OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2015ISSUE 09

LET’S TALK

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The Official Journal of the Altron TMT Group

A seamless transitionfor Bytes Technology Group

Changing lives on a daily basis

Take your health records with you wherever you go

Cloud based solutions provide global opportunities

p.04 A message from Robbie Venter, chief executive: Altron

p.06 A message from Laurence Savage, Altron operations executive:

telecommunications and multi-media

p.07 A message from Rob Abraham, chief executive officer: Bytes Technology Group

p.08 In short News snippets from Altron TMT

p.10 A seamless transition

p.12 The strategic update Here’s looking at you, future Altron

p.16 BPS receives recognition at CompTIA awards

p.17 Tech Talk Let’s not go the way of the caveman

p.20 Changing lives on a daily basis Altron contributes interactive classroom

solutions to Ithuthe Primary School

p.23 Raring to go We look at the roles and responsibilities

of the shared services leads

p.26 Take your health records on holiday The LifeDocTM solution could save your life

p.28 Know your company, know your group Let’s Talk TMT takes a closer look at

Altech Radio Holdings

p.30 Partnership boosts the financial services industry

Let’s Talk TMT chats to Jerome Hoffman, director of business

development, Africa, Broadridge.

ContentsFeature Articles

p.10

p.20 p.26

p.40

p.32 Altech NuPay acquires Delter IT Altech NuPay extends its reach in the

microfinance market

p.33 Africa’s first Xerox 1000i to boost production at House of Print

p.34 BPS contact centres Delivering on customer expectations

p.36 Altech Netstar to the rescue

p.37 Copy express launches franchise drive with BDS

p.38 Taking Kronos to the cloud Bytes SI opens new markets for the

organisation

p.39 BDS and Xerox excel at African exhibitions

p.40 Global opportunities through the cloud

Cloud-based solutions from Bytes SI will assist in gaining new markets

p.42 Bringing printing to life BDS helps Live Print to expand its

product portfolio

p.44 Know your company, know your group Let’s Talk TMT takes a closer look at

Bytes Systems Integration

p.47 Fighting crime through successful network sharing Altech Alcom Matomo appointed by SAPS to upgrade existing Terrestrial Trunked Radio network

p.48 Keeping passengers informed Altech Alcom Matomo ensures

enhanced communications between railway drivers and control centres

p.49 Document security risks BDS provides secure document

management solutions

Editorial Information

The Official Journal of Altron TMT

Issue 09 l October - December 2015

p.50 Cape Town could conquer the contact centre industry

p.52 Bytes helps the Aurum Institute improve data management

p.54 Innovation sets FNB apart Bytes MS sponsors CodeFest 2.0

p.55 Staff competition Your chance to win a R500 pre-loaded Altech NuPay NuCard

Let’s Talk TMT Editorial Team:Chris Van Zyl Altron TMT - Editor Dave Hawkins Altron TMT - DesignerShona Minards Altron TMT - PR & CommsBelinda Glenn Altron TMT - Writer

Contributing Editors:Andrea Riem Altech AutopageBrenda Croucamp Arrow Altech DistributionCandice Frank Altech NuPayCorli Laas Altron TMTEsme Eloff Bytes Healthcare SolutionsLisé West Bytes Systems IntegrationLouisa Swanepoel Altech ISISMadelein Vermaak Bytes People SolutionsRenette van Zyl Altech NuPayStuart Hanford Arrow Altech DistributionSue Ranson Altech FleetcallTanya Moodley Bytes Document Solutions

For all editorial contributions or queries:Shenanda Janse van RensburgEmail: sjvrensburg@altech.co.za

Chris Van ZylEmail: cvanzyl@altech.co.za

Publisher:Altron TMT

Keep in touchwww.altrontmt.com www.altech.com l www.bytes.co.za

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form, without the prior written permission of Altron TMT.While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the content, Altron TMT cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or damages that may occur.

Page 04 l Let’s Talk TMT

Dear Colleagues,

The past year has been particularly challenging for all of us – both at a group and operational level. The South African and global economies have experienced considerable market pressures, which in turn, have impacted our overall performance.

As a consequence, following the release of our interim financial results in October, we announced our intention to focus on three areas that would be crucial to our future success, namely, business strategy and structure, cost reductions and assets.

In light of this, over the past few months, remedial action has been taken to ensure we transition Altron into a leaner, more agile business operation. To this effect, the closure of the Altech Node business in October, the disposal of the Altech Autopage GSM subscriber bases, and our announcement that we have sold two businesses in the Powertech Group, will assist us in focusing on those core operations where we can leverage our competitive advantage, predominantly in the information technology and telecommunications space.

Furthermore, an area that has been identified as a key driver of efficiencies in the group is the consolidation of shared services at an Altron level to further reduce support service costs, improve functional alignment and enhance efficiencies. In this regard, in September I announced the appointment of the various shared services leads who will assist Emile Burger, Altron group executive: shared services, in the implementation of shared services at group level.

In addition, we have completed the consolidation of the existing head offices of Altron and Altron TMT. As of 1 December, we have a single head office at our Parktown premises while certain shared services functions have moved to the Altech Autopage building in Midrand. This consolidation has seen the group record sizeable cost savings.

I am under no illusion that the coming year will present its own challenges, and collectively we need to remain focused, dedicated and committed to ensure that we achieve our objectives. I therefore wish you a peaceful and restful holiday break. Spend time with your family and loved ones and recharge in preparation for the New Year.

I would like to thank all of you for your hard work, support and loyalty during 2015 and I look forward to your return in January - well-rested, rejuvenated and ready to tackle the year ahead.

Thank you.Robbie Venter

Robbie VenterA message from

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 05

CONVERGENCE.ONE WORD,ENDLESS SOLUTIONS.

www.altrontmt.com

Convergence is so much more than just delivering voice, video, data and mobility solutions from a single service provider. It’s also about converging different business assets across telecommunications, multimedia and information technology to provide leading industry solutions, tailor-made to your business needs.

Page 06 l Let’s Talk TMT

Every year seems to go by faster and faster and 2015 was no different as once again, in the blink of an eye, the year comes to a close and we look forward to the festive season break.

This past year was a mixed bag for Altron TMT’s Telecommunications and Multimedia divisions. We saw consolidation in several of the markets in which we operate and the bleak economy resulted in some severe headwinds for a number of our businesses.

However, I am proud to say that the management and staff in these businesses faced the challenges head-on, generating new contracts and serving customers beyond their expectations, thereby ensuring core stability across the group.

In October, we saw Altech Node cease to operate as a stand-alone product, but the technology has been absorbed and, with its

world-class innovations, will be used to its full extent within the Multimedia division in the future. In a number of instances throughout history, we have seen products released a little ahead of their market timing, and this is probably one of those occasions.

Looking back over the year, we experienced both highs and lows across our businesses.

In February 2015, the Telecommunications and Multimedia businesses delivered revenue in excess of R11 billion for the full financial year, marginally down on the prior year, but with a healthy EBITDA profit contribution with stable margins. In the Telecommunications division, Altech Radio Holdings was the star performer, growing its revenue by 63% to just short of R750 million and growing its profitability by over 50% year-on-year. Both Altech

Netstar and Bytes Systems Integration continued to be anchors of stability, reliable profit and consistent margins.

Within the Telecommunications division, the strategic decision to exit the mobile phone market was made, which triggered the selling of the customer base contracts back to the mobile networks. This has remained a central focus for the Altech Autopage management team and staff throughout the year. I commend the absolute resilience and fortitude that this business has displayed during this challenging change. Our Multimedia division continued to anticipate the digital terrestrial roll-out from which we would benefit significantly. However, the state of flux in which this programme remains, has impacted severely on Altech Multimedia which has had to severely curtail costs and focus on securing alternative business to retain stability within the operation. To this end, Altech UEC has recently secured manufacturing opportunities in the Lotto sector which is a close adjacency to its core business. We hope to see this operation grow from strength to strength and through the perseverance of management and staff, return to healthy growth both in the set-top box market and its chosen adjacencies.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to bid Craig Venter farewell and wish him every success in his new ventures going forward. Craig dedicated his working life to Altech and will always be synonymous with the brand. On behalf of the employees, I extend thanks to Craig for his leadership, guidance and dedication to Altech and ultimately Altron TMT.

The year ahead will see our focus remain on ensuring quality of service and product delivery, continued commitment to growing our core businesses, keeping abreast of market trends and, above all, remaining the provider of choice in maintaining a competitive offering.

I wish you and your families a restful festive season and travel safely whenever you are on the roads. Come back refreshed and ready to face the challenges and leverage the opportunities that 2016 will no doubt deliver.

Laurence SavageA message from

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 07

We are living in tough times and it is certainly not business as usual for many South African organisations, particularly those in the Information Technology (IT) sector. This is reflected in a recent Gartner report that forecasted a 5,5% year-on-year decline in global business IT spend for 2015.

How then is it possible for Bytes Technology Group to report a half-year headline earnings increase of 15% from last year, and in the process deliver 11% better than budget?

The answer lies in Bytes’ astute leadership team. Our organisation is extremely lucky to have a trusted group of highly capable executives who are all experienced and accustomed to delivering great results. Each business has built into its DNA the desire to lead through customer satisfaction by delivering the best technology solutions possible. Although Bytes, like its competitors, is not immune to market pressures, through dedication, commitment and teamwork we will continue to succeed in our objective of remaining South Africa’s largest IT services provider.

Allow me to provide some insight into the performance of each of the Bytes businesses.

Over the past few months Bytes Secure Transaction Solutions, consisting of

Altech Card Solutions, Altech NuPay, MediSwitch and Med-e-Mass, has performed well with operating profits up for the first six months year-on-year.

Although Bytes Document Solutions has been severely impacted by the reduction in print volumes, together with the negative effect of the Rand’s devaluation, I am pleased with the way the business has proactively adapted to the changes in the document print market. Through the disposal of non-core print-related businesses such as BDS UK, LaserCom and PaperGeni, Bytes Document Solutions is poised to continue its positive trajectory for the full year, having already increased revenue and delivered profits higher than expected.

Our other businesses have also performed well in adverse market conditions with Bytes UK delivering excellent results, above budget and ahead of expectations.

Bytes Managed Solutions, coming off a high base and having disposed of its retail ATM business, contributed better than its anticipated operating profit budget. Competitive pressures, together with the commoditisation of IT infrastructure products and services, have been challenging for this business, but every effort is being made to rectify the situation and deliver stronger results in the second half of the financial year.

The acquisition and reorganisation of Inter-Active Technologies into Bytes People Solutions has seen the latter double its revenues and increase operating profits and the business is on track to become the outsourcing provider of choice for many South African organisations.

In terms of our partner relationships, as IT products and services become more globalised we have a responsibility to continue to service our partners such as NCR, VeriFone, Teradata and Volante to the best of our ability.

It is incumbent on us as partners to ensure that these best of breed technologies are correctly positioned and sold in their respective target markets. It is clear that we are operating in a volatile economic market, but rest assured that Bytes is well positioned to keep on delivering great results as it cements its position in its current chosen verticals, and looks to penetrate new markets in its pursuit of success.

ROB ABRAHAMA message from

in short

Page 08 l Let’s Talk TMT

The Caltex FreshStop chain maintained its leading position in the South African retail convenience store market when it opened its 200th store in August 2015 in Polokwane. To celebrate the occasion, FreshStop gave away 200 000 apples at its stores countrywide.

Bytes Managed Solutions (Bytes MS) has partnered with FreshStop and Caltex since the inception of this unique franchising concept. Collectively, Bytes MS is responsible for the procurement of hardware, installing the software, training cashiers and managers on-site and managing, configuring and testing both the forecourt and shop point-of-sale systems. To enable a smooth transition, Bytes MS, FreshStop and Chevron staff work closely together using a proven project methodology. Weekly meetings are held and all aspects of the project are discussed and documented. A typical new store project is completed over a period of approximately four to five weeks.

Bytes MS is also responsible for ensuring that the equipment is functioning 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. To achieve this, the organisation has trained and equipped field staff in all regions of the country, with technical support staff based in Johannesburg and Cape Town to assist with any second level support issues. Should they be unable to resolve a technical problem, the support team communicates directly with the Chevron Retail Systems Support (RSS) centre that is based in the Philippines.

RETAINING POLE POSITION at the forecourts

The grand opening of the 200th Caltex FreshStop store in Ivydale, Polokwane.

Bytes People Solutions (BPS) has expanded its training offerings to include IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) training.

“The ICT Academy business unit of Bytes People Solutions has traditionally been seen as a vendor-specific training provider for courses in Microsoft, Oracle and others, delivering training in line with vendors’ certification requirements,” says Pieter Nel, the executive of IT Learning Solutions within BPS.

After engaging with its clients to ensure that their employees were skilled in the necessary technical requirements, it became obvious that while the technical training was addressing vital technology requirements, it just wasn’t enough.

Often the companies were feeling frustrated by a lack of clearly-defined best practices when it came to implementing and managing their high quality IT solutions.

BPS decided to offer ITIL training to its clients from its branches in Cape Town, Midrand and Umhlanga Ridge, and to offer onsite training if a client requests it.

“The IT Infrastructure Library is the world’s most widely accepted approach to the management and delivery of IT services,” says Pieter. “By implementing ITIL, an organisation can overcome that reactive cycle and get clear insight into the total cost of ownership (TCO) and activities in the IT department.”

The BPS trainers are all well versed in specific technologies including Microsoft, Citrix and VMware, which ensures that the class discussions are both ITIL specific as well as project specific. Pieter says that the introduction of ITIL courses is part of a journey by BPS to tailor its training to be in line with best practices and processes.

TRAINING TO TAME your IT processes

Pieter Nel, executive of Learning Solutions at BPS, says IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) training is vital for the delivery of IT services.

in short

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 09

Altron has advised shareholders that Powertech has entered into an agreement to dispose of its Powertech System Integrators (PTSI) business to Capitalworks Private Equity Advisor Proprietary Limited or its nominee for a purchase price of R140 million exclusive of VAT.

