TechCentral Podcast
Interviews with leaders in South Africa's ICT industry.
24
OCT
Interview: Axiz executive Traci Maynard on ethical leadership
In this episode of the podcast, TechCentral speaks to Traci Maynard, an executive at technology distributor Axiz, about the important of ethical leadership and good corporate governance in South Africa’s IT industry.
In light of the various scandals that have erupted around several high-profile companies in the past 18-24 months, Maynard talks about how corporate South Africa allowed itself to be caught up in the state capture narrative, the risk to corporate reputations and the need for solid governance controls to ensure wrongdoing isn’t allowed to flourish.
She explains the types of governance checks and balances that need to be put in place to ensure companies aren’t found wanting -- and looks specifically at some of the controls Axiz has in place to prevent corrupt and unethical practices.
Axiz, part of the JSE-listed Aviva Holdings, is a major player in the complex South African IT distribution market. It, along with other distributors, work with multinational vendors to supply technology products and services into the public sector and into corporate clients. With many parts to the chain, Maynard explains how ensuring ethical behaviour at all levels can sometimes be quite challenging.
In the podcast, she talks through a scenario of where and how unethical behaviour might creep into a big tender, for example, and how companies should determine what amounts to good business and what doesn’t. What red flags should companies be looking out for?
It’s a great discussion on a crucial topic -- don’t miss it!
In light of the various scandals that have erupted around several high-profile companies in the past 18-24 months, Maynard talks about how corporate South Africa allowed itself to be caught up in the state capture narrative, the risk to corporate reputations and the need for solid governance controls to ensure wrongdoing isn’t allowed to flourish.
She explains the types of governance checks and balances that need to be put in place to ensure companies aren’t found wanting -- and looks specifically at some of the controls Axiz has in place to prevent corrupt and unethical practices.
Axiz, part of the JSE-listed Aviva Holdings, is a major player in the complex South African IT distribution market. It, along with other distributors, work with multinational vendors to supply technology products and services into the public sector and into corporate clients. With many parts to the chain, Maynard explains how ensuring ethical behaviour at all levels can sometimes be quite challenging.
In the podcast, she talks through a scenario of where and how unethical behaviour might creep into a big tender, for example, and how companies should determine what amounts to good business and what doesn’t. What red flags should companies be looking out for?
It’s a great discussion on a crucial topic -- don’t miss it!
21
OCT
Interview: Seacom head of digital and CX Kevin South
In this promoted episode of the podcast, TechCentral is joined by Seacom’s head of digital and customer experience, Kevin South, for a discussion on digital transformation and how companies should be approaching such projects.
South talks about the conversations that companies should be having before they even embark on the digital transformation journey and the pitfalls they should avoid. Is not doing anything an option for some companies, especially in light of the sometimes-overblown promises made by IT vendors and horror stories of project failures?
In the podcast, South goes through six useful steps or considerations he believes will help companies achieve a successful, largely seamless digital transformation project, including the need to “understand your own data”; put the customers’ journey first; redesigning processes; adapt or change the operating model; create a single organisational point of ownership (and who that person should be; and build a new business in parallel to the existing one.
It’s a great discussion – don’t miss it!
South talks about the conversations that companies should be having before they even embark on the digital transformation journey and the pitfalls they should avoid. Is not doing anything an option for some companies, especially in light of the sometimes-overblown promises made by IT vendors and horror stories of project failures?
In the podcast, South goes through six useful steps or considerations he believes will help companies achieve a successful, largely seamless digital transformation project, including the need to “understand your own data”; put the customers’ journey first; redesigning processes; adapt or change the operating model; create a single organisational point of ownership (and who that person should be; and build a new business in parallel to the existing one.
It’s a great discussion – don’t miss it!
14
OCT
Interview: Veritas regional director David McMurdo
In this promoted episode of the podcast, TechCentral speaks to David McMurdo, regional director for South Africa at Veritas Technologies, about the explosion of data and how companies can get control over it.
McMurdo opens the podcast with a discussion about Veritas’s history and its go-to-market strategy in South Africa, including working through partners such as Axiz. He explains in broad terms what Veritas does and the solutions it brings to the enterprise data management market.
Veritas has broken down data management into three components grouped under the abbreviation “API”, or availability, protection and insight.
Companies are drowning in data but struggle to get access to relevant information at the right time to make meaningful business decisions. McMurdo talks about how serious this problem is and what the solutions are.
Is moving to the cloud the answer? McMurdo addresses this in the podcast, and what companies should be doing in terms of their cloud strategies.
He also touches on the subject of digital transformation and the role Veritas can play in helping companies on this journey.
