CHANNEL CHIEF
ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY
For ANTON JACOBSZ , CEO of value-added distributor Networks
Unlimited Africa, being results-driven drives him on and believes that
good leadership and maturity run hand in hand.
W
What would you describe as your
most memorable achievement?
My marriage to my wife of 25 years and our
wonderful children. I am truly blessed.
What first made you think of a
career in technology?
What style of management
philosophy do you employ with
your current position?
I am a hard taskmaster but if someone
sells themselves for a role, they need to
deliver. I would say that my style is one of
empowerment, accountability and being
results-driven, together with a degree of
mentorship depending on the level of the
individual. If I start micromanaging you,
then you know I am not happy with
your performance.
What do you think is the current
hot technology talking point?
IT skills and the lack thereof.
How do you deal with stress and
unwind outside the office?
I work all the time, even the weekend and
don’t really feel stressed.
I love what I do, so don’t see it as work. I
do realise the need for other things as well
in terms of a work-life balance. I cycle a lot,
I love the bush and do bow hunting during
the winter months, and I love spending time
INTELLIGENT
TECH CHANNELS
read a lot.
If you could go back and change one
career decision what would it be?
Anton Jacobsz, CEO of value-added distributor
Networks Unlimited Africa
I have no regrets, only great
learning experiences.
I was working as a broker and doing a
portfolio for the regional manager of a
company called Mercedes Information
Systems that sold DEC VAX mid-range
systems in South Africa. After completing his
portfolio, he offered me an internship.
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
with family and friends around a braai. I also
Issue 26
What do you currently identify as
the major areas of investment in
your industry?
Service assurance; network uptime;
application uptime; operational uptime;
security from the end point to the
datacentre, including staff training and
process control; cloud; cost reduction and
operational efficiency such as SD-WAN
solutions and Software Defined Networking;
data management; collection of data;
storage; backup and recovery; Disaster
In some instances, the
east and west Africa
regions are ahead of
southern Africa when
it comes to adopting
new technologies, and
vice versa, so we need
to understand the
markets.
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