Category: Vox 4 Thought

Redefining critical connectivity with LEO satellites

Posted on by Theo van Zyl

Theo Van Zyl, Head of Wireless at Vox unpacks the importance of investing into high-speed, high-availability critical connectivity for industrial, military and emergency services sectors.

The LEO satellite market, according to Mordor Intelligence, is estimated at $157.46 billion as of 2023 with an anticipated increase to $284.39 billion by 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.35%. The demand for LEO satellites is being driven by the increased demand for high-speed, secure, low-latency connectivity capable of handling significant data transfer volumes, particularly by the mining, logistics, manufacturing, emergency services and military sectors. As LEO satellites are still in an early adoption phase, it is anticipated that the terminal and data costs will come down as adoption grows over time complementing terrestrial services.

These satellites, often called a constellation, sit approximately 500 to 1,200km from the Earth’s orbit offering a latency of less than 100 milliseconds with a throughput of 250Mbps download and 20Mbps upload. Higher speeds can be obtained with specialised terminals designed to suit a specific requirement. These satellite constellations provide higher data throughput than the traditional GEO satellites and their proximity to Earth allows them to function optimally regardless of geographic conditions, delivering smooth global coverage to remote and geographically challenging areas. The latency and bandwidth delivered by LEO are rarely compromised by deserts, snow, mountains or remote conditions which makes it an ideal solution for the mining and logistics sectors.

When it comes to shipping, for example, LEO allows for vessels in the deep sea to communicate clearly with land, allowing for rapid response times and visibility into shipping status and location. In the mining sector, the rapid rise of automation and the Internet of Things means that facilities are highly reliant on connectivity to ensure systems remain online and safety paramount. Connectivity is also critical across facilities, both in remote and urban areas, to ensure cameras and other automated solutions remain connected to control rooms for security and worker safety.

Automation is particularly important. This is a growing area of reliance for many companies wanting to minimise downtime and improve productivity, yet its efficiency rests firmly in the hands of the connectivity solutions implemented by the company. This, along with IoT, is a technology reshaping how the industry operates so redundancy, accessibility and speed are key, as well as the ability for any communication system to handle demanding data needs.

Organisations within these sectors rely on connectivity to ensure operations run smoothly, productivity remains on track, and that workers and systems co-exist within an ecosystem that operates optimally. This is particularly relevant when it comes to worker safety as more companies are investing in smart devices and wearables to provide real-time visibility into events and situations. Worker tracking and real-time alerts are invaluable when it comes to injury prevention while sensors and data allow for teams to proactively maintain equipment based on predictive data and intelligence that mitigates the risks of downtime or system failure.

All of these capabilities rely heavily on connectivity and redundancy – which is another added benefit of a LEO constellation. Packages built to deliver high uptime and redundancy prioritise critical business applications and are well suited to organisations that have critical communication requirements. The value of LEO is that the constellations are designed to provide continuity and are a safeguard that ensures the business remains connected at all times. This is not only relevant within industrial sectors but for organisations reliant on cloud and communications to remain in business, and provide their services.

Enter the value of LEO for the military, special forces and emergency services. LEO remains active and connected in the event of a disaster which allows for improved deployment of personnel and situation management. Command centres can use the technology to rapidly respond to emergency situations without losing critical communication links with people on the ground. Emergency command centre vehicles with installed flat panel antennas can be deployed anywhere in time of a disaster and the command centre will have good quality communications to manage a situation effectively. It also has applications for clinics and healthcare services beyond just emergency first responders – potentially LEO can enable healthcare to remote and rural areas, providing access to medical care that traditionally people in these regions have been unable to access.

LEO is proving a reliable and resilient connectivity alternative to traditional solutions as it ensures that sectors with high demands are able to remain online, agile and connected despite complex operating conditions. From mobile health clinics to automated industrial plants and mining outposts, LEO provides what these organisations need.

Connectivity demystified: Why it’s important to understanding the “language” of connectivity

Posted on by Craig Blignaut

By Craig Blignaut, Product Manager: WiFi and Theo Van Zyl, Head of Wireless at Vox

In an age where connectivity is the foundation of our digital existence, understanding the complexities of modern connectivity offerings is critical. The Internet, a global network of interconnected computers, devices and databases, makes it possible for us to access information and communicate from anywhere in the world. WiFi, on the other hand, allows us to connect our devices to the Internet. A WiFi connection can come from fibre, LTE, wireless or a satellite connection.

