Category: Company News

When 2020 rolled around, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone outside Wuhan who would have predicted such a unified, global shift in work cultures everywhere.

The pandemic has changed the world, in some ways for the worse, but in others fundamentally for the better.

One of those ways has seen the way we work (and even perceive workplace culture as a whole) drastically revolutionised. It seems like just yesterday that morning traffic and using Waze to navigate the quickest route to the office was as common as eating and breathing. Today? We navigate a series of challenges relevant to a new, dynamic, and often remote-centric workspace (or just find the quickest way to our laptop before our 8am meeting).

A fundamental aspect of this transition has, without a shadow of doubt, been Cloud Computing – it’s changed the world, yet we still find that many people neither know what it is nor understand the myriad of ways it affects businesses, personal spaces, and homes. There’s still so much mistrust around the concept (in spite of literally everyone using it to some extent), so we’ll attempt to talk Cloud and unpack how Nimbus (more on that later) is shaping up to be a bona-fide gamechanger.

But first, let’s refresh on all things Cloud…

In its simplest form, Cloud Computing allows a user to compute through the delivery of services, information, and resources through using the Internet as its primary medium. Back in the day, you needed hardware such as server rooms to retrieve, store or access files, today you need only one device to share resources and Databases – with multiple users benefitting from an interconnected network. This is useful, as you’re able to store all your files and Data through remote resources rather than limit yourself to local hard drives or storage devices. This can be translated to entire swaths of Data, up to and including complex programmes, software, and information.

To simplify it even more, the term Cloud isn’t so much a fluffy white ball as it is a metaphor for the Internet. So, when people say, “it’s in The Cloud”, it’s not really floating in midair – your Data is instead being stored, managed, or accessed online as opposed to a local server or PC. It’s become more popular than TikTok (and is hopefully longer lasting) purely because it’s as useful for businesses as it is to individuals.

But why all the fuss? Glad you asked…

There are a wealth of reasons (other than sounding Tech Savvy to your blind date) that it’s become a buzzword and is gaining increased importance. In fact, its adoption into mainstream society has been faster than most other technology (barring, of course, Fibre). Reason being? Well, Cloud Computing allows users to solve several problems at once and, in an age of technological convenience, ease, and of course remote digital working, that in itself is priceless.

Think of all the ways you and I use Cloud on a daily basis. Google Drive? Check. Apple iCloud? We feel like the name gives that one away. Gmail? Waze? The images on your phone? Each of these services allows for remote access to documents, contracts, pictures, memories, and a whole lot more. It doesn’t matter if you’re an at home mom using her iPad or a Fortune 500 CEO hiding the secret designs to the latest Iron Man armour – if your Data is stored in the Cloud, you can access it on any device, any time.

This significance is multiplied tenfold when you consider that most of our IM and Social Media platforms depend entirely on a successful, secure Cloud Server. Teams, Instagram, WhatsApp, Netflix, and the like are all testament to the dexterity and hosting/Data accessing capabilities which the Cloud presents. The fact that many of these are free to use serves only to highlight their low maintenance costs and overheads, as a conglomerate utilising a massive hard server room would run bankrupt within an hour if they operated the way WhatsApp does.

Meanwhile, over in the business space, the worldwide boom in E-commerce is the biggest indicator of how reliable Cloud services are to businesses. During and post pandemic, more and more users have benefitted from click-and-buy service providers – in turn enjoying the speed, convenience, and importance an online server can offer.

The best part? It’s 2022, and today there’s more focus than ever on ‘going green’ and doing your part for the environment. For an organisation a) looking to save on costs while b) being more environmentally conscious, Cloud Computing is the next step forward and the natural progression on the way we operate remotely. Not only is hosting in the Cloud greener, it results in a smaller carbon footprint while eliminating unnecessary hardware and reducing your carbon footprint.

But what does this really mean, and why should we care about it?

Well, we’re not saying the Cloud will save lives, but it may save the world we live in AND your business. Sounds like a win-win? It really, really is. This is where we come in at Nimbus. We not only understand the Cloud well enough to expel any doubts from your old school boss who fears his Data will get lost in the wind, but we’ve mastered the craft so well that transitioning can be simple, painless, and minimally invasive to your business.

It is our firm belief that failure to adapt to the times will result in becoming obsolete – just ask Nokia and Blackberry. In the age of remote work, accessing anywhere and being able to recover or view your Data no matter where you are, Cloud Computing is simply the next natural step forward. Chat to us to see how we can help your business or, if you still have any lingering doubts (we get that a lot), let one of our experts put your mind at ease so we can get your head (and your business) in the Clouds.

