Leveraging technology to drive increased visibility across organisational supply chains is key to improving the customer experience.

“Our customers are looking for a partner that is able to manage their entire technology stack and support them on their digital transformation journey by continually investing in innovative technologies that supports their organisational goals,” explains Vanessa Schonborn, Executive Head of Transport and Logistics at Vodacom Business. “We understand the unique challenges within the transport and logistics sector. Therefore, we’re best placed to deliver tailored offerings that simplify and consolidate IT processes on world class digital platforms, making operations more efficient and less complex.”

In October, we celebrate government’s 17th annual Transport Month, established to highlight how the sector contributes to South Africa’s economic growth.

Working closely with hundreds of organisations in transport and logistics, Vodacom Business believes the key to driving success lies in embracing and accelerating digital transformation for a competitive edge and greater operating efficiency.

Supporting an IT transformation journey

A case study of success on the digital transformation front, one of South Africa’s largest multinational groups in the transport and logistics sectors turned to Vodacom Business in 2009 to begin their digital transformation journey.

“Initially, the solutions Vodacom provided to this client included IT infrastructure in our accredited datacentre estate, and high-capacity connectivity, superior security, and a centralised point of contact across their locations,” explains Schonborn. Importantly, Vodacom Business delivered network stability and excellent service levels to ensure business continuity and increase opportunities for further IT transformation.

Clients like this who partner with Vodacom Business realise cost savings thanks to the greater efficiencies that the scalable solutions deliver. It gives transport and logistics service provider’s greater visibility of and insight into their operations within a centralised IT environment, enabling them to dedicate resources to their core business rather than investing in IT as a capital expense.

From IT services provider to technology partner

As organisations in this sector continue to grow, develop, and digitise, Vodacom Business has kept pace with their modernisation demands through its own evolvement into an innovative technology solutions provider.

“More recent IT solutions adopted by many of our customers include cloud back-up, storage and security, dedicated hosting for SAP HANA including Basis services, and high-speed SD-WAN network offering robust, always-on connectivity for our customers,” notes Schonborn.

“For over a decade, Vodacom has provided more than just IT and communications services to our clients; we’ve become their trusted strategic business partner,” she adds.

Connecting for a better a future

Like other industries, the future of transportation and logistics is set to become increasingly digital.

This offers greater opportunities for collaboration between transport and logistics service providers and Vodacom Business to develop new ways of doing business, using the Internet of Things, blockchain technology, and artificial intelligence, for example, in a global market.

“What remains key to the sustainable relationship between Vodacom Business and our transport and logistics clients is that we are led by a similar purpose – to connect people and improve lives through access to our services,” concludes Schonborn. “Looking ahead, we hope to leverage our shared capabilities to create a connected ecosystem and establish strong partnerships, such as in financial and health services, that can help build a better future for all of our customers.”

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This collaboration builds on Vodacom’s nationwide connectivity, already powering Sensor Networks’ smart devices in homes across the country.

By combining Sensor Networks’ innovation in smart appliance technology with Ariston’s global expertise in water heating, the partnership enables intelligent control of one of the most energy-intensive appliances in the home: the geyser.

“Geyser technology is evolving to meet the energy challenges South African households face. With a connected controller installed on the geyser, homeowners can manage hot water heating directly from their smartphone: switching it on or off, adjusting temperatures, and setting advanced schedules with multiple time and temperature blocks throughout the day,” says Mark Allewell, founder and CEO at Sensor Networks. 

“This level of control not only supports solar integration and energy efficiency, but also positions households to benefit from time-of-use tariffs as they’re introduced in future, reducing costs and easing demand on the national grid”.

Through an installed fleet of over 12 000 smart geysers with Sensor Networks technology, average data indicates that large households are saving on average over R400 per month in electricity costs. This equates to approximately 50,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity saved each day – roughly 1,500 megawatt-hours (MWh) per month and over 18 gigawatt-hours (GWh) per year.

