Sadc Top Companies ICT (AfricaCom)

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From the

EDITORA t the turn of the century, every initiative was tied

down to information in one way or another. I remember the buzz word was Y2k! There was a lot of commerce generated by what was later termed

the Y2k bug. Government departments, private companies all rushed to create what was then viewed as compliance. From networking to software and hardware, this period of our generation created good business and returns for the IT and downstream industries. As we move forward, our lives in one way or another is driven and shaped by our access to and use of information. From national security organisations, medicine, banking and even farming and mining, what is it that this gen-eration can do without the use of technology.

Access to and use of information comes with security risks. I can refer to the hacking of Sony servers just recently. How about the classic case when the personal email account of John Brennan, director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) by hacker, who described himself as an American high school student.

This and other challenges present the reality of our genera-tion referred to as the information highway. This term is defined by Webopeadia as “a popular buzzword to describe the Internet, bulletin board services, online services, and other services that enable people to obtain information from telecommunications networks”.

My reason for attending Africa Com 2015 will be to get a “lecture” from IT based and related companies to unpack some of the challenges but mostly “money spinning” opportunities found along the information highway.

See you there!

[email protected]

SADC Top Companies Review is a publication by Prime Media Africa Publishing Group (PTY) Ltd {Incorporated in South Africa}. Although persons and companies mentioned herein are believed to be reputable, neither Prime Media Africa Publishing Group (PTY) Ltd (2015/01235/07), nor any of its employees, advertising sales executives or contributors accept any responsibility whatsoever for such persons’ and companies’ activities. While every effort has been made to ensure that information is correct at the time of going to print, Prime Media Africa Publishing Group (PTY) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the outcome of any action or decision based on the information contained in this publication. The publishers or authors do not give any warranty for the completeness or accuracy for this publication’s content, explanation or opinion. It is advisable that prospective investors consult their attorney/s and/or financial investor/s prior to following pursuing any business opportunity or entering into any investments. Nothing in this publication should be taken as a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or trade any listed securities, or other financial instrument or asset. No part of this publication and/or website may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without prior written permission of the Publisher. Permission is only deemed valid if approval is in writing. © Prime Media Africa Publishing Group (PTY) Ltd. All rights reserved.

MANAGING EDITORGrivin Ngongula

MANAGING DIRECTOR Hillary Munemo

ADVERTISING SALES MANAGERLiberty Sibusiso Khumalo

ADVERTISING SALESPrime Media Africa Publishing Group (PTY) Ltd

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Prime Media Network Publishing Group (PTY) 262 Voortrekker Road, Cape Town, South Africa

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CONTENTS4 Editor’s Note

6 Contents & Credits

8 Lindiwe Daphney Zulu: South Africa Minister of Small Business Development

10 From Africa Com

12 Bonngoe TV: Dealing with the digital disruption

18 IT Departments in South Africa restricting users

26 Managing risks in cybersecurity

30 Microsoft sets new standards

38 Eutelsat expands broadband

40 Interview: Mobile Money in Africa

44 Hybrid cloud migration

48 Games & gaming

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ICT presents exciting possibilities and opportunities for small business and co-operative development. It holds the key that can unlock the potential of SMMEs in our country and region. We recognise that, working alone as individual

countries, we will never realise the full potential of SMMEs. Tech-nology has broken down geographical boundaries, dwarfed distances and shortened time. SMMEs and cooperatives cannot afford to lag behind if they want to claim their soace in the market-place.

Together, we must empower entrepreneurs in our region to leverage on the use of ICT as enabler for the development of their businesses. It is my fervent wish that, collectively, we will do whatever it takes to ensure that small businesses and co-op-eratives take advantage of the opportunities that technology avails.

First and foremost, as South Africans, we draw our inspiration from the National Development Plan which outlines a clear vision that our economy needs to be inclusive, equitable and fast growing. It is envisaged that such an economy would lead to Radical Socio-Economic Transformation, where employment opportunities will be created, inequality arrested and poverty reduced. In this regard, ICT becomes a powerful enabling tool.

As the Ministry of Small Business Development, we are deter-mined to create a conducive environment for the development and growth of small businesses and co-operatives through the provision of enhanced financial and non-financial support ser-vices, competitiveness, market access, promotion of entrepre-neurship, advancing localisation and leveraging on public and private sector procurement. We want small businesses to appre-ciate the magnitude of opportunities that need to be exploited by small businesses and co-operatives. We are aware that the ICT sector contributes approximately 6% to the country’s GDP and it would be more interesting to see how much SMMEs are contributing to this percentage.

The role of SMMEs in developing the economy cannot be over-emphasised. They play a crucial role in economic growth, employment creation, advancing innovation and fostering equi-ty. We recognise the importance of the SMME sector in dealing with our nation’s economic challenges, which include poverty, high unemployment rates and inequality. We envisage that ex-isting SMMEs will grow and become sustainable because of the opportunity and support that government is giving to them.

I can state without any fear of contradiction that ICT is an imperative part of economic growth and the sector has the

potential to contribute significantly to employment creation. Indeed, there are abundant opportunities for SMMEs in the ICT space. The general shortages of skills in the ICT sector should be turned into positive initiatives as small businesses could be developed to fill in the gaps. Some companies tend to prefer outsourcing ICT functions and this is an opportunity for SMMEs to find their space and flourish. At the same time, we need to demystify the ICT sector. Exposure and access to ICT need to be accessible to all South Africans even for our rural communities.

Together, while effectively utilising ICTs, we can unlock economic opportunities and thus achieve inclusive economic growth and sustainable employment, particularly for women, youth and people with people with disabilities.

To address the triple challenges confronting our nation requires a collective effort. The need to support SMMEs and co-operatives is a responsibility of both government and the private sector. Collectively, we carry a responsibility to stimulate and support the growth and sustainability of the co-operative and small business sector.

Together we can move our country and region through ICTs.

Ms Lindiwe ZuluMinister of Small Business Development

FOREWORD

Southern Africa Top Companies Review 2015

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DIGITAL SERVICESoffer new business opportunities in Africa

The use of data services is growing strongly in Africa, along with data revenues, fueled by factors such as the continent’s improved international connectivity, the rollout of mobile broadband networks and the increas-

ing availability of low-cost smartphones.This expansion in data use is creating new business opportu-

nities on the continent, not only in providing connectivity, but also in offering digital services including mobile financial ser-vices, e-commerce and digital content. Africa is already a world leader in mobile money, but now we are also seeing develop-ments such as the rapid growth in online shopping in Nigeria, and a proliferation of digital ventures and services.