McMurdo opens the podcast with a discussion about Veritas’s history and its go-to-market strategy in South Africa, including working through partners such as Axiz. He explains in broad terms what Veritas does and the solutions it brings to the enterprise data management market.
Veritas has broken down data management into three components grouped under the abbreviation “API”, or availability, protection and insight.
Companies are drowning in data but struggle to get access to relevant information at the right time to make meaningful business decisions. McMurdo talks about how serious this problem is and what the solutions are.
Is moving to the cloud the answer? McMurdo addresses this in the podcast, and what companies should be doing in terms of their cloud strategies.
He also touches on the subject of digital transformation and the role Veritas can play in helping companies on this journey.
17
SEP
Interview: Seacom’s Mark Tinka on why Africa is falling behind on IPv6
In this promoted episode of the TechCentral podcast, Seacom head of engineering Mark Tinka explains why how South Africa – and the broader African continent – is falling behind the rest of the world in implementing Internet protocol version 6, or IPv6, and why this is potentially a very serious problem.
Africa is the only region worldwide that has not yet run out of IPv4 addresses and this appears to have lulled communication service providers and enterprises in the region into a false sense of security.
In the podcast, Tinka explains why the world is moving to IPv6, what is involved from a technical perspective and why Africa is so far behind in making the switch – and why this could prove to be a costly headache.
It’s a great discussion – don’t miss it!
Africa is the only region worldwide that has not yet run out of IPv4 addresses and this appears to have lulled communication service providers and enterprises in the region into a false sense of security.
In the podcast, Tinka explains why the world is moving to IPv6, what is involved from a technical perspective and why Africa is so far behind in making the switch – and why this could prove to be a costly headache.
It’s a great discussion – don’t miss it!
28
AUG
Interview: BBD on how digital disruption is upending financial services
In this episode of the podcast, BBD UK director and the group’s executive head of banking, Matthew Barnard, and BBD executive head of cloud services, Dieter Rosch, discuss the fundamental digital disruption sweeping through banking and financial services.
South African banks spend a huge amount of money on IT every year, but several disruptive forces, including the shift to cloud computing, are emerging that could turn the sector on its head in the coming years.
Barnard and Rosch share their views on the software trends in financial services IT and how banks are approaching the topic of digital transformation to ensure they remain innovative and relevant.
Many of these institutions have an enormous base of legacy technology that may serve to hold them back in these critical projects. What are the best-practice approaches to digital transformation, and how do South African banks compare to their peers internationally? Should they be reinventing their core, or building separate businesses to chase new fintech opportunities?
Rosch looks at some of the approaches being adopted and talks in detail about the concept of “microservices” versus “monoliths” versus “hybrids”. Why could a microservices approach help banks achieve their goals? And how should they be approaching cloud in their transformation journeys?
Barnard talks about how regulation affects the industry and the ability to lead projects of this magnitude, and why the ability to train and retain key skills will be a critical success factor.
It’s a great discussion for anyone involved in or interested in how digital disruption is upending the financial services sector. Don’t miss it!
South African banks spend a huge amount of money on IT every year, but several disruptive forces, including the shift to cloud computing, are emerging that could turn the sector on its head in the coming years.
Barnard and Rosch share their views on the software trends in financial services IT and how banks are approaching the topic of digital transformation to ensure they remain innovative and relevant.
Many of these institutions have an enormous base of legacy technology that may serve to hold them back in these critical projects. What are the best-practice approaches to digital transformation, and how do South African banks compare to their peers internationally? Should they be reinventing their core, or building separate businesses to chase new fintech opportunities?
Rosch looks at some of the approaches being adopted and talks in detail about the concept of “microservices” versus “monoliths” versus “hybrids”. Why could a microservices approach help banks achieve their goals? And how should they be approaching cloud in their transformation journeys?
Barnard talks about how regulation affects the industry and the ability to lead projects of this magnitude, and why the ability to train and retain key skills will be a critical success factor.
It’s a great discussion for anyone involved in or interested in how digital disruption is upending the financial services sector. Don’t miss it!
22
AUG
Interview: Seacom CEO Byron Clatterbuck returns
In this promoted episode of the TechCentral podcast, Seacom CEO Byron Clatterbuck returns for a discussion about the big trends affecting the telecommunications industry in South Africa and the broader continent, particularly from a data perspective.
Clatterbuck talks about the ever-expanding demand for data from both consumers and businesses and why Seacom sees secondary cities as important next stage of its growth ambitions.