Making sense of connectivity
While the distinction between WiFi and the internet might be obvious to some, others think about them as being one and the same. In part, this is because most users think about WiFi as something we use to connect to the Internet. So, if you can’t get online, you automatically assume that the bridge between you and the Internet – the WiFi – must be the issue. But this isn’t necessarily the case.

While one can get away with using these terms interchangeably in most conversations, there are situations where understanding the “language” of connectivity can help you make the right purchasing decisions. For a customer setting up a network in their new home and understanding the lingo can be useful when chatting to service providers about their connectivity requirements.

If you work from home and spend your days on video calls, you must make sure that you have the necessary speed and capacity to handle this. Or if you’re a TV and movie buff and you want to stream 4K content on your TV, your connectivity will need to keep up. And as more and more items in our home connect to the Internet, we also have to remember that the bandwidth we have is being shared across all of these devices, thus affecting the speed. This must also be taken into account when choosing a connectivity offering that delivers what you need.

In addition, making sure that you have the right WiFi equipment is important. If you’ve upgraded to higher fibre speeds but your router can’t handle these speeds, your hardware won’t be able to deliver the level of experience you’re paying for.

The more one understands, the easier it is to come up with workarounds when things aren’t working as they should. As South Africans, we’re all too familiar with loadshedding and the connectivity challenges that come along with it. During power cuts, mobile connectivity suffers. If your mobile signal in your home isn’t working well when the power is out, you can actually offload mobile calls onto your WiFi using your fibre line so that your connectivity won’t be affected.

Making informed connectivity decisions

With technology changing at such a rapid pace, it can be challenging to keep up with everything. But, again, knowledge is power and understanding the different connectivity offerings can help you ensure that you choose the right solutions to meet your unique needs.

As a simple example, if you have rooms in your home where the WiFi signal is a little patchy, you’ll likely be familiar with WiFi repeaters or extenders, which essentially rebroadcast signals further across your home. While traditional WiFi extenders work well enough, the more extenders you use, the lower the quality of your experience because your speed is negatively affected every time you “hop” from one extender to another. Newer mesh technology offers improved coverage, performance and scalability. Where a regular extender can solve connectivity issues across smaller areas, mesh systems eliminate dead zones and provide uninterrupted connectivity by joining two or more Wi-Fi access points together to create a seamless WiFi network. Mesh networks work incredibly well in larger homes and environments, making it possible for a user to walk from one room to another without any break in connectivity. This is an absolute game changer for the modern user because it delivers a seamless and reliable WiFi experience throughout your home.

Ultimately, the more you understand about what’s out there, the better equipped you are to communicate your needs with the service provider helping you get online. This doesn’t mean that you need to become an expert on the subject, but a little insight can go a long way to making sure that you’re always connected.

Has your managed services provider upped its game to keep up with the times?

Posted on by Michael Rudolph

Over the past few years, Managed service providers (MSPs) have had to significantly up their game not just to keep pace with a rapidly evolving world but also to offer their customers the peace of mind that no matter where or when they are accessing the internet, they are secure and have support 24/7. That’s the nature of the world we live in, where a typical nine to five mindset is antiquated.  

Perhaps as a sign of the times, the number one concern on everyone’s mind today is, or should be, security. Prior to the pandemic, security was certainly lower on most people’s radars – both businesses and their employees. They were onsite and protected by the business’s firewall and other security mechanisms, and either had onsite physical support, or secure support through a VPN. 

Enter the pandemic, and this world was turned on its head. Today you can sit in on a Teams / virtual meeting with team members in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Knysna, one in London and another in China. This is the nature of the world of work today. Hybrid working means that an employee can work from the office, home or a coffee shop in Shanghai. This has necessitated a massive mindset and tactical shift. 

An employee who freely did his or her banking from the security of inside a company’s firewall has to ask: is it safe for me to do my banking now? From the perspective of an MSP, this user, and every user in the business need to be secure and have access to support 24/7. It is not possible to use a VPN to access the environment to look after remote workers and so MSPs simply must invest in the best tools. They simply must have a powerful remote management solution to be able to securely connect to any of their customers with their permission, audit everything they do on those workstations, and automate important tasks. Beyond that, an MSP must have teams of specialist engineers to support any users at any time.  

