Category: Product News

Cybercrime is constantly evolving, and the threats being created and disseminated are becoming increasingly sophisticated.  So much so, that they are starting to look like correspondence from legitimate and trusted sources.

The end user becomes the human firewall – and sometimes, either through lack of awareness, education or understanding of the risks, may inadvertently be the primary cause for viruses making their way through organisations.

Ransomware and lock-key viruses are currently the biggest threat to companies, and ultimately lockdown businesses, and force business owners to pay a ransom, normally in untraceable bitcoins in order to get access to its own data.

The way in which these threats find their way into organisations, and we have come a long way froom the ‘ILOVEYOU’ virus of the early 2000’s.  If people thought they needed to be conscious of the URLs they clicked on in the past, today, they need to be aware of viruses embedded inside of attachments or documents, that would ordinarily have been deemed from a trustworthy source.

They might not even know there is a virus until it is too late.

The impact to business is significant, because they will suddenly not have access to shared documentation, data could be leaked to the public and sensitive information compromised, leading to potential reputational risk.   Businesses can come to a complete standstill until the issue is resolved – a process that can take up to a week, depending on how clued up the organisation’s IT department or ISP is.

When we discuss security with our clients, we always recommend an ongoing education and awareness programme. Gone are the days where security breaches, viruses and malware is solely the domain of the IT department.  All end users, business executives or owners, IT managers and any resource that has access to the network or company email needs to be informed about viruses, and the various shapes and forms that they take – the weakest link need no longer be the human element.

The second piece of advice we offer is to take the necessary steps to protect your business.  These steps include backups of your environment, so that if you are held to ransom, you can start up in a clean, virus free environment and carry on operating.  Putting measures in place to prevent others from getting back in. Too often, businesses think that they’ve paid to retrieve their data, and that it won’t happen again.  Unless preventative measures are taken, businesses risk being hit two, three or four times in a row, before they take it seriously

Other measures may include:

• Changing passwords regularly
• Backup data so that data can be restored in clean environment – consider an offsite or cloud based backup solution
• Ensuring that staff is aware of the threats in the market, and what to look for
• Have the right security measures in place – firewalls, endpoint and email. Make sure that nothing gets in or out of the business

Ransomware and lock-key viruses target your network and endpoints, while spear-phishing and whaling target the mail environment and links in documents and attachments that you would otherwise consider to be from trusted sources.

Perhaps an easier way of looking at your environment, is understanding what protects what:

• A firewall protects your network
• Endpoint security protects the devices that are connecting into your network
• Ensure that where your email comes into the business, has the right gateway in place, that eliminates the possibility of malicious content getting to the end user.

The flipside of not having enough security, is adding too much into your environment.  It brings a layer of complexity that could lead to a lack of clarity on which elements work together, and which are not working optimally – again leading to vulnerability.

We suggest starting with a 360 degree view of your business, and it could be as easy, as starting with your ISP.  Where there is a consulting arm within your ISP, you can ask them to provide an analysis of your network, the design thereof, and identify potential loopholes.

Cybercrime is no longer about being opportunistic, or a hit and miss approach.  Cybercriminals are testing what is possible, access and breaking points across a range of organisations and seeing the level of security in place. Once they know where these vulnerabilities are, they make a concerted and targeted effort to gain access to as much data as possible.

Organisations should be checking how much information they have made available to the outside world – sophisticated cybercriminals know who you are as a business, and they know who the people within your organisation are.

If you don’t know that the cybercriminals know about your business, the question to ask is, do you back to security basics, and when is it time to implement more advanced measures?

 

 

 

CRM traditionally has one of the lowest adoption rates in organisations because it is not necessarily seen as a key business application.

So how will you know if it is time to invest in a CRM solution? The answer to this question is simple: when you start to see an increase in customer incidents, or your sales cycle becomes longer, you are closing fewer deals and constantly putting out fires – then you need to start considering putting systems in place to manage your sales and customer processes. The right solution will allow you to measure customer satisfaction, productivity – how your sales cycle becomes shorter, upselling and cross selling to existing customer base and so on. It will give you insights to understand where the problems in your organisation lie, allowing you to focus on the weak points and improve your customer centric systems and processes.

