South African Business 2017 edition

OVERVIEW in Gauteng

OVERVIEW in Gauteng Province. The sector contains a diverse range of hardware manufacturing, software design and various service offerings such as software management, systems programming and technical support. South Africa is highly regarded as a centre of software development and offers attractive inward investment opportunities, especially in: • Automotive electronic systems • Access control and security • Financial sector ICT services • Silicon processing for fibre optics • Integrated circuits and solar cells There are many opportunities for employment in the sector. It is a huge irony that in a country with a very high unemployment rate, the Johannesburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE) puts the figure of vacancies in software and application development, cloud computing and information security at 40 000 (Skills & HR Development, Sunday Times, June 2016). Training is available from organisations such as the Quad Digital Academy, a Standard Bank initiative, an ICT Incubator in Port Elizabeth run by the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda), from the City of Johannesburg (which runs a digital intern programme called COJEDI) and scarce skills training offered by the City of Cape Town (in partnership with SAP Africa) in software programming; the programme is called "Western Cape Skills for Africa". According to itnewsafrica. com, South Africa accounts for 5% of all phishing attacks in the world. This is where a person in a company gives away account information or codes that allow thieves to steal or disrupt operations. When the data that a company holds is the main point of the business, the case for cybersecurity is obvious. Hacking of websites can also have a devastating effect on a business, so operations like penetration testing and technical surveillance countermeasures are offered by security companies. Innovation in the sector is encouraged by mLab, a centre designed to support entrepreneurs in the mobile technology field. The CSIR in Pretoria hosts the facility together with The Innovation Hub. Traditional technologies for broadband connection (dial-up and VSAT) are declining in popularity in South Africa as more sophisticated mobile technology becomes available. This includes WiMax, HSDPA and HSPA+. Growth in the sector is expected to be driven by mobile broadband and services that add value in the data field. Data centres are increasing their capacity at a fast rate as cloud usage grows. Teraco, which runs data centres in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, is considering adding another 10 000m² in Ekurhuleni because of what World Wide Worx's Arthur Goldstuck calls the "unquenchable" thirst of businesses and consumers for data. Teraco is also the host of a joint venture that steers data traffic (a peer point) called NAPAfrica. Public transport systems are moving to cashless ticketing supported by ICT. Digicore and Absa Bank have combined in Cape Town to roll out the system for minibus users driving between the city and the V&A Waterfront. With Vodacom spending in the region of R6-billion per year on its 3G and 4G long-term evolution network (LTE), the capacity of South Africa’s telecommunications network is growing fast. MTN and 8ta are also investing heavily in LTE. New players in the market were announced in September 2016 when two former bankers, Paul Harris and Michael Jordaan, put together a consortium to buy Multisource with the intention of investing billions in an LTE-Advanced (or 4.5G) network. In 2016 Neotel changed hands. Liquid Telecom, a subsidiary of Econet, has teamed up with Royal Bafokeng Holdings to purchase the mobile and data business from Tata Group of India. ONLINE RESOURCES Independent Communications Authority of SA: www.icasa.org.za National Department of Communications: www.doc.gov.za State Information Technology Agency: www.sita.co.za SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2017 88

A Leader In Solutions Dr Vusi Mncube Executive Chairman Key Services and Products are as follows: Uzulu Business Solutions is a wholly owned B-BBEE company which was initially founded to drive the project of bridging the gap between the University of Zululand Computer Science Students and the marketplace. Uzulu has since evolved as one of the critical players in the financial services, credit management, payment fulfilment systems and other value-adding ICT applications in partnership with various industry leaders. Uzulu's philosophy is to provide high-quality IT solutions and consulting to customers with an emphasis on service by striving to exceed expectations. This rare quality has allowed Uzulu to grow swiftly whilst keeping pace with the rapidly developing IT industry. Our operating model focuses on the basic view that any IT solution is only relevant if it enables and adds value to the business. Through this approach, our clients are guaranteed that the solutions we design and implement give them the maximum return on their investment. Our company also designs, develops and implements the most appropriate costeffective solutions for its clients. The company ensures that the necessary skills are transferred for ease of use and implementation. “If there is no measurable business value for any solution deployment, it is not a solution. Through our world-class partnership model with our clients, we jointly determine the return on investing in a business solution before embarking on the project. Once the solution is deployed, we continuously measure the realisation of ROI as one of our fundamental post-implementation interventions. If our customers realise business value and are therefore successful, so are we successful,” says Dr Vusi Mncube, Executive Chairman, Uzulu Business Solutions. Outsource Collections and Call Centre We offer a broad range of customer contact services through the fully blended multichannel inbound and outbound contact centre. We work closely with clients to drive their business initiatives. Tailor -made solutions are often born as various businesses have specific needs. Our services include but are not limited to: • Inbound/outbound customer service • Debt collection • Call centre recruitment and training The proposed model is that of providing a debt collection capability to the municipality. This capability will co-exist with the current billing and credit control activities of the municipality. Business Advisory and ICT Integration Services • Business process and technology consulting • Information architecture; system/technical architecture • Application development • Online and physical tracing • Back-office and fulfillment • Collections strategy and credit risk analytics • Data processing and cleansing • Back office systems, infrastructure and integration • IT support and solutions maintenance • Project management • Forensic audit services Contact details Address: 4th Floor, West Tower, Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton City, Sandton, Johannesburg Email: info@uzulusolutions.co.za | Tel: +27 11 100 5165 | Fax: +27 86 648 4925