Customer Experience Collaboration tools to maintain service in crisis - 2020 CIO SURVEY 2
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Column Reportback PLUS
VOIP TO EMPOWER REMOTE 2020 CIO SURVEY COMPANY NEWS
WORKFORCE IN 2021 TOP JOBS
2 10
FEBRUARY 2021 | Issue 71
Customer Experience
Collaboration tools to maintain service in crisis
Covering the continent
Daily news and analysis of Africa’s key ICT markets.
www.itwebafrica.com
First with IT news. Every day.
www.itweb.co.za
326 Rivonia Boulevard, Rivonia, South Africa
Tel: + 27 11 807 3294
Fax: + 27 11 807 2020
IN THIS
ISSUE
CREDITS
At the time of writing, South Africa, like many other countries,
is wrestling with the prospect of further lockdown measures as
the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc.
Publisher The reality for businesses is that they have to intensify
JOVAN REGASEK engagement with the market, with customers, and across all
jregasek@itweb.co.za levels of operation in order to remain competitive. Business
owners cannot afford to ‘drop the ball’ on customer experience.
Editorial Director A recent CX survey, conducted by ITWeb and Freshworks,
RANKA JOVANOVIC sought to uncover the biggest challenge faced by customer
rankaj@itweb.co.za service teams during the crisis.
Two key takeaways: 77% of businesses had a business
Editor continuity plan in place before the pandemic, and 72% of
CHRIS TREDGER respondents said the crisis had a negative effect on agent
chris@itwebafrica.com productivity and mental health. Collaboration tools have been
identified as the most important to help maintain service levels
Sub Editors during the crisis.
HEIDI HURWITZ In this edition we also take a closer look at cyber security
trends, data specialists, digital transformation and automation.
Production Manager
PETER CALORE Enjoy the read!
peter@itweb.co.za
Chris Tredger
Designers Editor
CONTENTS
SANE LOUW
ANA RADENKOVIC
Business Development Director
CARYN BERMAN
caryn@itweb.co.za
Customer Experience Survey 6
Published by 2
ITWEB LIMITED
326 Rivonia Boulevard REPORTBACK
Rivonia 2020 CIO Survey 10
PO BOX 2785
Rivonia INDUSTRY INSIGHT
2128 Why ERP projects fail faster than
ever under lockdown 12
Web: www.itweb.co.za
Tel: +27 (011) 807 3294 Abandon the walled city:
Fax: +27 (011) 807 2020 The crucial security call for 2021 13
Automation is central to healthy
digital ecosystems 14
A true data specialist knows
Printed by , a division of Novus Holdings no boundaries 15
Copyright ©2021 by ITWeb Limited.
All rights reserved. No part of this
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
publication may be reproduced or
distributed in any form or by any
Software upskilling programme interns
means, or stored in a database or ready for job market 26
retrieval system, without the prior
written permission of the publisher. Cloud, programming skills gap impedes
Opinions expressed in this publication SMEs’ digital initiatives 27
are not necessarily those of the editors,
publisher, or advertiser.
COMPANY NEWS 3-5, 16-25, 28
February 2021 | 1
COLUMN INDUSTRY INSIGHT
VOIP to empower remote
workforce in 2021
With the broader demand for full-blown collaboration and messaging tools,
VOIP providers are catching up in the race to offer unified communications
as a true service.
catching up in the race to offer unified more convenient ways for businesses to
communications as a true service. communicate more cost-effectively.
Hosting PBXs over cloud infrastructure, Systems that are confined to offices not
with the richness of features and offerings it only take up space and require physical
can offer, is VOIP really coming into its own. maintenance, but they also can’t support
And not a moment too soon! home workers. Cloud PBX systems are also
Rapid digital transformation is now a key easier to maintain.
priority, say 86% of surveyed board directors, A cloud PBX is essentially a telephone
according to Gartner. Much of this is driven system that is built, delivered and managed
due to manual and on-premises solutions no over the Internet. It uses IP-based telephony
longer making the cut as these legacy systems to provision and access services. It’s a great
cannot provide the safety and accessibility way for companies to save money and space,
found with cloud adoption. as traditional servers for PBXs are expensive
The explosion of a remote workforce is and require expert maintenance.
something many organisations will integrate With a powerful and comprehensive set
into their new normal, possibly forever. of features, full cloud PBX solutions offer
RIAAN PIETERSEN, General Manager, Wanatel
I f it hasn’t happened yet, your business is
probably looking down the eye of the barrel
of increased costs, piercing questions from the
The explosion of a remote workforce is something many
board on every IT expenditure, and increased organisations will integrate into their new normal,
demands from a remote and distributed
workforce. possibly forever.
2021 is for sure the year for shifting legacy
systems into platforms that offer flexibility and
the capability to support work from anywhere
– so long as there’s Internet, people will expect
to be connected. The report states cloud-based ecosystems the ideal solution for businesses facing a
The explosion of a remote workforce is will become more mainstream as companies distributed workforce or remote worker
something many organisations will integrate continue to implement remote work policies environment. With many working from
into their new normal, possibly forever. Recent and accelerate automation. home, or anywhere, it makes it easier for
studies show companies expect more than half Here in South Africa, we are seeing a workers to collaborate through voice, Web
their workers to permanently vacate the office growing demand for IP-based phone offerings, conferencing and instant messaging at a
– working from home as a standard feature. particularly where companies want to shift radically reduced cost and set monthly
Here are some research pointers that have previously hefty and cumbersome capex expense.
come up during the year: investments off the balance sheet and achieve It's interesting that more than half of
34% of workers that were previously a more affordable, and predictable, monthly the companies (61% in one survey) with
commuting now work from home using operating cost. traditional phone systems will adopt VOIP
telepresence since April 2020. Cutting costs on business phone systems at the end of their contracts.
