Category: Product News

If your eCommerce store accepts payments online, your website and customers face inherent security threats on a daily basis. Among these, credit card fraud and identity theft are trends that continue to create the most challenging risks for online brands. Regardless of whether you have a nice looking site design or the most amazing products in your inventory, a customer won’t hesitate to leave your site if they don’t feel comfortable sharing their credit card information online.

According to Mayleen Bywater, senior product manager for security solutions at Vox Telecom, the most vulnerable actions during the shopping process occur during the login and checkout process. “On login, customers provide key personal information to create an account and on checkout, they provide their financial details. Together, these two online processes give the perpetrator enough information to damage both the business and consumer’s reputation,” says Mayleen.

When developing a risk management strategy, it’s important that eCommerce business owners prioritise secure payment processing and the protection of customers’ sensitive data. This article, written in collaboration with PayU, provides effective tips that will help online retailers ensure a safe online payment environment is applied to their business.

Use a PCI compliant payment gateway

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) compliance requires that all businesses accepting online payments follow a set of industry standards created to safeguard consumers from fraudulent online activities during and after a payment process. Committing to the best online safety practices includes the use of firewalls, the protection of cardholder data, installing and updating anti-virus software and anti-spyware, among others. Online brands can enforce these industry safety standards when they choose a payment gateway that is already in compliance with PCI standards. When signing up with a well-respected payment gateway service, the business will benefit from across-the-board guidance in PCI compliance such as security checks, educational resources, and customer support.

Use token encryption where you need to collect client sensitive data

When a customer enters their debit or credit card information online the data should, by default, be collected through a process of tokenisation. Through 128-bit encryption, the credit card information is transformed into a custom token when it reaches the payment gateway, meaning that payment data is never revealed and is stored safely. As the customer completes the transaction, the system only saves the token and a symbolic representation of the credit card number, which appears as ************1111.

Update your systems regularly

Continuous checks should be performed to ensure that the website security is up to standard. These checks should be performed on every page and system software that collect data. The biggest risk comes from links that pull information from other systems; therefore it’s important to have frequent security updates on these programmes. Operating system patches normally address the security bugs in the website and most business owners delay this essential process until there is a breach. While updates normally occur automatically, it’s best to manually check for and install the latest version of any software that is running on your website.

Create an online security policy for your business

Draw up policies and processes to manage and enforce compliance related to storing and using consumer information. These guidelines will help the business establish well-defined lines of responsibilities when it comes to online security. They are usually achieved by displaying a privacy policy and terms of use page on your website. The privacy policy discloses how your business handles users’ personal data and can help give your customers the assurance that their information is protected. The terms of service can be applied to limit the liability of your eCommerce site when customers agree to the security provisions for making an online purchase.

Conclusion

The ability to collect and store sensitive data is the lifeblood of eCommerce websites. Without active data protection solutions to curb security breaches, retailers and their customers become attractive targets for cyber criminals. As online shopping continues to grow in popularity in South Africa, a secure payment environment has become imperative to ensure customers feel confident when making purchases online.

Vox has today announced that its shareholders have approved a R550m investment earmarked to enable the company to prioritise three key areas of the business. This investment is indicative of the level of trust that the shareholders have in Vox´s ability to execute on its business plan and priorities.

According to Jacques du Toit, CEO of Vox, the investment will be directed into extending the Vox fibre rollout through their wholly owned subsidiary Frogfoot Networks, bolster job creation and improve efficiencies through enhanced automation.

“The capital injection into our operations endorses our conversion strategy.  We are moving away from being just an Internet service provider (ISP) into a Telco that provides connectivity and integrated services. We are laying the foundation to secure market share and growth in key geographic precincts around South Africa.”

Vox will deploy the bulk of the investment to fast-track its fibre-to-the-home and fibre-to-the-business programme. In the past 18 months, the company has secured 86,000 fibre-to-the-home and just over 10,000 fibre-to-the-business opportunities.

Adds du Toit, “We now have more than 300 coverage areas where we are able to provide fibre related services.”

