Recent ITWeb articles on a move to seek ICT skills outside South Africa sparked a wave of outrage from local IT professionals, who say the skills exist within the country. Government and industry players say they don`t.

“Who holds the key?”

Fortune magazine`s latest 100 Best Companies to Work For survey puts US-based biotechnology company Genentech at the top of the list.

Debra Ialamov, head office support manager at FoschiniDATA, has achieved a double distinction for the Manager`s Certificate in IT Service Management, a Foster-Melliar course accredited by the Information Systems Examination Board.

Once the domain of heavy breathing, 087 phone numbers have now been allocated to VANs to use for VOIP calls. That the number range is probably blocked on PBXs countrywide is a minor issue facing operators keen to break out of their own networks into the big, wide world.

Described by some as “documented common sense”, ITIL is ostensibly a collection of publications containing best practice solutions for the management of IT systems. So what is all the fuss about?

Interesting new trends are emerging in the world of contact centres – as revealed by Didata`s latest in-depth research.

Fixed-mobile convergence is offering productivity and convenience benefits. At what cost, though?

The battle being waged between the high-definition media formats of HD-DVD and Blu-ray looks all too familiar. VHS vs Betamax, anyone?

Big Blue edges further away from Microsoft – but how far will it go?

The recent local government poll turned out to be not so free and fair when it came to browsing the Web for results.

SARS is trying out some open source desktop solutions.

A South African security company demonstrated to a shocked audience at the ITWeb Security Summit 2006 how easy it is for a technically savvy attacker to break into your systems.

Virtual workspace company Habitaz has introduced a debit card facility that allows its customers to pay for office space and related facilities conveniently through their Habitaz GreenCard.

TCM shunned publicity for years – and was one of the few IT companies to actually grow in recent times. Now a head is appearing above the parapet.

In India, the cities are overcrowded, and in many places it is filthy – and yet it is juxtaposed with some of the most magnificent palaces and luxurious hotels in the world.

Every so often, a restaurant will surprise you. While that surprise could be a cockroach in your penne arrabiatta or a steak with the consistency and flavour of cardboard, sometimes, very, very rarely, you stumble across a gem of culinary expertise.

Stephen Blewett finds much to admire in South Africa`s telecoms sector. But he doesn`t flinch from pointing out the nasty bits as well.

The question of whether to rent of buy IT assets in an organisation is a daunting one for South African companies, large and small. Both options have good business cases – which doesn`t make a final decision any easier.

Outsourcing? That`s so last-century. The way forward for savvy companies looking to get the most out of IT infrastructure, and generate business value in the process, is managed services.