42% of companies have increased cloud telecommunications needn’t mean losing Much of this is due to the guaranteed levels
application and unified communication features or efficiency. It should allow of service quality and the high reliability of
adoption. companies to streamline and upgrade systems the service, where 99% is an expectation on
67% of organisations are moving to more current solutions that save money and service level agreements.
significant portions of their unified leverage existing infrastructure, like Internet In an environment where the future is
communications solutions to the cloud. bandwidth. unpredictable and costs are under scrutiny,
With these broader demands – not only for It’s encouraging that the industry is no shifting to a highly flexible, feature-rich and
phone services but full-blown collaboration longer about line or handset sales, it’s now low maintenance solution can free up valuable
and messaging tools – VOIP providers are professionals aimed at finding simpler and resources for any business.
2 | February 2021
COMPANY NEWS
BUSINESS
Puleng Technologies on third-party risk Adobe Creative Cloud for Teams promises
management creativity for all
While third-party risk management is important as a discipline on Dax Data says the shift to a hybrid working world in which creative
its own, it is the cyber security risks around third parties that pose teams have become highly dispersed informed Adobe’s development
a huge challenge and risk for most organisations. For this reason, focus for the 2020 updates and new releases, helping streamline
Puleng has chosen to give this area specific attention and to ensure the way creators and teams work together and connect with their
it has the correct tools in place to help manage this. Third-party risk community from wherever they are. Updates to the Creative Cloud
management is one of the specific focus areas making up the greater desktop app have made it more user-friendly, functional and
Puleng GRC practice. The company's goal and strategy is to continue to customisable. The new app brings all the resources you need into a
provide its customers with solutions that automate, integrate and drive central hub, consolidating tutorial links, Adobe Marketplace, plugins
higher levels of efficiencies while enforcing and mitigating risks. and asset stores to facilitate the digital creative process. Keep your
www.puleng.co.za creativity flowing with Adobe Creative Cloud!
www.daxdata.co.za
Taking to the skies:
Developing world- Rebuilding for the future: CompTIA releases its
class cloud migration IT Industry Outlook 2021
strategies The IT industry will morph in 2021, prompted by its response to the
Those organisations that have chaos of 2020 and affirmation that it is the central nervous system
waited to move their applications of our digital society, according to the IT Industry Outlook 2021
to the cloud now have the released by CompTIA. The annual report provides insight into the
option of many more insights trends that will shape the industry in the new year. “The confusion,
to develop a plan. The first step disruption and uncertainty we’ve experienced in 2020 will have some
is identifying and prioritising spill-over effect in 2021, but rather than rebuilding to restore what it
business and technology was, we believe that the industry is poised to rebuild for a better and
Phil Lewis, Infor VP Solution objectives, says Phil Lewis, Infor brighter future,” said Carolyn April, senior director, industry analysis,
Consulting, EMEA VP Solution Consulting, EMEA. CompTIA.
Businesses must recognise that www.comptia.org
cloud migration requires the
consideration of different kinds of
complexities. Guide to successful ERP project management
www.infor.com ERP software products are designed to help companies control, monitor
and co-ordinate activities in all of their departments in all of their
locations. Says Dwight Harry of KPMG, Dallas, USA: “Organisational
culture either supports [ERP] change or creates a barrier. Yet, overall,
e4 appoints Proptech it's win-win, because accounting and finance has visibility into
head, bolsters team for project performance measurements. Suddenly, everybody is playing
2021 growth trajectory from the same sheet music. This provides tremendous productivity
Fintech specialist e4 has appointed enhancements. From a cultural perspective, that can have an impact,
Ian Bayne as managing executive but it's a positive one: now the engineer can do engineering and the
of the Proptech division. The accountant can do accounting. There's minimal reconciliation needed
appointment comes as the real between the two, and what there is, is automated.”
estate sector increases its use of www.omniaccounts.co.za
digital property technologies and
e4 gears up for renewed growth.
Ian Bayne, managing executive of According to Bayne, technology is SYSPRO appoints chief
the Proptech division at e4 not only disrupting the industry, sales and marketing
but also propelling the industry officer
forward. SYSPRO, a global provider of
www.e4.co.za industry-built ERP software,
has appointed Sandra Fraga as
chief sales and marketing officer.
Within the dual role, Fraga will
ICT INSIGHT oversee all sales revenue for both
channel and direct sales, as well
as marketing for SYSPRO globally.
To read the FULL company releases, visit Fraga served as chief marketing
www.itweb.co.za Contact sales@itweb.co.za officer since 2016.
Sandra Fraga, chief sales and
marketing officer at SYSPRO www.syspro.com
February 2021 | 3
COMPANY NEWS
CHANNEL INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS
iOCO achieves 100 AWS certifications Nebula is going
Technology solutions leader iOCO has achieved its one hundredth global
Amazon Web Services (AWS) certification. iOCO’s AWS Nebula recently announced the
certifications range from solutions architect certifications to launch of OneView, its cloud-
specialty certifications across a number of business units, including based technology expense
its application development (DevOps), data and analytics, quality management platform, on
assurance (testing) and cloud practices. The iOCO team has 11 Microsoft’s Azure Marketplace.
out of the possible 12 certifications that AWS offers in its area In doing so, the company is
of expertise, including foundational, associate and professional opening up to a global market.
level certifications, as well as specialty certifications in advanced Nebula is targeting the UK,
networking, security, data analytics, databases as well as machine Middle East and the Netherlands,
learning. iOCO intends to add the remaining certification to its with plans to expand to the US
capabilities to retain its position as a leading cloud provider. and Asia.
www.ioco.tech Daniel Nel, CEO, Nebula www.nebula.co.za
Combating COVID-19 by managing mobile Elite Truck Hire
devices in the supply chain harnesses power
Enterprise mobile technology, such as bar code scanners, mobile of information with
computers, headsets, vehicle mount computers and other devices, FleetDomain
is used extensively in the supply chain to track the movement Designed specifically for the
of goods from the plant, warehouse or distribution centre to the industry, FleetDomain’s software
end-user. This mobile technology is shared and used frequently has delivered clear benefits to
by different workers during various shifts in the supply chain. Elite Truck Hire. The application
With the advent of COVID-19, these devices pose a risk of is delivered as a service to Elite
spreading infection. The need for a system to manage and track Truck Hire via a Web interface,
these devices has become imperative, as well as the cleaning of and FleetDomain is responsible
these devices between shifts. This is why the adoption of Bidvest for all support and development.
