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Artificial intelligence isn’t just changing how work gets done, it’s rewriting the rules of business. Organisations are scrambling to redefine processes and job descriptions, while employees are grappling with new tools and new ways of thinking that are transforming the way they approach their daily tasks.

In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Antony Makins, acting CEO at TForge and chair of the special group on AI and robotics at the Institute of IT Professionals South Africa, unpacks the skills revolution unfolding alongside the AI one.

Makins delves into the patterns emerging across organisations and the broader labour market as AI adoption accelerates.

He also explores the mindset shift it’s imposing on the workforce, and which roles are being hit hardest by AI-driven changes to how we work.

He delves into the opportunities that exist despite the very real threat AI poses to jobs – and what government can do to create an enabling environment for workers to adapt to a labour market increasingly shaped by AI, machine learning and data analysis.

Don't miss it the conversation! TechCentral

Safety is a core concern for e-hailing operators as it ensures that platforms engender trust among drivers, passengers and the general public. Bolt recently commissioned market research firm Ipsos to conduct research into the perceptions of rider safety in South Africa's e-hailing market.

In this episode of TechCentral's TCS+, Simo Kalajdzic, senior operations manager at Bolt South Africa, discusses findings from the report and how Bolt has used them to inform decision-making regarding its approach to safety on its platform.

Kalajdzic delves into:

* The rationale behind Bolt's commission of the report;

* Why market research firm Ipsos was chosen to conduct the research;

* Key findings from the report and the products Bolt has developed using those insights;

* The key drivers fuelling e-hailing adoption in South Africa and where safety ranks compared to other factors like reliability and cost;

* Scenarios that lead to South African's choosing e-hailing over other transport types;

* How e-hailing compares to other modes of transport in terms of safety perception;

* What survey respondents said about e-hailing's impact on drunk driving in their respective cities;

* Those features of e-hailing apps that make users feel safer compared to other types of transportation; and

* What users can do to maximise their safety levels when using the platform. TechCentral

Technology sits at the heart of modern capital markets, and nowhere is that more evident than at the JSE. In the latest episode of Meet the CIO, TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod sits down with Tebalo Tsoaeli, the bourse’s CIO, to unpack how technology underpins Africa’s largest stock exchange – and how it is evolving for a more digital, global and real-time future.

Meet the CIO is brought to you by NTT DATA, where global experience meets local impact.

Tsoaeli has spent his entire career in financial services technology, starting out as an application developer at Rand Merchant Bank before holding senior technology roles at Standard Bank, Investec, Nedbank, FirstRand and Sanlam. He became CIO of the JSE three years ago, bringing deep experience in large-scale, mission-critical systems to one of the most tightly regulated technology environments in the country.

In the conversation, Tsoaeli reflects on his early exposure to computing and how a formal grounding in computer science shaped his career path. While he is clearly a technologist at heart, he explains how his role has evolved beyond pure IT delivery to focus on strategy, resilience, regulatory compliance and enabling market growth.

A major theme of the discussion is the JSE’s technology stack and how it has changed over time. Tsoaeli explains how the exchange now works closely with Amazon Web Services, moving away from a purely on-premises model to leverage cloud infrastructure for scalability, resilience and performance. He also addresses the question many market participants ask: can the cloud really be trusted with mission-critical exchange workloads, especially in a world where outages at global providers can have far-reaching consequences?

Latency and real-time trading are central concerns for any exchange, and Tsoaeli provides insight into how the JSE’s infrastructure supports the full trading lifecycle – from pre-market activity through live trading to post-trade clearing and settlement. He also touches on the exchange’s networking architecture and how it is designed to deliver predictable, low-latency performance for brokers and market participants.

The episode also explores the JSE’s strategic technology partnership with Nasdaq. Tsoaeli explains how this relationship operates at a technology level and what it has delivered so far, including support for market modernisation and international interoperability. Closely linked to this is the modernisation of the JSE’s Broker Dealer Accounting system, a project Tsoaeli describes as critical to improving efficiency, resilience and future-readiness.

