TEN OF iWEEK`S BEST
ALTHOUGH WE at iWeek are proud of every single issue we put together for your edification, if pressed, we think this is some of our best work over the lifespan of our weekly digest of business tech news. Here`s some of our best work... in our opinion.
What`s your data really worth?
Issue 95, 26 April, 2007
For the cover of iWeek`s `mother of all issues`, the Security 2007 special edition, editor Tracy Burrows grappled with the question facing most companies today: What is your data really worth? The experts she spoke to maintained that there are ways to determine the value of the data residing within your company`s IT systems. And, they insisted, most companies would be surprised to find out just how valuable it is.
Africa`s pipe dream
Issue 93, 12 April, 2007
Hardly a week passes without some fuss being made over the headway Nepad has been making with its ICT projects. The problem, pointed out deputy editor Laura Franz-Kamissoko, is that this headway has been in the making for some time now - at least four years by our count. However, Dr Henry Chasia, of the e-Africa Commission, cautioned that because the projects often involve 53 countries continent-wide, "it`s a bit ambitious to expect things to go quickly".
Going places
Issue 84, 8 February, 2007
ACSA announced it was to spend R600 million on IT over the next three years to make air travel safer, quicker and more efficient at all ten of its SA airports. iWeek journalist Dave Glazier jumped at the chance to find out more about what ACSA`s IT and telecoms director Theunis Chamberlain admitted is an ambitious plan.
The tiger has landed
Issue 72, 19 October, 2006
India has set its sights on SA, was contributing journalist Paul Furber`s departure point for this cover. With India`s software industry exports worth a staggering $25.8 billion, and trade between our two countries growing from R6 billion in 2002 to over R14 billion today, Indian influence in the local IT market is set to rise fast, he surmised.
Crystal ball gazing
Issue 67, 14 September, 2006
Journalist Dave Glazier won the Telkom ICT New Journalist of the Year award for delving into the imprecise science of market forecasting. Whether you believe in them or not, market analysts have been crucial in the emergence of technology as a business enabler. People from inside and outside the industry have based business and operational decisions on the predictions of analysts.
Hang in there
Issue 56, 29 June, 2006
Zimbabwe`s ICT industry is barely managing to hold its own in a battle against hyper-inflation, instability and a `skills diaspora` that is robbing the country of promising young professionals, discovered iWeek editor Tracy Burrows in mid-2006. But those who were still operating in the Zim ICT sector believed there was vast potential for growth - if the economy stabilises.
The industry that cried wolf
Issue 50, 18 May, 2006
Is ransomware a reality? The IT industry has a history of spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt to sell more products. The anti-virus sector is particularly adept at using this technique. So when it warns of a chilling new threat in malware that infiltrates our data and holds it hostage, do we believe it? Freelance journalist Brian Bakker investigated the issue for iWeek, winning himself a Telkom ICT Journalist of the Year award in the magazine category.
Need skills, will travel
Issue 44, 6 April, 2006
The SA government has been recruiting abroad to fill 23 000 positions, some in IT. While this provoked an outcry from South Africans, government was adamant little else could be done, wrote contributing journalist Martin Czernowalow.
The year of the tender
Issue 37, 16 February 2006
Journalist Paul Vecchiatto wrote that he hadn`t seen the IT industry quite so buoyant since the ill-fated boom of the `90s, for 2006 was optimistically being touted as "The Year of the Tender". But though the optimism may well have been warranted, he thought it wise to consider the many complexities and pitfalls that surround tendering processes.
Boys don`t cry
Issue 17, 25 August, 2005
What is one to conclude from recent contract losses by Dimension Data, once the only partner of choice in big IT deals, asked contributing journalist Carel Alberts. First, it didn`t make the Nitel shortlist. Then, Business Connexion was chosen to help take Cisco`s `AON` vision to market. And finally, Didata lost to Telkom in the Old Mutual/Nedbank outsourcing deal.
TOP 10 COMPANIES
Selecting the most impressive local ICT companies over the past few years is a difficult task. There are no common metrics one can use to judge large companies, small companies, listed ones, unlisted, telecoms-focused firms, IT services ones, and so on. But these ten South African tech firms have - in their own way - performed brilliantly in recent months.
