Category: Thought leadership

By Barry Kemp Head: Nymbis Cloud Solutions

 Microsoft Office 365 users might not be aware but their data, be it deleted documents, emails, chat history and other aspects of the suite or even users, remains accessible for a period of 30 days only on the MS platform. Microsoft’s primary objective is to keep its infrastructure and platform up and running smoothly so that users have continued use, but no real long-term backup is provided as part of the licence.

The full MS 365 stack in use by most users includes Email, SharePoint, OneDrive and MS Teams which has Chat and File Folders within and it is imperative that all of this is backed up to ensure recovery of data, whether accidentally or maliciously deleted, is possible when required. The responsibility of managing and protecting the business’s data does not fall within the scope of the Software as a Service (SaaS) provider, in this case, Microsoft 365, but rather in the domain of the IT lead or department in your organisation.

In the event that an email, for example, needs to be recovered several months later or a user has been deleted and access is again required after a few months, this will not be possible – at least not with any intervention from Microsoft. In these scenarios, which are common to most businesses, a robust third-party backup solution is necessary to facilitate the retrieval of data.

There are several reasons why organisations that use a cloud-based solution especially,  need a third-party solution for backup. Amongst them are the following:

• Accidental deletion: A common occurrence, whether on purpose or not. A backup could restore your user to on-premises Exchange or Microsoft 365.
• Retention policy: If your business needs to comply with certain regulations, laws and internal policies that stipulate retention or deletion of information, a reliance on the Retention policies in Microsoft 365 offers limited protection only as they are not proper backups. What you need is a backup that can store your data for longer periods in a secure location for easy access and recovery when required.
• Internal security threats: Threats from the inside of businesses are more widespread than we may imagine. Malicious behaviour by exiting employees for example can cause the loss of critical data through intentional deletion. A sound recovery solution that can retrieve from a backup can safeguard you from permanent loss of data.
• External security threats: A backup can easily restore data to an instance before the attack thereby safeguarding your organisation from Ransomware and other external threats posed by cybercriminals.
• Legal and compliance requirements: A third-party backup solution is purpose-built to easily search within a backup and quickly bring back data to meet any of your regulatory compliance needs.
• Managing hybrid email deployments and migrations to Microsoft 365: Whether you are migrating to Microsoft 365 or have a blend of on-premises Exchange and Microsoft 365 users, the exchange data should be managed and protected the same way, which makes the source location irrelevant.
• Teams’ data structure: Microsoft Teams is not an application that stands alone. The data generated in Teams resides in other applications like Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and OneDrive. This adds a layer of complexity and, as such, it is crucial to protect this data.

One of the biggest benefits of using a third-party supplier for your MS 365 backup is that it gives your organisation a level of redundancy – allowing you to access your data even in the unlikely event of Microsoft going down completely. This view is supported, in a sense, by Microsoft itself given that responsibility for customers’ data features prominently – at the forefront – of Microsoft’s Shared Responsibility Model. Microsoft is adamant that safeguarding your data is primarily your responsibility.

Budget-conscious SMEs and other businesses that find themselves without an adequate in-house IT capability could consider Cloud backup solutions. They don’t require you to own hardware because they store your data in their own or partner data centres. All the infrastructure and data are on the Internet, encrypted, and accessible to you on demand.

Although a third-party cloud backup vendor will deploy the same physical tools that your business will have to acquire for an on-premises setup – maintenance, upgrades and replacement hardware and software will be for their account and the advantages to your organisation, should you choose the cloud route  are as follows:

• No setup and maintenance are required. All infrastructure is already installed and configured for you.
• High scalability. Cloud backup services can scale up and down on your request. It’s simply a matter of adding or removing licences as required.
• No overheads are required. Price points are set up front and will include everything required to start backing up immediately.
• Compliance confidence. The cloud offers all the security and certifications required to meet the unique needs of your organisation.

If Microsoft 365 is the cloud-based choice for your business for easy teamwork and collaboration, adding a cloud-based backup solution can bolster your environment by securing and protecting your business information and activities on the platform.

