Everyone had to adapt, change their habits and routines, so that they can still work efficiently, even from a different environment.

However, being in the comfort of our own homes, things can get a bit too relaxed, and we can very easily lose our focus and productivity. While it can get hard to stay motivated, luckily there are a few tools that can help with that.

We have recommended and assisted a lot of companies in South Africa to set up these resources with great results. No matter the size of your team, we are available to assist you configure these listed resources and more. These being said, here are the top four applications that can help employees work in a productive and efficient manner, even when working remotely:

Slack

Being maybe one of the most famous real-time communication apps, Slack is a tool that can represent the main way in which you keep in touch with the rest of your team.

The advantage of this app is that it not only supports direct messaging, but also audio or video calls. You are also able to start sharing your screen while you’re in a call, which is a feature that comes in very handy.

The application supports file sharing as well, so you can forget the old and classic email method, as the files can be sent directly from within the app.

You are able to create channels (public or private), search through conversations or messages and create threads so that you keep the discussions as organized as possible.

One big advantage is that the app can integrate with plenty of third-party tools (such as Google Drive/JIRA/Pager apps and so on), which can really help you be very efficient and productive while working remotely.

Google Drive

The application that comes next in this top is Google Drive. This is one of the most well-known file storage apps. You can create and files such as documents, spreadsheets, presentations and so on. The files will be stored in a cloud, so you will only need an internet connection to access them, which is very convenient, especially for remote workers.

Besides organizing your files in folders, you can also collaborate with others and work on the same documents simultaneously. You have 15GB of free storage, but, of course, you can upgrade at any time, as they offer a variety of paid plans.

Trello

So far in this article, we’ve presented an app that’s great for communication, and one that will provide a solution for storing your files. This next app is going to help you stay on track and keep your tasks well organized.

Trello is another online, web-based tool. This is a list-making application in which your tasks can be arranged in a very efficient way. The app is a Kanban-style one, meaning that the tasks are spread into a visual board, and thus you will be able to see the status of a task at any given time.

This app, too, will let you collaborate with people. You can create and assign tasks, move them around from “To-Do”, to “In Progress” and, later on, to “Finished”. Using a task tracking app will really up your productivity game.

It has also been researched that using apps such as this one will help remote workers mentally as well, as you tend to get motivated when you have a visual representation of the tasks that you’ve managed to complete. For example, as a content writer for ninjaessay, you will be able to write all of the upcoming articles into different tasks placed in the “To-Do” board, and have a very organized tracking method that will help you finish them before their deadlines. Once the articles get posted on the website, you can move them to the “Finished” board. By the end of the week/month, you will have a very exact report of the tasks that you’ve finished and the ones that are still in progress.

Desktime

Last but not least, it will also be helpful that you use a timeline app, so that you can easily track the time that you’ve spent actually working.

Desktime is a great tool for that, and it can come in very handy especially if you’re a freelancer working by the hour.

The app will give you complete breakdowns of the time spent working, and you can also add your co-workers as well. You will see how much each employee has spent on each task/project.

Author Bio

Rosa Hemming is a blogger and professional content writing expert from the United States. She is keen on movies and serials. Her blog consists of lists of the best films divided by genre and for different moods. Find her on Twitter.

But as technology has developed, so did hackers. If you do not protect your computer while surfing the internet, it may be hacked. We already know that data about what we do online is collected all the time. This is how you get personalized discounts and offers to things you only spoke about with your friends.

The developments of technology also enabled people to work from wherever they like doing it. You see cafes such as Starbucks full of people working on their laptops. This is something students also do. Connecting to a public Wi-Fi network comes with a lot of disadvantages.

Hackers create networks with similar names so that they can trick users into connecting to them. Once they are connected, hackers have access to all the information sent on that computer. Sometimes, it may be plain conversations about exams or romance. But other times, it may be important personal information, such as bank account numbers, passwords, and so on.

These are the vulnerabilities every internet user has when connecting to the internet. Cybersecurity is a domain that is continuously developing, but so do the hacking methods. So, why use VPN while working from home? Which are the benefits?

• Mask Your IP Address

One of the things that happen behind websites is a collection of data. You have probably come across a few websites that restrict your access to them. If you have wondered how they do this, it is because they have access to your IP address.

