With the explosive growth of social networking and social media, it should come as no surprise that the virtual environment has come into its own. South Africa is keeping up with global counterparts in the application of ubiquitous, intrusive technology to communicate.

The desire to be connected anytime, anywhere continues to drive application investment and integration both in business and for private users. Manufacturers and vendors of emerging technologies have intensified their focus on the convergence of these technologies and trends such as cloud computing and utility computing.

There is an understanding that people are drawn to the concept of unified communications and want to engage via these networks, they want access to information anytime and they want the opportunity to transfer files/ digitally interact in real-time over secure connections. That remains the central objective and primary pursuit of those eager to take on technology.

From a business point of view, decision makers are looking to new, smarter ways of acquiring and using technology. The need to do more with less is always there and as economic conditions remain volatile, businesses will leverage off the power of social media and cloud services to cut costs and reduce total cost of ownership.

There is massive power in using the social platform to communicate with the market, to advertise products and services to growing online communities. The Net is a major marketing tool and this resource has developed extensively over time. With greater access, affordable connectivity and increased bandwidth, the lure of the Internet as a business-building resource is a mainstay in the market.

The ICT market is gaining ground in eliminating misperception around cloud computing and its potential in commerce. There is greater understanding of the difference between public-and private clouds and why each is relevant and can add value to business.

Whether the cloud is being sought for hosting, for networking or for computing, the idea that infrastructure management can be handled and supported off-site, without minimising control, is attractive.

Today we see global impetus on the rollout of highly-functional, high performance mobile devices to live the digital lifestyle. We see corporate battles in the smartphone segment, competition for user attention and commitment amongst social networks,  as well as major players going toe-to-toe in the tablet PC market.

We have witnessed the growth of Android and software giants reviewing their operating system strategies to capitalise on more technologically aware consumers. Google Plus has arrived and has captured some interest and is seeking more.

Recent media reports spoke of the market gains of Samsung over Nokia, for example. Despite reports of lower sales of the iPad, Apples official results spoke of increased profit and market share.

There is every evidence to suggest that the new Amazon Kindle will continue to attract a great deal of attention.  It will be interesting to see how the on-going rivalry between this offering and Apple’s iPad will play out.

Businesses and individuals stand on the threshold of something major, a new era in the convergence of commercial application with individual prosperity.

There are those that love animals and then there are those people that go out of their way to truly show what it is to care for them. This is what PETS (Pet Empowerment in Townships) is all about; and this is also one facet of Shaun Rimer’s personality. For those of you that work closely with Shaun, you will be familiar with his enthusiasm for saving rescued animals or requesting a donation for the care of them. Many a time one will find an email from him with a lonesome, little fury face peering back at you, requesting a home or some food, or hear Shaun’s voice above the hum of the Sales Executives to demand that people give a donation and he will take photos to show how one has contributed to helping something else in need.

PETS is close to Shaun’s heart in that they too believe that every animal deserves a fighting chance. Their ethos is to work with the community to help improve the lives of disadvantaged, abused and abandoned animals in order to provide them with meals, warm shelter, inoculations, vet care and rehoming, should they require it. PETS is non-profit, pro-life, pro-active, and registered. It relies on its volunteers and supporters to provide it with time spent to help empower both its animals and organization.

Shaun Rimer became acquainted with PETS via an email sent in his social network. His friends are also avid animal lovers and thought that Shaun would be interested in this new organization that had cropped up, encouraging people to give of their time to the less fortunate four-legged friends of township areas. Shaun did contact them and does indeed volunteer of his time. From there, his relationship with PETS has grown. He can often be found going into townships to help local vets give medication to lost, abandoned or sick animals. He helps organize and encourage local communities to let their animals be spayed or neutered thus not perpetuating the cycle of neglected or unwanted strays. He encourages friends to donate food and gives of his earnings freely. This year, in preparation for winter, Shaun initiated a blanket drive. PETS did not ask for anything, it was Shaun that did all of the motivation.

