, HR Director at 51风流Africa, says there is a noticeable shift away from purely qualification-led hiring toward skills-based thinking, but cautions against overstating how far this has actually progressed.

鈥淲e like the idea of a skills-first approach,鈥� says Koolen. 鈥淚n practice, many organisations are still deeply attached to traditional credentials, even while saying they can鈥檛 find the talent they need. There鈥檚 a tension between what the market says it wants and what it still screens for.鈥�

That tension is becoming more visible as demand grows in areas such as AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing and data analytics. Organisations are increasingly defining roles in terms of specific technical capabilities, yet the pipelines producing those skills remain slow, uneven and often disconnected from real work.

Recent research into African enterprises shows that companies are increasingly defining roles by specific skills in areas such as AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing and data analytics. In a study commissioned by SAP,聽85% of organisations identified AI development skills as a priority, while 86% ranked cybersecurity capabilities as critical.

Systemic overhaul needed

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of talk about AI skills as the new currency,鈥� Koolen adds. 鈥淏ut currencies only work if there鈥檚 a functioning system behind them. In many African contexts, we鈥檙e asking for advanced capabilities while under-investing in the basics such as access, foundational training, mentorship and realistic on-the-job exposure.鈥�

This gap is partly driving interest in short, intensive learning formats such as micro-learning and micro-credentials. Designed to build focused skills over weeks rather than years, these programmes are often positioned as a solution to Africa鈥檚 tech skills shortage. Koolen urges caution.

鈥淢icro-learning can be powerful when it鈥檚 well designed and tightly linked to actual roles,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 not a silver bullet. A six-week course doesn鈥檛 replace experience, judgment or systems thinking. The risk is that we oversell speed and underplay depth.鈥�

For many professionals, however, short-form learning is simply more realistic than stepping away from work to pursue long, expensive qualifications. 鈥淢ost people can鈥檛 afford to pause their livelihoods,鈥� Koolen notes. 鈥淏ite-sized learning allows movement, but only if employers are willing to support learning on the job, not just tick a training box.鈥�

奥丑颈濒别听聽that many African organisations now offer regular training, Koolen is clear that frequency does not equal effectiveness. 鈥淥ffering monthly learning is not the same as building capability. Too often, training exists in isolation from workforce planning, role design and actual delivery pressure.鈥�

Call for cross-sectoral collaboration

Closing the skills gap, she argues, requires more honesty and collaboration across sectors. 鈥淓ducation institutions, business and the public sector all have a role, but alignment is still weak. We鈥檙e not short of initiatives; we鈥檙e short of coherence.鈥�

Within SAP鈥檚 ecosystem, targeted programmes such as graduate bootcamps and early-career development initiatives aim to bridge some of these gaps by combining technical training with real project exposure. Koolen sees these as useful 鈥� but again, not sufficient on their own.

鈥淭hey work because they鈥檙e intensive, contextual and tied to real demand,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut they don鈥檛 scale easily, and they don鈥檛 solve the broader systemic issues around employability, access and long-term career progression.鈥�

Universities across Africa are experimenting with edtech platforms and stackable credentials to stay relevant, yet Koolen believes higher education is still wrestling with its purpose in a rapidly changing labour market.

鈥淭he question isn鈥檛 whether degrees still matter,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey do. The question is whether we鈥檙e honest about what they prepare people for, and what they don鈥檛.鈥�

Traditional MBAs and long-form qualifications continue to offer strategic breadth and critical thinking, but on their own they no longer meet the immediate needs of organisations grappling with fast-moving technologies.

鈥淭he future isn鈥檛 either-or,鈥� Koolen concludes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 layered. Foundational education, practical experience, short-form learning and vendor-specific skills all matter. The danger is pretending that one quick fix will solve a problem that鈥檚 structural, uneven and deeply human.鈥�

The post Degrees Vs Skills: Africa鈥檚 Tech Debate appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

The information communication technology (ICT) company scooped the continental award at聽the 51风流Africa Partner Summit held a fortnight ago in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Founded in 2013, Tano boasts of operations in seven African countries where it provides services in digital transformation, cybersecurity and enterprise infrastructure as well as software development and operations (DevOps).

