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TechSmart SME Guide, August 2012
TechSmart SME Guide, August 2012
The consumerisation of IT
Your company is next
Crowd funding
Skip the bank and take it online
smart
I hope that this SME Guide helps your company find the solutions needed to flourish in these tech-filled times, Mike Joubert (michael@techsmart.co.za)
Editor TechSmart & TechSmart.co.za Mike Joubert > 083-290-2889 michael@techsmart.co.za Business manager George Grobler george@smartpublishing.co.za Print media manager Suzanne Rall suzanne@smartpublishing.co.za Sales and marketing manager Anneke Claassen > 083-301-9134 anneke@smartpublishing.co.za Advertising Carmel Ann Singh > 079-515-8708 carmel@smartpublishing.co.za Karien Steenkamp > 083-748-3413 karien@smartpublishing.co.za Designer Brett Wilson Contributors Mike Joubert Hanleigh Daniels [HD], Ryan Noik [RN], Lance Harris, Chris Anderson Accounts & subscriptions Ronel Keet > 012-342-5141 accounts@techsmart.co.za Distribution Renier van Vuuren > 082-555-6866 renier@smartpublishing.co.za
Contents
Telecoms
6 Interview: Tinyiko Seane, Executive: Small Medium Business Services, Telkom 8 Interview: Tim Walter, Head of Marketing, Nashua Mobile
Business IT
10 Avanade: Is big data producing big returns? 12 Avanade: Unlocking the power of the consumerisation of IT
12
Hardware
14 Samsung Series 9 NP900X4D 16 Samsung Series 7 Slate PC 16 Samsung Series 7 Chronos notebook
28
Published by:
Money
28 Prepare for the near eld revolution 30 Social lending and crowd-funding: A new way to raise money
SMARTPUBLISHING
Tel: 012-342-5141 977 Francis Baard Street, Arcadia, PTA www.smartpublishing.co.za
Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. No material, text or photo graphs may be reproduced, copied or in any other way transmitted without the written consent of the publisher. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher or of the editor. We recognise all trademarks and logos as the sole property of their respective owners. TechSmart shall not be liable for any errors or for any actions in reliance thereon. All prices were correct at time of going to print.
HP Folio 13
R13 000
Dell XPS 13
R14 000
he Folio 13s solid, strong build won us over, and we suspect, will be appreciated by many a business user who needs reliability in their device. In the performance stakes, the Folio 13 rose to our demands, thanks to its Intel Core i5 2467M processor clocked at 1.6 GHz, 4 GB of memory and 128 GB SSD hard drive. Also critical for business users, the backlit chiclet keyboard was a pleasure to type on, while an outstanding 8 hours worth of battery life on a charge should keep business productivity running smoothly on a long ight. Additionally, the ultrabook proved ready for work within ve seconds from a sleep state and twenty two seconds from off. The Folio 13 also offers a 13.3" matte display at a resolution of 1366 x 768, a TPM 1.2 Embedded Security Chip and USB 2.0, USB 3.0, an Ethernet port and an SD card slot.
he XPS 13 is the lightest and most portable ultrabook on offer here, and thus easy to recommend to business users on the move. It weighs a mere 1.3 kg, and manages to cram a Corning glass coated 13.3" screen into a 12" chassis to great effect, along with a maximum thickness of 18 mm. However, it is certainly no lightweight when it comes to looks, performance or features. It too boasts an Intel Core i5 2467M processor, clocked at 1.6 GHz, along with 4 GB of memory, and a 128 GB solid state drive (SSD). Its boot times are blazingly fast, at ve seconds from powered off and a mere two seconds from sleep, which should make it ready for work in no time at all. The XPS 13 further offers a backlit chiclet keyboard and almost seven hours of battery life.
R17 000
he Zenbooks claims to top candidacy comes not only from its stunning looks and awless build, but also from the fact that it boasts serious performance. Loaded with a second generation Core i7 processor (2677M, clocked at 1.8 GHz), the ultrabook was able to make mincemeat of our computing demands. This, along with 4 GB of memory and a 256 GB solid state drive (SSD), was accompanied by a superlative 13.3" screen, which offered a 1600 x 900 resolution. This makes it ideal for long work sessions, and kept eye strain at bay. At 1.3 kg, the Zenbook is very light, while a battery life of between ve and six hours (or a standby time of seven days and twenty three minutes) and a responsive chiclet keyboard, made it stand out as being a worthy executive choice.