Last year, Integr8 (driven once again by Shaun’s enthusiasm) donated blankets to Kitty/Puppy Haven, who were in desperate need of new ones. Shaun remembered this charitable contribution and approached the Integr8 Executives with the idea that PETS may also need new blankets seeing that they are currently in the process of building new kennels and would then, in turn, need blankets for the animals to sleep on as well as keep them warm. They agreed on the idea and 150 blankets were sent up to Integr8 Johannesburg for PETS to receive. Justine, a PETS representative, was on hand to receive them, and could not contain her excitement. She had no idea that so many were to be given to her and her car was overflowing with warmth. This warmth was to be given to our furry friends who, without Shaun Rimer, would be that little bit colder this winter. Asking Shaun on the result of the initiative, Shaun just smiles as if he doesn’t really want to brag, although he should be proud, but lifts his head with a secret smile and says, “I feel awesome!”

When one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in Europe, Tullow Oil, set their sights on Africa, the company recorded its largest ever discovery off Ghana’s shores. Uganda and Kenya followed suit. The result was a 56% exploration success rate with 9 discoveries out of 16 wells, allowing the African continent to become synonymous with Tullow Oil success.

Situation

Owing to the major global Microsoft Exchange challenges encountered by Tullow Oil, Integr8, one of leading and most reputable IT Infrastructure Management and Services company in Southern Africa, was contracted to design and configure an onsite lab which would restore the Microsoft Exchange databases. The creation of a separate off-network lab environment at Tullow Oil would allow the team to restore the databases from tape backups dating as far back as 5 years by using Symantec Backup, Exchange EDB, and PST Recovery. The outcome of the exercise would enable Tullow Oil to actively restore what was lost and convert to PST.

Solution

To deliver the required solution, Integr8 implemented an Active Directory and Exchange Lab environment that allows Tullow Oil to actively restore Exchange databases and convert them to PST files as a solution, in turn providing an Exchange Disaster Recovery and business continuity plan for the future.

The lab environment consisted of all the required servers, applications and services needed to ensure a seamless and effective restoration of the Exchange databases, simultaneously capitalizing on technologies and software already invested in by the business.

Delivering meaningful business solutions on time and within budget requires a verified approach and as result, the Microsoft Solutions Framework methodology was used. The outcome of this practice provides an adaptable framework for the efficient delivery of technology solutions at a faster rate, requiring fewer people and reducing potential risks. MSF helps teams to address the most common causes of ‘technology project failure’, and so improving success rates, solution quality, and the positive impact on the business.

Outcome

After the Exchange crash, Tullow Oil re-created the entire domain and changed the name. As a result of this action, the company experienced great difficulty in restoring the Microsoft Exchange mail stores previously backed up on the old domain structure.

Following Integr8’s task of setting up the environment and successfully managing to extract the required data, Tullow Oil realised that the initial plan would not be a viable option and thus changed the objective so that the newly restored environment could be replicated at Tullow’s premises, allowing their team to restore their mailboxes when required.

Integr8 took this in their stride and promptly setup a dummy domain and Microsoft Exchange environment to allow Tullow access to their archive mailboxes when required.

Tullow Oil described the experience as a professional one, from the initial meeting through to the administration and documentation stages to the technical delivery of the required result.

Established Cape-based wine estate, Vergelegen, has brought in the technical expertise of its managed ICT service provider partner, the Integr8 Group, to complete an overhaul of its server infrastructure. As a result, the wine estate will benefit from improved networking capacity, seamless connectivity with no need for investment in additional hardware investment and no disruption to operations.

Vergelegen Estate is based in Somerset West and boasts a 300-year-old legacy that has helped to establish the company as one of the country’s oldest and foremost wineries

With increasing business and pressure on infrastructure IT management, Vergelegen has decided to replace existing server infrastructure in order to upgrade its network capacity.

Integr8 was selected as the service provider of choice to manage and complete the project.

The company has ensured that skilled resources are available at all sites to assist with deployment, along with adequate hardware, software and network infrastructure.

This will involve the use of Symantec System Recovery in order to obtain a snapshot of the existing server and restored to the same hardware, if required. This strategy ensures that an exact replica of the original server is created.

Robert Sussman, joint CEO at Integr8, says the project is being rolled out to cover several key stages including existing server preparation, existing server recovery testing, server installation and a comprehensive Project Definition and Quality management process.

