Brainstorm Magazine

1. SA is falling behind
(October 2008/Columns)

... (Its terrestrial television equivalent is known as DVB-T.) Regulation is to blame here. The process for awarding licences involves detailed technical and business plans, to make sure that the government ...

2. Real-time all the time
(October 2008/UpFront)

... its bookings were done through its website. This figure is now over 90 percent. Says Michael Kaminski, IT director of 1time Airline: “The internet booking engine is an important cog in our business.” ...

3. Too much to do…
(October 2008/UpFront)

... the results are surprising. It isn’t the stuff you would automatically assume, like a lack of cash and experienced technicians or the inability of IT experts and business people to speak the same language. ...

4. Oracle misses the point
(October 2008/Columns)

... and user communities that get in the way of your business? Easy: don’t communicate. Say nothing to any of the people who care, make decisions behind closed doors, ban enthusiastic people from the mailing ...

5. It’s your customer, right?
(October 2008/Features)

... As attorneys, our view on this question is from a legal perspective. CRM is key to a number of business activities, including marketing, product development and strategy. Considering the recent new legislation, ...

6. Editor's Note
(October 2008/Editors Note)

... for our economic, political or social welfare going forward. Unless we as a country, as a business sector, as people, work out how to bring in the 45 million (read it aloud – forty-five million) people ...

7. High-flying or grounded?
(October 2008/UpFront)

... Fundamo, a mobile payments service that he co-founded in 1999, exploded from a good idea to a global business in just a few months with the backing of some large investors during the dot-com boom. Hinrichsen ...

8. Making dumb phones smart
(October 2008/In-Depth Analysis)

...  He says Vodafone’s global online team were here recently and the South African operation is looking at the business models they’ve used. “Turkey and India have done very well, and we’re taking from ...

9. Passionate about printing
(October 2008/In-Depth Analysis)

... bottom end of city centres, but two women have taken the stance that this does not need to apply to their printing business. They are also determined to remove the perception that printing is a man’s world. ...

10. Silent crimes
(October 2008/In-Depth Analysis)

Cyber crime is often equated with Nigerian 419 scams, phishing attacks and denial of service attacks, but it encompasses a much broader range of activities that impact businesses in South Africa every ...

11. Time is money
(October 2008/In-Depth Analysis)

... that it be extended to March 2011.” Joosub added that the March 2010 reduction has had a significant impact on his company’s bottom line and has forced it to make adjustments to its business, including ...

12. From takeovers to takeout
(October 2008/In-Depth Analysis)

... activities, and also aims to spend more time with his family. “And I’d like to build something in the leisure and tourism business,” he says. “My wife has owned restaurants for many years and together ...

13. CIVETS are the new BRIC
(October 2008/In-Depth Analysis)

... has advanced infrastructure in banking and business, mining, law and telecommunications. 21st-century macroeconomics In sync with Turkey, South Africa has demonstrated, following the 2010 Fifa World ...

14. Cowboys in boots?
(October 2008/In-Depth Analysis)

... importantly, understanding the business requirements in a fast-paced IT landscape and how they can be translated into an effective IT strategy,” Jarvis adds. Coach and student Jarvis says he categorises ...

15. It’s called marketing...
(October 2008/In-Depth Analysis)

... frequently shocked by how few marketers, especially in early-stage markets like this one, have an idea of what they are trying to do. You need to define an objective and ensure it is a real business objective. ...

16. More than just certification
(October 2008/Features)

... group executive of HR at Spescom. “We deal a lot in certifications for specific products and theoretical training but soft skills are often lacking: business skills, life skills and basic etiquette. One ...

17. But is it safe?
(October 2008/Features)

... better physical security than your average business ever can. Once you leave physical objects behind and concentrate instead on your applications and data, the mental map of your organisation needs to ...

18. The cloud is more than just hot air
(October 2008/Features)

... as a service. It’s a relatively common experience, for example, to discover that when you upgrade the software your business runs on, your existing hardware suddenly can’t cope with new demands. “If ...

19. Dumb end-users
(October 2008/Features)

... for personal and business use is becoming blurred, making it hard to secure the company and personal data against viruses and other potential threats,” he says. “Fake antivirus programs, among other ...

20. Didata comes of age
(October 2008/Cover)

... IT services and solutions provider. Both companies are quick to point out a lack of overlap, however, stating in the deal announcement: “NTT Group has developed its business globally with a central focus ...