Steady rise in demand for data, voice and cloud in SA
THE DEMAND for communication services would continue to increase as more and more businesses adopted the work from home concept, MTN SA said yesterday.
MTN SA spokesperson Leigh-Ann Chetty said MTN Business had witnessed an increased demand from its customers – particularly for data, voice, cloud and security offerings – over the past year.
“As most businesses allowed their employees to work from home, the demand for data and strengthening security measures became mandatory to all businesses. Working from home relies heavily on remote access to (the) company’s network, cloud accounts and video-conferencing tools. Without adequate security and cloud storage capabilities, company resources become vulnerable,” said Chetty.
MTN said the pandemic and lockdown had highlighted the critical role played by telecommunications sector across the world as employees work from home, obliging businesses to keep their employees connected.
Chetty said the introduction of nationwide lockdown over year ago and the temporary ban of non-essential products and services earlier in 2020 had forced consumers to look for safer and more convenient shopping, which included online shopping.
A study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) released yesterday found that the preference to work from home occasionally was nearly universal, and South Africans were no exception, according to a survey of 209 000 people in 190 countries by the BCG and The Network.
South Africa emerged as one of the countries that would fully embrace remote work, with 44 percent of respondents saying they wanted to work fully remotely, compared with a global average of 24 percent.
Principal and recruiting director at BCG in Johannesburg Rudi van Blerk said the pandemic had significantly changed how people think about their work and mobility preferences, because many people had to transition to remote work basically overnight.
“Workers and managers alike have seen that flexible work models are possible and, in fact, desirable, with only 4 percent of South Africans saying they would want to return to working completely on-site at an office after the pandemic,” said Blerk.
South Africans in digital, knowledge and office jobs, in particular – many of whom were already working remotely – wanted more workplace flexibility on a permanent basis and would even consider going fully remote. Marketing and communication led the charge, with 62.5 percent saying they would move to a fully remote mode of working.