, margins, and profitability.

In this What’s Next interview, Hilger shares how retailers can use SAP solutions in an increasingly competitive market to improve their profitability.

He explains how gicom plays an important role in this process, before revealing the key elements of good negotiating when trying to improve supplier terms.

Hilger expands on how SAP solutions help with this process, as well as the role of technology in retail negotiations in general.

He concludes the interview by outlining how SAP helps businesses anticipate market changes that can have a material impact on their profitability

In this What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, Liberty’s Kedibone Chuene discusses the latest insurance trends in South Africa.

Chuene is the Chief Risk Product Marketing Specialist at Liberty and has over 16 years of industry experience.

During this time, she has worked at several leading companies — including m-Cubed, Alexforbes, Guardrisk, and Nedbank.

In this What’s Next interview, Chuene discusses the latest insurance industry trends — including several trends impacting women.

She also notes how these trends have influenced Liberty’s service offerings in different ways.

Chuene then explains how Liberty has adapted to changing market conditions and client needs, and reveals the future innovations and initiatives clients can expect to see in the insurance industry.

She concludes the interview by outlining how interested listeners can learn more about Liberty’s insurance products.