Returning to security, it is known that some regions generate a great deal of malicious traffic. It is not always as simple as deciding to shut off all traffic from a particular location. Business people travel all over the world, including regions with high volumes of malicious traffic. In this instance, the MSP must find innovative and secure ways, with the right tool sets, to provide support for these users, so that if they log into the network from a remote location in another country in another timezone, they still have peace of mind that they are safe and secure, and can call on real-time support.  

It is abundantly clear that businesses can no longer manage this on their own. The days of having an “IT guy” in-house or on contract are numbered. There is just no way one person, or even a team of three, can manage the workload of securing and supporting a modern environment, even if this environment only has 50 people. The sheer number of systems and activity logs makes it impossible, and even if possible, the chances of missing important red flags skyrockets. Beyond this, without a team working shifts, there’s no 24/7 support. This is where a modern MSP has a tactical advantage – precisely because of the teams of focused specialists, such as security teams, firewall teams, and so on. 

 And so, what should an MSP be able to answer to know whether it has stepped up to face the new world of working head-on? An MSP 2.0, so to speak, needs to ask and answer these questions honestly: 

 Am I able to support a customer regardless of when they log in and where they are? Can I secure a customer regardless of which country they are in? Can I offer genuine real-time support, 24 hours a day, seven days a week? Do I have the right tools to ensure safe and effective offsite management, monitoring and reporting? Do I have the capability to automate important processes? 

 The last two questions are particularly important, because in our experience, businesses don’t want to have to log into 10 different portals to see the status of their environment. An MSP needs to provide a single pane of glass view of the entire environment. Looking over the entire network, it needs tools that allow all the elements to talk to one another, and draw important correlations. Correlation is important as these insights help identify where problems are so that they can be dealt with quickly.  

 Lastly, automation is not just about assigning fewer hands to a task. On the contrary, it can provide a tactical advantage. It is one thing to gather hoards of information, but what you do with it can be the difference between success and failure. It is therefore vital for an MSP to have the capability to automate proactive responses for certain events. For example: If a machine detects that it has ransomware, that’s not enough. You need a system to cordon off that part of the network, shut off the machine and take a few other crucial steps as quickly as it is detected. 

 It’s abundantly clear that not only is the world easier to navigate with the rapid evolution of technology, it is also more risky to conduct business considering a disparate workforce and a rapid uptick in cybercrime. This makes the job of an MSP more important than ever before, and so MSPs would do well to up their game and keep up with the times. 

Connectivity on the go: why not all mobile internet services are the same

Posted on by Theo van Zyl

Driven by a changing environment, including a return to the office for many as well as tougher economic conditions, more consumers are taking a closer look at their connectivity requirements. Are they spending too much money and does it adequately serve their requirements? While they look for alternatives, what needs to be kept in mind is that not all connectivity is equal – and it often comes down to choosing between quality and mobility. 

We are now well into the post-pandemic phase with organisations taking differing approaches to working. Some small businesses might have given up on their physical offices altogether in an effort to save on costs, some have taken a hybrid approach balancing working from home with coming into the office, while others have returned to the office almost full time. 

During the peak of the pandemic, when workers had to remain indoors, there was a requirement to have reliable and stable connectivity in order to enable an efficient work-from-home environment. This meant ideally a fibre line or a fixed-LTE connection that was preferably uncapped and could be shared with the whole family. 

With people either returning to the office for most of the week, or splitting days between working in the office and remotely – and with tightening wallets – they are now reassessing whether they actually need that level of connectivity at home and whether they should rather switch to mobile connectivity that offers them more flexibility. 

A hybrid working approach can easily result in employees meeting with their colleagues or suppliers outside of office premises, such as at a coffee shop or restaurant and all you need is a laptop and your own connectivity. After all, you don’t want to be doing your banking or confidential work using a public WiFi connection that could easily compromise your (and your company’s) security. Even if you are going to a client’s office, what happens if you are unable to connect to their guest WiFi network? 

The reality is that people are demanding connectivity that is a lot more flexible than before – they want reliable internet access on the go. The obvious solution is to go for mobile connectivity. However, one area that still tends to trip up consumers is the difference between mobile and fixed-LTE and what it means for their user experience. 

Why fixed-LTE is not the same as mobile 

It is crucial for consumers to understand that mobile internet and fixed-LTE (in the cases of most of the operators) are not the same. The data bundles and costs are not the same, while the coverage of fixed-LTE is small in comparison to overall mobile coverage. Depending on the provider, a fixed-LTE service can be set up to only work with approved WiFi routers, and can be geo-locked to a particular location as specified by the customer. Why is this the case? 

