Category: News

Let’s Talk Qwerti…

Posted on by Suhail Dinat

We’ll be honest – up until 5 minutes ago, we thought QWERTI was a keyboard.

One Google search, a failed attempt to get our boss to explain what was in the presentation she sent a week ago and a very long-winded product manager later, and we think we’ve got it figured out.

Have you ever tapped on the door of the IT department and watched them all jump and turn in unison? There’s almost always a sigh, an air of frustration and those looks between them which you just know are an inside joke about you. It doesn’t help that the solution to 99% of the problems you face involve turning your PC on and off, or that the problem you’ve had for the last week suddenly goes away when you take it in. Factor in long wait times (we sent a laptop in for repairs in January and, come November, we’re still waiting for parts), that awkward moment where you watch them fiddle with your PC while hoping you deleted your search history or the general feeling of “don’t tap on glass, IT guys working”, and the overall IT experience can be intimidating or frustrating.

Ever watched your laptop crash as your crucial Email was sending, or seen Word flip you the bird and shut off before you can press save? Oh, and don’t get us started on the Blue Screen of Death – IT issues wait for no-one (although it does seem like they wait for the worst possible moment) and, when they come, they often catch you off-guard and unprepared.

In fact, we’ve compiled a list of common office sayings to help you understand just how problematic IT can be:

  • This computer is full of IT!
  • Get your IT together!
  • The IT is hitting the fan!
  • Darn IT!

Notice a pattern? We certainly do. In fact, we’re pretty sure that if you removed Eskom from the equation (which, let’s face it, we’ve all thought of at some point), IT issues would be a bigger source of workplace headaches than the lady who insists on microwaving her fish.

Look, we could sit here and bash The IT crowd until Microsoft Updates finish installing, but truth be told it would be doing them a disservice. Fact is, your IT Solution team is like the modern version of a Ghostbuster – you call them whenever there’s something strange in your PC-hood, or when it doesn’t look good. The problem is that not only can the process of getting from problem to solution be frustrating, infuriating and time-consuming, but you lose valuable time (and a handful of hair) along the way.

Now, if only there were a way to simplify the concept of IT…

… oh wait, there is.

Introducing Qwerti, which helps you get IT together.

Whether it’s glitchy software or a printer that won’t connect to your device, in the moment every tech problem seems like Armageddon. As such, you don’t need the added frustration of being shifted from pillar to post or, even worse, waiting like it’s 8am at Spaghetti Junction until your problem is addressed. Qwerti is the here, now and future of remote IT solutions – ensuring the best humans and the best technology on your side whenever you may need them.

Be it fixing that troublesome printer, facilitating a remote workspace that functions as it should, making sure server access is actually accessible or just putting the right cable in the right place, Qwerti’s remote IT Solutions offer significantly more assistance than “have you tried turning it off”.

It goes beyond just making sure your machine is working properly – the brand is rapidly redefining the concept of what remote assistance should be, and ensuring that your organisation can embrace the digital era like you’d embrace Santa Claus if he brought home a PS5. Here are some of the ways your brand can put the shhh in IT.

  • We offer monitoring, management, advisory and professional services.
  • All elements are covered – from network to security, overall IT infrastructure, Cloud and Hardware Rentals.
  • Strategy, transformation, assessments, assistance and engineering are all further available added services.

It’s a new digital world, and whereas once the most heated office problem was how cold to turn the aircon, today’s issues can prove more costly and detrimental to productivity if not addressed effectively. Unlike anywhere run by Government, most organisations don’t want their systems or devices to be offline. Make sure this never happens by proactively ensuring that your brand has the most capable, cutting-edge solutions available to save the day should the need ever arise.

Are Five Senses Still Enough? Here’s a Sixth…

Posted on by Suhail Dinat

From Big Brother to whatever Putin is doing, the concept of keeping an eye on things started becoming mainstream somewhere in the nineties.