Mobility’s Asset Control software solution has increased during Key benefits include early fraud
the pandemic. Jai Kaylyan, MD, FleetDomain detection or revenue leakage,
www.bidvestmobility.co.za and visibility across the entire
operation.
www.argility.com
Ensure your supply chain is ready for peak
season
Although it’s uncertain what sales this peak season will bring, Media24, Huawei Mobile Services offer news
retailers are gearing up to participate in upcoming events. It’s updates at your fingertips
not just anticipating stock levels, but also ensuring the supply Mobile phones have become a vital resource for people through
chain is ready to fulfil consumer demands in brick-and-mortar convenient mobile applications and platforms. Huawei Mobile Services
and online stores. Bidvest Mobility is working closely with its (HMS) has noticed this transformation and has therefore partnered
customers to ensure they have the necessary mobile computing with Media24 to further advance mobile technology and information
and bar coding technology in place to support their supply accessibility. News24, SA's leading and most trusted source of news,
chains. The advent of COVID-19 has made predictions and with 55 newspapers and 18 magazines, has partnered with Huawei to
processes more complex. be the exclusive provider of a free news feed on the new generation of
www.bidvestmobility.co.za Huawei smartphones. The news feed will provide article headlines and
thumbnail images directly to Huawei’s Smart Assistant pages on their
customers' phones.
www.huaweimobileservices.com
COMPANY NEWS
To read the FULL company releases, visit
www.itweb.co.za
Contact sales@itweb.co.za for any sales enquiries.
4 | February 2021
COMPANY NEWS
NETWORKING SECURITY
Scaled-down SD-WAN – delivering corporate Security in record time for one of the largest
quality connectivity to SMEs stadium projects ever
With business continuity at the top of most IT agendas, organisations Since its completion in 2017, the Gazprom Arena has served as the home
have in recent months accelerated their digital transformation ground stadium for the Russian football club, Zenit St. Petersburg. And
plans. This is in response to the ongoing pandemic and lockdown, as one of the host stadiums for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2021
with significant emphasis being placed on adopting cloud solutions Euro Football Championship, the Gazprom Arena must also satisfy the
and enabling remote workforces. Yet, these initiatives can be strict security regulations of FIFA, UEFA and ESSMA. When selecting
derailed if an organisation does not have access to cost-effective the video security system, the managers responsible at Zenit therefore
and, more importantly, stable and secure connectivity, says Hein opted for a solution from the German manufacturer Dallmeier. With its
Witte, specialised sales executive for Telecommunication Services at patented Panomera multifocal-sensor system, Dallmeier guarantees
T-Systems South Africa. This challenge can easily be addressed by the security of many stadiums all over the world. The stadium solution
a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) – the relatively from Dallmeier satisfies all criteria.
new, innovative corporate wide area networking architecture and www.dallmeier.com
infrastructure that is being deployed globally.
www.un-outsource.co.za
DDOS extortion
attacker impersonates
Empower your remote well-known threat
workers with Syrex actors
Syrex, a leading provider of Extortion and robbery while
virtualised and hybrid network wearing a disguise are not new
infrastructures and solutions, said crimes in human history, but a
any remote private office requires threat actor has recently taken this
reliable connectivity. And, while into the online arena on the global
fibre is always preferable, it might stage, using distributed denial of
not always be possible – and this service (DDOS) as the weapon,
is where the likes of wireless and while pretending to be someone
LTE solutions become invaluable to else – according to a recent threat
provide alternative options. advisory by NETSCOUT’s ASERT
www.syrex.co.za Risna Steenkamp, GM: ESM at division.
value-added distributor Networks
www.networksunlimited.africa
Ralph Berndt, director of sales at Syrex
Enterprise-grade IT security for SMEs
Avaya Spaces introduces 61-participant Businesses of all sizes face the threat of cyber crime, but SMEs can’t
'concert' view always afford enterprise-grade security. TRG has developed a cyber
Avaya, a global leader in solutions to enhance and simplify risk management service for SMEs, backed by a sophisticated security
communications and collaboration, has announced that Avaya Spaces, operations centre. “For the first time, SMEs can access holistic end-to-
the all-in-one video collaboration platform for the digital workplace, end fully managed enterprise-grade security at affordable rand-based
has added new capabilities, including an industry-best, 61-participant pricing,” says Marc Seymour, TRG’s MD. The sheer volume of attacks
“concert” view. Avaya Spaces is a true work-stream collaboration directed towards the South African business community rivals the
solution that is changing the way work gets done, enabling “work highest in the world. Business is no longer adequately defended through
from anywhere” by centralising voice, video, messaging, chat and task the sole use of firewall and anti-virus technology. A far more robust
management in one easy-to-use platform to improve productivity approach is required.
and increase employee satisfaction. According to a recent “Work from www.trg.co.za
Anywhere” survey conducted by Avaya, 57% of businesses are now
reporting some struggle with remote communication and fatigue.
www.avaya.com
ICT INSIGHT
To read the FULL company releases, visit
www.itweb.co.za
Contact sales@itweb.co.za for any sales enquiries.
February 2021 | 5
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE SURVEY
By ALISON JOB
Contact centre agents struggled
with productivity during COVID-19
ITWeb, in partnership with Freshworks, conducted a survey on the state of
customer experience (CX) in South Africa.
said the crisis had a negative effect on agent remote. “Everyone was working from the
productivity and mental health. 15% said it office prior to the crisis. But going forward,
had no effect whatsoever. “The pandemic work from home culture will be the norm,”
has been extremely stressful on customer- he predicts.
facing teams, especially the support team. A third (33%) of respondents have seen a
They were – and some still are – constantly decrease in the number of customer service
bombarded with queries from customers. staff compared to February 2020. “The
Responding to each and every simple, pandemic has made companies invest in
mundane question to complex tasks has had chatbots that will offload the burden faced by
a negative effect on agents' mental health,” their existing support staff,” explains Desai.
says Desai. “Staffing levels are expected to recover by
67% said service levels had returned to mid-2021.”
where they were before the crisis, while 65% Customer urgency has increased since
PRANAY DESAI The pandemic has been extremely stressful on
customer-facing teams, especially the support team.
