Technology

While moving to the cloud might be easier than overhauling on-premise systems, there are still obstacles to overcome. Many companies underestimate the costs of migration and the level of planning required.

Government needs to take bold and rapid action to extricate the country from the economic quagmire in which it finds itself. The local economy is struggling to generate the growth needed to address high unemployment and inequality, as well as arrest the declining productivity that has eroded the country's global competitiveness.

So far the effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have been slow to reveal themselves in businesses in South Africa but the scale of the oncoming change is starting to become apparent overseas. AI’s influence is growing in the workplace and will bring substantial change to South African offices in the next few years as machine learning, task automation and robotics are increasingly used in business.

Smartphones have become the mobile professionals Swiss Army knife. There is almost nothing you can't do with one. One challenge is when you have a table full of people and need to conference call. Enter the Jabra Speak 510. The Jabra 510 speakerphone is light portable and allows Bluetooth connections or USB connections to mobiles and Laptops and transforms your call into a professional conference call.

What do we have to go on besides sci-fi fiction story I, Robot’s 'The Three Laws of Robotics'? In many industries in South Africa, there has been a massive drive towards incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning into business and products to streamline operations, analyse user behaviour and determine or predict potential purchasing behaviour.

According to a report released in 2018 by the National Credit Regulator, of the 25 million ‘credit-active’ consumers in South Africa, a frightening 10 million were behind in their loan repayments.  Even the World Bank has deemed South Africa to be the most indebted country in the world.

Globally, the shift towards automation is being driven by the need to increase agility and provide customers with a greater sense of immediacy. In the South African context, particularly in the tough economic environment businesses currently find themselves in, these drivers are coupled with a greater need to retain customers and gain market share. After all, a great customer experience can lead to a substantial competitive advantage.

While the arrival of multinational data centres in South Africa has prompted more organisations to consider moving to the cloud, some are still hesitant to migrate their payroll to this environment even though the advantages far outweigh any concerns.

Hisense has been making mobile phones for several years, and they have always represented excellent value and quality. Their latest flagship the H30 and its little brother the H30 Lite are aiming higher while still retaining good value and quality. Midrange phones are plentiful in the market, and the new Hisense H30 is targeted at fashion-conscious tech-savvy consumers.

With the fourth industrial revolution in full swing, businesses are looking for faster and more efficient ways to service customers. Customers are also increasingly tech-savvy and demand more from their service providers, including quicker access and more tailored offerings. Business must carefully assess legal issues that will have an impact on the ability not only to move to cloud, but also to have full beneficial use of cloud services.