In this report, we at Informa Telecoms & Media have set out our views about some of the key developments in the data and digital service market in Africa, and the opportunities that are opening up as a result.

Digital services offer new business opportunities in AfricaThe use of data services is growing strongly in Africa, along

with data revenues, fueled by factors such as the continent’s improved international connectivity, the rollout of mobile broadband networks and the increasing availability of low-cost smartphones.

This expansion in data use is creating new business opportu-

nities on the continent, not only in providing connectivity, but also in offering digital services including mobile financial ser-vices, e-commerce and digital content. Africa is already a world leader in mobile money, but now we are also seeing develop-ments such as the rapid growth in online shopping in Nigeria, and a proliferation of digital ventures and services.

At Informa Telecoms & Media have set out our views about some of the key developments in the data and digital services market in Africa, and the opportunities that are opening up as a result.

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BONNGOE TVon dealing with the digital disruption


The digital and internet age is seeing countless industries being disrupted by first-movers who embrace technology fastest and most effectively. Already Uber and AirBnB are threats to the traditional public transport and hospitality indus-tries, and the television and film-making industries are not immune to the threat.

BY SUNGULA NKABINDE

13Southern Africa Top Companies Review 2015

South African black-owned production house Bonngoe TV is getting ahead of the game, putting

mobile technology at the cen-tre of its growth strategy and has already begun growing its African footprint, opening an office in Lagos Nigeria, which has grown from producing 10% of group revenue to 30% in the last 12 months.

The company, founded by Pepsi Pokane in 2004, creates audio-visual content for various TV, online, radio stations and corporate brands. The group employs over 120 people and boasts an impres-sive roster of Blue Chip clients, but managing director Letitia Masina, says it has to embrace technology if it is to have any chance of becoming the pan-African media behemoth it has the potential to be.

“We leverage our significant social media presence, and create online and mo-bile-friendly programming to differentiate ourselves” says Masina. “But internet access, particularly through mobile, is getting cheaper and will be ubiquitous in the very near future. The implications for direct to-consumer (over the top) content distribution are immense…Mobile is definite-ly a big growth area and we’re currently in the process of launching our digital content division.”

Banngoe boasts two South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) for their live music show Afro Café and


entrepreneurship-building brainchild Making Moves, and was involved in the conception and continued production of Uzalo, a South African drama-series airing on SABC 1, which is the biggest show in the country attracting well over 7 million viewers per episode. Nevertheless, Bonn-goe faces the industry-wide challenge that it is still a con-tract-driven business, which relies on three key broadcast-ers - the South African Broad-casting Corporation (SABC), E-TV and Multichoice (DSTV) - for most of their work.

In addition, that barriers to entry to the sector keep dropping has increased that number of competitors, meaning more productions are being offered to the same three broadcasters, driving costs down and making it increasingly difficult to grow.

Furthermore, the immi-nent introduction of Digital Terrestrial Television will give consumers free access to many more channels, but Masina feels that South Africa’s approach to the digital migra-tion is unsustainable.

Says Masina: “There is simply not enough advertising reve-nue to sustain the number of channels that will be required. Production costs will have to plummet and more content will have to be made available (at cheaper rates).”

“The local TV industry is cyclical and is driven by short-term contracts. Every year, we deal with contract delays, which dries up cash flows. We’ve never thought of completely abandoning the Business, however, we’re constantly looking for oppor-tunities to diversify revenue streams.”

Cracking mobile

“Everyone knows there has been a change in how people are consuming content and that they are getting via other platforms and not just televi-sion. But, because our client base is the business of making TV, there is still a low uptake

in creating multi-platform content.”

The challenge is convincing clients to create additional content that will cater to consumers’ shorter attention spans. Behind-the-scenes footage that can be put online for fans of a show and snip-pets of the most talked-about TV moments for social media are just some of the strategies that broadcasters can adopt to keep up with the changing landscape.

“Because consumers are now interested in extra content. That’s why you often find instances where audience ratings (ARs) are high at the beginning of a popular show that dwindle halfway through

The toughest aspect of shifting to different platforms, particularly when it comes to mobile, is getting clients to adopt the same thinking in so far as providing content in a format that the consumer wants.

“But internet access, particu-larly through mobile, is getting cheaper and will be ubiquitous in the very near future. The im-plications for direct to-consumer (over the top) content distribu-tion are immense…”


“There is simply not enough ad-vertising revenue to sustain the number of channels that will be required”

(its airing),” says Masina.“It’s because they are on

their phones while they are watching and, as soon as they find something more interest-ing on the internet, be it on twitter or google, you have lost them.

“So we have to generate content that to carry through onto platforms that will en-gage viewers on their phones as well. If there is something that happens on Afro Café that starts to trend on twitter, for example, we have to make it easier for people to find that footage and do in a way that drives them back to our show and keeps them interested so that, next time, they tune in.

At the end of the day, it all benefits the client and, even-tually, they will come around. The change is inevitable and broadcasters will have to adapt to survive. Bonngoe is putting systems in place to be ready for when clients do wake up to the need to diversify.

Tales from NigeriaExposure to the Nigerian mar-ket began with the produc-tion of Star Gist, a magazine show commissioned for DSTV, which brings the viewer en-tertainment news from across the continent. That allowed Bonngoe to grow its network of contacts outside South Afri-ca and, in 2012 (correct year?), the company opened a sat-ellite branch in Nigeria. They are now developing shows for Kenya and Tanzania as well as Nigeria, where Masina says the pace is much faster.

“In Nigeria you can make a pitch, and if they like it, they’ll give you the go ahead before you leave through the front door. And they’ll give you a time when they expect deliv-ery,” says Masina.

“Here it can be months before you’re called be to make a second pitch. It could take years before a show is commissioned. So it’s a very different environment, with different challenges. In Nige-ria, we’re finding the cash-flow aspect is the where we are having to learn the most be-cause of the fast turnaround times.”