Unlike regular mobile connectivity, which is aimed at giving the user flexibility and convenience of use, fixed-LTE connections are about providing the users with a better quality of service. By working off a fixed location, the mobile operator can dimension their network to match user demand.  

This usually works by allocating three towers to provide a particular user with an internet connection; the user’s router locks on to one tower and if that doesn’t work, it moves on to the next one. In the end, it depends on the mobile operator as to how big (or small) the geo-locked area is, as well as how strict they are when it comes to locking a user down to a particular area or using a specified router only.  

It should be noted that with many service providers, the geo-lock doesn’t mean that the user is stuck with only being able to use their fixed-LTE at one location; in many instances, users can easily register a secondary location so that they can continue to enjoy their connectivity, but this is not as seamless as many users would like it to be. Fixed-LTE is also cost affective and can get as low as 80c/GB on an uncapped service before reaching data  thresholds. 

Challenges with mobile connectivity 

This is simply not the case with a regular mobile internet connection, as the mobile operator simply doesn’t know where a user will go next, and cannot guarantee that they will have a good connectivity experience in that area. Take for example if a user goes to the Sandton city centre when a major conference is taking place: the huge volume of people will end up causing network congestion and poor connectivity for those making use of their mobile data. Yet if they go to the same location on a quiet Sunday afternoon, they will experience the best that mobile connectivity has to offer.  

Similarly, think of the vast numbers of tourists that head down from South Africa’s inland provinces to the coastal areas over the holiday period: they’re not just lazing at the beach, they are video calling friends and family, playing online games, streaming movies and series and more, all of which puts a strain on the normal mobile network. This is not the case with fixed-LTE, where operators might have foreseen the growth in demand and provided increased capacity to deal with it. 

Let’s also not forget that mobile data costs an exorbitant sum, with anywhere between R69-R79 or even much more per gigabyte of data. Once you follow up on some emails, open a few attachments, make video calls with family and friends, and watch some Netflix or YouTube, the data bundles start depleting while the costs start going up. 

Choosing between mobility and quality 

The argument against not allowing mobility when it comes to fixed-LTE is that the users benefit from better network quality as the operator knows where all the fixed-LTE users are located and how much capacity they need to allocate in those areas in order to meet demand. It is important to note that some operators don’t make this distinction and their ‘fixed-LTE’ devices can be moved around, but at the cost of sacrificing quality, which defeats the purpose of a fixed mobile connection in the first place, but could provide the best of both worlds for some users depending on their needs.  

Users need to understand what is on offer before making the decision to buy: some operators allow you to move around and some don’t, while others may allow you to use a fixed-LTE sim in any device (or even a phone to be used as a wireless hotspot) while others only allow the use of approved WiFi routers.  

The reality is that it is a trade-off – if you want true mobility, you can’t have the best quality, and if you want the best quality, you can’t get true mobility. Ultimately, users will have to weigh up the pros and cons of the different options and match those against their needs to find the solution that is best suited for them. 

Building success within the FTTH market

Posted on by Mary Ogilvy

The South African fibre-to-the-home market saw significant shifts in 2022 across network operators, market growth and connectivity

As of March 2023, the fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) market extended into 5.24 million reported homes with the various fibre network operators (FNOs) adopting different marketing strategies for their FTTH offerings. According to research undertaken by Africa Analysis, FNOs have only passed 3.72 million unique homes of which 2.11 million have access to prepaid FTTH. The report also found that fixed broadband household penetration has risen to 20% as of March 2023 and grew at a 4-year CAGR of 22.2% across DSL, fixed wireless, FTTH and fixed 4G and 5G and this growth is due to a number of factors. Work from home and hybrid working have driven the adoption of FTTH across fixed broadband services, alongside changing customer expectations when it comes to service, delivery and support.

“The FTTH market has seen solid growth because FNOs are building in areas that previously didn’t have access and opening up new markets, and because old copper technologies, such as DSL, are being replaced by fibre,” says Mary Ogilvy, Head of Division: Fibre & ISP at Vox. “Added to this is the growing reliance on connectivity across the consumer base – people can’t rely on mobile data, it’s too expensive, and they need to be connected at home for work, children’s homework, entertainment and more. In this globally connected society, you can’t live without the internet.”

This is reflected in the number of connected homes in South Africa. While the core market of the upper LSM market is not moving as rapidly as in the initial phases, there have been solid strides towards providing previously underserviced areas with cost-effective and accessible connectivity solutions.

