NEWS
IT identified as a future-orientated
business in South Africa
R esearch shows that South African SMEs
are estimated to represent 90% of
formal businesses, provide employment
to about 60% of the labour force and
contribute approximately 34% of the
country’s GDP. supporting several companies to conduct
in-depth research into the SME sector.
The research aims to establish the impact
of SME-development projects, what the
challenges are and where the opportunities
lie within this vital sector.
To further grow this sector and boost a
struggling economy, J.P. Morgan has been The companies supported by J.P. Morgan
include Catalyst for Growth, GIBS
Entrepreneurship Development Academy,
Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA)
and Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct.
The four companies shared findings on how
small and medium business can bolster
growth in future-oriented industries such
as IT and the green economy, as well as
a general look at the role and success of
current business incubation.
Lesley Williams, CEO of Tshimologong
“At the heart of all four research studies
is a burgeoning optimism regarding the
potential of both the IT and green economy
sectors,” said Sifiso Ndwandwe, Executive
Director, Catalyst for Growth.
“The joblessness of a large majority in South
Africa is a growing concern and prompted
these partners to focus more heavily on
future-orientated industries. There is a
definite opportunity for the country to
leapfrog based on experiences of other
countries in these sectors. Our research
presents an analytical overview of the role
of business development support in terms of
SME performance and sustainability.
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Industry demand for Intelligent Data
Management continues at pace
grew 30%, licence and upgrade bookings
are up 19% year-over-year and the region
added 105 new customers during the
quarter. This growth is mostly driven by SMB
and commercial customers. The quarter also
saw 264 Veeam Cloud and Service Provider
(VCSP) transactions up 27% year-over-year
in Q3, which can be attributed to mid-
market businesses adopting cloud services.
The region added 43 VCSP partners and
it was a notable quarter for one of the
existing partners, Silicon Sky, which achieved
platinum status, the highest level for a
reseller and the first to achieve it in the
region of Middle East and Africa.
V
eeam has announced its Q3 2018
results, marking the company’s 41st
consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.
Locally, the Africa South region’s bookings
www.intelligentcio.com
“In Africa, one of the key drivers behind this
is the ubiquity of mobile. The continent has
long been labelled a mobile-first environment.
Some might even say that it is mobile-only
given the challenges of rolling out fixed-line
infrastructure to remote and rural areas.
Irrespective, with a mobile penetration rate
of 43% and expectations that there will be
more than 690 million smartphones in sub-
Saharan Africa by 2025, the positioning is
clear – mobility must be an essential part of
any data management strategy.”
Kate Mollett, Regional Manager for Africa
South, said, “Businesses are using the cloud
as a second home for data as part of a
disaster recovery plan because the expense
of having a second physical site is too high in
South Africa.
INTELLIGENTCIO
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