The deal excludes the businesses of Powertech QuadPro and Technology Integrated Solutions.

Commenting on the transaction, Robbie Venter, chief executive of Altron, said: “The disposal of PTSI follows a joint strategic decision by both Altron and Powertech that PTSI was no longer a core asset for the Altron group and accordingly should be disposed of to a third party that would be better suited to further develop the business.”

ALTRON TO DISPOSE OF POWERTECH SYSTEM INTEGRATORS (PTSI)

The deal will become effective following the fulfilment of the last of the conditions precedent and the proceeds realised will be used to reduce the overall Altron group debt.

“The disposal of PTSI is in line with Altron’s new strategy to focus the group’s competitive advantage in the IT and telecommunications space and limit our exposure to the manufacturing sector,” concluded Robbie.

Altron announced that Powertech has entered into an agreement to dispose of a controlling equity stake in its shareholding in Aberdare Cables and Aberdare International and will dispose of 100% of its shareholding in Aberdare Europe, comprising its Spanish and Portuguese operations, to Hengtong for approximately R1, 232 billion in cash.

Listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Hengtong is the fourth largest cable manufacturer in China and one of the largest cable manufacturers in the world.

Hengtong’s scale and expertise makes it a strong strategic partner able to support Aberdare Group’s growth strategy through a process of technology innovation, product expansion, systems development and technical expertise.

Commenting on the announcement, Robbie Venter, chief executive of Altron, said: “This is another positive step in the implementation of our strategy to identify committed equity partners

ALTRON announces disposal of Aberdare Group for R1, 232 billion

best suited to support the needs and growth ambitions of our manufacturing businesses, an area of the group in which we have opted to reduce our exposure.”

Aberdare Cables will also have access to Hengtong’s vast operating experience and strong global balance sheet. In return, Aberdare Group offers an attractive platform for Hengtong to expand in South Africa, Africa and Europe.

“Altron is making good progress in reducing its exposure to certain manufacturing assets and using the proceeds to reduce the group’s overall debt as well as allowing it to focus and grow in the Information Technology and Telecommunication markets. We will continue to seek opportunities that support the creation of a smaller, but far more agile group that has high growth potential,” added Robbie.

Page 10 l Let’s Talk TMT

Bytes Technology Group (Bytes) is not an ordinary information technology (IT) group. Its size, performance and innovative partnerships set it apart as the country’s premier IT infrastructure and services provider.

Rob has been at the helm of Bytes since 2010, following a career in the South African IT sector spanning more than three decades. He began his career with Olivetti as a salesman, and spent 20 years there, being promoted several times in the process. When Olivetti sold its IT arm, Rob was headhunted by Usko, which was later bought by Altron.

In the time that Rob has been at the helm of Bytes, the company has almost doubled in size, mostly from organic growth.

“Our business concept has always been to help our customers where they need help and we do that by representing the world’s leading brands. It’s on that business philosophy that we have managed to build Bytes into the largest African IT company.”

Turning 63 in 2016, Rob believes now is the right time for him to retire and hand over the reins to Andrew.

“I have always said to myself that I wanted to retire at 63 if the business was in good

A SEAMLESS

TRANSITIONWhen Rob Abraham retires as Bytes Technology Group CEO in March, and his successor, Andrew Holden, assumes the mantle of leadership, it will be the culmination of three years of strategic planning for the handover.

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 11

shape, and particularly if there was a suitable, capable candidate to succeed me. Luckily, on both counts, the succession plan will be seamless as Bytes is performing well in a competitive operating environment and poor economic climate, and Andrew is an outstandingly capable and qualified successor.”

What both Rob and Andrew share, and what will contribute to a smooth transition, is their common belief that the customer comes “first, second and third” and that the Bytes business needs to be underpinned by integrity, trust and superior customer service.

Under Rob’s leadership, Bytes has grown and diversified in several ways, in terms of expanded product and service offerings in areas such as biometrics, partnerships with global technology leaders such as Volante and Broadridge Financial Solutions, and the growth of the Bytes business and brand in Africa (with offices in Namibia, Mauritius and Mozambique).

According to Telkom’s annual report for the year ended 31 March 2015, which included a section on the revenues of major South African ICT companies in 2014, Bytes’ 2014 revenue of R8,8 billion was the highest among the country’s leading IT service providers including Dimension Data, Business Connexion, EOH and T-Systems, all of which generated revenues from IT services of between R3,5 billion and R8 billion for 2014.

One of Andrew’s key objectives from the moment he takes the leadership baton will

be to ensure continuity in operations and performance of the various Bytes businesses, and additionally, to build on the legacy of excellence that Rob created.

“Rob has led Bytes with distinction for many years and under his leadership, we have seen the organisation develop into the country’s largest IT services provider. All the businesses in Bytes prioritise customer satisfaction above everything else by delivering the best technology solutions possible and although we are not immune to market challenges, our goal remains to be the IT services provider of choice for South African businesses,” Andrew says.

Andrew himself is no stranger to Altron and its subsidiaries, having served the organisation in various capacities for more

than 20 years. In his roles as chief operating officer of CS Holdings (later acquired by Bytes Technology Group), managing director of Bytes Connect (the amalgamation of three Bytes businesses - Bytes Outsource Services, Bytes Communication Systems and Intelleca) and heading up the implementation of a shared services model at both Bytes and Altech, Andrew has undertaken, and successfully implemented, large-scale change management processes and has been responsible for the planning, design and execution of organisational risk management processes. For these reasons, says Rob, Andrew was chosen to ensure Bytes reaches even greater heights in the coming years.

“I have worked with Andrew for many years and he has demonstrated the necessary skills, strategic insight and integrity of character to ensure Bytes’ customers receive the highest quality of service going forward. Andrew was responsible for implementing a shared services model at Bytes and then across the Altron TMT division, following the amalgamation of the Altech and Bytes businesses into a single, integrated organisation,” Rob adds.

Emile Burger, currently Bytes’ operations manager, has already been working closely with Andrew to ensure a smooth handover when Emile assumes the position of Altron group executive: shared services in March.

Our business concept has always been to help our customers where they need help and we do that by

representing the world’s leading brands.

Andrew Holden will take over from Rob Abraham.

Page 12 l Let’s Talk TMT

It is a well-known fact that business is cyclical. Yet, so often when the downturn comes, it feels like the end of the world.

Altron’s current situation is not unique. We are not the first, and will not be the last company to go through tough times. It is also not the first time in Altron’s history that turbulence has struck, and it will surely not be the last either. We are an international conglomerate, exposed to many markets and therefore, risk on many fronts. But our diversity is also the source of considerable opportunity.

We find ourselves in this difficult position because of a combination of market conditions and the fact that some of our assets are too capital intensive and not yielding the required returns. Both these reasons warrant closer scrutiny.

HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, FUTURE ALTRON

As Altron weathers a significant business performance storm, we would be well advised not to let the opportunity this crisis presents go to waste, but to make the most if it in preparation for the future.

DR WILLIE OOSTHUYSENAltron group executive: strategy & technology

The Strategic

MARKET FORCESThe market we are operating in is a difficult place at the moment. The economic slowdown continues and the Reserve Bank has just raised the interest rate, which increases the cost of debt. The dramatic slump in the exchange rate is exposing us to a huge currency risk due to our imports, while domestic electricity supply woes aggravate the situation.

Add to this increasing labour unrest in the manufacturing and services sectors, and the continuing shortage of specialised skills, and the scene is set for a rough ride.

South Africa’s GDP is simply not growing to its potential and government’s inability to curb corruption and excessive spending, and create an investor friendly environment are not helping matters at all.

The top business risks we are facing in South Africa are:

1. Corruption, and particularly the fact that it is threatening to become systemic and part of the culture of doing business here.

2. Governance failure, particularly in terms of the delivery of critical infrastructure such as water and electricity.

3. Fiscal crises in multiple key international economies that we are linked to and depend upon for trade. These represent both our traditional

trade partners (Europe) and the emerging economies with whom we want to partner increasingly in future (Russia, Brazil and China).

4. Cybercrime is a growing threat as we enter the digital business arena, but it is also regarded as a leading indicator of a weak economy. Companies increasingly solicit individuals for business through text and email messages, and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the bona fide offers and the scams.

5. Inequality and income disparity that lead to unequal access to resources and opportunity is an incredibly dangerous feature of our society. Aggravating its impact is the fact that the state outsources some of its responsibilities, such as providing healthcare and post-retirement support, to companies. To remain profitable with this increased burden, companies raise prices – only to become uncompetitive globally.

The reality is that tighter fiscal policy is needed everywhere, from government and companies, right down to the level of families and individuals. The downside to individual consumers choosing to save their money rather than spending it, is that the economy doesn’t receive the stimulus it so badly needs to keep moving.

Fortunately, there are positives as well. Some foreign investment is still coming into the country. The fact that it is mainly from China can be good news. Western investors tend to invest in the stock market or put their money in the bank to earn interest at much higher rates than is available in their own countries. Either way, it’s not money that remains here for a long

time and is commonly known as “hot money” that can enter and leave the market relatively quickly. These are not long-term, asset-based investments that build infrastructure and create long-term opportunities for local businesses.

In contrast, the Chinese buy equity in companies, and buy or build manufacturing facilities. They have a higher risk appetite for long-term foreign investments that manifest in physical assets. This is borne out by the signing of 26 agreements worth R94 billion by the Chinese and South African governments at the beginning of December.

THE ALTRON PORTFOLIO

When Altron’s transformation process started more or less three years ago with the buyout of the Altech minorities and later the Bytes Technology Group minority shareholder, our stated goal was that Altron would become an operating entity, instead of being a holding

company. That goal has largely been achieved, bringing with it specific implications and responsibilities.

Although the group still has a largely federated structure and operates as a federation, certain decisions are now made at the centre and for the common good of the whole company. Examples of these are the implementation of shared services, a focus on long-term development instead of annual income statement performance, and more structured decision making regarding capital allocation.

It is a fact that to grow the business we need access to money. Because of our current debt position and relatively low share price, we cannot freely access new capital. We need to look at ways of relieving the debt burden and raising new capital to invest in our business where we can create and sustain competitive advantage. One way of doing this is to sell some assets

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 13

Page 14 l Let’s Talk TMT

that do not perform to the expectations of the shareholders. These are typically the capital intensive businesses with low returns and high risk.

Optimising our portfolio of assets and the allocation of our capital is the responsibility of Altron as an operating entity and the Altron Executive Committee (Exco) is currently doing exactly this. In addition, we are identifying where growth and sustainability in the core business can be found.

In this regard, we are focusing on a number of key strategic themes:

• Complete Altron’s transformation into an operational entity.

• Focus attention and capital on the TMT side of the business where we have the competitive advantage, skills and resources to compete.

• Reduce our exposure to infrastructure and manufacturing.

• Implement a leaner management structure that will allow us to be more agile and able to respond to changes in the industry.

• Continue to look for smaller, profitable bolt-on acquisitions in our core growth areas.

• Consolidate shared services at the Altron level to optimise functions and reduce duplication and cost.

• Improve operating profits.

• Grow the company in areas where the rates of return on capital is good enough to compensate our shareholders for the risk they take. This means that we will only invest in group companies that give the desired rates of return.

• Build investor confidence in the business.

• Build international partner confidence in Altron.

To realise these strategies, difficult decisions have to be made and carried out.

ALTRON IN THE FUTURE

With all these changes in the air, it can be difficult to visualise the future. The Altron Exco struggled with this at our strategy planning session in October but came away with a number of pointers that outline Altron’s shape once the transformation process has been concluded.

The newly configured company will have much less capital invested in the business as a result of far more discipline around investments and how they are managed and measured.

Our asset mix will favour higher margin businesses with lower capital intensity, and overhead costs will be closely managed (such as a leaner management structure).

Our focus will be on building a sustainable competitive advantage by employing McKinsey’s power curve of economic profit (refer to issue 7, April to June 2015, of Let’s Talk TMT for more detail).

This model examines a company in terms of three sets of data:

• Endowment, in other words who you are and the assets you have to do what you say you will. An important part of this is also to assess the quality contribution of the assets to shareholders by using wealth metrics.

• Where you play, namely your vertical and geographic markets, and the trends that affect these markets.

• Big moves, or the bold actions you have to take to move yourself from average to above average, and to prevent yourself from slipping to below average.

In terms of this model, the industry in which a company plays is a critical success factor. For us it means that Altron has to move more aggressively into more attractive growth industries, such as telecoms and IT valued added services.

Another success factor is exposure to a high GDP growth rate. Lack of GDP growth is a serious drawback when it comes to doing business in South Africa at the moment, hence we have to diversify our business also to get greater exposure to hard currencies and to create growth through geographic diversification. This makes a strong case for us moving into Africa with our customers and capitalising on the continent’s growth. As business in Africa is Dollar-based, such a move will also provide us with the income from strong currencies needed to protect us from the impact of Rand volatility.

The bad news is that there is no quick-fix or way out of our current situation. We have to follow a phased approach and together we will all have to endure the discomfort of change for the next few months.

The good news, however, is that Altron has a lot going for it, and that there is no reason at all why we cannot recover and become an even more successful business in future.

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 15

WHERE ALTRON IS SUCCEEDING: THE ALTECH NETSTAR EXAMPLE

Altech Netstar is our biggest value creator at the moment, for the following reasons:

• It is a large company in its market, which provides a leverage opportunity. Were the company to become bigger, it will be better and its cost base will remain lower than its growth rate.

• It is in an attractive market. People want better fleet management options and services such as optimised fleet logistics, route mapping, driver behaviour monitoring and rewards for good driving habits.

• The barrier to entry is fairly high in Altech Netstar’s fleet and telematics market, which keeps competitors out.

Several big moves are available to Altech Netstar, provided it continues to invest in R&D:

• Business analytics can reduce the stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) churn and by transitioning existing customers to the telematics offering, Altech Netstar can look after them better and create more value, which will drive customer loyalty.

• The company can take its fleet services to other countries. This globalisation of its IP is an excellent way of taking advantage of the exchange rate status quo.

