Author: Editor
By Wilhelm Greeff, Business Manager at Decision Inc. South Africa At the end of last year, the world’s leading 40 mining companies had a combined revenue of approximately $925 billion. In fact, the net profits of these organisations grew by 127% on the back of high commodity prices and prudent cost management. Closer to home, mining production shrank by almost 8% year-on-year in May. This is significant considering mining is the cornerstone of the country’s economy employing almost 500 000 people and contributing R481 billion to the country’s GDP. Even though the PwC forecast sees mining revenue growth globally, rising costs…
One pink punnet of fresh mushrooms … so many good outcomes! Science is on the side of the good guys with research increasingly showing that healthy food really is happy food. So, we’re delighted to power up the positives of living this October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, by helping more, giving more and supporting more by buying and adding fresh mushrooms to more of our meals! As you know, The South African Mushroom Farmers’ Association (SAMFA)’s Power of Pink campaign has been running for well over 10 years with a simple objective…. to donate to our much-loved NGO, Reach…
The quality of a business’ experience with its instant messaging technology of choice is a matter of how well deployment is managed and how immersive the rollout is, says Obsidian Systems. We’ve all heard the expression ‘to drink their own cold-drink’ in discussion about ICT integration and deployment in business. It means whatever the company is selling, they’re actually using and it is based on the notion ‘you wouldn’t sell something you don’t entirely believe in-or would use yourself’. When open source software solutions company, Obsidian Systems intensified its initial community chat service capability and used it more aggressively as…
Security should be an ongoing priority for organisations within the payments space The McKinsey 2020 Digital Payments Consumer Survey found that digital payments continue to grow in adoption and relevance. Smart solutions that offer accessible and easy digital transactions are increasingly becoming essential to consumer stickiness and engagement. However, as these solutions evolve, so must the security surrounding them to ensure that both retailer and consumer are protected. This is particularly relevant with software Point-of-Sale (POS) platforms which are gaining traction in the payments space. Juniper Research estimates that the number of handsets capable of using contactless payments will grow…
By Frikkie Malan, head of sustainability at Remote Metering Solutions According to the IEA (International Energy Agency), building operations, which include electrical and HVAC systems, contribute approximately 30% to greenhouse gas emissions globally. It is therefore imperative for South African property owners to adopt a new way of thinking if they are to align with the international target of having zero-carbon-ready buildings by 2030. Given that South Africa is the 12th-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, surpassing the combined emissions of the US and China, more work must be done to accelerate the decarbonisation efforts in the country. The…
Carbon emissions from construction sites are a major contributor to global warming, largely owing to the industry’s dependency on fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency’s 2019 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction reveals that building sector emissions increased by two per cent from 2017 to 2018, while a United National Environment Programme report states that construction industry emissions reached their highest levels in 2019. Consequently, it’s time for the construction to clean up its act and renewable energy presents the ideal opportunity to do so, says Databuild CEO Morag Evans. “This is about more than making smart choices around…
By Catherine Muller, HR Manager at Obsidian Systems Even though the concept of a decentralised organisation is not new, it has gained fresh momentum in a post-pandemic world where decision-makers must avoid the temptation of returning to the old way of thinking. This necessitates an immediate overhaul of leadership and leadership techniques where the focus moves to empowering employees. A good example of this is asking their opinion more often and have them contribute to the decision-making process. In this way, the company can create a sense of community where it is easier to get buy-in for strategic decisions. Making…
By Kim Furman, Synthesis Marketing Manager It sits staring back at me. Seemingly never ending and always expanding. The to-do list. I have a daily list of items that I relish scratching out, one by one, like little villains whose defeat my diary depends on. We all have things we want to do – from diary lists to grand goals – but so often, year after year, these things remain undone and with this our confidence in our capabilities of doing them. Many of these things depend on ideas – from how to organise your to-do list itself to how…
By Anna Branquinho, Product marketing associate at Trinity IoT Previously, we examined what constitutes an Internet of Things (IoT) platform and what the environment and its components entail. In this article, we turn our focus to why companies should consider investing in platform as a service (PaaS) or software as a service (SaaS) when it comes to launching an IoT application. PaaS – the customer buys everything PaaS offerings account for approximately 20% of global cloud services. As the name suggests, a PaaS environment provides the business with everything from the runtime to middleware and operating systems. It delivers the…
By Anna Branquinho, Product marketing associate at Trinity IoT Global spending on Internet of Things (IoT) technology is expected to top $1.1 trillion by 2023. Despite the complexities associated with managing the environment, it is well worth the risk. In fact, 23% of European IoT adopters cite improving their security posture as the main reason for adopting IoT. However, it is something even non-technology-focused businesses can benefit from. Whether you are a food delivery services provider or a clothing retailer, IoT can unlock significant growth opportunities. In an increasingly mobile-first, digitally driven global economy, IoT platforms are becoming commonplace. But…