Will the next version of the iPhone be called the iPhone 4G, iPhone 5 or simply, like the new iPad, the new iPhone? The succeeding model is rumoured to sport a bigger but thinner casing, along with a smaller dock connector port, 4G/LTE support, and a larger (4") Retina display, in line with current top-end smartphone trends. Its known that it will run on iOS 6, which includes more than 200 new features, including Facebook integration and a Maps app with Appledesigned cartography, turn-by-turn navigation, spoken directions and a novel Flyover view. Samsung has been stealing iPhone market share across the globe, so the pressure is on Cupertino to deliver something spectacular. The next iPhone denitely has to be a better upgrade than the 4S was over the iPhone 4, if Apple wants to close the ever-widening smartphone sales gap. [HD]
ver the last six months Telkom recorded a 105% increase in internet usage from retail customers over Telkom Internet. Why this large amount of growth?
This growth is not just happening locally, its a global trend and South Africa is not immune to this. From the customer side it is driven by an increase in for example, social media usage and a proliferation of internet enabled devices such as smartphones and tablets. Customers are also starting to experiment more with different applications, and all this is bandwidth intensive. From a competitor point of view, you are seeing a lot more offerings, and this also drives customer behaviour. While the mobile side is also experiencing growth in data usage, it is still really low compared to the xed-line space, where downloading, cloud services, live-streaming all very data intensive activities are taking place. With video conferencing and hosted cloud-based technologies becoming more pervasive, one can expect even more growth in future.
Are companies still using xed amounts of data per month, or have they moved to uncapped?
When entering the market, companies often rst opt for a xed data offering. They use it, go above their limit a few times and then migrate to an uncapped offering. The beauty of our offerings is that both capped and uncapped offer the same quality of service.
Why should a business go for a Telkom Business package and not just a regular ADSL offering from other service providers?
More value, since you are not only receiving an access line, but also a lot of business tools. And once you start bundling offers together you start incurring considerable savings. Also, instead of going to multiple providers, you are only coming to one Telkom. So you get your access line, your ISP, your business tools, even your cloud-services, from one service provider. Telkom has moved from providing businesses with internet access only, to offering much more value. For example, our business tools include domain name registration, collaborative email, web-hosting and the capability to build your own website. This while potential savings include a three months ADSL payment holiday for new contract customers (see p22). 6
Businesses are also receiving the tools to manage themselves through our enterprise portal, which means they dont necessarily need to go through the support desk.
Tell us more about the TBiz Uncapped business product range and the benet to customers.
TBiz is a combination of the line, the usage and the business tools, with offers created to suit customers wallets and which address the need for greater value. Included in these offers are email, not just simply any email but collaborative email which gives you the ability to host in the cloud, with up to 3 GB per email account with ve aliases. Telkom also provides web-hosting with a control panel so you can create your own website linked to your own .co.za. On top of this we also give you the ability to select one or two year contracts, with the two year contract subscribers receiving an 802.11n Wi-Fi business gateway with 3G failover. With this business gateway you can connect your LAN thanks to four internet ports, plug in a SIM card for added 3G connectivity, and set it up with prole management in order to restrict access to certain websites. The best part of this is that it allows us as Telkom to manage the situation if ever your line goes down, since we can automatically access the modem. Furthermore, weve also recently dropped the price on TBiz bundles, so these are now positioned as not only excellent value, but also well-priced. The offers also dont need to be taken as is, since customers can talk to us about customised contracts. The bottom line is that TBiz is the stepping stone to a full ICT experience.
Businesses should take a step back and ask: Has the internet become more integrated? Do we now have more users and devices, and have we started using more apps?
Finally, can you explain Over the Top content and how Telkom is ensuring high quality access?
Over the Top content includes applications that Telkom transports over our network without charging for the content. Its important to ensure end-to-end performance from a quality point of view, especially on real-time applications. We as Telkom must provide customers with high quality access designed upon three core concepts adequate coverage, high speed transfer and sustained performance. Our move to an all IP network enables us to do that.
echSmart (TS): Recently you stated that technology to allow convergence has matured. How so?
Tim Walter (TW): The individual elements of convergence have been around for a long time, including the mobile phone, notebooks and Wi-Fi, but theyve never been able to talk to each other. For example, weve had Wi-Fi networks for ages, but its only in the past few years that all smartphones come with built-in Wi-Fi capabilities. Phones can intelligently choose to connect to a Wi-Fi network when it is in coverage.
TS: How far are we from seeing voice disappearing completely? Will it be within the next 10 years?
TW: Definitely. Mobile operators are already dropping their call rates, in part as a response to the threat of potential disrupters entering the market place and stealing their lunch. I will even go so far to say in the next five years at least 50% of voice traffic will be transmitted over Internet Protocol (IP).
TS: Theres a lot of talk about Near Field Communication (NFC) in the retail space, but you seem to be sceptical?