• The Internet of everything (IoE) is a great opportunity for Altech Netstar to move into the tracking of high value assets that are not supposed to move, which could be an attractive value proposition for insurance companies.

The above is just one example of the level of detail that we went into during the Altron Exco strategic planning meeting on each company’s strategies. The diagram below indicates the endowment of Altron, trends in the industry and geographies that we operate in. We also went into a detailed discussion of the current state of each of our businesses to including their start position. The last bar shows some of the Big Moves or strategic choices that are available to Altron.

Given the asset sets that Altron owns and operates, there is a bright future for the company going forward. More details on this strategic plan will be communicated early in the New Year.

STARTING POSITION ENDOWMENT TRENDS BIG MOVES

• Lower quintile on the EP power curve today

• Invested:• Telecoms• IT assets• Power

infrastructure• Multimedia

• Large company• Low degree of

differentiation• Low headroom for

productivity improvement• Medium leverage• Low R&D relative to

turnover• Medium geographic

diversification• Medium industry

attractiveness• Lack of transformation in

management structures• Less capital intensive• Low or no exposure to

manufacturing

• Globalisation• Increased cost of capital• Political and labour instability• Dependency on few key

customers• High debt levels• Currency weakness• OEMs going direct to

customers and margin recovery from channels

• Manufacturing weak in RSA• Lack of infrastructure spend• Telecoms and IT

infrastructure spend increases

• Technology trends favourable to assets held as core

• Transition to operating company• Divest non-core assets• Establish new method of allocating

& measuring capital usage – EVA• Leaner top management structure• Focus on Telecoms and IT assets

where competitive advantage created

• Invest in high return, lower capital requirements

• Lower cost of capital with debt reduction

• Operating efficiencies through shared services

• Cross and Upsell investment• Invest freed up capital in IT and

Telecoms assets• Geo expansion

ALTRON ODDS IN THE NEXT DECADE

+ + +TOP MID BOT

STARTING POSITION ENDOWMENT TRENDS BIG MOVES

• 2nd quintile on the EP power curve today

• Invested in:• Stolen Vehicle

Recovery• Fleet

Management• User based

Telematics• Traffic

• Low headroom for productivity improvement

• Medium leverage• High R&D• Medium geographic

diversification• High industry

attractiveness• Large company in

industry• Medium degree of

differentiation• Lack of transformation in

management structures

• Fleet and Telematics growth in demand

• Internet of Things – very high growth

• Cloud services• Big Data analytics• SVR commoditisation and

churn• Disintermediation by

insurance companies and OEMs

• Macro economics of RSA apply

• Negative growth in new car sales

• Digital migration

• Consolidate Fleet market in SA• Continued investment in R&D• Value-added services investments• Adjacencies to mobile assets –

fixed asset tracking• Internet of Things• Big Data analytics• Operator partnerships on IOT

networks• Smart cities• Cloud services for operational

leverage and geo expansion• Globalise business• Insurance Telematics• OEM partnerships• Enterprise solutions

NETSTAR ODDS

+ + +TOP MID BOT

Page 16 l Let’s Talk TMT

BPS RECEIVES DESERVED RECOGNITION

2015 has been one of BPS’ most successful years in recent times. Following the successful acquisition of Inter-Active Technologies at the beginning of this year, BPS doubled its business. Capping off a great period, BPS’ recognition at the inaugural CompTIA annual partner awards is indicative of its drive to upskill local ICT professionals through accredited training as well as meaningful knowledge and skills transfer.

For more than 20 years, the two organisations have partnered to upskill South Africans and the award further highlights BPS’ position as one of CompTIA’s global partners of choice.

According to Albert Viljoen, business unit manager: ICT Professional, Midrand BPS has trained more than 500 students on various CompTIA courses over the last 12 months. During the same period, approximately 450 students wrote the associated exams.

“The key differentiator for us, relative to other CompTIA partners, is our dedicated focus and support provided to course participants, who not only choose to write their examinations, but also succeed in passing them and receiving certification. Rather than seeing the training only as a commercial endeavour, by ensuring our candidates achieve certification, we make it easier for them to find employment and ultimately play their part in growing the economy,” says Albert.

Speaking at the gala awards where successful partners were recognised, Todd Thibodeaux, President and CEO of CompTIA, communicated the importance and value of receiving certification in fields where vacancies exceeded the current skills base, thereby not only expanding the employment opportunity but the range of remuneration too, especially with internationally recognised accreditations such as A+.

BPS trains its candidates on a variety of CompTIA courses including A+, Network+, Security+, Server+, Mobility+ and Linux+. According to Albert, these foundation courses are critical for any aspirant IT professional who needs the required skills of a network technician.

For an organisation that prides itself not only on high quality performances and bottom line returns to its shareholders, but also on ensuring a sustainable future for better educated South Africans, the award is testament to the success BPS has achieved in fulfilling its objectives. By focusing its attention on course offerings that empower and upskill students to the degree that the CompTIA courses do, BPS will no doubt continue on its positive growth trajectory.

Bytes People Solutions (BPS) recently received an award from CompTIA, one of BPS’ longest-standing partners, for the Most Growth in the CAPP (CompTIA Authorised Partner Programme) category.

Tanya Sims, manager: CAPP Africa & ANZ CompTIA, with Albert Viljoen, business unit manager: ICT Professional. PEOPLE SOLUTIONS

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 17

LET’S NOT GO THE WAY OF THE CAVEMANThe most basic definition of “local and linear” is a caveman’s existence: to survive, he has to get out of his cave, hunt for food for the day and make it home without being eaten.

DR WILLIE OOSTHUYSENAltron group executive: strategy & technology

It doesn’t get much more straightforward than that. The problem is, our brains are still wired that way – go to work, earn a salary, go home – while our world has changed. Instead of local and linear, we need to think exponential and global.

Exponential and global growth means that local competitive advantage dries up, as does speciality. It’s fast and disruptive, on a wider scale than before, and increasingly driven through digitalisation and virtualisation of physical assets. And bearing in mind Moore’s

Law, which holds that computing power doubles every 18 months, it’s only going to happen faster and faster.

Here’s an example: we know Google primarily as a search engine, but many of us don’t realise that it is licensed to operate as an insurance broker in the US. Now, $50 billion in annual broker commissions for short-term insurance (such as motor or household cover) stand to evaporate as Google starts to play in that space, and add a lot more value to consumers than brokers can based on big data and analytics on the consumer and the service providers.

Brokers are local and linear, but Google isn’t. It gathers huge amounts of data on insurers - and you - allowing it to find the very best, specifically tailored insurance products for you. All this without bricks-and-mortar offices, salaries to pay and other overheads,

and without enormous capital investment to be able to compete with the biggest insurance brokerage companies. It also scales exponentially as machine learning algorithms build and improve each individual profile all the time in near real-time. The moment your circumstances or asset-base changes, the algorithm can automatically adapt your insurance portfolio and offering.

Page 18 l Let’s Talk TMT

TIME FOR DISRUPTIONFinancial institutions should sit up and take notice. Bank fees, one of the biggest grudge purchases of all, is where many funded financial technology companies are launching the attack against banks. Imagine you’re a retailer, and you pay a 7% fee for cash deposits and 3% for card transactions – and then the bank also hangs onto your cash for a few days, earning interest income on your money before it credits your account. Banks and other financial institutions will have to transition from acting like transaction processing houses to going back to earning money and covering their cost base like banks should, by earning interest from money lending and not from transaction processing. Too many banks became dependant on the income from transaction processing and their cost bases are hugely bloated. Digitisation of their own businesses will become a great priority in the short term.

The time is ripe for innovative technology providers to disrupt the finance sector; the door is wide open for non-banks to offer products such as e-wallets charging under 1% in transaction fees, bank-agnostic ATMs with minimal fees (that go to the operator, not the banks), or in-store accounts accessed by a cell phone (digitally) that charge no fees.

Digitisation of the transaction process will sweep away the enormously lucrative cash cow that fees are to banks and retailers will have a more convenient, safer and much cheaper banking experience.

Similarly, the world of IT is being completely disrupted by the virtualisation of physical assets. Where in the past one needed specific hardware such as servers, storage devices, computers and routers in order to perform specific functions, now these can exist virtually, in the cloud. Technologies such as storage virtualisation, computer virtualisation, memory virtualisation, software defined networking, component orchestration and auto provisioning, to name a few, enable cloud computing in many different applications.

There are several ways in which cloud computing is disrupting physical computing:

• Infrastructure as a service (IaaS): this refers to the virtualisation of data storage, memory, processing power, security and the like. When one considers that a single physical server could easily instantiate as many as 2 000 virtual machines, it’s obvious that the days of huge banks of physical computers are over. They will move into the datacentres of the public cloud providers at scale.

• Platform as a service (PaaS): this provides a virtual computing platform (including operating system, programming language environment, database and web server) for developers to use, instead of them having to buy and maintain physical assets.

• Software as a service (SaaS): this involves putting software in the cloud, instead of installing it on individual machines. That software is always available, up and secure, and is cheaper than having to buy licences for individual machines

One of the greatest advantages of the virtualisation of computing is scalability. There are huge capital costs associated with expanding one’s physical assets along with business growth, but virtualisation of assets allows them to be scaled up easily as the business scales, as most cloud services provide a consumption-based billing mechanism. This means that one only has to rent the capacity of computing that is needed at the time and it scales elastically with the business as and when it is needed – and comparatively very cheaply.

Virtualisation, of course, has huge implications for the companies and people who sell, operate and maintain such physical infrastructure. As infrastructure is dematerialised, the operation of physical infrastructure is demonetised for the operators and system integrators.

For a company such as Altron TMT, not to mention other entities such as telecommunications providers and banks, the most profound change will come in the digitisation and virtualisation of data and services. This also removes the barrier to entry for new competitors in a global and exponential world.

For example, Skype for Business moves voice signalling and carrier services into the cloud, and voice calls are then demonetised for the likes of Telkom and other operators. Why pay for a physical telephone line, when you can

simply dial up on your computer (or any other device)? And it’s important to note the cost saving and convenience of the cloud version: effectively, all you need to do is set up a user ID and you’re in business.

I believe the telecommunications dam wall will burst when WhatsApp is integrated into Facebook. This development alone will revolutionise the way we connect with each other: we’ll never need personal telephone numbers again, for instance, because we would communicate on the platform. One will be able to choose the communication media and the digital identifier (Facebook ID, WhatsApp ID, Skype name, LinkedIn contact, etc.) of the person that one would like to speak to, without having to translate that into a number.

Communication across platforms is also becoming a reality as companies spring up to create personal virtual online IDs for us, which centralise all of our email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, website and other digital contact details. With even SIM cards virtualised, meaning that they are localised anywhere (no setting up with other providers when you go overseas, for example), and no inter-connect fees, Facebook/WhatsApp becomes a mobile virtual network operator for the world. Facebook has already signed more than 50 operators in a MVNO-like agreement to be the interconnect and carrier partner across continents at no charge when using a data connection.

I think this disruptive move will ultimately dwarf the enormous disruption that Uber has brought to the world of taxi fleet operators.

But where does this leave the network operators of the world which have spent phenomenal sums on creating and maintaining physical infrastructure – unlike Facebook, which only has to integrate an app? The only way to avoid this disruption is to urgently diversify their revenue lines

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 19

to become less dependent on voice and data revenues and they will have to earn their revenue from applications and services that consume data and voice, but not charge for the commodity services. A prime example of such a service is the Altech Netstar fleet management services where customers pay for the service, but are not even aware that the service requires a SIM card that is embedded in the price.

OPTIONS GOING FORWARDWe’ve established that in the not-too-distant future, money is not going to be made from infrastructure, voice or data. So what options are there for some of the companies that are exposed to this risk in Altron?

One possibility lies in software-defined networking (SDN), which is essentially the automation and control of virtualised networks in software. Everything – routing, firewalls, switching, etc., – is virtual, and the cost of elements such as licence fees, instalment of infrastructure and IT staff is eliminated.

Another opportunity is virtual desktop interfacing (VDI), which involves virtualising your desktop in the cloud. The idea with VDI is that all of the things you traditionally associate with your computer, including the operating system, applications, software, computing power and data storage, are instead situated in the cloud.

Your computer then becomes a dumb terminal with an Internet connection, but your virtual computer is very smart – and it can be upgraded virtually and instantly. Your desktop, because it lives in the cloud, can be accessed anytime, anywhere and from any device.

Because with VDI one doesn’t need to buy a high-end computer to access the kind of power that such a machine would normally provide, the cost of computing is democratised and more and more people will have access to the online world. A fantastic current example of this is Raspberry Pi, a credit card-sized computer that costs only $5 but gives you all the benefits of a regular desktop or laptop computer when linked to a VDI.

A more important question, however, is what the future will hold for us – again, bearing in mind Moore’s Law.

Let’s first look at the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, also called the seven layers of IT. A standardised model for network protocols developed 20 years ago, the first six layers have already been disrupted and virtualised: physical, data link, network, transport, session and presentation.

This leaves only the seventh, and top, layer: applications. This layer is seen as the

interface responsible for displaying received information to the user. What’s not important here is IT, because that is covered by the underlying (and now virtualised) six layers; what matters is commercialisation and business processes. IT is no longer about automation of work for humans, or allowing people in a company to be more productive It is now about creating and selling products and services that can be bought and consumed online – in its most extreme form these take on the look of digital products. iTunes music sales, for example, is a digital product platform where people interact with the system, without any human intervention from the operator.

Another example is Netflix, which is a movie producer and distributor. It uses the web services (i.e. infrastructure) of its biggest competitor, Amazon, to move its product to the world – in the process making itself Amazon’s biggest customer also. It works for Netflix because it pays only for what it uses, scaling up its operations (and costs) only as and when needed.

Yet another example is Facebook: it knows big data and analytics are very profitable, and it sells your data to advertisers. Through ever more data and stronger algorithms, marketing becomes more and more individualised and targeted, based on the things you’ve bought, the things you like and the things your peers like.