True, this has been misused to great effect (we see you, Facebook), but the reality is that as criminals have become smarter, the technology used to safeguard our houses has become similarly advanced. Not just that, but anyone who owns, rents or lives in a house can testify that they require more maintenance than the average VW Polo. Between leaks to drips to freezers who see load shedding as an excuse to emulate City Power and just refuse to work, the challenges we face are ample, abundant, and require intelligent solutions to navigate.

Honestly, sometimes we wish we had six arms just so we can keep all our moving parts in place – but what if we had a Sixth Sense instead?

First things first, what’s the deal with Vox Sixth Sense?

In simple English, Six Sense consists of a variety of technological solutions for the monitoring, safety and security of your home.

They may sound like they’re straight off the set of Mission Impossible, but these solutions are actually compact, battery powered (because we all know how well electricity reliance goes in this country) and easy to install.

They’re like the antithesis of service delivery in South Africa – you can rely on their energy; they work without supervision and you don’t need a tender to get them going.

Imagine a series of small sensors which don’t require a technician to set up in three to five days. You purchase, you install, you connect to your App and you’re good to go – you can even connect multiple devices to a single application. From that point on, you’re able to keep your eyes on the prize and monitor whichever valuables you see fit (sadly, you can’t attach it to people just yet. Or is that a good thing?)

Here’s a list of all the ways Sixth Sense can help your house Make Sense.

  1. Asset Tracker: It’s a tracker, but for your assets.

A device so nifty, Q from 007 would be proud. This small but durable tracking device is entirely battery operated. Simply attach to the assets you can’t afford to lose, and you can learn when they move as soon as they move. You can even set up a digital perimeter around your premises and, should the item leave that radius, you’ll be notified immediately. The moment it gets legs, you get notified – and you can get tracking, too.

  1. Door Sensor: the lockdown you actually want.

Until we invent crime robot butlers and security guards (hey, the rate we’re going, don’t rule it out), you’re going to need to keep an eye on your weak points. Sadly, your house doors and windows are two of them – but sometimes the biggest culprit isn’t an intruder, but rather an owner. Sheds, garages, even pool fences can often be overlooked with devastating consequences. Our Door Sensor remedies that (not by bonking you on the head to remind you, as it should do), but rather by letting you know when something is either being opened or being left open. It turns your entry points into “Invite Only” zones in an instant – which goes a long way in SA.

  1. Leak Detector: Stay ahead of the drip!

You know you’re officially old and grumpy when words like “drip” send you on a tangent about today’s youth. In this case, however, it’s warranted, as anyone who’s ever experienced a geyser leak will probably rank it between Level 5 Lockdown and Level 6 Load Shedding on the pain scale. The problem is geysers are like getting cut off by a minibus – you don’t know it’s happened until it’s too late, and no amount of screaming will fix it. Our Leak Detector, however, is an early warning system designed to get you on the proactive side of life. This indoor and outdoor sensor warns you of any unwanted water presence – simply install, live life and hope you never hear from it again.

  1. Temperature Monitor: Hot or cold, like a Katy Perry song

Anyone with an affinity for Tin Roof ice cream can attest to the damage rolling blackouts do to the contents on one’s freezer. We’ve seen it, much like we’ve seen our precious greenhouse sing the Imperial March the moment we step out for a week or two. With this in mind, our Temperature Monitor keeps an eye on all your sensitive areas – the ones in the home, at least. You’ll be alerted in the event of any fluctuation, be it too hot or too cold, which not only allows you to embrace your inner Goldilocks, but to act early so there’s no need to regret it later.

You can also enjoy easy self-installation and customisation, independent power, automatic connectivity and complete control. Yep, it’s a solution for better, safer home living which actually makes your life easier like it says on the box. Vox Sixth Sense is the present and the future of smarter home living – the only question now is why your other five senses aren’t as on point as this one.

Is your Finance Department more ‘Federal Reserve’ or ‘SARS’?