Many business decision makers are not always clear on knowing what they need to buy.  The following features are optimal when choosing a solution:

• Ease of use and adoption- if it’s too complex your staff are less likely to use it
• Full integration – the system should fully integrate with your existing systems
• Mobility – should be fully integrated with mobile
• Flexible business processes – should be adaptable to accommodate changes in your business processes
• Document management – all client documents should be easily accessible from all devices
• Consulting and support – the right amount of support should be available according to your individual business needs

When it comes to choosing a solution provider however, not all partners are the same, and it’s important to find the correct one to suit your business needs.  You need to consider how much support you will require to install, configure and implement your solution, as, depending on your business requirements, could take anything from a week to several months.

Regardless of the size or nature of your business, being proactive is always a better approach than reactive. Salespeople need to know what is happening in their customers´ sites on any given day.  They need to understand what challenges the customer is facing, which can often be obtained via financial press, social media or any other external medium.  CRM enables the centralisation and aggregation of this type of information, for ease of reference. Having in-depth insights on the specific pain points of each customer dramatically changes the dynamic of the customer conversation. Rather than approaching customers with questions, in an attempt to find out what you can do for them, salespeople should be coming prepared with solutions based on their knowledge of what the client needs.

Traditionally, account managers will be assigned to a customer, and will meet once a month, or every two months (depending on the requirements) to ensure awareness of and clarity on what is happening within the business.

While the benefits of CRM may well be clear for any business, it is important to note however that successful implementation depends on a few factors within the organisation. The outcomes for your business will depend on being ready to adapt to new processes, adoption of defined sales processes, moving away from unstructured data to a more structured environment (which goes hand in hand with moving from a paper-based to digital system) and importantly, staff adoption. Once in place CRM will streamline your business processes, strengthen client relationships and show measurable results in your sales and productivity.

Braintree, the consulting and integration division within Vox, has recently confirmed its partnership with LINKFRESH, a leading packaged business management system for the fresh food sector, and a Microsoft Dynamics certified add-on package.

The partnership will deliver LINKFRESH ERP software built on the Microsoft Dynamics platform, through an application that has been specifically designed for companies who work in the fresh food supply chain in Africa.

“The fresh food industry in South Africa is growing and producers require best practice processes and standardisation to compete both locally and internationally. Linkfresh ERP is a proven best of breed application and is the ideal enabler to meet our customer requirements,¨ says Neville Levinthal, Head of Business Development at Braintree.

This partnership provides Braintree with a vertical software solution for fresh produce, protein and egg producers, ensuring a mobile and paperless environment.

Mark Willis, Partner and Account Manager at LINKFRESH Software adds, “We are very excited about our new partnership with Braintree, which is providing an opportunity to expand the use of our award winning software into Africa.  Working in co-operation with Braintree and utilising its proven delivery capability we look forward to introducing many more, happy Fresh Food customers in this globally important region for food production.”

Braintree together with LINKFRESH offers the flexibility and adaptability according to the special and individual needs of customer operations.

With immediate effect the LINKFRESH partnership enables Braintree to distribute LINKFRESH in South Africa as well as countries in Africa as a whole.  Braintree already has extensive and long lasting relationships both retail and the Food and Beverage industries and LINKFRESH will increase the software offering to fresh food producers.

With the future development and growth of the partnership, Braintree will offer the highest standard of ongoing support and customisation to its customers in South Africa and the rest of Africa.

 

The expanding fibre network is set to change how we live and work, and how companies service their customers.

Since Parkhurst installed its neighborhood fibre network in mid-2014, the rollout of fibre to residential areas has taken off dramatically. Vox’s Executive Head of Carrier and Connectivity, Simon Butler, says that by the end of 2016, he is expecting close on 50 000 to 60 000 homes connected to a Fibre-to-the-home network and a further 200 000 to 300 000 homes passed with access to order a FTTH service.

“This is a quantum leap both in terms of growth rate and what the technology can enable,” Butler says. “One of the drivers is the huge and growing demand for richer types of content and the fact that middle-class homes have a growing number of smart, connected devices in them—phones, tablets, TVs and, increasingly, security systems, home management and other appliances.  All of this requires bandwidth, and lots of it, which is what fibre can deliver.”