McKinsey has developed a predictive capability using big data, which can, for instance, estimate accurately that a woman is pregnant before she even knows herself. Such a woman would be perfect for receiving marketing material about baby clothes and strollers, although it might initially be disconcerting that they know something that she doesn’t. Now imagine predicting when and where crimes will happen; there’s a lot of profit to be made from people who want that kind of knowledge.

But the real next step (medium to longer term) is the disruption of SaaS; in short, the disaggregation of business processes through the creation of a standardised inter-networking operating system that cuts across platforms, obviating the need for specific software for specific systems. Software as we know it, even in the cloud, will disappear.

Along with that will come specialisation of individual processes – the breaking down of a suite of services into more focused bits, that themselves are virtualised. So imagine not buying an entire accounting software package just so that you can manage a quote-to-cash process, and instead paying only for the functionality you need.

This development should send a shiver down the spine of almost any established software company. In theory, a specialist firm that has taken years to build could be overtaken by a clever app that anyone can download in seconds and start using instantly. And it’s happening: nearly 5 000 companies are already out there, focused solely on virtualising the processes of traditional businesses for anyone to use – with much lower barriers to entry, much lower capital expenditure costs and fewer business risks.

Our local-and-linear caveman was limited by how far he could walk in a day, and by how much he could carry; that was his world. It’s not ours (anymore) – and unless we fully embrace the concept of exponential and global growth, we’ll be going the same way he did.

Page 20 l Let’s Talk TMT

CHANGING LIVES on a daily basis

Ithuthe Primary School Grade 7 learners play one of the interactive maths games.

Above: Grade 7 learners with teacher and deputy principal Johannes Sebata use the new interactive white

board technology.

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 21

Ever since the group was established by its Chairman, Dr Bill Venter, 50 years ago, Altron has always believed that education has the ability to propel the performance of economies globally and, on both a personal and professional level, help students develop intellectually and emotionally, and ultimately create a better future for themselves and their families.

Aligned to this, the impact of technology in teaching and learning processes has the ability to catapult learning development, particularly in public schools with large classes, challenges such as textbook shortages, poor quality education standards, and a lack of enthusiasm resulting from the complexity of the subject matter taught.

Accordingly, the donation of interactive smart boards by Altron’s newly established Socio-Economic Development (SED) committee to the Ithuthe Primary School in Alexandra will provide students with the opportunity to experience innovative learning technologies, and narrow the widening education gap that young South Africans face. This teaching aid captivates the attention of the learners and enhances the comprehension of concepts in subjects like Maths, Science and English and enables teachers to better communicate complex concepts.

HOW THE SOLUTION WORKS

The interactive Inspireware board essentially replaces a classroom’s whiteboard and chalkboard. By combining the simplicity of a traditional whiteboard with all the functionality and versatility of a computer, the board’s touch functionality ensures ease of use when selecting and navigating between computer applications and multimedia sources.

The solution can control computer applications and multimedia sources from one toolbar, and capture annotations and diagrams created onscreen and save them as computer files, simply by touching the screen. This enables students who were absent from class to catch up on missed lessons as they are able to access the saved lessons covered by the teacher.

According to Lorinda McGhee, managing director of Inspireware, the organisation that supplied the state-of-the-art equipment, the interactive classroom solutions transform the way in which subjects such as Maths, Science and English are taught.

Despite the current challenging economic climate and recessionary conditions, Altron’s contribution of two pioneering interactive classroom solutions to Ithuthe Primary School in Alexandra demonstrates how seriously the organisation regards its corporate social responsibilities.

Looking forward to seeing the positive benefits of the new interactive learning technology are, from left, Mduduzi Gwala, principal; Douglas Ramaphosa, group executive corporate affairs and human capital: Altron; Lorinda McGhee, managing director: Inspire; Johannes Sebata, Grade 7 teacher and deputy principal; Ntantoleng Phillimon Ramakoma, head of department co-ordinator: Sciences, Maths and IT; Theresa Stewart, group regulatory and corporate affairs manager: Altron; Tessa Hund, business development manager: Inspireware; and Kenneth Moerane, deputy principal.

“Each classroom solution consists of a touchscreen whiteboard, a laptop and a projector all pre-loaded with the relevant software. Supplemented with the necessary teacher training, we have already seen first-hand at Ithuthe how this exciting, interactive technology can turn a notoriously boring and complex school subject such as Maths into a dynamic and stimulating classroom experience,” Lorinda says.

The Inspireware white board solution does not require broadband to function and can be installed and ready for use within minutes.

Following the implementation of the solution, Altron’s SED Committee members Douglas Ramaphosa and Theresa Stewart visited the school for a first-hand demonstration of the technology. Douglas, Altron group executive: corporate affairs and human capital, was thoroughly inspired by the way the learners interacted with the technology.

“Technology is critical to enriching the experience of learners and with these interactive learning tools we have seen an immediate impact at Ithuthe. Mduduzi Gwala, the principal at the school, has galvanised his teachers to embrace the technology and this has led to the learners themselves positively engaging with the technology and reaping the rewards,” Douglas said.

“Altron’s corporate social investment initiatives are centred on sustainability with the objective being to ensure a lasting impact. Since Altron’s social investment policy is guided by the needs of local communities together with the country’s socio-economic development imperatives, particularly in the area of education and training incorporating information technology, the installation of the interactive white boards fulfils our aim of improving education, learning and innovation in public schools in South Africa, and in eliminating poverty and reducing inequality,” added Douglas.

THE IMPACT ON TEACHING AND LEARNING

The interactive white board technology engages learners through its on-demand audio-visual content. The technology has the potential to address and rectify prior learning gaps and in the process, help demystify difficult concepts. Through the use of games with every day, relevant examples, children can learn quickly and with the assessment tools, progress can be tracked and effectively monitored.

A key benefit of the solution is the creation of a participatory learning environment making learning interactive and fun. In terms of the benefits to teachers, the technology can result in a marked increase in teacher confidence in the classroom.

Theresa Stewart, Altron group regulatory and corporate affairs manager, was pleased to see the leaners having fun while learning mathematics. The Ithuthe project was identified by Theresa as an opportunity for Altron to be the first corporate to afford school children in Alexandra with an opportunity to experience innovative learning technologies.

Altron’s corporate social investment initiatives are centred on sustainability with the objective being to ensure a lasting impact.

Page 22 l Let’s Talk TMT

Celebrating the new learning technology are, from left, Douglas Ramaphosa, group executive corporate affairs and human capital: Altron; Ntantoleng Phillimon Ramakoma, head of department co-ordinator: Sciences, Maths and IT; Nokuzotha Masinga, Grade 3 teacher; Theresa Stewart, group regulatory and corporate affairs manager:

Altron; Grade 3 learners; Lorinda McGhee, managing director: Inspire; Johannes Sebata, Grade 7 teacher and deputy principal; Mduduzi Gwala, principal; Tessa Hund, business development manager: Inspireware; Bryan

Silke, corporate writer: Altron TMT; Kenneth Moerane, deputy principal.

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 23

In line with Altron’s group-wide efforts to reduce duplication of services and enhance efficiencies, the leads of the various shared services disciplines were announced in September. The leads have been working closely with Andrew Holden, the current Altron group executive: shared services, and Emile Burger (who will take over the position from Andrew in March) to finalise their respective teams in line with the consolidation of shared services.

Altron’s shared services implementation is on track and ready to deliver much-needed efficiencies and cost savings to the group.

RARING TO GO

Page 24 l Let’s Talk TMT

THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SHARED SERVICES LEADS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

LEAD: FINANCIAL PROCESSING – DIRK EKSTEEN

Dirk will continue to be responsible for accounts payable, billing, accounts receivable and cash management support to the divisions and the Altron group.

LEAD: PROCUREMENT / EMPLOYEE BENEFITS – ROGER SEDLMAIER

Roger will manage the group procurement synergies through Project Fusion in order to reduce spend with third parties while improving quality. Roger will also retain his responsibilities as principle officer of the Altron employee benefit funds.

LEAD: FACILITIES / PHYSICAL RISK – MKHUSELI TINDLENI

Mkhuseli will be responsible for managing and controlling all property management, maintenance management, SHE legislation, security and relevant risk aspects, as well as the Bytes Conference Centre.

LEAD: IT – DEBRA-LYNN MARAIS

Debra-Lynn will provide the leadership for developing and implementing IT initiatives and direct the planning and implementation of enterprise IT systems in support of the group and the divisions.

LEAD: BUSINESS RISK - PARVESH CHETTY

Parvesh will be responsible for developing, implementing and managing risk across the group. This will include implementing platforms and processes to identify risks, as well as strategies to mitigate group risks. This role excludes internal audit which will report directly to the Altron CFO, Alex Smith.

LEAD: LEGAL – CHRIS POTGIETER

Chris is currently in this position and will continue to manage legal services across the Altron group.

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 25

LEAD: HUMAN RESOURCES – DAVE ARNOLD

Dave will be providing a value-add HR service to all divisions and the group. This role involves direct engagement with staff on various HR issues. Dave will report to Altron group executive: human capital – Johan Klein with a support reporting line into shared services. This role excludes the payroll function.

GROUP PAYROLL

Due to the critical nature of this function, Group Payroll will report directly to the group executive: Altron shared services, with a functional reporting line to the lead: human resources.

LEAD: MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS – SHENANDA JANSE VAN RENSBURG

Shenanda will be responsible for the development and implementation of all marketing strategies, corporate communications and public relations activities through stakeholder partnerships to the group.

GROUP EXECUTIVE:ALTRON SHARED

SERVICESAndrew Holden/

Emile Burger

ALTRON GROUP EXECUTIVE:

HUMAN CAPITALJohan Klein

FINANCALPROCESSINGDirk Eksteen

LEGALChris

Potgieter

BUSINESS RISK

PraveshChetty

ITDebra-Lynn

Marais

FACILITIES/PHYSICAL

RISKMkhuseliTindleni

PROCUREMENTRoger

Sedlmaier

MARKETING COMMS

Shenanda J v Rensburg

PAYROLLTBA

HUMAN RESOURCESDave Arnold

THE ALTRON SHARED SERVICES STRUCTURE

Page 26 l Let’s Talk TMT

MediSwitch recently unveiled LifeDoc™, an exciting web-based personal health record which enables you to take control of your wellbeing and that of your family. LifeDoc™ allows you to securely capture and access your and your loved ones’ health information and medical history from one central location for life.

Users can also be certain that their personal health information is completely secure, as Peter Kennedy, managing director of MediSwitch, assures: “With LifeDoc™ we give you peace of mind that your health record is stored safely. We employ the highest standards in data security with an SSL-certified site where you register and capture your

TAKE YOUR HEALTH RECORDS with you when you go on holiday this December!

information to an encrypted database, where your personal health record is stored and backed up for you. We also won’t share your personalised information with third parties as per our strict privacy policy.”

The launch event took place on 14 October 2015 and was attended by media, healthcare professionals and other key stakeholders. Marina van der Merwe (regional manager) and Peter were on hand to explain to guests how LifeDoc™ was conceptualised and brought to life. After attending a healthcare IT conference in the USA in 2011, Peter came up with the idea for LifeDoc™ and has overseen its development for the past four years. Marina has also been involved in the development of the product since

its conceptualisation and is currently the LifeDoc™ spokesperson. Feedback from those attending the launch was extremely positive, with well-known media personality and event MC, Sam Cowen, saying she wished the product had been available when her son was born as it would have made her life so much easier.

ALTRON STAFF MEMBERS WILL SOON BE ABLE TO ACCESS LIFEDOC™ PREMIUM AT NO CHARGE.

Are you going away over the December holidays and worried about what will happen if someone in the family gets sick or needs emergency treatment? It’s bad enough having to deal with illness on your vacation, but the

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 27

frustration of having to see a new doctor who doesn’t know your medical history can be a real pain. With LifeDoc™ that frustration will be a thing of the past, and you’ll be able to share relevant medical details with any service provider through the simple generation of a one-time PIN.

Whether you’re travelling or staying at home these holidays, all Altron staff members will soon be able to enjoy free access to LifeDoc™ premium, which will allow you to:

• Easily record, store, track, manage and selectively share your past and present health information from one secure location for life.

• Upload scanned documents and attach them to files and folders you create.

• Automatically upload your medical aid claims.

• Set reminders for immunisations, doctor’s appointments, script collections and renewals.

• Keep track of chronic conditions and health indicators.

• Ensure medical personnel can access your emergency health information when you are unable to.

• Quickly access important dates, surgeries, treatment details, and much more.

• For the ladies, track your hormone cycle with the easy-to-use Lady’s Diary and track your pregnancy and start creating a health record for your baby from birth.

• Keep track of your child’s immunisations, developmental milestones and health events.

• Access your health records from anywhere via the Internet

• Upload a Living Will and share with your loved ones or next of kin.

• Generate a one-time PIN to share your selected information with your doctor.

• Make a printout of selected information or view your record from the LifeDoc™ mobile app.

Further communication on how you can take advantage of this great offer will follow soon, so be sure to keep an eye out for it.

Seba Molema, MediSwitch HR manager, and Makho Mayihlome, MediSwitch communications officer.

Sam Cowen, Anna Turner of Ecomed, who was thrilled to be the winner of the lucky draw prize, and

Marina van der Merwe, MediSwitch regional manager.

Peter Kennedy, outgoing MediSwitch MD; Sam Cowen, media personality and MC; Andrew Brown, incoming MediSwitch MD; Cornel Mienie, MediSwitch business integration manager, and

Wayne Botha, MediSwitch IT manager.

Page 28 l Let’s Talk TMT

KNOW YOUR GROUP

In the digital age, particularly where technologies evolve rapidly and where businesses require converged solutions to efficiently address their communications needs, ARH is uniquely positioned in the South African market to deliver on those business requirements across a variety of industry sectors.

ARH comprises of four divisions, namely; Altech Alcom Matomo, Altech Alcom Radio Distributors, Altech Fleetcall and Altech Collab.