Your IP address indicates your location or country, and even though most websites do not restrict your access, they have it. One of the great benefits of using a VPN while working from home is that it helps you mask your IP address.

VPNs allow anyone to generate a different IP address to use. You can change your country and location. At the same time, as your real IP is masked, no one will have access to it. So, it is a plus of cybersecurity. This is essential for people whose jobs involve surfing the internet and accessing a lot of websites.

You are connected to your personal network, and it can easily be hacked. This is essential especially for those who have smart homes and all devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

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  Ensure You Keep Your Online Anonymity

As we have mentioned above, some websites do not allow you to access them. There are specific websites such as BBC iTunes, that allow only specific countries to have access to it. This is valid both for websites and apps. They can have access to your IP and this is how they restrict specific locations and countries.

VPN helps you mask your IP address and keep your online anonymity. It also helps you connect to a server in a specific location and have access to websites that blocked your real IP address. Of course, when you access websites, they will see your fake IP address, so your anonymity is secure online.

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  Wi-Fi Protection

Besides the protection VPN gives to your IP address, it can also help you protect your Wi-Fi. Sometimes, remote workers are traveling and working while being on the road. This means that you might usually connect to public Wi-Fi networks that leave you exposed to threats. Hackers can easily track your activity and steal important information, which can cause huge damage afterward.

Using a VPN connection helps you ensure your protection while doing all these. VPN encrypts your data, which is a great extra layer of protection from hacks, says a security business owner and professional Public relations company in Pretoria, who have both move some of their resources to remote work.

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  No Price Differences

Have you wondered why the same product on the same website has different prices depending on your location? It is indeed a good strategy many brands are adopting to get more clients, but how do they do it? They identify your location based on your IP address. And they give you discounts and offers based on that. It is for these reasons that some locations have higher prices.

VPN connection helps you eliminate these differences by changing your IP address on the store location. Remote workers might often need to order tools to help them in their job, so this is a good way to make sure you pay the right price for the products you want to order.

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  Increased Productivity and Efficiency

One of the things remote workers struggle with the most is lack of productivity and efficiency. Many of them try different things and environmental changes to find their flow. But productivity might be harder to achieve because you might be distracted. Cybersecurity is a real problem many people struggle with, especially during these times when more and more people are using the internet. This means that the number of cyber-attacks has increased too, and this fact can bring a toll on your productivity level.

Thinking about your security online can be a huge distractor you might not be aware of. Using a VPN when working, no matter if it is from the comfort of your own home or your favorite cafe, can increase your productivity. You will feel safe to work from any place because your real IP address is masked, so your focus and attention will be on your tasks.

Conclusion

Even though VPN might seem something odd for some people that are working from home, it really comes with benefits. VPN helps you add an extra layer of cybersecurity, which in these times is so essential. As the pandemic forced more people to spend time inside, the number of cyber-attacks has increased considerably.

Protecting yourself and your personal data from cyber-attacks is important, especially when working remotely. You might work from the comfort of your own home, a park, or a cafe and you will surely connect to public networks. VPN helps you mask your IP address, change the location and country, and get access to websites that previously restricted it. It also helps you keep your online anonymity and increase your productivity and efficiency.

Author Bio

Thomas Lanigan has work experience for 4 years as a marketing specialist, social media manager, writer, journalist, and editor. Also, he is a professional content writer in such topics as blogging, marketing features, cybersecurity, technology.

One of the easiest ways to curb these losses in your business is to train your employees to create a more secure email environment. Staff plays a crucial part in the security of your company, and employees who are unaware of the onslaught of cyber threats are a liability to the safety of your company’s data.

It is therefore of utmost importance that they are always up-to-date on the best procedures to keep the company safe.

In an effort to save you and your company from the horrors of a cyber-attack, here is a list of tips that help safeguard your business.

• Never open links or attachments from unknown persons.
• Don’t respond to emails that request a password change and require you to divulge personal information — no matter how official the source appears.
• Ensure antivirus and anti-spy software is updated on your computer.
• Encrypt any emails containing sensitive data before sending.
• Don’t use your company email address to send and receive personal emails.
• Don’t automatically forward company emails to a third-party email system.
• Create strict standards for company-related Mobile Device usage

Mobile Devices have become an important tool of the workforce, and with them comes another wave of cyber threats. Making sure your employees have password-protected devices, encrypt emails, and download approved security applications to help keep the mobile data safe is very important.