T he survey ran online for two weeks
during October 2020 and sought to
uncover the biggest challenge faced by
customer service teams during the crisis, as
well as which tools were most important in
maintaining service levels throughout the said service levels had increased since the February 2020 according to 69% of survey
pandemic. It also looked into the impact crisis on support channels like Phone/Live- participants. “Customer urgency has
that COVID-19 had on contact centre agent chat/Email. “As anticipated, the pandemic definitely seen a huge increase but this will be
productivity and mental health. has changed the way customers interact with the status quo until the situation has become
A total of 268 responses were captured, support agents and this has caused an increase normal.”
with 63% of respondents being at executive or in traffic across all channels, especially digital Interestingly, only 9% expect in-store
middle management level, and representation like email, chat etc.” inquiries to evolve by June 2021 compared
across a wide range of industries, although Asked to list the tools that were most to June 2020. “Email, while traditional still
49% of respondents came from the IT sector. important in terms of helping maintain seems like the primary source for all customer
Three quarters (77%) of businesses had service levels through the crisis, respondents queries,” concludes Desai.
a business continuity plan in place before listed: collaboration tools (76%), cloud-
the crisis. Pranay Desai, Head of Enterprise hosted customer service software (52%),
Marketing at Freshworks says, “Reporting live-chat across web, mobile and messaging
and tracking metrics was the biggest problem (47%), self-service customer portals (46%) ABOUT THE SURVEY
faced by CX leaders worldwide.” The ability and internal knowledge management systems
to track productivity and performance was (38%) A total of 268 responses
cited by 45% as the biggest challenge faced Enhancing self-service capabilities (48%) were captured, with 63% of
by their customer service team through was the top priority for customer service respondents being at executive
the crisis, followed by operating with operations, followed by maintaining service or middle management level,
reduced staff (36%), delays in responding to quality (46%) and boosting employee morale and representation across a wide
customers and resolving issues (34%) and (43%). range of industries, although 49% of
internal collaboration (32%). 57% of CX agents were office-bound respondents came from the IT sector.
Almost three quarters (72%) of respondents prior to the crisis, only 6% were completely
6 | February 2021
The State of CX in South Africa SURVEY
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE SURVEY
Did your customer service operations have a What are the biggest challenges your customer
business continuity plan in place before the crisis? service team has faced through the crisis?
Yes - And it 45% Tracking productivity and performance
worked well
36% Operating with reduced staff
39%
34% Delays in responding to customers and resolving issues
32% Internal collaboration
24% Other
23% Not having remote-ready technology in place (eg: cloud
helpdesk, cloud telephony, etc.)
21% Our customer service team has faced no major challenges
through the crisis
Yes - And it worked well 39%
21% Making process changes on our technology platforms
Yes - But there were gaps 38%
No - But we did not feel the pinch 8%
No - And it was challenging 14%
What effect did the crisis have on agent Have your service levels returned to where they
productivity and mental health? were before the crisis?
Yes
80
70 64%
67%
60
50
40
30
20 15% Yes 67%
8% 8% No 33%
10 4%
0 Slightly No effect Highly Slightly Highly
negative negative positive positive
xx | January 2021 February 2021 | 7
The State of CX in South Africa SURVEY
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE SURVEY
Which tools were the most important in terms of What are the priorities for your customer service operations?
helping you maintain service levels?
76% Collaboration tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, etc. 48% Enhance self-service capabilities
52% Cloud-hosted customer service software 46% Maintain service quality without adding headcount
47% Live-chat across web, mobile and messaging 43% Maintain service quality without adding headcount
(WhatsApp, Apple Business Chat, and more)
46% Self-service customer portal 39% Build on business continuity planning and ensuring
remote readiness
38% Internal knowledge management system 32% Improve knowledge management capabilities
34% Cloud telephony system 31% Remote quality management
25% Workforce management software 30% Adjust SLAs
19% Customer-facing AI-chatbots 25% Re-evaluate vendor contracts
11% Feedback and coaching software 21% Deploy new service channels like chat and social messaging
21% Build customer-facing chatbots
How has customer urgency changed since February What support channels do you expect to evolve by June 2021
2020? when compared to June 2020 levels?
58% E-mail enquiries
40 36% 57% Live-chat and messaging enquiries
33%
35 53% Website enquiries
30 51% Social media enquiries
25 44% Overall contact volume
18%
20 42% Phone enquiries
15 9% In-store enquiries
9%
10
5%
5
0 Slight High No change Slight High
increase increase decrease decrease
January 2021 | xx
8 | February 2021REPORTBACK: 2020 CIO SURVEY
By: KIRSTEN DOYLE
CIOs brace for doing more
with less, again
ITWeb Brainstorm’s 2020 CIO Survey was dissected at the Brainstorm
CIO Banquet, held as a virtual event in November 2020.
CIO Survey 2020 panel discussion, chaired by Nozipho Tshabalala. PANELISTS WERE: Thelma Kganakga, GM: technology security, MTN; Wilhelm Krige,
Group CIO, ABSA; Mandla Ngcobo, government CIO, Department of Public Service and Administration; Tiyani Nghonyama, COO, Geekulcha;
Thato Sopeng, head: branch network & partnership technology, Africa Bank.
N ow in its 7th year, the survey of South
Africa’s top technology strategists and
decision-makers is run in association with
participating CIO said they have a seat on
the exco, this is down from last year’s results
of 45%. The remainder of respondents
opportunities for upcoming talent and skills
of the next generation of CIOs. Is there a glass
ceiling in place for younger wannabe CIOs?”
MTN Business. It captured input from 130 have indirect access or can request access Tiyani Nghonyama, COO of Geekulcha,
private- and public-sector CIOs, between when needed, which means that there is no who joined the panel discussing the results,
September and November 2020. consistent tech voice in the top decision- said he has been wondering what the
making group, noted Hinchcliffe. future of the CIO looks like. “The lockdown
Keys to success Other data revealed that almost half of imposed by the pandemic showed us there is
“We started the research by looking at the CIOs report directly to the CEO, which is a need to be a driver of change, and nurture
CIO’s role, and the attributes that are key positive news, rather than reporting in via a upcoming tech talent, who are the next
to success,” said Brainstorm editor Adrian C-level colleague. captains of industry. There is a lot of young
Hinchcliffe, who presented the key findings When asked what word best describes tech talent and we need to ensure a proactive
to about 200 people attending the virtual their IT operation’s relationship with the strategy. Upcoming CIOs need to learn from
launch. business or business leaders, encouragingly, experience, and there’s room for that.”
