Category: Thought leadership

An unmanaged firewall is like a self-burning stove, it does the job but it can set the house on fire if not tended carefully

The firewall. Perhaps one of the oldest and most well-known of security technologies available on the market today, the firewall has long been used as a perimeter defence for organisations. In the past, these services were as simple as put up, leave up and manage when needed. However, like everything else in the technology realm, the firewall can’t sit on its laurels, it has to evolve and adapt. This necessity is underscored in recent research that highlighted how the increasing complexity of networks, driven by cloud and compute and digital transformation, demands that the firewall become more capable of protection and security sophistication.  For Quintin van Zyl, Head of Managed Services at Qwerti, the firewall that’s left untended is the one that presents a serious risk to the business.

“Many companies are unlikely to have specialised IT staff or security personnel with in-depth knowledge of firewall management and maintenance and many aren’t sure how this technology impacts their business or its security,” he adds. “This means that effectively their firewalls are the risk. Unmanaged, this technology introduces vulnerabilities.”

The firewall is traditionally the first line of defence around the business. It monitors traffic in and out of your network and allows access based on a series of security rules that are defined by the business. If these rules aren’t robust or aligned with changing business use cases or network demands, then they are about as effective as a saloon door in a typhoon. Anything can come in as long as it tries hard enough, and the cybercriminals will keep trying, of that, there is little doubt. The firewall is the border between the external world and the internal network and maintaining its rules, detection capability, and functionality is a challenging and complicated task.

“The firewall can be either a hardware or software-based device that controls access to the network and the organisation’s data, it is a type of access control that is the equivalent of keys to the front digital door,” says van Zyl. “If this is unmanaged, it is essentially the same as giving out keys to anyone who happens to walk by. Pop into Woolworths and hand out your house keys to everyone in the store and the analogy is clear – you need to close the door and shut the gate, so your business is secure.”

The only way to do that effectively today is to invest in a managed firewall. This is the most reliable way of ensuring that your network devices, your firewall, your access points and your security perimeter is configured and maintained properly. In addition to improperly defined rules, an unmanaged firewall may not be patched or up to date, which introduces a whole new level of vulnerability to the network and also puts the company’s compliance at risk. Without a robust firewall and visibility into its efficacy, the organisation could be in breach of regulations outlined by POPIA and GDPR.

The problem is that there are still so many companies operating with unmanaged firewalls that leave them wide open to data loss, ransomware and more,” says van Zyl. “There are statistics that highlight how organisations still have users connecting to phishing sites, the sign of a poorly defined firewall. Ransomware tearing through data and backups, the sign of a limited firewall. The examples can go on, but the real cost to company is in the loss of reputation, money and business.”

Welcome to the managed firewall. This is the neat and tidy sibling of the unmanaged solution, bringing with it the expertise, maintenance, skillsets and security that are often out of the price league for many companies. Instead of internal IT staff or security teams, a managed services provider takes on the firewall and ensures that every touchpoint and endpoint is thoroughly protected in line with the latest regulations, compliance mandates and best practice.

“Like all managed services, it comes down to a simple choice between whether or not you have the skills and time on-premises, or if you need someone to do the heavy lifting for you,” concludes van Zyl. “When it comes to security, the most important factor is ensuring that the firewall is capable and alert 24/7/365 and that it is patched, up to date, relevant and resilient. This can be done in-house or managed externally, but either way, it has to be done. Security isn’t a compromise, it’s a necessity.”

By Heath Huxtable, Executive Head at Braintree by Vox

The demise of brick-and-mortar stores has long been talked about, and the idea seemed to gain momentum during the multiple lockdowns that pushed more South Africans toward online shopping. While the end of physical stores hasn’t yet arrived, changes in customer behaviour mean that retailers now must have an online sales presence. And, they need to work with a partner with extensive industry experience if they are to get this done right.

Beyond the drive to eCommerce, other factors that are driving these changes in business include mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, change of strategy due to new shareholders, etc, and there is a drive to simplify IT in order to gain efficiency, reduce costs as well as to develop eCommerce capabilities.

In response to the changes, numerous digital platforms have emerged, all with the aim of helping businesses develop eCommerce functionality. Up front, the most crucial aspect to be considered is whether these are able to integrate what happens in physical stores with what happens in the online store.