Posted on by Suhail Dinat

Like BMW drivers, most organisations somehow end up thinking they can never be hit.

Sure, you’ve paid for a Security ‘Solution’ you found online (which is the equivalent of those guards at the boom gate who you need to hoot at before they wake up), and your trial version of McAfee still has a week remaining. Does this mean your business is slightly more secure than a high school IT department? Sure. Does it mean you’re not a sitting duck, ripe for the taking? Nope – you’re at risk, and you can bet your Kaspersky on that.

True, through proper protection, educating the office Karen and adherence to protocol like those ladies at the entrance of Dis-chem, you drastically reduce your chances of having your private information leaked online (which, unless you’re a Kardashian, is never a good thing). The problem, however, is that Cyber Criminals are never static and are as crafty as those men at the robot who force you to pay them for washing your windshield. When it comes to hacks, breaches and being compromised, this is an industry that evolves faster than Apple can release a new phone with fewer features.

Fact is, Cyber Crimes are ever-evolving, constantly expanding and, if you’re not careful, the digital equivalent of the guys from Money Heist.

Most of us feel like we don’t have to worry, because an entry level position lets you fly under the radar like an old man in Survivor. To be fair, this does hold an element of truth – those at the very top are at a higher risk of being targeted – specifically those who can access the cash stash (who refuse to increase your pay). All it takes is one successful breach and your organisation is broke (and not Donald Trump “broke”, but MC Hammer broke). Your accounts can be cleared, staff going unpaid and your chances of bouncing back lower than a Paris Hilton IQ Test.

We know what you’re thinking: my monthly security bill looks like a petrol slip – how much more must I spend before my business is safe?

The unfortunate reality is that much like your place of residence, paying for ADT to stop by with a flashlight isn’t necessarily a guarantee of 100% safety. The only way to truly ensure that your house is a fortress is to evaluate which weak spots can be compromised and take the proactive, anticipatory steps required to make them impenetrable.

Enter Penetration Testing, which does NOT do what it’s name suggests…

This can get technical, but we’ll try to break it down – a Pentest approaches your infrastructure the way Mr Robot would, sees where it can break in and sets about trying to exploit chinks in your armour before someone does it for real.

We’ve all seen those movies where the thieves take on a security company and try to break into somewhere for a grand prize. Penetration Testing (despite the dodgy name) is exactly that – but instead of windows, fences and doors, these simulated attackers deal with digital weak points.

Servers, endpoints, web applications, networks – everything is assessed, evaluated and, if it seems like it can be broken, we try to knock it down so we know exactly how to fix it. Think of it as a way of breaking a few eggs to make an omelette (or, if that analogy isn’t hitting home, losing multiple sparring matches so that you can dominate in the ring).

Wait wait – didn’t we hear this before when you guys pitched Vulnerability Assessments?

Yeah, we get that a lot.

In reality, the two are alike the same way your Learners and Drivers Licenses are similar (except you can’t bribe your way into either). A Vulnerability Scan uses automated tools and provides you with a report on your weak points before moving on with life – useful to tell you about a problem, but a Pentest takes it a few steps further. With Penetration Testing, we simulate actual attacks, not just looking at the weakness and wishing you a good day, but rolling up our sleeves and pretending we’re breaking into the Spanish Royal Mint.

The whole process simulates an attack (rather than just telling you your weak points) in order to fully understand how a hacker would go about compromising your organisation.

Why are we telling you this?

Well, there’s a pitch (of course there is).

At Armata, nothing makes us happier than a secure business (and, of course, kicking would-be hackers to the curb). As such, we’re offering a special on Pre-packed, Pentest Lite Bundles guaranteed to make you look twice.

In our mission towards determining how vulnerable the people who handle your money are, we’ll conduct all the aforementioned security evaluations (it’s a long list) we discussed above, but push things a bit further by asking, “Can we build enough information to trick your higher ups into paying us money?”

