Author: Editor

Is the business responsible for worker occupational health and safety during the era of work from home? Traditionally, organisations have been responsible for worker occupational health and safety (OHS) during office hours, on office premises, but what does this translate to in the era of work from home (WFH)? While lockdowns may have eased and people may have returned to the office, many organisations are adopting hybrid models of working going forward, which means that OHS has to be considered in the realm of WFH. OHS defines what a workplace is, and it is any place where a person performs…

By Synthesis Juan Roriston and Rodney Ellis Every company wants to accelerate business value. Kubernetes is one of many answers. But to those in the non-technical team, this may sound like just another buzzword. Below we break it down so the next time the word is mentioned, you can have an impactful say in the conversation. What is Kubernetes? Kubernetes was developed by Google. I announced it in 2015, with version 1.0 being released July 21, 2015. It has seen multiple versions since then and is currently on 1.21. Kubernetes is an open-source platform that automates Linux container operations. It…

Digital transformation is not a trend, it’s a business priority that can fundamentally shift an organisation’s growth and potential, by Robynne Todd, Business Manager – Cloud Enablement at Decision Inc. There is little doubt that the past 18 months have fundamentally changed the digital picture. From a fuzzy, out of focus concept that few organisations could really understand to the ubiquity and scalability of cloud shoved into sharp, immensely valuable relief. Companies that had already set foot on the digital transformation highway were ahead of the curve, able to put their people online and in remote working environments at speed,…

By Ralph Berndt, sales and marketing director of Syrex In today’s connected landscape, there is a growing complexity associated with safeguarding the myriad of endpoint devices accessing the corporate network. The unpredictability of attacks and threats are increasing, and threat actors are using increasingly sophisticated technologies to compromise devices. Adding further impetus to this is the normalisation of a distributed working environment that sees employees using their personal devices to log in to back-end systems. Generally, employees at home are often prone to less than cautious behaviour and non-compliance with the corporate cybersecurity policy. Check Point research has found that…

Employee hearings haven’t come to a halt in the pandemic, but is remote really the way to go? Hearings are a critical part of the business machinery. They provide parties with an opportunity to resolve conflict, and they can mitigate risk for employee and organisation alike. However, the past 18 months have not been ideal for organisations undertaking hearings. Lockdowns, restricted office engagements and social distancing have put many hearings online. But, as Nicol Myburgh, Head: HCM Business Unit at CRS Technologies, points out, this requires that the company make a concerted effort to ensure fairness, embed ethics and dodge…

By Howard Feldman, Head of Marketing & People at Synthesis The conversation started when I repeated a question someone had posed to me earlier that day. I thought it was an interesting one, and so when sitting down to a family lunch I posed the question: Would it be wrong to prohibit unvaccinated people from attending indoor synagogue services? The debate followed predictable lines where we compared smoking in public and driving drunk to being unvaccinated. “What about dress code?” I asked. “If people came to a house of worship dressed to offend others, would the same argument apply?” My…

With only around 29 per cent of South Africans vaccinated against Covid-19 (at time of writing) and the threat of a fourth wave of infections looming, the debate around mandatory vaccination in the workplace is hotting up. Databuild CEO Morag Evans believes there is a case to be made for compulsory vaccinations in the construction industry. “The Occupational Health and Safety Act stipulates that employers must provide and maintain a safe and healthy working environment, free from risk to employees,” she says. “This includes putting measures in place to protect employees from infectious disease such as Covid-19. “Owing to the…

By Nick Bell, Group CEO of Decision Inc. As companies around the world begin to embrace that their future operating model is going to need to be Digital First, the race is now on for companies to invest in technology and data assets to create new value and opportunity. At Decision Inc., we are seeing these investment decisions beginning to accelerate and companies looking to use technology to deliver, not only performance improvements, but also competitive differentiation. The challenge is that leaders are generally not thinking broadly enough about what truly creates digital success. Investing in technology is critical to…

In the last century, change has been the only constant. How does an institution survive this? “Embrace change and strive for independent thinking,” explains Brenda Howden, Headmistress of Park Preparatory School. This October,Auckland Park Preparatory School (APP), a private girls’ school in Johannesburg, will do what most institutions, schools and businesses strive for but rarely achieve – reach a century of success. Why has the school not only survived a century but thrived? The answer may be in Howden’s perspective. On reaching a milestone, she does not rest on it as a guarantee for future success but looks to developing…

With only around 29 per cent of South Africans vaccinated against Covid-19 (at time of writing) and the threat of a fourth wave of infections looming, the debate around mandatory vaccination in the workplace is hotting up. Databuild CEO Morag Evans believes there is a case to be made for compulsory vaccinations in the construction industry. “The Occupational Health and Safety Act stipulates that employers must provide and maintain a safe and healthy working environment, free from risk to employees,” she says. “This includes putting measures in place to protect employees from infectious disease such as Covid-19. “Owing to the…