A
PUBLICATION
Providing Unparalleled Technology Intelligence
ISSUE 19 //
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HARNESSING
THE POWER
The amount of data
being produced globally
is set to increase
IMPROVING
LIVES
Technology is playing an
important role in improving
lives in Burkina Faso
THE NEXT
FRONTIER
SAP Africa expert on why
telco firms cannot rest on
their laurels
EDITOR’S
NOTE
W
elcome to the latest edition
of Intelligent CIO Africa. This
month’s cover story focuses on
how IT distributor Kolok has utilised Citrix’s
NetScaler SD-WAN solution to provide
visibility into the network and improve
business efficiencies.
With an operation as complex as Kolok’s, a
reliable and secure network is paramount
to keep business running smoothly due
to it fulfilling thousands of individual
deliveries of IT products every day from its
Johannesburg headquarters.
We learn that, working alongside leading
technology solutions specialist Troye, Kolok
constantly assess how new innovations in
technology can improve productivity, with
IT Manager Richard Vivian explaining that
‘visibility and control delivers peace of mind’.
The amount of data being produced
globally is only set to increase – and the
value of it cannot be underestimated. With
that in mind, we spoke to four regional
industry experts about how enterprises
and organisations should best approach
Big Data and business analytics to unlock
its full potential. Reghard van Jaarsveld,
www.intelligentcio.com
Engagement Manager at Decision Inc,
says companies need to constantly review,
analyse and interrogate the data they have
at their disposal to enable better decision-
making as well as improved solution
development, while Adebayo Sanni,
Managing Director, Oracle Nigeria, believes
the data leaders of tomorrow need a
strategy to unlock value across the entirety
of this treasure trove and quickly.
We also spoke to Kate Mollett, Regional
Manager for Africa South at Veeam , who
explains why data is the engine of digital
transformation, and Grant Bennett, from
SUSE, who says data growth is incredibly
rapid, long into double figures and the
interest rate is compound.
This month’s country focus is Burkina Faso,
where technology is playing an important
role in improving the lives of some of its
poorest members. We explore some of
these technologies – from improved digital
infrastructure to Blockchain and innovative
new farming tools – which are helping to
bridge the divide in the west African country.
ENHANCING EFFICIENCY
Kolok, a division of the Bidvest Group and one of South Africa’s largest IT
distributors, has deployed Citrix’s NetScaler SD-WAN solution to improve
its customer service, speed of response and business efficiencies.
PROJECT LATEST | INTELLIGENT CABLING | INTELLIGENT DATA CENTRES
Association (IDA) credit for Burkina Faso
to expand the geographical coverage of
broadband networks and reduce the costs
of communication services in the country.
The additional financing is aimed to scale-
up efforts in order to reduce international
connectivity prices and ultimately retail
prices of Internet.
Telecommunications firms are some
of Africa’s biggest success stories and
continue to push forward the country’s
economic development.
That is the focus in Industry Watch, where
Mariam Abdullahi, Telco Industry Lead at
SAP Africa, explains how telcos need to set
workplace culture priorities to continue to
attract and retain top talent and by focusing
on these, they will be better positioned to
engage and retain a motivated, productive
and inspired workforce.
We also have our other usual features and
news articles from across the continent. We
hope you enjoy the read.
For example, World Bank recently approved
a US$20 million International Development
INTELLIGENTCIO
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