TW: NFC will play a role, but the issue is that theres a massive investment in point of sale equipment that retailers and providers would have to invest in to become NFC compliant. NFC shows some potential, but the concept of a Mobile wallet, to be able to communicate to a cloud via USSD or an app to authenticate the transaction, is a very real possibility. For small business owners such as plumbers or electricians, to be paid on-site via mobile phone, is where the real potential lies.
Our core value proposition is service and choice, but in addition to that weve added innovation. With all of the opportunities that mobile technology and convergence offers we feel we have to innovate.
TS: Are there other examples of the benefits of convergence for SMEs?
TW: Yes, convergence in terms of the cloud. There are a number of off the shelf apps available from app stores or suppliers where SMEs can leverage off world-class systems, including work force automation and accounting software. These can be accessed from mobile devices or from the desktop. Also, with voice processing moving into the cloud, with things like mobile VoIP and of course hosted PABX, a relatively small SME doesnt have to shell out R40 000 for a PABX, they can tap into a hosted solution and pay on a per monthly basis. The advantage is that that extension is speaking to a person instead of device, which means you can have one phone number across multiple devices and the cloud transfers the call to where the person is available. It is cost-effective and the SME can have the same or similar infrastructure as a large corporate.
TS: You must be very proud of the Nashua Mobile app that youve produced?
TW: Yes, we are very proud. Nashua Mobile is a mobile company, so we must have a mobile app, and we are the first telco in SA to have launched one. With the app we can provide our customers with day-to-day account info, which previously they either had to log onto the web or call our call centre to receive. From a long term strategic perspective, we are planning to roll out many services via the app, including transaction-based services, airtime purchases and other prepaid services.
TS: What we liked about the app is that you can actually check your daily data usage.
TW: Yes, it also tracks your airtime balance and SMS traffic.
TS: How did Nashua Mobiles Xtreme Data offering on certain Nokia handsets go?
TW: The uptake has not been quite what we hoped for, but we still see good numbers every month. As a niche play, we are happy with the performance.
TS: Do you think the fact that only certain Nokia handsets were available might have detracted from the offer?
TW: Absolutely, it was limited to a certain range of Nokia handsets, and we have expanded the offer to include the full range of Asha handsets. Soon we are looking to launch an Xtreme Data Premium version which will make the high-end Lumia devices available. The exclusivity period with Nokia expires at the end of August, and we are in discussion with other manufacturers.
TS: You recently launched credit protector insurance for contract customers. How do you think this will perform in the market?
TW: I think it gives our customers some protection if something bad happens they can still honour their contract. We have done a lot of work on it; our underwriters are Mutual & Federal and we believe it is a competitive product and will serve our customers in good stead.
TS: It seems like Nashua Mobile is not resting on its laurels with such a large amount of value add to your offerings. Is this something you are constantly working on?
TW: Our core value proposition is service and choice, but in addition to that weve added innovation. With all of the opportunities that mobile technology and convergence offers we feel we have to innovate. Smartphones are fantastic devices, but people only make use of a small percentage of their capabilities. If we can add another layer of services to help people make the most of these, then hopefully they will be more productive and have a better quality of life.
For more information about Nashua Mobiles offerings, visit www.nashuamobile.com, or call 0861-531-531.
This research study is Avanades second survey focused on big data specically, and reveals these highlights: Big data is reaching a tipping point. Data has become pervasive and empowering. Technologies that manage and analyse data are easier to use and are more readily accessible to wider groups of employees in the workplace. Big data has gained a top spot on the agenda of business leaders for the value it has begun to create. Companies are heavily investing in staff and skills to convert data into business value. There is more work to be done. Key business functions fail to fully leverage data for the value it promises, struggling with sheer volume and security concerns. And other technology trends, including mobility, social computing and cloud services, are causing companies to rethink their data strategies. In short, companies are moving from playing defense to offense in navigating big data.
Big Data refers to the combination of an enormous amount of data generated and collected by organisations, the speed at which the data must be analysed, and the variety of the types of data that are collected such as text, sensor data, audio, video, click streams and log les. It is postulated that new insights emerge when all these data types are analysed together.
As big data skills and technologies permeate businesses, companies are seeing big money in big data.
Work to be done
As with many major technology trends, the benets come with meaningful challenges to realise the full value they promise. Companies report challenges from staff and skills to tools and technologies. The vast majority of respondents (85%) report obstacles in managing and analysing data, from being overwhelmed by sheer volume to data security, to not having enough dedicated staff to analyse it. While companies report successfully leveraging big data for increased revenue and competitive advantage, they also report a number of missed opportunities in using data to improve internal operations. For example, 70% of companies do not use their data to predict or assess staffing needs. Not coincidentally, a majority (63%) of stakeholders feel their company needs to develop new skills to turn data into business insights. Specically, companies report investments needed in a wide range of staff skills, from math and statistics, to business operations and analysis, to visual design and reporting.
