IoT Infrastructure
for South Africa.
Mining, energy crisis, water scarcity – South Africa's industries need IoT solutions that work off-grid, withstand harsh conditions and can be operated remotely. We deliver exactly that.
End-to-End IoT for the South African Market
From architecture through platform development to managed hosting – we support IoT projects in South Africa across the entire lifecycle. Remote-first, off-grid capable, proven in emerging markets.
Off-Grid Ready
Solar-powered sensors with battery backup. LoRaWAN works without grid power and without SIM cards – ideal for remote sites and loadshedding.
Flexible Infrastructure
Hosting on German infrastructure, South African servers or hybrid – depending on latency and compliance requirements.
Remote-First Delivery
Entire project delivered remotely. CET and SAST are only 1 hour apart – ideal conditions for daily collaboration.
IoT Services for South Africa
Managed IoT Hosting
ChirpStack, ThingsBoard, Grafana and Node-RED hosted and operated. On German or South African infrastructure – with 24/7 monitoring and SLA.
IoT Architecture & Network Planning
Network architecture for distributed sites and off-grid environments: LoRaWAN, NB-IoT, cellular. Connectivity concepts for mines, farms and remote infrastructure.
Custom IoT Development
IoT dashboards, web portals and mobile apps. Multi-tenant, white-label, scalable – for operators with distributed sites.
SCADA & PLC Integration
Connect existing SCADA, PLC and HMI systems to modern IoT platforms. OPC-UA, Modbus, MQTT – brownfield integration for mining and energy.
Hardware Sourcing & Provisioning
Selection and procurement of sensors, gateways and controllers. Pre-configured, firmware-updated, off-grid capable. Worldwide shipping.
Data Analysis & Alerting
Dashboards, reports and alerts. Threshold monitoring, anomaly detection and automatic escalation – even with unstable connectivity.
Industries & Use Cases in South Africa
IoT solutions for key industries in the South African market – from mining to energy to water management.
Mining & Resources
Condition monitoring underground and above ground: vibration sensors, air quality, temperature and dust measurement. ATEX-compatible hardware for hazardous areas. Predictive maintenance for heavy machinery.
Energy & Grid
Monitoring of solar and wind farms, battery storage and grid quality. Loadshedding-resilient sensors with battery backup and solar-powered gateways.
Water & Utilities
Water treatment, tank monitoring, leak detection and flow measurement. Critical for regions with water scarcity – battery-powered sensors without grid connection.
Agriculture
Soil moisture monitoring across vast areas, irrigation control, weather stations and livestock tracking. LoRaWAN sensors with years of battery life.
Smart City & Infrastructure
Smart metering, street lighting, parking management and environmental monitoring. IoT for municipalities and utilities – scalable and multi-tenant.
Project Examples South Africa
Mine Site Condition Monitoring
Vibration sensors, temperature probes and air quality monitoring in harsh mining environments. ATEX-compatible hardware, edge processing and central monitoring via Grafana dashboards.
Tech Stack
LoRaWAN · ATEX · Grafana · Node-RED
Solar Farm Remote Monitoring
Off-grid monitoring for solar farms and battery storage: performance data, module temperature and inverter status. Solar-powered gateways, LoRaWAN across large areas.
Tech Stack
LoRaWAN · Milesight · ThingsBoard · Solar Gateway
Municipal Water Tank Monitoring
Ultrasonic level sensors for municipal water tanks. Leak detection, flow measurement and automatic alerts at critical levels. Battery-powered, grid-independent.
Tech Stack
LoRaWAN · ChirpStack · Grafana · Ultrasonic
Why WZ-IT for South Africa?
IoT in emerging markets requires robust technology, flexible infrastructure and partners who master remote delivery.
Off-Grid & Emerging Markets
Our hardware is built for harsh conditions: IP67, solar-powered, battery-operated. Loadshedding and missing grid infrastructure are not a problem – LoRaWAN works without grid power.
