End of the road for Server 2003
In less than a week, Microsoft will stop supporting Windows Server 2003 – and a huge majority of companies using the operating system haven’t even begun migrating their systems. The risks to organisations will increase after next Wednesday when Microsoft stops issuing...
SA universities drop in rankings
South African universities have failed to gain a place in the QS University Ranking for BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries. The ranking compares the top 400 institutions in the five major emerging national economies. The ranking was published shortly after the Chinese Parliament ratified the creation of the BRICS Development Bank. The agreement had already been ratified in India and Russia. The New Development Bank, also known as the BRICS Bank, will finance infrastructure and development projects in BRICS countries, which are likely to include higher education related investments to further increase the global competitiveness of these economies.
SA workers go mobile
More than 95% of employees in South African companies rely on the use of mobile devices to do business. This is according to research by Dell into the use of mobile devices by South African businesses, carried out in association with Microsoft, which surveyed IT professionals from companies with more than 250 employees.
Consumer confidence plummets
Social unrest, political turmoil, frequent power outages and other economic headwinds have all combined to bring South African consumer sentiment to a 14,5-year low. Results from the 2Q2015 FNB/BER Consumer Confidence Survey show that consumer sentiment booked its largest drop since 2008 to reach a level of -15 in the second quarter. Consumer confidence had already declined from zero to -4 index points during the first quarter of 2015. The latest index number is not only far lower than the lowest reading recorded during the 2008/09 financial crisis and recession (-6), but it is also only the second time since South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994 that the CCI has dropped below -12 index points.