Unit offers Mobile Device Management that will help with many of these safety features, including the ability to remotely wipe mobile devices. Contact us for all your security or Office 365 needs.

#1: Training People with Transferable Skills/Hiring Recent Grads

Businesses can meet their IT needs by training people within the organization who have transferable skills: for instance, an IT-savvy employee who can learn a new computer language to meet the job requirement. Bringing interns into the organization is a perfect chance to feel out a cultural fit—their ability to learn and adapt and measure how they’d work with the existing team.

Another way that businesses can fill tech roles by turning to internal training to fill talent gaps is by hiring college graduates with two- or four-year degrees in computer science or even technical trade school graduates. This requires growing them into the level of mid-level techs who bring value, which can take a year or more.

#2: Support and Mentor Programs

Companies having a hard time finding tech talent should create a mentor program and work with more junior IT team members to put them on a skills track. The first six months of the mentor program is an investment, with team members learning new skills quickly. At the six-month or one-year point, they begin creating value for the company but still need the advice of senior leadership to grow and to avoid pitfalls.

#3: Internal Training, Certification

If you have competent IT generalists but need them to have specific training, it can pay to invest in the certification training that they need as long as they have the aptitude and ambition and are a good fit for the company long-term. The potential downside is that investing in IT personnel training doesn’t always continue to pay off, as they may leave at a certain point and take the training that you provided with them to another, higher-paying job.

#4: Sharing IT Talent with Other Businesses

Another approach that may be possible is that other, non-competitive businesses that you work with, such as vendors or businesses operating in the same building, may have part-time tech staff that you can work with and whose consulting-time costs can be shared with their employer. This may be feasible if your business is relatively small and its IT needs are basic.

It does present some drawbacks, as they may not be available when there is a problem, even though they may be on call. Other challenges are, they may be IT generalists rather than specialists, so they may not have the skills to handle more complex IT needs.

#5: Strategic IT Staffing Through Augmentation.

All of these solutions can be quite costly, and depending on your IT needs, it may be a long time before you see the return on investment at some type of break-even point. In today’s digital era, IT needs are a combination of current network and IT system maintenance, monitoring, and management. Additionally, it is about IT strategy development and implementation for technology solutions that will meet future business needs. This is true regardless of the size of your business, so with part-time IT staff or even in-house IT personnel, their skill sets and numbers may not be sufficient to effectively bridge the IT resources gap.

Gaps in IT can lead to major problems in terms of network downtime, slow business technology processes, and cyber attacks due to poor security patches and software update scheduling. With today’s deadline-driven IT demands and time-compressed project cycles, the ability to augment a core IT staff with on-demand advanced-skills professionals can dramatically increase a company’s competitive advantage.

By having an external managed IT services partner (MSP) to deal with day-to-day IT support, as well as long-term evolution, the organization can tap into highly skilled IT consultative support. The best of these MSPs provide a broad and interconnected suite of services that are bolstered by an understanding of how to develop and fulfill a defined IT strategy that is aligned with business goals and culture.

The support of an MSP can effectively bridge the gaps in IT personnel, as well as tool needs for monitoring, maintenance, security, and vendor relationships for the inevitable investments in new IT solutions. The right MSP can provide all of the specialized personnel you need, when you need them, under a set price contract that can be adjusted for expanding or temporary needs. You also get a consultant that can help you develop a sound IT, cybersecurity, and virtualization strategy to prepare your business for future needs in ways that foster agility, growth, and flexibility.

Technology can help SMBs streamline their processes, improve employee productivity, and maintain a competitive edge. But technology comes with its share of challenges, especially as mobile devices continue to take over and computing needs rapidly change.

That’s where managed services come in. Defined as specialized IT support delivered according to a clearly described service-level agreement over a fixed period of time for a low and predictable cost, managed services are the safest bet in today’s tech environment. Especially when compared with reactive or break-fix IT services.

Stability and Expertise

Predictable IT costs. Managed services convert variable IT costs tied to the break-fix or reactive mode of support into the stable costs of proactive support. This allows business owners to budget effectively and pay what they can afford on a set schedule rather than getting hit with unexpected bills when tech problems arise.

