Talent is in the eye of the customer
By Barry Buck - A former Microsoft Azure engineer recently published a six-part essay series lamenting how Azure never lived up to its potential. Rushed to market in 2008, perpetually on life support, plagued by a talent exodus and architectural drift – his words, not...
AI adoption will depend on skills, governance, execution – not just technology
As artificial intelligence (AI) moves from experimentation to everyday business use, South African organisations are discovering that success depends far less on sophisticated algorithms than on skills, oversight and operational discipline. While AI tools have become...
Agricultural innovation can buffer global shocks from the Iran war
The war in the Persian Gulf is already being felt far beyond the region, reflected in rising fertilizer prices in rural India and in the shifting planting decisions of farmers across Africa and well beyond. By Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General of the International...
AI is not expensive. Uncontrolled AI is
There is a pattern I keep seeing in boardrooms and project meetings. The question is framed as, “How much will AI cost us?” The better question is, “What will happen if we do not control how we use it?” By Karl Fischer, chief technology officer of Obsidian Systems AI...
From game theory to game shows
By Barry Buck (with Claude) - Somewhere along the line, tech companies became wartime targets. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards published a list of 18 US tech firms – Apple, Google, Meta, Nvidia, Palantir – and threatened to destroy their “relevant units” if more Iranian...
Business AI in 2026: execution, not experimentation, will define success
By 2026, artificial intelligence will no longer be judged by its promise, but by its impact, writes Nazia Pillay, MD of SAP. For much of the past decade, AI has lived in labs, pilots and PowerPoint decks. The next phase is different. AI is moving into the operational...
Integrated agritech enables modern, resilient nursery operations
Imagine a commercial nursery reducing fertiliser use by 75% while improving growth rates and enabling remote management. Across Africa, nurseries and commercial growers face rising input costs, unreliable power and water supply, climate volatility, and skills...
Early warning of baggage disruptions with predictive baggage analytics
Airlines, airports, and ground handlers can now identify baggage disruptions, such as missed connections, mishandled bags, or operational bottlenecks, earlier using predictive insights. SITA has launched SITA Bag Radar, a cloud-based baggage analytics solution that...
AI, ESG and the rethink of corporate reporting
Corporate reporting underpins transparency, investor protection and market trust. It provides stakeholders with reliable data on performance, risk and governance. By Marcella Cave, head of client service.at Bastion Group The higher the quality of reporting, the more...
SA Innovation Week 2026 sets benchmark for deal-driven innovation and ecosystem alignment
South Africa’s inaugural SA Innovation Week 2026 (SAIW’26) has concluded, marking a significant step toward transforming innovation into real economic growth, strategic partnerships, and scalable businesses. Held from 16 to 20 March 2026, the programme combined...
Vibe coders are like doctors
By Barry Buck - Apple quietly blocked updates for popular vibe coding apps like Replit this week, locking the peasants out of the walled garden. The king doesn’t want commoners building apps on apps installed from his kingdom – which makes you wonder why they bothered...
What investing in AI infrastructure means for the future of tech
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a central driver of today’s digital economy. By Amritesh Anand, vice-president and MD: Technology Services Group at In2IT Technologies Behind the impressive breakthroughs in generative AI, natural language processing, and...