The conversation turns to edge computing and the growing view that, especially as 5G begins to take off, a lot of computational work isn’t, in fact, going to happen in large global data centres but at the edge, close to where it’s most needed for rapid, low-latency applications.
There’s a suggestion that this could put the advantage back in telecommunications operator’s courts, and away from the global cloud giants -- Clatterbuck talks about what this might mean for the industry, particularly as carriers and cloud providers begin working more closely together in future.
This is going to require more redundancy, more networks -- and certainly more fibre networks to connect everything together, he says.
Finally, the discussion turns to new subsea cables that are planned for construction around Africa, including Google's Equiano cable on the west coast. What's the business case for these new systems, and how will Seacom participate in them?
It's a great discussion -- don't miss it!
Clatterbuck talks about the ever-expanding demand for data from both consumers and businesses and why Seacom sees secondary cities as important next stage of its growth ambitions.
The conversation turns to edge computing and the growing view that, especially as 5G begins to take off, a lot of computational work isn’t, in fact, going to happen in large global data centres but at the edge, close to where it’s most needed for rapid, low-latency applications.
There’s a suggestion that this could put the advantage back in telecommunications operator’s courts, and away from the global cloud giants -- Clatterbuck talks about what this might mean for the industry, particularly as carriers and cloud providers begin working more closely together in future.
This is going to require more redundancy, more networks -- and certainly more fibre networks to connect everything together, he says.
Finally, the discussion turns to new subsea cables that are planned for construction around Africa, including Google's Equiano cable on the west coast. What's the business case for these new systems, and how will Seacom participate in them?
It's a great discussion -- don't miss it!
14
AUG
Interview: Ovex CEO Jonathan Ovadia
In this episode of the podcast, Jonathan Ovadia, co-founder and CEO of Ovex, a relatively new cryptocurrency exchange based in Cape Town, joins Duncan McLeod for a discussion on the crypto market.
Ovex, which enjoys the backing of Civic founder Vinny Lingham and Bitcoin Foundation executive director Llew Claasen, among others, wants to bring down the cost differential associated with buying crypto coins on South African exchanges relative to their international counterparts.
Ovadia explains how Ovex got its start, how it was funded, its relationship with TrustToken in the US - which launched a "stablecoin" called TrueUSD - and its plans to launch an index fund token in the coming months.
He also talks about why altcoins - coins that aren't bitcoin - deserve more attention, why Facebook's libra could be a game changer for the crypto market and how Ovex secures the funds of its investors.
It's a great discussion - don't miss it!
Ovex, which enjoys the backing of Civic founder Vinny Lingham and Bitcoin Foundation executive director Llew Claasen, among others, wants to bring down the cost differential associated with buying crypto coins on South African exchanges relative to their international counterparts.
Ovadia explains how Ovex got its start, how it was funded, its relationship with TrustToken in the US - which launched a "stablecoin" called TrueUSD - and its plans to launch an index fund token in the coming months.
He also talks about why altcoins - coins that aren't bitcoin - deserve more attention, why Facebook's libra could be a game changer for the crypto market and how Ovex secures the funds of its investors.
It's a great discussion - don't miss it!
06
AUG
Interview: Aptronics joint MD Alex Russell on the intelligent workspace
In this promoted episode of the podcast, TechCentral interviews Alex Russell, MD of iOCO Technology subsidiary Aptronics, on the concept of the “intelligent workspace” and how it can boost employee productivity.
Russell explains why the intelligent workspace is critically important in modern organisations, not only to improve productivity, but also in acquiring and retaining talent.
In the podcast, he talks about how to quantify the impact of streamlining and improving the user experience and how organisations should set about embarking on a project like this as well as who should drive it.
The conversation touches on issues such as managing e-mail, exposing apps and corporate information and workflows to users in the most efficient and effective way, and the pitfalls companies should be aware of when addressing these issues. Should organisations be tackling the intelligent workspace as part of their cloud and digital transformation projects? And if so, how?
Also, with millennials starting to enter the workforce – youngsters who have eschewed e-mail and who expect corporate apps and systems to function in the same way they’re used to using consumer apps on their smartphones – how can companies re-engineer their systems to ensure they attract and keep the best talent?
Russell explains why the intelligent workspace is critically important in modern organisations, not only to improve productivity, but also in acquiring and retaining talent.
In the podcast, he talks about how to quantify the impact of streamlining and improving the user experience and how organisations should set about embarking on a project like this as well as who should drive it.
The conversation touches on issues such as managing e-mail, exposing apps and corporate information and workflows to users in the most efficient and effective way, and the pitfalls companies should be aware of when addressing these issues. Should organisations be tackling the intelligent workspace as part of their cloud and digital transformation projects? And if so, how?
