NEWS
Honda selects Macrium to boost resilience across US manufacturing facilities
Macrium Software, a specialised provider of backup and recovery solutions for manufacturing and critical infrastructure, has been selected by Honda Motor Co to strengthen the resilience of its US manufacturing operations.
The collaboration will enable consistent recovery readiness across Honda’ s critical production environments throughout the US. The manufacturer will leverage Macrium’ s SiteBackup for centralised backup management and use the Technician’ s Licence to protect air-gapped devices, standardising protection across Honda’ s manufacturing network.
“ In manufacturing environments, every minute of downtime carries real consequences,” said Dave Joyce, CEO at Macrium Software.“ Our focus with Honda is ensuring that their critical systems can be restored quickly and consistently across facilities, removing unnecessary complexity. Given Honda’ s meticulous engineering standards and commitment to quality, we’ re honoured that Honda chose Macrium after a rigorous and open selection process to help protect their critical systems and recover quickly when it matters most.”
News of the partnership comes shortly after Macrium released its 2026 Benchmark Report, conducted in partnership with independent research agency, NewtonX. The report reveals that, despite widespread investment in backup and recovery technologies, manufacturers are struggling to close a widening‘ recovery gap’ that is costing them upwards of US $ 100,000 per hour in downtime. It also revealed that 74 % of manufacturers experience downtime at least once per year, underscoring the need for tried and tested recovery strategies to match rapidly changing operational technology environments.
Interest rates on hold but South African consumers remain under pressure
Following March’ s decision by the South African Reserve Bank’ s Monetary Policy Committee( MPC), the latest data from TransUnion points to a consumer environment that remains fragile, with many households continuing to navigate mounting financial pressure.
While some improvement in repayment behaviour was observed toward the end of 2025, this stability is proving short-lived. Rising living costs, increasing reliance on credit and limited financial buffers mean that many consumers are entering 2026 in a vulnerable position, with little capacity to absorb additional economic shocks.
The decision to leave interest rates unchanged may offer a sense of short-term stability, but it does little to ease the underlying financial strain facing households.
“ Stable rates do not translate into financial relief for most consumers,” said Fatgie Adams, Head of Credit Risk Solutions at TransUnion.“ Many households are already under pressure, and upcoming increases in fuel and food costs are likely to erode any temporary stability created by a hold decision.”
Insights from the TransUnion Q4 2025 Consumer Pulse Study show that households have already begun adjusting their behaviour in response to financial stress. More than half of consumers report cutting discretionary spending, while a significant portion have reduced clothing purchases, delayed major expenses and scaled back on services such as subscriptions and digital platforms. At the same time, the study indicates a growing reliance on credit, with a notable share of consumers using credit to manage shortfalls in their monthly budgets.
10 www. intelligentcxo. com