The MVNO trap deepens as the battle moves to data

The MVNO trap deepens as the battle moves to data

South Africa’s banking MVNOs were conceived as a defensive weapon. Banks watched mobile operators build payments platforms, accumulate transaction data and push into financial services from the connectivity side. The mobile virtual network operator was the answer: own the mobile relationship, generate behavioural data between transactions and build switching costs that make the customer harder…

Read More
Cloud problems have nowhere left to hide

Cloud problems have nowhere left to hide

Kevin Naicker, executive head of cloud solutions, DVT. Organisations can keep layering AI tools onto their cloud environments, or they can confront the reality of how those environments operate. Those are the real options on the table right now. Most large enterprises in South Africa have already crossed the cloud adoption threshold. The workloads are…

Read More
Meta takes on OpenAI and Anthropic in enterprise AI

Meta takes on OpenAI and Anthropic in enterprise AI

Meta Platforms on Wednesday unveiled an AI agent aimed at helping businesses carry out day-to-day operations, positioning the social media giant as a player in the enterprise AI market. Announced at the company’s WhatsApp-focused Conversations conference in London, the new product expands on existing business messaging services by enabling “agentic” capabilities in which the assistant…

Read More
AI-fuelled fraud drives surge in local digital scams

AI-fuelled fraud drives surge in local digital scams

South Africa is one of the few markets with the highest rate of suspected digital fraud attempts. (Image source: 123RF) South Africa had the highest rate of suspected digital fraud among African countries analysed, with 3% of transactions involving consumers in South Africa being suspected of digital fraud during 2025 – slightly below the global…

Read More
South Africa’s window of cheap tech is closing

South Africa’s window of cheap tech is closing

South African consumers enjoyed a rare run of falling technology prices in early 2026 – but the reprieve is already ending as a global memory shortage pushes the cost of phones, laptops and other devices back up. Data from NielsenIQ (NIQ) shows that in the first quarter, unit sales of technology and durable goods outpaced…

Read More
NetApp and Cisco Accelerate and Secure AI Innovation

NetApp and Cisco Accelerate and Secure AI Innovation

NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the Intelligent Data Infrastructure company, and Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced that they have collaborated to offer new validated solutions for secure, scalable, and simplified AI. Expanding the proven success of FlexPod, the new solutions provide a simple, reliable path for enterprises to address the specific challenges AI workloads place on compute,…

Read More
Amazon’s long game in South Africa

Amazon’s long game in South Africa

So, Amazon has finally launched Prime in South Africa. For R59/month, or R399/year, shoppers get free delivery, video and gaming. It’s aggressive pricing. But what stands out more is how long it took to get here. Amazon has been selling to South Africans for two years – and serving them, through other businesses, for far…

Read More
NetApp and Cisco Accelerate and Secure AI Innovation

NetApp and Cisco Collaboration Strengthens Defense-in-Depth for Enterprise Cyber Resilience

NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the Intelligent Data Infrastructure company, and Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), today announced an expansion of their collaboration to help customers strengthen defense-in-depth strategies for customers. Combining Intelligent Data Infrastructure with advanced analytics and observability capabilities, NetApp and Splunk have delivered deep, real-time visibility into storage and infrastructure health. Together, they are helping customers…

Read More
Amazon Prime launched in South Africa

Amazon Prime launched in South Africa

Amazon has launched its Prime membership programme in South Africa, bundling unlimited free delivery, video streaming and cloud gaming into a single subscription as the US e-commerce giant deepens its push into a market it entered just two years ago. Prime will cost R59/month or R399/year — an annual saving of R309, or 44%, over…

Read More
MTN: Supporting the ecosystem, not just the programme

MTN: Supporting the ecosystem, not just the programme

South Africa’s soaring youth unemployment rates of more than 60% and low literacy levels are indicative of structural breakdowns across education, skills, connectivity, labour market, access and governance. Marina Madale, MTN sustainability and shared value executive, speaking at the Trialogue Business in Society conference. Opening the MTN-sponsored panel discussion at the Trialogue Business in Society…

Read More