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When most people think of Amazon Web Services, they automatically assume they should go directly to AWS. However, for the diverse ecosystem of AWS partners – including managed service providers and independent software vendors – the real secret to achieving significant growth often lies in leveraging the distributor model. Consider this analogy: if AWS is a powerful cloud engine, then the reseller acts as the skilled driver. But who manages the complexities of operating the vehicle, such as maintenance, refuelling, training and necessary pit stops? That administrative heavy lifting falls to the distributor. In this episode of TCS+, Senzo Mbhele, MD at Cloud On Demand, explains the AWS distribution model and its advantages. Mbhele discusses: • The main business challenges that the AWS distribution model addresses; • How distributors create financial value and improve return on investment for others in the ecosystem, including end customers; • The support distribution partners provide to internal teams, enabling them to achieve more without the need to hire additional staff; • The expertise distributors offer to help chief information officers and chief technology officers manage risk, security and governance throughout their cloud journey. • Common misconceptions that may cause executives to hesitate before partnering with a distributor; and • Indicators that suggest it might be time for a business to consider the services of a distribution partner, along with the benefits this can bring. Don’t miss this engaging conversation! TechCentral

E-commerce will soon reach an important milestone in South Africa: by January, according to World Wide Worx research, online shopping will top 10% of total retail sales for the first time. The move to 15% and then to 20% will come much quicker. That’s the view of Frederik Zietsman, CEO of Naspers-owned Takealot Group – South Africa’s largest online retailer – who was speaking to TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show. In the interview, Zietsman unpacks what’s driving the rapid adoption of online shopping in South Africa – Covid-19 was a key trigger – and what the future holds as international e-commerce giants step up their investments in the country. He also discusses: • How the competitive dynamics of the market have changed in recent years; • The impact of the entry of international giants such as Amazon and Walmart and how this will reshape the market in the coming years; • The decision to expand subsidiary Mr D’s focus from fast food to include new product categories; • The township opportunity and how Takealot is working to crack that market; • Takealot’s plans to move to electric vehicles in its logistics fleet, including a look at what’s needed to introduce electric motorbikes at scale; • The challenge of crime in the logistics chain and what’s being done to fight it; • Why Takealot is getting into the home loans business; and • What’s going to drive the company’s growth in the next few years. Don’t miss a fascinating conversation! TechCentral

Seacom last week announced that it plans to build one of the highest-capacity subsea broadband cable systems the world has ever seen. Dubbed Seacom 2.0, the cable system – which will have an expected design capacity of a staggering 2 000Tbit/s – will be larger than the company’s original system, which brought high-speed connectivity to Africa’s eastern coastline when it was launched in 2009. The new system, which will include an “express route” from South Africa to Singapore and leg around South Africa to Lobito in Angola – and which will also cover much of the same East African coastline as the first system – will use the latest fibre-optic technology and 48 fibre pairs to deliver its extreme total capacity. Alpheus Mangale, CEO of Seacom, sat down with TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod for an exclusive first interview with the TechCentral Show to unpack the announcement and provide much greater detail about the deployment – including its timelines and the technology that will be used. In the interview, Mangale touches on a range of topics, including: • What’s involved in building a submarine cable system of this magnitude; • Why Seacom has chosen the routing for the cable that it has; • The need for great redundancy around the African continent, and how this fed into Seacom’s planning for Seacom 2.0; • The commercial model for the new system and what this means for the region; • The assumptions Seacom is making about future internet demand and how that feeds into its return-on-investment forecasts; • How the system will be funded and who is backing it; • The risks inherent in building telecommunications infrastructure at this scale; and • The terrestrial infrastructure that will be deployed to support Seacom 2.0, including landing stations and edge data centres. Don’t miss a fascinating interview! TechCentral