At an average electricity price of R3 per kilowatt-hour, these savings translate into nearly R55 million a year in reduced energy costs for consumers.

Sensor Networks, South Africa’s leading manufacturer of connected geyser devices and home energy management solutions, first partnered with Ariston, one of the world’s largest geyser manufacturers, to distribute select Ariston geysers bundled with Sensor Networks’ smart technology through major retailers across South Africa.

The partnership has now formally expanded to include Vodacom Business, a long-standing connectivity partner to Sensor Networks.

Leveraging their Global Data Service Platform (GDPS) connectivity and extensive network infrastructure, Vodacom Business provides the secure, scalable backbone required to ensure uninterrupted access to smart geysers – whether installed inside ceiling cavities, behind walls, or in remote areas.

As Sensor Networks prepares to roll out its energy management platform across the African continent, Vodacom’s network scale and reliability will be critical to delivering seamless, continent-wide control and connectivity.

“While alternatives like solar and gas geysers can be expensive and take years to pay off, connected geyser technology offers a more accessible and immediate way for households to cut energy costs,” says Wayne Vertue, country manager at Ariston SA. “With full control via smartphone – scheduling, temperature settings, and remote switching – South Africans can start saving from day one.”

Malcolm Subramony , Executive Head of Department, IoT Connectivity at Vodacom Business, adds:

“If this technology were adopted at scale across the country, the impact could be enormous. It would take real pressure off the grid, and do so at a fraction of the cost of building new power infrastructure. This is a proven, home-grown solution that delivers results.”

In South Africa, geysers are not only among the highest consumers of household electricity – they’re also one of the most frequent sources of insurance claims, often resulting in costly water damage.

Connected geyser technology addresses both challenges.

Proven through years of deployment with leading insurers, Sensor Networks’ solution detects early signs of failure – such as leaks, pressure build-up, or overheating – and automatically shuts the geyser down before damage occurs.

This reduces claims, lowers insurer payouts, and improves customer experience. As part of this broader role, Sensor Networks will be rolling out additional sensors through its energy management platform to fully automate and optimise energy use across the home.

“The rapid rollout of home energy management technology offers a practical, scalable solution to South Africa’s energy demands,” concluded Subramony. “By giving households real control over how and when they consume electricity, platforms like Sensor Networks are helping to stabilise the grid, reduce pressure during peak times, and bridge the gap while broader structural reforms take effect.”

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With this rise in digital transformation, we’ve witnessed a blurring of the traditional online perimeters needing to be secured. As CrowdStrike notes, today, a company’s network can be on-site, in the cloud, or a hybrid of both, with resources and staff spread across locations. This presents a cybersecurity challenge, giving way to a dramatic increase in exploits.

Suddenly, “once-in-a-decade” breaches of the past are now happening monthly, with a laundry list of companies falling victim.

This proliferation of cyber-attacks has catapulted the zero-trust security framework into the limelight. Zero trust is no longer a security aspiration: today, it’s a security mandate, in which all users are vetted each time they request access to a company’s online assets.

As Netskope notes, zero-trust models “support the implementation of ‘least privilege access’, which is designed to selectively grant access to only the resources that users require, nothing more”.

It’s a critical part of privileged access management (PAM), as gaining entry at a privileged level is every hacker’s ultimate goal. In 2022, the number of successful attacks will rise, making a zero-trust PAM framework crucial. This cybersecurity trend will be prominent in 2022, alongside five other trends

Trend 1: More pervasive triple-threat ransomware

2021 saw record-breaking amounts for ransomware pay-outs. For example, a US insurance company paid a $40 million ransom in March – $10 million more than the largest attempted demand in 2020, says ZDNet. It’s not only the dizzying amounts that are worrying.

Ransomware is evolving, so organisations should expect more personalised or targeted attacks that, increasingly, involve different assets, like Internet of Things devices. The latest evolution, as Check Point Research explains, is the ‘Triple Extortion’ ransomware attack.