Only 1 Hour Time Difference
CET and SAST are only 1 hour apart – ideal conditions for daily sync, synchronous collaboration and fast response times.
Flexible Infrastructure
Default: GDPR-compliant hosting on German servers. On request: hosting on South African infrastructure or hybrid. POPIA compliance considered.
24/7 Monitoring
Proactive monitoring around the clock, automatic alerts and SLA-based response times. With minimal time difference, near real-time support during business hours.
LoRaWAN in South Africa
LoRaWAN is ideal for South Africa's distributed infrastructure: long range, minimal power consumption, no cellular network and no grid power required.
15+ km
Range
10+ years
Battery
IP67
Protection
868 MHz
SA Frequency
Hardware Expertise with Milesight
We rely on Milesight and know the product portfolio inside out – from environmental sensors to LoRaWAN gateways to industrial controllers. We advise, source and integrate the right hardware for your use case.
Milesight hardware ships worldwide – we deliver pre-configured and firmware-updated, ready to deploy.
We also work with hardware from other manufacturers – whether proprietary or open-source. What matters is that it works reliably and integrates into our stack.
End-to-End IoT with merkaio
Our IoT services run under the merkaio brand. As an IoT system integrator, we guide you through the entire project – from analysis through network deployment and platform development to ongoing operations.
Discover merkaioFrequently Asked Questions about IoT in South Africa
Everything about off-grid operation, infrastructure and collaboration with South Africa.
Themen
Remote Delivery & Collaboration
Yes. The platform runs on German infrastructure, data is transmitted via MQTT/HTTPS from sensors and gateways in South Africa. For latency-critical applications, we also offer hosting on South African infrastructure.
CET and SAST are only 1 hour apart – virtually the same time zone. This enables synchronous collaboration during full working hours. Monitoring runs 24/7.
For dashboard access and data visualization, latency (~150ms) is not an issue. For real-time control, we recommend hosting on South African infrastructure or a hybrid setup.
Infrastructure & Hosting
Yes. We deploy IoT platforms on any infrastructure – whether German servers, South African cloud providers or on-premise in your data center.
South Africa uses the EU868 frequency plan (868 MHz), just like Europe. This significantly simplifies hardware procurement – the same devices work in both regions.
Yes. LoRaWAN sensors are battery-powered and don't need grid power. Gateways can be operated via solar with battery backup. The system is fully grid-independent.
Hardware & Off-Grid
We source hardware (Milesight, etc.) and ship it pre-configured and firmware-updated. Milesight hardware ships worldwide – we know the import requirements.
Yes. On request, we host on South African infrastructure to comply with POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act). Alternatively, German hosting provides GDPR compliance – depending on your requirements.
Yes. We work with ATEX-compatible sensors for hazardous mining environments and understand the requirements for condition monitoring underground and above ground.
Industries & Compliance
Yes. We integrate existing SCADA and PLC systems via OPC-UA, Modbus or MQTT into the IoT platform. Brownfield integration is our standard.
Our standard stack: ChirpStack as LoRaWAN network server, ThingsBoard for device management and dashboards, Grafana for visualization and Node-RED for data flow automation.
Mining & Resources, Energy & Grid, Water & Utilities, Agriculture and Smart City & Infrastructure. Our platforms are industry-agnostic and configurable.
Costs & Getting Started
Costs depend on the platform, number of devices and desired service level. We provide a transparent quote with no hidden fees.
A standard installation (ChirpStack or ThingsBoard) is production-ready within a few days. More complex setups with custom integrations are planned individually.
No. Our hosting services are cancellable monthly. We rely on quality, not contract lock-in.
Discuss your IoT project in South Africa
Describe your project – we'll get back to you within 24 hours.
Industry-leading companies rely on us
What do our customers say?
Let's Talk About Your Idea
Whether a specific IT challenge or just an idea – we look forward to the exchange. In a brief conversation, we'll evaluate together if and how your project fits with WZ-IT.
Trusted by leading companies
Timo Wevelsiep
Lead IoT Solutions Architect