Author: Editor
Economist and entrepreneur, Alan Levy, has just published a groundbreaking paper detailing a novel strategy to combat the sale of illegal drugs: “The Sellers Dilemma: Winning the War on Drugs.” In this compelling piece, Levy simplifies the complexities of the illegal drug (ID) market by reducing it into a game with three main players: law enforcement (LE), end-user buyers (EUB), and sellers (S). He argues that the rules of this ‘game’ need a radical change to turn the tide in the war on drugs. Currently, both EUBs and S are deemed offenders, effectively forming a clandestine relationship protecting each other…
Ralph Berndt, sales and marketing director at Syrex South African businesses are turning to the cloud for the storage and management of their data. But even though this brings significant security advantages with it, when compared to on-premises environments, the cloud is not without its challenges especially given how rapidly the threat landscape is evolving. Regardless of whether the data is stored locally or in the cloud, a breach can have serious consequences, including loss of data, damage to reputation, and financial risk. It is surprising to think that the shared responsibility model is still not understood by all companies.…
Why AI is not going to change the world (too much) By Hanno Brink, Machine Learning Engineer at Synthesis LLMs have come onto the scene and really shaken up the technology world over the last couple of months, and it is very clear that this technology unlocks a lot of exciting new possibilities. However, I feel like there seems to be a lot of fear and hype around the technology, and I think that it might be a bit premature. LLMs, as they exist today, are very good at two things: generating text and understanding natural language. Although we have…
Frik van der Westhuizen, CEO of EQPlus With revenue in the IT consulting and implementation segment projected to top $65 billion by the end of this year, it has become an increasingly important component of the technology environment. Organisations are looking to unlock the value of their digital investments with consultants providing an important enabling mechanism in this regard. Locally, consultants must turn the focus on how they can provide value to their companies. Being a better consultant can result in increased business opportunities and job satisfaction. Here are several tips to how to become a better consultant in the…
South Africa’s focus on green hydrogen as a renewable energy source and cleaner fuel for industries is of critical importance to stakeholders in the construction industry. It not only flags the country as one committed to climate change, but also opens the door to more commercial construction projects. CEO of Databuild, Morag Evans says there is a lot of news about the government’s eagerness to progress with Strategic Integration Projects, including the Green Hydrogen National Plan. In December 2022, Business Tech online reported that the then Minister of public works and infrastructure Patricia de Lille had gazetted nine infrastructure projects…
If you take a sick day so you can have a fun day, you’re committing fraud and can lose your job Calling in sick to your workplace when you’re actually attending an event can get you fired. You’re essentially lying to the business and going against clear-cut company policy. A sick day is defined as time off work to recover from mental or physical illness, a health condition or injury. Employees are entitled to one to two days of paid sick leave without a medical certificate. It is not, says Nicol Myburgh, Head: CRS Technologies HCM Business Unit, for when…
Obsidian Systems, a supplier of open-source software solutions, is excited to announce that it will host David Walker, Field CTO for EMEA at Yugabyte, in May for a special visit to South Africa. The visit aims to strengthen the partnership between Obsidian Systems and Yugabyte, expand Yugabyte’s presence in the region, and provide local businesses with valuable insights into the advantages of adopting distributed SQL databases. Yugabyte is a global leader in providing high-performance, distributed SQL databases, helping organisations scale and manage their data more efficiently. Their flagship product, YugabyteDB, is an open-source, cloud-native, and highly resilient distributed database that…
By Frikkie Malan, Chief Commercial Officer at Remote Metering Solutions Reducing a building’s carbon footprint is challenging, but the benefits are substantial. Efficient, low-carbon facilities utilise cost-effective solutions to minimise emissions while enhancing health, equity, and lowering operational costs. Property managers and building owners can consider several tools for carbon emissions reduction and cost savings: Decarbonisation Electrification Efficiency Digitalisation The World Economic Forum emphasises that these approaches are essential for reducing carbon emissions and overall building operation costs. Buildings can achieve low or zero-carbon-ready performance by reducing (or eliminating) energy produced from fossil fuels, utilising renewable energy, reducing high global…
Does this sound familiar? For some time now, your child’s school marks have been dropping. They’ve been complaining that they hate Maths or don’t like their teacher. And their self-confidence has taken a dip. You’ve been meaning to get help, but now the situation is so bad that you simply can’t leave it any longer. So, what do you do? The sooner you intervene, the better the outcome for your child, say husband and wife team Wynand and Gemay van Heerden, founders of academic extension centre Edify. “The longer you leave it, the wider the crack. Act immediately.” The figures…
“It’s always an honour to do well in any international competition. These awards acknowledge the hard work of our entire team, from vineyards to cellar and beyond.” Alvi van der Merwe Alvi’s Drift Private Cellar has received news of its first award-winning wines of the year – and it’s a bountiful harvest indeed. The Scherpenheuwel ward winery, situated in the cooler southern reaches of the greater Breede River Valley wine region recently collected a total of 19 medals (5 Great Gold, 11 Gold and 3 Silver) at the 2023 Catavinum World Wine & Spirits Competition Spain. “To have so many…