In a market predicted to  by 2031, consumers are more connected and digitally sophisticated than ever, mobile phones shape how people discover products, compare prices and interact with brands.

Yet physical retail remains central, and informal traders, neighbourhood stores and open-air markets still account for a substantial share of everyday spending across many African economies, with analysts estimating that  of total food sales in sub-Saharan Africa take place via informal channels.

This creates a uniquely demanding operating environment. Retailers must serve increasingly digital consumers while managing fragmented channels, infrastructure constraints, volatile supply chains, intense price sensitivity and continued pressure on margins.

The challenge is therefore no longer simply having access to more information, but building capabilities to act on that information quickly and accurately.

A retailer may know demand is changing, yet replenish too late. A promotion may be approved centrally but fail to reach every store or channel consistently.

Stock may appear available online while the store cannot fulfil the order, or a pricing decision may make sense commercially but arrive too late to prevent lost margin or dissatisfied customers. Each of these represent an execution gap, one that artificial intelligence is helping to close.

Closing the execution gap

Artificial intelligence is already helping retailers forecast demand, optimise pricing, improve customer service and identify changing purchasing patterns. But much of this intelligence remains concentrated within individual tasks or functions, for example a merchandising team getting better forecasts, or a supply-chain team receiving earlier warnings.

Yet people must still coordinate decisions across merchandising, finance, logistics, stores and digital commerce before anything happens.

The next opportunity is to connect intelligence more directly to action, which is a guiding idea behind the autonomous enterprise. An autonomous enterprise is not an organisation without people, but one in which people determine strategy, priorities, policies and acceptable levels of risk, while AI assistants and specialised agents help coordinate routine decisions and actions across end-to-end processes.

Instead of simply presenting an insight, an AI agent identifies an emerging problem, determines which processes are affected, recommends an appropriate response and initiate approved actions, and escalates to a person when judgement or accountability is required.

The goal is to improve execution, not simply automate every and all processes. Take the example of a grocery promotion. Demand can change quickly according to location, weather, competitor activity or consumer response.

Traditionally, merchandising, planning, pricing, logistics and stores may each operate with only part of the picture. By the time the implications become clear, a retailer may already be dealing with stockouts, excess inventory or lost margin.

In a more autonomous model, systems continuously assess sales signals, promotional activity, supplier lead times, inventory positions and store capacity. When conditions change, they adjust replenishment recommendations, identify stores at risk or flag an exception before it becomes a customer problem. All of this happens with people still retaining responsibility for the rules and for all important decisions.

An African model of autonomy

This opportunity is particularly relevant in Africa because retail here rarely follows a simple progression from physical to digital commerce.

Instead, consumers move fluidly between them. A customer may discover a product on social media, ask questions over WhatsApp, visit a store before buying and pay using whichever mechanism is most convenient.

We describe this emerging behaviour as a distinctly African “click-and-mortar” model, with digital discovery complementing rather than replacing physical retail.

The continent’s enormous informal retail sector adds another dimension. Across many markets, informal channels continue to dominate food sales and transaction volumes.

Distribution, fulfilment and customer relationships are therefore shaped as much by trust, local networks and last-mile realities as by formal systems.

African retailers cannot simply import operating models designed for highly consolidated developed markets. Their systems need to accommodate different store formats, varying connectivity, local fulfilment models and significant differences between markets.

Autonomy must therefore be grounded in context.

An AI agent tasked with preventing stockouts, for example, cannot work from historical sales data alone. It needs to understand promotions, supplier constraints, substitution options, delivery capacity, store conditions and working-capital parameters.

Without that context, automation may be fast but poorly informed.

Start with the decisions that matter

For retailers considering this next phase, the most effective starting point may be surprisingly practical.

Identify the execution gaps that repeatedly affect revenue, margin or customer experience. Obvious candidates include promotion compliance, price accuracy, fresh-food replenishment, fulfilment reliability and inventory availability.

Then connect the data and processes required to make those specific decisions better. Retailers do not need to solve every data problem before beginning, but autonomous systems do require reliable business context if their decisions are to be trusted.

Governance matters just as much. Organisations need to decide which actions agents may take independently, which require approval and when an issue must be escalated to a person.

And people must be prepared for changing roles. Planners may spend less time manually coordinating information and more time designing policies and managing exceptions.