The majority of digital storefront products on offer keep these two functions separate, which results in a lack of coordination between the physical and online across several areas. This includes pricing and availability, product descriptors, specials and loyalty programmes to name but a few. This disparity can result in situations such as long wait times for delivery or even cases where someone might order online to pick up in-store, only to find that the product is not in stock.

Tight, seamless integration ensures that products listed are available and can be delivered or collected in time, helping improve the customer experience. As such, there is a growing demand from retail businesses for an end-to-end solution that helps their digitisation. They are looking for a solution that brings together their finances, procurement, warehouse management, pricing, stock management, point of sale and more.

In addition, given that the sector traditionally works on low margins and high volumes, there is a demand for solutions that have low deployment costs, low infrastructure costs, and low cost per transaction. These businesses often turn to best-of-breed solutions – such as combining Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with LS Retail – that lower the total cost of ownership, but still provide these organisations with the enterprise level of functionality that they require.

This is especially the case with many modern retailers diversifying their offerings beyond traditional fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and fashion, and now including in-store butcheries and pharmacies, which come with unique challenges.

For example, the prices of produce from butcheries are not standardised but can vary depending on a variety of factors, the primary ones of which are quality and weight. Pharmacies, for their part, come with a host of regulations that need to be adhered to; this can revolve around patient management, prescription management, traceability and much more.

The challenges are further compounded for retailers that are looking to expand into the African continent. The costs of expansion, coupled with low margins mean that the business case simply cannot be made for a Tier 1 enterprise-grade solution to be deployed. Here, organisations such as Braintree, a Microsoft Dynamics Gold Partner powered by Vivica Holdings, can bring significant geographical and industry sector expertise to the table, having implemented seamless digital solutions for a variety of retail organisations in South Africa and beyond.

Not only has Braintree been able to deploy its retail solutions in several countries across the continent, but it has also done so without setting foot in any of these geographies, helping bring down deployment costs. The company also sits on the partner advisory council of LS Retail, meaning that it gets to provide input into the direction that the software takes, and ensure that it remains a solution of choice for African companies looking to grow in the butchery, FMCG, pharmacy, and retail business.

So what about physical stores? As we have seen, they are not going anywhere and still form a part of doing business. What is changing is how people are now using them, and physical stores are increasingly becoming an experiential event that serves to showcase what is possible. Stores will serve merely to ignite people’s interest – window shopping at its finest – before directing them online where the full catalogue of products will be available.

There are of course some areas where this won’t be the case: for example, shoppers prefer to physically try out makeup and other beauty products before purchasing, whereas there will be other items, such as clothing or shoes, which they are entirely comfortable with purchasing online. In the end, they still need to ensure accurate coordination between their physical shops and online storefronts, and bringing on board the skills of the right partner will be key.

CIOs and IT teams have had to develop fresh strategies to manage remote working more effectively and with reduced risk and complexity

Remote working has rapidly shifted from a necessity to a daily reality with many organisations opting into either full remote or hybrid working frameworks. According to Ladders, 25% of professional roles in the US are likely to be remote by the end of 2022 and this is likely to gain traction as the world moves into 2023. People want more flexibility and less complexity, as echoed by growing rates of burnout, and companies want to create working ecosystems that allow for improved productivity within the remit of worker wellbeing.  And yet, all this flexibility requires an agile remote functionality and technology capability that’s putting desktop support under pressure to deliver, says Dominique Yeates, Senior Product Manager Managed Service at Qwerti.

“The shift to remote working has implications for end-users because CIOs have to develop strategies that allow for the business to seamlessly move the workplace to a more agile and digital foundation,” she adds. “This includes privacy and security agreements, outsourcing agreements, and all the different arrangements for end-user computing services. During the pandemic, companies gave free tools like Zoom and Teams to their employees, and now they’re having to find money to pay for all these collaboration tools so they can maintain their remote and hybrid working environments.”

Today, as the pandemic shifts down several gears and organisations re-evaluate their ecosystems, it’s come time for companies to assess which technologies and services they need to fully realise an agile and flexible system. They have to consolidate multiple platforms and solutions across multiple devices and collaboration tools and do all this without losing data, cohesion or functionality. Most companies are juggling so many different solutions, data points, entry points, cloud platforms and collaboration tools that they’re not sure where to start building a cohesive remote or hybrid working offering.