South Africa’s payments ecosystem is evolving at a rapid pace. PayInc – previously BankservAfrica – sits at the core of the country’s payments infrastructure. As the builder and manager of the PayShap instant payment rails, PayInc is central to the Reserve Bank’s plans to drive digital inclusion through payment modernisation. In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Stephen Linnell, CEO of PayInc, tells TechCentral’s Nkosinathi Ndlovu about the strategy behind the rebrand to PayInc and how that fits into the utility’s vision of the payments ecosystem in South Africa and the broader Southern Africa region. Linnell delves into: • PayInc’s new ownership structure with the Reserve Bank taking over 50% ownership from the private banks; • How the Reserve Bank’s participation will help PayInc achieve its goals; • An assessment of PayShap since its 2023 launch and what comes next; • What the proposed inclusion of non-bank players including fintechs, retailers and telecommunications operators in the national payments and settlements system means for the economy; • The efforts PayInc is making to implement instant payments at a regional level; and • Emerging payment technologies like central bank digital currencies and stablecoins. Don’t miss this informative discussion. TechCentral

Not every organisation that has migrated to the cloud has reaped the rewards promised in terms of faster development and deployment cycles, simplified infrastructure management, and most importantly, a reduction in costs. Some are going as far as repatriating their infrastructure back into on-premises environments, perhaps because they understand it better and they find they can more reliably predict their costs there. Deon Stroebel, chief innovation officer at cloud computing specialist LSD Open, argues against this move, saying that issues relating to cost and efficiency are better solved in the cloud than outside of it. In this episode of TCS+, Stroebel delves into: • The biggest mistakes companies make after migrating into the cloud; • The real difference between just running an application on the cloud versus building it in a truly cloud-native way; • The mindset shift that comes with cloud adoption and why on-premises thinking should not be applied in a cloud environment; • How containerisation and DevOps help businesses make their cloud deployments more efficient; • The cost and performance benefits of modernised cloud infrastructure; • How to use observability tools to monitor cloud usage; and • How ensuring their cloud environments prepare businesses to adopt new technologies like AI quickly. This conversation is not to be missed! TechCentral

The Invigilator, a South African application that helps educational institutions monitor web-based assessments to prevent cheating, recenty secured US$11-million (R195-million) in funding to help it expand internationally. In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Nicolas Riemer, co-founder and CEO of The Invigilator, joins TechCentral’s Nkosinathi Ndlovu to discuss how the start-up is going to use the cash injection to take on international markets. He also gives insight into the app’s software and the company behind it. In this episode, Riemer delves into: • How The Invigilator app got started during the Covid-19 lockdown; • The markets it plans to expand into internationally; • The challenges of developing an app like The Invigilator in the South African market and this may have set the company up for international success; • How the app uses AI to minimise network and storage demands while improving outcomes; • Barriers to The Invigilator’s adoption, like resistance from students, and how they were overcome; and • The future technologies Riemer is most excited about in the ed-tech space. Don’t miss the conversation! TechCentral

AI has advanced at breakneck speed in the last few years, with most knowledge workers using the technology to enhance their work in some shape or form. Most of this computing has been happening in the cloud. However, the advent of the neural processing unit, or NPU, has made it possible to move AI computation to the edge, which not only improves speeds but also protects personal and company data. In this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+, we were on location at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton where HP recently hosted its 2025 Future of Work event. The event brings together industry leaders, decision-makers and innovators and explores the evolving landscape of work in the age of artificial intelligence. Ertug Ayik, vice president and MD for Middle East and Africa at HP, connects the dots between the company’s new AI-infused product line and broader concepts shaping the way in which work is being done. Ayik delves into: • HP’s shift from a product focused company to a solutions and services outfit; • Why on-device AI processing capability has become a priority for HP; • The advantages on-device AI have for performance, security and power efficiency; • HP’s strategy for South Africa and the African continent; • Key initiatives HP is driving across Africa; and • What to expect from HP in the coming years. Don’t miss the conversation! TechCentral