For Avanades full report on big data, visit bit.ly/DATABIG. For more information on how Avanade can help your company, visit www.avanade.co.za or phone 012-622-4400.
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Avanade:
Unlocking the power of the consumerisation of IT A
We are witnessing a rapid shift in the way employees are using personal technology in the workplace. Smartphones, tablets and notebooks, as well as social networks and online services that employees use outside the workplace, are increasingly being used in business. Rudy Greyling, innovation lead and CTO at Avanade South Africa, shares some valuable insight on how to deal with the consumerisation of IT.
s the consumerisation of IT becomes more widespread, companies have an opportunity to transform the role of IT from a reactive, risk-mitigation function into strategic enablers that leverage the breadth of todays powerful consumer technologies to drive business productivity. So what steps should companies take to unlock the benefits of the consumerisation of IT?
Part of this process requires creating intelligent policies that clearly outline how employees can use their personal technologies in the enterprise. For most organisations, this will require a significant cultural shift.
To the point
The accelerating consumerisation of IT trend offers incredible opportunities to create strategic advantage and business empowerment for companies. IT and business leaders must examine how consumer technologies are impacting their company today, and then build a roadmap that enables the organisation to capitalise on the benefits these technologies can bring to the workplace.
The full report can be found at bit.ly/CONSUIT. For more information on Avanade and the services they provide, visit www.avanade.co.za, or call 012-622-4400.
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he consumerisation of IT one of the hot technology buzzwords of the moment is changing the ways that companies big and small manage their IT environments. Its a sweeping trend that sees employees increasingly bring their own devices to work and make use of the same tools and apps in the workplace as they do at home.
Many employees believe that their personallyowned devices offer a better user experience than their work-issued PCs or cellphones.
The challenge
These challenges are keeping IT managers at larger businesses awake at night, but are perhaps more easily managed in SMEs with simpler IT infrastructures. There are a range of tools that companies can use to manage and secure devices in a BYOD setting for example mobile device management (MDM) solutions. The one certainty is that end-users have become used to bringing their own devices to work and making use of the apps that they like. Diehard Apple fans will resist corporate pressure to swap their iPhones out for any other platforms, while many users prefer their own tablets to the heavy company notebook. The choice companies face is simple. They can either take advantage of the tech their employees are bringing to work and manage it through sound policies and tools. Or they can embark on a futile ght that will simply result in a lot of unmanaged devices and unhappy employees. 13
The 15" screen, which has been superbly fitted into an exceptionally thin (15 mm) 14" chassis and boasts a display resolution of 1600 x 900, is clearly the star of the show.
he appeal of the Samsung Series 9 begins with its design. On this front, the new Series 9 looks modern and stylish, as Samsung has ditched the all-black casing of last years model in favour of a minimalist silver body, which offers a cleaner, more accessible aesthetic.
Truly attractive
The 15" screen, which has been superbly tted into an exceptionally thin (15 mm) 14" chassis and boasts a display resolution of 1600 x 900, is clearly the star of the show. While screen real estate feels expansive, the actual Series 9 in its entirety still feels quite portable. This is complemented by the fact that, along with fantastic sharpness and superlative colour saturation, it is an exceptionally bright screen (400 nits) as well. In particular, watching movies and viewing photos on the Series 9s screen was a treat, while audio was satisfyingly loud. Additionally, general usage, such as browsing the web and working in programs, proved to be less of a strain on our eyes than dimmer screens of lesser resolutions.
processor clocked at 1.7 GHz, and a decent 4 GB of RAM. This accounted for particularly speedy performance in general tasks. Our test model featured an 128 GB solid state drive, although only 94 GB of this was user accessible. Graphics are taken care of via Intels integrated graphics 4000, rather than a discrete solution. Start-up time from sleep was an excellent two seconds, while from powered off took 18 seconds before Windows was fully loaded.
Smooth handling
While the backlit chiclet keyboard was mostly comfortable to type on and use, it has sacriced a depth of key press in order to allow the Series 9 to be as thin as it is. Some handy little touches are onboard though, such as function keys to enable/disable wireless, and conveniently turn keyboard backlighting on and off. Meanwhile, the generously sized trackpad was faultlessly responsive from end to end. One USB 2.0, one USB 3.0, a micro HDMI and a four-in-one card reader have been squeezed into the ultrabooks slender frame.
