ZIMBABWE is making meaningful strides in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, the recently held ICT Africa Expo revealed.
The ICT Africa Expo, which was held at the Harare International Conference Centre, is an ICT stakeholders’ platform to exchange ideas and highlight developments as well as challenges in the sector.
The exhibition that has been going on for the past 20 years is organised by the Computer Suppliers Association of Zimbabwe (COMSA).
At least 40 companies participated at this year’s exhibition.
The major discussion during the exhibition was the issue of security.
While ICT has infiltrated most if not all industries, security has been a major concern.
Various seminars were hosted that looked at problems of data loss and leakage.
One of the speakers Leslie Gomba, network infrastructure manager at Kutoa Integrated Solutions said while most companies used cloud computing and mobile technology, very few were aware of the security risks and threats associated with these technologies.
For instance, people were using these technologies while they were not secured against hackers.
Gomba said there was need for risk-based security approaches that identified databases with highly sensitive or valuable data and provided extra protection, encryption and monitoring.
For example, he said, there was need to install patch management agent software that ensured that corporate data was isolated from personal data on the mobile device.
Seminars were also conducted on encryption solutions and government and military security solution.
Fuzzy Electronics, a Zimbabwean company providing integrated security and building management solutions and automation systems launched a new product, Fingerprint Mouse Authentication Solution.
Fingerprint Mouse uses fingerprint identification, which is more secure than the use of passwords.
Other products exhibited included the Green Box Scanning Machine by Burco Technologies, which is a scanner combined with a camera and fingerprint scanning.
The Green Box can be used for application forms, whereby one simply fills in the application form and then scans it on the machine, which captures the image and fingerprint doing away with the need to produce passport sized photos and separate fingerprint forms.
Stakeholders also used the opportunity to catch up on latest offerings.
Tendo, a closed circuit television supplier, won the most significant exhibitor for the ICT Africa 2013 while Cannon scooped the best stand award.