Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 33 | Page 29

A PUBLICATION Providing Unparalleled Technology Intelligence ISSUE 33 // www.intelligentcio.com Can firms go autonomous? An expert examines whether automation can help CIOs in South Africa Securing a remote workforce Industry leaders discuss how organisations can best address cyberthreats Smart agriculture EDITOR’S NOTE H ello and welcome to the latest edition of Intelligent CIO Africa. This month’s front cover features the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA SA) and how it has mandated Itec to transform its existing legacy communications contact centre into a digital omni-channel system that integrated easily into existing technology, was scalable, and included full disaster recovery options. Itec worked with AA SA to develop a Mitel communications solution that virtualised its existing business processes, integrating its mobile app with multiple channels including voice calls, SMS and other forms of communication. Jaco Van Der Merwe, General Manager of IT at AA SA, tells us that he was particularly impressed by the well-defined APIs provided by Itec, that enabled a smooth transition and set-up when integrating the AA SA app into the Mitel communications platform. He also said that the platform itself was easy to understand and operate. It is a challenging time to be a CIO. Not just tasked with keeping the technology backbone functioning, they now must help their organisation make sense of mountains www.intelligentcio.com of data and become more agile to support a digital strategy. With this in mind, Niral Patel, MD Oracle SA, looks at how organisations can benefit if they went autonomous. Elsewhere in our State of the CIO feature, you can read how top-performing CIOs are focusing more on business leadership and the goals of the customers, employees, and other business functions, rather than technology operations, according to new research from ServiceNow. The modern workforce is more flexible and collaborative than ever before, with technology enabling employees to work from anywhere, at any time, on any device. But these new remote workforces are not without their security risks. We spoke to industry experts about some of the biggest cyberthreats and how companies can best address these. Many organisations think their current email security systems are up to the task of protecting them from phishing; however, many of them fall short and do not keep their organisations safe. On the back of a survey conducted by Mimecast, we asked leading experts what can organisations do to ensure they have robust email security systems in place? Internet of Things technology is helping Algerian farmers increase their yields Up and running The Automobile Association of South Africa mandated Itec to transform its existing legacy communications contact centre into a digital omni-channel system that integrated easily into existing technology and included full Disaster Recovery options. Intelligent Data Protection Partner Global ICIO Knowledge Partner Intelligent Data Security Partner Global Innovation Partner Intelligent Supporting Partner Intelligent ITSM Partner Intelligent Threat Management Partner Intelligent Banking & Finance Partner Intelligent Education Partner Our Country Focus feature is on Algeria, where you can find out how global IT provider SITA is providing key systems to support the smooth opening and operation of Algeria’s new international terminal at Houari Boumediene International Airport, while Ankur Bhan, Founder and Head of WING Business Line, Nokia, explains how the Internet of Things has helped a peach farmer in Algeria increase his yields, reduce impact on the environment, and cut irrigation costs. Elsewhere, Indi Siriniwasa, Vice President Sub-Saharan Africa at Trend Micro, gives us an insight into his career and what makes him tick in ‘Get to Know’, while Bluegrass Digital Managing Director Nick Durrant analyses the challenges of online shopping. As ever, please feel free to submit any news or thought leadership articles to paul@lynchpinmedia.co.uk. I hope you enjoy the read. Paul Rodgers Editor INTELLIGENTCIO 29