Vox will also invest in growing its sales force across the country from 280 to 450 people in the next 18 months. Over the last 24 months Vox has invested R50m into the first phase of its sales expansion programme.

“This programme has proven to be extremely successful and we will continue with this approach.  We have broadened our horizons and don’t necessarily focus on individuals from the ICT industry, but passion for technology, ambition and personal commitment to success are amongst the key attributes we are looking for,” says du Toit

“This means we will have the largest direct sales force in the South African telecommunications sector and will continue to take market share from the incumbents.  To further bolster our sales strategy, we have embarked on an extremely aggressive drive to recruit channel partners, which includes, agents, resellers and wholesale partners.”

Du Toit adds that the company is acutely aware of the massive ICT skills shortage locally and has seen the sector grow faster than people can be developed and upskilled.

“With the planned increase in the sales force, we know that a large amount of money needs to be allocated to train field engineers so that from a technical perspective they are able to deal with everything from a copper installation all the way through to fibre installation and maintenance.”

To demonstrate its commitment to transformation, Vox has identified 24 previously disadvantaged individuals who will be invited to participate in its 14 month executive management development programme.

“We believe these building blocks will go a long way to not only guaranteeing growth for the business, but in showing our commitment to the future of the industry and South Africa,” adds Du Toit.

Vox will continue to focus on the automation of its internal processes.  This includes the migration to a new OSS/BSS platform that has been developed over the last two years.

“This investment comes at a critical time for us, especially when you consider the current South African economy and as such, it demonstrates that our shareholders believe in what we are doing and how we are doing it and it also shows that investing in fibre is the right thing to do,” concludes Du Toit.

Vox is advancing its strategy to bolster its workforce and invest in talent development in South Africa’s ICT industry.

The company has welcomed its first three graduates into its national call centre in Tshwane through the programme it initiated last year with CTU Training Solutions, an accredited ICT training institution, to offer high potential students with work integrated learning (WIL) experience across the spectrum of solutions, services and products currently offered by the company.

Marius Venter, Head of Vox’s Service Centre, said: “We are delighted to welcome new technicians into our environment to embark on a challenging career at Vox, an employer of choice in South Africa’s telecoms industry.”

Venter said one of the cornerstones of Vox’s talent retention strategy is to identify students with the acumen and skills-set to work in a pressurised customer facing environment.

“It is vital that employees of the future are equipped with both soft and technical skills to provide services to dynamic and culturally diverse customer segments. Our collaboration with CTU has crossed its first milestone. It is now our responsibility as an employer to offer these graduates on the job experience, mentorship and growth opportunities,” adds Venter.

Established in 1987, CTU Training Solutions offers full-time, part-time and corporate IT, design and business studies. CTU’s vision is to make a significant contribution to the development of human capital in South Africa. Partnering with Vox is helping CTU to create educational solutions for future jobs.

“Through our partnership both CTU, we are collectively learning and assessing curriculum requirements that match industry benchmarks. It is our vision to nurture students as future leaders and experts in an industry that is a significant contributor to job creation and skills development.”

Vox has launched Gate Guard, a self-contained access control security solution that allows companies to remotely monitor and manage after hours access to their premises.

Says Kobus van Deventer, Nerve Centre manager at Vox, “Perpetrators are increasingly gaining access to properties (both residential and business), by lifting gates off of their rails, and entering the premise.  Gate Guard triggers an alarm in our remote monitoring centre, and directly with clients, to alert them to the illegal entry, or unexpected access.”

Real time video, accessible via smartphones, enables users to keep an eye on who is entering or exiting premises, and in the event of a robbery, use the footage to strengthen insurance claims, or legal proceedings.

A team of security professionals have created Gate Guard to be self-contained with its own solar power supply, and dual SIM router specifically for 3G connectivity. 

“We have tried to create a solution that overcomes connectivity and power issues, to ensure that customers of all sizes, in locations anywhere in the country, have peace of mind when it comes to their premise access points,” concludes van Deventer.

For business that have a sizeable security contingent, Gate Guard becomes a valuable add-on, rather than replacement of guards and/ or guard houses on-premises.