Legitimate training. On top of hiring and training an IT staff, the cost of ongoing education and certification can break a small business owner’s bank. And if you’re not well versed in the IT world, how can you ensure an IT employee is actually qualified? Don’t let undertrained tech “experts” fool you into thinking they can solve all of your problems.

Real-world experience. And while certifications are important, so is experience. Leading managed service providers encounter very few problems they haven’t seen before, while an in-house IT employee often remains narrowly focused on a small set of problems. You’d rather an experienced doctor solve your physical ailments, right? The same goes for an IT support team.

Reduced Risk, Leveled Playing Field

A safe bet. Since market trends, government regulations, financial conditions, and technologies all change quickly, every business investment carries a certain amount of risk. Working with a trusted MSP that can assume and manage much of this risk for you is a major advantage that comes with specific industry knowledge and years of experience.

A real competitive edge. Most small to medium-sized businesses can’t afford to match the strong in-house support services that larger companies enjoy. Working with an MSP, however, gives small companies enterprise-level solutions by providing the kind of access and expertise that large companies enjoy. Managed cost structures and economies of scale-like that can give your company a major advantage.

Compliance that counts. Is your firewall capable of fending off attacks? Do you audit your workstations and servers regularly? Has your company implemented PCI security standards and worked to maintain those standards? Small to medium-sized businesses have more ways than ever to handle commerce via credit and debit cards, e-commerce, wire transfers, and more. But with this increased transaction sphere comes a stronger need for due diligence. Employing a managed services provider allows your business to minimize the risks associated with maintaining client data and other sensitive information, the misuse of which can cause serious harm to your business.

Break-Fix: High Cost, Low Value

“Hey, Margaret!” Many small firms deal with IT this way: relying on a non-IT employee to handle day-to-day IT problems. Margaret never asked for this role — it just evolved in her direction. But the impact of her being asked to fix co-workers’ urgent issues is not often calculated; nor is the likelihood that her lack of formal IT knowledge can lead to more expensive repair bills in the future.

“I got a guy.” Small companies that have recognized the flaw in the “Hey Margaret!” support strategy attempt to solve the problem by engaging an experienced technical support specialist on a part-time, fixed hourly rate basis. Yet the “I got a guy” guy may maintain upwards of a dozen part-time clients in order to make a decent living, and he may not always be available when a business owner absolutely needs him. In this scenario, the company does get a more technically competent solution. But it’s also at the mercy of an independent operator with competing demands for his time and attention.

“Call in the Geek Squad!” Since the business owner usually only sees the “I got a guy” guy when there is a problem, mayhem ensues when frantic calls go unanswered. Then, the business owner has no choice but to open the yellow pages and look for help, often settling for the first company that can respond to the immediate need. While these techies may indeed provide relief for failed hard drives and other desktop issues, they often do not have the skills to support complex networks or understand a business’s specific needs.

“Hire an IT person — pronto!” When the lack of immediate availability becomes an issue (or when the “I got a guy ” and the “Geek Squad” fail resolve to an issue), the business owner finally decides to hire an in-house resource that can respond to user complaints. The new hire is immediately handed a long list of issues to resolve. Unfortunately for both the internal IT resource and the company, the list never gets shorter and the internal IT support is forever in “react” mode, responding to the most severe problem and seldom getting ahead.

Managed Services: Low Cost, High Value

Proactive approach = resolution before the crisis. Monitoring and maintenance software can identify problems before they affect employee productivity. And everyone can rest easier knowing that resolution occurs before situations turn into “white-hot” emergencies.

Uniform application of the optimal resource. The lowest-cost, most highly credentialed resources are applied to recognized issues first, while bigger problems are escalated to higher-skilled resources in a fluid and seamless manner so that resolution can be quickly achieved.

Fast response regardless of priority. With multiple levels of on-site and remote IT support available, problems can be addressed simultaneously rather than in sequential order. The proactive approach also ensures the ultimate in responsiveness: resolving issues while they’re still disguised and before they’re detected by the end-user. The immediate impact is improved productivity; the longer-term impact is a more tech-literate staff that’s better able to leverage the company’s technology investment.