The usefulness of Wi-Fi at home is continually on the increase, beyond just the necessity of connectivity for remote work and schooling, internet browsing, content streaming, music downloads and online gaming. The speed, reliability and downward tendency in bandwidth costs, of fibre-based connectivity especially, are contributing to home users embracing the Internet of Things (IoT) and the growth of smart home adoption is driving major industry trends.

Craig Blignaut, Product Manager at Vox says: “This growing pervasiveness of connectivity amongst the multiple users and things in a home does have a downside too. The more connections you have to your home Wi-Fi, the more vulnerable you become to the ever-present cyber criminals on the World Wide Web.”

“Not every homeowner has the technical skills, understanding and know-how to easily create a connected home environment with protection that will safeguard their families from the dangers of cybercrime and, as such, we have collaborated with Minim to create Vox Wi-Fi Home Manager,” says Blignaut.

With an average of 10 devices per home and increased wireless streaming, a concept that Blignaut refers to as Digital parenting, is fast becoming essential. That, coupled with an exploding security concern and an increase in IoT hacking – where intruders enter your home network through IP cameras and the like –according to Blignaut, means that there is no better time to acquire the smart protection that your family and Smart Home needs.

Vox Wi-Fi Home Manager is powered by Minim software, an AI-driven Wi-Fi management and security platform, that comprises an easy-to-use mobile app that, when paired to software installed on your router, gives you full Wi-Fi network management, and network threat detection and device management. It is designed to equip users with self-care access for optimising and personalising their home internet experience with parental controls, privacy settings, ad blocking, security alerts, speed tests, and more.

“We chose Minim as the best-of-breed foundation for our solution,” says Blignaut, “as they are a creator of innovative internet access products that dependably connect people to the information they need and the people they love.”

Minim offers apps with usable security for consumers and their care providers to protect connected devices and optimise Wi-Fi performance, leading to higher customer satisfaction. Minim partners with ISPs like Vox who want to help make home connectivity as safe as drinking water.

With the sheer size of the internet and the amount of information and content it provides, it is impossible to manage and police children’s online activities.  Reliable software and AI will go far beyond controlling screen time and indicating what a child has accessed on the internet. It will monitor, detect and prevent access to malware and virus attacks in the background, it can enable enhanced control to pre-determine the online activity of children.

It also facilitates better control and visibility of a home’s Wi-Fi and connected network.  When a new device joins the network, the administrator/homeowner will have the ability to select or create a profile for that user and then link all of that user’s devices to his or her profile.  An age-appropriate maturity and security setting applicable for that user can then be selected, all from the App.

“You and your family now have the peace of mind to enjoy a connected, digital, online life that’s safe and free from intrusions on your home network, while we, your ISP, takes care of continuous monitoring, detection and mitigation of the ever-increasing online threats, ” says Blignaut.

Vox Wi-Fi Home Manager is available to all Voxs’ FTTH customers, irrespective of which Fibre Network Operator (FNO) is the provider of the physical fibre line.

By Craig Blignaut, Wi-Fi Product Manager, Vox

Anybody born after the mid-1990s might find it hard to fathom, but mobile devices were never as omnipresent as they are today and there was a time when they were not even considered a threat in businesses and in our homes. Prior to the explosive entry of broadband and wireless technology into our offices and homes, stand-alone desktop computers were limited to Ethernet cables as their primary gateway access to either LAN or WAN for businesses and perhaps dial-up modems for home use – making them simpler to control in terms of protection against cyber threats.

Fast forward to today and consumer devices, be it Android, IOS or other has rapidly and radically changed this determination. In this age, we find ourselves enveloped by mobile technology, and by extension, working, schooling, entertainment and content consumption have all literally come home. Our very lives perhaps once quantified only in terms of physical and spiritual, now have a third element added…it’s the DIGITAL. And it is an aspect of our lives that has become somewhat governed by access to broadband connectivity, Wi-Fi and data availability…especially true for the young and the young at heart.

For work or play, we now perform more and more daily actions from our homes on our smartphones, laptops, smart televisions, gaming consoles and other connected appliances. This has meant that we’re constantly increasing the number of devices connected to our home broadband connections, and Wi-Fi throughout the house has made this a breeze. With an increased mobile device capability though, comes an increased vulnerability.