The top three listed attributes are being 44% said ‘excellent’, another 35% said He added that we should be putting
a business influencer or strategist (74%), a ‘satisfactory’, only 16% cited ‘a work in pressure on businesses to do more to nurture
leader, people manager or high-performance progress’, and 5% said ‘challenging’. future CIOs.
team-builder (64%), and being a visionary A first in the survey’s 7th year,
or innovator (52%). The importance of tech Skills, diversity respondents were asked to describe the
knowledge ranked fourth (36%). Being Once in the job, CIOs tend to stick around state of gender and racial diversity within
cost- or budget-conscious was only cited for quite a while – 64% have been in the role their IT organisation – ‘generally good’, said
by 11%, although this is likely to become (across different organisations) for more 46%; ‘getting there’, said 33%, 16% said
more important in the months ahead, said than five years, and almost 40% for more ‘excellent’ and 5% said ‘poor’. While these
Hinchcliffe. than a decade. results are generally positive, Hinchcliffe
The survey examined how the CIO role fits “From one perspective, this shows a said, there’s still work to be done.
in the exco, and it’s clear that as technology degree of stability and experience at the “We have a lot of work to do in this space,”
has infused into the business, so too, over the highest level,” said Hinchcliffe. “However, added Thato Sopeng, head: Branch Network
years, has the role’s importance grown to the given that so many have been in their & Partnership Technology, African Bank. “A
organisation, he said. positions for so long, and so few for so lot of the initiatives we're running now try
However, while some 39% of the little, it does raise questions about the to incubate female youngsters into STEM-
10 | February 2021REPORT REPORTBACK: 2020 CIO SURVEY
type programmes, where we make sure that Wilhelm Krige, Group CIO, ABSA, Some 34% said it will remain flat, 32% cited
girls are getting exposure to science, maths commenting on the move to digital, said: growth above inflation, and 16% are bracing
and technology from a very young age, and “Simply staying alive is not an option. The for having less money to spend than this
encouraging them to start becoming coders. companies that are going to win are the year.
The opportunities are definitely there; we ones that come out swinging. After this “Compare that to 2019. There was,
just need to have the political will to bring pandemic, when it comes to starting to shift perhaps unsurprisingly, more positivity
them on board and start incubating this investment into digital transformation, around outlooks last year,” said Hinchcliffe.
young talent.” there is no better time than the present. The Looking at which major technology
On the subject of talent management, pandemic caused some levellers in terms of investments are driving the budget increase,
the survey asked CIOs about their current competitive forces and really gave some of if we add in 2019, he said, generally, across
approach to hiring permanent IT staff. the laggards the opportunity to accelerate, the board, there seem to be a lot fewer tech
Upskilling, which was added this year, came catch up quickly and turn into leaders. So investment areas.
in at over a third with 34%, while having an for me, the companies of the future are Pretty much everything is down, apart
active internship or apprenticeship, on the going to be those that are brave enough to from the ERP and core business applications.
other hand, was relatively low, with only shift money from other areas into digital It was interesting to see security investments
15% of respondents saying they had one. transformation.” fall from 63% last year to only 50% this year,
The big discrepancy between the 2019 Hinchcliffe said. Data analytics dropped to
and 2020 findings is that a freeze in hiring Focusing ahead 32% from 46% last year, and automation
increased from 13% last year to 33% this year Looking forwards, at the most important from 40% in 2019 to only 30% this year.
- undoubtedly a sign of the times of Covid, focus areas over the next two years, In conclusion, Hinchcliffe noted that
commented Hinchcliffe. Hinchcliffe said there seems to be a more the SA economy had been in deep trouble
specific focus on survival. before COVID-19. “We were in recession
The elephant in the room
It was inevitable that the survey examined
the ‘elephant in the room’, as Hinchcliffe put
it, i.e. the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on
CIOs and their organisations.
On the plus side, a whopping 67% said the
There is likely a sharpened focus for many
pandemic accelerated digital transformation. organisations on strategic strengths and less so on
On the downside, 11% of organisations
admitted to consolidating business units, the big bets.
and 6% said they had to close a substantial
part of their operations. Only 17% reported
no significant change.
Unsurprisingly, when it came to the tech
Adrian Hinchcliffe, Brainstorm editor
investments that they had to implement
during the pandemic, nearly three-quarters
(74%) said remote work solutions, followed
by 65% with conferencing or meeting apps,
56% with Internet connectivity or data. Cost- optimisation has risen from 21% and had been pushed into ‘junk status’.
Surprisingly, given the widened attack to 30%, cloud strategy and infrastructure Now, of course, we’ve been pushed even
surface, only 52% cited cybersecurity. consolidation has increased slightly from further into that pit. COVID undoubtedly
When it came to how IT budgets have 22% to 26%, as has focus on POPI and GDPR gave organisations a platform to realise the
been affected during the pandemic, more compliance, from 15% to 22%. benefits of work-from-home, and a greater
than a quarter (26%) said budgets remained “Supporting new business and products reliance on technology.”
the same, but had to be re-prioritised. has decreased, there’s less focus on AI Hinchcliffe believes there will be some
Another 24% said there was no impact, and ML, more focus on maintaining IT organisations that embrace the digital
21% said spending decreased, 21% said operations. There is likely a sharpened focus transformation and push on further down
it increased marginally, and 7% said it for many organisations on strategic strengths that path. “The CIOs there will be challenged
increased significantly. Combining both sets and less so on the big bets.” by greater budgets and responsibilities,
of responses that indicated increases - an In Hinchcliffe’s view, the period of while others will refocus their priorities,
overall 28% - it goes to show that the focus economic hardship ahead is probably going avoiding gambling on risky bleeding-edge
on IT as an enabler has received greater to push some organisations to move their technologies, and consolidating their plans.”
recognition during the pandemic, said CIOs and IT priorities back a step or two, At the other end of the scale, there will
Hinchcliffe. falling back to the old way of operating, of also be those organisations that have to
Speaking about the usual areas of focus keeping the lights on, and will be less about cut the workforces, really take a scalpel to
that have been covered in the CIO Survey for innovation and more about cost-efficiencies everything; the CIOs there will have to look
some time, enabling digital workplace has and enablement. at cost-optimisation and keeping the lights
grown in importance from last year (37% on and those are the organisations that are
vs 28%), while enabling digital business An economy in trouble likely to push the CIO further away from the
remained a top priority at 59% for both Looking to the future, how do the CIOs see strategic conversations and back into the
years. their budgets changing in the year ahead? dark server rooms, he said.