Paratus Group executive chairman Barney Harmse joins the TechCentral Show to share the story of the telecommunications group’s rise from small beginnings in Angola and Namibia more than 20 years ago and how it became one of Southern Africa’s biggest ICT infrastructure players. Paratus started life in Angola in 2003, evolving from a local internet service provider into a pan‑African telecoms powerhouse. Co-founded by Harmse with Schalk Erasmus, Rolf Mendelsohn, Martin Boese and Miles October, it grew rapidly and now has infrastructure across the region, including in Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, the DRC and Namibia. This week, it officially launched the first privately owned mobile network operator in Namibia, which will compete directly with the state-owned incumbents. Today the business works closely with the likes of Starlink, Google and Meta Platforms and plays a significant role in long-distance, metropolitan and access networks across the region. It also helped landed Google’s Equiano cable on the Namibian coast. In this lively interview with TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod, Harmse unpacks the Paratus story, touching on: • What building telecoms infrastructure across the vast reaches of Southern Africa has entailed, including memorable moments along the way; • The company’s financial backers, and its capital-raising plans – including a possible future listing in New York; • Why it built a network of long-distance fibre across Southern Africa; • Paratus’s relationship with Elon Musk’s Starlink, and why it’s a key role player in the launch of the low-Earth orbit satellite provider’s offering across the region; • The launch of the mobile network in Namibia and why it’s a significant development in the Paratus story; and • The opportunities still ahead for Paratus Group. Don’t miss a great interview! TechCentral

Maziv, the company that owns Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa, plans to spend R12-billion over the next five years as its ramps its deployment of fibre infrastructure across South Africa. Poised for a big injection of cash and assets from Vodacom, which is buying a 30% co-controlling stake in the business, it has unveiled big plans to deploy fibre in townships and other underserved parts of the country. In this exclusive podcast interview, CEO Dietlof Mare unpacks Maziv’s ambitious plans with the TechCentral Show, telling TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod about: • The painful three-and-a-half years it took to get the deal over the line with the competition authorities and how these delays undermined investment in new fibre builds in South Africa; • Why regulators need to reflect on the time it took to conclude the transaction, and why they need to be quicker in adjudicating M&A activity to grow the economy; • How the merging parties eventually secured the approval of the Competition Commission, which had initially recommended that the transaction be blocked on competition grounds; • Vumatel’s deployment plans – where it’s going to focus next with its new fibre builds and why; • The economics of rolling out fibre into townships and into low-income communities, a key focus for the business over the next five years; • What the conclusion of the deal means for the sector, including the potential for further consolidation of fibre network operators; • The policy and regulatory changes Maziv would like to see to help it speed up the deployment of fibre in South Africa; and • How the Maziv business is expected to change in the coming years. Don’t miss a great discussion about the future of broadband internet infrastructure in South Africa! TechCentral

What does it really take to defend a business in an era of AI-driven attacks? In this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+ ,Clare Loveridge, vice president and GM for Europe, Middle East and Africa (Emea), and Johnny Ellis, senior director of Emea channel sales, both at Arctic Wolf, go beyond the buzzwords to confront the uncomfortable truth: despite billions spent on security tools, cyber losses are still mounting. Arctic Wolf’s answer is a different model, one that combines its artificial intelligence-powered Aurora Platform with human expertise in a concierge delivery approach. It’s a strategy that tackles the industry’s “effectiveness gap” head-on by integrating people, processes and platforms to deliver outcomes, not just alerts. The conversation is blunt about the shifting threat landscape: AI has overtaken ransomware as the top emerging risk, and no single tool can fix it. What organisations need is visibility at every layer – from endpoints and cloud to people. Equally compelling is Arctic Wolf’s commitment to channel-first partnerships in South Africa, ensuring trusted local expertise underpins global innovation. From the acquisition of Cylance Endpoint to the launch of Incident Response 360, the company is pushing to redefine what operationalised security means. But the biggest takeaway is simple: cyberattacks are no longer an “if” but a “when” – and every organisation needs a plan. Watch or listen to the full discussion to explore why Arctic Wolf believes security must move beyond tools to become a living, breathing business function – and how leaders can finally start sleeping better at night. TechCentral