In the long-run, however, having a presence in east Africa will only hold Bonngoe in good stead as it will have been among the first-movers

from South Africa to enter that space. And, now, instead of being limited to three broad-casters locally, they have wider selection of potential clients.

What Masina hopes to do next in this space is to increase Bonngoe’s exposure to corporate clients and to produce more corporate tele-vision That is, the production of corporate videos, multime-dia annual reports, in-branch and other products that will make them less reliant on mainstream broadcasters.

Putting people firstKey to their growth strategy and their ability to survive the digital disruption, is hiring the best talent and, according to Masina, this hinges on filling the company with people who know more than she does. In fact she would rather invest in people than technol-ogy, if it had to be a choice of on or the other.

Says Masina: “Television has made it possible for me to be able to tell our people’s beau-tiful and compelling stories while making content that changes lives. I believe that in business you are as good as the people you surround yourself with. Some people might say it is not worthwhile to invest in people because once you give them the skills, they can move on to other companies. But the same can be said of technology, which depreciates faster with every new innovation.

You can spend a small for-tune on a camera and, within six months, there is already a better version…Let’s not forget that it is the people that have to operate the technol-ogy in the first place and it is the best people that make the best of the technology at your disposal”

Falling into TVHaving come from humble beginnings, Letitia Masina grew up wanting to be a

pharmacist. She was only ex-posed to television during her teens but, even then, “enter-tainment” was not be viewed as a credible career path. She studied Financial Information Technology before she landed a role as a presenter on a local lifestyle magazine show at the SABC, as they say, the rest is history. Today she is the man-aging director of a production house whose footprint in the television industry has been built on creating proudly South African lifestyle and en-tertainment TV shows. At 37, she doesn’t consider herself an overachiever quite yet, but attributes her relative suc-cess to having had a modest upbringing.

“I grew up with my grand-parents in a small village called Sigah in the North-West Province of South Africa. Growing up in a place that didn’t have electricity, tarred roads and plumbing definitely shaped me into the person I am today,” she says.

“It was the kind of place where the whole community raised the kids of the village. There was no time to get up to mischief because any adult could discipline you on the spot and tell your parents what you were up to, and this made me very conscious of my behaviour and taught me to act responsibly.” ■


SENSITIVE DATA

IT departments in SA still restrict users from accessing


Organizations are challenged to meet demands for greater mo-bility as 90% of IT

departments in South Africa still restrict users from access-ing sensitive corporate data and resources from mobile devices.

This is according to a recent survey amongst South African IT decision makers by Gemal-to (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security. Despite all organizations (100%) having users who require mobile or remote access, 98% of IT departments in RSA are facing obstacles to increased user mobility in their organization, the primary being IT manage-ment overhead.

The 2015 Global Authen-tication and Identity Access Management Index reveals that almost all South African respondents (90%) are con-cerned that their organization will be breached or hacked as a result of credential theft or compromise. This is exacer-bated by the rise in mobile endpoints within organiza-tions, as most organizations reported to have, on average, two mobile end points per user and managing three sets of credentials per user. Addi-tionally, 27% of South African IT support tickets are resulting from lost or forgotten user-names and passwords.

In an effort to overcome the security challenges around mobility, the majority of IT departments (84%) in RSA plan to implement two-factor authentication for access to cloud applications. Currently, 44% of users utilize two-factor

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authentication, this is expect-ed to rise to over half (58%) of users using it in two years. 40% already use two-factor authentication to secure ex-ternal users’ access to resourc-es, indicating the varied use of the technology. Almost all (90%) respondents currently have at least one application protected by two-factor au-thentication, with VPNs, local network access and cloud applications among the top three apps protected.

As IT continues to look to two-factor authentication to deal with the credentials crunch, the vast majority (94%) of respondents are seeking to do this by using cloud-based authentica-tion-as-a-service and man-aging their organization’s two-factor authentication centrally. By having the ability to implement uniform policies that address security threats in a consistent way, two-fac-tor authentication can at the same time streamline access to numerous applications. In addition, 18% of respondents’ organizations in South Africa consider the total cost of ownership and the credibility and reputation of the vendor as the two most significant considerations for selecting a two-factor authentication solution.

“The pressure is on for South African IT departments to accommodate demands for greater mobility as employees crave new and flexible ap-proaches to working,” said Neil Cosser, Identity & Data Pro-tection Manager for Africa at Gemalto. “Organizations that are not open to this change are very likely to be inhibiting business productivity.

“Users are likely to do what it takes to get the job done,

with or without permission, so when corporate resources are scattered across different sites, the need for strong authenti-cation and as-a-service deliv-ery will serve vital functions in making this happen securely. In doing so, South African organizations will be better placed to protect the iden-tities of their users, without sacrificing on productivity or data protection.”

“The growing use of cloud applications and mobile devices within organizations, combined with rising threats, and the need to reduce costs, require entirely new consid-erations for access control. Clearly there is an immediate need for authentication and access management solutions that can help South Africa organizations solve these challenges,” concluded Cosser.

“Organizations recognize the need to scale security to protect as many on-prem-ises and cloud applications as possible, especially when sourcing a two-factor authen-tication solution,” said Garrett Bekker, Senior Security Analyst at 451 Research. “The survey findings suggest that the choice of two-factor authen-tication will depend on the solution’s ability to provide centralized management, as well as secure access to the widest range of applications.”

SOME OF THE ADDITION-AL KEY FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY INCLUDE:Importance of Mobility▶Almost all (96%) respond-ents’ organizations recognize it is important to offer mobility to employees in their work practices.▶The number of users utilizing tokens for mobility in respond-ents’ organizations looks likely


to increase across the board – on average, 44% of users in respondents’ organizations are currently using them for mo-bility with this figure expected to increase to 58% on average, in two years’ time.

