How cloud affects a business's digital ambitions

JP Lourens, software product manager at Kyocera Document Solutions SA, who will moderate the panel, says: "As most are aware, the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has come into effect, and has in some way had an effect on a lot of local businesses."

As for the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act, he notes SA's information regulator has given the business community one year after commencement to become compliant. "Government has set the date for the first quarter of 2019, with a one-year grace period."

The panel will cover several topics on what this means. "This will include why POPI and GDPR are important when considering moving to the cloud, as well as understanding the importance of information storage and data storage when moving systems and infrastructure to cloud providers, and the impact it will have on ensuring personal information conforms to these standards."

Lourens says when companies map out their cloud journey, they should understand the impact it will have on their digital transformation journey too.

"We will cover what organisations are hoping to achieve, and why they should consider going digital. For example, is the company looking to move file servers and unstructured content to the cloud, and if yes, why? In addition, if the organisation's ambition is to adopt cloud, but is printing documentation from the cloud for the purpose of digitising it again at a later stage, why bother printing in the first place?"

Another question he says businesses need to ask themselves is whether the cloud will allow them to implement their digital plans and become more efficient, while working smarter and not always harder.

Delegates attending the Kyocera panel will gain an understanding of how they can leverage cloud technologies to streamline business processes, automate workflows, digitise paperwork and enable machine-to-machine communication.

KYOCERA Document Solutions South Africa

Kyocera Document Solutions South Africa is a group company of Kyocera Document Solutions Inc., a global leading provider of total document solutions based in Osaka, Japan. The company’s portfolio includes reliable and eco-friendly MFPs and printers, as well as business applications and consultative services which enable customers to optimize and manage their document workflow, reaching new heights of efficiency. With professional expertise and a culture of empathetic partnership, the objective of the company is to help organisations put knowledge to work to drive change.

KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc

Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. is a core company of Kyocera Corporation, a leading supplier of semiconductor packages, industrial and automotive components, electronic devices, solar power generating systems and mobile phones. During the year ended March 31, 2019, Kyocera Corporation’s consolidated sales revenue totalled 1.62 trillion yen (approx. US$14.6 billion). Kyocera appears on the “Derwent Top 100 Global Innovators 2018-19” list by Clarivate Analytics and is ranked #655 on Forbes magazine’s 2019 “Global 2000” list of the world’s largest publicly traded companies.