Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 17 | Page 33

A PUBLICATION Providing Unparalleled Technology Intelligence ISSUE 17 // Global Cooling Partner Intelligent Security Partner www.intelligentcio.com Intelligent Education Partner Intelligent Supporting Partner Intelligent Cabling Partner Intelligent Manufacturing Partner Intelligent Software Partner Intelligent Energy Partner SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES Connectivity and communication key to forging a path towards Zimbabwe’s digital future PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Companies need to have an effective incident response plan to avert disaster IMPROVING PATIENTS’ EXPERIENCE Big data will be essential to addressing a global healthcare challenge EDITOR’S NOTE W elcome to the latest edition of Intelligent CIO Africa. This month’s cover story focuses on how Mimecast helped Growthpoint handle a complex communications challenge, which has resulted in the company adopting extended services to improve cyber resilience. Growthpoint Properties is the largest listed South African REIT by market capitalisation and assets, with 635 staff located in three regional and several remote sites across South Africa. So when the company approached Mimecast, it was facing a complex communications problem. It had 437 buildings to manage and 450 staff to provide with communications infrastructure. And working off radio links from remote and temporary office locations proved to CIO Alec Davis how critical email communication was to the business. Mimecast provided Growthpoint with an integrated email suite without the traditional hardware, software or capital expense and gave it a single point of control over its email communications that integrated easily into its new IT setup. Having an effective incident response plan is crucial in any business to mitigate any disasters. In our disaster recovery www.intelligentcio.com HANDLING A CHALLENGE Growthpoint approached Mimecast to handle a complex communications challenge and has since adopted extended services to improve cyber resilience. Mimecast provided an integrated email suite without the traditional hardware, software or capital expense. PROJECT LATEST | INTELLIGENT CABLING | INTELLIGENT DATA CENTRES feature, Morey Haber, Chief Technology Officer at BeyondTrust, says he has seen a wide variety of best practices for incident response. The methodologies vary greatly based on the sensitivity of the data and requirements to notify law enforcement, but best practice recommendations suffer from the same problem: they are too high level to actually execute. attractive investment destination, including the effective repeal of key areas of the Indigenisation Act. Nhena Nyagura, CEO of Dandemutande, a subsidiary of Gondwana International Networks, talks about how Zimbabwe’s economic progress will hinge on the provision of world-class connectivity and communications solutions within the corporate and business sector. Alessandro Postiglioni, Head of IT Security Sales for BT in Africa, meanwhile, looks at how a power or utility company can recover when affected by adverse weather, a natural disaster or vandalism. But as he points out, as utilities – like other companies across industries – look to adopt leading digital technologies such as cloud, mobility, data analysis, Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), threats to business continuity have become compounded by cyberattacks and cybercriminal acts. Therefore, security is a top priority for utilities and an increasing challenge with the growing risks. Meanwhile, in Industry Watch, Yunus Munga, Business Unit Manager for Africa at Elekta, talks about the explosion of data in healthcare, which is creating the opportunity to gain insights that can improve patients’ experiences. Munga says the incidence of cancer continues to rise and strategic leveraging of technology and big data will be essential to addressing this global healthcare challenge. We also have our other usual features and news stories from across the continent. If you would like to contribute and get in touch, feel free to email me at paul@ lynchpinmedia.co.uk This month’s country focus is on Zimbabwe, where we look at how broad and necessary reforms have already been put in place to position the southern African country as an INTELLIGENTCIO 33