February 2021 | 11INDUSTRY INSIGHT: ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
Why ERP projects fail faster than
ever under lockdown
The speed at which companies found they must transform saw many take
the first opportunity to upgrade to a cloud ERP solution.
eventually fail. It’s hardly surprising. We any of these projects by figuring out and
hear horror stories of how the economy is in understanding what the business need is
trouble, with smaller businesses bearing the that drives the transformation project. Then
brunt of the impact. check any solution matches requirements
Business leaders in the medium to large and ascertain what percentage fit it is.
category aren’t typically deterred by a Anything less than 80% is going to cause
challenge. Many are entrepreneurs; they have severe challenges farther along the road.
the spirit of innovation, leadership and action. Another common assumption is that
However, due to the conditions that engulf us customers are dealing with professionals
now, when they do act it can be in haste. who listen, who hear requirements to ensure
The first and worst assumption is that the solutions fit. That’s not always the case.
cloud solution will automatically be better Customers are often dealing with salespeople
than the legacy system and will solve business who have quotas, targets and fears of their
challenges. own. In some cases salespeople genuinely
I’ve repeatedly seen that they interview believe the proposed solution fits the bill but
Gerrit Olivier, Founder and CEO of About
IT. several vendors, as many as 10, select three to they don’t have the technical knowledge to
pitch for the ERP transformation project, then know it may not.
select the one they feel is the best fit. Another challenge is that these are often
M any companies are running to the
cloud now amid the urgent need to
digitalise operations but it’s magnifying some
of the biggest challenges that cause enterprise
resource planning (ERP) projects to fail. The first and worst assumption is that the cloud
The rapid speed at which companies found
they must transform to survive lockdown solution will automatically be better than the legacy
conditions, let alone meet quickly evolving
customer requirements, strained people to system and will solve business challenges.
cope with unfamiliar situations.
It’s a difficult time for many organisations.
They have to transform if they want to keep
the lights on, let alone thrive, but rushing the
task and neglecting some of the most crucial But there are a number of problems with grudge purchases, much like insurance.
elements is causing more projects to fail that approach. The business owner or lead executive is only
quicker than ever. They’re afraid so they don’t take the time doing it because they think they have to, so
One of the first challenges is that many to check the solution meets their business they don’t put their weight behind it. They
people believed their legacy systems are requirements because they assume too appoint a systems integrator and discharge
unable to cope with running their businesses much. responsibility for success or failure without
online. They consequently took the first The first and worst assumption is that the rallying the internal team behind the project.
opportunity to upgrade to a cloud solution. cloud solution will automatically be better We hear it repeatedly, that time and
Yet, many quickly discovered not all cloud than the legacy system they currently run money are better invested upfront to better
ERP is made the same and not all are and that it will solve their business challenges. secure the outcome, yet we repeatedly
necessarily a good fit for their business. It’s an easy trap to fall into when we read and encounter the opposite. It’s because people
These businesspeople, many of them hear about the features and benefits of these are afraid, hurried, pressured, lack requisite
at organisations in the medium to large solutions in the marketing collateral from knowledge, and they are unsupported.
category, businesses of around R1.5 billion the radio to print, digital and social media Those are the real challenges to ensuring
annual revenues, are frightened that profits channels. successful ERP-based digital transformation
will fall and they’ll run at a loss until they It highlights the essential need to begin projects today.
12 | February 2021INDUSTRY INSIGHT: CYBERSECURITY
Abandon the walled city:
The crucial security call for 2021
The cyber security mesh will be a top strategic trend in 2021, and key to a responsive
security and risk management approach which is modular and scalable.
exponentially enlarge. This mesh is designed to permit an
Forecasters point to the continuing organisation’s security perimeter to be
importance of vigilance, even as a COVID-19 defined around the identity of an individual or
vaccine appears imminent. “Security is taking an object rather than by material borders.
on newfound or heightened importance The cyber security mesh will be a top
within many companies, as cyber criminals strategic technology trend in 2021, according
continue to exploit the global health crisis to Gartner. It is key to the application of a
and associated business disruption,” says Ian responsive security and risk management
Barker, a noted industry watcher and editor. approach which is modular and thus scalable.
Give them their due; many organisations One important benefit associated with such
have acted swiftly in attempts to protect a scalable solution is its capacity to be applied
their remote workers. However, as the cyber where and when it is deemed necessary to
criminals’ targets quickly multiplied, it soon link network users to appropriate networked
became obvious that traditional protection capabilities. Another benefit is the mesh’s
methods, previously effective within the important contribution to centralised policy
Paul Stuttard, Director, Duxbury
physical confines of the enterprise, were implementation and distributed policy
Networking.
becoming less reliable, less meaningful and, enforcement.
T he unparalleled socio-economic
challenges of 2020, initiated by the
COVID-19 pandemic, have spawned a legion
of remote workers who have collectively
and inadvertently congregated in a “new Give them their due; many organisations have acted
playground for hackers”, according to the
Gartner global research and advisory firm. swiftly in attempts to protect their remote workers.
Many IT industry insiders confirm
2020 was a year in which hackers took
unprecedented advantage of often-
defenceless employees who were preyed
upon mainly because of their inexperience ultimately, less trusted. In this light, expect the cyber security mesh
in dealing with their new work-from-home Thus, the conventional security armaments to shape the future of enterprise IT operations
environments. of the traditional “walled city” must urgently as we know them.
