Wednesday, November 20African Digital Business Magazine

Tag: automation

11Jul By Africa BusinessNo Comments
Tech

4IR Skills aren’t all digital – Empowering artisans and more this World Youth Skills Day and beyond

Artificial Intelligence is going to change the way people work, rather than making that work obsolete. Similarly, learning to work with and alongside AI requires a different skill set to maximise the advantages of the technology – and it’s also essential to preserve the importance of the human element. It’s vital to consider that AI can’t do everything  – like generating normal-looking human hands – and as much as it evolves, there’ll always be a place for managers, programmers and the like, alongside it. World Youth Skills Day on 15 July is themed ‘Skilling teachers, trainers and youth for a transformative future’ for 2023 and has a focus on the essential role that teachers, trainers and other educators play in providing skills for youth to transition to the labour market and to actively...
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1Oct By Ben GossageNo Comments
Main, Tech

Why the subscription economy is transforming B2B operating models forever

From Hello Fresh to the Spotify, subscription services are now so commonplace they’ve almost become the norm. Subscriptions started life in the media world, with newspaper and magazine subscriptions dating back centuries. But in the last ten years, the subscription business model has exploded in popularity across consumer industries including fashion, food and beauty, creating what has been dubbed, the ‘subscription economy.’ The model, which promotes a more convenient, cheaper way of accessing goods, has revolutionising the way we buy and sell consumer products. It should be no surprise then, that it’s now transforming B2B operating models. In the last few years, we’ve seen the proliferation of cloud-based ‘anything-as-a-service’ products, paid for on subscription. These new offerings ad...
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Future proofing banking through the power of data, APIs and automation
15Jul By Africa BusinessNo Comments
Fintech

Future proofing banking through the power of data, APIs and automation

The global pandemic has ushered in a new paradigm for the Retail Banking sector, one which demands quicker transformation to a customer-centric service that is digitised, personal and convenient. A recent Financial Industries panel discussion held by Kearney, a global consultancy, shed light on how the power of data, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and automation could be leveraged to satisfy these expectations and invigorate the sector. Hentus Honiball, Partner at Kearney, maintains that large, traditional banks with complex, cumbersome operating models and legacy technology architecture are now being threatened by agile new fintech entrants. In contrast with the siloed, product-centric approach of traditional players, responsive new players are looking to build customer-centric...
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1Jul By Africa BusinessNo Comments
Main, Tech

Digital transformation should be about the customer, not the technology

Digital transformation alongside automation enablers like artificial intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA), coupled with the responsible utilisation of data assets will be determining business success factors over the next five years, according to Grant Phillips, Group CEO at e4. While the landscape will be enormously different in the coming years, Phillips says that the brands who will succeed the most are those that move beyond a fascination with the technology itself but to understand how it can address ever changing customer needs and expectations, remembering that winning will be defined by how the technology capability has delivered a world class user experience. “Looking forward, increasing digital interactions, engagement, digital delivery of services or products w...
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30May By Africa BusinessNo Comments
Business, Tech, Uganda News

Palletising Robots: Changing How Breweries Stack and Pack

Robotic automation enables remote support possibilities that significantly reduce downtime and address geographical constraints, says Yaskawa Southern Africa Managing Director, Andrew Crackett. Conventional palletisers have been around for over 50 years. While they continue to be operational in many factories around the world, their modern counterparts – robotic palletisers – are solving issues that seemed impossible before.  Whether it’s the need to conserve floorspace or to make workplaces safer and better regulated, robotic automation has numerous benefits that other technologies struggle to match in the long run. One of the most appealing factors is that it actually pushes factories towards a more innovative and forward-thinking future. At times, this doesn’t even require everyone to ...
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11May By Neha KaulNo Comments
Real Estate, Tech

BACnet International Welcomes Netix Global B.V. as Newest Member

Building automation systems provider focuses on remote connectivity, seamless integration and future-ready technology The BACnet community is proud to announce that Netix Global B.V.  has become the latest company to join BACnet International as a Gold member. Netix is a IoT and AI based advanced building automation systems provider. Their products and solutions include BAS/BMS, metering and energy savings, enterprise security and smart city integration. “Netix is a fast-growing company that would continue to be associated with bespoke and globally accepted testing bodies like BACnet International,” said Sanjeevv Bhatia, chief executive officer of Netix. “It gives customers and stakeholders the necessary confidence for ready acceptance, especially in newer markets.” Netix joins more than ...
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12Apr By Africa BusinessNo Comments
South Africa News

AI, automation the only option for SA

South Africa’s only option for addressing poverty and poor economic growth is to embrace 4IR technologies such as automation and Artificial Intelligence, to make the country more competitive. This is according to Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala, Vice-Chancellor and Principal at the University of Johannesburg and author of Closing the Gap: The Fourth Industrial Revolution in Africa, who addressed the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) Tabling Tech webinar hosted by Johan Steyn - IITPSA Chair: Special Interest Group – AI & Robotics; and Tony Parry - IITPSA CEO this week. In a highly engaging webinar, Prof. Marwala noted that despite concerns about people being displaced by automation, 4IR progress had to be made. “The future will be bleak indeed if South Afri...
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31Mar By Africa BusinessNo Comments
Tech

Artificial Intelligence in Africa: These are the top 5 in-demand technologies in 2021

Its widely accepted that artificial intelligence (AI) technologies will add trillions to global GDP in the next 20 years, making it the one of the world’s most powerful technology trends on par with the disruption and opportunities being created by cloud computing and blockchain. However, the Oxford Insights AI Readiness Index 2020, paints a somewhat bleak picture of Africa’s readiness for AI in the global rankings. So is Africa getting a slice of the lucrative artificial intelligence pie and what are the current AI adoption trends in the region? Although Africa’s AI industry is still relatively small compared to the US, Europe and Asia, this has not stopped some of the continent’s most innovative start-ups from developing solutions that demonstrate how promising the technology can be fo...
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Organic wholesaler doubles output with AutoStore empowered by Swisslog
5Jan By Africa BusinessNo Comments
Tech

Organic wholesaler doubles output with AutoStore empowered by Swisslog

The leading wholesaler in the Swiss organic market, Bio Partner, has doubled its output following the implementation of innovative robotic logistics from Swisslog at its facility in Aargau, Switzerland. Bio Partner supplies business customers in the organic specialist trade as well as the rest of the retail and food industry from its location in Seon. As a result of the merger with Somona GmbH, the warehouse reached its performance and capacity limits, and the wholesaler turned to a local partner with a global footprint to deliver an automated storage system. The 12,200m2 warehouse handles 10,000+ products, a process now optimized thanks to the high-performance AutoStore storage solution, delivered by global warehouse automation specialist, Swisslog, a member of the KUKA group. "Companies...
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The Role Of Pick And Place Robots
15Sep By Yaskawa Southern AfricaNo Comments
South Africa News, Tech

The Role Of Pick And Place Robots

In years gone by, manufacturing processes consisted of a line of workers being solely responsible for all the material-handling functions. Whether it was assembly, picking or packaging, it was largely a manual, laborious process. The detrimental effects to the workers’ health have been well documented in the history books, as many employees were subjected to conditions that sometimes resulted in serious illness, injury, and even death. As automation became widely accepted and implemented throughout various industries, robotics took it one step further with robots designed for specific applications, such as handling, packaging and palletising. Suddenly, these new pick and place robots allowed for more speed and consistency in throughput, while being customisable to meet production requir...
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