To the point
In many ways, the Series 9 is an improvement over its predecessor, which was already a superb notebook in its own right, and proved to be an ultra premium notebook we will not quickly forget. It retails for R14 999.
he 11.6" Series 7 Slate PC offers the best of both the tablet and notebook world, as it boasts a full Windows 7 operating system and the performance of an Intel second-generation Core i3 or i5 processor. It also offers a form factor that is portable, easily handheld or thus easy to physically pass to and share with ones colleagues. Importantly, business users can also run all their essential Windowsbased software and share documents with co-workers. Moreover, multiple inputs give users several options with regards to entering text: using an optional Bluetooth keyboard, writing on the screen using a digital pen, or entering text via the touch interface. The bright (400 nits) 11.6" HD LED Display, which boasts a resolution of 1366 x 768, is accompanied by a 64 GB solid state drive, which is considerably more storage space than offered by most tablets. The latter enables start up times to be measured in mere seconds, ensuring that the device is ready for business almost immediately. One USB 2.0 port, a microSD card slot and a micro HDMI port are also onboard. Additionally, a two megapixel integrated webcam caters for video conferencing. Of particular importance to mobile workers is the fact that the device offers a little more than six hours of battery life on a single charge, almost enough to get through a regular working day with continuous use. Additionally, at 860 grams almost half as light as the least hefty ultrabook the Series 7 Slate PC certainly wont weigh its users down; while its 12.5 mm thin prole further ensures its portability, making productivity possible, anywhere. It retails for R14 999.
The Series 7 Slate PCs 64 GB solid state drive is considerably more storage space than offered by most tablets.
Chief amongst the Chronos noteworthy features is excellent all-round performance thanks to impressive specifications.
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his is where the hardware and software of electronic research and development company, Netshield, comes in. With NVIROMON, IT managers can easily and effectively remotely monitor and manage the environmental-, power-, access- and re risk conditions within their companys IT computer room or other equipment areas. All Netshield manufactured products have a lifetime carry-in warranty, while outsourced products have a one year carry-in warranty.
With NVIROMON, IT managers can effectively remotely monitor and manage the environmental-, power-, access- and fire risk conditions within their companys IT computer room.
About Netshield
Since Pretoria-based Netshield, responsible for developing the NVIROMON, is an electronic research and development company, they are able to develop, manufacture and customise products to the specic needs of clients. For more on the NVIROMON product range, contact Netshield on 086-111-4428 or visit www.netshieldsa.com. 18
A
Both the wePresent 920 and the WiPG-1000 come with exciting features, enabling savvy presenters to make their presentations more productive and appealing.
winds wePresent WiPG-1000 (Wireless interactive Presentation Gateway) and wePresent 920 allows users to sever their wired connections by enabling wireless presentations. In addition, your companys presentations will be brought into the 21st century via these two devices numerous features such as split screen projection, HD video streaming and remote desktop accessibility.
To the point
Both the wePresent 920 and the WiPG-1000 come with exciting features, enabling savvy presenters to make their presentations more productive and appealing. The wePresent WiPG1000 goes for R4725 (incl. VAT), whilst the wePresent 920 is available for R5267 (incl. VAT).
In line with the ever increasing demand for more data utilisation, Telkom has announced a promotion oering three months free uncapped internet connectivity to residential customers and small to medium enterprises (SMEs).
ustomers signing up for a 24 month uncapped internet package in the do Uncapped residential product range and the TBiz Uncapped business product range, will receive three months free Uncapped Internet connectivity. This promotion delivers savings of up to R4 000 for residential customers and up to R10 000 for SMEs. In addition, new customers will receive free ADSL, landline installation and a free Wi-Fi modem.
Telkom had observed industry trends and analysed data usage patterns to develop an uncapped product that delivers a quality and sustainable service that ensures responsible, fair and balanced data consumption.
Benefits to SMEs
SMEs will not only enjoy the benefits of this promotion but also the recent price adjustments and speed upgrades on the TBiz Uncapped product range. As more sophisticated business applications such as collaborative email, document sharing and web-hosting or cloud storage tools become relevant to the SME, the demand for greater data volumes and the freedom to explore the internet unrestricted grows, explains Thami Magazi, managing executive at Telkoms SME Services. Our uncapped offerings offer small and medium businesses the ability to integrate high speed internet into their daily operations and ultimately boost their productivity and subsequently their profits, concluded Magazi. When launching uncapped last year, Telkom had observed industry trends and analysed data usage patterns to develop an uncapped product that delivers a quality and sustainable service that ensures responsible, fair and balanced data consumption. These promotions help make the uncapped product accessible to even more customers. All of Telkoms uncapped packages are subject to certain daytime speed restrictions outlined in Telkom Internets Acceptable Use Policy.
How to upgrade
Should you wish to customise a broadband solution to meet your business requirements, please contact Telkom on 10217. If you are an existing Telkom Broadband customer, your Broadband service can be migrated to any of the TBiz bundles. Should your current contract be older than 18 months and you sign up for a new 24 month contract, you will receive a new business router as part of the TBiz solution. 22
Telkom Business reveals greater value on its internet oerings with signicant price adjustments to their internet product portfolio.