By Annette Botha, Meteorologist at Vox Weather

While climate change often tends to be spoken of in the news, more needs to be done to educate South Africans on how it directly affects them on the ground, what simple actions they can take to reduce their impact on the environment and to bring about a mindset change that inspires others and ensures that sustainable living becomes first nature.

Earth Day, held annually on 22 April, is aimed at driving awareness on issues around the environment, and what ordinary individuals can do to drive change for the better. First held in 1970, the theme for this year is “Invest in our planet”. It’s exactly what Vox Weather is doing, by going further than planting trees at the Faranani Primary School in Protea Glen, Soweto, and making education a key component of our celebration.

Rather than just carry out a symbolic act and move on, it is crucial that we start building awareness about the life-giving role of trees (including taking in carbon dioxide and giving out the oxygen that we breathe!) as well as the long-term impacts of deforestation. Rather than leave climate change as a broad concept, we need to ensure that students, and ordinary South Africans, understand the effects on the country and themselves.

This includes more common droughts or even floods, as seen recently, which in turn has an impact on agricultural production, and then on to us in the form of higher prices – it’s all connected back to our climate. Giving this ground-level picture will allow more people to better understand climate change, how humans are contributing to it, and what we can do to lessen our impact.

It can be something as simple as going to the beach and picking up litter. It might seem futile in the grand scheme of things, but every small action makes a difference if more of us play our part. This change in mindset not only enables people to be more proactive about protecting the environment but can also inspire others to do so too – after all, our planet is at stake and we need to have strong emotions if we are to protect it.

Collectively, we need to significantly increase our rate of recycling – while there are communities around South Africa that are carrying out this practice, it is not as widely adopted as for example in Europe, where authorities are far stricter when it comes to cutting down on waste by reducing, reusing and recycling as much as possible.

The scope of the waste challenge facing South Africa in this regard can appear deceptive, as South Africa is a much larger country than those in Europe, but it is there and it needs to be addressed without further delay.

This ties in with another major problem in more affluent sections of our society, which is food wastage. This is especially tragic, given that it is in stark contrast to the large numbers of people who are forced to go hungry. If we are to address these challenges, there are some serious conversations that need to be had in South African households.

Apart from looking at ways to cut down on unnecessary food wastage, households also need to look closely at how they dispose of spoiled food items in a more environmentally friendly manner. This includes adding them to compost bins instead or even turning to vermicomposting, where earthworms are used to speed up the composting process.

More of this education needs to take place in our schools so that children are made aware from a young age on how to better sustain our planet. This is especially important at a time when more of the country’s population lives in urban centres than in rural areas, and children (and adults) have become increasingly disconnected from the natural environment. We have dropped the ball by not getting our hands dirty (literally) anymore.

Earth Day is different – it’s not just for men or women, or lovers, or people of specific faiths. It’s not about one group or the other, but it’s for all of us – children, adults, individuals, businesses and organisations alike. It’s about connecting the world together and celebrating together. It’s about bringing us together to be more conscious about our impact on the environment, and what simple steps each and every one of us can take to make a difference – every day.

Vox has launched an Ambassador programme in order to drive awareness about our extensive network coverage and variety of products, providing countless opportunities to South Africans from all walks of life with the ability to earn extra income and bring personalised engagements back into sales as a way of improving the customers’ experience.

“We have seen a huge demand for internet connectivity around South Africa; with the changes seen over the past year, this is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Apart from our dynamic and vibrant Sales staff, Vox is looking to partner with locals, especially in smaller cities and towns, who are trusted by community members to provide them with the right information,” says JP du Plessis, Branch Development Manager at Vox.

According to Du Plessis, the Vox Ambassador programme has been designed to give ordinary South Africans a foot in the door to working with a large business with a comprehensive portfolio of over 160 products and services, making it a ‘one-stop shop’ for users’ technology needs. The breadth of these offerings ensures that Ambassadors are able to take full advantage of opportunities that are presented.

He adds that locals are more likely to fully understand their environment, and the technology needs, and ensure that the right products are promoted to the right people. This ensures that customers still get to have personal engagements where they learn more about Vox, and how its products and solutions can be used to improve their lives.

“You could be a stay at home parent, someone working multiple jobs, an influencer on social media, or could still be living in your parent’s house. This programme provides ordinary South Africans with the opportunity to become a brand ambassador for Vox, to receive training, promote these products in order to earn an income, and start a career for themselves. We have launched the programme with Ambassadors earning commission on fibre to the home sales,” says Du Plessis.

