Reliable Cyber Security and IT Company in South Africa

Managed IT services provider Secures your valuable IP Provides a competitive edge

Technology Management

Do you have access at any given time to the health of your IT?

Cyber Security

Make sure your information, people and systems have the best defence

Business Continuity

Let your business run seamlessly, even when the unthinkable happens

Network and Infrastructure

Significantly reduce IT issues and scale your business with a strong network

Cloud Solutions

For the past decade, we have provided communications, email and disaster recovery solutions in the cloud

Consulting & Strategy

Short to long term planning to future proof your business

Have a question? Get in touch!

Whether your query is big or small, we’d be delighted to help.

Get the Process of Working With Sybaweb Started

When starting an IT partnership with Sybaweb, you will immediately have access to the following benefits:

  • Access to a highly skilled team of IT specialists who will enhance your IT so you can grow your business.
  • Time and money saved by having your IT issues dealt with efficiently and effectively by our friendly support desk.
  • Peace of mind that in these fast paced times, your business, its Intellectual Property and information systems are protected against all threats. In the event that something does go wrong, rest easy knowing we can get you back up and running quickly.

During the onboarding process, we want to ultimately achieve two main goals. Firstly, to take you on and support your business as is, as seamlessly as possible. Then secondly, to plan for the future and build a robust network.

IT issues experienced on a daily basis are almost always due to poor or insufficient IT networks and infrastructure. As we take you on, we will audit your current network and infrastructure to ensure that we know exactly where the risks lie, so that we can work with you to improve them.

Step 1 - Infrastructure Audit

In the first month leading up to taking over, we will conduct a full audit of your IT infrastructure. This will include physical devices, servers, systems and security. We will also monitor devices connected to your network, and the utilisation of those devices.

Step 2 - Enable Support

We will ensure that we can support your network and employees. We use fortune 500 desktop management software that allows us to monitor all connected devices, and to log on remotely to troubleshoot problems.

We take a proactive approach to support, but in the event that something happens that we aren’t aware of your team will immediately be able to log IT issues via desktop, phone, email or web.

Step 3 - Ensure You Are Protected

Your business information, Intellectual Property and systems are your most important assets. We get to work to ensure that your information is protected and can be fully restored in the unfortunate event that something goes wrong.

Step 4 - Fill In the Gaps

From what we have learned during the audit and support steps, we will present you with a plan detailing the high risk areas of your network, and how to fix them. We will then work with you to prioritise those task, according to risk, importance, and budget.

Step 5 - Evolution

While supporting your network and your team of employees, we will continuously look for risks and areas of improvement and present these to you. This will be in the form of monthly / quarterly meetings with an account manager. We will then work with you to ensure that your IT network and infrastructure grows to support your business.

We do all of the above with a “fit for purpose” approach. We will recommend changes in line with your current business, goals for the future and budget.

Have a question? Get in touch!

Whether your query is big or small, we’d be delighted to help.

Pitfalls to Avoid When Hiring an IT Company in South Africa

More and more South African businesses are utilizing managed IT services from IT companies. Companies without an internal IT team may utilize the help of a dedicated IT company in South Africa to benefit from the same level of support as having IT resources and in-house staff, at a much lower cost. 

On the other hand, organizations with an internal IT team can enhance IT availability and the performance of their existing IT team, while also benefiting from the cost savings. Regardless of the situation, many common mistakes which can be avoided with a bit of due diligence, are sometimes made during the process of choosing an IT company in South Africa. Below are the 10 most common mistakes and some advice on how to avoid making them.

1. Viewing managed IT services as a set it and forget it solution.

While IT companies in South Africa typically solve all technical IT issues for their clients, the service should not be viewed as a “set it and forget it” solution. Businesses will need to be prepared to play a role by doing tasks such as staying aware of new developments in cybersecurity, diligently implementing IT best practices, providing security training for employees, and enforcing IT policies. A good IT company in South Africa can help with these tasks but cannot force a client to take action.

2. Not having a plan for engaging IT support.

When selecting an IT company in South Africa, many decision makers believe they will be able to just hand everything technical over to the IT company. While it is not impossible for an IT company in South Africa to handle every technical issue, it could end up being extremely costly in the long run. 

Before engaging the services of an IT company in South Africa, companies and organizations need to develop a clear plan for staff to know when it is appropriate to engage the IT company for support, versus when issues should be handled internally. Assigning “power users” internally who can assist others, especially on custom or industry-specific software applications, will increase productivity and reduce IT support costs.

