iOCO, Altron, and NTT Data achieve something special

Press Pulse’s latest online media sentiment report revealed that iOCO, Altron, and NTT Data achieved something special — there were no negative articles about them.

Most large companies have a mix of negative and positive articles about them in prominent publications. However, these three companies had a clean sheet.

Press Pulse developed an artificial intelligence (AI) sentiment-measuring system for online media reports and mentions.

The system focuses on South African business reporting from top-tier media publications and measures companies’ success in achieving positive exposure.

The sentiment ranking is based on the number of positive, neutral, or negative articles, as well as the reach and influence of the publication where they are published.

Simply put, the more positive articles a company receives, the better its sentiment ranking. The inverse also holds.

Online media in South Africa is highly influential, which is why companies invest heavily in public relations and content marketing to get positive exposure.

However, before Press Pulse’s new sentiment system, it was difficult for companies to track their performance accurately.

The good news is that new advances in artificial intelligence have made it possible to measure media sentiment objectively.

The system uses sophisticated natural language processing and deep learning for accurate sentiment detection.

Press Pulse makes it easy for companies to track their online media sentiment and gain insight into how they can improve.

The Press Pulse reports provide companies with clear insights into where they excel, where they fall short, and prevailing market sentiment trends.

It also helps companies to benchmark their performance against their peers and track their sentiment over time.

Sentiment analysis for South Africa’s top IT companies

Press Pulse’s latest online media sentiment report revealed that iOCO ranked top with a positive sentiment score of 18.

iOCO’s positive coverage in prominent media publications is unsurprising, considering the company’s strong performance in recent months.

Its finances showed a good turnaround over the last year, and the share price increased by 35% in 2025. Many analysts are positive about its prospects, and it showed in the reporting.

Altron was a close second with a positive sentiment score of 17. As with iOCO, Altron has also performed well over the last year.

In its latest market update, the company stated that it expects headline earnings to increase by up to 75%. This showed Altron is on the rise.

Altron’s share price increased by over 100% over the last year, and this positive sentiment is seen in the overwhelmingly positive media reports about the company.

Blue Label Telecoms, NTT Data, and BCX also achieved positive sentiment scores over the last three months.

What stood out was that iOCO, Altron, and NTT Data had no negative articles on any prominent media publications. This seldom happens.

The table and chart below provide an overview of the online media sentiment for South Africa’s largest IT companies.