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Written by Rynhardt Lombard
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Ubuntu is an operating system built by a worldwide team of expert
developers. It contains all the applications you need: a web browser,
office suite, media apps, instant messaging and much more.
Ubuntu is an open-source alternative to Windows and Office.
The Ubuntu promise
- Ubuntu will always be free of charge, along with its regular enterprise releases and security updates
- Ubuntu comes with full commercial support from Canonical and hundreds of companies from across the world
- Ubuntu provides the best translations and accessibility features that the free software community has to offer
- Ubuntu
core applications are all free and open source. We want you to use free
and open source software, improve it and pass it on.
ITX will distribute and support Ubuntu from 2010. Contact us for more information.
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Carrier pigeon delivers data faster than Telkom |
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Written by Rynhardt Lombard
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Carrier pigeon delivers data faster than Telkom A SOUTH African information technology company has proved it was faster for them to transmit data with a carrier pigeon than to send it using Telkom , the country's leading internet service provider. Internet speed and connectivity in Africa's largest economy are poor because of a bandwidth shortage. It is also expensive. Local news agency SAPA reported the 11-month-old pigeon, Winston, took one hour and eight minutes to fly the 80km from Unlimited IT's offices near Pietermaritzburg to the coastal city of Durban with a data card was strapped to his leg. Including downloading, the transfer took two hours, six minutes and 57 seconds - the time it took for only four per cent of the data to be transferred using a Telkom line. SAPA said Unlimited ITperformed the stunt after becoming frustrated with slow internet transmission times. The company has 11 call-centres around the country and regularly sends data to its other branches. Telkom could not immediately be reached for comment. Internet speed is expected to improve once a new 17,000km underwater fibre-optic cable linking southern and East Africa to other networks becomes operational before South-Africa hosts the soccer World Cup next year. Local service providers are currently negotiating deals for more bandwidth. |
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Online accounting a perfect solution for the smaller business |
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Written by Administrator
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Software as a service (SaaS) is a trend that has seen phenomenal growth within the IT sector, and one of the most recent products to be offered as a service is that of online, or web-based, accounting. Offering the same features and functionality as traditional accounting software packages, but with a much reduced price tag, online accounting is a SaaS that holds particular relevance for the South African market. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) thrive in the local business environment, and while these enterprises have many of the same requirements as larger organisations, they have other considerations, such as price tag, to factor into the equation. Added to that the growing move towards a completely mobile workforce, especially with smaller businesses, and the appeal of online accounting packages becomes evident.
Online accounting packages offer hosted websites where clients and book keepers can log onto the company books via the web, negating the need to buy individual software licenses for each user and dramatically driving down costs.
And because the service is hosted online, the functionality of the accounting package is available anytime, anywhere where the user has internet connectivity, and mobile workers can access information on the go.Another major benefit of hosted accounting software, especially for the SME, is access to the latest and most up to date packages, without the need to continually purchase costly upgrades to the system. Storage is also taken care of,as the service provider will handle the necessary space requirements, allowing for cost saving in terms of storage hardware.
Among small businesses it is common practice to outsource the accounting side of the business, but this can create issues all of its own. When the company'sbooks are kept on one or a couple of machines, and problems arise, the accountant has to drive out to the client to sort out the problem, a practicethat can be time consuming and costly.
However, with a hosted accounting package the accountant can log on to the company books from anywhere, streamlining the process considerably and making it more time efficient and cost effective.
However, perhaps one of the most attractive features of an online accounting service in this country is the ability it creates to easily back up financial data. All of the data entered into the online accounting system is stored elsewhere on a third part server, and not on the physical machines of the business, meaning that if the business is the victim of theft, and computers are stolen, all of the financial data is safely stored and can still be accessed by the business, instead of being lost along with the physical assets of the organisation. In a time when robbery abounds, especially among small and home offices, this ability cannot be understated.
It is important to bear in mind though that data is only useful if it isrelevant and applicable to the organisation. Online accounting enables an enterprise to save money on software, freeing up this cash and enabling the business to hire an external accountant to help effectively analyse andinterpret financial data.
With all of the benefits online accounting provides, it is important to choosea reputable service provider or consultancy, as downtime due to data corruption or data loss could be detrimental to a business.
While the concept of online accounting is fairly new, international trends show that the ability to make quick decisions based on relevant and up-to-the-minute financial data can give companies significant competitive advantage. In South-Africa, internet connectivity issues and cost may have been barriers to entry for this type of service, however with the Seacom cable due to be online in the country in June, bandwidth speeds are expected to increase and prices to drop considerably, removing this hurdle and making the possibility of online hosted services even more attractive.
The SME market is one that is growing and will continue to grow in the country,and with the expected improvements in internet connectivity, as well as the numerous benefits in terms of price, ease of use and improved efficiency of online accounting packages, this SaaS is sure to see growth in South Africa inyears to come. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 03 August 2009 )
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Written by Administrator
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The future of information technology is changing. But contrary to what one might think, technology seems to actually be regressing to where it was 30 years ago. 30 years ago, desktop computers could not handle application processing and the solution was to use central processors and storage called mainframes. Users connected via a LAN/WAN network to mainframes using so-called dumb terminals. Dumb terminals did not do any processing and could not store any data.
As technology progressed we moved away from central processing to distributed processing. The desktop computer became more user friendly and powerful enough to handle its own processing and storage. Servers replaced mainframes and were only used to centrally manage data. Computer technology is becoming cheaper every day although the labour maintaining it is getting more expensive. Networks became more stable and faster. The advent of the Internet in the eighties got us all connected and speed has improved more than tenfold. Internet bandwidth cost decreased due to volume.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 April 2009 )
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Written by Administrator
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Our network provides a resilient and redundant network infrastructure. The
substantial bandwidth capacity allows us to accommodate spikes in traffic.
Additionally, our low bandwidth utilisation allows for maximum uptime
ensuring that customers never experience network degradation.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 06 April 2009 )
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