3. Thinking all IT companies in South Africa billing models are the same.

Every South Africa IT company is unique and will likely have different billing models. It is important to review the various billing models during the vetting process to determine the best fit. Measuring the predicted usage of IT support against the different models will help to avoid unexpected cost overruns.

4. Viewing an IT company as a vendor rather than an internal resource.

When hiring a South Africa IT company, the entire process should be approached in a similar way as hiring an internal team member. The IT provider should be held to the same level of expectations as internal team members when it comes to communication, professionalism, and dedication to the company. This will enable the organization to zero in on the right provider for their company and avoid a future disaster.

After the engagement begins, if the organization continues to view the IT company as an internal resource, it will create a working relationship open to expressing new ideas that will benefit the company in achieving their goals and expectations.

5. Withholding vital information from the chosen IT company.

During the negotiation of the initial contract and even after engaging the services of an IT company in South Africa, it is important that the business is as transparent as possible with the chosen IT company. Withholding information from your IT provider can end up costing more money in the long run. Whether it is about locations that need to be supported, personnel changes, or unexpected business issues, the chosen IT company needs to know it all.

6. Underestimating the impact of future business changes.

As the business evolves, IT needs will change, and your IT company will need to be able to support those changes. Decision makers should discuss business initiatives, new product launches, external infrastructure changes, and other issues which may impact your IT company’s ability to support the business in the future, to ensure that the selected IT company in South Africa will be capable of handling them.

7. Not being on the same page with your IT company of choice.

If it is believed that your IT company in South Africa will be providing specific services while the IT company believes those services are being handled internally, obvious issues will arise. A RACI chart for all service types identifying who is responsible and what is billable will set a clear direction and uncover potential challenges. Providing these charts to staff will ensure correct engagement with support team members the first time, and increase user satisfaction levels, as well as, the user adoption rate of new service methods.

8. Failing to balance internal staffing with your IT company’s resources.

If the business organization is supplementing internal resources with the IT company’s resources, it is important to ensure that the right people with the right skills are being retained to create balance. An IT company in South Africa can completely compliment internal IT staff’s knowledge and skills, and through working together as a team, amazing results can be achieved. However, if the teams are unbalanced, problems will arise.

9. Misunderstanding the terms of engagement.

The contract between you and your selected IT company in South Africa defines the terms of the engagement. Decision makers need to ensure that the terms of the agreement are clear and that all key staff members are aware of them, including where and when these services are available, how to contact the IT company, and what actions will trigger additional billing.

Part of the agreement with the IT company should be a non-disclosure agreement which the IT company needs to sign before working with privileged data. In addition, it is important to understand the appropriate feedback channels with the IT company in South Africa. If a specific resource is not performing as desired, the business should know how to report it, how concerns are handled, and who will be handling the feedback.

10. Failing to perform due diligence.

Decision makers should learn as much about a potential IT partner as possible. Thorough vetting should be performed before signing the contract. Some questions to ask are:

Does the IT company have resources that can support all our needs?

What is the IT company’s business stability or how long have they been in business?

Do they have other clients that are of similar size? And more!

By avoiding the common mistakes listed above, the chances of finding the right IT company in South Africa and maintaining a successful partnership after the engagement begins will be increased significantly.

At Sybaweb, we pride ourselves in being one of the top cyber security and IT companies in South Africa that meets and exceeds the expectations of our clients. To find out more about how we can help fulfill your company’s IT needs, please contact us at +27 10 110 5000.

Have a question? Get in touch!

Whether your query is big or small, we’d be delighted to help.

Cyber Security

Cyber Security is now viewed as a dominant risk area in business and requires our serious attention. The recent spike in malware, and the more malevolent ransomware, indicates a renewed determination from cyber criminals to access company information and cause immeasurable harm across all platforms.

We understand the nature of these attacks and work with our clients to ensure that there are no unnecessary doors left open to their network. We advise on good practise procedures, such as two factor authentication, and introduce best of breed security products onto their network that minimise risk.

“So How Cyber Fit are you? Get your No obligation ICT Health Check

Benefits

People

Most threats to the security of your information comes from human error.

Cyber security requires the right resources, which many businesses don’t have. By evaluating your requirements, we can put in place measures to limit access to critical information within your organisation. We will work with your staff to ensure they are using industry best practice for accessing information from wherever they operate.

Process

Using the latest Cyber Security technology is not enough. We provide the underlying processes with which to manage your IT security to ensure optimal protection.

We will control all incidents occurring on your network and provide detailed incident reports on the corrective actions taken. In the event of a cyber-attack, or breach, we will guide you through on how to respond.

security

Technology

We adopt a layered security approach to ensure that it does not matter how or from where you access your network.