Becoming a Vox Ambassador

 According to Du Plessis, a lot of development work was put into ensuring that signing up for the programme would be an easy and convenient 3-step process: Register, Share, Earn. Once signed up and onboarded, Ambassadors are provided with basic training that provides them with an overview of Vox’s products and services, with a strong focus on the company’s fibre to the home packages.

“Ambassadors are provided with a unique URL to an online portal that they can then promote across their social and digital networks. Visitors to the portal will have access to the full range of products and services as the standard Vox online shop, and can select and purchase the products that are most suited to their needs,” says Du Plessis

Du Plessis adds that the greatest benefit for Ambassadors is that while they get product training, and marketing collateral support, including templates for content to be shared on their digital platforms, they do not need to worry about any direct customer interaction – be it for customer service, or if a user needs to speak to a specialist in order to get more detailed information on a particular product or service – with all of this being handled by experts at Vox.

While Ambassadors currently earn commission on successful referral sales of fibre to the home packages, Vox is already considering expanding this to include its other products that enable a digitally-driven environment. This will go hand-in-hand with additional product training to ensure that Ambassadors are well versed in the products that they are promoting to their personal and professional networks.

There is also potential for those successful Ambassadors – who could already be seen as the IT experts in their region – who want to be far more involved in customer sales and engagements to eventually become business partners to Vox.

 “Most people don’t have the capital to start their own business, nor do they have the opportunity to easily become a partner or reseller for a large corporate. The Vox Ambassador programme gives ordinary South Africans a foot in the door. This is not about growing our sales force, but partnering with local influencers to build trust and awareness in communities, while providing ambassadors with a means to earn additional income, and even potentially be hired by Vox.

“We are very excited about the Vox Ambassador programme as the applications have surpassed expectations and we are well on our way to reaching our 10 000 Vox Ambassador target in the next year or even sooner,” says Du Plessis.

For more information on the Vox Ambassador programme, or to sign up, visit https://www.vox.co.za/ambassador

 

Vox has partnered with South African tech and gaming content creator and international esports shoutcaster Sam “Tech Girl” Wright, as part of its efforts to promote, and improve accessibility to gaming in the South African market.

“Lockdown highlighted the importance of entertainment and social interaction for people from all walks of life, and gaming today is one such social experience. Far removed from the stereotypes of the past, playing games is something that the entire family can enjoy while they make new online friends and learn new skills in the process,” says Andrew King, Head of Division: Voice, Visual Comms and Gaming.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Sam as we share a common passion to get more people gaming.  Sam is a highly respected professional in the Gaming arena and works tirelessly to keep her audience informed and inspired about all aspects of gaming and tech related developments.  By working with Sam, Vox can reach a broader audience with our tailored gaming offerings, and as importantly, simultaneously hear from this extended audience as to how we can continue focusing our innovation to address their needs and challenges”, adds King.

Wright is a leading esports shoutcaster who has worked in Europe, China and Africa on a variety of titles as a host and caster. Wright has hosted and shoutcasted popular titles including PUBG, CSGO, FIFA, Sim Racing, Smash Bros, and Overwatch.

Her own content creation on her personal blog, YouTube channel, and Twitch stream allowed her to become one of the leading voices on gaming and technology in Africa while showcasing behind-the-scenes vlogs of events, live stream gameplay, and interviews with popular gaming personalities. She features regularly on South African television and radio chatting about competitive and casual gaming.

“Vox has a rad gaming platform that really aims to give South African gamers accessibility to ensure they can feed their passion. I will bring a bit of my own flavour, coupled with big ideas and dreams for how we can do best by the gaming community and find new ways to get us all gaming!

“I honestly believe we all have a gamer inside of us. Whether you’re jamming Candy Crush on your phone or competing at the highest level in CSGO. For me though, I want to reach those gamers who are playing for the love of it on their consoles, PCs and mobile devices. They’re passionate gamers already but wanting to take it to the next level,” says Wright.

According to Wright, South Africa has a smaller player base due to the unique socio-economic issues that hamper our gaming growth in comparison to leading gaming countries – with accessibility and connectivity being the two big ones that need to be addressed.

“We have a smaller player base because of this. In addition, we’re also rather far away from the rest of the world, so competing online can lead to high ping, making it difficult to really perform on an even playing field,” she says.