Butler believes the rollout of fibre -to-the-home has implications for business over and above the improved life quality of individuals. As smart devices proliferate, the way people consume content is changing, often radically. For example, traditional broadcast programming is under severe pressure from online content providers like Netflix and Showmax  that make content available on demand—and are also starting to create their own content, conceptualised specifically for a range of devices.

Similarly, educational content providers are under increased pressure to complement in-school lessons, effectively extending the classroom into the home.

In all cases, traditional business models will be overturned, and only the nimblest will make the transition.

Steroid boost

Another major business impact will be in the home office. Fibre allows a true work from home, telecommuting, environment with access to sophisticated hosted-PBX platforms, high-definition video-conferencing and high speed network access all of which gives an employee an ‘in the office’ virtual experience.. For mature businesses, certain resources (like salespeople, for example) will be able to work from home effectively, reducing time spent away from clients and generating significant savings on office costs.

Fibre-connected home offices also have the potential to catalyse the development of small and entrepreneurial businesses, Butler believes.

“At present, we see approximately2% of connected households using fibre to run a business, but that will change as the potential becomes apparent,” Butler believes. “The reliability of fibre, coupled with the extraordinary (and growing) range of services one can access, creates a value proposition that is compelling.”

In particular, fibre makes it possible to get a startup operational very quickly—staff members can work from their homes, yet customers get the experience of dealing with a traditional company. For example, calls to the company number can be transferred to employees who are in their home offices rather than down the corridor, and everyone accesses the same technology, applications and storage via the cloud.

“Fibre has ignited a revolution on a number of fronts, that’s for sure,” Butler concludes. “With its existing footprint of computing and datacentre services, and its network infrastructure, including a growing investment in fibre, Vox Telecom is perfectly positioned to be a major player.”

 

While it is by no means a new technology,the demand  for, and rollout of fibre across business precincts and metropolitan suburbs is telling us that the target of reaching three million homes by 2020, is well within reach.

This demand, is in part, driven by exponential growth in online content from a consumer perspective, and a greater need to consolidate ICT spend, with a converged service in the business segment.

For the vast majority of people however, the conversation is still about fast internet, and that needs to shift.  Connectivity, like water and electricity, is becoming a utility.  It is this utility-based approach that advances internet connectivity for schools, and is fast tracking a more mobile workforce, one that does not have to be in an office environment in order to be productive.

As more products are developed to be connected to the internet, and start generating big data, so the need for reliable, always available connectivity will increase, and less emphasis will be placed on what it costs and more on what it enables.

There is no shortage of areas demanding fibre-to-the-home and fibre-to-the-business and infrastructure providers are in a unique position of being able to cherry pick the suburbs  and precincts they believe will maximise their investments.

Combined targets as set by the infrastructure providers, show that by the end of 2016, we can expect to see approximately half a million homes with access to a fibre network, and by 2020, this is expected to be three million homes.

These targets may seem aggressive, especially when you consider that in 16 years ADSL subscriber numbers went from 0 in 2003, to 1.1 million that we see today.  The more rapid the deployment of the network, and seemingly increased interest in funding, will mean potentially reaching these goal with relative ease.

We do however, draw an important distinction between homes passed (those homes that are available to connect to a network) versus the homes that are actually connected.  We expect this to be anywhere between 35 percent and 50 percent.

For the first time since McKinsey noted its ´disruptive dozen´, businesses and consumer are starting to see these become a reality and a number of them are facilitated by high quality, reliable connectivity.  The Internet of Things, a world of ´smart´ everything devices and the potential of an on-demand generation has never been more possible.

How people consume information and entertainment will change, because of what fibre enables, and it is this quantum shift that will see traditional content providers re-evaluate their business models, to include more online driven content and/ or customer services.

 

Cloud computing is becoming a serious feature in the security industry – albeit with limited success in South Africa. What is the current state of cloud services when it comes to security, especially surveillance?

• Cloud computing is becoming a serious feature with regards to surveillance. Businesses which previously did not have the correct security measures in place, are now adopting cloud solutions as the need for more holistic security increases.
• There is much to be considered when it comes to surveillance however, and questions inevitably have arisen around who has the right to monitor whom, and what the acceptable parameters are as far as surveillance goes. For this reason, the cloud in its current state is constantly evolving and it will be some time before it is clearly defined.