Another triggering component is the transforming networking environment that has increasingly picked up pace, especially over the past few years – home networks have become a part of organisations’ networks, and vice versa – aiding in the creation of new threats of malware and computer viruses.

With this trend, IT departments in organisations are obligated to upscale efforts to deal with threats that impact mobile devices that connect to their corporate network. There’s an old saying that goes, “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, ” which lends itself well to the necessity that network security and protection be considered from the perspective of your home Wi-Fi network. This brings into question what households are doing to add a layer of protection.

Parents, or those that have little children and teens that are granted access to Wi-Fi in the home, need to be particularly concerned about Wi-Fi management, network security and parental control. Children, in most families, can tend to be unobservant and negligent in terms of their online activity while, at the same time, being deliberately discreet and guarded when online access and behaviour are interrogated. Children, in this connected age, are also quite computer literate.  Chances are high that your children use different browsers and websites than you and their chat programs are often linked to gaming sites.  This makes it difficult for you to monitor and develop an awareness of their online activity.

Having a plan when it comes to Wi-Fi management in your home is, therefore, an imperative that will help you control data spend and protect vulnerable entry into your home network.

What’s widely available currently, for harnessing some control in your home network, is time-based scheduling options – available to parents through Apps. These may be specific to operating systems or through complicated router configuration settings.  Some of these solutions only inform parents of websites that have been visited…after the fact. This historical view is limited to allowing you the opportunity to block specific websites for specific devices in the future but will do little to prevent any harm that has been done in the first place.

The internet is vast, connecting millions and billions of people and devices. At some point, it became impossible for us humans to manage and police our children’s online activities.  This is where reliable software and AI can play a role. Going far beyond simply managing screen time and displaying where your child has been on the World Wide Web, similar to Internet Security and antivirus software which monitors, detects and prevents access to malware and virus attacks in the background, it can enable enhanced control at your fingertips to pre-determine your child’s online activity.

An AI-led solution will allow you to have more control and visibility of your home Wi-Fi and connected network.  As a device joins your network, you have the ability to select or create a profile for that user and then link all of that user’s devices to his or her profile.  You may then select age-appropriate maturity and security settings applicable for that user, all from the comfort of an App on your smartphone. For enhanced screen time control, parents or admin users can easily create multiple schedules for profiles and devices and have the ability to manually pause internet access and restart it effortlessly from the App too.

The other consideration for a modern, AI-led, single-App-based, all-in-one Wi-Fi Management, network security and parental control system is that it must be easy for you to use. Also, rather than at the edge (on the relevant devices) the engine that drives the solution is ideally situated at the gateway (your primary internet router), allowing you and your family to enjoy a connected, digital, online life that’s safe and free from the dangers that lurk on the internet, while the AI takes care of continuous monitoring, detection and mitigation of the ever-increasing online threats.

Parents concerned about their children’s online activities and want an effective method of control should reach out to their Internet Service Provider to access what’s on offer since merely changing the “admin” password on your Wi-Fi router will no longer afford you the protection your family needs.

By Theolin Moodley, Senior Product Manager at Vox

Just over 2 years ago, when the South African workforce was hastily adopting a new way of working – from home – one connectivity medium stood out above all others. Realising the possibility of high-speed broadband and meeting the specific requirements of the people, homes and businesses across SA, was Fixed LTE.

Long Term Evolution, which we commonly refer to as 4G first became available in the country about 7 years prior to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Back then, it was considered to be the next evolution of high-speed wireless connectivity that will be an integral part of high-speed broadband strategies of all Mobile Network Operators (MNO). MNOs believed at the time that LTE (and later, LTE-A) will become the mobile data standard.

Comparable to broadband speeds available over a fibre network but without the need for a wired connection that goes into your home or business premises and completely ‘Plug and Play’, Fixed LTE offers a compelling alternative to fixed-line solutions for high-speed connectivity. It can quickly turn a home or business into a fully connected Wi-Fi hotspot allowing multiple devices to be connected simultaneously to the internet.