A focus on gaming

Vox has been taking steps to address challenges in both of these areas: Vox recently added the South American Cable System (SACS) that delivers a direct route and the lowest latency connection to South America and (via the MONET cable system) to the USA.  Vox peer directly with a growing list of service providers in both Sau Paulo and New York – many of which host gaming platforms.

In December last year, the company introduced Xbox rentals, giving local players a more cost-effective way of getting into gaming with either an Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S. It also ensures that South Africans have access to leading game consoles at a time when the global chip shortage is leading to several electronic items not being available on the local market (or even anywhere else, in some cases).

In August this year, Vox introduced Gaming Essentials for the company’s fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) subscribers. It includes proprietary gaming-specific configurations added to a service-provider grade router on the customers premises, which minimises jitter and eliminates latency spikes due to buffering under high load.

This Quality of Service (QoS) feature prioritises UDP traffic, shielding gaming traffic from other internet traffic on the network, thereby reducing latency for gamers. Another feature introduced to support local gamers was the introduction of a streaming relay service, where local gamers can stream in high definition to a local Vox edge server, which relays their stream to global platforms such as Twitch or YouTube.

“I think Vox understands that there are some big hurdles for South African gamers when it comes to connectivity and accessibility. They have already started making moves to address these and it made sense to join forces with a company who wants to help more people get gaming.

“I really think the future of gaming is bright in South Africa. As more people get connected and online, the world of gaming is opening up to them. With the pandemic we saw so many people trying their hand at games with friends and I’m hoping that momentum continues into 2022,” adds Wright.

Vox Weather, an interactive weather channel with a focus on viewer education, has gained significant organic traction in the regional social media sphere, with people from South Africa and a few neighbouring countries showing a renewed interest in the weather, and in learning about climate-related topics.

Launched by Vox in August, the weather channel, which is presented by renowned and much-loved meteorologist Annette Botha, uses social media to deliver informative, educational and credible weather analysis in order to drive a broader understanding of climate change and how it affects each and every one of us.

“Vox Weather has been well-received, showing strong organic growth, and there has been an overall positive sentiment and engagement from the public toward both the weather channel, as well as the Vox brand. This is especially noticeable in the smaller cities and towns around South Africa where the company has a visible presence,” says Jacques du Toit, CEO at Vox.

Between August and September, the total number of social media followers for Vox Weather grew by nearly 60%, while content reach increased by nearly 70% and views of YouTube videos nearly doubled. The majority of the weather channel’s fans are from South Africa, though there is a sizable minority following from people living in Namibia. To cater for this audience, region specific weather forecasts will be published to Facebook, with the content only visible to users from that country.

“We are looking to drive broader education and awareness around weather warnings by featuring content that takes a closer look at what constitutes weather warnings, what might be causing the extreme weather, and what it means for people living within the affected areas in terms of the impact that it will have. In the short time since its start, the channel has already expanded to include forecasts in Afrikaans, which have seen good reach and engagement from the audience.” says Du Toit.

Open Day for meteorology students

 Vox Weather further held an open day with meteorology students from the University of Pretoria (UP) being invited to learn more about the channel and its goals, how it does things differently from other local weather channels, and to identify potential candidates for a meteorologist/climatologist internship position in 2022. The students were given the opportunity to present their ideas on how to reignite the public’s interest in the weather and climate, how specialised weather forecasts can be of value to multiple industries, and how they would improve Vox Weather.

“Annette makes the weather more personal and has some fun – she’s adding something more  than just reading a forecast, and that attracts people. For a telecommunications company to start a weather channel shows us that there are more career possibilities for us to consider than what we initially  believed. It is an amazing initiative as it gives us young scientists the opportunity to grow and do what we love,” says Michelle Fourie, currently doing her Honours in Meteorology at UP.

“What I enjoyed about the open day was coming to a place that was really innovative, and looking at new and different ways of presenting the weather to people. The more we talk about the weather in a language that they can understand, the easier it will be to get them to take a more active interest in the weather, and climate change. Vox Weather aligns with my future goals of making weather more relatable, and taking it from where it is now into the 21st century,” adds Nontsikelelo Maduna, currently doing her B.Sc at UP.

“In a lot of instances, ordinary South Africans feel they don’t fully understand the weather. We have to make the weather more personal and relevant to people’s lives in order to drive interest. The channel excites people as they want to be part of this journey of growth. What excites me is that we are willing to change, and try something different from what they have done all these years,” says Abigail, currently completing an internship at the South African Weather Service.