ALTECH ALCOM MATOMO (AAM)AAM provides a range of two-way radios from leading global partner Motorola to meet the needs and diverse communication requirements of a broad assortment of industries and environments including mining, public safety, retail logistics and transportation.

Furthermore, AAM provides engineering expertise for the design, implementation and

ALTECH RADIO HOLDINGS

Altech Radio Holdings (ARH) is a leading provider of end-to-end radio, networking and infrastructure solutions across the telecommunications value chain.

commissioning of turnkey communication projects and supports Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), Digital Mobile Radio (DMR), microwave, broadband, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and conventional systems. AAM offers its customers systems design, installation and integration together with “best of breed” solutions integration.

In February 2014, AAM was awarded the tender to build, operate and maintain a province-wide broadband network to provide broadband fibre access to Gauteng Provincial Government buildings, Thusong centres, economic zones and twenty priority townships for a period of five years. Thereafter the network would be transferred to the Gauteng Provincial Government. In October 2015, AAM reached a key milestone in the Gauteng Broadband Network (GBN) roll-out when it successfully deployed fibre broadband connectivity to all eight core provincial nodes. Added to this, by the end of 2015, AAM will have connected in excess of 380 access sites across Gauteng, including all

provincial department buildings and several townships in tandem with partners such as Huawei and Dark Fibre Africa.

AAM also recently upgraded the City of Cape Town’s TETRA communications network to meet the growing demand of the city’s multiple public safety agencies that use the network.

ALTECH ALCOM RADIO DISTRIBUTORS (AARD)

AARD has an extensive reseller network and is the largest Motorola two-way radio distributor on the African continent. In addition, AARD is the leading two-way radio provider to the southern African dealer market and recently built Africa’s first Motorola demonstration and training facility.

The organisation serves the needs of the commercial, government and leisure markets together with public safety agencies, and offers Motorola’s highest quality and most reliable integrated information and communications products and services.

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 29

ALTECH FLEETCALL

The third division of ARH, Altech Fleetcall, is the leading commercial ICASA-licensed radio trunking network operator in South Africa and has been in operation since 1994. The organisation provides airtime services for wireless voice and data communication for telemetry, dispatching, alarm monitoring, fleet management, security and many more voice and data applications.

Altech Fleetcall’s partnership with Chinese mobile radio communication equipment manufacturer, Hytera, has grown considerably over the past 12 months. Since 2010, the two companies have been working closely together to bring Hytera’s products to market in South Africa. In 2014, Altech Fleetcall was chosen as the exclusive local distributor for Hytera’s digital products.

In 2015, the Limpopo Provincial Government’s Department of Transport selected Altech Fleetcall to deploy a reliable digital mobile radio (DMR) system in order to enhance the safety and security of its citizens. Additionally,

the government undertook to equip its traffic department vehicles with the latest two-way fixed and mobile digital radios from Hytera to ensure cooperation between traffic units across the five districts that make up the province.

ALTECH COLLAB

Altech Collab is the final piece in the ARH component. In 2012, Altech signed a value-added partner (VAP) agreement with global ICT solutions provider Huawei. The agreement covers a number of African countries including Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Shortly after the agreement was signed, Altech recognised that there was a need to create a business entity dedicated exclusively to the provision and on-going support of efficient information technology solutions and services to its enterprise customers. This led to the establishment of Altech Collab, a new business operation with the sole intention of

providing Huawei enterprise products and services to customers in the South African and southern African markets. Altech is currently the most active Huawei partner in South Africa and is Huawei’s only four-star certified service provider and VAP and was named the Huawei South Africa partner of the year for 2015.

Altech Collab has successfully implemented Huawei video conferencing facilities at the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality and has been instrumental in the Gauteng government’s GBN roll-out.

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In October this year, Bytes Universal Systems signed an agreement with Broadridge Financial Solutions. The deal, which is set to boost the fortunes of both companies, gives the local market access to financial products and services that had not been available to it before, to help firms solve business challenges, increase operational efficiency and accelerate growth.

The benefits to Bytes appear obvious. “We can now have a variety of conversations with the large players,” says Mark Neethling, general manager: financial services at Bytes Universal Systems. “The critical mass of functions we can provide to fulfill more of their operational requirements will move

PARTNERSHIP BOOSTS THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

The strategic, performance-based agreement concluded between Bytes Universal Systems and Broadridge Financial Solutions is a game-changer for the partners and their customers alike.

us from a niche provider to a strategic part of their businesses.”

But, insists Jerome Hoffman, director of business development, Africa, Broadridge, the relationship is far from one-sided. “We see Bytes as a very strong partner in southern Africa. This is a key relationship for us. There is a lot of untapped potential in this market and together we can be a game-changer. To our portfolio of services, Bytes adds a footprint that would have taken us many years and a lot of investment to build.”

Jerome can speak with authority on this subject. Having spent most of his career building a market presence in Africa for international companies, he knows how

Jerome Hoffman, director of business development,

Africa, Broadridge.

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PARTNERSHIP BOOSTS THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

important it is to have more than a sales team. “Bytes changes the value proposition for us because we can now be more comprehensively on-site at a time when customers demand more in-depth interactions with, and support from, vendors,” he says.

The different level of interaction is influenced by a number of factors, not least the increased pressure from regulators whose requirements become ever more stringent. This manifests in more information having to be submitted more regularly, and a heightened focus on mitigating exposure to fines and penalties. The resultant cost and effort are a drag on financial institutions that they look to lessen through operational process management and control solutions.

A further benefit of local presence is cost containment for the customer. Unfavourable exchange rates have diminished corporates’ appetite for engaging international consultants, while Bytes’ local hosting infrastructure enable firms to benefit from Broadridge’s solutions through a shared service model based on “software as a service” – a trend that is gaining pace globally. “South Africa is advanced in this regard,” says Jerome, adding that he had been impressed by companies’ willingness to consider hosting as part of a transformative solution. “Together Bytes and Broadridge have the right solution in the right hosting environment,” he says.

Another advantage to Broadridge is that the Bytes relationship gives it the opportunity to expand beyond its traditional banking market into other industries that validate and verify transactions, such as international shipping and border control.

And then there is the not insignificant matter of having a partner one can turn to for local knowledge and insight. “The fact that we can share ideas and best practices with people who have deep local expertise is very valuable for us,” says Jerome.

YOU HAVE TO BE THEREAlthough he has a London base, Jerome spends about 80% of his time in Africa – and on planes travelling there and back. “You may have noticed that Africa is a rather large place,” he says, “where even business meetings in the same country can

often necessitate a flight.” Despite the airline food and time spent in transit, he wouldn’t have it any other way, at least for now. “Africa is a regional market that I find compelling, and one that I understand very well by now.”

Jerome says there are many changes in African financial services beyond South Africa’s borders. Phenomena such as the blending of telcos and banks that allow people to open mobile wallets instead of bank accounts, give consumers a strong interest in proper governance and fuel the need for transparency. “And these are the services we know how to provide,” he says. “We know what helps financial firms transform for growth and efficiency, and how to support them. In doing so, we also help the many underserved consumers who may have had less choice and support in the past.” Jerome talks about large numbers of very good financial institutions on the continent, and many financial and regulatory professionals who can and want to make a difference.

“All countries can benefit from a healthy banking sector,” he points out. “Transparency and lower costs that lead to more effective lending and thus encourage money into the market, are all preconditions for growth.”

Having experienced how some multinationals attempt to do business in Africa at arm’s length, Jerome appreciates Broadridge’s approach. In 2010 the company acquired City Networks Ltd, a UK company which had an established presence in South Africa and a proven track record for its process automation, reconciliation and control solutions. Despite having had only a modest number of business dealings in Africa up to that point, Broadridge took an analytical view of what City Networks had accomplished in South Africa and committed to grow the African business.

Jerome was recruited as the business development director and given three tasks: grow the reconciliation and process control business in South Africa, explore other territories that could benefit from these solutions, and look at which other Broadridge offerings offer a strong value proposition for firms in Africa.

“For example we identified the SWIFT marketplace as a core area in which we could deliver high value,” remembers Jerome. “When companies wanted to join

the SWIFT network, we believed that we could offer a highly competitive service.” Given Broadridge’s status as a global SWIFT partner, it was the perfect entry opportunity. Interestingly, Bytes’ parent organisation, the Altron group, was Broadridge’s first SWIFT customer in South Africa, and was the interaction that lay the groundwork for the Bytes partnership.

What sets Broadridge apart from many other multinationals is its willingness to engage with Africa as a market. “We are not only active during the sales process,” says Jerome, “but maintain the level of engagement once the ink has dried on the contracts. The fact that I am dedicated to growing this market for Broadridge is proof of the company’s commitment.”

ABOUT BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONSBroadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) is the leading provider of investor communications and technology-driven solutions for broker-dealers, banks, mutual funds and corporate issuers globally. Broadridge’s investor communications, securities processing and managed services solutions help clients reduce their capital investments in operations infrastructure, allowing them to increase their focus on core business activities. With over 50 years of experience, Broadridge’s infrastructure underpins proxy voting services for over 90% of public companies and mutual funds in North America, and processes more than $5 trillion in fixed income and equity trades per day. Broadridge employs approximately 7,400 full-time associates in 14 countries.

UNIVERSAL SYSTEMS

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Altech NuPay has acquired Delter IT Services, a microfinance software development company providing consumer management systems to credit providers.

Delter IT Services currently manages back office integration services for the entire life cycle from loan origination to collections, while ensuring that all regulatory requirements are met and the client is compliant. The payment platform is integrated to the payment and collection services of Altech NuPay ensuring that a business operates effectively and efficiently.

This acquisition is of strategic importance to the Altech NuPay business in that it extends its reach in the microfinance industry while opening opportunities in other industries.

There are typically three major elements to the microfinancing life cycle for any client, namely:

1. Loan management2. Payments and collections3. Credit bureaus

Altech NuPay currently operates in the payments and collections arena, and now with the acquisition of Delter IT Services, extends its services into the loan management field. While Altech NuPay is not actively involved in the credit bureau space, these services are integrated into Delter IT Services’ Delfin suite of products, meaning that Altech NuPay will now be represented in all elements of the microfinancing lifecycle.

According to Derek Chaplin, managing director of Altech NuPay, the rationale behind the acquisition is to bring Altech NuPay closer to its customers: “Delter IT Services operate in the space between Altech NuPay and the microfinance industry, providing the IT environment or software for the loan process to take place before linking to Altech NuPay who warehouse and manage the transaction for collection. By acquiring Delter IT Services, we now own that important piece of the chain, and can work even more closely with our customers. We anticipate a lot of organic growth and an increase in annuity revenue as a result of this acquisition.”

DELTER IT SERVICES AND EXTENDS ITS REACH IN MICROFINANCE MARKET

Pieter du Toit, managing director of Delter IT Services, had this to say of the acquisition: “I believe that Altech NuPay and Delter IT are a great match, with similar customer bases and servicing clients in similar industries. This synergy makes the acquisition a logical fit, which will bring about enhanced opportunities to grow and take the business to the next level. Delter IT clients can expect the same level of service they have previously enjoyed, along with the additional benefits of new products and services from the Altech NuPay stable.”

ALTECH NUPAY ACQUIRES

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Staying on the sharp end of the digital printing evolution, Johannesburg’s House of Print has purchased the first Xerox 1000i press to be introduced in sub-Sahara Africa. Supplied by Bytes Document Solutions, the largest worldwide Xerox distributor and Xerox Platinum Partner Compleo, the machine offers advantages such as the ability to print metallic silver or gold, and a spot or flood gloss.

It is, says House of Print MD André Bam, the ideal addition to the company’s already bustling digital print department. “The number of jobs coming in is the same, but the run rates are smaller, which requires the ability to efficiently produce outputs with a minimum of errors.”

The capabilities of the new press coupled with the Xerox Igen it already has in place, says André, means House of Print can improve its production costs and pass that on to its client base. “The Xerox 1000i also has the capabilities of printing gold, silver and spot gloss; I was really impressed with the quality. We will be able to run the presses 24/7 if necessary, with the reassurance that we can move the operators from one press to the other, to meet customer demand.”

The Xerox 1000i allows print shops to migrate metallic jobs from offset to digital for applications like invitations, certificates, business cards, photo applications, posters, direct mail campaigns, speciality applications, and brand managed colour applications.

It also automates many of the time-consuming setup and maintenance procedures critical to short-run jobs, says Antony Oeschger, national sales manager - Production Systems Group, Bytes Document Solutions. “This is a first class press and it is capable of small jobs, large jobs, lightweight stock or heavyweight, with gold and silver giving your output print an easy-to-achieve, but unique finish.”

He adds that the gold, silver and clear speciality inks allow printers to attract new applications and revenues on short run work without losing productivity. “The press does not slow down when printing with additional colours; and the multi-pass technology is ideal for unique prints, adding a raised or texture to the print.”

André says that in addition to the quality of output, the availability of local support from

HOUSE OF PRINT purchases South Africa’s first Xerox 1000i

Bytes Document Solutions played a major role in making the selection of the 1000i.

While he believes the cost of production from digital machines still has some way to go to match that of litho on substantial print runs, he says the rapid setup and ability to test longer runs before putting them into litho production is a considerable advantage.

“We need to be on our toes to give the client the best option. We always take quality, run length and cost per output into consideration; if you get it wrong, it can cost dearly. House of Print is fortunate enough to be able offer our client base the full spectrum, from runs as small as 500 business cards, to magazines, annual reports and other very large runs.

“The beauty of a press like the Xerox 1000i is that it means we can proof all our jobs on site, so the client can see what he is going to get before we set up a litho print run. And the quality is right up there,” he concludes.

Celebrating House of Print’s purchase of South Afica’s first Xerox 1000i digital printer.

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The days of call centre agents cold-calling unsuspecting members of the public with irrelevant offers are numbered. As is the frustration of trying to report a problem or get advice from an unresponsive person who reads from a script regardless of the questions asked.

