The numerous security breaches involving personal data have only served to raise the level of distrust that citizens harbour towards businesses and the public sector at large. It is therefore essential for government organisations to avoid security lapses and mitigate these risks by putting in place checkpoints such as Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions. IAM solutions are pivotal in addressing security concerns, ensuring that citizen data is secure and used solely for legitimate purposes by authorised individuals.

Increasingly, the continuing health and wealth of organisations in the retail space is reliant on big data. There is a pressing need to not just analyse the information, but to appropriately leverage the wealth of business intelligence in order to manage customer expectations. This can be done by effectively extracting value from the information available and transforming this big data into big value.

The long, summer days ahead provide opportunities to revive ourselves, as also to review progress. We have made significant investments in our organisational focus of delivering Agile processes including leaner structures, empowered teams and faster decision-making – all with the intent of delivering faster and enhanced value to our customers.

We are living in the age of the customer and not the seller, where the customer controls the majority of the front end sales process. This is a paradigm shift in the process, as the seller is no longer conducting a sales process. Rather, he facilitates a buying process. By incorporating a digital technology strategy that includes a compelling customer relationship management plan, businesses can achieve insights that promote a robust sales strategy.

It was a defining moment for those present when Nobel Prize winner and former South African President FW de Klerk elaborated on the importance for businesses in managing change. He enthralled a packed audience across the retail, government and financial services sectors with his commentary on the historic change process that reformed his nation, and its relevance to companies that are in the midst of transition today.

We’ve come a long way from the days of trading cattle for grain, haven’t we? Moving on from the barter system, we graduated to exchanging notes and coins, and now, to biometrics for digital payments. Payment verification technologies are expected to make quantum leaps in technology every decade. So, the day of the sci-fi sounding human wallet dawning upon us doesn’t seem very far.