From change freezes and on-call rosters to automated monitoring and transparent risk management, CIOs share how they approach business continuity during peak leave periods.
Holiday periods like the upcoming Easter holidays test the resilience of IT operations as reduced staffing levels coincide with sustained business demand. CIO South Africa spoke to IT leaders across sectors who are formalising continuity through structured leave planning, disciplined change management, and increased reliance on automation and cloud-based architectures. Their approaches prioritise early communication, clear escalation paths and pre-emptive risk identification to ensure critical systems remain stable and responsive.
Vukosi Sambo, group CIO, PHA & Marara Group
“Our first line of defence is reducing the manual burden on reduced staff. We use automated monitoring tools that provide real-time visibility into our managed care solutions,” says Vukosi, noting that these systems self-heal low-level issues and escalate only when necessary.
He adds that cloud-native architectures enable elasticity, allowing member-facing systems to scale automatically during periods of reduced staffing.
“Resilience is as much about people as it is about code,” he says, pointing to structured on-call rotations, documented workflows and tested remote access. Ahead of the holidays, the organisation conducts pre-flight audits of critical care coordination pathways to identify and mitigate risks early.
Moloti Nkune, CIO, MICT SETA
“Our organisation is already designed for a hybrid work environment,” says Moloti, highlighting that remote work policies and distributed support models form the foundation of continuity.
He explains that automation within the Integrated Learner Management System reduces operational strain during peak periods such as the Mandatory Grants window, supported by stakeholder capacity-building initiatives conducted in advance.
“We also manage the approach to leave for key resources to ensure business does not suffer,” he says.
Louise van der Bank, CIO, AfriSam
“As a 24/7 operation, AfriSam's continuity model is embedded in daily operations,” says Louise.
She notes that consistent support structures and escalation paths are maintained year-round, supported by AI-driven monitoring, automated alerting and cloud-based platforms.
“Resilience is built into how we operate every day, ensuring stability and responsiveness at all times,” she says.
Josh Souchon, IT executive, Opp-Gen
“The key is planning and communication,” says Josh. He outlines a structured approach that starts with detailed leave planning, distinguishing between unavailable staff and those on standby, with alignment across outsourced service providers.
“We communicate to the organisation using a simple three-step process,” he says, covering how to log calls, track progress and escalate issues. He adds that production changes are limited before and after holiday periods to reduce risk, with executives regularly reminded of IT processes.
Nkosenhle Ngongoma, CIO, City Lodge
“We implement a change freeze during holiday periods,” says Nkosenhle, explaining that no system or infrastructure changes are introduced to maintain stability.
He notes that leave rosters ensure availability of critical skills, supported by clear escalation procedures and real-time communication channels. “We also maintain an emergency WhatsApp group that is active during the period to keep everyone informed,” he says.
Aveena Mothilall, director of data and analytics, Twinings
“Over holiday periods, we focus on protecting what truly matters to the business and that includes our people,” says Aveena.
She explains that continuity planning begins with identifying business-critical systems, with transparency around residual risk where full coverage is not maintained.
“We do not over-engineer full specialist cover for every holiday day,” she says, adding that expectation management and agreed contingency plans are key. Post-holiday reviews are conducted to capture lessons learnt and refine future continuity strategies.