Merchandisers can concentrate more heavily on judgement and commercial strategy, while store teams can receive more precise guidance rather than another stream of reports. This is ultimately the opportunity presented by the autonomous enterprise: not removing people from retail, but removing friction from the decisions they make.

African retailers already operate in one of the world’s most complex and dynamic consumer environments. Competitive advantage will increasingly belong to those that can connect signals, decisions and actions faster than the market around them. The next leap in retail will not come simply from knowing more, but from the ability to act intelligently on what the business already knows.

The post Beyond the Dashboard: Why African Retail Needs AI that Can Act appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

Held virtually on 3 September 2026, the session, 麻豆原创鈥檚 鈧�100M AI Opportunity: How to Secure Funding for Your Next AI Project, brought together 麻豆原创 experts , , , and to unpack the opportunity, eligibility requirements and practical process for accessing the incentive.

The discussion came at an important time for organisations exploring artificial intelligence. While investment and interest in AI continue to accelerate, many organisations are still struggling to translate experimentation into sustainable business value. The presentation highlighted that data access and quality remain significant barriers, while many organisations remain caught in pilot mode without a clear path to scale.

From AI experimentation to business value

A key message from the session was the need to move beyond isolated AI use cases towards AI that is embedded into business processes, supported by appropriate governance and connected across the organisation.

麻豆原创 described the evolution towards an autonomous enterprise where agents can support routine transactions and coordinate actions across business processes, while people remain focused on higher-value decisions. Importantly, governance, auditability and traceability need to be built into AI-enabled processes from the outset.

The webcast also reinforced the importance of keeping people at the centre of AI adoption, with human-triggered and monitored agent actions forming part of understanding the 鈧�100 million opportunity

At the heart of the webcast was 麻豆原创鈥檚 鈧�100 million Business AI Partner-led Adoption Incentive, a pilot programme aimed at helping customers realise greater value from their 麻豆原创 Business AI investments by encouraging adoption and consumption through the 麻豆原创 partner ecosystem.

Approved partners can deliver projects across 麻豆原创 Business AI, including 麻豆原创 Build and Joule Studio, creating agents, applications and workflows around customer use cases. The programme is running through the end of 2026.

The programme includes different levels of support depending on the scope of the implementation, ranging from 鈧�15,000 for 麻豆原创 Agent Adoption, through 鈧�25,000 and 鈧�50,000 packages, to an 鈧�100,000 Enterprise Package supporting three or more custom Joule Studio or 麻豆原创 Build agents together with workflow or pro-code application development.

Who can participate?

The session also provided clarity on customer eligibility. The programme is aimed at qualifying existing 麻豆原创 Business AI Platform customers with active subscriptions as well as certain new customers entering eligible 麻豆原创 Business AI Cloud Services agreements during the programme period. Specific commercial and subscription criteria apply, while public-sector and government entities are excluded from the current programme.

Customers do not apply independently. Eligible customers are nominated through an 麻豆原创 representative, after which 麻豆原创 validates programme eligibility. Once approved, customer consent is obtained before enrolment.

Importantly, the final choice of implementation partner remains with the customer. Customers may nominate a preferred eligible partner, or 麻豆原创 can provide available approved partner options where a preferred partner has not yet been identified.

Helping the AFSUG community navigate AI adoption

For AFSUG, the webcast was about more than introducing a funding programme. It was an opportunity to give the community practical information that can help organisations ask the right questions about AI investment, partner selection, scalability and business value.

As AI moves rapidly from experimentation into enterprise operations, collaboration between customers, 麻豆原创 and the partner ecosystem will become increasingly important. Through sessions such as this, AFSUG will continue creating opportunities for the community to connect, learn, share experiences and make more informed decisions about emerging 麻豆原创 technologies.

Connect. Create. Collaborate.

The post AFSUG Webcast Explores 麻豆原创鈥檚 鈧�100M Business AI Adoption Incentive appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

Chris Shortt, chief technology officer at Shoprite Group, says the work of the next five years is meeting the customer at their point of need, wherever that is 鈥� and that this does not mean the end of the store.

Speaking on TechCentral鈥檚  podcast series, brought to you by NTT DATA, Shortt said Africa鈥檚 largest retailer is building towards a unified experience regardless of how a customer reaches it: ordering by voice from a home assistant, or walking in to choose their own tomatoes and their own fillet.

