NEWS
CIOs rethink storage ownership as AI hardware shortages intensify
CIOs are increasingly being forced to rethink traditional storage ownership models as Artificial Intelligence workloads place growing pressure on global hardware supply chains.
According to Hemant Harie, Group CTO, Data Management Professionals South Africa, escalating component shortages, rising storage costs and unpredictable procurement cycles are making it harder for enterprises to rely solely on owned infrastructure.
South African banking leaders report increasing fraud attempts and losses
new survey commissioned by BioCatch reveals rising concern
A over fraud levels within South African banks, with most financial institutions reporting increasing fraud attempts and losses.
Among fraud-management, anti-money laundering( AML) and compliance leaders surveyed, 75 % said fraud attempts were increasing, while 79 % reported growing fraud losses. More than four-fifths( 81 %) estimated annual fraud losses at over US $ 5 million( R82.3 million).
“ More South African banking leaders reported rising fraud attempts, rising fraud losses, and annual fraud losses exceeding US $ 5 million than their counterparts at financial institutions elsewhere in the world,” said Thomas Peacock, Director of Global Fraud Intelligence at BioCatch.
The research also found that 78 % of banking leaders view the reputational impact of fraud and scams as equal to or greater than the direct financial cost.
Harie said AI demand is consuming massive amounts of compute, memory and storage capacity, creating significant strain across the hardware market as enterprises and hyperscalers compete for the same resources.
“ In some cases, we are seeing price increases of up to 400 %, primarily concentrated in specific memory segments and highperformance storage components, driven by sheer scarcity and an overheated procurement landscape,” said Harie.
The pressure is pushing more organisations toward opex-based rental and cloud storage models to reduce exposure to hardware shortages, delayed deliveries and technology obsolescence.
However, Harie warned that CIOs must still balance governance, compliance and performance requirements carefully, particularly for latency-sensitive or sovereigntybound workloads that require on-premise infrastructure.
He added that hybrid and multi-cloud architectures are becoming increasingly important for improving resilience and reducing supply-chain risk.
According to Harie, businesses that combine owned and rented infrastructure strategically will be better positioned to manage future AI-driven market volatility.
“ Fraudsters increasingly no longer break into banks,” said Jonathan Frost, Global Advisory Director at BioCatch.“ Instead, they manipulate customers’ cognitive and emotional states to override rational judgment.”
Additional findings showed that 40 % of organisations are already using behavioural biometrics technologies, while 89 % of respondents believe instant payment platforms such as RTC present a moderate to very high fraud risk.
The report highlights growing concern around social engineering attacks and the need for stronger fraud prevention strategies across South Africa’ s banking sector.
Hemant Harie, Group CTO, Data Management Professionals South Africa
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