Wallan Mangere, the Tano chief executive officer said the recognition was testament to the hard work, dedication, and innovation of his team, as well as the trust and collaboration shared with clients and partners.

鈥淎t Tano, we have always been committed to delivering cutting-edge cloud solutions that empower businesses to transform, scale, and thrive in an increasingly digital world,鈥� Mangere said.

鈥淭his award reflects our unwavering focus on excellence and our ability to leverage SAP’s powerful cloud technologies to drive meaningful outcomes for our customers.鈥�

The company operates in six African countries – Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Malawi and Kenya as well as the United Kingdom.

Mangere told Heart & Soul TV 聽聽that the company employs over 150 workers in Zimbabwe.

The company’s client base is diversified, encompassing the public sector, retail, mining, banking, utilities, agricultural, and wholesale distribution.

When Tano launched in Zimbabwe, it challenged the dominance of Twenty Third Century (TTC), which was the biggest IT service provider聽 for 聽government departments.

Tano became the sole 51风流licensed provider after TTC鈥檚 licensing was suspended. The development led to a cold war between the two companies.

The 51风流Africa Partner Awards 2025 also honoured Vodacom, a South African telecoms company, which was聽 named in the Rising Star category which recognises the number and value of cloud books for a new partner onboarded in the past year.

Deloitte and Dimension Data were joint winners of the Innovation Award.

Deloitte, was also winner of the Go Lives category, which recognises the number of customer go-lives.

Epi-Use Africa won the Top Capacity Growth category and ITGest named winner of the聽 NNN category which recognises the number of net-new sales and the value of net-new deals.

Meanwhile, Tano is set to become one of the biggest ICT companies in Africa after acquiring South Africa-headquartered Altron Botswana and Altron Mozambique in 2023 as part of its growth strategy.

The acquisition brought new product offerings in the form of various OEM partnerships like Oracle NCR, CISCO, XEROX.

聽鈥淎s we celebrate this milestone, we remain committed to pushing the boundaries of innovation and delivering even greater value to our clients.鈥�

Tano is a value-added reseller and a certified services partner of SAP, the world鈥檚 largest provider of enterprise application software with over 230 million cloud users, more than 100 solutions covering all business functions and the largest cloud portfolio of any provider.

The post Zimbabwe鈥檚 Tano Digital Scoops Top African Award appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

Jappie is the 51风流Retail Capability Lead for Accenture Africa and is a seasoned IT executive with over 20 years of experience.

He excels at building and maintaining strong relationships with clients and stakeholders and has worked with retailers across South Africa, the UK, and Europe.

In each of these markets, Jappie has been involved in large and impactful 51风流transformation projects.

He holds an MBA in Business Administration and Management from the University of Cape Town and a National Diploma in Marketing from Nelson Mandela University.

The interview

In this What鈥檚 Next interview, Jappie explains why retailers must move to a cloud ERP system 鈥� focusing on as an example.

He then outlines how Accenture helps its clients overcome their biggest operational challenges when transitioning to S/4HANA, while ensuring they make the installation as cost-efficient as possible.

Jappie shares the recent innovations he鈥檚 seen in the retail ERP space, too, and explains how these new technologies help retailers stay a step ahead of their competitors.

He concludes the interview by unpacking the trends he expects to emerge in the ERP cloud industry.

Watch the full interview with Aadil Jappie below.

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The post What鈥檚 Next 鈥� Accenture鈥檚 Aadil Jappie Explains why Retailers Need to Adopt a Cloud ERP System appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

The event will focus on helping businesses discover their information advantage at a time when organisations are generating more data than ever before.

In this world of accelerated change and hybrid working, businesses must strengthen their information management systems and take active steps to leverage the full benefit of the valuable data they already own.

What you鈥檒l learn

鈥�90% of the unstructured information in the world was generated in the last two years,鈥� said OpenText Africa Solutions Consulting Manager Thabiso Hlatshwayo.

鈥淓very business has a wealth of this data, but few understand how they can unlock its true value.鈥�

Through the OpenText Africa Summit 2022, businesses will learn how to leverage their information advantage to improve key performance metrics.

