2017’s end is here, bring on 2018

Just like that, the year end is upon us. What an interesting and scary year it has been. In our world we have come through some of the biggest global cyber attacks, taking down thousands of machines around the world. We have seen South Africa’s largest ever personal data leak and political turmoil, corruption and corporate liars have created panic across South Africa.

We are seeing some massive organisations losing a third or more of its market cap overnight because investors and customers are growing tired of dodgy dealings and corporate shenanigans. It is time for all South African businesses to review who they work with; can you trust your ICT and Information Security providers – even after their corrupt and illegal dealings are flashed across all the news channels?

The damage this is doing to our country and those organisations’ innocent staff is catastrophic. This is the time for all good, ethical businesses to take a stand to cut this out. Let us be a beacon in the fight to stop cyber-crime and insider collusive fraud.

This year has not been easy, the economy is under massive pressure, which brings about uncertainty. Uncertainty increases nervousness and nervousness drives people to do things they otherwise would not do. Co-ordinated data theft and direct fraud is rife.

As we wind up 2017, we will maintain our focus to deliver honest, reliable and highly effective solutions to all our customers. J2 Software is focused on having complete accountability and honesty in all our dealings. We are here to continue our drive to bring about visibility of real activity to ensure that our customers can cut out the risk in their business and make the most out of their security investments.

We have been very fortunate, through hard work and focus 2017 has been our best year ever. We have experienced exceptional growth and this will continue into 2018. Our team is delivering world class service to an ever growing customer base. Our clients have learnt that we are not simply a provider of security based technology or services; we are a strategic partner who helps increase information security maturity levels over time. Cyber threats and evolving risks change all the time and no two customers are the same. We cannot expect to deliver real results if we only do things one way.

I want to take this time to thank our dedicated team for a great year and we all thank our customers for their continued support. We pledge to continue to work ethically and provide you the services and solutions you need at a reasonable cost. The J2 Cyber Security Centre is here to keep an eye on things for you, so that your team can focus on doing the right thing within your business.

2018 will bring with it many changes as we provide enhanced services and offerings via our Cyber Security Centre. Our R&D team is always working on what we are able to do for our customers and you can look forward to some amazing things in 2018.

This will also be the year that we conclude our next step in the transformation journey as we expect to announce our new BEE partner in the upcoming weeks. Everybody at J2 Software is excited. We are ready and we are here up to help.   We will be hunting for new interns who are ready to learn what security really should be and start to develop the next generation of cyber security professional.

Please keep an eye out for upcoming events early in 2018 and the launch of our non-product security evenings – Cyber Thursdays will become an excellent way to interact with peers from different businesses to speak about current problems and work together to solve these.

2018 is the year for enhanced collaboration, accountability, ethical behaviour and visibility. We look forward to being part of the journey. Please rest and travel safely throughout the festive season – we look forward to speaking to all of you.