EDITOR’S
NOTE
Welcome to the latest edition of
Intelligent CIO Africa magazine.
With the world still struggling
to cope with the Coronavirus pandemic we
take a look at some of the more positive
developments that have been catching the
eye in the world of technology.
This month’s cover story examines how a
leading South African insurance company,
Badger International, chose StorageCraft’s
OneXafe as the best option for futureproofing
its storage and strengthening its
data resilience posture.
George McKay, Group Head of IT, was
looking for a flexible, scalable, efficient and
sustainable storage solution that would solve
the equation of managing, protecting and
delivering around-the-clock access to the
ever growing amount of data in a highly
secured and cost-effective way. Explaining
why he considered the storage solution to
be a great investment, McKay said: “On one
hand, we were able to off-load our secondary
data from our expensive SANs, allowing us
to use existing assets much longer and save
budget. On the other hand, we now have a
solution that not only has enough storage
for our requirements today, but also enough
scalability to support us for years to come.”
To find out more, turn to page 50.
In this edition’s Talking Business, we hear
from Duncan McKay, Business Development
Manager at PBT Group. He explains how
companies can establish a data-driven
culture, highlighting the importance of
establishing a formal mandate with senior
leadership and to lean on HR support
functions. “A data-driven culture is one that
requires a significant rethink on the existing
processes, systems and approaches, and how
they must be adapted to cater for a more
innovative and agile enterprise,” he says. “So,
while the ‘how’ of becoming an intelligent
enterprise may seem overwhelming now,
take courage in the predecessors that
showed us: it’s not impossible and it’s well
worth the effort!” You can read more of his
views on page 30.
In this edition’s Final Word on page 74,
we hear from Lorna Hardie, Regional
Director VMware Sub Saharan Africa, on
the current talking point of remote working.
She discusses the challenges around the
topic and says it is essential to choose an
approach which ensures secure and simple
access to the tools employees need.
“All enterprises face a significant period of
uncertainty, which is why it’s vital that the
decisions they make now and how they
establish their organisation to work in a
decentralised, offsite system, provide the
foundations for whatever lies ahead and
provides an opportunity to future-proof too.
“That means a digital workspace that
offers secure access to the applications and
services employees need, irrespective of
device or location.”
As usual, we have all your favourite features
and a comprehensive news round-up from
across the region. You can also read daily
news updates on our website at
www.intelligentcio.com/africa.
And don’t forget if you would like to
get in touch please email me at
mark@lynchpinmedia.co.uk.
I’d like to wish you a good month ahead and
please enjoy the read!
Mark Bowen
Editor
www.intelligentcio.com
INTELLIGENTCIO
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