鈥淗ow do we blend that for you so that it鈥檚 actually how you want to do things, as opposed to how we might want you to do things,鈥� he said. The group鈥檚 store footprint, he added, is as alive and active as it has always been, and its point of presence in communities still makes a difference to customers.

Delivering on that promise rests on a real-time inventory layer, which is why modernising Shoprite鈥檚 core 麻豆原创 retail platform is the largest technology project the group has running.

You can listen to the podcast here:

Shortt also discusses:

• How the CIO/CTO鈥檚 job has changed, with the infrastructure now simply expected to work and the role shifting towards helping business counterparts understand the art of the possible;
• Why about 12 000聽, and how the gateway the group built picks the least expensive model that can handle a request;
• Why his product teams now pair one or two people with several agents, and what he put to the group鈥檚 chief people officer about recruits who arrive with agents of their own;
• Why he will not comment on other retailers鈥� ERP failures, and the 鈥渄ay in the life of鈥� testing he relies on instead;
• What he tells the audit and risk committee when they ask what keeps him up at night; and
• The book that shaped his thinking, and the productivity habit he will not work without.

Don鈥檛 miss a great discussion on the future of retail.

This podcast first appeared on .

The post Meet the CIO | Shoprite鈥檚 Chris Shortt on What a Supermarket Becomes appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

NTT DATA is a $30+ billion global leader in AI, digital business and technology services, serving 75% of the Fortune Global 100.

The 麻豆原创 solutions will help NTT DATA replace multiple legacy HR systems with one unified platform for people data and processes, strengthening decision-making, employee experience and workforce planning. 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors solutions will serve as the system of record for people and talent data, working alongside NTT DATA鈥檚 existing employee service platform and specialist workforce planning tools. 麻豆原创 Business Data Cloud will connect this data with insights across other business functions.

鈥淭he initiative reflects NTT DATA鈥檚 view of talent as a strategic differentiator and AI as a capability that should be embedded across enterprise organizations,鈥� said , Chief People Officer, NTT DATA, Inc. 鈥淯ltimately, this is about creating an environment where our people feel empowered to do their best work, wherever they are in the world.鈥�

The deployment builds on a strategic partnership between 麻豆原创 and NTT DATA spanning more than 36 years, during which NTT DATA has collaborated as an 麻豆原创 platinum partner, global service partner and global reseller for 麻豆原创. In 2025, NTT DATA adopted 麻豆原创 Cloud ERP Private solutions to modernize its core systems.

麻豆原创 SuccessFactors solutions will now be deployed internally at NTT DATA over a 12-month period, with the company applying its own 麻豆原创 expertise to design and roll out the platform. This will create a single, authoritative source of HR data and processes, laying the foundation for faster, more consistent HR services across the organization. Leading its own implementation will also strengthen NTT DATA鈥檚 ability to guide clients through AI-driven HR transformation, with firsthand experience of the solutions it delivers.

鈥淣TT DATA is demonstrating how AI and cloud technology can redefine the employee experience,鈥� said , Chief Customer Officer and Member of the Executive Board of 麻豆原创 SE. 鈥淲ith a unified, intelligent HR platform, the company will unlock new levels of productivity and scale a people strategy that supports a connected workforce worldwide.鈥�

The post 麻豆原创 Brings 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors and Joule to NTT DATA鈥檚 Global People and Culture Transformation appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

Experts warn, however, that as machines take on more responsibility, accountability cannot also be automated.

For the past few decades, many governments鈥� digital footprints have largely been about transferring services online; that is, transforming paper forms into digital applications, replacing physical queues with online portals and turning manual registers into databases.

Many of the changes have made some government processes more accessible but they have not necessarily changed the way the system works.

Now, the rapid development of AI could usher in a different phase of digital transformation. AI agents are being developed to do more than answer questions. They can potentially plan tasks, make recommendations, process information and coordinate multiple steps in workflows with limited human intervention.

This could mean AI systems helping to process applications, manage records, identify exceptions, respond to citizen queries and route cases to the appropriate officials.

Gartner has projected that at least 80% of governments will be using AI agents to automate routine decision-making by 2028. The shift moves digital transformation away from simply automating individual administrative tasks towards coordinating entire processes.

The concept is being described as 鈥渁gentic AI鈥� 鈥� systems capable of carrying out multistep tasks rather than simply responding to individual prompts.