Nedbank announced last week that it was acquiring Durban-based fintech iKhokha in a R1.65-billion deal that could signal the start of further consolidation in the payments industry in South Africa. Nedbank described the deal as a “significant milestone” in its strategy to target small and medium enterprises. iKhokha co-founder and CEO Matt Putman is TechCentral’s guest in this episode of the TechCentral Show. He unpacks the deal with TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod, explaining how it came about and what it means for the company’s further growth. Founded in Durban in 2012, iKhokha provides mobile point-of-sale solutions to SMEs. Its products include card machines and a mobile app that allows merchants to accept card payments, with added business management tools. It was founded by Putman, Ramsay Daly and Putman’s father Clive. Putman tells the TechCentral Show about: • How the deal with Nedbank happened; • The origins of iKhokha and its growth over the past 13 years, leading to the sale to Nedbank – a deal that is still subject to regulatory approval; • How iKhokha will work with Nedbank (it will remain an independent brand within the banking group), including a possible expansion into new markets in Africa; and • The exit of iKhokha’s backers, including Crossfin Technology Holdings, Apis Partners and the International Finance Corporation. Don’t miss a great discussion! TechCentral

Fintechs choose cloud technologies in the hopes that the efficiency and scalability of cloud computing will give them a competitive advantage. But cloud adoption is no silver bullet. If done incorrectly, a migration to the cloud can cause costs to balloon instead of decreasing them, leading to frustration and even lost revenue. Kinetic Skunk is an Amazon Web Services-certified partner offering cloud solutions with a specialisation in fintech start-ups. In this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+, Donovan Mulder, CEO at Kinetic Skunk, explains the ins and outs of cloud adoption for fintech companies. Mulder delves into: • The importance of timing when it comes to cloud adoption and when the best time is to plan for a migration into the cloud. • Common errors fintechs that have already migrated to the cloud make that can cause costs to balloon out of control. • Why developers are often not the right people to handle cloud infrastructure architecting and provisioning (hint: it’s a completely different skill set). • How gaps in cloud infrastructure architecture can lead to security holes. • The cost optimisation tools available in the AWS cloud environment. • How tools such as the AWS well-architected framework help fintech’s comply with regulations such as Popia and Fica. • Advice for South African fintechs before their next cloud bill arrives. Don’t miss the discussion! TechCentral

Alan Knott-Craig’s new fibre internet business has been flying below the radar for some time now, but the serial telecommunications entrepreneur has finally unpacked his plans for the business. Speaking to the TechCentral Show this week, Knott-Craig – who has led a range of well-known tech businesses, including Mxit, World of Avatar, Project Isizwe and iBurst – talks about why he believes there’s money to be made in wiring up townships with fibre and how Fibertime (stylised as “fibertime”) hopes to reach millions of data-poor South Africans who, until now, have had to rely on expensive mobile data for connectivity. In the interview, with TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod, Knott-Craig also chats about: • What’s been involved in building Fibertime; • The Fibertime business model and the economics of township fibre; • The network’s footprint and where the company plans to build next (it is currently deploying infrastructure in Alexandra in Johannesburg); • Why fibre beats wireless for township internet services; • The difficulties of working in township settings, including the threat posed by crime; • Plans to list the business, possibly in 2027; and • The recently approved Vodacom/Maziv deal, and what that means for the telecoms sector. Don’t miss a fascinating interview! TechCentral

Although Shoprite Group stole a march on many of South Africa’s retailers in on-demand online grocery delivery during the Covid-19 lockdowns, Pick n Pay has a clear plan to make up lost ground and compete aggressively for market share. Enrico Ferigolli, who co-founded the liquor delivery app Bottles – which was later acquired by Pick n Pay to form the basis of its online shopping push with asap! – joins the TechCentral Show to unpack the journey Pick n Pay is on, and how the e-commerce market is likely to develop in the coming years. Ferigolli tells TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod about: * Why and how technology has become fundamental to modern retail; * The launch of Bottles and what led to the Pick n Pay acquisition; * The dynamics of on-demand delivery and what it takes to be a successful player; * How Pick n Pay is working to convince people to try asap! for their grocery needs; * The role of AI (and AI agents) in future omnichannel retail environments; How online shopping is likely to change the way Pick n Pay designs its physical stores; * Pick n Pay’s relationship with Takealot Group, and where that alliance is headed; * Pick n Pay’s plans to expand into townships and other underserved markets with on-demand deliveries; and * The threat posed by international e-commerce companies that don’t have a presence in South Africa but which ship goods to local consumers. It’s a great interview about the future of e-commerce in South Africa – be sure not to miss it! TechCentral