Yup, like the Social Dilemma on Netflix which made everyone think they uncovered the Illuminati, we’re happy to conduct our own Social Engineering experiment – except we don’t recommend firing a CEO should we convince them to pay our Nigerian Prince’s ransom.

A standard Penetration Test for your business could cost over R200 000.  We at Armata offer a three-day, Lite Penetration Test for R30 000. Normally, you pay the full amount upfront for this Pentest, but we’re willing to offer it to you for only R15 000, payable over instalments across three months should you sign up for the month of December!

See, despite setting your business up for a secure, long-term future, you’re also able to split the cost of doing so into a manageable monthly fee which eases the strain on your budget.

There are a few things you can’t put a price on: short lines at Home Affairs, a chance to date Irina Shayk, and your business safety. A Penetration Test allows us to step into the shoes (and minds) of Cyber Criminals so that your organisation never finds out the hard way just how vulnerable you really are. We believe that Cyber Security is a right, and that all businesses deserve a fighting chance – which is why we’re allowing you to enjoy maximum protection and a minimal price.

Examining the Rise of Prepaid Fibre in SA

Posted on by Suhail Dinat

Back in the day (and it really wasn’t that long ago), Prepaid meant those cool scratch cards you needed to peel off with the side of a R5 (or a house key, but you had to be careful not to remove the numbers). Today? Those awesome cards are replaced by till slips, and the term Prepaid has extended from Airtime to Water, Electricity and now, it would seem, Fibre.

But why on earth would anyone need Prepaid Fibre, you ask?

Well, let’s start by addressing some of the biggest misconceptions around Fibre-based Internet services (which, incidentally, Prepaid can eradicate straight off the bat). The overall perception of our favourite connectivity solution seems to be that it’s a costly, expensive option available only to those who can afford it. Indeed, the idea seems to suggest that only those with a moderate to above average recurring monthly income can afford the long-term contracts affiliated with Fibre based solutions.

In short, the concept seems, to many, unaffordable and unattainable, apparently limited only to those who have a guaranteed fixed salary which can sustain a one-, two- or three-year monthly deduction (fun fact: did you know that the top ranked FIFA player in SA, the only South African to qualify for the FIFA Online World Cup, is quite vocal about his non-use of Fibre?). All the above indicates that, despite its worldwide popularity, Fibre as a whole has some way to go before it can reach the majority of our population.

Which may be where Prepaid Fibre comes in…

Don’t be deceived by the name – you won’t be dashing to the nearest petrol station or spaza shop for 1am top-ups. Aimed at giving the end user more control over their budget and Internet access (as well as eliminating the deterrent of elongated fixed-term contracts for those commitment-phobes in the audience), Prepaid Fibre allows you to handle your connectivity on a month-to-month basis.

Rather than tie you down for what seems like forever, you have complete freedom to choose whether or not you’d like to top up your connectivity come the end of the month. Had a bad December? No problem – you don’t need to stress about a R700 debit and can pick it back up when you’re ready again.

This isn’t some capped, low-end budget solution which runs out after a week either. You’ll still get all the benefits (it is still Fibre, after all) as well as enjoy uncapped, unlimited Internet access to suit your home or business needs.

Simply put? It is exactly like a normal package – the only difference is you control your spend.

What’s the point of this?

Well… by understanding the needs of our communities as well as their purchase patterns, it would be an incredible oversight on the part of ISP’s should they not heed what’s feasible for the majority. Traditional Fibre price points and contract models are, to many, an unfortunately unfeasible reality – the concept of Prepaid aims to rectify this. The concept is, in fact, a game-changer in that it entirely opens up accessibility to emerging markets and communities.

In order for our country to truly thrive, efforts should be made to connect as much of the population to reliable, high-speed Internet as possible. In fact, all communities across SA should at least have the opportunity to experience these benefits. If the largest detracting factors are cost and ease-of-access (or lack thereof), then a more practical solution needs to be established – hence, Prepaid Fibre.