Datatec (www.datatec.co.za)
This SA-based technology company does nearly all its business in other countries (and has an extremely strong presence in the UK), but it is still listed on the JSE. It raised a further R245 million recently by issuing 7.2 million new shares to institutional investors. "Datatec has been making acquisitions like it is going out of business," notes long-time industry observer Paul Booth.
Net1 UEPS Technologies (www.net-1.org)
"A South-African based company - previously known as Aplitec - that floated about two years ago on the Nasdaq. It is doing very nicely, on whatever criteria you measure it by," says Booth.
Naspers (www.naspers.co.za)
One of Africa`s biggest media companies, Naspers has been making strong moves in the new-generation ICT industries - notably in the recent R1.2 billion acquisition of Russian Internet portal Mail.ru, and the less expensive 30% buy into local cellular messaging service MXit. Its MWEB Business ISP is a huge industry player - with 80 000 business customers; and its MultiChoice division is pioneering mobile TV.
UCS (www.ucs.co.za)
"UCS has stuck to its key focus," explains Booth, "concentrating on the retail industry and seeing the benefits - unlike some other competitors who have been sidetracked by going into other areas."
The cellular operator has been on a tremendous acquisition strategy in dozens of regions in Africa and the Middle East. With the focus now squarely off the rapidly-stagnating South African market, MTN has positioned itself in some high-growth markets and there is no reason for the revenue surges to stop.
DataCentrix (www.datacentrix.co.za)
"The share price has seen significant growth over the last 12 months, it is currently trading at a premium,"
Booth believes. The company`s CEO Gerhard Uys has also had a good time of it lately - cashing in four million shares (2% of the total issued share capital) for over R18 million.
It can be acclaimed as being the major driver of the South African cellular revolution. Vodacom has connected about 20 million subscribers, and has continued absorbing new subscribers into its network at a rapid rate over the past few years. The formation of a Vodacom ISP subsidiary gives an indication of how the company will progress over the next few years.
Pinnacle Micro (http://www.pinnacle.co.za)
Booth says it is difficult to pinpoint the reasons for the hardware reseller`s impressive growth. It covers all South African cities, has an extensive dealer network, and reaches as far as Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
DataPro (www.datapro.co.za)
DataPro has built a solid reputation and is often the first port of call for businesses - for all kinds of internet services. "A handful of acquisitions since their listing a couple of years ago has made DataPro into a major alternative telecoms player," comments Booth.
Sahara (www.sahara.co.za)
Its sponsorship of cricket grounds smashed Sahara Computers into prominence in South Africa. The investment paid off and the company is now one of the best-recognised brands and turns over R1.4 billion a year. Nearly a third of the company is now owned by the Mvela Group.
TOP 10 WEB SITES
According to web information company www.alexa.com, the top ten sites accessed from South Africa are:
4. www.msn.com
TOP 10 TECHNOLOGIES
Always a contentious one, here are ten of the best technologies that came to the fore in recent years - for businesses and consumers:
1. Smart phones
2. Wireless Data Cards
3. Business Intelligence tools
4. LCD screens
5. GPS Systems
6. Mobile TV
7. iPods
8. True broadband
9. 3D graphics accelerators
10. MP3 players
SA`S TOP 10 DAMP SQUIBS
iWEEK pays homage to events, projects, technologies and products that, after much huffing and puffing, crumbled like the straw houses they were.
10. Y2K, who cared?
Remember the millennium bug? Though it could be argued that the hype created around Y2K was instrumental in preventing mass system failures, the event that was billed as a virtual Armageddon itself was nothing like it.
9. Apple`s Newton
Tech fundies say this precursor to the PDA was a little ahead of its time. The expensive and clunky device was discontinued shortly after Palm was launched.
8. Virtual reality simply unreal
This technology was nothing but a silly hype. We believe avatar-driven stuff like Second Life is one thing, real VR is another.
7. Slippery Palm
Palm was a good product. However, by lagging in hardware and failing to keep up with trends in handheld computing, the product slowly faded to obscurity.