As Ogilvy, explains, people are struggling economically and they want affordable solutions that come with proven service and support so they can stay connected.

“The industry has changed, people are choosing based on reliability and trust and price,” says Ogilvy. “This is an important differentiation – your service may be the cheapest, but if you don’t provide reliable aftercare, people are going to leave. Not many of the ISPs offer 24/7/365 support and many companies only provide support over WhatsApp. This is pushing people towards ISPs that make it easy to resolve problems and manage their FTTH accounts.”

Consumers want FTTH that connects with them as customers and companies paying attention to this need are seeing solid growth within the local market. This is reflected by the changing shape of market share across the top five ISPs – there is now only a small market share difference of 2.7% between them.

“It doesn’t matter if your business has been a stronghold in the market for the past however many years – if your product isn’t delivering, if you’re not adding customers, and if you can’t change with the times, then you’re going to lose market share,” says Ogilvy.

Amidst this flurry of growth and expansion, a few companies have stood out in terms of their growth trajectory and performance, primarily due to their focus on customer service and service delivery. Vox has seen impressive traction, moving to sit comfortably in the top five ISPs across total FTTH homes connected. Vox believes that the reason why the company has gained this traction is because of its commitment to providing FTTH customers with the same levels of support and network grade quality as their business services.

“The goal is to ensure that customers get what they need with minimal stress,” concludes Ogilvy. “We believe that quality is the key differentiating factor – high-quality service, functionality, support and service.”

Why businesses need to consider fixed microwave connectivity

Posted on by Nikita Appelman

While fibre might be the preferred form of internet connectivity for businesses, getting connected is easier said than done. Fibre installations can take months, or a business might be located in an area that is currently not within the coverage area of a Fibre network provider. There is an alternative, however, as fixed licensed spectrum microwave can provide them with a fibre-like connectivity experience with link speeds in excess of 1 Gbps where required.

Firstly, it is crucial to understand that not all fixed Wireless services are equal. Fixed-LTE might be a popular option, but services tend to become degraded as soon as higher stages of load-shedding hit and are also defined as a best-effort service. Then, there is fixed microwave – many people, especially those in urban areas, might be familiar with the round dishes that are fixed to masts in order to have the line-of-sight they need in order to connect.

Microwave services tend to fare much better during loadshedding as they have much better power management on the high sites as compared to cellular base stations, though users will need to ensure that they have a backup power supply for the equipment that is installed on their premises. As a further bonus, bespoke microwave solutions are especially ideal for customers who are located in more rural areas but require stable, reliable internet connectivity.

Open vs. licensed spectrum

But, there are differences even within fixed microwave: connectivity services offered by many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are aimed primarily at residential users and operate within Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) radio bands, or what is known as Open Spectrum. This means that there is the potential for signal interference with other devices operating within the same spectrum, which usually results in a degraded experience for the end user.

Microwave fixed services that operate in licensed bands are more expensive because the spectrum has to be allocated from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). These high-quality services use dedicated spectrum that is not allowed to be used by other users. As such there is no potential for interference, even in crowded areas, while users benefit from low latency and high throughput internet connectivity. Using licensed spectrum also allows for significantly higher speeds – between 5Mbps and and 1Gbps and special builds ranging to 10Gbps. Unlicenced bands provided much lower speeds

Fixed microwave brings with it numerous other benefits: in the case of Vox, this includes having relatively quick installation times of the customer premise equipment, offering customers the ability to have customised solutions to meet their specific business requirements. Dedicated links are far more reliable having service level agreements and Managed 24/7/365 support on all fixed microwave links. These fixed links can also include a dedicated VLAN for Voice to ensure quality of service (QoS) on all additional voice requirements and uncapped voice calling plans.

How businesses can use microwave

For South African businesses, there are currently three main ways in which they can use fixed microwave services. Firstly, they can use microwave as their primary connectivity if their premises or branches are located in areas where they know that fibre is highly unlikely to be deployed.

Secondly, in areas that have a fibre network, but not the last-mile connectivity to their premises, businesses can opt to temporarily use microwave connectivity (given the quick installation times) as a temporary service until they are connected to the fibre network, which can take months.

Thirdly is for businesses to use microwave as a redundancy (failover) for their primary form of connectivity. In the case of organisations selecting the second option, as mentioned above, the microwave service can be changed from their primary form of connectivity to redundancy once their fibre line has been installed. Beyond just internet access, voice services can also be added on the dedicated VLAN.