Building upon the previous ‘Double Extortion’ tactic of stealing sensitive data from an organisation and demanding payment to prevent it from being released publicly, criminals are simultaneously targeting the organisation’s clients and/or business partners, squeezing them for an additional ransom.

Trend 2: Higher cybersecurity standards for insured businesses

Cybersecurity insurance has become increasingly accepted as a part of enterprise risk management. In South Africa, dozens of well-known providers, from Chubb to King Price, offer it. However, many insurers’ models have been jeopardised by extortionate ransomware demands and the far-reaching financial fallout of recent security breaches.

Subsequently, many have hiked their rates, with some exiting the cybersecurity market altogether – both will lead to a tsunami of insurance cancellations in 2022, with businesses scrambling to find new coverage, albeit at higher rates.

To ensure continued coverage with providers offering the best rates, businesses will need to demonstrate that they meet the strict security measures that insurers are now demanding.

Trend 3: Strengthening of cybersecurity culture across businesses

More companies are seeing the value in creating a solid cybersecurity culture, which is heartening, as this wasn’t always a focus.

Historically, enterprises were spending millions on security solutions that protected their hardware and software, while neglecting the simple act of educating employees around security.

Most breaches boil down to human error – 95% of them said a 2014 IBM study, while a 2020 Verizon report found 85% of breaches included a ‘human element’.

Human errors cover behaviours that can inadvertently (sometimes deliberately if it’s an insider threat), leave the door open to malicious external hackers. The IBM report highlighted a few examples, including staff losing company devices or using weak passwords, with the most prevalent error being “double clicking on an infected attachment or unsafe URL”.

To create a cybersecurity culture, companies must create a “living” set of security standards that can be updated and shared regularly. Adoption of this culture has been slow as it’s hard to measure and therefore difficult to justify the expense.

However, teaching staff to recognise threats, curbing poor security behaviour, and following basic security habits can turn into an investment, as you’ll see a marked drop in attacks.

Trend 4: Small and big businesses equally targeted

Many small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) struggle with what to prioritise: their need for cybersecurity versus their reliance on cutting-edge tech that enables innovation and affordably opens doors to geographically diverse markets.

The problem is that SMBs face the exact same threat landscape that big businesses face, though often with less resources. Even though SMBs may appear a less lucrative target than larger corporations, they’re still at the mercy of cybercrime – in fact, Verizon’s 2020 report found that 43% of cyber-attacks are targeted at small businesses.

Another international survey notes that 60% of SMBs will close their doors within six months of a breach, unable to deal with the crippling financial fallout from such an attack. It’s essential for SMBs to reprioritise budget spend on tightening security measures and focus on staff security awareness.

Trend 5: Growing cybersecurity skills gap

Cybersecurity jobs are in high demand with competitive salaries, plus, as the World Economic Forum (WEF) mentions, “cybersecurity professionals protect the digital world from cybercrime much the same way that police officers protect neighbourhoods.”

These are jobs with purpose that can be truly rewarding. The latest figure around the skills gap is a massive 3.12 million. This is the number of jobs available to cybersecurity professionals! Without an urgent drive to increase existing staff reskilling and include cybersecurity curricula within schools and universities, this gap will widen, leaving businesses at risk.

The WEF offers free cybersecurity training online to upskill people for 10 crucial roles: network security engineer, threat intelligence analyst, security operations engineer, application security engineer, cybersecurity architect, cybersecurity risk manager, cloud security engineer, security awareness specialist, technical project manager, and cybersecurity compliance analyst. These are the cybersecurity jobs in demand.

What’s the red thread that connects these five trends? The fact that no one is immune to cybercrime. Private individuals and businesses, and government agencies must prioritise cybersecurity education and invest in layered cybersecurity solutions from trusted providers, like Vodacom Business, to ensure they stay safe online.

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