The Final Word

None of the issues faced by small to medium-sized businesses — relentless competition, technological complexity, the never-ending need to do more with less — are going to disappear anytime soon. So the value of a high-quality, low-cost solution to these issues will only grow. That’s why CMIT Solutions has spent years tailoring a variety of managed services that can help boost efficiency and productivity for your business.

The break/fix approach to IT support has not only failed to meet the needs of SMBs, but it has also damaged the relationship between technicians and the small businesses they serve. Small businesses feel vulnerable because they don’t understand their technicians’ jargon-heavy language, heavy workload, and unpredictable costs. Meanwhile, technicians feel overworked and underappreciated, locked in a loop of repetitive, high-stress tasks as they run from one crisis to the next, unable to work on more satisfying projects that could offer lasting value to the business.

Only a radical change in IT support philosophy and delivery can make the break/fix model obsolete and deliver greater efficiency and productivity to SMBs at a lower, more predictable cost. Technology is integral to the success of a small to medium-sized business.

The Challenge

The central focus of a new CRM system was to allow Limbafix to improve customer and supplier relationships. The Co-Operative was previously dependent of on field staff returning to the office to file a paper-based records of customer interactions.

The Solution

Designed and delivered by Maphorisa, the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) components in Microsoft Dynamics 365 were identified as the best way to meet Limbafix’s requirements and to garner a better understanding of their customer needs. The new CRM system provides Limbafix with relevant information in a timely manner helping to overcome some of the challenges the teams have encountered when working remotely in rural Ireland.

Our CRM solution has allowed Limbafix to record important items of information, enabling a more enhanced service. All the information is uploaded directly by their staff from any location, solving the challenge of working with customers and suppliers in remote areas.

Unfortunately, that’s not really practical for most people. So instead, we snooped around for what measures computer security professionals use to secure their own machines. (Obviously, one of the best measures is not to release all of your security methods, so we got the cream of the crop.) The skills and knowledge of being an expert computer security professional can take years to learn, but it’s always possible to glean a few tidbits of knowledge from the pros.

Take online security seriously and respond quickly

News outlets were buzzing after an article published on medium.com nailed Panera Bread to the wall for failing to address a massive user data breach for eight months. That breach allowed anyone to view customers’ full names, addresses, dietary preferences, and email addresses. Their IT team didn’t fix it and their leadership didn’t handle it when it was brought to their attention. That’s not exactly the example to follow.

Whether you’re speaking in terms of public relations, data security, or loss of productivity, there’s never been a more important time to take digital security seriously. You wouldn’t leave your car running in a parking lot while you went inside for half an hour, so don’t leave your (and potentially your customers’) data vulnerable online.

Update your software — now, not later!

We were actually surprised by this consensus opinion. It’s so simple, yet, we’ve all been guilty of clicking “Remind me Later” when some program wants to update. There’s a reason that software is updating: Its team of dedicated, expert programmers have patched something. Many times, it’s a security loophole or some part of the program that allows a vulnerability into your system.

With that said, do something you might never have done — read the release notes. Figure out exactly what the update intends to fix, and then head to the forums. See what other people are saying about the risks involved with the update. If you’re already behind a version, then take a moment to weigh whether or not to update to, yes, yet, another version that might also have holes. That’s what the pros do.

Remember when security experts found a flaw in High Sierra? That’s the perfect example. You might have dodged a bullet by not updating, but not without checking the news.

It may be hard to believe that one of the most important lessons of online and network security is performing software updates as soon as possible, but it’s one of the best ways to keep your computer and network safe. It’s almost always a hassle, but it’s definitely always worth it.

Be miserly with your permissions!

Every CompSec pro is privy to the basic, fundamental rule of network security: The Principle of Least Privilege, which basically asks “how few permissions can you give each user?” Yeah, needing to ask your IT team to turn on your speakers because of insufficient permissions is incredibly annoying — no one knows better than the IT team. But by keeping everyone’s permissions as restricted as possible, you minimize potential problems, including your own.

Imagine your network like a house and a hack like a break-in.

Example 1: You have valuables in every room of the house, but there are no doors to those rooms. Whether a thief breaks in through the window, the garage, or by picking the front door, they can get at everything by breaking in once.

Example 2: Every room in the house has a locked door, and all valuables are placed inside safes. If our thief gets into one room, they can’t get to the hallway and into another room, and they might not even get anything out of that room.