With us, there will be multiple tools in your arsenal, such as Encryption, Multi Factor Authentication, Encrypted Archiving and many more.

FAQ

Sybaweb has a tried and trusted on-boarding process to manage the changeover period. This mitigates any risks and ensures there is minimal disruption to your business and staff. The process commences with an assessment of the risks and sets out a detailed plan to minimise these. Sybaweb will put in their own firewall and any additional equipment required for a smooth changeover. We will contact your existing provider to make them aware of the change and request all passwords. Once everything is switched over and we have full visibility and control of your systems we set about stabilising everything.

Most of the attacks that happen today are not performed by viruses, but by other tools and methods used by Cyber Criminals. There are many back-doors to your business network, such as your Firewall, your E-mail, and even your USB ports. A complete Cyber Security solution will provide you with a full coverage against known threats, and will be continuously updating to protect you against the new ones. Our protection starts from the creation of Policies, and goes all the way to monitor your network from all sorts of external and internal attacks.

Small and Medium Enterprises have become the main targets for hackers and Cyber Criminals in the past few years. Over 50% of all Cyber Attacks target SMEs, mostly because they do not invest much in their own defences – and therefore an attack is much more likely to succeed. A Cyber Criminal may not just be looking for money, but even your data is a valuable resource for them. Customer’s information, confidential material and private files may be used against your business without you ever being aware of the breach.

Today, it is not a matter of “if” you become a target, but “when” you do. And the sad reality is that most businesses are not able to recover from an attack. Over 60% of businesses will close their doors up to 6 months after an attack.

Many of our clients have requirements that fall outside of the scope of their managed service agreement from time to time, for example, a Microsoft 365 migration. We would normally handle these requirements as a separate project and would give the client a quote and outline plan for approval prior to work commencing.

We generally handle project work for existing clients, but we can also take on ad hoc projects for other organisations. The scope of these projects can be anything from technology evaluation to the implementation of new systems, desktop virtualisation, or other technology improvements.

We work regularly with IT departments to provide additional specialist resources for projects, or to take on the more time-consuming daily activities such as proactive network management. Talk to us about the challenges you are facing and we will happily work with you to find a solution.

Many people are not aware of all the possibilities within the realm of Cloud Computing. Before making the move, you need to consider factors such as which of your business applications can be stored in the cloud, who needs to access them and when, where are they hosted, to name a few. We work with you to understand all the possiblities and provide you with options so that you can make the most informed decision.

Whether you realize it or not, most businesses are already using the cloud. Every day, more and more applications are moving to cloud-based platforms. However, we recommend to clients that they start with the basics (such as backup, phone or email) and progress from there once they see for themselves the tangible benefits of cloud-based services.

Planning in IT involves understanding where your business is going, and what technology you are going to need to help you get there. So planning in IT involves understanding what technology you will need, how easily it can be scaled and adapted, and how much it will cost. We guide you through the entire process and ensure that you have everything you need to meet your business goals within your budget.

Businesses are subject to so many external factors that could impact their goals that plans change on a regular basis. That’s why when planning for your IT growth and spend it’s important to invest in solutions that can scale not only up and down but laterally as well. We work with you to ensure that your IT is agile, so that it can adapt to your business requirements.

Whether you are scaling up or down, Sybaweb will be happy to review your contract with you to ensure you are getting the best value service for your changing business needs.

Our Partners

Have a question? Get in touch!

Whether your query is big or small, we’d be delighted to help.

Covid-19 Message from the CEO

I hope that you, your family, and your colleagues are safe and well.

During this harsh reality, it is vital to stay digitally connected to your customers, your employees, colleagues and your communities. I can assure you that Sybaweb has the infrastructure and processes in place to help you forge ahead through this challenging time.

Our top priority is the health and safety of our employees, clients, and partners. We have adapted to the changing environment very quickly, and our services will continue to be usable and accessible without interruption to ensure continuity for all our clients.

Much of the essential work we do can thankfully be done from home. We are meeting every day via Microsoft Teams, working to identify additional ways to improve on the measures needed to keep a healthy IT environment for all businesses.

Our thoughts are with the people affected and everyone working around the clock to help those most in need. Everyone at Sybaweb wishes you and your loved one’s good health and strength in the days and weeks ahead.

If we can assist you in anyway, please do not hesitate to reach out. One of our staff would be happy to help get you and your company on the best track for current circumstances.

Stay safe and stay connected

Andreas Nel