Category Archives: Tech

Bluechip Launches in Europe following Successful pan-African Expansion

Bluechip Technologies CoFounders - Olumide Soyombo and Kazeem Tewogbade

Hires industry expert Richard Lewis to spearhead the new European division Lagos, Nigeria – 8th August 2022, Bluechip Technologies, Nigeria’s leading provider of business application and data management solutions, announces its European launch following growing demand for its products and services. The strategic expansion positions the company as a new competitive entrant in the EU […]

RCS mobile marketing campaigns in Brazil and Africa by Upstream drive 37% rise in conversion rates over SMS and 137% higher click-through rates

Upstream presents the power of RCS to boost multi-channel marketing campaigns at MEF RCS World and latest whitepaper ‘Unlocking multi-channel marketing with RCS’ Upstream, a global specialist in mobile marketing technology, showcased the power of Rich Communications Services (RCS) to push multi-channel marketing campaigns to new heights at MEF RCS World. Taking place at the state-of-the-art […]

Cyber criminals’ eye South African SMEs lack of security

Steve Flynn, Sales and Marketing Director of ESET South Africa, says South African small businesses are particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks. Why? Business owners aren’t taking the necessary precautions to protect their digital assets, often with dire financial consequences. Despite the significant risks, SMEs seem reluctant to take the same digital preventative measures to secure their IT infrastructure […]

Now in South Africa, the AfyaRekod Universal Patient Portal is empowering patients to take charge of their healthcare

AfyaRekod has launched the fully automated Universal Patient Portal in South Africa and it is ready to change the face of patient care across the country, Africa, and the world.  Using block-chain driven technology the Universal Patient Portal is a secure central, mobile platform where patients and the medical professionals treating them have real-time access […]

Digital agency 8909 expands leadership team

Digital agency 8909 has made three significant new appointments to their leadership team. Manisha Jogi has been promoted to  Head of Strategy, Yuvisti Ramgulam has been appointed as Head of Client Service, and Khanya Sijaji has been promoted to  Executive Creative Director.  Jogi will be in charge of translating client marketing strategies into well thought out brand, […]

New Report Shines a Light on Artificial Intelligence in Africa

The State of AI in Africa Report by the AI Media Group South Africa, offers an analysis of the emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) landscape in Africa. It contains multiple statistics and trends while offering insights on key factors and communities driving the ecosystem across the continent.  Report author, and CEO of the AI Media Group, […]

Is your employee communication strategy keeping up with global trends?

Caroline van der Merwe, COO of SmartWage, an innovative HR and communications technology company, says that effective communication is key to a productive workforce, and achieving this in the South African context requires employers to bridge the digital divide. The human need to communicate is as old as time. The first printing press, which introduced […]

Demystifying the different types of Digital Designers

By Mari-Liza Monteiro-Maritz, Product Designer at Strider In a time where having a digital presence is a key component to your business, there are several types of digital designers to help you solve the need for both your business and      your customer. The scale, scope, platform requirements, audience and timeline of a digital […]

The evolution of vulnerability management

As organisations focus on digitally transforming their enterprises, cybersecurity professionals have been facing an expansion of their attack surface – compounded by the digital explosion during the pandemic. Almost every category of cyberattack increased over the course of 2021. The number of encrypted threats spiked by 167 percent, ransomware rose by 105 percent, and intrusion attempts climbed […]

You are the weakest link: How to stop the costliest internet scam

According to Steve Flynn, Sales and Marketing Director, ESET Southern Africa, it’s long past time organisations get a handle on business email compromise scams which generated more losses for victims in 2021 than any other type of cybercrime. While ransomware, hacking, API hacks, and all the other cybersecurity threats make headlines, it’s worth remembering that […]

People-first approach needed in AI era

 Automation, robotics and artificial intelligence can be a force for exceptional business progress, but could also cut jobs, impacting a multitude of workers and their families. Instead of cutting heads, organisations should be empowering employees with technology to become more valuable. This is according to Johan Steyn, technologist, management consultant, Chair of the Institute […]

People-first approach needed in AI era

Automation, robotics and artificial intelligence can be a force for exceptional business progress, but could also cut jobs, impacting a multitude of workers and their families. Instead of cutting heads, organisations should be empowering employees with technology to become more valuable. This is according to Johan Steyn, technologist, management consultant, Chair of the Institute of […]

Identity confirmation in under 30 seconds: How biometrics became lightning fast and accurate

How do you do trust someone you can’t meet in person? It’s a question organisations have been grappling with in the age of the internet, KYC requirements, and the rapidly escalating costs and consequences of identity fraud. “Enter biometrics with liveness detection, a state-of-the-art solution that onboards customers securely, easily, and quickly,” says Lance Fanaroff, […]

Mobile app trends 2022: A global benchmark of app performance

2021 was a truly transformative year for the mobile app industry. In light of multiple lockdowns as well as wholesale privacy changes affecting user acquisition on iOS, consumer habits and user behavior patterns have undergone immense change and impressive growth. But how have these challenges affected the app marketing ecosystem? Mobile app trends 2022 provides […]

The ergonomics of working from home: tips from the experts

One of the remnants from worldwide lockdowns is the switch to working from home or a hybrid of onsite and offsite working. If you’re still working in a makeshift space in your house – slouched on the couch, hunched over a laptop or commandeering your dining room table – you may be feeling the effects […]

How innovation in technology is outsmarting crime in South Africa

Warren Myers - AURA

Crime is growing more sophisticated – so too are the solutions to combat it In the current climate of hijackings, robberies and unlawful syndicates, it is hard to imagine a world where crime is drastically reduced, or even wiped out completely. However, according to Warren Myers, CEO of South Africa’s on-demand security and medical response […]

NFTs to revolutionise the way creatives can create an income in the digital world

Non-fungible tokens – or NFTs – could help South African creatives better control the rights to their intellectual property, give them access to a broader market and improve their earnings. This is according to John Singh, non-executive director of the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) and chair of the IITPSA Blockchain Special […]

Which digital content expert is right for your company?

By Tessa-Kate Davel, UX Writer, Strider Building a digital team continues to be a challenge for most companies, which remain mired in a traditional analogue mindset. Job titles including terms like ‘User Experience’ or ‘Conversation Designer’ are largely foreign to sales, marketing and, indeed, HR teams – with more conventional titles. But the world is […]

Smart Cities: The Solution to Africa’s Upward Urbanisation Trend

African Smart Cities Summit

Technical Leapfrogging could Position African Cities for Sustainable, Smart Growth Africa’s urban population is booming. At 3.5% per year[1], the continent’s urban growth rate is the highest in the developing world over the last twenty years. Within the next twenty, research suggests that every second person in Africa will live in a town or a […]

From criminal enterprise to big business: The evolution of ransomware reaches new, dangerous levels of sophistication

Once a niche criminal enterprise, ransomware has become big business, complete with R&D departments and sales and marketing divisions. The deeply layered onion that is today’s ransomware attack landscape has been wreaking havoc in large enterprises in South Africa and across the globe. Patrick Evans, CEO of SLVA Cybersecurity, says it only takes two hours to […]

New Technologies to Enhance Customer Engagement

The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly been the catalyst to drive broad-based digitisation and spearhead the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). This digital revolution is reshaping consumer behaviour and creating opportunities for innovative new digital communications tools to attract and drive greater customer engagement.  Across industries – corporate, finance, retail, technology, healthcare, education, and others – today’s […]