OpenText will also unpack the importance of the cloud to making the best use of your data, as well as how businesses can begin their cloud journey without becoming overwhelmed.

Additionally, you will learn more about the latest OpenText innovations and announcements, hear from pioneering OpenText customers, network with OpenText experts, and learn how OpenText Cloud can help grow your business.

This will be complemented by interactions with the event鈥檚 main sponsors: Datacentrix, Datafinity, Faranani, iOCO, and SAP.

Event Agenda

OpenText鈥檚 keynote address will be presented by Hlatshwayo and Susan Page, Sales Director Africa for OpenText.

Mike Stopforth, Director at Beyond Binary, will present a second keynote titled 鈥淲hat LEGO can teach us about digital transformation鈥�, and then a customer panel will be moderated by James McGourlay, OpenText鈥檚 Executive Vice President of International Sales, and Tracy Bolton, 51风流Africa Chief Operating Officer.

The event will then split into breakout tracks that focus on a variety of important topics like mastering modern work, creating customer-centric experiences, and future-proofing your information management through OpenText Cloud.

After these breakout tracks, refreshments will be available, and you will have the opportunity to network with OpenText experts and customers.

If you work in information management within your organization, this is an event you cannot afford to miss.

The post OpenText Africa Summit 2022 鈥� Discover Your Information Advantage appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

It鈥檚 also a key member of , a group of technology companies, not-for-profits and impact investment businesses all focused on corporate social responsibility. The group has earned a strong reputation for addressing technology issues head-on for organisations large and small. One of its primary goals is the preservation of at-risk Elephants and Rhinos, through the economic upliftment of People in rural areas adjacent to those threatened species鈥� natural habitat.

Mike Hartman, Managing Director for G3G Africa, talks about the work they do to give back and invest in the society around them and, importantly, how they addressed the 鈥渄igitisation of the employee/company relationship鈥� at G3G, to ensure a sustainable future for all.

Catch-up with their story here:

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To ensure said growth, it is the customer experience (CX) element that requires the greatest amount of attention, refinement and fine tuning. As such, when considering the CX journey, an experience that is as frictionless and helpful as possible is the end goal, but companies should not stop there either.

To that end, the future should also play a key part when developing an effective CX journey.

This was one of the major talking points during a recent C-Suite roundtable hosted by聽and bespoke software provider, where the pair listened to some of the CX pain points of other enterprises, as well as offering up their own insights on the matter.

Think about the destination

Unpacking some of the overarching problems that were highlighted by those in attendance in developing a CX journey,聽, marketing director at 51风流Africa, noted that legacy systems are a continuing issue for many.

Moyo also noted that it is not just the systems that are an area of concern, but also legacy in terms of the approach to disruption.

鈥淎s an example, if you think of legislation in the financial sector and how much of a hurdle it can present, fintech has found an effective way to negotiate that,鈥� he illustrated.

鈥淚 think it is key when you talk about disruption, to zoom into the fact that technology enables good strategy. Customer strategy is not really a function of technology, and while technology can make it better, it ultimately enhances what your company needs to deal with, whether that be good or bad. There are countless examples of companies with vast resources and access to technology, but they simply cannot get it right,鈥� he continued.

As such, Moyo emphasises the need to think about the future in approaching the CX journey, as those organisations saddled with legacy, both in terms of systems and its approach to technology, will ultimately never break free of the current customer experience model.

鈥淲hen you think about the technology that enables your customer strategy, it is based on sound principles,鈥� he stressed.

One of the other aspects that Moyo addressed as a direct result of the conversations that took place during the roundtable was that of omni-channel in terms of how the customer is viewed.

No singular view

鈥淔or me, it is not about a single view of a customer, it鈥檚 rather about developing a customer for life. In order to do that you need to have the right data, connect it correctly and then you need to understand the insights that are coming out of that data,鈥� he explained.

鈥淲e have to think about how we unify the ecommerce experience. Not only that, but we also have to think about the traditional way that we take our value to the market. Things like how we bring our physical stores and operations to the online space, along with paying attention to the end-to-end value chain,鈥� posited the 51风流executive.