“Another challenge is that companies are now under pressure to refresh their technology so their devices and data storage systems are capable of handling the processing and storage requirements of the modern organisation,” says Yeates. “You need hard drives, SSDs, devices, security, anti-virus and connectivity. All these components are essential to the smooth operating of a digital and agile company, but the question is – who implements them? Who delivers them?”

With workers scattered across the world, globe and country, how does a company deliver the right tools to its people? How does it ensure that loadshedding doesn’t impact productivity? How can you manage seamless connectivity? Every one of the answers to these questions costs the business money. Each answer also has to scale as the company and its working environment evolve and has to be maintained and managed consistently.

“While all these devices and solutions are ideal for putting the business on the digital map and the global stage, they also break down or stop working and require troubleshooting. Now, companies have to pay for technicians to go out and resolve any technical problems that workers may have and each time they go out, it costs the company money,” says Yeates. “Suddenly, there is a lot of noise that most organisations don’t have the tools to silence.”

Yes, desktop support for remote workers is time-consuming, challenging and expensive, but abandoning it is not an option. Not when it delivers clear and measurable value and returns to the business. So, the real question is – how can the business address the burden of desktop support without compromising on remote working?

Enter the managed services solution. A third-party company that takes on the management, distribution, maintenance, security and delivery of all remote and hybrid working technology. Companies think that outsourcing costs more, but the reality is in most instances, they are able to extract significantly more value and around 30% less cost than their own IT support staff. The remote desktop managed services support offering that’s evolved alongside the changing working environment is designed to scoop up the fiddly bits that legacy operational processes have left behind.

“A third-party service provider will have a dedicated monitoring desk that can deal with problems in real-time and keep the cogs of the business running smoothly,” says Yeates. “Remote working throws up a significant volume of tickets and a service provider is focused on resolving those across multiple fronts – security, connectivity, device functionality and more. Also, thanks to remote connectivity services, the service provider doesn’t have to physically be on-site, they can resolve most issues remotely which saves money and time.”

Desktop support for remote working is challenging, but with the right managed services partner it can shift from a burden to a collaborative experience. Using a dedicated service provider will ensure that the business has resources, overflow management, upgrade and maintenance management and access to security and network tools that ensure seamless service delivery.

Connectivity doesn’t have to be a city thing; it can be an anywhere and anytime thing with the right technology in place

The United Nations believes that connectivity should be a human right. It’s the thread that connects people to education, opportunities, information and insights. And it is the golden key that unlocks the door to both personal and business growth. Yet, there are many parts of South Africa that are still not connected to the internet. The country ranks 68th on the 2021 Digital Quality of Life Index and, even though it’s higher than many other countries listed in this report, it still has to overcome legacy infrastructure and vast rural areas to bring people and connections together. While there are more than 41 million active internet users in the country, there’s a need to find smart solutions that can connect more people to the internet, social media and cool digital tools. As Kathleen Janse van Rensburg, Satellite Product Manager at Vox points out, there are limitations around fibre implementations with poor access in many areas that still need connectivity, particularly farmlands and agricultural spreads.

“There is a vast unconnected area in South Africa and satellite can play a significant role in changing this profile,” she says. “Good satellite coverage can transform access to connectivity across multiple environments, and it can extend to areas just outside the city or to smaller towns or suburbs that have yet to receive reliable fibre.”

There are several different forms of connectivity available to the market at the moment. LTE is a fixed wireless connection that uses fibre or an internet source that leverages cell towers and mobile networks and thrives in areas with solid mobile phone reception. Satellite offers impressive coverage in almost any location which makes it very accessible for people who have limited fibre or mobile network connectivity options. Satellite may have some limitations but proves to be an effective communication medium where Fibre and LTE are not yet available.

From farmers to rural towns to schools, connectivity is an essential tool to support their businesses and their lives. Farmers want reliable connectivity to ensure that their smart systems are working or to gain access to data, and to stream, socialise and network online. There are also many schools and educational institutions in these areas with no or poor internet connectivity. They can’t simply check online for a project or do research by throwing search terms into Google. They rely on creaking tech and limited connectivity that satellite can solve. Connectivity is a right, not a privilege, and so there has to be a bold move towards technology that can enable this.

