ICT is immensely important to all businesses around the world – and yet the people who work in ICT do not have professional status. Ulandi Exner, director and vice-president of the Institute of IT Professionals SA, points out that the ICT industry has evolved significantly, to the point where it is worth R109-billion this year – and is still growing. Kathy Gibson reports from the IDC CIO Summit in Sandton.
CA Southern Africa has released the results of a global study which reveals that mobile and desktop applications have become the new battleground for brand loyalty. In today’s software-driven world, where consumers are more discerning about what they expect from applications, the reality is that businesses that fail to deliver a positive application experience risk losing as much as a quarter of their customer base.
Telkom will proceed with the automatic transfer of staff from its call centre, supply chain and IT environments to new employers on 31 March, after unions failed to secure a majority consensus on an additional offer from the company. Persistent industrial action in the form of “go-slows” at Telkom’s call centres also escalated this weekend, with incidents of staff intimidation and walk-outs reported.
TAG Heuer, Google and Intel are partnering to produce a Swiss smartwatch powered by Intel technology and Android Wear. Together, these companies will create a product that is both luxurious and seamlessly connected to its wearer’s daily life. The product will merge the innovation, creativity and design of Silicon Valley with that of the Watch Valley in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) acquired images of the lunar surface before and after the largest recorded explosion occurred on the surface. On 17 March, 2013, an object the size of a small boulder hit the surface in Mare Imbrium and exploded in a flash of light nearly 10 times as bright as anything ever recorded before. This bright flash was recorded by researchers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre in Huntsville.