Author: Chris Anu
Despite the billions and billions of rand spent by mobile operators at communications regulator’s spectrum auction in 2022, South Africa remains one of the most cost-effective regions for spectrum worldwide. According to a report by global mobile industry group, the GSMA, the average cost-to-revenue ratio for spectrum acquisition worldwide surged 63% in the decade between 2014 and 2023. The same figure for South African operators doubled, from 1% to 2%, in the same period. “This has been driven by spectrum acquisitions to bring 4G and 5G to consumers,” the GSMA said in the report. “The increasing trend was seen across…
Nazia Pillay, interim MD for South Africa at SAP. While six in 10 African companies view AI skills to be extremely important to their success, the portion of budget allotted to skills-related initiatives has declined since 2023. This lack of investment could result in organisations falling behind their more skills-enabled competitors.This is according to the Africa’s AI Skills Readiness Revealed research, commissioned by SAP, and focused on the skills development efforts of African companies in the age of AI.The research, which follows an earlier tech skills report released in 2023, was conducted at the end of 2024 among mid-size and enterprise-level companies,…
The author, DCC Technologies’ Andrew Harris There’s a clear need for a change in how IT distributors support their resellers. For decades, distributors have prioritised logistics – ensuring products efficiently reach resellers from vendors. This foundational approach hasn’t significantly adapted to match the growing complexity and shifting demands within the technology marketplace. Resellers today have become increasingly innovative, frequently outpacing distributors in adapting to emerging market needs. CompTIA’s recent State of the Channel report highlighted customer experience as a critical area resellers prioritise to differentiate themselves and maintain their competitive advantage. Clearly, some resellers have moved beyond simply selling products;…
Financial crime is a billion-dollar industry. As cyber criminals increasingly use technology-driven methods to intensify their attacks, artificial intelligence (AI)-developed deepfakes are being used to successfully bypass the know your customer (KYC) verification procedures used by financial institutions.This was the word from Amritha Reddy, senior director of product at TransUnion, discussing financial crime trends at this week’s Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) International Fraud Summit.According to Reddy, the rise of technology has emboldened criminal syndicates, leading to a significant increase in global fraud. South Africa, being one of the most targeted countries, faces daily challenges, with high levels of…
Fibre-optic internet is transformative. It has the potential to catapult communities into the digital age, especially in education, remote work opportunities and value-added services. Zoom Fibre’s mission has always been to bring the power of fibre to communities and to bridge the digital divide by providing reliable, high-speed connectivity to support learning and innovation. To this end, Zoom Fibre has invested heavily in fibre infrastructure, including an important partnership in the Baobab Smart City project alongside Saldanha Bay Municipality and Amoeba TSC. Whether it is 4K streaming, collaboration or AI-driven analytics, consumers require faster speeds Abiding by the municipal by-laws…
Government’s HR digital transformation efforts have been found wanting. The human resource management (HRM) practices and processes in some state departments are fragmented, often characterised by a lack of digital solutions. This is based on observations by the Public Service Commission (PSC), informed by its 2023/24 study into the progress that provincial and national departments have made in digitising HRM systems and upskilling employees in the public service.Based on a sample of six national departments and several departments in five provincial administrations, the study was presented to the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration in Parliament this week. The…
Elon Musk. Benoit Tessier/Reuters Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok blamed unsanctioned changes to its system for responses this week that included controversial theories about “white genocide” in South Africa. Grok, the AI bot from Musk’s xAI, has thoroughly investigated and reversed the “unauthorised modification” to its technology, which led to responses that “violated xAI’s internal policies and core values”, it said in a posting on Thursday. “Our existing code review process for prompt changes was circumvented in this incident,” xAI said on its own platform. “We will put in place additional checks and measures to ensure that xAI employees…
The City of Ekurhuleni, in collaboration with National Treasury, the World Bank, and technical partners Konecta and Avo Vision, hosted a two-day digital strategy validation session in Tembisa aimed at reshaping township economies through technology.The City of Ekurhuleni, in collaboration with National Treasury, the World Bank, and technical partners Konecta and Avo Vision, has concluded a two-day digital strategy validation session in Thembisa aimed at reshaping township economies through technology.Dubbed “Mission Week”, the event brought together private sector stakeholders, civil society, and government partners to validate the city’s draft digital development strategy for Thembisa – one of five pilot sites…
Yves Herman/Reuters Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram parent Meta Platforms has launched new facial recognition features “to help combat scams and support faster, more secure account recovery” on its platforms. According to a Friday statement from Meta, the new tools are designed to detect and remove “celeb-bait” ads that use images of public figures to lure users into scams. “Alongside this, Meta is rolling out a video selfie verification feature that allows users to regain access to compromised accounts more easily and securely,” said Balkissa Ide Siddo, public policy director for Meta in sub-Saharan Africa, in the statement. Facial data is…
From left: AURA co-founders Warren Myers, Ryan Green and Adam Pantanowitz. Local security and medical response platform AURA has raised €13.5 million (R272.9 million) in a Series B funding round. This latest round brings AURA’s total funding to €21 million (R425 million), to date. The start-up says the funding deal, co-led by the Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund (CAIF) and Partech, will fund its expansion into the US market.The company’s US expansion plans come as it has already kicked-off its on-demand private security response model. “This funding marks a pivotal moment for AURA,” says Warren Myers, founder and CEO. “Having built…