The purchasing decision▶When it comes to the final purchasing decision, the CIO (48%) is most likely to be the final decision maker when selecting a two-factor authen-tication solution.▶Both the total cost of own-ership and the credibility and reputation of the vendor are, according to 18% of respond-ents, the two most significant considerations when deciding which two-factor authentica-tion solution to select

Security threats and com-pliance▶Almost all (98%) respond-ents think that it is important that their organization has the ability to produce a single au-dit trail of access events taking place throughout different resources▶All 100% of respondents think that two-factor au-thentication can help their organization comply with data protection regulations and pass security audits

Background information on the surveyThe research from Gemalto polled 900 IT decision makers in July 2015, across the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Benelux, Middle East, South Africa and Hong Kong. All respondents’ organizations across a variety of sectors have at least 250 employees. Inter-views were conducted by Van-son Bourne, an independent specialist in market research for the technology sector.

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CYBER SECURITYManaging the common risk in

Cybercrime is hitting epidemic proportions. 2015 has already seen a large increase in the volume of global cyber security incidents with the likes of Sony and AshleyMadison.com amongst the high profile victims.

However, a recent PWC Global State of Information Security Survey found that despite the number of detected cyber-at-tacks increasing 66 per cent year on year since 2009, global cyber security spending has decreased by four per cent in the same period. Cyber security provisions are not being factored into business planning and budgeting, when they could protect against massive data breaches.

So, what practical approaches can business implement to protect themselves against the most common threats? Per-formanta, a specialist information security firm, offers compan-ywide initiatives that can be implemented, as well as technolo-gies that can help reduce a company’s risk.

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RISK 1: LACK OF CYBER EDUCATIONAt the moment, negligence is a huge problem. Many em-ployees are not aware of cyber security threats; this creates a weak point which can be exploited by cyber criminals. A recent Verizon report shows that 23 per cent of employees will open phishing emails and a further 11 per cent will click on attachments. Spear phishing emails attempt to target specific people within an organisation to unlawfully access its confidential data. Dynamic threats such as spear phishing target the likes of confidential intellectual property (IP) data and are an effective tool for hackers.

Employees need to be in-formed of the many potential phishing threats that they can encounter. Management should encourage an educa-tion programme that tackles the issue head on. For exam-ple, a company could create a weekly newsletter to educate staff on the latest threats to be

aware of and how to flag any potential issues. Offering basic cyber security training to all employees, including C-level executives who are prime suspects for such cyber-at-tacks, can benefit employees by increasing their threat awareness both at work and at home.

RISK 2: INSIDER THREATSInsider threats from mali-cious actors and disgruntled ex-employees are some of the more serious and common risks businesses face as they will often already have wide access to the network and to sensitive information. The practical approach to this

threat is to deploy specific technologies that tracks users, creates a profile of their move-ments and reports any anom-alies. This system will flag any abnormal user behaviour, and can provide alerts based on warning signs as they occur.

Companies should also closely monitor those ac-counts that have privileged access to the system. All access and activity on the privileged accounts should be tracked, and an independent security team deployed to audit these logs on a regular basis.

RISK 3 – BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE (BYOD)

A modern workforce now wants and expects to be able to use their personal laptops, phones and tablets to conduct business via company servers whilst being on the go. However this can create a security weak point that can allow for a breach of company’s network. Manage-ment teams should work to limit risks by establishing a comprehensive BYOD policy that all companies’ members – even C-level executives – have to adhere to.

This policy would see em-ployees educated about the risks their devices can bring, what documents it is appropri-ate to access from non-com-pany devices, and also mandate certain protections like password protection and device encryption. If a busi-ness is going to implement a BYOD policy that allows em-ployee devices full access to its network, they must treat them like a company laptop with all of the security safeguards that apply.


“Employees need to be informed of the many potential phishing threats that they can encounter. Management should encourage an education programme that tackles the issue head on”

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An agreed corporate policy gives the IT team a basis for refusing requests, or coming up with a well-thought out solution rather than being ca-joled by requests from senior company members. This type of forward thinking will help protect against the ‘nightmare’ scenario where a device is lost, unprotected, with access to sensitive corporate data.

THREAT GUIDANCEOne solution to all these risks is to seek the advice of profes-sional cyber security compa-nies who specialise in not only the technology but in creating a secure vision of the com-pany. This would incorporate all of the variables needed to protect a company with a goal to creating one holistic secu-rity plan, and then working towards implementing it. This level of foresight and planning is also an excellent way to separate the companies that simply want to just sell equip-ment, from those who wish to be security partners.

In the modern cyber secu-rity environment, CEOs and business managers have no option but to become more aware of the common cyber security risks and begin to im-plement best practices. To do any less is leaving themselves open to unacceptable levels of risk and putting their business in jeopardy. By implementing some of these guidelines, companies go from having an intangible potential leak to a measurable threat that can be responded to and dealt with proactively.

By Reza Shah who is the Marketing manager of Per-formanta (Pty) Ltd a specialist information security firm, securing enterprise businesses from the latest modern secu-rity threats. Performanta is the leading information security services provider in Africa with over 100 specialists on the ground helping customers to understand the need for data security solutions and the best practices for implementing such solutions.


Clients of South Africa based money transfer service Kawe-na Distributors are reportedly livid with the company after being notified that 70% of money sent through to recipients in Zimbabwe will have to be used to make purchases from its retail partner, OK Zimbabwe.

It is understood that this was never part of the terms and conditions for those who signed up with the service.

To send money, the client must register, and then issued with an OK Shop Easy card. Zimbabweans in South Africa then make payment to their beneficiary’s OK/Kawena Shop Easy Card.

Payment is electronically credited into the recipient’s card and can be used to make purchases at any OK, Bon Marche or OK Supermarkets in Zimbabwe.

“As from 21 November all clients will have to spend 70 % on grocery and 30% on cash when sending money to Zim-babwe,” claimed a notice at one of Kawena offices.

Network collapseUser anger intensified last week when Kawena’s network

collapsed and over 10 000 clients were requested to deposit their money into the Kawena account in South Africa.

Frustrated clients are not able to send money or withdraw monies already sent through.

There has also been speculation over whether the com-pany was in fact still in operation, with one of its clients, believed to be a competitor, engaging Facebook to commu-nicate this message.

Kawena Distributors has denied the allegations saying it could not be further from the truth and “nothing more than malicious lies from a desperate company which cannot gain any traction in this market.”

“Kawena Distributors has been in operation for over 26 years and many more to come, our partnership with OK Zim-babwe continues to operate,” the money transfer company stated.

The company did not mention the name of the compet-itor and threatened to take legal action should “slanderous attacks” against it continue.