Fixed LTE is possibly the most prevalent connectivity option that was purchased by the masses that were compelled to set up a home office during the pandemic. Perhaps this is visible in the sterling financial results that were produced by MNOs during this time. Government and ICASA too were aware that this technology, with capacity built out years before, had the potential to save the day for the many communities that have no access to Fibre connectivity. Hence, the allocation of temporary spectrum that enabled even further reach by the mobile operators in the last 2 years.

Now, as the country is slowly released from the grips of the pandemic and things start to normalise workwise, Fixed LTE, as a technology, remains geared to continue its relevance and hold its own in the high-speed broadband connectivity space. When it comes to availability, accessibility and affordability and ease of installing and using, Fixed LTE connectivity checks all the right boxes.

The commercial model for Fixed LTE connectivity is largely bandwidth or data-allocation based instead of through-put speed based. This effectively means that customers need only budget for their anticipated data usage and enjoy the higher connectivity broadband speeds as a bonus.

For homes requiring always-on internet access and businesses concerned with redundancy for Business Continuity Management purposes, Fixed LTE is the most viable option to complement existing fibre connectivity. The cost of data has undergone significant reductions over time and this too contributes to the attractiveness of Fixed LTE as the most viable option for those who find themselves in areas awaiting fibre installations, customers looking for a temporary connectivity option and for those in areas in which fibre will never become a reality in the near future.

By Craig Freer, Division Head: Managed Services

With businesses having to tackle a multitude of changes, including a growing preference for the cloud, a trend toward remote working, and the increased requirement to provide these employees with reliable and secure access, and managed service providers (MSPs) will have to evolve from being tech support to holistic IT advisors and providers if they are to provide true value that can take their customers into the future.

Traditionally, the job of the MSP has been rather straightforward: your customer had one site, one data centre and one network, with all users in the office sitting behind a firewall, which gave you full visibility. In many instances, the MSP just took care of the servers and desktops, while other different providers were responsible for taking care of the company firewall.

Things have been shaken up, however, with the rapid adoption of cloud services and applications (such as Azure or O365), as well as the pandemic-enforced shift toward remote or hybrid working, which brings with it a host of new challenges. This includes being able to effectively and efficiently manage remote users, regardless of how or where they are accessing the network from – and consistently maintaining a robust security posture.

Unlike the old days, simply ensuring that machines were patched and anti-virus definitions were updated simply don’t cut it anymore, and security now has to permeate across all levels of the organisation, while also encompassing identity and monitoring so that you can give remote employees the same level of security and support as available to those in the office.

To get this right, MSPs are increasingly involved in cloud storage, backups, continuity planning, security, systems, monitoring, hardware procurement, change management and continuous improvement. The added responsibilities see them involved in roles as varied as the helpdesk, ticket management, operations, billing and even HR. IT should even be taking the lead in areas such as ensuring compliance with the Protection of Personal Information (PoPI) Act.

This means that MSPs increasingly move away from being simple ‘break and fix’ organisations to ones that have a holistic knowledge of the IT ecosystem and can advise customers on best practice across the board – giving rise to the managed services professional provider (MSPP).

And, as providers evolve to being MSPPs, so too must the skills available within them: whereas previously technicians tended to stick to a particular area of expertise, they now need to be multiskilled and be able to understand how the IT ecosystem works together. They also need to have the adaptability to work with services – such as cloud – from multiple providers, so that customers have flexibility and aren’t restricted to just the solution that their MSP is familiar with.

Beyond just technical skills, and a focus on the IT infrastructure, they also need to be able to look at the end result – the experience for the end-user. This includes having the right set of skills – or teams of skills – to manage the expectations of frustrated end-users (who are often just looking for a similar level of service as they would get when in the office), just as much as managing the resolution of issues.

It also means that the customer engagement model for MSPPs is changing, by moving beyond an SLA that focuses on response times, repair times and mean uptime, and rather focuses on a continuous engagement in order to analyse the customers’ business and design and implement the required IT infrastructure.

Ultimately, it’s not about going into a customer environment and proposing a new product or solution to be implemented. It’s about gaining a deep insight into how their business operates and looking at what their requirements and challenges are, instead of simply looking at their technology needs.