SMEs can look forward to bandwidth increases on the entry-level ADSL offerings and up to 27% reduction in prices on the higher end usage offerings.
Pricing details
Telkoms shaped uncapped offerings have been re-priced as follows:
Usage Product Basic (1Mbps) Advanced (2Mbps) New Price R420 R895 Usage Product Premium (4Mbps) Premium+ (10Mbps) New Price R1 695 R3 295
Value and pricing on TBiz Uncapped Bundles have been adjusted as follows:
Usage Product Basic (1Mbps) Advanced (2Mbps) Premium (4Mbps) ADSL Up to 384kbps* Up to 1Mbps* 4 Mbps Usage 1 Mbps 2 Mbps Starter 10 Mbps VAS Starter Starter R2 359 Starter Old Price R595 R1 224 R1 995 R4 224 R3 495 New Price R595 R995
* To be upgraded automatically from 24 August 2012 to higher speeds. Prices include VAT, exclude business line rental. Usage products are subject to the Telkom Internet AUP. The Starter VAS package includes multiple email accounts, web-hosting and .co.za domain registration, and self-management tools.
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Going solo:
Four steps in using Facebook to empower your business.
Now more than ever, it is possible to turn a great idea or saleable skill into a successful business reality. Chris Anderson looks at how using Facebook eectively can help turn the tide for oneperson businesses.
mall, one-person operations have been dened by the limitations of real-world challenges such as location, nancing and marketing. Yet thanks to the far-widening inuence of social media platforms with their user-friendly interfaces, growing a successful small business has never been easier. A good online professional reputation goes a long way to elevating that one unique skill into a successful solo enterprise. Vital to this is understanding how to constructively use the tools available, together with the principles of basic marketing and common sense. Four simple, distinct ideas can initiate a strong online social media presence for any business or individual on Facebook the most elementary and widely used online social platform.
Retaining interest in a Facebook page comes down to interaction with your audience.
ANDO (www.zando.co.za), South Africas newest online fashion store is evidence of the online explosion that the South African market is experiencing at present. The website launched on the 23rd of January 2012, and since then this eCommerce domain is seeing 200 000 unique visitors a month. ZANDO is fast establishing its position as one of the leading eCommerce players in South Africa, and with more than 300 local and international brands and 8 000 styles featured online, its easy to see why. Peter Allerstorfer, MD of Zando, shares his experiences.
1. The customer should be the focus of your activities Listening and engaging is key in an online business. The radical increase in our offering is testament to the growth that we are experiencing and has been a direct result of listening to what our customers want. 2. Your staff is your asset In support to the growth of ZANDOs business, investing in human capital is a key focus for the business. Identifying and retaining talent is vital to the success of our company. 3. Be data driven and have attention to detail Paying attention to our customers needs directly affects what we sell. It allows us to offer the widest range, convenience, great service and fast delivery. As such, no decisions can be made without data. Access to data is essential for measurement, benchmarking and the bottom line. Its all about the details. 4. There are no shortcuts Hard work, long hours and dedication to your business are key factors when growing a company. There are no shortcuts to success. 5. Prioritise correctly and have razor-sharp focus In a start-up/new eCommerce company, there are thousands of things to do, so its all about prioritising. Create a short list of the top 50 things you need to get done on a daily basis and dont waste your time on things that are not important. This enables you to have razor-sharp focus. To find out more about ZANDO, visit the online store at www.zando.co.za or follow ZANDO on Facebook or on Twitter (@zando_co_za).
ocial media principles that apply to large corporates also apply to SMEs. When getting started, all businesses, no matter their size, need to bear in mind that social media is not a PR tool, it is an experience requiring businesses to create a home with unique content about the business.
Have a social media strategy in place that will effectively promote your brand. Dont automatically assume your business belongs on Facebook. Perhaps Twitter or MXit would provide a more meaningful conversation with your target audience. Develop your companys brand voice in accordance with its unique brand identity, marketing message and positioning. Social media must look off the cuff but be planned well ahead of time and regularly updated. Provide fans and followers with exclusivity to time-sensitive deals, offers, give-aways, events and rewards in creative ways. Be conversational and friendly to your audiences to stimulate dialogue and build a sound relationship. Measure the worth of your social media strategy. Analyse the activity on your Facebook page or Twitter profile every month understanding what kind of content resonates best with your audience.
The Donts Social media has become very much part and parcel of the business marketing mix, and like any other marketing tool available, you want to be able to derive the best possible value for your business. Donna Palinhos, head of content and community at NATIVE, SAs largest independent digital marketing agency, provides the dos and donts of social media.
