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segmental review

		telecommunications distribution
		international telecommunications distribution
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technology platforms

Technology Platforms

Technology Platform

The Technology Platforms segment houses all group companies aligned to the development, integration and management of the group’s IT systems, infrastructure and technology solutions. The group’s technology solutions include business-to-business technology solutions and direct-to-consumer technology solutions.

Business-to-business technology solutions

Activi Technology Services (Activi)
Develops, deploys and supports the group’s technology platforms through two subsidiaries:

Transaction Junction and Activi Deployment Services. Its full service offering, which is also offered to third-party clients, includes:
The switching of secure credit, debit and fleet card transactions for many of South Africa’s leading banks, retailers and petroleum companies;
The enabling of secure e-token vending platforms (airtime and electricity);
The deployment of kiosks, POS terminals, bulk printing devices and self-service vending machines to enhance e-token distribution;
The hosting and management of IT infrastructure; and
The manufacturing, distribution and maintenance of POS terminals, kiosks and vending machines.

Development of the group’s e-token has allowed the segment to evolve into a value added solutions provider

Case study [PDF - 114 KB]

TEchnology Platforms

Technology Platforms

Direct-to-customer technology solutions

Blue Label One, trading as the Mobile Services Company (MSC)

Cell phone MSC provides mobile product and service solutions to the group’s direct-to-consumer and business-tobusiness channels. MSC, in conjunction with Microsoft, recently launched mibli, its first mobile public offering. mibli is a mobile eco-system combining numerous services into one “on-phone” application supported by an array of shared back-end components. MSC has developed a number of revenue channels for mibli, these include: unique targeted advertising, premium services and e-products, airtime sales, partner placement and white-labelled services.

mibli users can instantly access:

An innovative instant messaging solution with powerful social community features;
An electronic wallet residing on the group’s transactional backend infrastructure, hosted and provisioned by Activi, which allows for the purchase and delivery of e-products such as airtime top-up, direct loyalty rewards, bill payments, ticketing and content-centric services;
Information feeds covering events, news, sports, music, travel and weather etc;
Partner buttons for mobile banking; and
Non-intrusive advertising ranging from slidingbanner adverts to elective full-page and text adverts.

MSC is uniquely positioned to leverage the group’s distribution channels and transactional experience with mibli’s unique wallet-based financial and transactional service offerings.

Performance review

The Technology Platforms segment has delivered pleasing results for the financial year. The segment’s focus on consolidating the group’s existing IT systems into a best of breed, stable and robust platform and the enhancement of its ability to integrate and enable third-party technologies has significantly entrenched the group’s overall standing within the secure e-token and transactional product and services sector.

The ongoing development and customisation of the group’s e-token, PIN generation and redemption platform has allowed the segment to evolve into a customer centric value added solutions provider, well placed to meet current group and third-party requirements and to respond appropriately and timeously to new market developments. The segment is committed to providing open platform technology solutions where possible and ensuring that customers are retained through superior client service.

A key achievement for the review period remains the successful standardisation and packaging of complex platforms into standard products that will enhance the group’s speed to market and ability to aggressively deploy its footprint within new emerging and developing markets.

Technology Platforms

Prospects for 2009

The Technology Platforms segment will continue to focus on developing, deploying and supporting commercially viable and functionally rich transaction engines, providing end-to-end customer and business specific technology solutions for the group and its third-party customers.

2009 will see further segmental investment in software development, business intelligence, Enterprise Resource Planning systems and service orientated architecture technologies.

The segment’s main focus for 2009 will remain the development of group IT infrastructure, the creation of proprietary products and services and the ongoing integration and enablement of the group’s wholesale and retail footprint.

In conclusion, the ongoing standardisation of system deployments and the optimisation of group-wide technology investments, through the sharing of group IT infrastructure, are expected to significantly enhance the segment’s economies of scale.