Rather, the MSPP looks past the obvious problem, understands the core need, and proposes a continuous service that will help the business meet its needs while adhering to best practice.

By Theolin Moodley, Senior Product Manager at Vox

Just over 2 years ago, when the South African workforce was hastily adopting a new way of working – from home – one connectivity medium stood out above all others. Realising the possibility of high-speed broadband and meeting the specific requirements of the people, homes and businesses across SA, was Fixed LTE.

Long Term Evolution, which we commonly refer to as 4G first became available in the country about 7 years prior to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Back then, it was considered to be the next evolution of high-speed wireless connectivity that will be an integral part of high-speed broadband strategies of all Mobile Network Operators (MNO). MNOs believed at the time that LTE (and later, LTE-A) will become the mobile data standard.

Comparable to broadband speeds available over a fibre network but without the need for a wired connection that goes into your home or business premises and completely ‘Plug and Play’, Fixed  LTE offers a compelling alternative to fixed-line solutions for high-speed connectivity. It can quickly turn a home or business into a fully connected Wi-Fi hotspot allowing multiple devices to be connected simultaneously to the internet.

Fixed LTE is possibly the most prevalent connectivity option that was purchased by the masses that were compelled to set up a home office during the pandemic. Perhaps this is visible in the sterling financial results that were produced by MNOs during this time. Government and ICASA too were aware that this technology, with capacity built out years before, had the potential to save the day for the many communities that have no access to Fibre connectivity. Hence, the allocation of temporary spectrum that enabled even further reach by the mobile operators in the last 2 years.

Now, as the country is slowly released from the grips of the pandemic and things start to normalise workwise, Fixed LTE, as a technology, remains geared to continue its relevance and hold its own in the high-speed broadband connectivity space. When it comes to availability, accessibility and affordability and ease of installing and using, Fixed LTE connectivity checks all the right boxes.

The commercial model for Fixed LTE connectivity is largely bandwidth or data-allocation based instead of through-put speed based. This effectively means that customers need only budget for their anticipated data usage and enjoy the higher connectivity broadband speeds as a bonus.

For homes requiring always-on internet access and businesses concerned with redundancy for Business Continuity Management purposes, Fixed LTE is the most viable option to complement existing fibre connectivity. The cost of data has undergone significant reductions over time and this too contributes to the attractiveness of Fixed LTE as the most viable option for those who find themselves in areas awaiting fibre installations, customers looking for a temporary connectivity option and for those in areas in which fibre will never become a reality in the near future.

By Tim Wood, Executive Head – IS & IT at Vox

The strides made in our industry over the past few years have drastically changed what is possible for business communication, but have also changed what’s expected as a baseline to remain competitive and efficient. Unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and the technology underpinning it has made the changes to how business is conducted – forced to a large extent by the pandemic – easier, but they also provide businesses with the opportunity to dream about a super-efficient future. For those brave enough, that future starts today.

The immediate future of unified communications makes real-time collaboration and highly efficient customer service easier than ever before. Contact centre as a service (CCaaS), specifically, allows businesses to reduce IT, integration and support costs while giving up no functionality. Because it is software-defined and run by a vendor that’s an expert in the field, companies stand to gain flexibility and functionality that was just not possible previously.

Tools, such as real-time language translation, voice-to-text apps and chatbots powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can drastically alter customer experience and team collaboration across geographies. In terms of speed of deployment, advancements in developing bots and interactive voice response systems means that solutions can be created without the need for new or bespoke coding. Internet of Things (IoT) integration into unified communications tools brings the theory of real-time connectedness into real-life practice as devices and sensors constantly enrich the collaboration tapestry.

Software-defined wide area networks (SD-WAN) virtualise wide company networks that join teams and can extend over vast geographical networks. This is vital and a non-negotiable for a modern business. SD-WAN networks are evolving and performance has improved drastically, but perhaps the most important innovation is how security has been improved, which is vital given the sharp increase in cyber-attacks and more vulnerable attack surfaces because of hybrid and remote working.