“The downfall of entry level satellites is that they do not support VPN (virtual private network) services. To provide VPN support on satellite will cost a lot more than what the average consumer can afford, however, working from home is still possible,” says Janse van Rensburg. “Satellite offers users a high level of resilience that ensures consistent connectivity, even in the event of a power failure.”

Satellite is reliable and cost-effective, plus it’s the ultimate digital nomad. It can be implemented in the rural areas and still provide reliable connectivity. It can also be connected to solar panels so that connectivity remains in play during load-shedding which is, in the current climate, an added bonus, particularly for schools and farms that rely on it. Then, moving back into urban or peri-urban areas that opt into satellite, there are the benefits of high-speed connectivity at a really good price point. After all, for most users, cost comes hand-in-hand with connectivity as nobody wants to pay exorbitant fees for a service that should be readily available.

“Satellite in the suburbs can be a smart alternative as it’s an always-on connection. It offers users a foolproof technology that delivers what they need, even during load-shedding,” says Janse van Rensburg. “While you need a slightly more complex setup than other solutions, it can be kept up and running using a basic generator and UPS backup or inverter when the power goes off.”

“Satellite is a perfect and reliable connectivity solution,” concludes Janse van Rensburg. “It brings digital to remote and rural areas, allows people and places to connect, and removes the limitations imposed by distance and lack of infrastructure. In a few short steps, it provides Internet connectivity, no matter how remote you are.”

SD-WAN may be the next generation of connectivity and modernised network infrastructure, but implementation must be smart to get the right results

Digital transformation has triggered remarkable shifts in infrastructure and architecture. Enabling innovation, productivity, connectivity and growth, digital is reshaping how organisations interact and engage with markets, employees and customers. It has also triggered a fundamental change in the structure of the network. Today, networks are key enablers of digital transformation and innovation. Without an agile and scalable network infrastructure that can handle the demands of the digitally-evolved enterprise, the business will not be able to realise its full potential.

Enter SD-WAN, software-defined networking, that offers organisations of all sizes the toolkit they need to modernise their infrastructure and take it to the point where it can handle today’s applications, demands and hybrid workforce expectations.

“The challenge now facing the implementation of SD-WAN is the misconceptions that trail behind it,” says Jeanette Simpson, Product Manager: SD-WAN at Vox. “These have come about because SD-WAN technologies are an increasingly popular choice for automating network performance management and its rapid growth has resulted in it being surrounded by hyperbole and misunderstanding.”

SD-WAN Myth 01: It improves internet performance

This is not true. What SD-WAN actually does is prioritise application traffic and bandwidth, optimising how the traffic is routed and automating the optimal usage of network resources. The platform has immense potential and can measurably improve the manageability of the network, and it provides organisations with tools and customisation options that they could not normally afford.

“The architecture of most current networks is based on a hybrid of broadband circuits that use different combinations of MPLS, virtual private LAN service and optical point-to-point or multi-point connectivity so you get more bandwidth at your fingertips and everyone will experience better network performance,” says Simpson.

SD-WAN Myth 02: Cost savings

 This is true, but it also isn’t. SD-WAN does have a cost-saving element to it, but it isn’t going to fundamentally transform costs for customers depending on their existing infrastructure, how they use their network and what their objectives are. SD-WAN saves costs when compared with Layer 3 virtual private routed networks like MPLS and uses lower-cost connectivity in the form of broadband internet connectivity, but these benefits are more aligned with the business case for the improved performance and functionality provided by SD-WAN than budget cuts.

“The platform is centralised and companies can make changes faster. The entire system is a lot less resource-intensive, so these two factors will save money,” says Richard Frost, Product Head: Cybersecurity at Armata. “It is very likely that an organisation will see a monthly cost reduction but rather than a heavy slice in costs, it will be more of savings in time and resources.”

SD-WAN Myth 03: It is a silver bullet

Everyone in tech knows that there is no silver bullet, there is also no one-size-fits-all. There is, however, a long list of benefits that can fundamentally transform and modernise an organisation’s infrastructure if done properly and with realistic and strategic objectives. The biggest benefit of SD-WAN is how user-friendly it is – the centralised controlling functionality, built around the concepts of plug-and-play and point-and-click services and consumption, provides an easier work environment compared to MPLS.

