Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 43 | Page 7

EDITOR’S NOTE Welcome to the latest edition of Intelligent CIO Africa and my first as Editor. It is a great honour to be joining the team and taking over from my colleague Mark Bowen, who has been at the helm for six months and has moved on to edit two new magazines for the North America and APAC regions which are being launched as part of the ever-expanding Lynchpin Media empire. Most of you know me from our interactions in the IT channel industry in the Middle East. It’s been great working with you on the channel side of the business and I do sincerely look forward to forging and enhancing our exchanges on the enterprise IT side of things. I am exciting to start this new chapter covering the enterprise IT segment in MEA, a region I have been reporting on consistently for the past two decades. My predecessor Mark, in his last editorial, mentioned about continuing to contribute and supporting the magazine editorially. It’s my belief that you will continue to extend your positive support to me and the entire Lynchpin Media team working together to take this publication to new heights. It was reassuring to see that barely a few minutes after an announcement was put out stating that I was joining the Lynchpin Media stable, my inbox was flooded with many congratulatory messages from people I know and have interacted with many times over the years. This is something that encouraged and reminded me of the true value of working closely with the community you serve. Even now when the market is still going through huge challenges as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and disruptive technology changes, we remain resolute in working collectively with the enterprise IT industry’s movers and shakers to find solutions to the many business problems they face. While there is uncertainty in the market, I have no doubt that the enterprise IT sector in the Africa is on a steady path of growth, continues to innovate and has what it takes to thrive. In this edition, we have all your favourite features, opinion pieces, insight and a comprehensive news round-up from across the continent. You can also read daily news updates on our website at www.intelligentcio.com/africa/. Once again, I would like to extend my appreciation for all the compliments you have sent me since I took on this role. I look forward to us strengthening this brand across Africa. I’d like to wish you a great month ahead and do sincerely hope you will enjoy the read! Manda Banda Editor www.intelligentcio.com INTELLIGENTCIO 7