While licensed spectrum microwave tends to be more expensive than other fixed alternatives, this is primarily a result of operating within dedicated spectrum and the equipment required, and not the actual data costs. In fact, costs have been coming down as providers offer more aggressive pricing options. As such, fixed microwave is the most ideal form of connectivity for businesses that don’t have access to fibre (or as redundancy for those that do) as it provides premium, carrier-grade connectivity as opposed to the alternatives that are best-effort services.

Monkey or tree? The false alarm that’s costing money

Posted on by Rodney Taylor

Property safety is often a litany of false alarms and fake threats that take up time, cost money and test patience, but, it doesn’t have to be that way thanks to modern technology

The yodel of alarms and electric fences are the soothing sounds of the South African suburb where monkeys run amok, lightning hits trees that fall on walls and tear down electric fences, the wind blows, and spiders run across sensors. If it’s not a false alarm, it’s fake news, and every time the alarm goes off, the homeowner gets stressed and the security company wastes time. As Rodney Taylor, Managing Director at Guardian Eye points out, these constant alerts also affect the cost to the company which then trickles down to the consumer and ends up becoming an expensive problem for everyone.

“It’s becoming increasingly expensive for the security companies to assess every alarm,” he adds. “This is why there has been a shift towards technology innovations that are designed to eliminate these false events. One such innovation is the software that’s designed to filter out the noises that set off alarms so the security system only identifies the real threats.”

In the past, access to smart software was exclusive to expensive systems with high-end cameras and platforms. Today, these solutions have become far more cost-effective and accessible and can be implemented into security systems that use anything from low-end cameras to the best the market can offer. Security companies can load the software across all the cameras on a property and use it to reduce false events and improve true threat identification without having to upgrade all their cameras and systems. Consumers can use the software to upgrade their own systems and to reduce the frequency of false alarms and security call-outs. In fact, this modernised approach to safety can mitigate the need for traditional patrol guards and complement security company reaction protocols.

“Whether a corporate customer or a consumer, this type of technology can really change the way a premises is secured and managed,” says Taylor. “Most solutions come with a mobile app that landlords, estate managers or tenants can use to manage alerts, cameras and upgrades. These offer a quick and easy way for users to assess an alert before the security company is engaged. If it’s a false alarm, they can negate the event without incurring costs or admin. Some solutions offer a short video clip of whatever triggered the alarm so the user can instantly see if there’s a problem.”

The first benefit of moving into a software-driven security environment is the cost saving. Consumers don’t pay more for security call-outs, they don’t end up jumping at every false alarm, and they don’t necessarily have to buy new cameras to gain the benefit either. Modern software is more forgiving of older, low-profile camera systems without compromising on their ability to minimise false events which makes it a lot more affordable to implement and use.

Then there is the value that comes with being able to visually check an event to see if it’s worth worrying about. The peace of mind this offers can’t be measured in rands, but certainly in value. If the user is away, they can see what triggered the alarm and remotely deactivate the system or notify security. The same applies to estates and corporate office blocks – an alert can be assessed by on-site security personnel to determine the level of threat. Software essentially steps in and makes any environment far safer and more manageable without adding an unnecessary admin burden to the homeowner, estate manager or landlord.

“Another benefit is removing the risk of ‘cry wolf syndrome’ that can put someone at risk,” says Taylor. “A person’s alarm can keep going off and the security company just ignores it, thinking it’s the tree they told the person to cut down. Then, the alarm goes off and it’s not the tree but the security company ignores it. This situation doesn’t work to anyone’s benefit so having software that can detect the tree versus the invasion is critical.”

Another factor, one that has recently become a significant value-add, is the work-from-home trend. Post-COVID-19, many people continue to work from their homes using costly corporate equipment. Often, people have very little security protecting them or their expensive generators, laptops, computers and printers. The risks have increased measurably but people haven’t invested in commensurate security. High-risk environments can really benefit from this third eye that provides all users with visibility into a property and the alerts, and that can be used by security companies to better protect the property and its assets.

“Criminals are well-aware of the fact that homes are now filled with tasty goods that aren’t adequately protected,” concludes Taylor. “This introduces unnecessary risk to life and property that can be mitigated by adding in technology that’s designed to improve security. For homes, software and cameras are a solid starting point; for corporate environments or estates, these tools can be enhanced by access control applications, visitor management applications and other solutions that can refine security completely.”

