IT News Africa: Top Stories of the Week

September has come and gone and we now welcome the warm embrace of October 2014. This week in tech has once again been an extremely busy one. Gracing the headlines this week we saw Safaricom slash its rates by up to 60 percent for customers roaming inside of Kenya and Rwanda.

Also making the headlines this week was South African born Mark Shuttleworth. Shuttleworth revealed that he has finally won his long fought battle against the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb). Microsoft’s leading man Mteto Nyati also made waves this week. The former Microsoft front-man has now made a move to the MTN Group.

While the news of Nyati moving over to MTN is still a hot topic, Microsoft revealed Windows 10 this week. The team at IT News Africa hopes you have a fantastic weekend. Feel free to check out the top stories gracing the headlines this week below:

News

Shuttleworth wins R250m court battle against Sarb
Mark Shuttleworth, a South African born IT Billionaire, has won his long standing court battle against the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb). Shuttleworth has been awarded R250m by the court of appeal. Read More.

African marketers sign up for workshop on corporate campaigns
From 28 to 29 October 2014, marketing executives can take advantage of the Measuring the ROI of corporate online campaigns seminar, which will be held at The Gordon Institute of Business Science – located in Johannesburg. Read More.

Mteto Nyati makes a move to MTN
MTN Group has appointed Mteto Nyati as Group Chief Enterprise Officer, effective 1 October. Nyati joins MTN from Microsoft, where he was General Manager for Middle East and Africa (MEA) Emerging Regions. In this role, he developed and implemented growth strategies for markets within the region. Prior to that, he was the Managing Director of Microsoft South Africa for six years. Read More.

Microsoft reveals Windows 10
Microsoft has opened the curtains on Windows 10. IT News Africa was given a Technical Preview of Microsoft’s upcoming Windows operating system, which revealed that Windows 10 will be designed for business as well as consumers and includes an updated user experience. Microsoft also revealed that Windows 10 will offer enhanced security and management capabilities. Read More.

African Telecom CEOs dominate 2014 GTB Power 100 list
The Global Telecoms Business Power 100 list for 2014 has been revealed. While many countries took the stage, African telecom CEOs took up four positions. Each CEO has moved up the rankings over the past few years. This showcases that Africa has moved from strength to strength when it comes to the Global Telecom market. Read More.

Safaricom slashes Kenya & Rwanda roaming rates
Safaricom has slashed its call and roaming rates between Kenya and Rwanda. The rate cut has already been implemented and will allow its customers visiting Rwanda to receive up to 60 percent discount. Read More.

Internet to contribute $300bn to African GDP by 2025
Dr. Omobola Johnson, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications Technology, has revealed that research has shown that the Internet can contribute up to USD $300bn to Africa’s GDP by 2025. Read More.

RingCredible app slashes African calls by 50%
Due to ease of use, a clear proposition and unbeatable rates, phone app RingCredible is rapidly conquering the international call market. After the earlier acquisition in May in Hong Kong of Yeloworld, RingCredible has now acquired African Jabbaworld. Read More.

Opinions

Web exploits threaten businesses
The Web is still the greatest attack surface and largest entry point for malicious code. These attacks usually happen via drive-by downloads, which see malware being downloaded and executed without the user even realising. Read More.

IT: Welcome to the Disruptive Era
Few could argue that IT is undergoing massive change. More so, than perhaps any other sector or industry – and those that are changing, are being pushed to do so by game-changing technology. New innovations, tools and platforms have disrupted the status quo, along with dynamic and fearless new players who have altered the way both businesses and consumers view IT. The change is daunting for some, and exciting for others, as pioneers break ground and latecomers struggle to remain relevant. Read More.

Top Feature

The market of tablets now looking towards Africa
In 2013, the global market of tablets experienced a slight slowdown. Previously, this market showed spectacular growth these last few years. The analysts now fear that the stagnation will come due to a saturated market in developed countries; therefore, manufacturers are going to face an important evolution of the market in 2014, in particular through the transition towards emerging markets and especially Africa. Our focus is on this new landscape with the example of MySimax, a startup company, looking at the delivery of tablets and application for the emerging markets in Africa. Read More.

Gadgets and Gaming

PlayStation Plus Free Game Lineup October 2014
The PlayStation Plus Free Game Lineup for September 2014 was rather stellar. We received titles like PlayStation Allstars Battle Royale, Velocity 2X, and host of other great titles. This month, the folks over at Sony are treating players to a rather epic lineup. While we are still battling it out in PlayStation Allstars Battle Royale, here is what you can expect to experience in the PlayStation Plus Free Game Lineup for October 2014. Read More.

Review: The Sims 4
Over the past few weeks I have found myself playing The Sims 4 quite often, not to the point of obsession, but more to the point of enjoyment. While past releases were slightly mediocre, EA Maxis and The Sims Studio have finally given me quite a few reasons to venture back into the world of The Sims. Read More.

Darryl Linington