The idea is not necessarily to replace public servants. Instead, AI could take on some of the coordination and case-processing burden, while officials remain responsible for interpreting policy, dealing with exceptions and engaging directly with citizens.

The South African Revenue Service, for example, has been exploring AI-driven 鈥渄igital twinning鈥� approaches designed to replicate human decision logic in tax processing.

The potential benefits are clear: faster processing, greater consistency and fewer administrative bottlenecks.

But there is another question that becomes important as AI takes on more responsibility: who is accountable when the system gets it wrong?

For AI to be trusted in public services, accountability needs to be built into the system. This includes clear procurement standards, defined escalation procedures, comprehensive audit trails and named officials who have the authority to override or suspend an AI system.

Lance Williams, the public sector lead at 麻豆原创 Africa, says AI should be viewed as a tool for strengthening public administration rather than removing accountability.

鈥淭he real opportunity is to use AI to remove administrative friction, help public servants make better-informed decisions and ultimately improve the experience of citizens.鈥�

Williams says governance and accountability need to be considered. 鈥淎I agents should operate within clearly governed processes, with appropriate permissions, auditability and human oversight 鈥� but accountability for decisions that affect citizens must remain with authorised public officials.鈥�

He says the measure of success will be whether it helps government deliver services that are faster, more consistent, transparent and accessible.

Putting an AI agent on top of a broken or poorly designed administrative system will not necessarily produce better outcomes. Governments will need to examine their processes, data, policies and accountability structures before deciding where AI can add value.

The post AI Agents Could Change the Face of Service Delivery appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

The breach, which does not appear to be recorded on the Information Regulator鈥檚 website, is a focus area for the platinum miner鈥檚 audit and risk committee for the next financial year, says its audited annual financial statements for the year to June.

In its 2025 ESG report, Implats 鈥� one of the world鈥檚 major platinum group metals producers 鈥� says there was a 鈥渓imited impact cyber security breach to a managed operation鈥檚 IT environment, which was quickly detected and resolved by the group鈥檚 IT service providers鈥�. In 2024, Implats 鈥渄id not have any material security/cyber security breaches鈥�.

The miner, with a market capitalisation of R208.35 billion, did not identify the affected managed operation, give a precise date, explain the nature of the breach, say whether data was compromised, or quantify any financial or operational impact.

Implats has six mining operations across South Africa, Zimbabwe and Canada, plus refining and processing operations, employing more than 60 000 people across its operations.

South Africa is the world鈥檚 largest producer of platinum, supplying almost three-quarters of the metal 鈥� used in vehicle catalytic converters, jewellery, industrial applications and emerging hydrogen technologies.

Batten down

Dawn Earp, chairman of the audit and risk committee, says its priorities for the year ahead include cyber security, AI and digital risk, and that it will oversee the group鈥檚 cyber security and AI risk management and control environment, including 鈥渢he remediation of actions arising from the recent cyber incident鈥�.

鈥淟earnings from this incident were incorporated into the group鈥檚 security posture to improve maturity,鈥� it said in 2025. Implats adds that the outcome reflected the effectiveness of its layered security strategy and continued investment in digital resilience.

Implats describes cyber security as a material risk because of its potential to disrupt business continuity and compromise sensitive information and intellectual property.

Among its cyber security measures are ongoing cyber security awareness training, annual assessments of the potential impact of cyber breaches on data and operational technology systems, regular audits and penetration testing by independent external specialists, as well as escalation protocols for incident response and breach management.

Earp says key controls, including 鈥渧ulnerability monitoring, ransomware recovery testing and backup management,鈥� operated effectively during the year.

The committee will also monitor risks associated with the integration of IT and operational technology, and oversee AI governance, responsible adoption and compliance with evolving regulatory and ethical requirements.

Digging deeper

Implats also conducted a deep dive into AI-related risks, including cyber security, data privacy, regulatory compliance and responsible AI practices, Earp says. These measures are intended to support the responsible adoption of AI across the group.

This comes as the miner expects the economic, technological, regulatory and geopolitical environment to remain uncertain, specifically pointing to 鈥渢he accelerating convergence of cyber threats, rapid advancements in AI, evolving regulatory requirements and ongoing economic volatility鈥� as factors that continue to 鈥渟hape boardroom priorities and challenge traditional risk management approaches鈥�.