Which brings us to Hypa…

Imagine fast, unlimited Home Wi-Fi brought to South Africans on a Prepaid basis. Everything we talked about earlier, you can find in abundance. Connect up to 10 devices and pick a line speed that suits you. With no Data cap and no contract, it’s just the perfect solution for users who want Fibre without the nitty gritty.

When you sign up with Hypa, you can enjoy a free router and installation – you only pay for the connectivity you use, on a recurring or purchase basis. Starting from R394, you can enjoy speeds from 20/10 to 40/10 (if you think you’re up for it). Work, play, browse or stream – high speed Internet should never cost a fortune (and it doesn’t when you’re with Hypa. With flexible payment options and download speeds of 20 and 40 Mbps, you can wave goodbye to daily or weekly top-ups to maximise your any-time, unlimited Data.

So believe the hype and get hyped for Hypa – because Prepaid Fibre is the here, the now and the future.

Vox launches Ambassador programme giving ordinary South Africans a chance to earn

Posted on by Duo Marketing

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, Tech Girl partner to make gaming more accessible to South Africans

Posted on by Andrew King

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 gains traction on social as South Africans take climate education to heart

Posted on by Jacques du Toit

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.

Gear up for WAR with Armata!

Posted on by Suhail Dinat

The world of Cyber Security is a virtual battlefield.

Every day newer, more dangerous threats arise – threats which compromise the safety, integrity and freedom of people across the world. This is not something to be underestimated. This is not something to be taken lightly. Every defeat places the lives of innocent men, women and children at risk – and we cannot fail in our mission to protect those who can’t protect themselves.

At Armata, we understand the severity of these threats, and have dedicated our lives towards nullifying them. No longer will the lives and livelihoods of those who have worked hard to build them be prone to attacks. No longer are innocent civilians’ potential targets. We will not waver in the face of this never-ending barrage of digital threats. We will redefine Cyber Security to ensure that our valued customers can sleep peacefully and safely at night.

Our mission? To defend your critical Data.

Our vision? To deliver Cyber Intelligent Solutions which help achieve zero interruption to your business systems whilst maintaining the highest levels of Data protection.

We execute these through the implementation of intelligent technological tactics which adhere to international-standard calibre. Our arsenal is fully equipped with the tools, knowledge and highly trained personnel capable of identifying, nullifying and preventing even the stealthiest of intrusions.

Keep your critical Data Secure and instantly detect or prevent attacks via our adaptive systems, as we at Armata are your own Cyber Defence Force.

…we know what you’re thinking. This sounds great, but what exactly is it?

Powered by Vox, Armata was established to facilitate an independently functioning Cyber Security division which allows for a more focused modus operandi. By following the NIST Cyber Framework, we ensure that your business has a fully fledged defence force which offers protection from all angles. This allows any business or individual to identify, protect, detect, respond and recover to potential threats accordingly.

Our solutions are systemically designed to encompass all potentially compromised business elements. These entail (but are by no means limited to):

  • Email Security: wherein we at Armata streamline, safeguard and store your comms.
  • Network Security: we implement next-generation firewall and managed-firewall services so as to keep your local network, company information and resources both private and secure.
  • Managed DDOS: Also known as a Denial-of-Service attack, this layer of protection safeguards your organisation from threats which may otherwise infiltrate and block your access to Emails, applications and Cloud solutions.
  • Endpoint Security: we understand that a conventional Endpoint solution is no longer sufficient (due to the ever-evolving nature of online threats), which is why we offer this with the added advantage of Endpoint detection and response (EDR).
  • Reporting and Analysing: we provide comprehensive reporting and analysis of your entire cyber environment, thereby providing a real-time understanding of your total environment.

It doesn’t stop there. Armata also offers a wide array of services guaranteed to take your protection and dial it to 100.