Satellites are increasingly being used to provide highly-reliable broadband internet connectivity beyond major cities and in geographically remote regions of the African continent, and the trend is set to grow as coverage expands to more countries and costs decrease.

While a lot of attention is paid to the spread of Fibre and LTE infrastructure, these are limited to cities and surrounding urban areas, with rural areas unlikely to benefit from these technologies for years to come; and satellite connectivity will often be the only option available. It is also ideal in areas where existing connectivity is too slow, or have long install lead times.

In South Africa, a sizable number of the country’s commercial farmers and game lodges already make use of satellite services for connectivity. Not only does it give them a voice service to communicate with the outside world, but its reliability means that it also plays a vital role in ensuring their security.

Apart from providing highly reliable connectivity for security services, satellites are increasingly being used for telemetry, which enables the remote monitoring and operation of devices. It is favoured by the telecommunications industry in areas of high copper cable theft, while the maritime industry uses satellites to track ships across oceans.

New satellites a game changer

Ka-Band satellites offer a significant price reduction when compared to alternatives such as Ku- L- and C-Band, and allow the service to better compete with other means of connectivity. Coverage provided by Ka-Band satellites is determined by the positioning of spotted beams, of which six are directed at South Africa.

Many customers are on a 15Mpbs service, with data costs per gigabyte that are lower than those charged by local cellular networks; new satellites to be launched will see throughputs increased to up to 100Mbps and even higher. Couple this with quick installation times and  on-premise equipment can be installed in a single day – and it’s not difficult to see why satellite connectivity is gaining in popularity.

Operators have realised the market potential offered in connecting the majority of Africans to the internet, and are moving to take advantage – the Y1B satellite that we use for our service currently covers seven African countries, and soon additional satellites will expand services to a further 10 countries, bringing 70% of the continent within Ka band satellite coverage.

Still room for growth

Locally, thousands of rural schools are not yet connected; satellites are not only able to bring internet to students and teachers, but also offer WiFi services to the broader community.

Another growth area going forward will be in the aviation industry. There is a growing demand from passengers for onboard WiFi during flights, as well as increasing interest in tracking aircraft, and the only way to provide this is through satellite connectivity. In the near future, almost every commercial aircraft will be connected. We also continue to see users moving away from the more expensive forms of satellite connectivity toward Ka-Band services.

One of the shortcomings of the Ka-Band service is that we do not yet have a landing station in South Africa; and data traffic is routed through Europe. However, we see this changing as satellite usage grows.

Satellites are by no means expected to replace fixed-line – fibre or ADSL – or LTE connectivity; these should be used whenever possible to ensure the best throughputs and experience. They’re also the better option if you use a virtual private network (VPN), applications or games that are sensitive to latency, or are a heavy downloader.

However, satellite connectivity is here to stay, and will play a major role in servicing individuals and businesses beyond the cities, and well as in a growing number of niche areas, in the years to come.

Vox has merged its managed services and cloud computing divisions in an effort to provide an end-to-end solution for businesses, irrespective of whether their infrastructure is hosted on site or in the Cloud.

Craig Freer, executive head: Cloud at Vox believes that the move to consolidate the two divisions is a direct response to where the market is heading. “Although we see many companies adopting a Cloud strategy, the majority see this as a phased approach, not a short term goal. In reality, this means a continued reliance on on-site computing as their Cloud strategy evolves” says Freer. “With the current ICT skills shortage in SA, we are seeing increasing volumes of customers turning to ICT Outsource as a business model”

 The merging of the two divisions has seen the business restructure its core managed services components to be more ‘as a service’ orientated, giving customers full customisability to meet changing business needs.  We are able to deliver consistent services irrespective of whether infrastructure is physical or virtual. “We have aligned all of our products in line with ITIL methodologies and in so doing ensure consistency across everything that we deliver,” adds Freer.

