Vodacom Business partners with NAVIC to fight crime and save lives

New cloud-based partnership helps recover missing persons, stop kidnappings, and rescue animals – with 120 million license plates scanned monthly

[15, July 2025] In efforts to prevent criminal activity and help law enforcement apprehend wrongdoers, Vodacom Business has partnered with the National Vehicle Intelligence Cloud (NAVIC) to leverage technology in the interest of public safety.

Powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) via Vodacom Business, NAVIC's real-timecloud-based vehicle intelligence platform  helps public and private security organisations to access and act on important vehicle intelligence with verified alerts processed in seconds. Navic.Cloud integrates data from Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, processes this information, and cross-references it with Vehicle of Interest (VoI) databases and third-party sources, such as the South African Police Services. Alerts are verified through the NAVIC Alert Room as well as providing vital human oversight through the NAVIC National Operations Centre (NNOC), in line with police protocol.

"As an organisation that is impact-focused, Vodacom is always thinking about how we can have a positive effect on the communities in which we operate. The collaboration between NAVIC, Vodacom Business and AWS showcases how technology can be harnessed to assist our law enforcers, increase public safety and benefit South African citizens. As NAVIC continues to expand its ecosystem, we hope to share more wins with them and continue to transform lives," says Vodacom Business Executive Head of AWS Cloud Solutions, Prince Hlatshwayo.

"Our national operations centre works closely with public and private security agencies and is involved in fighting all manner of crimes, from hijacking to human trafficking," says André Snyman, Director and head of sales at NAVIC. "The technology has also integral in solving a number of kidnapping cases, and the NAVIC platform was recently used to help the SPCA rescue 21 dogs and several cats that were being mistreated. Working with our neighbourhood watch groups, we even managed to help reunite an elderly man suffering from dementia who went missing. Vodacom Business has been instrumental in helping us achieve this, providing the necessary AWS infrastructure and support to power NAVIC's operations." 
NAVIC, currently stores around seven billion license plate reads and associated metadata on the AWS cloud, with an average of over 120 million new image reads per month. This massive data processing capability is made possible by AWS's near real-time data processing and AI-driven insights, which are crucial for the timely and effective use of ANPR technology.

By using AWS cloud services, NAVIC can better manage costs while scaling operations, making it possible to handle vast amounts of data without compromising on performance or security. This scalability ensures that NAVIC can further expand its ANPR camera network and grow the number of users contributing to and utilising the system. The Vodacom Business partnership with AWS also offers benefits to the NAVIC team, such as local currency billing, extended invoice terms, and tailored solutions that meet specific needs.

"At Vodacom Business, we believe that meaningful partnerships are the cornerstone of impactful innovation. Our collaboration with NAVIC and AWS is a powerful example of how combining expertise and technology can drive real change across South Africa," Hlatshwayo.