In this episode of TCS+, Adil El Youssefi, newly appointed CEO of the colocation business at Cassava Technologies and CEO of Africa Data Centres, chats about the challenges and opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa. El Youssefi delves into: • His background prior to being appointed into the role and how it has influenced his career as a technologist; • His personal connection to the African continent and why growing its digital economy excites him; • The data traffic boom taking place in Africa and the drivers behind it; • The industries fuelling the demand for data centre capacity on the continent; • The infrastructural challenges dampening data centre growth and the different ways they are being surmounted; and • What the future of data centres looks like in sub-Saharan Africa; Don’t miss the discussion! TechCentral

The Dongfeng Box electric city runabout has landed in South Africa, and Watts & Wheels has taken the vehicle – one of the cheapest electric cars currently on sale in the country – for a test drive. One of China’s biggest and oldest motoring manufacturers, the state-owned Dongfeng Motor Corporation has identified South Africa as a key export market and, through E Auto Motor, has launched the brand in South Africa – starting with the Dongfeng Box, whose pricing begins at R460 000. Watts & Wheels hosts William Kelly and Duncan McLeod take the Box for a drive around Johannesburg and share their thoughts on this intriguing and relatively low-cost hatchback designed for urban and city driving. Also in this final episode of the three-part pilot season of Watts & Wheel, William and Duncan get animated about: • The state of the EV charging infrastructure market in South Africa – and is it getting overtraded?; • A new report on EV sales in South Africa over the next five years; • Chery’s reporting plans to build a car plant in South Africa; • The challenges at Mercedes-Benz South Africa’s East London production plant, especially in the light of US President Donald Trump’s tariff wars; • Tesla’s challenge to the like of Waymo – a look at Elon Musk’s determination to win in autonomous ride-hailing services; • Xiaomi’s beautiful YU7 and how it’s going toe-to-toe with Tesla in China; • What’s happening at Porsche; and • Christian Horner’s exit at Red Bull Racing. Don’t miss this episode. TechCentral

Enviro Automotive has launched the Riddara RD6, South Africa’s first fully electric 4x4 bakkie – and Watts & Wheels has taken it for a test drive. In episode 2 of Watts & Wheels – the brand-new South Africa motoring show from TechCentral (subscribe on YouTube) – hosts William Kelly and Duncan McLeod throw the Riddara around some corners and chat with Enviro Automotive’s Francois Malan about why the company has introduced the Geely Auto-owned brand in South Africa. If you miss Ep 1 of Watts & Wheels, catch it here. Also in this week’s episode of Watts & Wheels: • Ford’s beastly new Ranger Raptor vs BYD’s Shark 6 sprint to the chequered flag (can you guess which one won?); • What to expect at SA Auto Week in Gqeberha in October amid immense pressure on the local motor manufacturing industry; • Why William thinks Ashok Leyland’s new “no-frills” EV truck could prove to be a big hit in South Africa; • Huawei’s new supercar, the Maextro S800, developed in collaboration with JAC Group, and why we’re excited about it; • Why Xiaomi’s new SU7 Ultra sportscar should have Porsche and even Rimac concerned; and • The flying cars are here (well, kind of). Subscribe to the channel on YouTube and never miss an episode! TechCentral

