Author: Editor
You have now been tasked with navigating a new world: working from home. This may sound great until you are charged with being the home-school teacher; your dog decides your new life purpose is playing fetch with him or her; you realise that your significant other is the loudest eater ever to have walked the earth; and you have to manage all forms of other new and unexpected interruptions – all while doing your job and keeping your customer happy! Fear not. After extensive research, we have gathered the top tips to help you survive Planet Home: Set working hoursSetting…
Last month, dormakaba South Africa hosted a Webinar with six-time South African cross country marathon champion and team dormakaba cyclist Robyn de Groot during which she talked about the impact the hard lockdown had on her approach to training, her experiences at the World Championships in Turkey at the end of last year, and her thoughts about racing in the new normal. Acclaimed radio sports presenter, Jeff Ayliffe, helped guide the conversation to provide viewers with a fascinating behind-the-scenes peak into the mind of one of South Africa’s top elite professional female cyclists. “The hard lockdown affected every person in…
Drunk at 12pm? Thinking of a quick glass at 1? It can be a fireable offence… Working from home has become a normal part of business life, a part that is unlikely to come to a crashing halt any time soon. Within this new normal are casual clothes, comfortable working conditions, as well as less time spent in cars and chatting around the water cooler. These changes are immensely valuable to both employer and employee – boosting morale, productivity and work/life balance. However, there are also risks to this new found freedom, one of which is that an employee could…
The COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on the global economy and supply chains across the world are feeling the pinch. According to Databuild CEO Morag Evans, this presents an ideal opportunity for South African companies to support local manufacturers. As more countries go into lockdown, world leaders and health care workers across the globe are working non-stop to contain the spread of infection and put an end to the pandemic as speedily as possible. Deloitte is predicting that the slowdown in economic activity – including transport restrictions – in countries affected with the Coronavirus, will have a detrimental…
The year 2020 will undoubtedly go down in history as one of unprecedented global lockdowns, followed by a radically transformed business landscape – all brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. In South Africa, the pandemic exacted a heavy toll on the construction industry, leading to severe financial hardship and even closure for many companies. Those businesses that survived were forced to drastically change the way they operate in order to overcome the devastating effects of a stringent five-week lockdown. But, says Databuild CEO Morag Evans, if there is one lesson to be learned from the events of 2020, it is…
The nature of the world we live in is that we are surrounded by threats and opportunities. Today we are faced with multiple new threats – The threat of viral infection, weakened healthcare services, being left in the dark at home (thanks Eskom) and just general negativity at home and in business. Many years ago, I learned that the way to tackle threats is to see beyond the threat into the opportunity that it presents. In fact, our company Synthesis has been built on the back of opportunities that initially looked like threats. For example, Cloud Computing threatened to disrupt…
Getting lost in the latest tech talk? Don’t know your AI from your ML? Then it’s time to learn how to talk AI like an expert. The term AI/ML has become exceptionally popular but what exactly to the experts mean they refer to AI/ML? “AI/ML” is a field in computer science which tries to use computers to solve problems that were previously only “solvable” by humans. For years, computers excelled at number crunching but certain tasks, such as voice recognition (hearing), object recognition in photos (vision) and predicting behaviour of agents in unconstrained or uncertain environments, remained a challenge for…
With governments around the world getting involved in almost every aspect of our lives, from when we are allowed to exercise to what clothes to buy, it is somewhat disappointing that they have not legislated behavior on “Zoom” calls. And so, because I am an active and responsible citizen, I thought that it could be a grand idea to assist with some of the drafting. Government Gazette Concerning Zoom type Calls For the purpose of this document, “Zoom” call shall mean any on-line, virtual call, not limited to the Zoom technology but might include Teams, Google, Crowdcast or any such…
As more companies continue to establish their presence in the cloud and the proportion of worldwide data stored in the public cloud set to grow to almost 50%, according to research, service providers will have their work cut out to compete and add value. This is according to Learning Machines, a leading consulting firm specialising in machine learning, big data engineering and cloud services. The company is perfectly poised to assist the market with cloud adoption, cloud migration and cloud infrastructure. It boasts an extensive portfolio of cloud solutions, as well as highly experienced certified architects to ensure that businesses…
Retail solutions provider Smollan has once again looked to CRS Technologies to provide a payroll solution for its African operation. Founded in 1931, Smollan is a retail solutions company that delivers growth for retailers and brand owners across five continents, covering every aspect of how brands are managed in retail environments through the creation and execution of leading solutions in advisory, sales and retail execution, marketing solutions, technology and e-commerce. Internationally recognised for its exceptional human platform of more than 80 000 people and its sophisticated systems, Smollan drives sales and creates brilliant shopper experiences for some of the world’s…