Obviously, it seems a little paranoid to live that way. But, let’s face it, CompSec pros are a little paranoid. Keep your “rooms” locked, put your valuables in a safe place, and when you throw a party, close it all up. In other words, administer your network with multiple user permission levels and restrict accesses carefully, based on how few permissions can be doled out.

Prepare for the worst: Do your backups

You know what the scariest part of working in 2018 is? It’s entirely possible that next time you turn on your computer, every file on it could be lost. There are hacks that hold your hard drive irretrievably hostage, there are environmental disasters that ruin your servers… even a simple burglary can make accessing your data impossible. Are you prepared for that?

Performing a backup of essential files and storing that backup somewhere geographically different from your hard drive could mitigate most security failures. There’s a lot to learn about how to keep computers and networks safe, but knowing how to retrieve stolen, lost or hacked files could be a lot easier and maybe just as important.

Update software, backup your data, and restrict user accesses – those three steps alone could potentially save you and your company hundreds of hours and millions of dollars. But in all of these examples, what you and your network security team should be asking is, “Do we even know what our company’s policy is?” These tips don’t even scratch the surface of everything there is to learn about computer and network security, but good security starts by asking questions and finding out the answers.

Last tip: With all that said, don’t feel bad if you’re doubting your company or team is doing enough with security measures. When asked, “What do security professionals do to secure their personal computers?,” almost all network security professionals have the same answer: Not enough. You can always do more, so get started today!

Via: CBTNuggets

The nomination listing serves as proof that our effort to be the number one reputation management company in Pretoria is getting closer to shore. The nomination comes weeks after the brand strategist of the company received 4 nominations and our sparkling accreditation testimonial from our client in Nigeria.

Our endless effort to put our client into a reputable business and personal space remains our number one priority, despite the little information the public has about the advantage of public relations. We are constantly working at achieving greater successes in the nearest future beyond the ambient of South Africa, into the larger scope of Africa as a continent.

The polls are still very active and needs votes to keep us on the number one position we currently occupy. Thembekile Mdletshe, the senior public relations specialist believes the 7 points expansion model of our company would make us eligible for more mentions. Millionsworthpr is set to sign major contracts with big names in the music and construction industry this week.

Our internal analyst also believes this mention is accreditable despite OFLocal being a young company but considers their idea as brilliant and needed in the rating space. MillionsworthPR appreciates the mention and verifies it as one of the many mentions that would not be overlooked but appreciated.

People invest in new technology to primarily enhance productivity. However such investment will not be optimized if the full potential of the technology cannot be utilised. At present the lack of technological security in different organization leads to unaccountable losses which can be managed through effective use of such technology.

Security is not just about keeping an eye on checkpoints, entrance and exit – this is only some aspects. Technological security requires, effective and user-friendly utilization to ensure that everyone feels safe and even in the most monitored environment.  The research and development of such technological development has infused a high level technological capacity in the surveillance scope of eller security.

Millions of businesses have physical guards monitoring assets that require high level surveillance and standards events make use of security operatives who have limited ability in terms of assessment and visibility.

Mobiguard fleet, used to tour areas that needs constant surveillance and monitoring. Mobiguard ensures that the main objective of monitoring is not undermined – with unlimited asses and control with no compromise.

The device has the capacity of a mounted HD survillance system with metal detecting capacity as well as mobility. Importantly is the alarm features installed to avoid intruders from stealing the device, it also has night vision and can run up to a speed of 40km.h. This is the perfect solution for business complexes, shopping malls and groceries stores. The device is customized into our physical guards business, so we can assure our clients of our technological advantage.

Security enhances productivity. It enables and optimizes the realization of the investment with the support of technology, security can be more resourceful. Investing in security is, by logic, an investment in productivity.

Eller security is a fairly young company in the security company with a very reputable image in the industry. The company offers a wide range of services with ample experience in physical guarding, specialized security escort services and surveillance systems. Strong concentration is the company’s needs-focused security solutions that gives the greatest possible benefits in terms of security, organizational efficiency and convenience. The company operates in most of the provinces in the country with their head office located at 386 b Orient Street, Hatfield Pretoria. South Africa.

www.ellersecurity.co.za | Email info@ellersecurity.co.za  |  Telephone : +27(0) 12 342 6177  |  Fax :086 609 7337