Meanwhile, Kawena Distributors have told clients,” Please be aware that all withdrawal limits in Zimbabwe are man-aged and controlled by the management of OK Zimbabwe.”

According to figures from the Zimbabwe Ministry of Indus-try and Commerce, in 2014 about 1.9 million Zimbabweans in South Africa remit about R6.7m back to Zimbabwe each year. Approximately 20% of this money is used as remittance fees and an estimated 60% of people in Zimbabwe depend on remittances.

ZIMBABWEANS FURIOUS WITH SA-BASED MONEY TRANSFER FIRMBY STANLEY KAROMBO

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for cloud security and data privacy

MICROSOFT SETS NEW STANDARD


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One of the main stumbling blocks towards greater and faster cloud

adoption in the country is the concern over how secure cloud based services are.

In the cloud-first, mo-bile-first era, companies in every industry around the globe are using cloud com-puting to power their transfor-mation into digital businesses.

Organisations are turning to the cloud due to the business benefits that the technology unlocks and enables including cost savings, greater business agility, reduced IT complexity and gaining a competitive edge on rivals.

Even within South Africa, organisations of all sizes are utilising cloud-based services to get more work done from anywhere, anytime, using almost any device. The latest report from market research company Ipsos Mori, enti-tled SMB IT Research 2015, states that employees from 57% of South African small to medium businesses who do not need to work from the office, access their work remotely through a mobile device or PC by using a cloud service. Almost half (49%) of staff at SMBs also access their work by way of a remote desktop connection.

One of the main stumbling blocks towards greater and faster cloud adoption in the country is the concern over how secure cloud based ser-vices are. This is not a surprise given that adopting cloud services a lot of the time goes hand in hand with a company storing its highly sensitive business data remotely, where this info is physically under the control of a third party. This translates into customer trust becoming a core aspect


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of the relationship between cloud service providers and their clients. Distracted

A productive business relationship is built on the foundation of trust Trust is at the forefront of Microsoft’s platforms and ser-vices, be it through privacy by design or the security devel-opment life-cycle that is core to the company’s products and services. The company has also recently established a Digital Crimes Unit, which combines big data analysis, cutting-edge forensics, part-nerships and the law to keep customers and people safe online from cybercrime.

Microsoft’s commitments to trust are evidenced not only by its internal processes and systems, but also by its numer-ous certifications relating to privacy and security including its Safe Harbor Certification, HIIPA Certification, EU Mod-el Clauses and ISO 27001 Certification. Through its Trust Center websites, Microsoft also makes the latest information

available spanning a range of topics that include security, privacy and transparency.

Cloud security’s golden new standard – ISO/IEC 27018 The International Organisation for Standards has published ISO/IEC 27018, which is aimed at providing a global benchmark for the handling of personally identifiable information by cloud service providers (CSPs). In particular, this standard deals with cases where the cloud service pro-vider process your data, but do not control it.

ISO/IEC 27018 provides spe-cific guidance to CSPs for the assessment of risks and the implementation of state-of-the-art controls for the protec-tion of personally identifiable information (PII) stored and processed in the cloud.

Six key principles define what ISO/IEC 27018 stand-ard means to users of cloud services that comply with the standard, with the first of these being consent. CSPs may not process personal data

for purposes independent of the instructions they receive from the customer. In addition, CSP’s are not allowed to use personal data for advertising and marketing, unless express-ly instructed to do so.

The second aspect is con-trol, with customers having explicit control of how their information is used. Next up is transparency, since CSPs must inform customers where their data resides and make clear commitments about how that data is handled. This is followed by accountability, with any breach of information security having to be immedi-ately followed by a review by the CSP to determine if there was any loss, disclosure, or alteration of the customer’s PII.

The fifth principle of ISO/IEC 27018 is communication and in the case of a breach, CSPs must notify customers and keep clear records about the incident and their responses to it. Finally, CSP must subject themselves to yearly third par-ty reviews in order to remain

ISO/IEC 27018 compliant.Leading where other CSPs

fear to tread Microsoft, as the first major CSP to achieve compliance and establish controls that meet the ISO/IEC 27018 standard is a company that customers can trust with their valuable data. Customers in South Africa who utilise a Microsoft cloud service, now have a tangible and definitive manner through which to structure and deliver on their compliance obligations under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI).

Users can rest secure in the knowledge that using a cloud service that complies with the ISO/IEC 27018 standard represents the strongest com-mitment by a CSP to support a customer’s compliance with POPI and simultaneously, builds trust in the use of such services when it comes to the privacy of users and their data.

By Theo Watson, Microsoft Corporate Attorney



BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

E-COMMERCEStudy reveals the

is on the rise in South Africa

With 70 percent of South African internet users shopping online or expecting to shop online in future, South Africa, has the second largest number of potential online shoppers, com-pared to Nigeria (89 percent) and Kenya (60

percent).A recent study conducted in South Africa by global market

research company Ipsos, on behalf of PayPal and FNB, has revealed a growing interest by South African internet users to shop online. The study reveals that 22 percent of South African


internet users have said they have made purchases online, and 48 percent expect to do so in the future.

Efi Dahan, Regional Director for Africa and Israel at PayPal stated that: “E-commerce penetration in South Africa is still rel-atively low by global standards; However, the number of online shoppers is expected to nearly triple in South Africa, making the country a significant e-commerce force in the region.”

According to the study, the key drivers that would encourage South African online shoppers to shop on line more often are lower product costs (88 percent of online shoppers say this would make them more likely to shop online), faster delivery (selected by 85 percent of online shoppers), flexible delivery options (selected by 82 percent online shoppers) and safer ways to pay (selected by 75 percent online shoppers).

The study also revealed that 71 percent of current online shoppers indicated that if they did not have to keep re-entering payments or delivery details, they would be more likely to shop online more often. Meanwhile, one out of two (51 percent) South African online shoppers indicated that not having to reg-ister to a website to make a purchase would make them shop online more often.

When asked about main barriers for online shopping, 67

percent of non-online shoppers indicate that online security of payments is a reason for not shopping online, while 58 percent of those who have not shopped online say that concerns about not receiving items they have ordered is a reason they don’t shop online.