In a country where safety is a priority, technology can remove the irritations of monkeys and trees and replace their false events with trusted alarms that save money and improve safety.

Let’s talk – Managed Desktop Services by Qwerti!

Posted on by Suhail Dinat

What is an organisation without customers? For many (if not all) businesses, particularly within the IT sphere, the end user represents the most critical support area. After all, what good are a range of products and excellent service if you negate to focus on supporting the people who matter most? Any IT Department will attest to this significance, and emphasise that within their brand offering, catering to the needs of their end user represents their highest priority and key deliverable standard.

In the age of remote/hybrid working and a new digital era, user IT problems often mean stagnation and a complete halt on productivity. It’s little surprise either – when your employees are wholly reliant on technology to perform their job functions, even the tiniest obstacle can have long-reaching ramifications and result in vastly reduced efficiency. As such, IT Departments have their hands full ensuring that troubleshooting is done quickly, effectively, and in such a manner that normal service resumes as soon as possible.

Ultimately, the ability to support your end users quickly (and often remotely) is becoming increasingly critical to organisations across the board.

However, this becomes tricky when you factor in the myriad of variables which can ultimately negatively impact the overall user experience. These vary from volatile office and home networks to hardware performance, software configurations, user training (or lack thereof), and digital proficiency. Even the best IT departments can find themselves hampered by one or a combination of the above factors – making their jobs (and the troubleshooting process as a whole) significantly more difficult. This is further compounded by a need for ensuring that all security is watertight (we’re currently in the midst of a Cyber Security Pandemic), maintaining effective backups (in case of emergency) and otherwise maintaining protocols to prevent further damage occurring.

As time goes on, it becomes abundantly clear that managing employee laptops, desktops and hardware is a stress-inducing, time-consuming job – one which your business should not have to lose sleep over due to the complexities involved.

The bottom line is that IT Skills are expensive, with costs usually fixed regardless of your staff contingency. Furthermore, the systems required to support said users are usually based in Dollars (or other foreign currency) which, when converted, can set your business significantly more than you may have intended to spend. Couple this with inflation and a perpetually fluctuating exchange rate, and you could vastly overspend on your IT Infrastructure without even intending to – making the process, from top to bottom, a costly, stressful, pain in the IT.

But what if it didn’t need to be? What if there was a service provider who took care of EVERYTHING whilst still saving your brand money?

Enter Qwerti, which allows you to outsource your Desktop Support whilst potentially saving you in excess of 30% on your current IT costs.

Our Managed Desktop offering provides users with the following:

  • Remote and onsite IT support
  • Real-time insights as to the performance of both your network and home connectivity.
  • Periodic Windows updates so as to stay up to date.
  • Antivirus and Anti-Malware

It doesn’t stop there, however. In addition to this, our skilled advisory team ensures that your organisation remains permanently compliant with industry best-practice in terms of performance, security, and redundancy. This leaves you free to focus on your business (and the things that really matter) without having to navigate the hassle that is managing desktop support staff.

We’re able to navigate all the challenges around your business IT on your behalf whilst ensuring you never run over budget. Stay IT Safe and Secure, save big on your expenses, and ensure that you’re able to take your business to new levels without being bogged down by the nitty gritty that is IT management.

Interested? We hope so. Reach out to us or get in touch with your Account Manager today, and let us show you how to reduce your IT support costs.

 

 

Vox MTN LTE-A secondary location functionality

Posted on by Theo van Zyl

Work from anywhere. Connect anywhere. Open the worlds of the digital nomad, remote worker and hybrid office with the Vox MTN LTE-A secondary location functionality

 Transform connectivity with the Vox MTN LTE-A secondary location functionality

  • Holiday, travel, gig working and hybrid working enabled with accessible connectivity
  • Self-service access makes it easy for MTN fixed LTE-A customers to switch locations and stay connected, almost anywhere in South Africa

Vox has announced the availability of a secondary location for MTN fixed LTE-A. The solution allows customers to now have two registered locations from which to access their connectivity solution, ensuring seamless access to digital services across the country. With secondary location enabled, customers are empowered to work from anywhere and fully realise the potential of hybrid working frameworks without compromising on connectivity or quality.