6. Hanis, the no show
The 13-year, R1.8 billion Home Affairs National Identification System, which was supposed to ultimately replace about 30 million identity books with multifunctional smart cards, was a no-show.
5. Head in the clouds
Last November the Minister of Communications, Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, reminisced on her biggest regret - SABC`s answer to DSTV, AstraSat. And rightly so.
4. Arrested development
Digital Rights Management - the myriad technologies used to stop the copying of digital content. After much debate, legislation and billions spent on these technologies, many music stores like iTunes and Amazon are abandoning DRM technology. Funny that Hollywood is reporting record revenues despite content piracy.
3. False hopes
The infamous wireless application protocol or WAP, arrived billed as the ultimate technology for accessing the Web. It wasn`t.
2. A bug`s world
Microsoft`s bug infested, half- baked Windows Millennium.
1. A royal pain in the...
eNatis, the Traffic Department`s answer to testing station inefficiencies is nothing but a headache and a frustration to everyone.
TOP 10 SCANDALS
1. Siemens` $570m bribes shock
Electrical and ICT conglomerate Siemens is currently embroiled in a major alleged bribery scandal that caused shock in the global telecoms industry. Chairperson Heinrich von Pierer recently became the first victim - and surely not the last. The most scandalous of the four criminal investigations hanging over Siemens` head is the allegation that €420 million ($571 million) in suspected bribes was paid to win telecoms contracts over the past seven years.
2. Dirty Business
Verizon Business` local unit was invaded by authorities last August, after competitor Internet Solutions enacted the Anton Piller search and seizure order that the court awarded. The rumour is that critical sales and tender pricing information from IS was being funnelled to Verizon, who then used this information to come in with slightly lower bids - snatching contracts away from IS. This investigation is also still underway. A court date has been set for two weeks from now.
3. Knowing people in high places
Big news last year was the scandal surrounding President Thabo Mbeki`s political advisor, Titus Mafolo, and his involvement in a R240 million Department of Correctional Services tender awarded to Sondolo IT. Mafolo is a significant shareholder in Sondolo IT (part of the Bosasa Group), which allegedly "wrote" large parts of the surveillance security tender document, which it subsequently won. A handful of other high-profile politicians or people with strong political links own shares in the company.
4. Eye Spy
Former Hewlett-Packard chairperson Patricia Dunn was forced to resign under a cloud of controversy last year, after a boardroom spying scandal that rocked the world`s biggest IT group. In March of this year, however, Dunn was cleared of all the felony charges (relating to spying tactics on fellow board members) she had faced - but the scandal warmed up news pages for many months.
5. Nor-telling the wrong story
The Securities and Exchange Commission allege that former Nortel CEO Frank Dunn and finance executives Douglas Beatty, Michael Gollogly and Mary-Anne Pahapill engaged in a wide-ranging financial fraud. All three were terminated in April 2004 for deliberately overstating the company`s true performance. The conspirators - allege the Commission - wanted to create the false appearance that Nortel was weathering the economic downturn caused by the dot-com bust better than its competitors. The investigation has been dragging on for three years, and to this day the Commission is seeking a permanent injunction, among other penalties.
6. Uncertain future?
When the Financial Services Board exposed the misappropriation of hundreds of millions of rands from the Fidentia Group, the fallout for the IT industry was felt in terms of its Software Futures division. At the time of writing, the High Court order placed certain aspects of Fidentia under curatorship, and Software Futures was up for grabs to the highest bidder. Danisa Baloyi, who has been linked to the scandal surrounding Fidentia, stepped down from her board positions at Metrofile and Set Point Technology, as authorities closed in.
7. Rotten Apples
The long-running federal investigations into the granting of backdated stock options to employees by Apple Computers has now ensnared CEO Steve Jobs. Though Apple`s board stands by arguably one of the most widely-respected CEs in the IT industry, Jobs is not out of the woods yet. One guy who is now out of a job, though, is former CFO Fred Anderson - who agreed to pay the SEC over $3.5 million in fraudulent options gains.