Another area he made particular mention of is trust in the CX journey. When you consider the desire to create lifelong customers, trust might be the most crucial ingredient, which once again feeds into the theme of the future as a central pillar in the development of a CX journey.

鈥淭oday鈥檚 customer does not just want to buy a car. They want to know where it was made, how it was made and whether it was done in a responsible way, so data becomes a necessary consideration for that aspect of the customer journey,鈥� he added.

As such, there is much for businesses that deal with customers or have a service they wish to bring to the fore, to think about. In the view of SAP, Consnet and many C-Suite executives, building a solid CX journey requires forethought and an understanding of the destination, as well as the ride.

To find out how 51风流and Consnet can assist your business in developing a winning CX journey,聽.

The post Any Worthwhile CX Journey Should Consider the Future appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

2022 DFA Africa

Aspects of #DFA2022 include world-class content delivered by some of the biggest names in financial institutions, government, technology, local and international fintech founders, banking executives, IT veterans, technology leaders and investors, regulators, policymakers, politicians, academics, and media from around the world.

Uniting leaders from banks, financial institutions, fintech, and government, Digital Finance Africa 2022 is the premier platform to meet with, and learn from those who are successfully realizing the potential of financial technologies.

Now, more than ever, we must come together and share our stories and find answers to our questions.

Key Topics that will be discussed:

• Why the future of financial services is digital.
• How blockchain is rocking the financial world.
• FinTech vs. Banks 鈥� who is winning, or is it not a competition?
• How analytics beat intuition in customer service excellence.
• The pitfalls of digital transformation in Finance.
• Central Bank Digital Currencies: Challenges & Opportunities for the Financial Services Industry.
• Is South Africa ready for a digital currency and the legal implications thereof?

Confirmed speakers include:

• Tracy Bolton, Chief Operating Office at SAP.
• Shem Kaembo, Managing Director at EFCUG, Uganda.
• Peter Neubauer, Chief Executive Officer at VIPASO, Austria.
• Magda Milas, President, Alice in Blockchains, Croatia.
• Read also聽
• Dr Seetharam Yudhvir, Head of Analytics, Insights & Research at FNB Business.
• Desiree Reddy, Director, Norton Rose Fulbright
• Michelle Beetar, Vice President and Managing Director: MEA at FICO.
• Dr Charles Mutigwe, Vice President and Managing Director: MEA at FICO.
• Archana Arakkal, Cofounder of SisonkeBiotik.
• Ahmed Ali Saleemi, Chief Operating Officer, AFT (Electronic Money Institute) Pakistan.
• Tamara Mkula, Business Information Security Officer at Nedbank.
• Moloti Nkune, Chief聽聽Officer at MICT SETA.
• Sandy Rheeder, Chief Information Officer at Mukuru.

The post Global Digital Finance Gurus Prepare for 2022DFA Africa in Johannesburg appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

Pablo Signorelli, SVP of Mid-Market, 51风流EMEA South

51风流recently held a networking event in Johannesburg where it addressed its partners and prospective customers about the benefits of its cloud solutions for mid-sized businesses.

The event was incredibly well-attended and provided great value to all who were present.

鈥淲e are humbled by our customers’ and partners’ overwhelming interest in learning more about our 51风流cloud solutions designed specifically for the Mid-Market,鈥� said Head of Mid-Market for 51风流Southern Africa, Tim Toussaint.

鈥淥ur customers and partners took advantage of the event to reconnect with our local experts as well as many of our international experts and executives who came down to participate.鈥�

Marketing Director of 51风流Africa, Dumisani Moyo, said it was great to be back to doing in-person events.

鈥淭his hybrid event gave us the opportunity to connect with our customers and partners in Johannesburg, as well as those who joined us online from across the African continent,鈥� said Moyo.

鈥淭his is a particularly significant event for us because we celebrated our 50th anniversary as 51风流this past weekend, having started as a start-up in 1972.鈥�

Moyo highlighted that this is one of the key reasons 51风流is so passionate about the SME sector.