Folding phones are advancing at light speed. For consumers, the appeal is self-evident: on one hand, folding phones give them the option to have a larger, tablet-like interface that offers enhanced productivity and a better user experience. On the other hand, the fit-in-your-pocket design when folded maintains easy portability. Samsung pioneered the folding phone category in South Africa with the first-generation Galaxy Fold in 2019. The Z Fold series is now in its seventh generation, with the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7 launched earlier this month. In this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+, Zahir Cajee, mobile experience lead for product and commercial services at Samsung South Africa, talks through the design elements and software features in the newest foldables. Cajee delves into: • What smartphone manufacturers like Samsung are trying to achieve with foldable phones; • The market segments Samsung’s Z Fold and Z Flip phones appeal to; • The latest features in the new Z Fold7 and Z Flip7; • The Z Fold7’s new 200-megapixel camera; • Samsung’s thinking behind the introduction of the lower-cost Samsung Flip7 FE; • The AI features in the new Galaxy Watch8; and • When the new devices are going to be available and how much they’ll cost. Don’t miss the discussion. TechCentral

When Nedbank realised early last year that its mammoth core banking overhaul and modernisation programme was going awry, it turned to Marijke Guest for help. Guest, CIO of Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) and payments and a veteran of the financial services group, tells TechCentral’s Meet the CIO about how the bank realised it was headed for trouble, and what it took to get the project back on track and delivered – all in little under a year. According to Nedbank, the project was thought to be 80% complete, but when it was reassessed in January 2024, it became clear that only around 20% of the actual scope had been delivered. “Designs were incomplete,” the bank said. “Engineering practices were out of date. Key components, such as the liability rates engine, product lifecycle workflows and real-time processing, were either broken or unbuilt. The programme was years behind its intended outcomes, and the bank’s reputation was at stake.” Guest, who has worked at Nedbank for the past 25 years, tells Meet the CIO’s Duncan McLeod about: • When and why Nedbank first decided it needed to modernise its core banking systems and what the project would entail; • What’s involved in an undertaking like this, and why there’s potential for things to go wrong that could lead to huge cost overruns – as has happened at other South African banks that have embarked on similar modernisation programmes; • What Nedbank’s core banking modernisation project aimed to achieve, and why it was at risk of being derailed; • What she did to get it back on track and motivate the IT teams involved; • What it took to get everyone to start pulling in the same direction and ensure the project was delivered on time with zero reputational impact to the bank; • How she coped with the immense pressure she and her teams were under from the board and top management to get the project done right, on time and within budget; • What Nedbank can do now that it couldn’t do before, and how that positions it next to its rivals – both the traditional banks and the new digital bank challengers that have emerged in recent years; and • What CIOs who are embarking on similarly complex IT projects can learn from Nedbank’s project – including the pitfalls they should watch out for, and what areas they should be careful not to neglect. Guest was ultimately awarded Nedbank’s Chief Executive Award for her leadership of the project. No one involved in IT management should miss this fascinating discussion! TechCentral

A recent management buyout of Britehouse from NTT Data – previously Dimension Data – has put the software development house on a new trajectory. In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Duncan McLeod chats to Britehouse executive chairman Graham Parker about the MBO of Britehouse Mobility and what it means for the future of the business. Dimension Data acquired the 60% of Britehouse it didn’t already own in a 2015 transaction, buying out shareholders that included Remgro and Convergence Partners. The IT group had held a 40% stake since 2007 before buying out other shareholders eight years later. “Britehouse is embarking on a new era of innovation and independence following a management buyout transaction that effectively acquired the business from NTT Data,” a statement at the time said. “The acquisition from NTT Data marks a pivotal moment in Britehouse’s journey.” Following the deal, Britehouse Mobility will operate as a fully independent company. The Britehouse brand will cease to exist inside NTT Data, but the latter will retain the enterprise applications business, with specific focus on SAP and Microsoft, it said. “After several successful years of operating as part of the global NTT Data group, Britehouse is excited to return to its roots as an independent, South African-led business,” said Parker at the time. Parker tells the TechCentral Show about: • His history with Dimension Data and Britehouse; • The story of Britehouse; and • What the business looks like today, and management’s plans for growth. Don’t miss the discussion! TechCentral