8. Bad side of BEE
Telkom is seldom far from controversy. However, the biggest Telkom-related scandal in recent times is not the fault of the company. Key Elephant Consortium players are alleged to have cashed in their shares, given to them in a generously BEE way, against the shareholders agreement. The R9 billion in shares, argue other members of the consortium, were designed for empowerment, not for a quick get-rich-quick scheme.
9. Controversy dawn till dusk
ITWeb`s comments sections have been full of damning remarks about the management of local IT company New Dawn. A number of employees allege gross mismanagement, poor treatment of staff, and various other crimes by the firm`s leaders. Some of the former staff are even moving to have one of New Dawn`s divisions liquidated, and many others have resigned. While no directors have been accused of anything specific, the firm`s pension fund is asking what happened to R3 million that mysteriously disappeared one night.
10. Capacity swappers get caught
A few years ago Qwest Communications International admitted it had inflated revenue by $1.16 billion by using illegal network capacity "swaps" and employing improper accounting for long-term deals. In a similar way, telco Global Crossing engaged in network capacity "swaps" with other carriers to inflate revenue, and shredded some important accounting documents in a scandal that saw it being forced to pay a total of $250 million, for its mistakes.
TEN OF THE BEST – HIGH-PROFILE ICT PLAYERS
THOKO MOKGOSI MWANTEMBE - HP CEO
Winner of the 2005 Top ICT Business Woman and Top ICT Individual in Africa, and overall winner of the 2005 African Achievers top ICT individual award.
ROBERT SUSSMAN - Joint MD, Integr8 IT
Winner of the 2005 African ICT Achievers Awards` Top Private Sector CIO of the Year award.
ANTHONY FITZHENRY - CEO of Axiz
Winner of the 2006 CSSA IT Personality of the Year award.
ANDILE NGCABA - chairman of Dimension Data South Africa
Former Director General of the Department of Communications, head of the Elephant Consortium that acquired a stake in Telkom, and winner of the 2003 African ICT Achievers Awards Lifetime Achievement award.
KARL SOCIKWA - CEO of Transtel and member of the board of directors of Neotel.
LYNDALL SHOPE-MAFOLE - Director-General of the DoC, Chairperson of the Presidential National Commission on Information Society and Development, winner of a Lifetime ICT Achievement Award at the 2002 African ICT Achievers Awards
TELKOM CEO PAPI MOLOTSANE - tasked with steering the ageing telecoms giant into a competitive new era.
Sentech CEO Dr Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane, winner of the CSSA IT Leadership Award in 2006.
Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Minister of Public Service and Administration, and management of SITA.
Benjamin Mophatlane, deputy CEO of Business Connexion, winner of the CSSA IT Personality of the Year Award, 2002.
TOP 10 OF THE COOLEST
ITWeb staffers` top ten favourite online destination.
1. Flickr.com - photo management and sharing site
2. Zoopy.com - SA`s answer to YouTube
3. Limewire.com - file sharing site
4. Neowin.net - informal reporting site by techies for techies.
5. 100percentdesign.co.uk -Internet radio and music community
6. liquidfridge.co.za a `meet and swamp` website for SA`s creative industry
7. Mydigitallife.co.za - one-stop digital lifestyle site
8. Amatomu.co.za - blog aggregator
9. Gizmodo.com- for those who love gadgets
10. Redigg.com- aggregator site for free movies and music
TOP 10 PROPOSED AND ONGOING PUBLIC SECTOR ICT IMPLEMENTATIONS
1. The Transport Department and South African National Roads Agency`s road tolling system project - a R8.5 billion project still in the approval stage.
2. The Integrated Financial Management System - a R4 billion project over eight years.
3. SARS ICT infrastructure services - R1.5 billion.
4. SABC digital migration project - R1.2 billion over six years.
5. SARS modernisation project - R1 billion, project completed.
6. Gauteng Online - not completed, allocated R800 million to date.
7. SARS container cargo scanner project - R750 million.
8. Home Affairs National Identification System- ongoing for 13 years. The cost of the implementation is undisclosed, but estimated at around R500 million.
9. The state IT Agency has issued invitations to tender for a R500 million electronic health record system tender.
10. The transport department`s electronic National Traffic Information System (eNatis) - The project is ongoing albeit rather haphazardly. The implementation has cost R383 million to date.
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