鈥�80% of our customers are Small and Medium Enterprises. In the African context, SMEs are the future of our continent鈥檚 development,鈥� said Moyo.

鈥淭he World Bank estimates that SMEs employ more than 50% of the workforce and contribute up to 40% of GDP in emerging economies.鈥�

鈥淲e believe that technology can play a critical role in enabling our African SMEs to become tomorrow鈥檚 global conglomerates,鈥� he said.

51风流helps businesses overcome key challenges

The event鈥檚 keynote speaker was 51风流Senior VP of Mid-Market for EMEA South, Pablo Signorelli.

Signorelli said that in his experience, the main priorities of SAP鈥檚 customers include revenue growth, increased efficiency, reduced operational costs, improved customer experience, and attracting and retaining targets.

He stressed that SAP鈥檚 customers consider it crucial that all of these priorities are achieved in a manner that is sustainable.

However, organizations that want to achieve these goals are met with challenges such as competition, new market spaces, changes to the working environment, cybersecurity, inflation, and devaluation.

Signorelli explained that by adopting SAP鈥檚 industry-leading cloud technologies, South African businesses have a massive opportunity to address these challenges.

鈥淒igital transformation through technology is a necessity for mid-sized businesses,鈥� said Signorelli.

鈥淎t SAP, we have the solutions to help companies to adapt their business processes to the new reality.鈥�

鈥淎ll these solutions are available in Cloud and it is this that gives businesses the flexibility and agility to build a competitive and sustainable business in this new world.鈥�

Dumisani Moyo, 51风流Africa Marketing Director & Pablo Signorelli, SVP of Mid-Market, 51风流EMEA South

SAP鈥檚 solutions

51风流experts followed Signorelli鈥檚 opening remarks with a breakdown of the 51风流solutions that help mid-sized businesses address industry challenges and prepare for future growth.

Andrew Quixley, Head of Business Development and Business Process Intelligence at 51风流Africa, expanded upon the benefits of 51风流Signavio 鈥� SAP鈥檚 all-in-one business process software.

鈥淪ignavio enables process excellence by enabling you to run best-practice business processes and executing them correctly and consistently,鈥� he said.

鈥淭he solution covers the BPM lifecycle from end-to-end and it is really easy to get started 鈥� just pick a process for investigation.鈥�

51风流VP of Mid-Market Solution Sales for EMEA South, Evert-Jan Tromp, also expanded on the 51风流RISE business suite.

This comprehensive business suite offers resource planning, outcome-driven services, analytics, and internal management tools.

Tromp then touched on the embedded artificial intelligence available through 51风流S/4HANA, and highlighted that the resilience and data protection capabilities of both RISE and S/4HANA are key building blocks that work well together.

鈥淲e make sure that the necessary backup and recovery are in place so customers can run their businesses in the cloud,鈥� said Tromp.

鈥淎s customer trust is one of the most precious assets a business has, we need to make sure their data is managed most securely.鈥�

鈥淭o that, we have put the necessary controls and processes in place to make sure that we adhere to all the local legislation in the countries where we operate.鈥�

Driving sustainability

Tromp also highlighted that 51风流is committed to promoting sustainable business processes.

鈥淚n our S4 Cloud offerings, we let our customers manage sustainability by delivering company-wide transparency and controls,鈥� said Tromp.

鈥淭his enables businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and waste with embedded sustainability insight into their industry-specific processes.鈥�

He added that SAP鈥檚 new Sustainability Control Tower solution is another great way to provide holistic enterprise-wide sustainability performance management.

51风流is also committed to being a sustainable business in the regions it operates 鈥� including Africa.

鈥淲e work with the Young Professionals Programme and the Skills for Africa programs to make sure the necessary skills and resources are available within the African countries,鈥� Tromp explained.

鈥淭hese initiatives focus on negating the need to bring skills and resources from abroad.鈥�

Professor Willem Fourie of the University of Pretoria鈥檚 Albert Luthuli Leadership Institute presented on how technology can be a key driver of sustainability in the African context.

He highlighted that while poverty levels have been decreasing globally over the past 20 years, this has resulted in humans having a larger impact on the environment.