Given the highly regulated nature of financial markets, security and compliance are never far from the conversation. Tsoaeli outlines how the JSE balances innovation with stringent regulatory requirements, and what this means for data protection, operational risk and trust in the market.

Looking ahead, the discussion touches on cross-border capital flows, dual listings and the potential role of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning in trading and market operations – along with the risks that come with them.

Finally, Tsoaeli shares his perspective on what success looks like for the JSE’s technology journey over the next three to five years, how he sees the role of the CIO evolving, and – in a lighter moment – his favourite productivity hack. TechCentral

The cloud revolution has challenged businesses of all sizes by changing how IT teams go about implementing projects and managing infrastructure. IT service firms have been doubly challenged, having to sell a new computing paradigm to their clients while also practising what they preach and adopting cloud-first technologies in-house.

Consnet is an IT solutions firm that leveraged the Amazon Web Services distribution model to accelerate its own journey into the cloud, enabling the company to do the same for its customers.

In this episode of TCS+, Dion Kalicharan, MD at Consnet, and Xhenia Rhode, AWS partner development manager at Cloud On Demand, speak about the benefits of leveraging the support structures in the AWS partner network.

Rhode and Kalicharan delve into:

• What the AWS distribution model is and how it benefits partners in the ecosystem;

• Consnet’s 21-year history, the services it provides and how its journey into the cloud began;

• How Consnet being supported by Cloud On Demand gave it the know-how to support its own customers on their cloud adoption journeys;

• The technical and training support that helped guide Consnet to upskill its teams and gain cloud expertise;

• How Cloud On Demand “marked Consnet’s homework” by double-checking the quality and efficiency of its cloud deployments; and

• How Cloud on Demand strategically meets its partners where their needs are.

Don’t miss this informative conversation! TechCentral

TechCentral’s electric car show Watts & Wheels is back for episode 3 of season 1, and while EVs remain the focus, the conversation takes a detour into something far less planet-friendly – and far more jaw-dropping.

Duncan McLeod and co-host William Kelly kick off by drooling over a wild new Toyota performance machine they say is real, street legal and due in 2027. It’s a 4l hybrid V8, rear-wheel drive “hypercar” with supercar proportions and serious numbers: 478kW and a quoted top speed of 320km/h or more. It’s the sort of car that feels entirely out of character for Toyota – and that’s exactly why they can’t stop talking about it.

From there, the conversation swings hard in the other direction: the all-electric Porsche Cayenne, which is shaping up as a huge statement from Stuttgart. The hosts discuss its performance claims – including a 0-100km/h sprint in the mid-2s range – and a range figure north of 600km.

They also debate the realities of EV depreciation and whether buyer anxiety around battery longevity is starting to fade as real-world data shows high-mileage EVs retaining strong battery health.

The episode then turns to Ford CEO Jim Farley’s candid admission that big, expensive EV trucks haven’t delivered as hoped – and why legacy car makers may need to refocus on smaller, more affordable models. The discussion touches on Ford’s partnership with Renault on EVs, and what that could mean for markets like South Africa.

But the meatiest local segment is BYD’s push into South Africa with an aggressive product and charging strategy. William and Duncan unpack their impressions of the BYD Sealion 5 plug-in hybrid – positioned as a direct rival to the Toyota Corolla Cross – and criticise the lack of technical detail shared at its launch. They also discuss BYD’s planned roll-out of a major charging network, including megawatt-scale sites, and what that could mean for shrinking range anxiety.

The episode closes with the show’s “Hot or Not” segment – and one clear takeaway: 2026 is shaping up as a pivotal year for electrification, even as petrolhead fantasies refuse to die.

Watch S1E3 of Watts & Wheels now – and don’t forget to subscribe. TechCentral