And how secure is your cloud provider and the data you entrust to them

• The security of your data is largely dependent on partnering with a reputable cloud provider, and you will only know how safe your data is after conducting the right research and verifying the credibility of your cloud provider. It’s important to note however, that even when trust is established, as a business you should still be running constant checks on your environment, asking for audit logs and regularly updating passwords to verify that your data is safe.

What questions do users need to ask of their cloud provider, especially today when data seems to be freely given to government agencies to snoop on – never mind the ease with which hackers seem to be able to steal our data?

1. Are there policies in place to safeguard data, what are these?
2. Which policies, as a business should I have in place to protect data internally?
3. Where is my data stored?
4. Who has access to my data?
5. Can I access the audit logs?
6. What authentication is used to verify the person accessing my data?
7. Are systems updated continuously, do you upgrade/ maintain in batches when necessary or do you rely on yearly updates as they roll out?
8. Do you research on the latest threats that are target driven – and how soon do you implement those fixes to ensure the environment is secure?

Is it safe to store your data on servers hosted overseas?

• Data stored overseas is relatively safe, but again, this is largely dependent on the security levels of your data centre. Because data stored overseas is subject to the laws and policies in that country, it is not advisable to store your data overseas if it contains critical information that is of a personal nature to either another individual, or business. This means that your data could potentially be accessed under those laws without your permission.

Is it even legal under PoPI to do that?

• After the Safe Harbour Agreement was abolished in October 2015, businesses now have to abide by the laws of the country that data is stored in. When it comes to PoPI, it is theoretically legal to store data overseas- provided you are able to prove you have measures of security in place. While the law is in place, however, the regulation of PoPI is not yet clear and it remains to be seen how it will be enforced.

Do we need to encrypt everything? If so, how?

• When it comes to data security, it is advisable and considered best practice to encrypt all of your data. This can be achieved by ensuring:
  1. That your data is password protected
  2. That you have TLS (transfer layer security) in place
  3. That encryption policies are in place for all data in transit
  4. That it is feasible to do maintenance and updates regularly
  5. That passwords are consistently updated

As for hosted security services: Is it safe to rely on a remote server owned and operated by a third party to control your access or perimeter security systems and data?

• If your business does not have the correct IT skills in house to protect your environment, it is in fact advisable to rely on a third party. Partnering with a company that has in depth knowledge of what would put your business at risk, is the safest option when it comes to controlling perimeter security systems and data.

Who offers these services and what are the benefits for users?

• Larger ISPs are most likely to offer hosted security services, and the benefits include:
  1. No costly CAPEX
  2. Ease of access to regular maintenance updates
  3. Access to IT skills that may not be available in house
  4. Affordable model, where you can keep upgrading your environment
  5. Maximise in house IT skills to benefit your company more efficiently
  6. Solution which grows with your business needs

 

 

Vox is introducing a competitive range of uncapped FTTH products across all the open access networks it currently provides services on, according to Executive Head of Carrier and Connectivity, Simon Butler.

“This is the first time that we are rolling out an uncapped FTTH offering, and it is aimed at addressing the growing data consumption requirements of home users, and small businesses that may be run out of residential areas,” adds Butler.

Vox will differentiate between a basic connectivity solution (for those customers that only want a basic data only service) and a premium package, that provides value added elements which include uncapped voice services.

Says Butler, “As expected, we are seeing massive usage growth in services such as HD video streaming (Netflix, Showmax etc.) and with richer content and more OTT services becoming available it will continue to grow exponentially. By adding uncapped product offerings across our FTTH range, we are catering for all the consumer type needs.”

By offering uncapped products to our FTTH range, we are catering for all the consumer type needs.”

Existing FTTH customers do have the option of migrating to an uncapped service, and Butler suggests they contact Vox to have one of their agents assist them with the upgrade process.  Prospective customers can view all the details of the uncapped offerings on the Vox Telecom website, and decide if they would like a basic or premium solution for their home.

“Taking advantage of the fibre revolution has never been easier.  Reliable, high speed, and just about everywhere makes fibre the go-to technology for home and business users,” concludes Butler.

Communication is a vital element for any business, and, regardless of its size, as a business grows, the cost and levels of complexity of the communication channels increase.

Historically, traditional telephone management systems (TMS) were used to report on expenses of a PBX. Businesses today require more from a service than just monitoring telephones on desks, especially in the face of unexpected bills, and the requirement to allocate expenses to various cost centres. Given that we are no longer only bound by a fixed line handset,, companies need to be able to monitor communication channels such as printers, mobile voice and mobile data.