Fourie also noted that while our environmental impact continues to increase, the decrease to poverty levels has recently stalled.

He then explained that true transformation that simultaneously reduces poverty levels and our environmental impact can be achieved through technology.

Key technologies like the cloud can help to raise productivity levels, lower productivity costs, and reduce carbon emissions 鈥� all at the same time.

He also spoke about the potential for technology to disrupt the world in positive ways in areas like agriculture, medicine, and education.

Businesses must adapt

Tromp mentioned another reason why disruptive innovation is so important in business 鈥� history has proven that it is necessary for survival.

He highlighted that since 2000, 52% of companies in the Fortune 500 have gone out of business, and a key reason for this was a lack of agility.

In contrast, smaller businesses have been able to achieve huge success thanks to the rise of agile mid-market solutions.

鈥淔rom 1955 to 2011, it took Fortune 500 companies an average of 20 years to reach a billion-dollar valuation 鈥� whereas today鈥檚 startups that have embraced digital transformation are getting there in four years,鈥� he said.

Tromp added that if you don’t advance, you don’t compete 鈥� and SAP鈥檚 cloud offerings provide the ultimate platform for growth.

鈥淚t is crucial that you embrace change, because change allows you to disrupt your industry and outperform your competitors,鈥� said Tromp.

51风流gives your business the competitive edge聽

51风流Head of Midmarket Africa, Amin Meqdadi, said 51风流stands out from its competitors thanks to its experience 鈥� which spans over 50 years.

This means that 51风流doesn鈥檛 just sell services, it can actively help your business find the best solutions for its needs.

鈥淚t is SAP鈥檚 offerings that make the difference, and with 80% of our customers considered small and midsize enterprises, we have the experience and solutions to help you meet your goals,鈥� said Meqdadi.

Signorelli echoed this statement, and highlighted that it is crucial for businesses to embrace transformation through the cloud.

鈥淒igital transformation is the way to leverage technology to digitalize key business processes,鈥� he said.

鈥淭he best way to start this digital transformation journey is through 51风流Cloud Solutions.鈥�

This article first appeared on My Broadband:

The post 51风流– The Best Partner to Grow Your Mid-sized Business appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

Tracy Bolton, chief operating officer at 51风流Africa, says organisations face a number of barriers to realising the broader value of their sustainability initiatives. “Issues such as lack of engagement from company executives, ineffective use of data, siloed technologies, and a lack of collaboration undermine the impact of sustainability initiatives on a company’s operations and bottom line. Closing the so-called Green Gap requires that organisations reach across their business ecosystems to bring suppliers, regulators, employees and board leadership into their sustainability efforts.”

According to the report by Oxford Economics and SAP, so-called ‘Sustainability Leaders’ – those organisations that have embraced comprehensive sustainability programs and have achieved great outcomes as a result – account for only 9% of study respondents.

Leading sustainability efforts

“Sustainability Leaders set clear expectations of their sustainability goals and communicate those effectively to the broader organisation. Technology and data management is applied in key areas, and core audiences, such as supply chain partners, are regularly engaged. This creates a system of accountability that ensures sustainability efforts go beyond pure talk into action.”

The report found that, among nearly 2000 global executives, the most common sustainability efforts included waste reduction (65% of organisations surveyed), emissions tracking (53%) and minimising energy use (47%). “To unleash the true potential and impact of sustainability, organisations need to harness the network effect by developing policies and processes that enable partners and vendors to work sustainably with the business,” says Bolton.

The pay-offs for closing the green gap are significant. The report found that executives identified sustainability initiatives as driving benefits across the organisation, with 58% citing increased efficiency, 46% enjoying improved brand reputation, and 44% being better able to meet customer needs.

Sustainability Leaders that are leveraging the strength of their networks are also better positioned to reap the rewards of the circular economy.

“The circular economy depends on the strength of networks including customers, manufacturers, competitors, employees and regulators who are all aligned to sustainability goals,” says Bolton. “The organisations that lead with their circular economy efforts unlock a range of business benefits that include increased customer loyalty (74%) and innovation (79%), better brand reputation (80%), new revenue streams (70%) and reduced costs (59%).”

