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About STI ▶

Organisation ▶

Vision & Mission Board Governance Compliance & BBBEE

Geography ▶

STI Landscape Innovation Hubs

Programmes & Partnerships ▶

Flagships ▶

Ekurhuleni University Working Groups

Partnerships ▶

Public-Private Partnerships Alliance Network

Member Services ▶

Core Services ▶

Member Portal STI Academy QMS / SOPs

Value-Adding Services ▶

CRM B2B Marketplace ERP / Finance

Proposal & Platform ▶

Commercial ▶

Proposal Financial Model

Technology ▶

Technology Platform Tech Stack FORUS Digital

Stack Technology Choices

Every technology was chosen for a specific reason: performance, cost, talent availability, or data sovereignty. No lock-in to any single vendor.

Frontend

React / Next.js

Server-side rendering for fast initial loads. Component-based architecture for maintainability. Largest developer ecosystem in Africa.

Real-Time Engine

WebSocket-Native

Persistent bidirectional connections. Data pushes to clients instantly — no polling, no REST overhead. Handles 10K+ concurrent sessions.

AI Layer

Multi-Provider

Not locked to any single AI vendor. Supports Claude, Gemini, GPT, and open-source models. Vector embeddings for semantic search across all data.

Process Engine

BPMN 2.0

Industry-standard workflow notation. Visual process designer. Automated task routing, escalation, and SLA tracking. Auditable execution history.

Ledger

Double-Entry

Full double-entry bookkeeping engine. Chart of accounts, journal entries, trial balance, and financial statements. IFRS-aligned from day one.

Mobile

Progressive Web App

One codebase for all devices. No app store dependency. Works offline. Installable on home screen. Push notifications without native app overhead.

Rationale Why These Choices Matter

Technology decisions are business decisions. Every component was selected to serve the Forum's operational and strategic goals.

Cost Reduction

Open-source foundations eliminate licensing fees. Usage-based cloud costs scale with actual usage, not seat counts. No upfront capital expenditure for servers.

Speed

Dynamic schema engine means new data types in minutes, not months. No database migration scripts. No deployment cycles for schema changes. Iteration at the speed of thought.

Data Sovereignty

All member data stays on South African infrastructure. Full POPIA compliance. No dependency on foreign cloud regions for sensitive governance and financial data.

Talent Availability

React and TypeScript are the most popular web technologies among SA developers. The Forum can hire local talent to maintain and extend the platform without specialist recruitment.

Enterprise Security

AES-256 encryption at rest and in transit. Role-based access control with granular permissions. Immutable audit trails for every data mutation. JWT authentication with refresh token rotation. Multi-factor authentication for privileged operations.

Performance Infrastructure Specifications

Enterprise-grade reliability without enterprise-grade cost.

<50ms

Data Latency

10K

Concurrent Users

99.9%

Uptime SLA

Auto

Backups

In-Memory Data Engine

All active data lives in memory for sub-millisecond reads. No disk I/O bottleneck. Data is durably persisted asynchronously without impacting read performance.

Automated Backup & Recovery

Continuous backup to durable storage. Point-in-time recovery. Scripted backup/restore pipeline tested monthly. Zero manual intervention required.

Integrations Integration Capabilities

The platform connects to external systems through a standardized AI integration protocol, enabling bi-directional data flow without custom development.

Integration	Provider	Purpose
Government Systems	CIPC, SARS, BBBEE	Company verification, tax compliance, broad-based BEE certificate validation
Payments	Stripe	Membership billing, marketplace transactions, event payments, automated invoicing
KYC / KYB	Identity Providers	Member verification, company verification, AML screening, sanctions checks
Email & Comms	SMTP / Webhooks	Transactional emails, notification delivery, event reminders, newsletter distribution
Document Processing	AI Document Pipeline	PDF extraction, contract analysis, compliance document review, automated classification

Open Source Built on Open Standards

The platform is built primarily on open-source technology, eliminating vendor lock-in and ensuring long-term sustainability.

No Vendor Lock-In

The core platform uses open-source technologies with permissive licenses. If the Forum ever needs to change providers, the technology is portable. Data can be exported in standard formats at any time. No proprietary protocols, no proprietary data formats.

BPMN 2.0 workflows are standards-compliant — they can be visualized or executed by any BPMN-compatible engine. Financial data follows IFRS standards. Authentication uses industry-standard JWT tokens.

React, Next.js, TypeScript — MIT licensed, maintained by Meta and Vercel
BPMN 2.0 — OMG open standard for workflow definition and execution
Radix UI / shadcn — MIT licensed component primitives, fully accessible
Multi-provider AI — no single-vendor AI dependency, switch providers at will
Standard data formats — JSON, CSV, PDF export for all member and financial data

Talent Developer Availability

The stack was deliberately chosen to ensure the Forum can find, hire, and retain local development talent.

42M+

React Developers

Globally, with strong SA community

15M+

TypeScript Developers

Fastest growing language on GitHub

3.8M+

Rust Developers

Backend engine, growing SA ecosystem

Local Hiring

React/TypeScript developers are abundant in Gauteng, Cape Town, and Durban tech hubs. Universities teach these technologies. Bootcamps produce job-ready graduates. No need to recruit internationally.

Community Support

Stack Overflow, GitHub Discussions, and local meetups provide community support. Problems are solvable without expensive consultants. Documentation is comprehensive and freely available.