“Good things come in free,” says Theo van Zyl, Head of Wireless at Vox. “The MTN LTE-A second location option comes as a standard feature for customers which means there’s no extra fee to activate it or to use it. We created this offering to give more value back to our customers and to give them the freedom to choose how and when they work, without limitations.”

The solution is designed to provide Vox customers with the agility and flexibility that they need to truly thrive in the modern world. For those wanting to adopt a hybrid framework, the ability to add in an extra location allows customers to create their own work style without compromising their work ethic. Customers wanting to explore the potential of becoming a digital nomad – working from anywhere in the country – this option ensures they remain connected and agile, without hassle or unnecessary expense. Of course, it also makes room for gig workers, the freelance economy and holidaymakers who demand flexibility and connectivity from their investments.

“Right now, most South Africans are feeling the pressure of the cost of living,” says van Zyl. “Fuel is up, food is more expensive, and power is, well, a challenge, so we felt it was time to be part of the solution. This secondary location functionality delivers genuine value for money while delivering exceptional service to our customers and absolute peace of mind. Now you really can work from anywhere – reliably, and with a service provider you can trust.”

Accessing the secondary location functionality for MTN LTE-A is easy. Vox MTN LTE-A customers simply log into the Customer Portal and follow the easy six-step process to add or change their secondary location details. They only need to remember to pack their MTN-approved router and SIM to ensure that they get all the connectivity, speeds and capabilities they’ve grown accustomed to using. If a customer forgets to log into the portal before they leave, they can log in from their mobile device and set the correct location before reconnecting to Wi-Fi.

“Wi-Fi is more than a way of working or connecting, it’s a lifestyle essential as important as fuel for the car or toothpaste for your toothbrush,” concludes van Zyl. “Without it, enjoying the benefits of work from anywhere is complicated and frustrating. With this solution, the door has been opened and customers can get ready to live and work to their full potential without compromise.”

For more information visit [website] to join other Vox MTN LTE-A customers as they benefit from connectivity anywhere, anywhen.

A Managed Network Saves Countless Headaches – Both In and Out of Office

Posted on by Dominique Yeates

Why deal with the complications of managing your own network, when there’s a much better option available?

Hybrid work is here to stay. But, while IT teams continue to grapple with managing devices for a distributed workforce, there’s also the issue of ensuring their company network is fit for purpose as far as hardware and software is concerned.

The fact is networks are complicated. And they’re only growing more complicated by the day. An office network already has countless components, all interconnected and dependent on each other for optimal performance. This includes everything from access and connectivity to switches and routers that make up the LAN/WAN, not to mention the firewalls that protect it all. All while maintaining stable Wi-Fi to keep everyone – users and guests – constantly online.

Degradation in service of any one of these components will cause disruption, which in turn results in users experiencing limited or no connectivity. In a networked world, where most of us are dependent on the Internet to work and function, this will absolutely result in a drop in productivity.

A Managed Network Takes ‘Work’ Out of the Equation

Even before hybrid work became the norm, network management has always been complicated. It’s even more so now. Companies returning to the office are returning to a network that has probably had little or no investment for the past three years. In that time, the working world has moved on, and users are more dependent on bandwidth-heavy applications like video conferencing and collaboration.

Now add managing users at home into the mix… Companies – or, rather, IT departments, have no insight into a user’s home connectivity, making it difficult to troubleshoot problems from afar.

There are also several issues contributing to network outages these days. Loadshedding has a massive impact if you don’t have redundant power in place. Even if you do, the cost to run generators these days is, frankly, eye-watering.

Older equipment that hasn’t been refreshed in years is always going to be problematic. Then there’s the possibility of increased cyber-attacks that breach the perimeter security because firmware updates aren’t done, or firewalls aren’t provisioned correctly. Not to mention unskilled users making changes that cause downtime.

Let Qwerti Handle It

Breaking out in a bit of a cold sweat? Here’s the good news – we’ve obviously thought A LOT about this issue, not only within our own environment, but for our customers as well. That’s why we’ve given our Qwerti Managed Network offering a little refresh of its own.

Starting now, not only will you be able to rely on our team of expert technicians to take care of every single network point to keep everything running in tip top shape, but we’re also offering the option of adding an affordable tech-refresh into the mix too.

As every company knows, a tech refresh is key to keeping your network working its best but upgrading hardware can really take a huge chunk out of the CapEx budget.

Which is why we’re offering the opportunity to rent essentials – like new Switches and Access Points – to reduce the cost of ownership and capital outlay for your network hardware. Because your network should always support your business.

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