Growing communication mediums, and the expansion of cloud based solutions will increasingly drive complexity in companies that haven’t considered TMS solutions in the past. Having to monitor a wider range of communication channels means businesses need to be able to centralise and host everything, and this demand will continue to drive migration to the cloud

Cloud-based TMS solutions present a significant opportunity for businesses, particularly smaller or mid-sized companies. It eliminates the need for large capital expenditure, as companies don’t need to purchase expensive on-site equipment, and makes previously enterprise only solutions, more affordable for smaller businesses.

When choosing a TMS solution, there are a number of things a business needs to consider.

Your TMS should ideally help manage communication costs, monitor staff productivity and not place additional administrative pressure on your operations function.

We believe that the right solution should address the following issues:

• Understanding staff productivity – know how long staff members spend on the phone, and which portion of calls are personal as opposed to work related
• Narrowing costs down in various layers being able to portion costs from various branches, departments or each individual user.
• Understanding when there is an influx of calls and how to service those incoming calls more efficiently – knowing how many calls are abandoned for example will allow you to decide if you need to increase or decrease staff
• Identify whether the bulk of your calls are mobile – knowing whether you have the right partner providing the best rate possible
• Need to understand how employees use their mobile devices- monitor data and voice usage.

Vox  has launched Business Class Fibre, a world class fibre-to-the-business offering that delivers a broad spectrum of customisable solutions, to suit businesses of all sizes.

Fast, reliable connectivity has become an essential requirement for every business, from the start-up running multiple applications in the cloud, to the established corporate that needs to remain always-on.

“We believe that we are able to offer more than just an internet connection, and have created the ideal platform for convergence,” says Shane Chorley, Executive Head of Carrier and Connectivity division at Vox.

“Business Class Fibre enables businesses, to truly optimise and drive the efficient coexistence of voice, video, data and other IP-based services, over a single network.  The result? A direct increase in productivity and greater cost-savings by consolidating telecommunications spend.”

The Vox Fibre network is available in all major cities nationally, and is continually expanding its reach.  This includes in excess of 200 individual pre-fibred precincts, areas and business districts where fibre is connected into the buildings. This makes Vox Telecom, one of the largest fibre providers in South Africa.

Concludes Chorley, “Based on the feedback from our customers, we’ve created a solution that is not only fast, but also flexible, providing the ability to upgrade bandwidth as required. The result is our high-availability, low-latency network, that delivers future-proof capacity for the dedicated or broadband application requirements of our customers.”

 

 

 

Vox’s new Microsoft Private Cloud Services portfolio combines the best of Microsoft’s applications with the power of cloud to offer medium-to-large companies a single supplier for all their communication, collaboration, CRM, and business intelligence needs – all as part of a fully managed service.

“While Microsoft’s applications form a core part of how many companies operate, the ability of their internal IT departments to deliver on these services affordably and efficiently is being affected by the shortage of critical skills locally, as well as rising costs of datacentre infrastructure,” says Craig Freer, Executive Head of Cloud at Vox.

Unlike typically available cloud products, which are offered on an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or Platform as a Service (PaaS) model, Vox is offering a turnkey solution that includes the network layer, virtual hosting, security, operating system and database, and applications.

“Everything in the ecosystem is flexible, and end-users can even customise applications to suit their business needs,” says Freer. “

Vox’s Microsoft Private Cloud Services offers companies access to the complete Microsoft application suite, including Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Skype for Business, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics NAV and GP, and Microsoft Business Intelligence.

“Microsoft Private Cloud Services is a complete solution, backed by defined service level agreements or available as a fully managed service, and with a single point of accountability,” says Freer.

Customers only pay for the services that they need, and are also able to leverage the benefits of licensing mobility – which allows companies currently using certain Microsoft applications onsite to deploy them to the cloud without paying additional software licensing fees – further reducing costs.

By using a private cloud platform, which is dedicated to a single customer, companies can get the added benefits of privacy and performance guarantees, as compared to public cloud offerings.

“This solution allows any company that relies on Microsoft’s technologies to outsource the complete management of their application suite, and free up company resources to focus on their core business instead,” says Freer.