Exploiting these workers, those with be called into question. A new solution to In altering an organisation’s approach
malevolent intent were increasingly replace these rusty bulwarks is imperative to security, complexity is often increased.
successful in breaching organisations’ in order to keep pace with the burgeoning This may come in the form of dealing
stretched defences, gaining access to sensitive work-from-home trend, while meeting the with additional environments, meeting
data and even infecting businesses with modern demands of businesses whose data, the challenge of implementing dissimilar
ransomware on an unequalled scale. access and corporate resources are no longer products, or fulfilling the need for the
In the manufacturing sector, for instance, constrained by physical boundaries. upskilling of essential staff members.
ransomware poses the most risk, especially As the walled city approach to minimising Within 10 years, many security and
for many critical industry subsectors, notes risk and guarding company data is risk professionals believe the globe will be
Selena Larson, an analyst at Dragos, the cyber abandoned, what will be its substitute? covered by a mesh linking many billions of
security specialist. In 2021, organisations can expect new devices and individuals in every corner of
Unfortunately, these miscreants have technology trends to make an appearance and the world. With every connection a latent
only just begun their tirade. Expect more of rapidly evolve. Already on the horizon is a access point to sensitive corporate or personal
the same in 2021, as remote work continues, distributed architectural model which centres data, technologies such as SASE will play
with around 50% of employees expected on the application of a flexible, scalable “cyber an important part in consolidating multiple
to be mobile. The “playground” will security mesh”. security components into a unified service.
February 2021 | 13INDUSTRY INSIGHT: DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Automation is central to healthy
digital ecosystems
To enable an efficient digital ecosystem, users must be able to access and
process the correct data, in a secure and compliant way, as swiftly as possible.
post-COVID world. With nearly six in 10 technologies are applied to help organise and
businesses facing challenges maintaining distribute this overwhelming influx. And
operational efficiencies in a distributed with a more distributed workforce, users
environment, there is a heavy reliance on want increased access to collaborate in shared
developing new processes and automating digital workspaces via mobile devices or
legacy ones. online platforms.
Fintech has leapfrogged legacy systems by Data, both structured and unstructured,
reshaping financial services at a rapid pace. plays an integral role in almost every business
In financial services, for example, process, from onboarding clients at a bank,
consumers live in micro-moments, with ease to providing healthcare services to patients in
of access and exposure to a large and diverse a hospital. People have been separated from
set of digital services. They are no longer paper files, person-to-person processes have
satisfied with just getting what they want. been disrupted, and companies have had to
Today’s consumer demands flexibility in take on new automation priorities. There
Russell Glover, MD of Linxus.
how and where they engage financial services are new loads on back-office systems that
to get what they want. simply cannot be supported with current
Fintech has leapfrogged legacy systems by technologies.
C reating, participating in and exploiting
digital ecosystems is at the heart of
digital transformation strategy. If anything,
COVID has taught us that we need to be even
more aggressive about digitisation to adapt Fintech has leapfrogged legacy systems by
and meet the needs of employees, suppliers
and customers in the value chain. reshaping financial services at a rapid pace.
And with digital transformation
accelerating at a rapid pace because of this,
it’s no surprise that the impact of harnessing
these digital ecosystems brings some
challenges. reshaping financial services at a rapid pace. To automate at scale, businesses need
Customer expectations are driving business EY’s Global Fintech Adoption Index 2019 to consider technology governance. They
transformation faster than ever before. As shows 82% consumer fintech adoption in need to ensure the right people are making
customer interactions shift further to digital South Africa and is expected to increase even decisions and executing change, from
in the new normal, leaders have accelerated further, with the country ranking third in technology experts to business experts to
the digitisation of customer and supply future growth behind only China and India, change managers, and people who inform
chain interactions by years. Industry is and sharing the position with Russia. their decisions, like customer experience
leaping ahead to meet changing customer A key factor is ensuring remote workers and governance, risk and compliance
demands by digitising business processes and can view and modify data applicable to their professionals.
workflows. role, and have tasks assigned to them based Easy and secure access to information is
The impact of digital transactions, payment on their responsibilities. Having access to the critical in any business environment. As data
innovations and online interfaces are assisting right information at the right time could be is easily accessed and distributed, it’s equally
to radically transform how we view digital the difference between success and failure important to ensure it is secure and only
transformation strategies and frameworks. for an automated process and ultimately, the accessed by authorised users.
This new-found digital enthusiasm translates business. With vast quantities of data now The bottom line is that to enable a swift
directly into workflow efficiencies and the available, obtaining the ‘right’ information by and efficient digital ecosystem, users must be
end-to-end integration of processes. the ‘right’ person is pivotal. able to access and process the correct data,
A recent poll by The Harris Poll proves In a digital ecosystem, data streams in from in a secure and compliant way, as swiftly as
process automation is key to thriving in the multiple sources, in diverse formats, and new possible.
14 | February 2021INDUSTRY INSIGHT: DATA ANALYTICS
A true data specialist knows
no boundaries
True data specialists aren’t constrained by tools or technology, as the core
principles and best practices remain uncompromised, becoming amplified in
the context of cloud.
referenced subject, especially when introduction of cloud computing services
the organisation is undergoing digital in the data and analytics space. Any
transformation and transitioning towards good data specialist that understands the
using cloud services. concept of distributed processing, and
The ‘data’ in both phrases is referring to distributed storage, is well equipped with
the same enterprise data that requires the the knowledge required to adapt to cloud
expertise of a data specialist, and the only computing effectively.
difference between the two statements is One of the many benefits of cloud
the locationof where the data is stored or computing is the ability to separate storage
processed. and compute to achieve phenomenal
As a result, this leads me to question why processing speeds. The concept of separating
organisations believe they may require new storage and compute is not a new concept, in
skills for changing the location of the data to the broader sense.
the cloud? In fact, data archiving strategies have
Windsor Gumede, Director, PBT One of the many benefits of cloud leveraged on this type of architecture
Innovation at PBT Group. computing is the ability to separate storage for many years, where the computation
T he new realm of cloud computing
services has created quite the controversy
when it comes to skills in the data and
analytics world.