“SD-WAN will improve performance, installation and manageability of the WAN, but it won’t necessarily save on all costs or completely replace your MPLS or provide LAN-like performance in a WAN,” says Simpson. “It can improve remote network performance by continuously evaluating throughput capacity, packet loss, latency and other characteristics across two or more WAN links, but the entire network will only be as fast and reliable as the WAN links deployed for it.”

SD-WAN Myth 04: I can build my own SD-WAN

You can. This is absolutely a possibility, but it may risk the business losing hold of the nuanced potential that lies within the SD-WAN architecture. There has to be a deep understanding of the existing network from both the virtual and physical perspectives and the right resources allocated to manage the process and the implementation. For larger, global organisations, this is a challenge that can be overcome with internal resources, but smaller teams would benefit from a managed SD-WAN service provider as this would ensure every box ticked and every gap filled.

“SD-WAN is a promising technology that enables the enterprise to deploy WANs faster and with significant cost savings,” concludes Frost, “Most network architects have abandoned WAN optimisation in favour of SD-WAN or have used a combination of the two to achieve their ideal results. Using a trusted service provider, companies can gain immeasurable value from SD-WAN that spans agility, optimised architecture, multipath networks, dynamic meshing, and a solution that complements and collaborates with existing MPLS to handle more data than either could alone.”

By Quintin van Zyl, Manager of Managed Services Operations at qwerti

South Africa is in the midst of an ongoing and deepening IT skills shortage that is exacerbated by the high global demand for IT talent from the country’s skills pool. The exodus of quality skills is often spurred on by attractive remuneration and the opportunity to work for off-shore companies without leaving home.

The best talent with the most in-demand skills that remain in the country will largely be attracted by corporations and large enterprises with flexible salary budgets. IT skills fall in amongst the highest demand category and the current national shortage and strong future demand place small and medium businesses in a precarious situation.

This scarcity of IT skills and its limited availability to certain sectors of the market means that IT heads, in SMEs especially, are finding it challenging to attract and retain the right talent to deliver on their strategic IT goals. Deploying and managing IT infrastructure is complex and this is where a Managed Services Partner (MSP) can play a significant role. MSPs are able to mitigate against poor capacity planning and growth prediction and remove some of the HR-related challenges in terms of individual salary and expenses attached to employee benefits.

In addition, the demands placed on companies by skilled IT talent can sometimes take an undesirable turn as their awareness of this skills scarcity becomes more apparent.

Leveraging a partnership with a managed services company can help CIOs and IT managers cope with those challenges and alleviate the impact of the current skills shortage. MSPs provide flexible, as-a-service models that enable IT leaders and their teams to focus on the business value of IT.

Managed service adoption can simplify the IT environment in a business by freeing in-house employees for higher-value tasks. Some MSPs will also embed skills in your organisation if required and the advantage here is that training, certification, remuneration and continued availability of expertise in your environment are all for the account of the MSP while you simply need to commit to a predetermined term based contractual fee agreement.

Partnering with an MSP is not only about resources – it also helps to compensate for skill shortages and scale your IT operation in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner. It is also a strategic opportunity for your IT department to embrace digital transformation through accelerated adoption of modern technology offerings that can enhance collaboration, operation and data security in your organisation.

Managed Services Partners are complementary to existing in-house IT teams that are focused on driving transformation, especially when their IT shop is inadequate in terms of resource availability.  Businesses will need less of the deep technical IT infrastructure skills as this can be brought by the MSP. For the CIO or IT manager, an opportunity exists to elevate their own roles within the organisation further and become a key part of the strategic conversation across the entire enterprise in terms of cost containment and increased efficiency – easily achievable with access to the right tools, shared infrastructure and the right skills to boot.

A question often posed is how do MSPs deal with the scarcity of skills and are they not impacted by it? The fact is MSPs are not completely immune to this crisis but are somewhat better placed to attract talent despite it. In addition to market-related salaries and the usual perks, the fact that MSPs can offer their employees extensive, much sought-after exposure to a number of environments, technologies, industries and projects, and that they possess the means to facilitate training, upskilling and certification opportunities, makes them employers of choice in the IT sector.

If your business, like many others, is embarking on a journey of transformation or preparing for your next big IT move, success might lie in finding the right MSP to handle the fundamentals, enabling the internal team to focus on turning the application of IT into a competitive advantage for the business.