Tag: data privacy

There is a perception among Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that data, while important, is not as critical as it is for a larger business. However, this could not be further from the truth. Data is literally the lifeblood of the modern organisation, no matter the size. Without it, productivity ceases, particularly in a world where work-from-home has become a requirement.

Agility is key when it comes to data analytics. A report that takes six months to deliver is of little value to the business, because any insights will be stale and irrelevant. The historical disconnect between IT and business remains a problem, and this is where DataOps comes in.

Under Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), service providers will have to obtain a SOC 2 report to demonstrate to their clients that they are enforcing proper security and data privacy practices. Over 80% of private, SMME and large companies plan to revise their operations in the next few years.

Investors need to consider cyber preparedness in their investment decisions. Today, 100% of companies rely on the internet to operate, compared to the one-in-four 10 years ago, according to a study from Accenture.

As the promise of fifth-generation (5G) wireless broadband begins to become a reality, the role of communication services providers (CSPS) will change. The future home and indeed lifestyle will be built around massive amounts of data and pervasive information flows in the home.

The processing of personal data has become increasingly valuable and lucrative for businesses. It offers opportunities for economic growth, social advancement, and research. However, it can also pose risks to the rights of individuals, their basic human rights.

Most African business leaders are more optimistic about the strength of the global economy and their organisations’ ability to grow revenues in the next 12 months than they were a year ago. Although CEOs’ confidence in their own company’s revenue prospects has rebounded, they are anxious, too: policy uncertainty, tax policy, cyber threats and over-regulation are keeping them awake at night.

With a month to go before the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) comes into effect on 1 July, many companies have left their compliance program to the last minute and may well miss the deadline for compliance. 

One year after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, CEOs are voicing record levels of optimism in the global economic recovery, with 76% of global business leaders predicting that economic growth will improve in 2021. Coming off of a global recession (3.5% decline in world GDP) and a GDP contraction of 7% in SA, a record share of CEOs are optimistic about global economic growth this year.

In Elon Musk's words, "…if we expand the scope and scale of consciousness, then we are better able to understand what questions to ask". In all predictions of what technology will bring us in 2021 and beyond, one must ask the right questions and not just focus on the shiny new things.