Implats has also identified investment in automation, digital systems and data analytics as a way of improving operational performance and decision-making. Along with the rest of the mining industry, it is using advanced technologies to improve mineral-resource modelling and metallurgical processes.

鈥淭he mining sector is increasingly adopting automation, AI, data analytics and remote operations to improve safety, productivity and cost-efficiency.鈥�

Getting smarter

Priorities included using digital tools, automation and data analytics to improve mining efficiency and reduce waste, while exploring remote operations and smart-mining technologies to improve productivity and reduce labour intensity, it says.

Its IT strategy is focused on extracting value across support, compute, storage and security. The digital push includes cloud services, 麻豆原创 S/4HANA and further ERP investment, near-real-time reporting, data analytics and data science, process digitisation and robotic process automation.

It is also investing in above- and below-ground connectivity, internet of things integration, IT, operational technology, convergence and cyber security, all of which are embedded in performance metrics.

This article first appeared on .

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• Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht says rivals can replicate the group鈥檚 Sixty60 platform, but doing so will take years and significant investment
• Sixty60 grew sales almost 35% to R25.5 billion in the 52 weeks to end June, adding a record R6.6 billion to the previous year鈥檚 sales, and is now gaining traction at Shoprite-branded stores.
• Anchor Capital analyst Steph Erasmus called Shoprite the 鈥済orilla in the room鈥�, saying it is bigger than all its rivals in grocery retail and is using that to its advantage.

Shoprite is signalling that rivals can imitate its on-demand service Sixty60, but doing so will take years and significant investment 鈥� money the retail giant has already committed.

And even then, SA鈥檚 largest retail group intends to stay ahead of the game by constantly introducing new features and capabilities to the platform. This will include everything from new agentic abilities for its AI assistant Pixie to broadening its product and adjacent store ranges that can be curated for delivery.

Asked about the threat other retailers鈥� on-demand platforms and apps pose to Shoprite, CEO Pieter Engelbrecht said while a Sixty60 platform and its app features can be replicated, it鈥檚 鈥済oing to take time and money鈥�.

鈥淎nd that doesn鈥檛 mean we鈥檙e standing still. Every single day, we are improving on [Sixty60]. That鈥檚 why you can now 鈥榓sk鈥� [through Pixie] Jamie Oliver what鈥檚 for dinner on the app. You can take a picture of your shopping list, and Pixie will understand your language and your writing.鈥�

Shoprite has a long-standing partnership with the British celebrity chef.

Engelbrecht, who was speaking to News24 after the publication of full-year results on Tuesday, said what Shoprite offers on Sixty60 is 鈥渘ot so unique that nobody else can do it鈥�; the advantage is that the group has done the heavy lifting in terms of significantly investing over many years into several technologies and platforms that ultimately laid the foundation for Sixty60 and helped Shoprite evolve into what it is today.

This includes its 麻豆原创 enterprise resource planning platform, introduced in 2017, which serves as its 鈥渃ore system of record鈥� and connects its core business operations. The system provides a single data source that gives Shoprite access to accurate information about sales and customer habits. It ultimately laid the framework for building out its
Xtra Savings reward programme, and later Sixty60 in 2019.

Another benefit is that Shoprite owns the underlying code that Sixty60 runs on.

鈥淭here are no licence fees and things like that because we developed the code ourselves. We have already made the investment, so every single day we鈥檙e doing something or adding something to it to make the experience better. In the end, it boils down to your level of execution.鈥�

This echoes what he said at an investor presentation earlier that day. Engelbrecht told investors that apart from the money rivals would need to invest, it would take them a long time to reach Sixty60鈥檚 current 鈥渓evel of execution鈥�.

He rated the Sixty60 platform against rival platforms in the market and said it came out on top.

鈥淚 tested it all. For me, there is no question that Sixty60 is the best online platform. It鈥檚 reliable. That is logically driving the behaviour of customers because they have a great experience.鈥�

This may explain why it continues to command such strong growth 鈥� in the 52 weeks to 28 June, for example, Sixty60 grew sales almost 35% to R25.5 billion, adding a record R6.6 billion in sales. The platform is also gaining traction among Shoprite customers, with the service now available from 137 Shoprite stores.

鈥楧efinitely a need鈥�

Engelbrecht said while Shoprite Sixty60 was not expected to grow as fast as Checkers Sixty60, the group was still 鈥渧ery surprised鈥� by the level of acceptance shown by Shoprite customers.