Never ignore or simply delete queries and complaints. Answer all queries and deal with negative comments quickly and honestly. If the situation is difficult to contain within social media, try to take the conversation offline. Dont panic if your brand faces slander, negativity and complaint in your online communities. Have a plan in hand to deal with crisis situations. Forego the PR and sales-pitch speak. Ask questions that inspire response. Create thoughtful and engaging conversation with your communities. Dont take content without crediting its source. Make your presentation of content fresh, engaging and shareable. Dont spam fans and followers with a continuous stream of messaging. Dont use the same content on Facebook and Twitter. These are different platforms with different audiences, treat them as such. Dont ignore Facebook rules when it comes to the use of the cover image (not to be used as a promotional space or for competitions). The requirements of the Consumer Protection Act should also be adhered to.
26
oza Online (www.wozaonline.co.za) is a joint initiative started by Google, the Department of Trade and Industry, Vodacom and the Human Resources Development Council. The project aims to assist South African SMEs in creating their own websites, which can result in these companies experiencing a boost in turnover, as the rms are now able to market and possibly sell their wares and services to a new, much broader audience base.
What is required?
In order to set up a website, companies are only required to have an internet connection and Google account. They do not need to download any elaborate website creation software at all. By utilising the browser-based Google business sitebuilder tool, they will be able to create their website in the space of an hour or less. Once created, your rms new website will be automatically optimised for browsing via mobile phone, which is crucial within a country where mobile penetration is high. Besides the local Woza Online initiative, Google also launched similar programs within 27 other countries around the globe, ranging from the UK and France through to Brazil and Indonesia. Via these, the company has brought more than 400 000 businesses online over a two year period. Within Africa, this programme was launched in Kenya and Nigeria last year, and together with South Africas 25 000 rms, the initiative has already seen more than 80 000 African SMEs gaining an online presence.
Selling online:
What you should know about payment gateways
Selling goods online is a fantastic way for small businesses to reach a bigger market. But, says PayGate MD Peter Harvey, would-be online businesses need to become familiar with very dierent ways of being paid.
etting an online merchant account so that you can take credit card payments directly can be a very involved and expensive process and not everyone will qualify. Fortunately, you dont need a merchant account to trade online. There are alternatives available like UKash, FNB Cell PayPoint, PaySum1, Mpesa, SID (Secure Internet Deposit) and more. But how do you know which one is right for your business? A payment service provider (PSP) should be able to help business owners answer that question, says Harvey. PSPs specialise in making online payments happen they are the link between sellers, customers, their respective banks and card companies. One of the first things to look for in a PSP is whether theyre able and willing to guide you in making the right choices. Although you dont want to leave your choice of PSP up to your web developer, you do want to make life as easy as possible for them. Find a PSP that offers plugins for all the popular shopping cart applications your developer might want to use you dont want to have to develop anything from scratch, says Harvey. The relationship with the PSP needs to continue long past the web development stage however. Look for a PSP you can build a long-term relationship with. The costs of changing payment providers are high, especially if your business cant afford to be out of action for a few hours or days. Payment needs are likely to change as a business grows, notes Harvey. Dont get tied into a two-year contract with a high minimum monthly commitment or any two-year contract, in fact. A 30-day notice period should be the standard. Online commerce can be scary for first-timers, says Harvey, but many people have built very solid businesses online. If youre supplying any kind of niche product or service, selling online might be the only way to build a sustainable customer base. The secret is to find the right partners to help you make it happen. For more info on visit www.paygate.co.za.
PSPs specialise in making online payments happen they are the link between sellers, customers, their respective banks and card companies.
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hen one considers the popularity of smartphones, and the fact that NFC has been routinely integrated into most modern handsets, it is quite clear that both small and medium businesses will need to cater to consumers ever-present device: the smartphone. Explained simply, NFC technology enables its users to merely swipe their smartphone or NFC enabled device across a reader. With NFC, a mobile phone has to be enabled with an NFC chip and mated with an NFC reader to facilitate payments. The paying party, however, does not require a credit card to make a payment, only a bank account that has eWallet functionality.
In South Africa, it is the capital-intensive process of rolling out point of sales terminals that will be the big barrier to NFC adoption.
Time to prepare
South African businesses though, are in a unique, perhaps even enviable position, of having a fair bit of time to prepare for the inevitable, and get to grips with how the technology could affect and benet them. According to Tim Walter, executive head of marketing at Nashua Mobile, mainstream adoption of NFC may be as much as two to three years away. He added that in South Africa, it is the capital-intensive process of rolling out point of sales terminals by stores, hotels, restaurants, services rms and other merchants that will be the big barrier to adoption. Retailers and banks will need to see some clearly dened benets in security, convenience and cost-reduction before they adopt NFC in a big way. We will need to see big retail groups, mobile operators and banks cooperate closely to nurture an NFC ecosystem based on a sound business model that works for all of them and that could take some time, Walter elaborated.
