Version: 2.0
Effective date: 1 January 2025
Legislation: POPIA (Act 4 of 2013)
Your privacy matters to us. This Policy explains what personal information Futech collects, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and what your rights are. We are committed to processing personal information lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA").
01 Introduction
This Privacy Policy applies to Futech (Pty) Ltd ("Futech", "we", "us", "our"), an IT solutions company based in Mpumalanga, South Africa. This Policy covers:
- Visitors to the Futech website (futech.co.za);
- Clients, prospective clients, and suppliers who interact with Futech;
- Any person whose personal information is processed by Futech in the course of delivering its services.
Futech may act as either a responsible party (deciding how and why personal information is processed) or as an operator (processing personal information on behalf of a client). This Policy primarily addresses Futech's role as responsible party.
02 Information Officer
Futech has designated an Information Officer as required by POPIA. The Information Officer is responsible for overseeing Futech's compliance with POPIA and handling data subject requests and complaints.
03 What Personal Information We Collect
Depending on how you interact with Futech, we may collect the following categories of personal information:
Identity and Contact Information
- Full name, job title, and company name;
- Physical and postal address;
- Email address and telephone number;
- Identity number or company registration number (for credit applications).
Financial Information
- Banking details for payment processing or debit order mandates;
- VAT registration numbers;
- Invoice and payment history.
Technical and Usage Information
- IP address, browser type, and operating system;
- Pages visited, time spent on site, and referring URLs;
- Device identifiers where relevant to support services.
Support and Service Information
- Details of IT issues, support tickets, and service history;
- Network configuration and topology information (held in confidence);
- CCTV footage or access control logs, where Futech manages such systems on your behalf.
Communications
- Content of emails, enquiry forms, and chat messages sent to Futech;
- Records of consent where required.
04 How We Collect Personal Information
We collect personal information through the following means:
- Directly from you: when you complete a contact form, request a quote, sign a service agreement, or communicate with us by phone or email;
- Automatically: when you visit our website, through cookies and server logs (see Section 12);
- From third parties: from credit bureaus for credit vetting purposes, or from referral partners with your consent;
- In the course of service delivery: when Futech has access to client systems, premises, or platforms to deliver managed IT, security, or connectivity services.
05 Why We Process Your Information
Futech processes personal information for the following purposes:
- Service delivery: to provide, manage, and support the IT products and services you have engaged us for;
- Quotations and sales: to prepare quotes, process orders, and manage invoicing;
- Account management: to manage your client account, credit facility, and payment history;
- Support: to respond to support requests and resolve technical issues;
- Communications: to send service notifications, updates, and invoices;
- Marketing: to send you relevant service updates, product announcements, or promotional offers where you have consented or where we have a legitimate interest (with opt-out available at any time);
- Legal compliance: to comply with applicable South African laws, including POPIA, the ECT Act, and tax legislation;
- Security: to protect our systems, networks, and the security of information we hold;
- Website analytics: to understand how our website is used and improve the user experience.
06 Lawful Basis for Processing
Futech relies on the following conditions for the lawful processing of personal information under POPIA:
- Contractual necessity: processing is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you;
- Legal obligation: processing is required to comply with a legal obligation, such as SARS reporting or POPIA compliance;
- Legitimate interest: processing is necessary for Futech's legitimate business interests (such as fraud prevention, network security, and direct marketing to existing clients), provided such interests are not overridden by your rights;
- Consent: where you have given express consent, such as for marketing communications or the use of certain cookies.
07 Sharing With Third Parties
Futech does not sell your personal information. We share it only in the following circumstances:
- Suppliers and service providers: with upstream network operators, software publishers, hardware distributors, and logistics providers to the extent necessary to deliver the service you have engaged;
- Cloud and SaaS platforms: where your information is processed on platforms such as Microsoft 365, we act in accordance with those platforms' data processing terms;
- Payment processors: banking and payment processing partners, subject to their own privacy and security policies;
- Legal and regulatory bodies: where required by law, court order, or a regulatory authority;
- Professional advisors: auditors, attorneys, and accountants bound by professional confidentiality obligations.
All third parties with whom we share personal information are required to handle it lawfully and with appropriate security measures.
08 Cross-Border Transfers
Some of Futech's service providers are located outside South Africa. For example, cloud platforms operated by Microsoft, Google, or other vendors may store or process data in overseas data centres. Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa, Futech will only do so where:
- The recipient country has adequate protection laws as recognised by the Information Regulator;
- The recipient is bound by binding corporate rules, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent safeguards; or
- You have consented to the transfer.
09 Data Retention
Futech retains personal information for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and to comply with legal obligations. Our general retention guidelines are:
- Client records (contracts, invoices, service history): 5 years after the end of the client relationship, in line with South African tax and accounting obligations;
- Support tickets and correspondence: 3 years;
- Website analytics data: 24 months on a rolling basis;
- Marketing consent records: until withdrawn, plus 1 year;
- CCTV footage managed on behalf of clients: as instructed by the client, and subject to POPIA and the client's own retention obligations.
When personal information is no longer required, it will be deleted, anonymised, or de-identified in a secure manner.
10 Security
As an IT security company, Futech applies appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, destruction, or alteration. These measures include:
- Encrypted storage and transmission of sensitive data;
- Role-based access controls and principle of least privilege;
- Regular security patching and vulnerability management;
- Staff awareness and confidentiality obligations;
- Incident response procedures for data breaches.
In the event of a security compromise that is likely to result in serious harm to a data subject, Futech will notify the Information Regulator and affected data subjects as required by Section 22 of POPIA.
11 Your Rights Under POPIA
As a data subject, you have the following rights under POPIA:
- Right of access: to request confirmation of whether Futech holds your personal information and to obtain a copy of it;
- Right to correction: to request correction of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated personal information;
- Right to deletion: to request deletion or destruction of your personal information where it is no longer necessary, or where consent has been withdrawn;
- Right to object: to object to the processing of your personal information on grounds relating to your particular situation, or to processing for direct marketing;
- Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, to withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing;
- Right not to be subject to automated decision-making: to request human review of automated decisions that significantly affect you.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Information Officer at info@futech.co.za. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your request. We may require proof of identity before processing your request.
12 Cookies
The Futech website uses cookies and similar technologies to improve your browsing experience and collect analytics data.
Types of cookies we use:
- Strictly necessary cookies: essential for the website to function, such as session and security cookies. These cannot be disabled.
- Analytics cookies: used to understand how visitors use our website (e.g. pages visited, time on site). These help us improve the site. We use anonymised analytics data where possible.
- Preference cookies: used to remember your settings and preferences between visits.
You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling non-essential cookies will not materially affect your use of the website. You may also opt out of analytics tracking at any time by contacting us.
13 Children
Futech's services are directed at businesses and adult individuals. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 18. If you believe we have inadvertently collected personal information from a minor, please contact us immediately and we will delete such information promptly.
14 Third-Party Links
The Futech website and our Terms and Conditions contain links to third-party websites, including those of our supplier partners. These links are provided for convenience and reference only. Futech has no control over the content, privacy practices, or security of external websites and accepts no responsibility for them. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party website you visit.
15 Updates to This Policy
Futech may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will notify active clients by email. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.