Concludes Freer, “Finding a partner that not only understands how to translate a cloud strategy into business reality, but also the requirements for cloud transition, is critical.  We believe our best-of-breed solutions, coupled with a robust managed services offering, enables us to be just that partner.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you ever opened up an email only to delete it before you even register what it’s about? Well you’re not the only one. Email marketing has received a bad name in recent years due to the large number of spammy and thoughtless emails that flood the inboxes of many people. Luckily, with the use of some clever and well thought out strategies, email marketing doesn’t have to be met with an eye-roll from your customer base. Email marketing is still alive and well, and can be used strategically to ensure that your emails are well received, no matter what kind of business you would like to conduct.

First of all, how important is email marketing? While the tool has received some bad press, it still has a vital role to play within your marketing efforts. Why? Because people like to stay informed, educated and aware of what may be affecting them personally. Email marketing is also highly affordable, it doesn’t take a large chunk out of your budget to start up an email campaign even if it is unsuccessful. Basically people find it useful, and according to Hubspot, 86% of consumers would like to receive emails from companies they do business with. That being said, it was also reported that 78% of consumers have unsubscribed from an email newsletter because a business was sending too many. So, how do you as the marketer create the right balance throughout an email campaign so that people will want to respond to it?

Introductions are key

While the subject line of an email may seem like the least important part of an email, it’s the first thing a potential customer will see, so make it count. Limit the amount of words you use to less than 10 and make it about the customer and how it could potentially benefit or help them. No one wants to open their email up to find subject text that’s too long to appear in one line and doesn’t make any reference to them. If you’re contacting a blogger for example to ask for a sponsored post on their website, a simple line emphasizing how your brand is offering an opportunity to them will influence their decision to find out more.

Have a point

If a customer opens up your email they’ll want to know how it applies to them. Essentially your email has to have a point, and it must be clear within the first few lines. If it isn’t, chances are its receivers are going to delete the email before finishing it. A potential customer will respond if your email has a relevant point, and you get to it quickly. For example if you’re emailing people to promote a new product, the product firstly has to be applicable to the person you’re sending it to and it has to be clear in the email. Don’t send a mass email out about a new cleaning product for example, to 17 – 20 year old students who most likely don’t do any cleaning themselves. Take the time to do your research, so that you make your point to a relevant and interested audience and you get to the point within the first couple of lines in your mail.

Be easy to reach

An email that requires a direct response needs to include either a signature which details all your contacts including phone number, email address and social channels or you need to include this information within the email if you don’t want it to be a part of your signature. Customers aren’t going to respond to you if they are unclear of how to get hold of you. But, being easy to contact not only helps customers respond, it also relays the idea that you are happy to converse directly with them should they have any questions or concerns. This builds trust and a positive association to your brand.

Build relationships

Email marketing is the perfect tool to build strong relationships with existing and potential customers. This will ensure that even if your subject line isn’t optimal or your email isn’t as informative as it could be, they’d still be willing to open your mail because they know you. How do you build a relationship with customers? Aside from ensuring the points above, take the time to personalise your mails by tailoring them to the individual needs of each person. Most customers can spot a mass email from a mile away, and respond far better to an email that uses their first name, asks them how they are doing and doesn’t waste their time with long-winded explanations. So while keeping your emails to the point, ensure that the information within the email is specific to the person you’re writing to and you’ll start to build relationships with your contact base.

The Media Image recently published an article on writing the optimum email for distribution, highlighting how effective it can be to your entire content marketing strategy, so do make sure to have a look.  Emails can still play a pivotal role within your marketing efforts, as long as its tailored to suit your customer base.  And while these are just guidelines, if you use them to your advantage you will be on your way to ensuring people not only respond to your emails, but do so positively.

A dwindling database has more to do with people changing jobs (and with it email addresses), or neglecting their personal email accounts, and on rare occasions, opting out of a mailing list. But, according to Vera Romano, Marketing Manager for Everlytic, there are ways of not only enhancing your database, but ensuring longevity of interest, and continued subscription.

Here are some tips and tricks to enhance your list of contacts, that actually want to hear from you.

Social media

Providing good content across your social media platforms is a sure-fire way of gaining new subscribers, especially if you frequently provide valuable, useful content for free download.  These can include guides and free resources (think about all the blogs that offer free printables on Pinterest).