“Our company is working in close consultation with senior management at Vergelegen every step of the way on this large-scale project. The replacement of server infrastructure using Symantec and replica server infrastructure will ensure that all challenges are met and that all goals are achieved,” says Sussman.

The challenges referred to include new server hardware delivery and availability, financial approval and sign-off, availability of a third-party software vendor support agent for re-instillation.

Pieter DeNecker, CFO at Vergelegen Estate, said the company has enjoyed the output of its enhanced network capacity and level of operation, and that Integr8 is definitely the partner to go with on this project.

“We are very pleased to have Integr8 with us as our service provider partner. Their expertise and knowledge of the networking environment and how best to extract maximum value, is unrivaled in the market. We believe that the combination of our in-house IT skills and Integr8’s knowledge and experience represents a winning formula,” says DeNecker.

This month Graeme Clarke celebrates his 11 year anniversary with Integr8, a Technical Manager described by the group’s operations manager as someone who “works ‘smarter’ than any engineer I have ever worked with at Integr8, this is a man who manages tasks faster and smoother than anyone before him.” It is no wonder when employment strategies at Integr8 are based on the principle of employing the very best minds in the industry.

According to Graeme, significant emphasis is placed on teamwork at Integr8, “If you are ever stuck with a problem, you can pick up the phone and know that someone will point you in the right direction. Always one to look for improvement, and never happy to do the same job over again without finding some way to reduce the time of implementation, Graeme has become a major asset to the business.

Overseeing up to 110 client sites, Graeme’s greatest lesson has been patience and forward planning, “I have come to expect the unexpected, things don’t always go according to ‘Plan A’, therefore one needs to have a back-up plan up your sleeve.” Compliments have been many and complaints few throughout his 11 years with the group, “It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with Graeme for over a decade, and we thank him for raising the bar so high for the rest of us.” says Joint-CEO Lance Fanaroff. Graeme draws his inspiration from joint-CEOs Robert Sussman and Lance Fanaroff owing to their insatiable hunger for success. Integr8’s operations manager explains, “I doubt Graeme has spent more than 10 minutes on any forma studies since joining Integr8, but has graduated Cum Laude from the University of Life in the way he has quietly and efficiently gone about his work”.

Written by Lauren Booth

This week, theUK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has called for clearer legal definitions of ‘personal data’ if it is to carry out its mandate of enforcing the contentious Data Protection Act (DPA). “Sometimes it’s good to know that we are not alone,” says Robert Sussman, joint CEO at the Integr8 Group. “We have also seen the European Council of Ministers fumble over their definitions of net neutrality and how the Internet should be governed to ensure fair and equitable access.”

For Sussman, these two international stories highlight the fact that the South African ICT ecosystem is not so different from any others in the world. The fundamental disconnect between political bureaucrats and the industry which provides ICT services is not peculiar toSouth Africa.

Lack of cohesion

“The recent local storm over the definition of broadband and how the Advertising Standards Authority has decided it should be described, has proved once again that what lies at the heart ofSouth Africa’s delivery problem is the lack of a cohesive, unambiguous national ICT policy,” he adds.

“However, the problem goes deeper than the DoC’s inability to get its ducks in a row. At the moment, there is no clear ownership of ICT. There are a wealth of initiatives aimed at ‘bridging the digital divide’. Some rest within the Department of Communications, some with Trade and Industry, some even with the Department of Education and Science and Technology.

“What is urgently needed is for one entity to stand up and take ownership and therefore responsibility. This role should fall within the office of the Presidency. It should be ruthless and it should happen immediately and it should start with a thorough audit of all the ICT initiatives supported by government.”

Sussman believes that only once South Africahas a clear picture of all the projects, will it be able to prioritise, assign resources and, most importantly, define objectives and measurements of success.

“The result would be less obscurity, a significant reduction in tender irregularity and greater delivery. One of the main reasons why delivery fails is that the devil is in the detail. We need clear definitions of terms, clarity in our laws and certainty around who is responsible for enforcing them. And while it is comforting to know we are not the only country struggling with this, it does not excuse the perpetuation of a flawed system and the lack of political will to find a solution,” he concludes