Today’s contact centres are staffed with skilled, well-trained agents who help clients achieve business goals in a professional manner. Anwar Asmall, business development executive: business process outsourcing at BPS, explains that achieving this goal with outbound contact centres involves working with clients to match their databases with a specific campaign to make sure that the product being marketed is relevant to the people who are called. “There

has to be an affinity with the data,” he says. “The first step for us is to understand who we are calling as that directly determines the customer experience and the call outcome. The second step is to match agents to campaigns.”

In the case of inbound contact centres, the goal is to improve first call resolution rates, hence reducing the number of calls into the centre and improving customer satisfaction.In both cases, the agents make the difference.

VALUABLE AGENTS

The process of matching agents to clients and campaigns starts at recruitment. BPS employs more than 1 500 agents who work in its 35 contact centres across the country. “We

Bytes People Solutions (BPS) is at the forefront of business process transformation including talent management, skills development and business process outsourcing.

BPS CONTACT CENTRES: WHERE YOUR CALL IS REALLY IMPORTANT

don’t regard being a contact centre agent to be a gap-year job,” says Anwar. “Our agents are professionals with continuous training opportunities and career paths.”

The requirements of the clients that BPS services bear out this statement. On one of the accounts, for instance, agents have to determine the customer’s product problem, troubleshoot over the phone and arrange for the device or appliance to be collected or for a technician to go to the customer’s home to resolve the issue. BPS tracks the entire process from start to end, coordinating and dealing with all the parties involved. It is a complex interaction that requires excellent service levels from the agent.

Another area that places onerous demands on the agents is insurance sales. To work on these campaigns, BPS has to be registered as a financial services provider with the Financial Services Board and the agents have to have specific qualifications. “This is where our Career Campus comes into play,” says Edmund Reddy, operations manager: direct sales.

The BPS Career Campus is SETA-accredited and equips agents with both the technical product knowledge they need, as well as soft skills and life skills. The training opportunities, combined with the specialised clients BPS works with, ensure a career path for agents and keeps BPS at the forefront of the blended-agent trend. The latter refers to multi-skilled agents who are equipped to deal with anything from a technical question to a billing enquiry without having to transfer the customer’s call even once.

Anwar Asmall, business development executive: BPO; Dr Madelise Grobler, managing director: Bytes People Solutions; and Edmund Reddy, operations manager: direct sales.

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BPS CONTACT CENTRES: WHERE YOUR CALL IS REALLY IMPORTANT

QUALITY AND SERVICEBPS’ unique approach to the professional development of agents results in relatively low staff turnover rates and contributes to exceptionally low customer churn.

According to Dr Madelise Grobler, managing director at Bytes People Solutions, her company’s two-pronged approach to quality assurance furthermore sets it apart from the competition. “There is a quality assurance team behind every campaign,” she says. “Firstly they quality assure every agent, looking at their communication skills, articulation and ability to convey the information. If required, agents receive refresher training or coaching. Previously, quality assurance was done maybe once a month by listening to recorded calls. Because we use techniques such as side-by-side call listening, quality assurance becomes real-time.”

The second aspect of quality addresses business intelligence that BPS feeds back to customers. By analysing the types of

PEOPLE SOLUTIONS

Our agents are professionals with continuous training opportunities and career paths.

problems that customers experience, BPS can alert its partners to trends such as shortcomings in geographical areas or a problematic element on a product, Madelise concludes.

RESPONSIVENESS IS KEYAlthough BPS has partnered with some of the biggest corporates in the country, it remains willing and able to take on small business customers. “We offer the same level of service to all our partners,” says Anwar, “and we like to grow with them.”

Growing with a business partner also presents interesting challenges, such as specialised language skills. With some customers increasing their focus on the rest of Africa, for example, BPS had to appoint French, Portuguese and Swahili-speaking agents. It also supports customers in Mauritius which required the company to employ Creole-speaking agents. A current recruitment drive is aimed at appointing Nigerian and Zambian nationals to support customers’ new outbound campaigns.

BPS’ ability to respond to customer needs gives it the edge in the highly competitive contact centre space. Anwar says that South Africa is becoming an attractive destination for European and British companies’ contact centres due to the favourable exchange rate. The way in which South Africans speak English is also well received in those countries. As a result, multinational contact centre companies are moving into the local market.

“These days customers are much more inclined to switch from one service provider to another, hence our partners are becoming increasingly sensitive to customer service levels,” says Anwar. “We are therefore under pressure to deliver above satisfaction targets. Hence the fact that an agent today is not just anybody. Our ability to profile properly and get the right agents for each campaign is what gives us the edge.”

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Johannesburg’s M1 highway was brought to a complete standstill for two days in October when a temporary pedestrian bridge collapsed adjacent to the Grayston drive off-ramp. Two people lost their lives and more than 20 were injured in the incident.

Immediately after the incident occurred, Altech Netstar volunteered one of its patrol and recovery helicopters to the City of Johannesburg to assist with the traffic congestion that resulted from the subsequent closure of the highway.

In the days following the incident, Talk Radio 702’s traffic reporter Aki Anastasiou took to the skies in Altech Netstar’s helicopter in an attempt to alleviate the major traffic delays that resulted in and around Johannesburg.

ALTECH NETSTAR to the rescue

Aki’s live coverage and traffic updates from the helicopter assisted motorists greatly in finding alternative routes to avoid the traffic congestion.

According to Lawrence Wordon, sales and marketing executive at Altech Netstar, the company was delighted to be able to assist Johannesburg City management and the greater Johannesburg community during this challenging period.

Aki Anastasiou, Talk Radio 702 traffic reporter, with Lawrence Wordon, sales

and marketing executive at Altech Netstar.

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COPY EXPRESS LAUNCHES franchise drive with Bytes Document Solutions and Cape Office Machines

Wayne Theunissen, Copy Express founder and owner.

Bytes Document Solutions and Cape Office Machines recently supplied upmarket Xerox equipment to one of the Cape’s fastest-growing full service print and copy shops, Copy Express, as part of that business’s ambitious franchise expansion drive.

The shopping centre-based store, headquartered in Bellville, recently purchased and installed a Xerox Colour C70 printer to support a growing number of corporate clients with higher quality, higher volume, colour matched products. Two new Copy Express stores will also be equipped with Xerox printers, as will a further four stores across the Western Cape and Gauteng in the next year.

Copy Express founder and owner Wayne Theunissen says the Copy Express concept is

changing the way retail copy shops are used and perceived.

“Since we opened the first store in Tyger Valley Centre 18 months ago we had a vision

to go beyond the stock standard concept of a copy store and create an all-in-one print,

business and signage concept store for walk-in, corporate and online customers,” says Wayne.

The Xerox Colour C70 is a light production colour printer offering print, copy and scan functionality, including scan to PC, USB or email, and mobile printing. It gives Copy Express the option to further expand its already extensive product line – which includes everything from standard stationery, colour printing, business cards, flyers, photocopying, high-resolution scanning and banners – with new options such as signs, ID cards, window clings, labels and polyester synthetics.

“This one machine is changing the way we do business, and will change the way we do business in future,” says Wayne. “Every new store we open will now be a Xerox store from day one. It’s the only way we can deliver on our promises to both owners and customers.”

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From the time Bytes SI was appointed as the exclusive distributor of Kronos’ workforce management solutions in South Africa, it has built an impressive customer base across the healthcare, retail, manufacturing and hospitality sectors. Workforce management encompasses several functions inherent in maintaining and monitoring an organisation’s workforce, such as time and attendance record keeping, performance management and leave scheduling.

However, the game changer for Mike Ellison, national technical manager for

Kronos at Bytes SI, is the opportunity to distribute the new cloud-based Kronos software to customers whose requirements, until now, were considered insufficient to warrant a complete system roll-out.

According to Mike, businesses with 500 or less employees that previously weren’t able to justify the deployment of Kronos, can now implement the cloud-based solution, regardless of their scale, thereby ensuring that they benefit from the efficiencies of workforce management. At the same time, he adds, employing a SaaS solution can

Bytes Systems Integration’s (Bytes SI) forthcoming launch of the Kronos cloud-based workforce management solution known as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) has opened up new markets for the organisation.

TAKING KRONOS TO THE CLOUD

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

free up an in-house IT team to focus on its core competencies and deliverables.

“The benefits of a SaaS solution are numerous. Using a fixed, cost-effective monthly subscription fee charged per employee, organisations now have an affordable alternative to address workforce management. The cloud-based platform ensures reduced capital expenditure by eliminating the need for additional hardware and software, accelerates the adoption process by avoiding implementation delays and can be scaled easily as the business requirements change,” Mike says.

Bytes SI will now provide an outsourced, hosted and managed Kronos solution through a dedicated database within a private cloud, including daily system and data backups. In addition, Bytes SI can host the application in secure data centres with ongoing maintenance and infrastructure support.

According to Mike, cloud deployment also mitigates the risks associated with on-premise solutions, such as theft and potential viruses, without losing the shared benefits of the regular Kronos system that include employee self-service (ESS) for monitoring availability in terms of shift work and mobility in time-keeping.

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 39

The third International Print & Pack Expo, held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Kenya, drew large crowds with the Xerox stand being the major draw card due to the live demonstration of the latest Xerox printing presses. The Versant 2100 generated a lot of interest as a high-volume, high-performance machine capable of meeting demanding requirements including high definition printing. As a result of its showcase, several customers are considering acquisition of the device.

That’s according to Shaun Prinsloo, digital print specialist at Bytes Document Solutions, Xerox’s largest distributor in the world, which supplies Xerox products and solutions in 26 African countries, including Kenya.

He says the Nairobi expo at the KICC drew between 2 500 and 3 000 visitors. “This is a high quality audience of design, graphic arts and production print service providers looking to learn more about what the industry has to offer to meet the changing needs of their customers for print runs,” Shaun notes.

“Those requirements include smaller print runs with short lead times, versatility in output, and rapid time to delivery – specifications which are very difficult for traditional litho presses to meet.”

“It is for this reason, that the Versant 2100 stood out as the star of the show though we also had the new Xerox colour C70 and entry level production mono D110CPPro on display,” says Shaun.

The Xerox Versant 2100 is capable of up to 250 000 pages per month at 100 pages per minute. The press handles a variety of materials including coated and uncoated papers, bright papers, labels, business cards, glossy brochures, window decals, durable/synthetic papers, greeting cards, tabs, embossed, polyesters and custom solutions. It even handles mixed-stock jobs.

“The level of interest shown at the event - and the deals which have resulted from it – attests to a keen appetite for the latest technology, which is meeting the changing requirements of print customers in Kenya,” Shaun concludes.

The recent Zambian ICT & Pay Expo 2015 also drew a considerable crowd with Xerox digital printing

solutions attracting plenty of attention. As a key exhibitor at the event held in Lusaka’s Mulungushi International Conference Centre, Bytes Document Solutions and its Zambian partner DIGIprint Limited were on hand to provide delegates with direct experiences of how the latest technology drives better business.

That’s according to Christos Diakosavas, DIGIprint managing director, who says there is a shifting trend towards higher standards of quality. “This applies to printing services, with company owners and managers across the spectrum looking for document solutions that match their business needs.”

He says it should therefore come as no surprise that the first African sale (South Africa excluded) of the new Xerox Versant 2100 press was recently concluded by DIGIprint in Zambia. “That’s a reflection of the current climate and market, where there is demand for quality, speed and innovation. These are all things we strive for constantly at DIGIprint.”

After winning two accolades at the event (Best Local or International stand and Most Innovative Product) Christos describes the Zambian ICT & Pay Expo 2015 as a success for DIGIprint and Xerox, and also for the delegates who attended. As a barometer for the technology industry in Zambia, he says the level of interest bodes well: It was a great success – and we stood out as one of the brightest and best in Zambia, with this exhibition really getting DIGIprint and Xerox out there.”

XEROX EXCELS at African exhibitions

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GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES

could rain

Several companies within the Altron group are working to develop services and apps with the potential to reach a global market through the cloud.

Their efforts are focused on Microsoft’s Azure, a hyper-scale cloud platform that offers the infrastructure itself plus a host of essential enablement tools on top.

The opportunity to go global is being led by Bytes Systems Integration (Bytes SI), which has helped customers to benefit from Microsoft’s portfolio for 16 years and is now helping numerous companies migrate to the cloud based on the Azure platform.

Bytes SI and Microsoft see a lot of potential to broaden their relationship because several companies within the Altron group have intellectual property that could be made available internationally through Azure.

It’s an exciting opportunity, says Shaun Cochrane, the divisional executive of Bytes SI. “Across the Altron group we have a lot of intellectual property in solution developers like ourselves, Altech Netstar, Med-e-Mass, MediSwitch and Altech Multimedia. We can create packaged apps to become part of the Microsoft apps stack above the infrastructure and managed services

on Altron’s innovators

CLOUD

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 41

layer. It’s where we are going, by taking apps into Azure as an additional go-to-market channel to a global marketplace.”

Systems integrators and application developers across Altron are combining their expertise in big data and analytics to develop interesting solutions with global possibilities.

The Azure environment consists of the infrastructure layer with an array of services and apps on top, including Office 365, the Office suite adapted for the cloud.

Over the last few years the cloud in general and Office 365 in particular have seen a significant take-up in South Africa, says Uriel Rootshtain, the Business Lead for Office at Microsoft SA.

There are several reasons for that: operating efficiency, cost reduction, risk reduction because data is protected and backed-up in the cloud, and the ability to expand your geographic coverage or quickly add new features by tapping into more ad hoc services via the cloud.

As an example, companies can now add ‘universal communications’ to their business processes. “You can take real time communications and embed it in a business process in the same way that Microsoft runs its help desk,” says Uriel. Users open a window and select the nature of their issue. The system looks at the available agents and based on their presence links the user to the most appropriate agent via instant messaging, voice or video, and lets them share their desktop with the agent.

“These communications-enabled business processes have abilities that normal business processes don’t have, and Bytes SI has the ability to help customers begin their journey,” Uriel says.

A strongpoint for Microsoft is that it offers hybrid capabilities, so companies can put some of their infrastructure and applications in the cloud but keep others running in their own data centres.