  • Our Cyber Security Portal offers an easy-to-use platform; one which allows you to manage cyber risks while tracking your progress (who says risk management needs to be complicated or expensive?)
  • Our Web Vulnerability Assessments take a proactive approach to safeguarding your company site (which, if you consider that there’s a successful web attack every 39 seconds, can’t be underestimated)
  • Our Penetration Testing component helps discover exploitable vulnerabilities and the dangers to your business before a hacker does (why wait until it’s too late to protect your business and information when you can discover chinks in your armour proactively?).
  • Sadly, successful breaches do happen, but with Armata all is by no means lost. Our Incident Response Services help you get back to business quickly with minimal impact, reputational damage and Data loss (in the event of a worst-case scenario).

Our Scalable Pricing Solutions offer products and services on a month-to-month basis, allowing your business to access the highest-level Security at an affordable, more feasible price. Your business can rest easy knowing not only is it safe, but that that safety doesn’t come at an unattainable price due to our ability to scale solutions to suit any budget in a controllable, predictable way.

Ultimately, we understand that the war against Cyber Crimes will never be truly over. This is an ongoing struggle, a perpetual one against a relentless, innovative opponent who will continue to devise new ways of preying on unsuspecting victims.

Your business cannot survive this war alone, which is why Armata is the cavalry in your corner ready, willing and able to come to your aid. We may never truly see the end of this war, but by standing our ground, protecting ourselves and educating those who need to be, we hope to ensure that those nefarious individuals have less targets to aim at – and your organisation will NOT be one of them.

Is your IT Aligned with Industry Best Practice?

Posted on by Suhail Dinat

In the digital age of Work from Home, wherein Hybrid, Mobile and Cloud all constitute the ‘new normal’, your business IT practice is more important now than ever before.

One may not immediately think so, as the lack of in-person, on-site work environments and conventional “hard” servers would have many businesses arguing against the need for a traditional IT department. This would be correct, if the term “IT” still referred to the guys you called when there was an issue with your company PC. Today, however, the concept has extended across a variety of service offerings to encompass the more holistic fundamentals of your digital brand components.

As companies have evolved, so too have their various IT needs, and the reality is that with an ever-shifting digital landscape comes a more pressing need now than ever before to ensure that your brand is in firm adherence with the best possible industry IT practice. Between Websites, Clouds, Digital Security and Managed Services, your brand’s online component now has more moving parts (and, in turn, the potential risks they carry) than it did before – which is where Vox IT Assessments comes in.

What is Vox IT Assessments? Glad you asked.

One of the key Managed Service Deliverables; Audits and Assessments form a key component of a continuous improvement process that helps customers identify and mitigate IT Risks. By utilising a skilled, best-in-class vCIO team which works in tandem with end users to formulate the most effective IT strategy, your brand can be primed for the new today (and tomorrow) and set to operate at maximum efficiency.

Our Assessments are comprehensive and cover, Network, Security, Cloud, Database & Most Microsoft Cloud Applications and include performance and risk metrics.

How does it work?

We at Vox run our Assessments over four phases, each centered around identifying a problem and working towards a solution. The aforementioned phases are simple:

  1. Discovery – Data collection
  2. Analysis and Review – vCIO engagement with a comprehensive report highlighting potential cost savings, key performance areas, risks, and recommended remediation.
  3. Ongoing Reporting – Continued monitoring and reporting, allowing customers to proactively manage their respective environments.
  4. Continuous Improvement – Quarterly workshops with our vCIO specialists, where we review the information collated and shift our focus towards planning, strategizing and measuring continuous ongoing improvement.

With Vox IT Assessments, you can ensure that all your resources are utilised to maximum effect. A clearly defined strategy is the foundation of any thriving enterprise and, by allowing our experts to evaluate, identify and plan on behalf of your business, you can ensure that your organisation is primed for new layers of digital success.