Also, with millennials starting to enter the workforce – youngsters who have eschewed e-mail and who expect corporate apps and systems to function in the same way they’re used to using consumer apps on their smartphones – how can companies re-engineer their systems to ensure they attract and keep the best talent?
28
JUL
DFA CEO Thinus Mulder on the company's expansion plans
Dark Fibre Africa is keen to buy or build tower and data centre assets as it expands beyond the provision of fibre telecommunications infrastructure in South Africa.
That’s according to DFA CEO Thinus Mulder, who was speaking last week at an event hosted by Absa Corporate and Investment Bank, arranged by Digital Things and FTTx Council Africa, and moderated by TechCentral.
Listen to the full presentation and conversation here.
That’s according to DFA CEO Thinus Mulder, who was speaking last week at an event hosted by Absa Corporate and Investment Bank, arranged by Digital Things and FTTx Council Africa, and moderated by TechCentral.
Listen to the full presentation and conversation here.
21
JUL
TalkCentral: Ep 266 - 'Fibre for smart masses'
In the podcast this week, Duncan McLeod and Duncan McLeod talk about Vumatel's plans to roll out fibre broadband in Mitchell's Plain and Alexandra. Can fibre be delivered to lower-income and even poor areas profitably?
Also this week, drama at EOH; Netflix posts a horrid quarter; and Red Dead Redemption is coming to PC.
Listen to the show to find out who's been picked as winner and loser of the week.
Regardt's pick this week is Toggl, while Duncan has chosen FaceApp.
Remember, you can WhatsApp the show on 0719991111. Join us live on YouTube on Sundays at 1pm when we record live: https://youtube.com/techcentral.
Also this week, drama at EOH; Netflix posts a horrid quarter; and Red Dead Redemption is coming to PC.
Listen to the show to find out who's been picked as winner and loser of the week.
Regardt's pick this week is Toggl, while Duncan has chosen FaceApp.
Remember, you can WhatsApp the show on 0719991111. Join us live on YouTube on Sundays at 1pm when we record live: https://youtube.com/techcentral.
15
JUL
Interview: Vumatel CEO Dietlof Mare
In this episode of the podcast, TechCentral's Duncan McLeod interviews Vumatel CEO Dietlof Mare about the fibre-to-the-home provider's roll-out of fibre to Mitchell's Plain on the Cape Flats and the company's plan to deploy fibre infrastructure in Johannesburg's Alexandra.
He talks about providing fibre broadband in areas that fibre providers were never expected to go and why he believes there is a huge market opportunity in doing so.
In the podcast, Mare also talks about the recent acquisition of Vumatel by CIVH and what it means, and what consumers can expect from the company in future.
Don't miss it!
He talks about providing fibre broadband in areas that fibre providers were never expected to go and why he believes there is a huge market opportunity in doing so.
In the podcast, Mare also talks about the recent acquisition of Vumatel by CIVH and what it means, and what consumers can expect from the company in future.
Don't miss it!
08
JUL
Interview: Steve Briggs on Seacom's big brand refresh
In this promoted episode of the podcast, TechCentral is joined by Seacom chief commercial officer Steve Briggs for a discussion on the company's big brand overhaul.
Coinciding with Seacom's 10th anniversary, the refresh was done to showcase the company's evolution from solely a provider of subsea bandwidth in its early years into becoming a major data connectivity service provider in Africa.
Credited with bringing high-quality and affordable Internet bandwidth to the continent through its launch of Africa’s first private high-speed subsea cable system along the eastern and southern coastlines in 2009, the company today provides a full suite of solutions for service providers directly to businesses.
It has also recently made several acquisitions that have strengthened its service offerings, its geographic network reach and broadened its market position.
In the podcast, Briggs explains how the new look reflects its changed positioning in the ICT market as well as what was involved in executing a brand refresh of this magnitude, which included a complete redesign of its website.
Coinciding with Seacom's 10th anniversary, the refresh was done to showcase the company's evolution from solely a provider of subsea bandwidth in its early years into becoming a major data connectivity service provider in Africa.
Credited with bringing high-quality and affordable Internet bandwidth to the continent through its launch of Africa’s first private high-speed subsea cable system along the eastern and southern coastlines in 2009, the company today provides a full suite of solutions for service providers directly to businesses.
It has also recently made several acquisitions that have strengthened its service offerings, its geographic network reach and broadened its market position.
In the podcast, Briggs explains how the new look reflects its changed positioning in the ICT market as well as what was involved in executing a brand refresh of this magnitude, which included a complete redesign of its website.