Microsoft is the only hyper-scale cloud service provider that can provide hybrid capabilities by working with integration partners that have their own data centre assets, says Uriel.

That’s because Microsoft comes from the enterprise world and is moving into the cloud, while its main rivals were born in the cloud and don’t have the background experience of on-premise services, apps and security standards.

Microsoft technologies are like a bridge that crosses into both worlds, Shaun says. “Many customers want to take advantage of that because you can’t just click your heels and wish to be in the cloud and be there the next day. There’s a process of planning and having the capability to do that with the necessary level of control.”

Benefits for customers include the ability to base an app or a service in the cloud or on their premises, and switch between the two as needs change, says Leon Wright, Business Group Lead Cloud & Enterprise at Microsoft SA. “In the Microsoft architecture the customer is able to seamlessly move virtual instances from their data centre and run it in Azure, or move it back to their data centre seamlessly.”

They could do that to benefit from the ability to scale up quickly in the cloud and pay per use. For example, a company hosting its own website that handles a few hundred customers might run a campaign and suddenly need to scale to support millions of users. “You can’t do that in your data centre, hence the ability to scale in the cloud adds tremendous value,” says Leon.

Systems integration skills remain as crucial as ever as companies switch from running their own IT infrastructure to adopting cloud services. “You still need best-of-breed systems integrators to manage it,” says Shaun.

You can’t just click your heels and wish to be in the cloud and be there the next day.

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

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Bytes Document Solutions, Xerox’s largest distributor worldwide, has enabled Live Print, a full service walk-in and e-commerce print shop, to expand its product portfolio with a new Xerox C70 digital press.

Live Print recently opened its doors at Salt Rock’s Tiffany’s Centre,

promising the same personal service and high-

end print solutions that have made its sister company, Live

Eye, a success at the far bigger and more commercialised Gateway Centre in Umhlanga.

“Differentiation is one of the biggest challenges in a crowded consumer-driven market like printing, and while there’s no substitute for hard work, it’s probably the

LIVE PRINT BRINGS PRINTING TO LIFE with Xerox

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main reason for our success so far,” says Live Eye co-founder and Live Print owner Ryan Smith.

“Since we opened our doors at Gateway seven years ago we haven’t done a day’s advertising – it’s all been word of mouth,” says Ryan. “The same applies to Live Print. We’ve come up with a ‘Life in Print’ mantra that touches every aspect of our business, from the first time a customer walks through the door or interacts with our online shop, to second and subsequent visits based on the quality of product and experience the first time round.”

A chance combination of meetings with a property consultant in Salt Rock and with Bytes Document Solutions at the FESPA Africa Print Expo in Johannesburg gave Ryan and his team the impetus they needed to act on the idea of a satellite business. He was impressed by Bytes Document Solutions’ approach and attention to detail. “They clearly understood what our business was about, and knew what we’d need as a starting point for expanding the business beyond Live Eye. While the bulk of our business in Umhlanga was built on wide-format display printing for established blue chip companies, Live Print would necessarily have to cater for a much broader, walk-in clientele looking for a range of business stationery and personal printing products. What couldn’t change was the quality.”

On Bytes Document Solutions’ analysis and recommendation, Ryan purchased a Xerox C70 digital colour press. The C70 is a professional multifunction print, copy and scan station boasting benchmark image quality with 2400 x 2400 dpi resolution and EA low-melt toner for a smooth, offset-like finish. It can also match company colours, logos and offset presses with licensed PANTONE matching and Fogra Certification, and works with a wide range of media and paper stock up to 300gsm.

“First impressions count for any new business, but particularly businesses that cater to smaller communities where word of mouth is key,” says Amanda Kichenbrand, sales executive, Bytes Document Solutions Durban.

“Ryan and his team, with their Live Eye experience and pedigree, already had the know-how to ‘wow’ new customers. We had to make sure the products he delivered were equally impressive, and that his shop could sustain the expected volumes at competitive price points once word got out. The Xerox C70 is an ideal solution in this case, and will scale particularly well once Live Print decides to add new equipment to meet demand.”

Live Print will add a second Xerox workstation in the near future to both lower the cost of monochrome printing and continue its upward growth trajectory by adding new products to its catalogue, including photo books.

We couldn’t be happier with the results so far. If anything it’s becoming critical that we

add to our repertoire if we want to keep quality in touch with volume, and by accelerating growth we’re also meeting one of our main objectives for both Live Eye and Live Print: improving employment opportunities for local communities.

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KNOW YOUR GROUP

Bytes Systems Integration’s (Bytes SI) Technology Services & Outsourcing (TSO) division provides businesses with comprehensive end-to-end ICT services tailored to meet their specific requirements.

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Global economic conditions are forcing organisations to carefully rethink how they allocate their budgets. Organisations tend to focus specifically on their non-revenue generating departments, including IT, when considering cost reductions.

Outsourcing of IT functions is an increasingly viable option for businesses looking to reduce costs. A 2014 Gartner report forecast a 5,5% year-on-year decline in global business IT spend for 2015. IT service providers such as Bytes SI have reviewed their offerings, and adapted, innovated and improved the value-added solutions they offer to customers in order to be more competitive.

Tony Vorster, TSO’s divisional director, recommends a holistic approach to services. By understanding the requirements of the client’s business, the scope of IT services becomes clear and very focused. Bytes SI offers their clients a competitive advantage in their business while optimising their IT spend.

“We do this by crafting a fit for purpose solution that incorporates aspects of cloud computing, secure enterprise networking, project and program management and 24/7 business service and infrastructure monitoring,” he says.

According to Tony, businesses today depend on a few key factors in an increasingly collaborative operational environment to achieve their success. These include:

• Making information available securely to employees and customers no matter where they are, in a format that they can access it and at a time when they need it.

• Organising information so that there is a single version of the truth where people, whether working as a team or as individuals, can collaborate, share

ideas, access knowledge and store documents.

• Investing in the best people. Customers place high value on first contact resolution and expect to be served by a knowledgeable provider who fully understands not only their IT infrastructure environment, but the business demands too.

• Managing risk by ensuring that the controls that are in place are optimal for the task and do not restrict innovation, waste time or incur additional cost.

• Delivering value: price is only one component of the bigger picture of value. True value is measured by the end-user experience. Systems availability, ease of access, impeccable service, strategic guidance, reliable technology and constructive engagement are value drivers.

• Delighting the customer: customer frustrations stem from a discontinuity between the expectation and what is actually delivered.

THE TSO SERVICE OFFERING

The TSO division comprises of multiple core service offerings, any of which can be combined to provide a seamless solution.

Programme Management Office: Manages all aspects of Bytes SI’s responsibility within the outsourced ICT environment, including IT strategy alignment, governance, operations management, service delivery and ICT finances.

Service Desk: Traditionally the first port of call for users. Organisations expect a reliable service desk that is Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) compliant. TSO’s centralised or on-premise service desk offering provides remote support, first call resolution, strong SLA reporting standards and 24/7 service.

Back Office: Providing solid operational management of clients’ back office environment including servers, operating systems, infrastructure and utility applications such as messaging. TSO places particular emphasis on infrastructure life cycle management, efficient and secure hosting facilities and disaster recovery services.

Enterprise networking: Complex networks are critical to many businesses today. Scoping, design and deployment of enterprise network solutions is just the beginning. Optimising these for cost effective, high availability and secure operations is both a science and an art that TSO has perfected.

Business Systems Monitoring: According to Tony, companies have moved beyond simply monitoring their IT networks and server infrastructure in a NOC environment. Networks and servers are just two components of high availability business services in today’s interconnected world. Delivering high service availability to the business requires end-to-end transparency that spans from the end user device through the private and public cloud to the applications and even the underlying business data. Proactive management eliminates down time by pre-emptive interventions. TSO delivers a real time “single pane of glass view” of the critical business systems right onto the CIO’s mobile device.

Security: This area is of critical importance to any organisation and security services from TSO span from the perimeter to the core. TSO’s offerings include access control, authentication, industrial strength firewalls, patch management and malicious code prevention (anti-virus).

End-user computing: For an organisation to function effectively from an IT perspective,

Bytes SI provides customers with an integrated outsourcing service, architecting complete business centric solutions

with a single point of responsibility and accountability.

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end-user equipment, whether desktop or mobile, needs to be managed in accordance with company policies. TSO provides a comprehensive end-user computing service to ensure business continuity.

Project Management: Great project delivery goes beyond on schedule and within budget. Achieving excellence requires the application of consequential thinking based on experience and knowledge, selecting the right skills and applying appropriate tools and methodologies to meet the requirements of an organisation’s particular ICT project. The TSO project management teams deliver successful ICT implementations.

Microsoft Software Solutions: TSO’s Microsoft offerings assist businesses to achieve transformation and optimisation in on-premise, private, hybrid and public cloud environments in terms of:

• Data platform and analytics services using Microsoft SQL server.

• Application services using Microsoft Visual Studio.

• Content and collaboration using Microsoft SharePoint.

As a Microsoft Gold accredited provider of SharePoint services, the division can assist organisations to build their Intranet, Extranet and Internet sites either on-premise or in the cloud.

Microsoft Infrastructure: The TSO division is well positioned to participate in every stage (consult, design, implement and deploy) of choosing an advanced infrastructure and cloud services solution. Examples of infrastructure services include Skype for business, Office 365, Azure Private Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, or a private hosted exchange.

THE VALUE OF OUTSOURCING AND SCALABILITY

Bytes SI provides customers with an integrated outsourcing service, architecting complete business centric solutions with a single point of responsibility and accountability. Bytes SI understands that its customers’ IT infrastructure must be flexible, compliant and secure. Most

importantly, it understands the critical role its customers’ network and infrastructure play in achieving their overall business objectives. A key component of this business unit’s offering lies in the seamless integration of all of an organisation’s technologies into one solution – that is functional, innovative and effective in facilitating their changing needs. Through its diverse range of products and services, scale and highly skilled resources, Bytes SI ensures that an organisation is kept connected.

The TSO division offers scalable outsourced solutions to its customers. The customer is able to choose those components of a solution from the services catalogue that fit both budget and operational requirements whether it be onsite, offsite, centralised or de-centralised.

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

ADVANCE TECHNOLOGY

SERVICES

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The 2014/15 national crime statistics released by Statistics South Africa revealed a steady rise in reported criminal activity with more than two million crimes committed during this time. Violent or contact crimes such as aggravated robbery, attempted murder, sexual offences and common assault have all increased.

With a vision to create a safe and secure environment in South Africa, SAPS embarked on a process to upgrade its existing TETRA network.

The brief to AAM was to provide the latest main switching office hardware and software for the shared network and in so doing add all new features for the benefit of both SAPS and other third party public safety agencies. Between 2007 and 2015, SAPS’ network terminal requirements grew from

The decision by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Gauteng to appoint Altech Alcom Matomo (AAM) to upgrade its existing Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) digital communication network demonstrates how seriously it regards its responsibility to protect the province’s citizens.

FIGHTING CRIME through successful network sharing

an initial 27 500 user terminals to the current 40 000 terminals. The main benefit of a shared network is faster response times to emergencies through inter-agency collaboration.

AAM is scheduled to complete the upgrading of the central switching architecture by mid- December. Operators on their virtual private network will then enjoy a higher level of functionality and reliability.

According to Noel Watermeyer, sales director at AAM, it was important to ensure the upgraded network would enable SAPS to expand and integrate the network to cater for future additional radio subscribers, high site transceivers, network redundancy and data applications to assist in locating, monitoring or dispatching resources.

“With a need for superior response times, SAPS required a communications solution that emphasised flexibility and could be expanded in multiple geographical zones. Since inter-agency communication can reduce confusion, enhance efficiency and save lives, the SAPS shared network functionality facilitates inter-operability and creates an environment benefiting both the public safety respondents themselves and the general public,” adds Noel.

The upgrade will realise long-term cost savings through the reduced operational expenditure and, according to Noel, officials are aiming to improve emergency unit response times, and increase cooperation between the public safety agencies.

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The initial implementation phase entails the installation of a digital signalling system specifically for drivers. This will be followed by a second phase involving the upgrading of the train control system itself, enabling the rolling stock to be automatically controlled and reducing the driver’s role to supervising the system.

According to Andries Raaths, technical manager at AAM, the primary objective of the radio network is to enable fast, efficient

KEEPING PASSENGERS INFORMED

and reliable contact between train operators and control centres through the provision of a wireless digital communications system covering approximately 1 200 km of PRASA’s commuter rail network.

The main benefit of the new infrastructure is improved communication between drivers and control centres through clearer digital audio, ensuring that information is disseminated to passengers quicker and more effectively.

Due to the scale and complexity of PRASA’s requirements, in-depth research and meticulous planning was required to maximise efficiencies of the existing communications infrastructure.

Following the completion of the network roll-out, it is expected that PRASA’s railway network will enjoy a safer operating environment, coupled with accurate dissemination of information between drivers and control centres. The new communications infrastructure will further mitigate the risk of accidents based on the ability of control centres to forewarn drivers of rail works or poor visibility.

The implementation is a direct consequence of the formation of Altech Collab, a partnership between Altech and Huawei that saw Huawei as the manufacturer and supplier of the communications technology and equipment on the project, while AAM was responsible for the civil works, installation and maintenance.

Having previously deployed GSM-R technology successfully at other large-scale global rail networks, Huawei built a virtual model of the proposed solution for PRASA and completed a network simulation at its research and development facility in China by analysing the real-network environment, architecture, and device capabilities.

Altech Alcom Matomo (AAM) has progressed well with the installation of a digital signalling radio communications system at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). The implementation will see enhanced communications between railway drivers and control centres through clearer digital audio, leading to a more accurate and efficient passenger experience.

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And what could be easier than waltzing in and grabbing paper straight off someone’s desk, out of a filing system or directly from the copier.

The risk of paper documents is directly and inextricably linked to human fallibility. Particularly where printers or copiers are concerned, this represents the translation of the digital back to the analogue and, for all the wonders of human capability, as a species we tend to be forgetful.