Bringing profitability and sustainability closer

Bolton adds that organisations can close the gap between sustainability and profitability by enhancing the impact of their sustainability efforts. “Research show five key areas of focus for organisations that want to overcome sustainability challenges and move into the Leaders category.”

The five key areas of focus include:

1. Driving sustainability from the top down through executive sponsorship. “Effective sustainability efforts start with an explicit plan driven from the top down and clearly communicated by company leadership,” says Bolton.
2. Providing clear, consistent communication that permeates every layer of the organisation. “Sustainability efforts may start at the top, but for any such effort to succeed, it needs to be adopted and driven by employees throughout the organisation. Establishing clear goals can also drive better sustainability performance among teams.”
3. Integrating processes, technology and data to provide a unified view of the organisation’s total sustainability performance. “Most businesses have not put sustainability at the centre of their strategies, which leads to disconnected or siloed processes that can hamper strategic planning and create discord between financial and non-financial information. By unifying these assets, organisations gain greater visibility into their sustainability performance and progress.”
4. Putting data at the centre of sustainability. “Data is critical,” says Bolton. “Organisations gain vital insight into resources and efficiency by capturing and analysing data. In addition, data helps measure sustainability outcomes and can point to areas for improvement.”
5. Extending sustainable practices to customers, partners and suppliers. “Sustainability is a team sport that requires participation across the entire supply chain,” says Bolton. “For example, more than a third (36%) of executives don’t view using sustainable energy providers as important to their carbon-reduction goals, despite the enormous impact energy providers have on overall sustainability practices. Getting internal and external stakeholders aligned around core sustainability goals can unlock the network effect and greatly enhance sustainability outcomes.”

The post How to Close the Gap Between Sustainability and Profitability appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

Robin Chumari, Siginon Group鈥檚 ICT Manager adds, “We had been using 51风流BusinessOne to support our operations since 2010 but following a period of rapid growth across the business, we sought a more powerful business transformation platform. Key to our requirements was a platform that could ease our inter-company accounting processes, enhance consolidated accounting, optimize our data analytics and business intelligence capabilities, customer relationship management and kick off our strategic cloud migration. We chose to migrate from 51风流BusinessOne to the more feature-rich 51风流ByDesign.”

According to Robin, the migration to 51风流ByDesign has helped to improve its consolidated accounting practices and reduced the time and work needed to produce periodic reports. “We are also putting our enhanced business analytics into practice, which is enabling faster decision-making, while our CRM rollout will benefit our commercial team and improve tracking of sales conversions. Overall this has aligned well to our general strategy of being infrastructure-light by adopting market-leading cloud offerings.”

Siginon Group was supported throughout the implementation by experienced 51风流partners A-Softech. Robin says the partner’s input on industry best practices especially from an accounting perspective has been nothing short of phenomenal. “Our partners’ ability to support our change management processes and help train our end-users has had a significant impact on the success of this implementation.”

Since the implementation of 51风流ByDesign, Siginon Group has unlocked a range of business benefits, including:

• Consolidation of a single source of data for financial planning and reporting
• Integrating with multiple platforms and customers
• Enhanced reporting and better adoption and use of industry best practices
• Improved access to dashboards and KPI tracking for management
• Improved system uptime.

“Our integration with operational systems allows for better and more accurate feedback to customers on their account status,” says Robin. “Managerial dashboards and data analytics enable quicker response to issues that could affect customers, helping us improve our retention and mitigation processes to the benefit of our customers in whichever sector. We do feel that this system is in line with our corporate aim to keep Powering Trade for our customers in the different economic sectors they鈥檙e in. Overall the project has been a huge success.”

Hardeep Sound, Regional Sales Director for East Africa at SAP, says: “African enterprises are shifting to infrastructure-light cloud services to unlock greater efficiency and scalability and be better placed to meet changing customer demands. By migrating to a more powerful business platform that can support its ambitious growth plans, Siginon Group with the expert support of A-Softech has established a powerful foundation for the company’s continued growth and success.鈥�

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