Clean and trustworthy data is essential to building a digitally enabled and intelligent company, with business leaders shifting their focus from technology procurement to achieving business outcomes from technology investments.
This is according to executives from BCX, Telkom Business and Openserve, who hosted channel partners, industry specialists and customers at the Telkom Group Experience Day 2026 at the group's Centurion headquarters this week.
The companies set up a technology demonstration area showcasing industry pods with solution applications across mining, healthcare, financial services, retail, education and petroleum.
According to the executives, companies are under pressure to manage rising costs, fragmented systems, infrastructure constraints and growing customer expectations. Despite significant investment in digital transformation, many still struggle to translate technology and data into faster decision-making and measurable operational improvements.
Hasnain Motlekar, acting CEO of BCX, said buying technology is easy, but the real value lies in how it is deployed and used.
"We are seeing a shift from digital transformation as a technology agenda to intelligence as a business capability," said Motlekar. "The technologies demonstrated across the industry pods showed how this becomes practical. In mining, for example, the first-of-its-kind mesh connectivity solution in South Africa can extend reliable coverage across complex operational environments, allowing data to move between connected equipment, systems and teams. This creates greater visibility and operational awareness, supporting better decisions, improved safety and stronger resilience."
Companies that can turn information into action will be better positioned to create lasting value, he continued. AI, data platforms, automation, cloud computing, cyber security and next-generation connectivity can be applied together to help companies interpret information and respond more effectively, he added.
Infrastructure emerged as a critical part of the discussion. As businesses become increasingly dependent on data and connected systems, resilient and secure infrastructure is central to operational continuity and the effective use of digital services.
Dr Sunil Piyarlall, executive for network architecture and modelling at Openserve, said infrastructure must enable companies to operate reliably and respond in real-time.
"Infrastructure is no longer only about access," said Piyarlall. "When networks are resilient, secure and built for scale, organisations can move data with confidence, support critical systems and respond in real-time. Infrastructure becomes part of how a business manages risk, serves customers, enables innovation and creates long-term value."
The discussions pointed to a broader market shift: technology access alone does not create a competitive advantage. The determining factor is whether companies can apply technology effectively to solve operational problems, improve performance and adapt to change.
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