To the backdrop of increasingly severe weather events around the world, including the protracted drought in the Eastern Cape, a United Nations special climate change report which coincided with South Africa’s Women’s Day says we have caused immense harm to our planet but that we have a small window to avert a nightmare scenario. Vox Weather Meteorologist Annette Botha says Vox Weather, which hopes to inspire girls and young women to pursue careers in science, was launched to provide a credible platform to educate about climate change and encourage behaviour change to try to turn the tide.

Botha says the platform’s mandate is to bring credible and trustworthy science about the weather and climate to South Africans. “We have a significant role to play in reaching a broader audience and inspiring interest in science.

“This is a golden opportunity to find new ways to tell complex stories and trigger important conversations, especially around changes in our environment and how it affects every one of us, and what we can and should do about it,” she says.

Botha says the world, and South Africa in particular is blessed with women scientists who are making incredible contributions to our advancement in an array of fields, including climatology and meteorology. “In some ways, their work is ‘lost’ in the world of science, living in research papers and peer-reviewed journals. It is right that their work is there, driving our scientific understanding forward, but we have a fantastic opportunity to bring their passion to the public to trigger change and inspire people,” she says.

“This is precisely why I chose Vox Weather – a platform that uses the best technology to tell complex stories in innovative and engaging ways, with a strong social media and online presence, so that we reach people on all their devices,” says Botha.

Reflecting on her career path, Botha says it is important that children and their parents understand that science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects are multifaceted and open a host of career opportunities. She says young people need to be encouraged to explore what these opportunities entail.

“As a little girl growing up on the highveld I was enthralled by thunderstorms. I would watch the build-up of clouds and the lightning and be swept up in the majestic energy – metaphorically, of course! I’d lie awake at night and listen to the wind and thunder and rain. This is passion,” she says.

It was her support network and being exposed to new possibilities that allowed her to discover meteorology, which opened the door to her career. She says: “It so happened that my orientation was towards research and mathematics and so I was encouraged to continue along this road by a supportive family network.

“My undergraduate Degree was a BSC in mathematics. It was only at university that I was exposed to meteorology, which I took as an extra subject. What happens when aptitude meets passion? A love affair. It led to an Honours Degree in meteorology, and eventually along a path to where I am today. Vox Weather aims to play a role here, exposing more young people to the nuances of the weather and climate, and educating them about how it affects all of us, and how our behaviour has a bearing on our collective futures.”

Botha adds that a lack of education is one of the biggest risks to our planet and its climate and that Vox Weather’s focus on education has given her an opportunity to educate about her passion. “We live in an era where it is possible to publish and share opinions that can have a profound effect on other people and so we need to ensure that we inspire young people and influencers to place a priority on education first and foremost,” she says.

“This is important as we find ways to communicate the importance of addressing serious challenges such as the planet’s climate. One of the biggest risks to our environment is the absence of knowledge – and certainly a gap Vox Weather wishes to help fill with trustworthy, science-backed information presented in an engaging and understandable manner.”

It’s official! We’re now internationally recognised for our high-quality products, services and data security.

 

As the global benchmark when it comes to standards of quality, achieving ISO certification is no easy feat.

On 2 September 2021, we were proud to accept our ISO 9001 certification, awarded to us by BSI South Africa’s Rene Linde and Tania du Bruyn. The British Standards Institution is an internationally recognised authority in ISO certification, and has been in the business of helping businesses improve and maintain high standards for over 100 years.

When it comes to QMS (Quality Management System), an ISO 9001 certification is the gold standard.

As a company, ISO 9001 ensures we maintain a focus on customer satisfaction and high standards of quality, ensuring efficiency and a consistently effective work environment with a happier workforce overall. The end result being reduced labour and cost savings as well as more competitive pricing, allowing us to remain competitive within the market.

It’s a win for all, as a happier, more efficient Vox also means we’ll not only meet customer expectations but exceed them in the process by delivering our products and services consistently while focusing on continuous improvement.

In addition to that, we also accepted our certificate for the coveted ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security Management, first awarded in May. A two-year long (and continuous) journey, our ISO/IEC 27001 status ensures our continued commitment to the protection and management of our information assets, reducing the risk of cyber-attacks, not only for us as a company, but our customers as well.

Vox’s dual ISO certification is the result of years of hard work and dedication by the company as a whole, but especially our core quality team, headed by Keith Laaks, Vox Executive Head of Technology, and Andries Coetzee, Vox Quality Assurance Manager, with Niel van Rooyen, Vox Head of Information Security, leading the charge for ISO/IEC 27001.

Our dual ISO certification is just the beginning. Now that we’ve achieved these milestones, rest assured we’ll continue to meet every requirement to keep them.