Posted on January 13th, 2010 by Editor
While views on 2010 are generally cautiously optimistic, there are serious issues South African businesses will have to face during the year, issues that have nothing to do with soccer or economics, writes ALLEN SMITH, CEO of ContinuitySA.
Whether it’s crumbling infrastructure, lack of skills, social unrest, failing health standards, a larger tax bill or any combination of these events, 2010 in South Africa will be a good year to be sure your business continuity plans are in good shape.
There are, of course, always issues that force organisations to implement their business continuity plans, but with reduced budgets, less certainty in all spheres and the continuing brain drain, we expect a busy year for business continuity professionals.
With that in mind, I believe the following make up the top 10 issues businesses will face in 2010 that will cause them to invoke their business continuity plans:
Keep reading →
Popularity: 5% [?]
Posted in the category: Economy, Insight, Strategy, Trends
Two ads in the employment section of the latest Sunday Times offer two related signposts for the development of technology infrastructure in South Africa during 2010, writes ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK
Two ads in the latest Sunday Times were seemingly innocuous: six posts advertised for Broadband Infraco, and 13 for the Department of Home Affairs. But between the lines, they said so much.
To start with, the Home Affairs ad was headlined “Building the New Home Affairs”. That ’s a positive sign to start with; an acknowledgement that Home Affairs as it had been structured and the way it had been operating simply wasn’t good enough.
Keep reading →
Popularity: 5% [?]
Posted in the category: Economy, Insight, Technology, Trends
Posted on November 24th, 2008 by Editor
Everyone in business has heard of the SOHO – Small Office Home Office. Now make way for the NOHO – Small Office No Office.
The concept of NOHO – Small Office Home Office is introduced in a new book released today, “The Mobile Office”, by Arthur Goldstuck, technology writer and editor of The Big Change. The book is sub-titled “The essential small business guide to office technology”, and goes beyond the technology to explain how the modern office for both the small business and the travelling executive has changed more radically in the past ten years than in the previous hundred years.
“It’s not just the Internet, not merely the plunging prices of laptop computers, not only the arrival of cellphone banking and mobile e-mail,” says Goldstuck, who heads up the World Wide Worx technology market research organisation.
Keep reading →
Popularity: 53% [?]
Posted in the category: News, Technology, Trends
Posted on November 24th, 2008 by Editor
A new book, “The Mobile Office”, reveals the true cost of connecting a small office or a mobile worker to the Internet – and sounds the death knell for dial-up access in South Africa.
“The Mobile Office”, the latest book by Arthur Goldstuck, technology writer and editor of The Big Change, has for the first time presented a detailed analysis of the cost of Internet access in South Africa. It shows that dial-up access is the most expensive form of Internet connectivity in South Africa.
The belief that dial-up is cheap because it tends to carry the lowest monthly subscription of all forms of Internet subscription is shown to be a myth. While the upfront subscription is usually far cheaper, once the access is actually used, it quickly becomes more expensive.
Arthur Goldstuck and FNB’s Len Pienaar at the media launch of “The Mobile Office” on 20 November
World Wide Worx’s research into mobile technologies in South Africa, under the Mobility project sponsored by First National Bank, provided the initial impulse for the book.
Keep reading →
Popularity: 31% [?]
Posted in the category: News, Technology, Trends
Posted on November 14th, 2008 by Editor
The new magazine of digital business, Mark, is about the changing nature of both people and the business environment. Its blog, Marklives.com, extends the content into the social media space. Founder and editor of the magazine and Internet veteran HERMAN MANSON reveals the thinking behind the venture.
People are changing. Business environments are changing. Building business organisations (and profits) are no longer simply about building brand equity and loyalty – it’s about building customer equity. This is the premise for the launch of new digital business magazine Mark and its associated blog MarkLives.com.
Mark magazine and MarkLives.com covers a world-wide trend towards the re-engagement between real people as opposed to people and technology. Technology is simply a facilitator in this process. People are looking for real engagement, a real interest in their causes and needs. They are no longer sold on traditional advertising. The way business engages with people, both customers and staff, is being redefined, and we all need to be aware of how this trend affects us if we are going to manage this process.
Keep reading →
Popularity: 36% [?]
Posted in the category: Insight, Strategy, Trends
The Big Change, through World Wide Worx, is an official media partner for AfricaCom 2008, the premier pan-African communications event, now in its 11th year. For a decade, this event has comprised a high-level conference and co-located exhibition hosting the very latest in communications technology and strategy.
Mark's Digital Farm