“Online security matters. This is why PayPal provides a simpler, easier and more secure way to shop and pay on millions of websites around the world,” said PayPal’s Efi Dahan. “The fact that PayPal does not share financial information with the seller when authorizing a transaction reassures consumers that their financial details are more secure. PayPal also offers buyer pro-tection for eligible purchases and can help protect consumers in cases where the purchased goods didn’t reach them, a big concern amongst South African consumers”.

As a result, over one million South African PayPal accounts have been opened. 59 percent of online shoppers who are aware of PayPal agree that PayPal is the safest online payment method. Overall, South Africans who have heard of PayPal think it is fast (80 percent), convenient (80 percent) and a safe (74 percent) way to pay.

SAVVY SOUTH AFRICAN SHOPPERSIpsos’ research found South African consumers are big fans of coupons and promotions, with 85 percent of online shoppers indicating that it would encourage them to shop online more often. The focus on promotions and online safety makes South African online shoppers savvy.

The most popular shopping categories for South Africans online are digital goods (purchased by 52 percent of online shoppers in the past 12 months), event tickets (purchased by percent), travel or transportation (45 percent), and fashion, con-sumer electronics and physical entertainment (all purchased by percent). Looking at future behaviour, 58 percent – 70 percent of online shoppers indicate that they expect to spend the same or more on those categories online next year.

INCREASED USE OF MOBILE DEVICES IN THE FUTUREThe research also suggests a future increase in South Africans shopping online using mobile devices. About 50 percent of on-line shoppers who own a smartphone or a feature phone have used it to shop online, while an additional 21 percent expect to do so in the future.

Significantly, according to the study, mobile phones are mak-ing shopping more convenient. 70 percent of mobile shoppers use their phone to shop from their home or office. Searching on mobile devices when shopping is also a common trend with 94 percent of mobile shoppers saying they use their phone to search for information about products, stores or businesses. In addition, 62 percent of mobile shoppers use their phone to compare product prices while shopping in store.


In regard to browser prefer-ences, 45 percent of mobile shoppers prefer to shop by using an app while 26percent of mobile shoppers prefer to shop from a mobile browser.

However, some barriers remain to mobile shopping, including 51 percent of those who have shopped on a mobile stating that the experience is not user friendly while 42 percent flag security concerns when shopping from mobile.

A REGIONAL COM-PARISON – SOUTH AFRICA, KENYA AND NIGERIAWith 70 percent of South

African internet users shop-ping online or expecting to shop online in future, South Africa, has the second largest number of potential online shoppers, compared to Nige-ria (89 percent) and Kenya (60 percent).

Perhaps of even more interest is how South African e-comme s for shoppers from Nigeria- the research shows 30 percent of Nigerian cross-bor-der shoppers (online shoppers who have made purchases online from another country)

have purchased goods from South Africa in the past 12 months.

With South Africans and shoppers from elsewhere turning to online shopping, it is clear e-commerce will con-tinue to grow in the country.

“the key drivers that would encourage South Afri-can online shoppers to shop on line more often are lower product costs, faster delivery (selected by 85 percent of online shoppers), flexible delivery op-tions (selected by 82 percent online shoppers) and safer ways to pay (selected by 75 percent online shoppers)”

China Curbs Online Payment in Fresh Blow to Internet Finance

Is China about to turn the corner?

China plans to tighten regulations governing the nation’s 270 online-payment firms including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s finance arm, dealing another blow to the booming business of Internet finance.Under draft rules published on July 31, the central bank will

limit the amount an individual can pay online to 5,000 yuan ($805) per day through third-party payment accounts, unless the customer’s identity can be verified by a security token and electronic signature. The People’s Bank of China is seeking public feedback by Aug. 28.

The central bank last month imposed stricter rules on the industry, which analysts expected to lead to sweeping chang-es and failures among online lenders.

Internet finance is posing a rising challenge to China’s traditional banks, which have lobbied for more regulation on third-party payments and peer-to-peer lending platforms. Online lenders helped fuel a stock-market boom that drove the benchmark index up 152 percent in the year to June 12 before crashing.

According to Friday’s draft rules, customers with at least five methods of verifications can open a so-called “comprehensive account,” which limits annual online or mobile payments to 200,000 yuan per person. With three to five verification meth-ods, customer can only open a “consumption account,” with an annual transaction limit of 100,000 yuan.

‘Unfair Advantage’The new rules will put an end to the “unfair advantage” of In-

ternet companies in competing with banks as they have been benefiting from the absence of regulation for capital, liquidity and provision requirements, Ma Kunpeng, a Shanghai-based banking analyst at Sinolink Securities Co., said in a note on Saturday.

The third-party payment industry may consolidate following the new rules, China International Capital Corp. analysts Mao Junhua and Sarah Tian wrote in a note published Monday. “Strict client identification and transaction verification will demand more technological investments and imply more challenges for irregular players.”

Third-party payment companies that have the licenses to operate online lenders such as Alibaba’s Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group Co. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. will have an edge over other players which are not allowed to offer full financial services through third-party payment accounts, the analysts wrote.

Ant Financial’s MYbank and Tencent’s WeBank are among a wave of new private banks being licensed by the govern-ment to target small loans and aim to use facial-recognition software to let users set up accounts.

The rules on third-party payment accounts followed meas-ures imposed last month on the nation’s more than 2,000 peer-to-peer websites. Internet finance firms must park all client funds at established banks and must obtain approvals from financial as well as cyberspace regulators, the PBOC said July 18.

The sites must also provide sufficient disclosure and send risk reminders to customers, it said.

BLOOMBERG NEWS

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EUTELSAT EXPANDSbroadbrand offering in South AfricaThe new satellite will have the power to provide 75 Gbps of capacity across a network of 65 spotbeams that together deliver quasi-complete coverage of Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. BY CORRESPONDENTS

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Eutelsat Communications has unveiled the next step in its broadband strategy for Africa with the order of a new-generation High Throughput Satellite that will in-crease reach and access; helping to bridge the digital

divide gap in Africa.To be launched in 2019, the all-electric satellite will be the

first to use Thales Alenia Space’s new Spacebus Neo Platform, delivering an unprecedented operational flexibility. It will be powerful enough for direct-to-user consumer and enterprise broadband services using dishes from approximately 75cm and will feed WiFi hot spots, provide mobile backhauling services and rural connectivity.

