In its ongoing efforts to ensure that holidaying in South Africa is made more accessible and affordable to South Africans, South African Tourism, in conjunction with eWards Lifestyle, has introduced the Ezee Travel Club as part of its popular Sho’t Left initiative. 16 Mar 2007
A report released by independent market analyst Datamonitor three years back predicted speech-enabled self-service technology would compete with offshore contact centre customer service agents. Testament to this shift came early in March 2007 when Lloyds TSB, the UK’s fifth largest bank, announced it is to close its contact centre in Mumbai. 13 Mar 2007
The lack of proper retention strategies is damaging South African companies dearly as replacing key staff is disruptive, expensive, time consuming and may even threaten the sustainability of an organisation. Says Hilton Brown, CEO of Adcorp Talent Resourcing (ATR), “In all other areas of an organisation, the business looks for a return on investment, yet human capital and people management is still wrongly viewed by many companies in terms of an expense." 13 Mar 2007
The increase in adoption and integration of payroll software into the workplace represents a significant step forward in the quest for effective management, calculation and processing of payroll. The rate of adoption of software solutions is such that a comprehensive ‘entrance-to-exit’ product range does add immediate value. 12 Mar 2007
Wireless broadband provider iBurst is now offering three insurance options covering customer hardware and contracts. “Good planning in the form of appropriate insurance cover for highly mobile hardware in particular will ensure peace of mind for iBurst subscribers,” comments Thami Mtshali, iBurst CEO. 5 Mar 2007
An effective communications infrastructure is essential to the survival and success of businesses. The ability to interact electronically with the market has to be functional and constructive, and this is best achieved through stable, robust technology. One of the primary steps in acquiring the necessary infrastructure is to analyse the core operations of the business and visualise the role external communications plays. 14 Feb 2007
The current power cuts have caused many problems for employers, including some possible liability with the reduced working hours. The question that arises is whether employees can demand to be paid their full salaries or wages if their working hours have been cut as a result of such power failures. 1 Feb 2007
Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has unveiled a self-service check-in kiosk, dubbed Flightcheck, at its four major airports: O.R. Tambo, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. 18 Jan 2007
The payroll has yet to acquire its rightful place in the field of data-mining, decision making and planning. Despite its reputation for being an action-driven process with limited reporting capabilities, payroll can be effectively mined, interpreted and analysed. It is simply a matter of having the right technology on board. 15 Jan 2007
Annex Distribution, together with its international IT supplier partner Fujitsu Siemens Computers, recently launched the Pocket LOOX T Series. This all-in-one PDA device combines GSM/UMTS/mobile phone with complete handheld functionality. 12 Jan 2007
In my view, for the IT security sector, 2007 needs to be a year where more emphasis is placed on the requirement for good quality, unified protection systems, and one where product substance takes over from the usual industry hype. 8 Jan 2007
At a session of Biznetwork held earlier in 2006, the networking club for business owners established by First National Bank (FNB), a panel of speakers addressed BEE misconceptions in the public’s mindset. 13 Dec 2006
Wouldn’t it be great if banking were really as friendly, fast and simple as marketing campaigns make it look? Sadly, in the real world, most of us find interactions with our banks extremely frustrating. Are banks really in touch with our requirements, or are their processes focused on their own agendas and what they think we ought to want? 4 Dec 2006
A survey of small businesses in Gauteng has shed new light on this critically important sector in South Africa’s economy. The aim of the survey, commissioned by the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP) and the FinMark Trust, and supported by the dti, FNB, Standard Bank, Absa and TransUnion, was to remedy a lack of reliable and accurate information about small businesses, using Gauteng, South Africa’s richest province, as a pilot. 24 Nov 2006
DMX Music recently launched a new generation digital media manager to the South African retail, leisure and FMCG industries. Called ProFusion, the management system delivers high-fidelity sound with a large selection of music and messaging programming in a wide variety of formats, creating an audio brand experience tailored to disparate business environments. 20 Nov 2006
While large enterprises have detailed disaster recovery plans in place which often include pre-configured and mirrored backup file-servers, most small to medium enterprises (SMEs) cannot justify the investment required to implement disaster recovery plans of this nature and must thus rely solely on the integrity and recoverability of their backups. 17 Nov 2006
KWAZULU-NATAL: The Tollman family and the global Red Carnation Hotel group have announced the acquisition of the world renowned Oyster Box Hotel located in Umhlanga Rocks, KwaZulu-Natal. 16 Nov 2006
3fifteen, Edcon's Microsoft applications development partner, has developed and implemented a travel requisition portal to help Edcon manage its travel expense account by automating workflow and eliminating the current paper-based process. 15 Nov 2006
FRANSCHHOEK: Located above the picturesque village of Franschhoek, the new Mont Rochelle Hotel and Mountain Vineyards offers luxury accommodation, gourmet cuisine and fine wines that is both new and visionary to the South African market. 13 Nov 2006
Thinking like a cyber criminal to enhance protection of IT systems and infrastructure is a growing trend within the IT security market. So says Clint Carrick, CEO of Carrick Holdings, a local provider of IT security solutions and services. 12 Nov 2006