However, a few simple processes and procedures, as well as suitable devices, can effectively mitigate the potential risks associated with paper documents. The good news is that doing so doesn’t have to be a big deal either – of course, one big step in keeping copier secrets is securing the devices digitally, and that should be taken care of by the supplier. The other is putting in place the recommended practice in column B to deal with the specific risk outlined in column A:

Keeping paper documents secure is a truly analogue process, and one of the risks is that it seems so mundane as to warrant nary a glance. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security; hackers aren’t likely to be as blasé about the information on paper if it is easy to obtain.

In today’s age of interconnectivity, it is well known that enterprises are at risk of security breaches. One area that needs attention relates to document management.

There has been much focus on the necessity to secure document management processes and end-point devices. Without question, this is an essential task which must be performed not only in the enterprise but in any company working with sensitive or personal information.

However, the stark reality is that your knowledge workers – your people – may be the greatest threat to your company’s document management security. They may mean well, but they are human. They make mistakes. And sometimes, they make document security decisions that put the business at risk.

Research, experience and plain common sense tell us that typically the most likely security breach doesn’t come from shadowy operatives. Like anyone looking for a fast buck, hackers and other agitators don’t go for complex first, they go for simple and easy.

DOCUMENT SECURITY RISKS: SECURE EMPLOYEES AND DEVICES

A. RISK B. MITIGATIONPrint goes to the wrong printer Pull/secure printingUser forgets printed document, leaving it abandoned at printer

Pull/secure printing

Documents left on desk or in conference room Clean desk policyCompliance and information privacy Digitise workflowDocuments misclassified or not labelled confidential Implement information security policySlow transaction time waiting for signed documents Digitise workflow

THREE TOP SECURITY TIPS

1. Document repositories – make it easy to find the latest version of a document and harder to use wrong or outdated information, which can be a compliance risk.

2. Print policy – have one, and make sure employees not only know the ‘what’ of it, but also the ‘why’.

3. Document classification – documents containing private or confidential information must be clearly labelled and employees educated on what those labels mean and how to handle them. Publishers should learn how to secure documents in repositories that have appropriate authentication and access controls.

Ronnie Oeschger, divisional director Xerox Indirect Channels, Bytes Document

Solutions.

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The city has several competitive advantages to help it become an international leader, says Rico Costa, Western Cape regional manager of Bytes People Solutions.

“Companies are considering basing their contact centres here because our value proposition includes a large labour pool to serve global English speakers, a narrow cost differential with locations like India, a Europe-friendly time zone, a robust first world infrastructure and strong telecommunications.”

“Our main attraction isn’t being the cheapest, but offering better quality,” Rico says. “South Africa’s value proposition is about overall economic value, high quality staff, high cultural compatibility and a favourable time zone.”

Language is perhaps our biggest advantage, especially compared to rival locations such as India and the Philippines. South Africans hired for international voice work generally

CAPE TOWN CONTACT CENTRE INDUSTRY

speak English as their first language and have a neutral accent. They also have a cultural affinity to the UK and can deliver a customer experience comparable to UK-based contact centres.

Cape Town is a distinctly first world location with sophisticated consumer, legal and fiscal systems, which enable the agents to easily relate to and understand customer situations.

Globally, very few countries have large concentrations of English first-language speakers with relatively low salary expectations. That gives South Africa a huge opportunity to become a niche player focusing on high-value, complex customer interactions. “We can offer British clients higher quality, more culturally aligned front and back-office services for business process outsourcing (BPO), with labour costs about a third cheaper than British-based centres,” Rico says.

could conquer the

Cape Town is famous for its beauty, its laid back attitude to life and its cosmopolitan vibe. It’s becoming famous for its contact centres too, with the mother city vying to become the big daddy of the global contact centre industry.

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 51

While we’re not cheaper than India or the Philippines, we offer a better customer service based on greater empathy and closer cultural affinity, he believes.

Improvements in the quality of our telecoms infrastructure and large decreases in the cost are also driving the opportunity, with telecoms costs down by 90% since 2003.

The Philippines has more than a million people working in its BPO industry, compared to just over 20 000 in South Africa. But our reputation for good service should see that increase. Four of the six leading UK contact centre service providers already have a presence in South Africa.

India looks set to remain the premier BPO destination and may always account for 40% to 50% of all offshore contact centre work. “But, for reasons of risk concentration, operational reasons and because companies realise there are some things India can do well and some things not so well, other destinations are going to be in the second tier,” says Rico. South Africa, along with the Philippines, China, Malaysia, Canada, Israel and Ireland, is in the second tier and has the potential to lead it.

Yet investors are worried about skills development in South Africa and whether the labour pool can meet their demand. In theory, we can. The contact centre industry here typically recruits high school leavers rather than graduates, with 1 in 4 applicants considered suitable to become customer service agents. Since approximately 250 000 matriculants leave school every year, there is a vast pool of potential recruits.

But the skills constraints are real – while South Africa has a large pool of highly skilled agents, there is a shortage of quality team leaders.

The good news is that the government and businesses have partnered on programmes and incentives to support the growth of BPO. A key reason why the industry has expanded over the past decade has been the government’s desire to use it to alleviate the crisis of youth unemployment, which stands at an estimated 50 percent. State-funded learnerships are helping to ensure there is a pipeline of new recruits for the industry, while a lack of alternative career opportunities creates greater staff loyalty. Agents spend an average of three years in one position, giving them plenty of experience.

The introduction of new incentives has seen the contact centre industry greatly improve and attract major international clients, expanding from approximately 10 000 centres in 2010 to over 25 000 today, says Dr Madelise Grobler, managing director of Bytes People Solutions.

It has become a key industry in the Western Cape, and Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene announced in his 2015 budget that R10,2 billion had been allocated in the medium term to growing BPO, acknowledging its important contribution to the economy.

In the Western Cape, an additional telecoms incentive provides new investors with free telecoms services for their first six months PEOPLE SOLUTIONS

South Africa is now in a position where we can compete on service, on the type of products on offer and on price with any other offshore destination.

of operation. As telecoms form an important part of an investor’s cost basket, this initiative removes a lot of risk for new investors who are deciding whether or not to set up in the Western Cape.

However, one of the major challenges facing the BPO industry in the Western Cape, and worldwide, is the pressure on outsourcing destinations to keep their jobs onshore.

Hiring a foreign organisation to perform some business functions overseas – such as running the help desk – is popular because it cuts costs, gives access to more effective processes managed by specialists, frees up staff for other tasks, makes the cost stream predictable, spreads risks across a number of locations, and allows the management to focus on the core business.

So despite the pressure to keep their jobs at home, businesses are still outsourcing overseas and are beginning to outsource higher-end services such as budgeting, forensics, analytics, IT, accounting, actuarial and managed services too.

Winning that business is complex and involves the support of a supply chain that must deliver both technology and skills – both of which are also good for the wider economy and society. South Africa has proved it can exceed any onshore capabilities in complex voice and sales protection and enhancement services, Rico says.

These factors, combined with our world-class infrastructure, make South Africa and the Western Cape a highly attractive BPO investment destination.

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BYTES HELPS THE AURUM INSTITUTE IMPROVE DATA MANAGEMENT

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The Aurum Institute is a public-benefit organisation that has been working to help eradicate TB and HIV for the past 17 years. Working in partnership with government, the mining industry, other non-governmental organisations and communities, The Aurum Institute develops innovative programmes to strengthen existing healthcare systems, develop innovations and improvements, and conduct research.

THE CHALLENGERunning programmes across all nine provinces, data management is a critical function for The Aurum Institute. Its work includes health programmes, research projects and clinical trials, and staff from the Institute’s Data Management Centre are responsible for collecting, cleaning, analysing and reporting on the data collected by data monitors and capturers in the field.

Given that this data is used for medical purposes, lives are at stake. However, the reality is that data management presents numerous challenges in this context. Programme participants are often located in remote rural areas, making data capture in itself difficult. Furthermore, there are large volumes of data to be collected across numerous programmes, so keeping track of outstanding queries and ensuring that all are dealt with timeously presents a significant challenge in its own right.

The existing system was largely manual and paper-based, with all the quality and monitoring issues that implies. Another challenge was a lack of granularity, which meant that it was impossible to pinpoint individual data capturers who were experiencing problems. This meant that retraining programmes could not be effectively targeted where they were needed.

Software custom developed by Bytes helped The Aurum Institute improve data quality captured in the field, providing a complete solution for managing the entire data life cycle across multiple programmes around the country.

“We needed a system that would enable us to manage the entire data life cycle effectively, allowing us to track current participants across all sites, identify them accurately and then store all the information centrally,” says Naydene Slabbert, technical data manager at The Aurum Institute. “We also needed a way to make it easier for staff to capture data accurately wherever they were, and to keep track of queries and deadlines.”

THE SOLUTION

Having worked with the Bytes software development team on previous projects, Naydene elected to work with them again. The Bytes team built a Web-enabled system based on a centralised Microsoft SQL database, thus ensuring a single source of the truth. This client registration and form tracking system, or CRaFT, was designed to provide solutions to The Aurum Institute’s challenges relating to data management.

CRaFT enables secure identification of participants, and the offsite collection of information. The data collection and management process can be adapted to the needs of a specific programme, thus creating a data work flow. Electronic tracking of forms ensures that an audit trail for all information is created; similarly, electronic query management ensures that all queries are directed to the responsible person and tracked.

A unique feature of the system is an Android application that allows data capturers to work

offline, and then sync to the central database when they have connectivity. This ensures that even the remotest areas can be covered effectively, without recourse to paper-based capturing with the attendant errors.

A final, and critically important, functionality is the system’s ability to deliver customised reports daily.

“CRaFT has helped improve the quality of the data we can supply our internal customers, while also speeding up the data capture process,” says Naydene. “It has made my life a lot easier because we can identify bottlenecks easily, and see where extra training could be needed.”

The system currently supports in excess of 130 users and 10 000 participants across 18 distinct programmes.

QUANTIFYING THE BENEFITS• Days to transmit data by fax: decreased

from approximately six days to three days.

• Internal quality control review and query generation: completed within 48 hours.

• External quality control report resolution: resolved within a maximum of five days (depending on the number of discrepancies).

• Bottlenecks and time delays: with entries logged per user, The Aurum Institute can resolve bottlenecks almost immediately.

• Training needs: as transcription and entry errors are logged to the responsible staff members, trends and possible training needs are identified.

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

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INNOVATION sets FNB apartPopular social media platform Instagram was originally intended to help users counter the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder (depression associated with late autumn and winter and thought to be caused by a lack of light) by adding rays of fake sunshine to photographs. After plenty of detours and setbacks, the 18-month-old start up eventually sold to Facebook for $1 billion, proving that many incredible ideas start life being fairly average.

There was certainly nothing average about FNB’s recent CodeFest 2.0 which saw 250 developers converge for a multi-day sprint to work on more than 40 business-sponsored ideas. The winner was an application encouraging kids to save.

FNB is always on the lookout for innovative ways to make banking more compelling and with this in mind, CodeFest creates a platform for IT experts across the bank to collaborate and build solutions to improve financial services and the overall banking experience of customers.

When Johan Nel, regional operations manager: desktop and mobile technology: FNB approached Altron TMT’s key account executive for the financial sector, Zak Mesnard, to find out if the organisation would be willing to be one of the sponsoring companies for the event, Zak jumped at the opportunity and secured commitment from Bytes Managed Solutions, Bytes People Solutions and Altech Radio Holdings.

Bytes Managed Solutions strategic account executive: FNB, Koot de Klerk, approached managing director, Deidre Le Hanie, and director: business development, Alan Anderson, who could immediately see the benefits of being associated with the event, given the company’s involvement in the banking sector, and agreed to sponsor the dinner. Mogammad Peters and Pam Motsumi also assisted with the company’s involvement in the event, and more than 200 branded 8GB USB credit card memory sticks were handed out to CodeFest participants.

Bytes People Solutions also came to the party with a prize in the form of a Microsoft Azure development training course for an individual, while Altech Collab (a division of Altech Radio Holdings) sponsored a Huawei LTE Wi-Fi cube router that works on all South African networks, displays phenomenal speeds and connects to up to 32 devices.

“We feel privileged to support our financial services customers in South Africa, be it through our excellent managed services portfolio, our NCR ATMs, our NCR Kalpana cloud solution and Teller Cash Recyclers, the provision of support services or training, our secure payment solutions, our excellent digital take-up portfolio from Byes Document Solutions or even through our involvement in events such as this one,” says Zak.

Zak believes that innovation at banks and investment services providers is crucial, and that harnessing emerging digital

technologies will create the disruption required to keep banks relevant to their customers. This is why events such as CodeFest are vital.

He concludes: “We congratulate FNB on its forward-thinking approach in hosting a competition such as CodeFest, which motivates its internal developers and coders to do what they want to in the digital world and then rewards those teams for innovation that enables the bank to be more competitive. We would also like to thank FNB for the opportunity to be a strategic partner of theirs, particularly through the sponsorship of CodeFest 2.0.”

MANAGED SOLUTIONS

FNB CodeFest developers received shoulder massages during the multi-day event to help them keep going.

LET’S TALK

Send your answers to: Chris Van Zyl (cvanzyl@altech.co.za)by 26 February 2016.

STAFFCompetition

QUESTIONSQUESTIONS

CONGRATULATIONS TO SAMANTHA DU PREEZ – ALTECH NUPAYTHE WINNER OF THE R500 ALTECH NUPAY NUCARD. (ISSUE 08, JULY - SEPT 2015).

Read this edition of Let’s Talk TMT to find the answers and stand a chance to WIN a R500 Altech NuPay NuCard sponsored by Altech NuPay.

Let’s Talk TMT l Page 55

1. Who is the successor to Rob Abraham?

2. What was the name of the school that received a donation of interactive boards from Altron?

3. Which company did Altech NuPay acquire?

4. What is the name of the FNB innovation event?

5. Who is the director of business development: Africa at Broadridge?

* Please note that this competition is open to employees of Altron only.Members of the magazine editorial team are not eligible to enter.

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