He said their basket size was 鈥渟lightly smaller鈥� than Checkers shoppers鈥� baskets, but it was 鈥渟till profitable 鈥� There鈥檚 definitely a need for it.鈥�

He also said there was still an opportunity to add all the other parts of its business to Sixty60, combining them with food delivery for a single checkout.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a single delivery, but it鈥檚 actually from four or five different businesses. And that, for me, is probably the top level of convenience you can ask for, and that is what is driving growth.”

The key to the Shoprite group鈥檚 success has been its focus on ensuring 98% stock availability for both online and in-store customers, Engelbrecht told News24. He noted that having suboptimal stock levels could mean a customer ends up receiving only half of what they ordered online.

Over the years, the group has also invested significant capital in improving its tech capabilities and logistics. In the past three years alone, it spent R22.6 billion on digital technology, supply chain upgrades, and store expansions. This equated to R7.8 billion in 2024, R8 billion in 2025, and R6.8 billion in 2026.

In the upcoming year, the group intends to spend R7.7 billion.

Shoprite is also modernising its IT system, with Engelbrecht saying the group will be transitioning to the latest 麻豆原创 S/4HANA platform for financial systems and HR over the next three years.

Engelbrecht also said there were 鈥渓ots of opportunities鈥� for growth for Shoprite in SA, adding that adjacent businesses such as pet (Petshop Science stores now number 185 and have increased sales 74.5%) and pharmacy (standalone Medirite Plus stores now number 22) were 鈥渟lowly but surely starting to contribute鈥�.

鈥淲e鈥檝e still got a long way to go with Outdoor, Uniq by Checkers, Petshop Science, and Medirite Plus,鈥� he said, adding that these adjacent businesses are also helping Sixty60 grow.

Anchor Capital investment analyst Steph Erasmus said his main takeaway from the Shoprite results, particularly the information it shared on Sixty60, was that the retailer is the 鈥済orilla in the room鈥�.

鈥淭hey are vastly bigger than any of their competition in food retail, and they are using that to their advantage, especially in areas like Sixty60 and adding in the adjacencies and the like.鈥�

Erasmus agreed with Engelbrecht about rivals being able to copy the Sixty60 model, saying it 鈥渋s going to take a lot of ammo and a lot of time鈥�.

鈥淚 think Shoprite are just ahead of the curve. They are heading the pack, and it is difficult to see anybody really making a big difference to their market position for the next while.鈥�

This article first appeared on .

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This is according to , Chief Partner Officer for MEA South at 麻豆原创, a Diamond Influence Partner of the upcoming OpenText Summit Africa 2026 in Johannesburg.

De Beer says: 鈥淏ack in the early 90s, everything was about structured data 鈥� that鈥檚 麻豆原创鈥檚 heritage and the backbone of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) that companies run their businesses on. But even back then, we had the foresight to recognise that large amounts of data weren鈥檛 governed and controlled by 麻豆原创 systems. This unstructured data included e-mails, contracts and drawings that were very relevant to business transactions.

鈥淩emarkably, we saw the importance of connecting structured and unstructured data from a business perspective, knowing that this contextual information would add richness to transactional data,鈥� she says. 鈥淥ur partnership with OpenText was a natural joining of forces, combining 麻豆原创鈥檚 ERP with OpenText鈥檚 secure information and content management. From the start, we put OpenText in our solution extensions, with OpenText probably the flagship. Over time, we have built something few can duplicate: a fully autonomous system that captures integrated data across portfolios.鈥�

De Beer says there is a general recognition that many companies have a lot of records that aren’t governed and accessible. 鈥淲hen you pick up an invoice, for example, how do you know which transaction it relates to, what the broader picture is and what the lead-up to the transaction was? Connecting all of this information to the 麻豆原创 system gives a full contextual view of the transaction and all related e-mails and contracts.鈥�

The partnership delivers measurable business value. A report by IDC entitled: 鈥楾he 鈥� found a 351% three-year ROI with just 13 months to payback, a 37% improvement in accounts payable team efficiencies, and significant improvements in time to make vendor payments and complete document migrations.

The partnership is so successful that OpenText has won 麻豆原创鈥檚 highest recognition 鈥� its Pinnacle award 鈥� 21 times.

