Bridging the Gender Gap in the ICT Industry

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Women’s History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. Therefore, it is important to commemorate and celebrate those who have set the bar for people within the industry, more specifically, the women within the ICT industry.

 

Upon writing this blog, I obviously had to do my research. Unfortunately, gathering information about women in the ICT industry was not a walk in the park. The ICT industry is an industry that is currently dominated by men. Based on the findings made by Women in Tech ZA, only 23% of tech jobs are held by women in South Africa – out of 236 000 ICT (tech) roles, women occupy 56 000 of them. This is an alarming find and it should be addressed.

 

There have been initiatives and organisations that aid in bridging the gender gap in the ICT industry but is this enough? With the existing socio-economic barriers (which is too long of a discourse to get into right now) that exist in the modern society, women are faced with the lack of support which ultimately results in them being intimidated to enter the industry. We have entered the digital era, and such provides many opportunities for all of those aspiring to be in the field.  Tashline Jooste, Chief Executive Officer of the Innovator Trust, believes that gender equality must be addressed for the economy to experience the true potential that entrepreneurs have to offer.

Why Fibre Optics is Relevant

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With everything becoming more and more digitized, efficiency is very important. In one of the previous blog posts, we discussed the difference between fibre optics and ADSL and through this we saw the significance in fibre has in making our lives easier.

Before analysing the importance of fibre optic cables, it is best that you first understand its uses in your everyday life. This type of cabling has the following purposes:

 

Connecting to the internet that is basically connecting everyone at more affordable costs;

Enhancing a cable television;

Telephone connectivity;

Computer networking between several computers to boost communication speed;

Medical research in fields such as surgery and dentistry;

Lighting and decorations when referring to illumination;

Mechanical inspections, making it easier to inspect remote areas;

Automotive industry by providing lighting and safety features;

Military and space applications where the data transmission is reliable and fast while upholding the security system.

Importance of Fibre Optic Cables

 

Fiber optic cables are similar to cable television and internet connections. There is much more to its uses, ranging from the basic home use to commercial use in offices and large institutions. There is no doubt that they have significant purposes in our everyday lives. Fibre optic cables aim to ease and make data transfers smoother and faster, providing a lasting and durable solution to connectivity, as well as offering a reliable and flexible solution.

Fibre Optics Installation Process

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The installation will involve running the fibre cable from the fibre box on your boundary wall into your home. The installer will need to drill a small hole through your boundary wall where the fibre box is situated and feed the fibre cable through your home to a device in your house called the CPE (Customer Premises Equipment). The CPE device is a small in-home switch that allows you to connect the fibre cable to all your devices in the house.

 

Where do I order?

You can order online or you can call AdNotes Tech on 031 826 5593.

Consent

If you are renting, it will be advisable to get your landlords consent as the process will require drilling.

 

Do I need to present during the installation process?

If you’re unable to be present for your installation you can either re-schedule, or ask someone you trust who is over 18 years old to give access to your property. Remember that they’ll potentially need to make decisions about the installation for the technician and they will need to be present during the whole installation process.

 

Time

It take 2-4 hours depending on the complexity.

 

You are now connected and free to stream as you please 😊

 

The Usage of Biometric Systems

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The practical use of biometric systems is growing rapidly based on the fact that personal identification is becoming more and more vital. Before we dive into where we can utilize them it is important to understand what biometric systems are. Biometrics is the science of analysing physical or behavioural characteristics specific to each individual in order to be able to authenticate their identity. Biometrics has quickly established itself as the most relevant means of identifying and authenticating individuals in a reliable and fast way, through the use of unique biological characteristics.

 

Biometric Systems are Used in these Top 5 Instances:

  1. Law Enforcement

Today, biometrics are widely used by law enforcement agencies across the world for the identification of criminals. Biometrics are also used for jail and prison management.

 

  1. Time and Attendance

A biometric time and attendance system is the automated method of recognizing an employee based on a biological characteristic. The most common biometric features used for employee identification are faces, fingerprints and voice patterns.

 

  1. Airport Security

Biometric technology to verify passenger identities has been used in several large international airports for a number of years and the technology is quickly spreading to other locations across the globe.

 

  1. Access Control & Single Sign On

Biometrics is used around the world for home access control, mobile phone access, vehicle access authentication and Single Sign On.

 

  1. Banking – Transaction Authentication

As global financial entities become more digitally-based, banks are implementing biometric technology to improve customer and employee identity management in an effort to combat fraud, increase transaction security, and enhance customer convenience.

 

 

 

CCTV’s in Combating Crime

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Major General Norman Sekhukhune, Head of Police Crime Research and Statistics revealed that there has been an increase of 6.9% in South Africa’s crime rate from the previous year which means that 1320 more people were murdered. It is unfortunate that a person could possibly become a crime statistic. Whether in your own home or driving to work – you must be on a constant look out. One can be as cautious as a fox however you just can’t avoid the inevitable. Ask yourself: While you are at work, who is watching over your home? Who is watching your place of business when no one is there? This is when we see the significance of CCTV’s in combating crime.

 

CCTV’s Assisting our Police Force

Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. In an article on the Daily Maverick it states that “Visual surveillance of urban areas is booming worldwide. In South Africa, where the police fight a deadly war against crime daily, surveillance tech is increasingly used by local municipalities to augment an understaffed and under-resourced police force.”  The footage taken from the video surveillance assists the police in being able to capture and record the crime as it unfolds thus becoming valuable evidence when it comes to court trials. I am not saying that this will prevent crimes from happening, however it will discourage criminals which should ultimately will lower the crime rate.

CCTV’s are fast becoming more and more popular in both the private and public sector and the reason for this is because of its mentioned benefits. We live in a society where we are not safe. If there’s technology which we can use to make us feel safer and to fight crime, in this case CCTV’s, then its crucial to invest in such technology.

Goodbye ADSL, Hello Fibre

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fiber optic

So there’s a new kid on the block and their name is fibre. Just like most ‘new kids’, we all want to know who they are and what makes them special. The best way to know them is to compare them to the golden oldie – ADSL.

We all know that ADSL uses telephone lines to transmit data along copper cables from your nearest telephone exchange to your home. While fibre uses fibre optic cables to transmit data. So what makes fibre better? Fibre has the potential to travel at the speed of light which means that it is not affected by your distance from the exchange. More so, it can handle much higher volumes of traffic without your download speeds/streaming being affected.

Then comes reliability, fibre is far more stable and superior to ADSL as the copper lines which ADSL uses can be affected by the climate while the fibre optics are not affected. And the best part about Fibre is that new ways might be found to transmit light data even faster without the infrastructure becoming redundant. Lastly, when it comes to pricing, fibre cabling itself is similar in price to the copper used for ADSL, but much easier to maintain. The only downside to fibre is that since its new – it is not available in a lot of areas. Having said all of this, we do see understand the relevance of the new kid on the block.