Opportunity knocks
However, we may well see other applications for NFC-enabled phones come to the fore in the interim period. Indeed, NFC has a myriad of other uses that SMEs may well be interested in. For example, the technology can be used for applications such as electronic ticketing, loyalty programs and coupons, parking payment, buying goods from vending machines, paring devices to establish Bluetooth or WLAN connections, and more. How popular NFC will become for such applications depends on market penetration of enabled devices and the benets companies see in adopting it.
To the point
Even so, all this could offer SMEs across a range of industries a means of engaging with their customers, and leverage off the desire of people to utilise their smartphones in innovative and novel ways. This in itself could provide new opportunities for enterprising SMEs to integrate the technology into their sphere of business. 28
Top of mind amongst small and medium businesses alike, most particularly those just getting o the ground, is the often vexing question: what is the best way to raise money and secure funding? Ryan Noik investigates new trends emerging across the web.
eyond the traditional means, recently new options have emerged and are growing as both viable, and promising answers to that question in their own right. Both social lending and crowd funding enables individuals, non-profit organisations and entrepreneurs to sidestep banks and turn to alternative, online sources for investment in projects and ideas. With social lending, businesses and individuals are thus able to lend and borrow money at more competitive interest rates than they could get from the banks and without the excessive charges and fees.
Inarguable promise
Businesses that may be inclined to dismiss crowd funding as being relegated to creative types or entrepreneurs who have small scale projects in mind, need only look at the success of Ouya to dispel their disbelief. The Android console developer managed to raise in excess of $5.7 million (R46.5 million) in less than a month, from some 45 000 investors on Kickstarter (view the video: bit.ly/andouya). Additionally, crowd funding further opens a door for businesses that bring to market new, untested innovations, often frowned upon by banks when they consider the feasibility of granting a loan.
To the point
For SMEs, particularly of the start-up variety, above all else, crowd funding and social lending offer a ray of hope, and that is certainly nothing to be scoffed at. We hope to see a few local success stories soon. 30
Getting the technology in business right can be tricky. Your tech can either improve eciency and contribute to the bottom line or it can be a hidden drain on your resources. Tim James of Cape Town-based company, sustainableIT, is on hand with a few ways to save money by improving your IT practices. 1. Adopt tools that enable you to switch your PCs o when you arent using them
Poor PC management can be a signicant source of electricity waste. I often visit companies where staff leave their PCs turned on 24/7 because the IT department conducts security patching or maintenance tasks overnight. A simple, tech solution can enable wake-on-LAN technology that reduces PC energy (without interfering with their nocturnal security patching) and shut machines down when they arent required.
Servers are, on any given day, using energy to do useful work (e.g. the work employees do on a day to day basis) and housekeeping work (such as indexing checks or antivirus updates). Although the housekeeping work is necessary, it can waste energy. By forcing the server software into the lowest energy-using state while still running, you can cut your data centre energy use by 12% with no impact on performance
Mustek, the largest assembler and supplier of PCs in South Africa, is this year celebrating its 25th year of operation. As part of the celebrations TechSmart was recently given a tour of the companys world-class assembly plant in Midrand.
he plant plays host to a massive (2 530 m) assembly line that manufactures 400 computers per day on average. This can be boosted to 800 daily units, with Mustek producing 127 500 units in its last nancial year. An impressive feat considering that only 44 people are employed at the assembly line.
A proud history
Mustek established the line approximately 8 years ago, using it to assemble all products for the Mecer brand and provide a software imaging value add service to multinational brands. It is the largest semi-automated computer assembly line in South Africa and has the exibility to offer built-to-order units as well as customisation for pre-assembled ones. David Kan, CEO of Mustek, stated that the companys progression from a small start-up to a proudly South African listed company, was only made possible through hard work and client loyalty. We continue to address the changing requirements of the market and our customers. The days of the hardware box-drop are over, where we have evolved to taking ownership of the whole process, offering customisable business and lifestyle solutions. Kan concluded that Mustek remains committed to South Africa and its future. He said that one of the companys main focuses will be addressing the local IT skills shortage via training programmes and e-Learning initiatives.
Musteks progression from a small start-up to a proudly South African listed company was made possible through hard work and client loyalty.
The future
According to Hein Engelbrecht, managing director of Mustek, the company is already looking forward to the challenges ahead in the next 25 years. These include the consumerisation of IT, which Engelbrecht feels requires a novel approach that addresses the need for employees to use their personal mobile devices at work. Smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices are creating security and integration headaches in the workplace, making it more difficult to safeguard critical data. For many of our customers in the public and nancial sectors, the desktop remains an important tool for business, driving us to develop our technology and offer custom-built solutions, Engelbrecht concluded.
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