The new satellite will have the power to provide 75 Gbps of capacity across a network of 65 spotbeams that together deliver quasi-complete coverage of Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa.

This technology will be critical for Africa’s transformation plans, providing a far more cost effective solution for ensuring Universal Access in sub-Saharan Africa and complementing the services offered by terrestrial network operations. Recent stud-ies from the World Bank find that a 10% increase in broadband penetration is correlated with a 1.3% increase in GDP.

Commenting on the contract, Michel de Rosen, Chairman

and CEO of Eutelsat, said: “We are excited by the opportunity to bring the most advanced satellite broadband technologies to Africa. With the Spacebus Neo platform proposed by Thales Ale-nia Space we are pushing new boundaries in High Throughput Satellites in order to deliver quality and affordable broadband services in the many African countries where increasing Internet penetration is a key priority.”

Eutelsat’s African broadband business, including sales will be managed by its newly created London-based affiliate. Eutelsat also has the option in the coming months to upscale the satel-lite to increase significantly overall throughput and service areas.

“The new satellite will have the power to provide 75 Gbps of capacity across a network of 65 spotbeams that together deliv-er quasi-complete coverage of Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa”


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in Africa

MOBILE MONEY

BY @TELECOMS


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Charles Niehaus is Consultant Mobile Money at the International Finance Cor-

poration (IFC), part of World Bank Group. He will be a speaker in the Mobile Money programme at AfricaCom this year, with a case study on achieving interoperabili-ty through mobile financial services in Tanzania. Here’s a chance to hear from him before the event.AfricaCom: Tanzania has led the way with interoper-ability. What role have IFC played in facilitating this process ? Charles Niehaus: IFC has been the neutral broker for the industry on mobile money interoperability. This involved initial engagement with the operators to gauge interest, liaising with the Central Bank of Tanzania to facilitate an industry led process, initiating a market demand study to asses interest from consumers and agents, all leading up to facilitated workshops which unpacked the details around exactly what interoperability means and how it could work.

A: Interoperability was once perceived as a technical challenge but in Tanzania it would appear that creating a set of regulations has been the main facilitator – who has been involved in the process?CN: Technology enables in-teroperability to happen, but without a set of overarching rules operators have little legal certainty on how the busi-ness or interoperability will work. The process in Tanzania covered facilitated workshops which unpacked firstly which use cases to start with, and once these were agreed each


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get confused. Payment Regu-lations are set at a market level for all participants in the na-tional payments environment, while operating rules for a particular payment scheme have to adhere to the national payment regulations but are only enforceable between the participants.

A: Have all of the operators in Tanzania bought in to these set of regulations ? CN: The rules (not regulation) for Person to Person trans-fers have been signed and implemented by Airtel, Tigo and Zantel. Vodacom is in the process of joining but has not signed to date (Sep 2015).

A: What role did the Bank of

use case was broken down into the traditional compo-nents that scheme rules or ACH rules cover. These includ-ed the participation criteria, business models, clearing and

settlement arrangements, disputes, and risk and loss allocation. The outcome was a set of rules for each use case which all participants who decide to join the interoperability scheme adhere to. It is important to note that the operating rules and payment regulations are not the same thing and often


Tanzania play in facilitating the development of inter-operability in Tanzania ?CN: The regulations in Tan-zania created an enabling environment for industry participants to create a set of practical and applicable rules. BoT endorsed the process. It is important to note that BoT did not mandate the process or implementation as other central banks have done.

A: How does interopera-bility facilitate financial inclusion ?CN: Interoperability is a means to an end and not and end in itself. Whilst mobile money interoperability is still in its infancy, parallel industries have shown that interoper-

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How to effectively monetise apps, increase ROI and strength-en business models will be tackled at Apps World Africa 2015, being held under the auspices of AfricaCom in Cape

Town in November.Two days will be dedicated to unpacking the value of Afri-

ca-centric applications and finding innovative ways to increase return on investment, according to Katie Bilton, senior producer at Apps World.

“Topics will outline some of the mistakes made by developers when optimising their apps; how to provide security to prevent hacking sensitive data; and how to customise their approach for different platforms and how developers and MNOs can work together,” she said.

Bradley Elliott, the managing director of Platinum Seed, which founded one of South Africa’s first mobile payment solutions named CheqOut in 2012, says there is a great need for events such as this.

“We often hear of the failures and successes, but with very little detail. As an industry, we need to make a concerted effort to share these lessons, be it in the forms of the above or other mediums. What I will say is that that it’s great to see conferences and work-shops that mentor and reward app developers who are starting out.”

Elliott’s company also developed a social media analysis tool and will soon launch a household services app.

He gave ITWeb Africa a clearer idea of some of the challenges his team have been confronted with.

“App development is expensive, so in order to make a return you really either need a lot of downloads and/or a lot of usage. The apps we have developed have almost always required two parties to be involved (like mobile payments). The problem with that is that you need merchants to be using the app in order to get customer to download it, or visa versa- it’s never easy gaining traction on both sides of the coin. That said, don’t underestimate the value of data and how this can be used to gain insights to monetise your app.

His advice to African developers is that they continue to devel-op apps that add value to consumers lives because money will flow after that.

“As a rule of thumb, I generally prefer the Freemium model, that is allowing users who have a large amount of time to use the app for free and “earn” whatever additional features the app may hold, while those users with limited time but high disposable income can purchase these features.”

Apps World Africa 2015 will run alongside AfricaCom, an event focussed on the future of Africa’s digital economy at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. All African application developers (who will represent 40% of the attendance), start-ups or coders who wish to attend AppsWorld Africa may send their applications for a free conference pass.

HOW TO MONETISE APPS IN AFRICA BY MATSHELANE MAMABOLO


ability increases uptake and transaction volume. From a financial inclusion perspective this would mean more access points and transactional avail-ability for individuals as well as adding to the journey of cash digitisation.

