Johannesburg – The pace and scale of technological change are racing ahead at perhaps the most incredible speed seen in human history, transforming how we live and work. New tools and technologies are creating a workplace future very different from the status quo and far more advanced than the one the tools were initially designed for. What are the burning calls to action about embracing the Metaverse? The first call is to gain an understanding of what the Metaverse is. The second important point is to ask whether this applies to your business and how will you show value if you…
Author: Tebogo Nkabinde
Slack is becoming a document editor. The Salesforce-owned company announced today at its developer conference that it is building a new feature, called Canvas, that will let users create and edit full docs from within the Slack interface. It’s one of Slack’s biggest announcements in a while and maybe its biggest departure ever from its email-killer roots. The idea behind bringing documents to Slack seems to have been to match everything about Slack that’s productive and useful but pull it out of a fast-moving chat window and into a more permanent and findable space. Canvas documents (which Slack calls canvases) can…
The International Energy Agency (IEA) in its ‘Breakthrough Agenda Report 2022’ says international collaboration will be critical to successfully transition to sustainability, given the global scale and fast pace of change that is required. “Action by governments and businesses individually is necessary, but not sufficient. Well-targeted international collaboration can make low-carbon transitions faster, less difficult and lower cost. “By aligning and coordinating actions internationally, countries and businesses can accelerate innovation, create stronger signals for investment and larger economies of scale, and establish level playing fields, where needed, to ensure that competition is a driver of the transition and not a…
MTN and Ericsson have announced a successful launch of the 5G services in across Africa. Ericsson and MTN Nigeria have reached a historic milestone with the successful launch of 5G services. This landmark deal is the result of a fruitful collaboration spanning 21 years reaffirming a rich culture of partnerships between the two parties. The first phase of the launch covers certain parts of Lagos and Nigeria where Ericsson’s 5G technology – which includes 5G Radio Access Network & NSA Packet Core – will accelerate the development and digitalization of key sectors such as education, healthcare and manufacturing. It will…
Telecommunications minister, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says South Africans may in future want to license the use of WiFi, at least in some parts of the country. And regulator the Independent Communications Authority of SA must keep looking at the possibility of doing so, later if not sooner. Ntshavheni recently published the “Next Generation Radio Frequency Spectrum Policy for Economic Development” for a 30-day period of public comment. It proposes a fundamental overhaul of the way the limited spectrum used by the likes of mobile phones and WiFi devices is treated. Those who use free-for-all, unlicensed spectrum – and so do not benefit…
Companies struggle to use AI to improve the way their businesses operate, a challenge that can be mitigated by following five rules. There are two faces to the machine-learning component of artificial intelligence algorithms. There are the gee-whiz competitions in which data grand masters, given fixed rules, design algorithms that set in motion a race to solve aspects of complex problems like HIV or traffic forecasting. Open-source libraries have been created to house the winning solutions, allowing parts of them to be used again in future contests. Because speed is crucial, automated data manipulation and pattern identification are frequently employed.…
The South African Reserve Bank has given its regulatory approval for a new partnership designed to exclusively serve the SME sector. The collaboration has been developed through a partnership between Lulalend and Access Bank South Africa Ltd. The new platform, called Lula, has been specifically designed to address the most common challenges SMEs face when managing their finances.Despite being a vital cog in the economic development of the country, SMEs remain underserved by traditional banking institutions. Frequently cited frustrations from business owners include high and hidden costs, impersonal or slow service, and difficulty accessing funding. This in turn impacts their bottom…
Professional services firm KPMG South Africa CEO Ignatius Sehoole has been appointed as the chairperson of KPMG Africa and a member of the KPMG Global board, with effect from 1 October. “In this role, Ignatius will implement a collective approach where clients will see KPMG’s Africa firms work together to represent the continent and have the ability to serve and create consistency in the way we do business,” says KPMG South Africa chairperson Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu. KPMG’s Africa region represents 54 countries in the continent within the East, West and Southern Africa areas, as well as the Francophone countries. KPMG has 21 member…
The Agribusiness Confidence Index (ACI), published by the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and the Industrial Development Corporation, deteriorated by seven points to 53 in the third quarter. “The third-quarter results present a picture of a sector that remains on a sound footing, but one that is confronted with a range of challenges,” says Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo. “This moderation in sentiment suggests that 2022 could show a contraction in South Africa’s agriculture gross-value-add. However, this does not mean the sector is in terrible shape. The base in 2021 is high and we see slightly lower harvests in…
Uber says it’s investigating a “cybersecurity incident” amidst reports that the company’s internal systems have been breached. The alleged hacker, who claims to be an 18-year old, says they have administrator access to company tools including Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform. The New York Times reports that the ride-hailing business has taken multiple internal systems, including Slack, offline while it investigates the breacWhen contacted for comment by The Verge, a spokesperson for the company declined to answer additional questions, and pointed to its statement on Twitter. “We are currently responding to a cybersecurity incident. We are in touch with law enforcement…