, ISV Partner Business Manager for MEA Region at 麻豆原创. (Image: AI-enhanced)

Naeem Muhammad, ISV Partner Business Manager for MEA Region at 麻豆原创, notes that the OpenText solution extensions are treated as important 麻豆原创 solutions. 鈥淥penText SKUs are available in the 麻豆原创 price list, and 麻豆原创 offers end-to-end OpenText customer support, contracts and SLAs. We treat them like 麻豆原创 products. We also find our Global Strategic Service Partners, such as leading consulting firms, work very well with 麻豆原创 and OpenText in what we describe as 鈥榯he power of three鈥�.”

De Beer adds: 鈥淲hen software companies partner, it鈥檚 often a hands-off relationship, but this is very much hands on. We have trained people who sell, manage and support OpenText, and customers sign one contract with us.鈥�

Ongoing innovation

Importantly, the partners collaborate closely in helping customers move into the future, De Beer and Muhammad say.

鈥淲hen customers move from legacy 麻豆原创 to later versions, and transformational projects, it is not always clear to customers how to bring the contracts and unstructured data along. OpenText supports transformational projects, helping with archiving and migration,鈥� De Beer says. 鈥淎fter migration, the partnership really comes into its own, giving customers connected systems and a foundation to build on.鈥�

As AI adoption increases, streamlining access to both structured and unstructured data is important for enterprises, Muhammad says: 鈥淎I is only as good as the data it has access to, so with 麻豆原创 and OpenText, it is all combined. Our 麻豆原创 Autonomous Enterprise can access the entire pool of data to take it to the next level. The structured and unstructured data together gives us the right base to build innovation and AI on.鈥�

De Beer adds: 鈥淏oth 麻豆原创 and OpenText have our own AI journeys, but our roadmaps are very connected and they augment each other. At 麻豆原创, we have embedded AI into our flagship Autonomous Enterprise solution, with AI agents in every process. This is where governance becomes important, because humans still need to be in control. With OpenText, we jointly decide where human interventions happen and how governance is applied.鈥�

The partnership benefits 麻豆原创, OpenText, its partners and their customers, De Beer says. 鈥淲ith OpenText, we have a more complete, richer platform we can offer customers, that extends seamlessly because of the roadmaps we built together. For partners, it means more opportunities and a broader solutions set to take to customers. And the customer gets a very complete and governed view of all business information, with security and the same rules applied across the information chain. It’s a win-win for everyone,鈥� she concludes.

The will be held on Thursday, 3 September at The Canvas in Riversands, Johannesburg. 麻豆原创鈥檚 sales and partner teams will be on site and available to discuss with customers and partners, and showcase how the 麻豆原创-OpenText partnership benefits enterprises.

Register for this event here: .

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From the rise of the Autonomous Enterprise to the case for embedding AI at the very core of business operations, the world of work is undergoing seismic shifts that are fundamentally altering what it means to work inside an enterprise.

The question organisations now face is not whether AI will reshape the workforce, but whether they are ready to lead that transition in a way that genuinely empowers their people.

At 麻豆原创 Sapphire 2026, under the banner of The Beginning of Better, 麻豆原创 made its most consequential set of workforce-related announcements to date. Taken together, they represent a clear and considered answer to that question.

From process operators to leaders of judgment

The Autonomous Enterprise framework introduced at Sapphire is built on an explicit design principle: humans must remain at the centre, not as operators of process, but as leaders of judgment, strategy and change. As AI assistants take on the coordination work that has long consumed employee time and attention, people are freed to focus on the decisions, relationships and creative problem-solving that machines cannot replicate.

Joule Work, 麻豆原创鈥檚 reimagined AI engagement layer, illustrates this shift vividly. Rather than navigating multiple systems and entering data across screens, employees can now describe what they need to accomplish in plain language 鈥� fill an open headcount, manage my team鈥檚 time-off backlog 鈥� and Joule orchestrates the right workflows, data and agents to make it happen.

The model of work is shifting from task navigation to intent-driven interaction, reducing operational friction and returning cognitive bandwidth to the things that matter most.

Planning for a workforce that includes people and agents

One of the most strategically significant themes at Sapphire was how organisations plan and design for a workforce that now includes both human employees and AI agents executing tasks in concert.

 reveals that 62% of C-suite executives are dissatisfied with how well people data connects to business performance, making it harder to translate strategy into workforce action. 麻豆原创鈥檚 new AI-enabled workforce planning capability directly addresses this, connecting financial data from 麻豆原创 Cloud ERP, contingent workforce data from 麻豆原创 Fieldglass, and people and skills data from 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors into a unified foundation for decision-making. Planning shifts from a periodic exercise to a continuous discipline, with AI agents able to model scenarios, simulate KPI impacts and recommend actions in real time.

