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Starting at the foundation: why a good server infrastructure is needed for cloud

Attributed to Kamal Ravjee.


Johannesburg, 02 Feb 2015
Kamal Ravjee.
Kamal Ravjee.

Africa's IT landscape has changed dramatically in the last decade, mainly thanks to the proliferation of the smartphone. Currently, mobile penetration in SA is close to 100%, and about a third of these are smartphones.

Research firm Frost & Sullivan predicts that sub-Saharan Africa will experience the fastest growth in mobile usage globally. By 2016, the expectation is 160 million mobile broadband connections, which quadruples the 2012 stats.

Finding ways of adapting to this increasing mobility and using it as an engine for growth has become a high priority for most organisations. Business intelligence will play a big part in creating effective mobile strategies as companies engage in real-time data analytics of mobile data.

With phones and tablets featuring less storage capability than larger devices like laptops and computers, the rise of mobile devices is one of the factors that has contributed to the growth of the cloud. In such an environment, there is the temptation to understate the importance of hardware, but this is a dangerous misperception for enterprises.

As consumers are able to access greater amounts of information faster and more easily, their expectations have risen around speed, accessibility and convenience. Businesses need to be able to handle higher workloads of data to deliver fast response times and enable customer satisfaction at the user level.

More than ever, infrastructure matters, as it provides the foundational capacity through which companies gain insight, enable omni-channel strategies and deliver greater value to their customers.

Current IT systems may not be able to handle the increased processing demands mobility will place on them. Companies need to begin investing in mainframes capable of handling high transaction volumes of data.

Business Connexion has always worked with vendors and suppliers that align with our strategy to enable customer engagement and drive business growth for our clients. As the world's leading provider of cutting-edge processing power, IBM is a natural partner of choice for us in implementing infrastructure that address the rise of the mobile generation.

As smartphones and tablets become even more of a presence in people's lives, infrastructure will have to demonstrate even more outstanding processing power. IBM z13, the next generation of IBM's z Systems series of mainframes offer industry-leading performance and has been designed specifically to fulfil the transactional prerequisites businesses will need when interacting with the mobile generation.

IBM z13 functions as a fully-integrated transaction engine with sophisticated analytical capabilities. Not only will businesses enjoy faster response times and security, the infrastructure includes an in-transaction portfolio of analytics tooling technologies, mega memory and intelligent I/O capabilities.

The days in which server infrastructure had nothing to do with value creation are over. It's a whole new world out there - one in which infrastructure works hand in hand with software solutions to solve new technological challenges and deliver smarter solutions.

To learn how your business can use its infrastructure to drive its cloud and data analytics strategies, register for our event taking place on 12 March in Johannesburg and 17 March in Cape Town. More info here: Intelligence in the Moment Event.

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Business Connexion

BCX is one of the largest information and communications technology ("ICT") services providers listed on the JSE when measured in terms of turnover, total assets and staff complement with offices in South Africa, Namibia, Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, Botswana, the United Kingdom and Dubai. The company employs more than 6 800 people on the African continent and generates revenue in excess of R6 billion per annum.

As the largest IT outsourcer, BCX holds a strong position in the enterprise market across key industry verticals and enjoys a substantial presence in the retail sector locally. On the continent, BCX has successfully delivered large-scale projects and is one of the leading cloud-based services providers with significant data centres assets. The company also boasts strong strategic vendor relationships, application development capabilities and proprietary solutions which are leveraged in the public sector locally and abroad.

Since March 2014, BCX is undergoing a reorganisation process that will accelerate its positioning as a global player able to support client ambitions in SA and across Africa. The new customer-focused approach to continuous improvement for quality and excellence will see the current business units clustered into three divisions to improve collaboration ? Converged Infrastructure Solutions, Business Solutions, and Investments and Alliances.

Editorial contacts

Zinhle Modiselle
Business Connexion
(+27) 011 266 5072
Zinhle.Modiselle@bcx.co.za