Vox Fibre, 3CX PBX Bundle to Help Businesses Digitise Operations

Posted on by Natalie van der Merwe

Vox is continuing with its bundled offering designed to help South African businesses digitise their operations, with Business Fibre connectivity being combined with cloud-based voice solutions to help enable a hybrid working environment.

“According to research, 63% of high-growth companies have already adopted a hybrid work model and 78% of knowledge workers believe they would be more productive if they could choose to work on-site or remotely as needed. We believe there’s never been a better time than now to re-think and re-shape the way we work and collaborate for optimal productivity as well as accelerated teamwork, innovation, and customer-centricity,” says  Natalie van der Merwe, Head of Product for PBX at Vox.

In an effort to help drive the shift to this new hybrid way of working, Vox has been running a campaign that sees Fibre-to-the-Business packages being bundled with additional products and services in order to provide organisations with more value. This month’s offer sees Vox’s Business Fibre solutions with uncapped data bundled with a 3CX Standard Edition, cloud-based PBX license for an unlimited number of users, as well as an uncapped voice from as little as R899 per month.  If you already have a Vox Fibre-to-the-Business service, then add a 3CX Cloud PBX solution from as little as R110 per month.  Together with Vox’s market-leading voice rates for either uncapped or true per second calling, your business will  be  enabled for the future of hybrid business communications, with solutions purpose built to cater for employees who happen to be working from anywhere in the world. This is a tried and tested solution, with over 250 000 installations worldwide.

Managed PBX solution

With their PBX hosted securely in the cloud, organisations don’t need to worry about paying for, or maintaining on-premise hardware. It allows them to be agile and adaptive to any situation while enjoying a low-cost, scalable communications solution without making long-term commitments to expensive, depreciating assets.

In addition, organisations stand to benefit from one of the most secure  Cloud PBX platforms on the market which uses multiple levels of security to  protect against voice over IP (VoIP) attacks as well as increased accessibility, collaboration and productivity with Android and iOS mobile apps, and advanced call queueing functionality that helps boost customer service and sales by improving first call resolution.

Vox is a proud 3CX partner, having achieved the highest certification standards possible, and, as such is more than qualified to deploy, maintain and manage 3CX solutions for local customers. Vox also carries 3CX voice network certification for seamless integration between the Vox network and 3CX cloud, giving customers the peace of mind of a true managed solution.

Adds, van der Merwe, “You won’t be sacrificing any of the functionality of a traditional PBX solution either – in fact, 3CX Cloud increases productivity, collaboration and accessibility by offering a full Unified Communications solution on any connected device. We’re talking video calls, chat, messaging and conferencing all in one – and it comes for free.”

Voice cost savings

Combining Vox Voice with Vox Fibre is a no-brainer.  A high-quality VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) solution relies on a robust, reliable Internet connection to ensure crystal clear audio quality with no latency issues, lag or dropped calls. Vox Fibre is fast, reliable and cost effective, with guaranteed quality of service for each application, allowing organisations to optimise voice and data by converging these services over their Fibre network. In addition, these Fibre solutions are designed to fit business needs and scale as they grow.

For its part, Vox Voice offers routing of all traffic types, the lowest call rates or uncapped calling packages, and a world-class, Tier 1 national and international voice network. To ensure minimal latency and packet loss is maintained, the company follows a very conservative capacity planning strategy on local and international circuits, ensuring that these links never run into congestion so that our customers experience the highest possible standard  voice quality calls.

With every employee now able to make and receive calls at corporate rates regardless of where they’re working from – rather than over costly GSM connections – organisations in South Africa can truly embrace hybrid work.

“Fluid and effective communication starts with a high-availability, high-speed, uncongested Business Fibre connection. By selecting your Fibre, Cloud PBX and Voice services from one provider you have one point of contact, one bill, quicker turnaround times and, ultimately, better service. The decisions you make now to enable a sustained hybrid work model will shape the future of your organisational success,” says Van der Merwe.

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