A: Is Tanzania now enjoying the mobile money boom that Kenya had and which other African countries do you think might be able to embrace interoperability in the future ?CN: Many African markets have tried to replicate the Kenyan example with varying levels of success. The recently published World Bank Group Findex 2014 data show a very positive development in Tanzania with regards to financial inclusion, with 40 percent of the population now with access to a formal

bank account compared to 17 percent in 2011. In some regards, Tanzania’s journey has been even faster than that of Kenya and Tanzania was the first industry-led and decided interoperability implementa-tion in Africa (the others were primarily regulatory mandated or vendor driven). It may still be premature to agree what the exact correct approach to interoperability will be, but to date Tanzania is showing promising signs and is a step towards even greater pro-gress.

The Mobile Money pro-gramme will take place on Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th November at Africa-Com(CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa). Visit AfricaCom, the biggest and best tech event in Africa, this November in Cape Town.

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THE CHALLANGES & BENEFITS

A hybrid cloud environment can save businesses time and money, but there are a few hurdles that

must be overcome first, says Martin Walshaw, senior engineer at F5 Networks.

BY MARTIN WALSHAW

of hybrid cloud migration

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In the quest to remain competitive within the market, businesses are introducing more and more innovative appli-

cations to improve processes and efficiency. However, maintaining this progress requires companies to have full control of spending on data centres – something that is often challenging for many businesses. But the advent of hybrid cloud migration now allows companies to combine private data centres with public cloud resources to form a unique hybrid cloud environment.

By migrating applications to cloud services based on certain criteria, such as data protection policies, legal agreements and whether the application can be support-ed by cloud technologies, an increasing number of businesses are discovering hybrid cloud migration and the benefits that come with it. According to IDC, by 2016, over 65% of IT enterprises will be using hybrid cloud technologies, which show the market is without doubt mov-ing towards a hybrid cloud environment.

Hybrid challenges Before a completely hybrid cloud is achieved, there are a few hurdles that must be overcome. Firstly, all applica-tions transferred to the cloud will need to be supported by an array of services in order to ensure high levels of security and performance, which has both time and cost implica-tions.

Secondly, IT organisations often use a variety of solutions from multiple vendors to support their infrastructure. Trying to condense these can

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prove difficult.Finally, the idea of abandoning an on-premises solution

where the level of control is high, and switching to an external cloud service provider, remains unappealing to many.

Although all these factors can be overcome, it is important that the process of hybrid cloud migration is both simple and secure for businesses, which it can be through the use of secu-rity designs capable of evolving. Examples of these approaches include the segregation of customers at the network level as well as the storage level, and ensuring appropriate protection is in place against malicious attacks.

Hybrid benefits Arguably the major benefit of a hybrid cloud model is the ac-cessibility it provides to on-premise infrastructure, without the need to use the public internet. With the debate over net neu-trality set to rumble on and increasing levels of hacker activity online, relying solely on the internet for connectivity poses risks that are too great for most businesses to take.

Another key benefit is the ability to have on-premises IT infrastructure that can support the standard, day-to-day work-load for the business, while retaining the ability to leverage the public cloud for excess demand when the workload exceeds the computational power of the private cloud environment.

The $84.64bn questionProgression towards large-scale take up of a hybrid cloud en-vironment is definitely underway, with research conducted by Markets and Markets suggesting that the hybrid cloud market could grow from $25.28 billion in 2014 to a staggering $84.64 billion by 2019. This not only proves that businesses are invest-ing heavily into hybrid cloud migration, but also that they are aware of the benefits this technology can provide.

By simplifying IT systems for organisations, as well as for the delivery of business applications, a hybrid cloud environment has the potential to save costs and time, while reducing risk. In addition, the hybrid cloud model means the building and management of multiple data centres will become a thing of the past. As a result, more time and money can be focused towards innovation and the production of high-quality appli-cations, which in turn allows businesses to grow and remain competitive.

By Martin Walshaw, senior engineer at F5 Networks

By simplifying IT systems for organisations, as well as for the delivery of business applica-tions, a hybrid cloud environment has the potential to save costs and time, while reducing risk.


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PLAYSTATIONPlus Free Game Lineup

The PlayStation Plus Free Game Lineup for September 2015 was fantastic. We received the likes of

Grow Home, which captured the heart of the PlayStation Plus community as well as Su-per Time Force Ultra, Twisted Metal 3, and Teslagrad.

With September featuring a fantastic lineup, it looks as though the PlayStation Plus Free Game Lineup for October 2015 is equally as good.

Here are your free games for October 2015:

BROKEN AGE (PLAYSTATION 4/PS VITA) The first graphic adventure by Grim Fandango creator Tim Schafer in 16 years, featuring beautifully hand-painted 2D worlds and an all-star vocal cast, including Elijah Wood, and Jennifer Hale.

Broken Age is a timeless coming-of-age story that follows, Vella Tartine and Shay Volta – two teenagers in strangely similar situations, but radically different worlds. You can freely switch between the characters and their individual stories, helping them take control of their own lives, and dealing with the unexpected adventures that follow.

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SUPER MEAT BOY (PLAYSTATION 4/PS VITA) Team Meat’s fiendishly brilliant twitch platformer puts you in the shoes of Meat Boy, a red, cube-shaped character, as he attempts to rescue his girlfriend, Bandage Girl, from the game’s antagonist Dr. Fetus.

Across more than 300 levels, you must attempt to reach the end of each level, while avoiding crumbling blocks, deadly saw blades, and various other fatal obstacles. The core gameplay re-quires fine control and split-second timing – prepare yourself for a true test of your gaming skills!

UNMECHANICAL EXTENDED (PLAYSTATION 4/PLAYSTATION 3) Set in a fantastic world of flesh, rock and steel, Unmechanical follows a lone robot trapped in an underground complex. A handsome adventure game that combines tricky puzzle-solving, alluring exploration and engrossing atmosphere, it’s easy to pick up and play, but the challenges will truly test your logic, memory and wits.

Also joining PS Plus this month is light-hearted co-op platform-er Chariot (PS3 only), wacky side-scroller Kung Fu Rabbit (PS Vita and PS3), and rhythm-based martial arts fighter Kick-beat (PS Vita and PS3).

Also available for free on PlayStation Plus: ▶ KICKBEAT (PS Vita/PlayStation 3) ▶ KUNG FU RABBIT (PS Vita/PlayStation 3) ▶ CHARIOT (PlayStation 3)

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Your world to a better future

Sadc Top Companies ICT (AfricaCom)

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