Resources & Guides
Practical IT guides, written for South African business.
No fluff, no jargon, no imported US pricing. Every guide is written by the 1ICT team from the same playbook we use with our own clients — covering managed IT, cloud, cybersecurity, connectivity, VoIP, access control, field services and AI.
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21 guides- Managed IT
What is Managed IT? A Non-Technical Guide for SA Business Owners
Plain-English guide to what an MSP actually does, how pricing works in South Africa, and how to know if you need one.
9 min readRead - Cloud & M365
Microsoft 365 for South African SMEs — Complete 2026 Guide
Which M365 plan is right for a 10–200-person SA business, licensing gotchas, security baseline and rand pricing signals.
12 min readRead - Cybersecurity
POPIA Compliance Checklist for SMEs
A practical, do-this-today checklist covering the 8 conditions, records of processing, breach response and PAIA.
11 min readRead - Cloud & M365
Cloud Migration Playbook — On-Prem to Microsoft 365 & Azure
The wave-by-wave method 1ICT uses to move SA businesses off on-prem servers without breaking mail flow or line-of-business apps.
13 min readRead - Cybersecurity
How to Choose a Cybersecurity Partner in South Africa
Twelve questions to ask before you sign — separating real security operators from resellers with a dashboard.
11 min readRead - Connectivity
Fibre vs LTE vs 5G for Business — Honest 2026 SA Comparison
Real-world speeds, rand pricing, uptime and load-shedding behaviour — plus the exact stack we recommend for dual-WAN.
10 min readRead - Cybersecurity
Ransomware Recovery Playbook for South African SMEs
What to do in the first 4 hours, why never to pay, and how to rebuild — with SA POPIA and Information Regulator duties.
12 min readRead - Cloud & M365
Microsoft 365 Backup — Why Native Retention Isn't Enough
What Microsoft actually retains, what you'll lose, and how to close the gap for R60–R120 per user per month.
10 min readRead - Cloud & M365
Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 for SA Business — 2026
Honest SA comparison: rand pricing, features, hidden lock-in, and which one is right for your team.
11 min readRead - Cybersecurity
Phishing Prevention That Actually Works — Beyond Awareness Training
SPF, DKIM, DMARC, phishing-resistant MFA, safe links and the BEC callback policy that stops SA's #1 fraud.
11 min readRead - VoIP
3CX vs Teams Calling vs Traditional PBX — Which Wins in SA?
10–100-seat SA businesses: total cost, quality, integrations and the honest trade-offs between each platform.
11 min readRead - VoIP
VoIP Number Porting in South Africa — Step-by-Step Guide
ICASA timeline, documents, cutover choreography and the 3 most common port failures — plus how to avoid them.
9 min readRead - Access & CCTV
Access Control Buyer's Guide — ZKTeco, Ajax & Hikvision in SA
Which reader, controller and credential mix is right for SA offices, warehouses and estates — with rand pricing.
10 min readRead - Access & CCTV
CCTV for SA Businesses — PoE, NVR, Cloud or Hybrid?
Design principles for footage that helps you prosecute — camera choice, storage sizing, hybrid cloud and POPIA.
11 min readRead - Connectivity
SD-WAN for Multi-Branch SA Business — When It's Worth It
How SD-WAN cuts connectivity costs and adds failover — and when a plain dual-link setup is genuinely enough.
10 min readRead - AI & Automation
Copilot & AI for SA Businesses — 12 Practical Use Cases
Where Microsoft 365 Copilot actually pays back the R560/user/month in SA — and where it doesn't.
12 min readRead - Field Services
SLA-Backed On-Site IT Support — What's Reasonable to Expect in SA
Realistic response benchmarks across SA metros and how to structure an on-site retainer that holds up.
10 min readRead - Connectivity
Business Fibre in South Africa — Providers Compared (2026)
Openserve, Vumatel Business, MetroFibre, Frogfoot, Octotel and more — SLA, install time and the fine print.
11 min readRead - Managed IT
Disaster Recovery & Backup for SA Business — What Actually Works
RTO/RPO explained without jargon; the 3-2-1-1-0 rule and the modern anti-ransomware DR playbook for SA SMEs.
12 min readRead - Managed IT
IT Budgeting for Growing SA Businesses — Templates & Benchmarks
What SA companies at 10, 50 and 200 staff actually spend on IT — with a 12-category budget template.
11 min readRead - Managed IT
Choosing an MSP in SA — 12 Questions to Ask Before Signing
The exact questions that separate a real managed services partner from a reseller with a ticket system.
11 min readRead
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