All of these innovations are being spoken about in C-Suites already because soon a company that’s not on board this train will be left behind. On the other hand, brave companies are already including the metaverse into their strategic plans.

There’s certainly more to be gained from early adoption of the metaverse than the gamification of virtual interactions. Strapping on virtual reality (VR) headsets make collaboration far more immersive and akin to what we are used to as humans. The bravest among us are meeting up in Africa’s very own Metaverse, Africarare. Have you popped into Ubuntuland for a visit yet?

Companies with a forward-looking orientation will want to have a look at collaboration platforms and tools such as Gather, Spatial, Branch, Wonder, Decentraland and Nowhere. The talk of the metaverse won’t disappear because the biggest players in the tech industry have bet their futures on it.

Facebook has shape-shifted into Meta and leads the race with the Horizon VR environment and VR headsets. Microsoft has hit the ground running in the business application race and Microsoft’s Mesh is being positioned as the future of immersive business VR collaboration.

What does this business collaboration look like? This year, Microsoft Teams will allow 3D avatars to replace actual participants in live meetings. The potential for expression and engagement hasn’t even been scratched. Soon we will be able to interact with 3D renditions of participants in virtual meetings through holoportation using HoloLens technology.

The older among us might fear that we have entered a 1980s SciFi movie, but truth is stranger than fiction. Soon we will be overlaying the metaverse on business applications such as Dynamics 365 connected spaces and we will be collaborating, playing games, working on whiteboard solutions, training, and interacting virtually across the world in real-world applications.

This future didn’t start today. It didn’t start yesterday, or the year before. It has been evolving as the cloud, AI and machine learning have come into their own. It requires certain fundamentals to be in place and a partner that helps a business find the best solution for individual company needs. Remember, technology for the sake of technology doesn’t mean much, but technology to solve real problems and improve efficiency and competitiveness is worth its weight in gold. In this world and the metaverse.

The large cloud Hyperscalers have built their business on the ability to provision resources on-demand. For corporate customers, this provides the opportunity to scale as needed. The risk with this comes in when in-house IT teams do not decommission cloud resources when they are done with it, resulting in a massive bill shock.

The pattern is clear. A business sets a budget for its cloud spend, but having active services not being used over the course of several weeks can easily see a 30% spike in costs not allocated for. Invariably, this has seen more local companies embracing the move to a consumptive business model where the focus is on only paying for the resources that are used. This mitigates against the risk of organisations provisioning for resources that they do not require.

Beyond traditional MSP

Given developments of the past two years, numerous managed service providers (MSPs) have emerged in South Africa to help take care of the cloud and software-as-a-services strategies of businesses. However, the one ingredient that has often been lacking is that of cost management.

Those MSPs that will inject this offering into their value proposition will be the ones that will be most successful as we head into 2022 and beyond. The future of the cloud is very much one where companies will look at identifying more ways of only being charged for what they use.

This could be especially significant for small businesses in the country that have not yet made the transition to a cloud environment. Their concerns still mainly centre on a lack of trust and even an understanding of how to effectively use the cloud in their day-to-day operations.

Going hybrid

Contrary to popular belief, the cloud is not necessarily right for all business applications. There are many mission-critical solutions that must be closer to users and remain on-premise. A hybrid approach will therefore become preferred where certain apps will be cloud-based while others will be hosted in the local data centre.

Of course, this will require stringent service level agreements to be put in place with MSPs to ensure that those applications are managed correctly. This creates the potential for organisations to take up the option to have baseline resources sitting idle in the cloud inexpensively and activate them in case of an emergency. Once done, they can shut those services down and resume operations as normal. It provides a more economically feasible way for especially smaller companies to start using the cloud.

But it all comes down to cost management and getting the processes in place to create more of an enabling environment for those businesses that want to go the hybrid route. Cloud computing has moved beyond simply providing computing resources for hosting applications as a utility. Today, it is a business enabler that facilitates growth, innovation, and data analysis at a scale previously unheard of. And while the temptation is there to become more reliant on these environments in a digital landscape, decision-makers must remain cognisant of putting in place the relevant cost control measures to balance adoption, resource use, and expenses.