New organisational modelling capabilities within 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors Employee Central allow leaders to explore alternative structures, evaluate changes to roles and reporting lines, and understand implications before they are implemented, supporting thoughtful, data-informed change rather than disruptive restructuring.

Ongoing efforts to close skills gap

Across every industry and every region, leaders are confronting the same reality: new roles are emerging, new competencies are required, and the processes that have defined work for decades are being reimagined at speed by generative AI.

Traditional approaches to workforce development, such as annual training cycles, standalone learning systems, and scheduled courses, cannot alone keep pace. The recently unveiled Workforce Upskilling Assistant offers a new capability that delivers personalised, AI-driven learning directly within the flow of daily work, whether that is in Microsoft Teams, Slack or 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors itself.

By converting organisational content into adaptive micro-learning and embedding timely nudges into workflows, the assistant brings the right learning to the right person at the right moment instead of when a calendar event dictates it. Organisations that embed learning into culture and workflows with AI-powered tools are significantly ahead of peers, and .

Trust is the foundation

None of this transformation succeeds without the trust of the workforce it is designed to serve. Accenture found that , while significant proportions report burnout and anxiety about the future of their roles.

Here, the emphasis that humans remain firmly in control reflects a commercial and human reality that enterprise leaders across our region understand well: technology that erodes trust fails. Technology that builds trust, endures.

The organisations that will lead this era are those that invest as intentionally in workforce readiness, reskilling and governance as they do in AI platforms and automation.

The Autonomous Enterprise is, at its heart, a vision for human progress, one where intelligent systems handle the operational burden and people are empowered to pursue the work that only they can do. 麻豆原创 is committed to helping organisations across the region build enterprises where that potential is fully realised.

The Beginning of Better starts with the people inside it.

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The introduction of agentic AI into the enterprise resource planning (ERP) space is set to underpin the era of the autonomous enterprise, according to Nazia Pillay, MD of 麻豆原创 Southern Africa.

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Pillay spoke to ITWeb TV recently about AI-infused ERP, the autonomous enterprise concept 鈥� which relies on an army of AI agents at its core 鈥� and how organisations need to adapt to benefit from the opportunity.

鈥淎utonomous ERP is not just about using AI to engage with end-users, to assist with navigation and pull data back; it is also about seeing agents as co-workers 鈥� systems that are working and performing tasks from end to end with human oversight,鈥� she said.

Pillay added that this fundamental shift requires change management for both human employees and business processes.

鈥淵ou are adopting a technology that fundamentally needs to be embedded, and your business processes need to be adapted for how you want to use this in your business,” she said. “That鈥檚 the main thing that our customers are facing 鈥� they need to look at this as a transformation and not just as a plug-and-play technology.鈥�

Pillay cautioned that curiosity about AI does not necessarily indicate organisational readiness. Success, she said, comes down to understanding business objectives and getting data foundations in place.

鈥淢ost of our customers are trying to figure out how to navigate this technology 鈥� how do I introduce it and how do I do it in a way that is adding value,” she said. “What we鈥檝e found is that when they use AI as a proof of concept or an experiment, they are not leveraging the full value of the technology.鈥�

Beyond experimentation, governance frameworks are essential, Pillay said.

鈥淢ost of the organisations that we are speaking to need to look at how they are deploying it at an enterprise level, because when you are just deploying it as a proof of concept, you don鈥檛 necessarily need to have all those frameworks in place.鈥�

Pillay said the wealth of data that clients have generated through 麻豆原创 installations provides a good foundation for companies shifting towards the autonomous enterprise.

鈥淲hat we know about AI is that it requires context 鈥� so you need to understand where the data is and how it is being used, and this we already have based on our knowledge graphs within 麻豆原创,” she said.

鈥淭he second part is governance 鈥� what 麻豆原创 puts into place to ensure that we have security. We have invested because we have the context and the governance to support our customers in having agents run in a responsible, reliable way.鈥�

With AI agents being deployed across end-to-end business processes, getting governance right will be key, she concluded.

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