As a result, there are those that are looking
One of the many benefits of cloud computing is the
to elevate themselves into new roles in the ability to separate storage and compute to achieve
context of cloud and there are companies
that are trying to increase their footprint and phenomenal processing speeds.
service offering to cloud specialisation.
One aspect, however, that remains true, is
the fundamental role of the data specialist in
getting cloud computing right. and compute to achieve phenomenal and storage of frequently used data is the
The phrase ‘data in the cloud’ is associated processing speeds. responsibility of a “processor and storage”
with data that does not use, or partially As we know, the human capital that machine, and the data that has reached
uses, an enterprise’s local infrastructure, acquires, analyses, transforms, manages and its retention period gets offloaded onto a
specifically regarding storage. Cloud makes data available for the enterprise are network-attached storage device or any other
computing, on the other hand, refers to the the data specialists. This is irrespective of the storage mechanism that is not attached to
delivery of compute power, database storage, location of where the data resides or is being the same machine that processed the data – a
applications and other IT services. processed. process any data specialist is familiar with.
However, what is intriguing (or confusing) A data specialist should be an expert in the But wait, don’t panic!
is that the phrase and term are sometimes field of data, no matter the technology used. Any company on a cloud adoption journey
used interchangeably. And this to my mind Further, the field of data is very broad and must keep in mind that the evolution
is incorrect − cloud computing should be can be subcategorised into data architecture, of concepts, technology and roles is an
viewed as the overarching concept that data management, data governance, database opportunity to skill up on new technologies.
encompasses the storage factor of data, which administration and many others. Poor or inefficient development of any
is then referred to as ‘data in the cloud’. I believe therefore there is a common cloud data solution results in a high cost to
Why the focus on data in the cloud? misconception of “I need a cloud specialist in running the solution. However, having a data
Often, at some of our clients, we hear order to migrate/manage data in the cloud”. specialist on board can support a far more
the words ‘data in the cloud’ and ‘data The reality is, there is a wide range of successful outcome when moving data to the
on-premises’. This, I believe, is an over- new tools that have emerged with the cloud.
February 2021 | 15COMPANY NEWS
TELECOMS TECH FORUM
Digital ecosystem enablers: API adoption and Go beyond the obvious
analytics big data model standardisation Disruptions happen all the time; it’s
The rise of digital ecosystems and new innovative business models the mindset and the ability to think
requires the standardisation of data for advanced data analytics beyond the obvious that is the key to
crossing organisational boundaries, as well as standard API success, says Minoo Dastur, director,
adoption, says Globetom. These two elements will significantly president and CEO at Nihilent. Crises
reduce enablement and integration costs and enhance speed to such as the current pandemic are
market and scalability of new business model adoption. Standards opportunities for successful leaders
that are applicable across industries are invaluable as integration and organisations to pause and focus
needs expand horizontally to drive value for organisations and their on winning rather than whining.
customers. Deploying these data models and API standards on hybrid www.nihilent.com
infrastructures covering cloud-based and in-house legacy systems can
be complex because of diverging technologies and multiple suppliers
involved in existing architectures. Minoo Dastur, director, president and
CEO, Nihilent
www.globetom.com
The benefits of online vs desktop
Nomad engages Galix 2020 has forced businesses to embrace the power of the pivot and
to become PCI DSS adapt to the changing business landscape. Technological advances
compliant have presented a lifeline for many industries, especially during the
Meeting the compliance requirements pandemic, and the accounting sector is no different. This is according
of Payment Card Industry Data to Bridget du Toit, head of Services at EasyBiz Technologies, who says
Security Standard (PCI DSS) can be the accounting sector has seen cloud-based online solutions quickly
a daunting task, particularly in light replacing their conventional desktop predecessors, with many
of looming deadlines. “Nomad and pointing to the intuitiveness of online as a major contributor to their
Galix continue to partner to ensure business success. “Online accounting platforms have proven their
the payment provider meets its yearly worth as go-to solutions for all accounting needs,” she explains.
PCI DSS auditory obligations. “Nomad www.easybiztech.co.za
will provide continuous evidence that
it is PCI DSS compliant, which is why
Johannes Briel, QSA at Galix maintenance and monitoring are so The future of team collaboration
important,” explains Johannes Briel, The scramble to adapt enterprise communications in response to the
QSA at Galix. COVID-19 pandemic has led to many organisations experiencing issues
www.galix.com with security, support and efficiency with their team collaboration
solutions, says Scopserv. To explain, as the pandemic swept the
world, enterprises found themselves having to rapidly transition
Teraco completes from having a majority of their workers based in the office to sending
first ISAE 3402 Type 1 most of their employees into work-from-home (WFH) mode. While
attestation some companies have since been able to introduce more structure
Teraco Data Environments, the to their WFH programmes, many are still grappling with the need to
vendor-neutral data centre and consolidate their employees’ various collaboration tools and solutions,
interconnection hub of Africa, has so their workforce is more efficient and secure.
achieved International Standard www.scopserv.co.za
on Assurance Engagements ISAE
3402 Type 1 attestation for the trust
principles of security and availability. Acceptance of a privacy culture vital for
These new credentials supplement organisations to comply with POPI
Teraco’s existing PCI DSS certification Complying with the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act
for physical security across the Teraco is a multi-layered exercise that includes governance compliance
Helen Kruger, head of operations,
Teraco
data centres in South Africa. to new processes, closing gaps and securing personal information.
www.teraco.co.za Paul Raath, consultant/change manager at Bizmod, says it is
not a quick fix and the most important fundamental for all
organisations is to ensure the adoption of a privacy culture by all
ICT INSIGHT employees is achieved. Despite organisations jumping through
hoops and ticking all the boxes, if employees don’t embrace the
change and adopt a strong privacy culture, the company’s privacy
To read the FULL company releases, visit programmes will fail. Implementing new policies and procedures
www.itweb.co.za Contact sales@itweb.co.za are an unavoidable part of the process.
www.bizmod.co.za
16 | February 2021You can also read