Adding social links to your sites will prompt visitors to sign up to exclusive content or receive your marketing campaigns. The campaigns and competitions that are run on social media should provide content and also entice contacts to sign up to your database.

Campaigns

Build targeted campaigns for your new and prospective contacts by interacting with your contact base, run polls to learn about the things that interest them.  The result will be a better understanding of the type of content your subscribers expect from you.  Send reminders to your existing database, and encourage them to engage, and encourage them to opt-in to your mailing list again. This ensures that your current contacts want to continue receiving your content.

Adding a share button on your email will motivate your subscribers to send it to others that might be interested.

We recommend running a welcome campaign for your new subscribers to let them know what they can expect from you and also establish if there is something specific that they are looking for. Once you know what they want, you can personalise your marketing messages to them from their responses.

Multiple subscription forms

Another way to increase your database is to create multiple subscription forms across your social media platforms, stating clearly what your subscribers are agreeing to. This can be done by utilising a pop-up form on your website, this will elicit every visitor to subscribe to your list.

Develop a subscription button on your website.  Add a link to your blog that encourages readers to sign up to your marketing list.

People respond well to competitions, run a few throughout the year, where the entry requirement is to sign up to your email or SMS marketing list.

New content

And finally, content is king, so make sure that you keep your current subscribers engaged with new content. People are always looking for ways to improve their businesses and themselves, they react well to blog posts or white papers that talk about tricks and tips. Providing such content will make your subscribers trust you as well as your emails, resulting in higher opens.

Vox has launched VoxAir, a cost effective video conferencing solution specifically designed for small to medium businesses and virtual workforces that need to stay connected to partners, suppliers and customers.

VoxAir, a web browser based video conferencing solution is ideally suited to those organisations that want to take a bold step beyond just voice in a cost effective manner.  Pricing is provided per unique contact number which can accommodate up to twelve  concurrent participants at any time.

¨It was important to ensure that our solution was vendor independent – enabling integration and use across any formal conferencing equipment anywhere in the world, without the need to invest in costly video conferencing bridge equipment,” says Mauritz van Wyk, senior product manager: Visual Communications at Vox.

VoxAir has been designed to work in conjunction with all video conferencing platforms, including the large-scale hardware driven systems typically found in large enterprise businesses.  Ideal for the mobile workforce, VoxAir can be used on laptops, desktops and mobile devices for non-office bound employees.

Concludes van Wyk, ¨Video conferencing has become a buzzword – everybody wants to try it out.  Locally, one of the biggest inhibitors of video conferencing adoption, was connectivity.  This has largely been overcome, but business owners do not want to spend thousands on hardware for a single boardroom to enable the technology in their business.

VoxAir lowers that barrier to entry, by offering a cost effective, cloud-based, mobile-enabled service for smaller to medium businesses.¨

VoxAir has Skype for Business integration as a standard, does not require any downloads and is plugin-free.

Integrated ICT and connectivity provider, Vox is dropping the retail rates of its Fat Pipe Home DSL to below R1 per GB effective, 17 November 2016.

¨Our data prices are falling, just in time for some festive cheer,¨ says Simon Butler, Head of Product for Carrier and Connectivity at Vox.

The price decrease will apply for all new online sales, across its Fat Pipe DSL product range, on top of which, a payment holiday will be applied for all subscriptions bought online before 01 January 2017.

Adds Butler, ¨The first subscription fees for qualifying customers will only be due in February 2017.¨

Vox has indicated that existing Fat Pipe customers can look forward to additional data, for the same price as they are currently paying, effectively bringing their per GB price below R1 as well.

¨A 100GB customer paying R189 for example will be bumped to 200GB with no change in their monthly subscription costs,¨ says Butler.

Vox delivers an unshaped internet experience, available on all line speeds with up to six months data rollover and now for less than R1/ GB.

Concludes Butler, ¨Not everyone has access to fibre but the message we are getting loud and clear is that people want more data, for a better price.  This price drop makes getting online cheaper than it has ever been before and we´re excited about playing a part in the move to drive down the cost of data.¨