In this Get to Know feature, we find out what makes Pieter Bensch, Executive Vice President, Sage Africa & Middle East, tick and what he views to be the the hot talking points in technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What would you\ndescribe as your most memorable achievement?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Personal achievement is important to me both inside and outside the workplace. Outside work, I\u2019m proud of completing my Joberg2C 900km mountain bike in 44 hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s hard to\nsingle out one professional achievement but bringing together a capable\nleadership team at Sage and what we have accomplished over the past 12 months\nis certainly a highlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What first made\nyou think of a career in technology?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I studied as a\ncomputer science teacher but never started that career because I was more\nattracted to the challenge of contributing in a corporate environment. I\nbelieve that technology can contribute to creating a competitive advantage for\nindividuals and corporates alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What style of\nmanagement philosophy do you employ with your current position?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I lead the Sage\nbusiness in Africa and the Middle East in an open and consultative way. I like\nto get out there and meet colleagues, hear their ideas and find out what\u2019s on\ntheir minds rather than managing the business from an office. My goal is to\nhelp remove the blockages that stop people from reaching their full potential\nand teams from driving the best possible business performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What do you\nthink is the current hot technology talking point?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Artificial\nintelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the world around us, whether we\u2019re\nlooking at virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, Machine Learning algorithms\nused to analyse massive datasets or a new wave of technologies that will\ntransform the accounting profession. Far from bringing about wide-scale\ndestruction of jobs, AI offers an unprecedented opportunity to drive economic\ngrowth and a wonderful opportunity to elevate automation of mundane tasks so that\npeople have more time to spend on the things that really matter. While routine,\nrepetitive tasks are automated, AI is being introduced to help analyse massive\nvolumes of data from social media, connected sensors in the Internet of Things\n(IoT), public data sources such as government databases and internal systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When I want to\nrelax, I cycle. I particularly enjoy long races and completed the Joburg2C\nrace, covering 900km in nine days. Alternatively, I enjoy trail running to\ndestress and unwind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you could go back and change one career decision, what would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I wouldn\u2019t\nchange anything because every experience in my past, good or bad, helped to\nprepare me for my current career and challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What do you currently\nidentify as the major areas of investment in your industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The cloud. The\ntech industry continues to invest in the transition towards the cloud because\nwe need cloud-native infrastructure to power the next wave of innovation. It\nremains a priority area for us because cloud-based business solutions are the\nkey to helping our clients achieve the levels of automation, operational\nefficiency, scale and flexibility they need to keep pace with a fast-changing\nworld. Big data and data analytics also allow us to interact with data in new\nways, while the IoT enable us to instantly and automatically capture\ninformation. This information can be presented visually, to provide new\ninsights into the business and to help you make better decisions. Blockchain\nworks as a global and public ledger without a central database that can be\ntampered with. What this means is that we can begin to really start digitising\nand automating financial transactions that today require manual control\nmechanisms, checks and balances. Blockchain could also alter how companies\nrecord transactions with each other, streamlining invoicing, payments, and\nother business-to-business transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What are the\nregion-specific challenges when implementing new technologies in Africa? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending on the\ncountry, the challenges can be as varied as high connectivity costs, a shortage\nof budget and in-market skills, and a lack of electricity. But a lack of\ninstalled technology can, in some cases, offer the opportunity to leapfrog\nlegacy solutions. Thanks to more affordable mobile broadband and\ninfrastructure improvements, there is a big demand for cloud-based solutions\nthat allow people to be mobile and productive. The cloud is helping African businesses\nto get up-and-running on the solutions they need at a rapid pace and with\nminimal upfront capital expenditure. Cloud-based business solutions are perfect\nfor many African countries because they are simpler to install and support than\non-premise software and do not require organisations to make large, upfront\ncapital investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What changes to\nyour job role have you seen in the last year, and how do you see these\ndeveloping in the next 12 months?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not a new\ntrend that has emerged over the past year, but one that has accelerated. The\npressure is on for business leaders to innovate in the pursuit of customer\nvalue. Sage is developing a culture that embraces experimentation and a two-way\ndialogue between customers and our company. Our internal culture fosters\ncollaboration, open honest dialogue and colleagues feel connected to our\nvision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What advice\nwould you offer somebody aspiring to obtain C-level position in your industry? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two\nimportant qualities in the technology industry today, irrespective of the role\nthat you play. The first is that you need to be ready to learn, adapt and\nchange at high speed to keep up with the evolution of technology. The second is\nthat you need to take a customer-centric approach to everything that you do. Constant,\ncustomer-led innovation is a core part of our business model and my personal\napproach. Be ready to be a lifelong learner. And put the customer\nexperience at the heart of everything you do. Get that right, and the rest will\nfollow. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In this Get to Know feature, we find out what makes Pieter Bensch, Executive Vice President, Sage Africa & Middle East, tick and what he views to be the the hot talking points in technology. What would you describe as your most memorable achievement? 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