All IT departments, large and small, are under financial pressure.   Executives are asking for more from a frozen or reduced IT budget, at the same time as increasing pressure to embrace new technologies. So, the Head of IT is looking around to see what can be done to ease the pressure, both on and in […]

IT Infrastructure is critical to operations in many spheres nowadays.  The financial and commercial sectors, Government and parastatal organisations, and even home networking depend on a solid and reliable IT infrastructure.   IT Security is a key skill in all areas. Cyber Threats – the Current Landscape The scope, frequency and ferocity of cyber-attacks have increased […]

Over the last two years or so, many organisations have moved to the Cloud, often outsourcing the IT operations to a managed service provider (“MSP”).   The extent of the outsourcing will depend on the arrangements with the MSP, but will always involve two distinct elements, management of the local and remote IT Infrastructure: Full outsourcing […]

The Internet of Things. (“IoT”) Is one of the more exciting developments in the normally staid world of networking. It means different things to different people, but in essence, is the prospect of connecting everything digital to everything else digital. A digital representation of Jung’s collective subconscious perhaps. Gartner reckons that we saw over 21 […]

Most major network suppliers including Cisco and HP have taken up the concept of the Software-Defined Network (“SDN”), intending to move to a full-blown Intent-Based Network (“IBN”) in the future. Simply put, an SDN reduces the capital and operational costs of network infrastructure by automating the basic configuration and management of the network. This moves […]

Recently, WiFi has moved from large corporate environments to implementation of home networks for home and small business offices, domestic internet connections and other IP based applications such as home security and CCTV. Network designers need to keep some practical issues in mind when designing WiFi implementations. There are no real shortcuts to a good […]

Organisations are now so reliant on the Internet for the conduct of their business that it is no longer a question of “Do we need an Internet Connection” to “What is the best connection for us”.  Loss of an Internet Connection can have a serious effect on business performance, and in the case of online […]

Fibre optic networks are becoming the transmission medium of choice in today’s networks. The traditional copper-based cabling is on the way to not supporting the high-bandwidth requirements of multi-media sites. Coupled with its life span of about 10 to 15 years, many copper-based UTP installations are needing to be replaced or upgraded. A further motivator […]