Topping the data agenda in 2020 is customer experience, making it a key part of most digital transformation strategies. Adam Pantanowitz, Co-founder and Chief of Innovation at Aura, an On-Demand Emergency Response Platform, says that data plays a key role in achieving improved customer experiences.
For Aura, Pantanowitz says, it’s sometimes a fight between life or death: “Using geo-locating technology, we launched Aura to provide security services to anyone feeling unsafe. With an inclusive play in mind, Aura has collaborated with security companies to provide an Uber-like service, dramatically improving the technology used and enabling them to protect anyone who uses the app, regardless of where they are situated.”
Response companies’ vehicles previously used outdated technology such as two-way radios to dispatch, Aura has now embedded technology into these vehicles, which enables them to provide machine-to-machine dispatch. Pantanowitz says that this means that there is no human involvement required to dispatch a security vehicle to a customer: “This experience is very similar to Uber where the user can see exactly who is responding and their ETA, while the nearest available responder is navigated to the user along the quickest route.”
According to statistics, only one percent of South Africans have access to private security. Using technology and the power of data, Aura has developed software that is inclusive and focused on saving lives and preventing crimes. It also greatly assists the response sector businesses, ensuring that they are able to access far more revenue on their existing cost structures: “Our solutions are affordable and accessible, and address the plight of those who are unable to procure the services of a security company. Using our data-driven technology, Aura’s objective is to utilise the data driven through our network to continue improving the services offered to both security companies and Aura users, all with an aim to save lives,” says Pantanowitz.
By aggregating resources, Aura will enable vetted responders to act as a single force with the same goal: to help a customer in distress as quickly as possible. Without the technology and most importantly, the data, these services would not exist.
“Our country has a rampant crime crisis and Aura believes that the only way to fight it moving forward is with the use of artificial intelligence and big data. Our network is set up and growing daily. As a single force, we are uniquely positioned to change the landscape when it comes to crime and to save lives. To do this, we are gathering data and leveraging our technology,” says Pantanowitz.
Nigerian telecommunication space can be said to be evolving since the early 2000. A reference point to what telecommunication regulation ought to be in Africa, especially the Sub Saharan region. Having said that, the country isn’t yet there and lot has to be done. Since the arrival of GSM in the country, many telecom firms have either died, given up or evolved since the advent of GSM licencing. One of the hardest hits were the satellite communication firms. In the early days the country was heavily dependent on satellite technology for calls and internet connectivity. With all the inherent disadvantages saddled with this type of communication, telecommunication companies (Telco’s) started an ambitious project of laying fibre optic cables across the country. This is in line with broadband masterplan of the country. This fibre project literally threw some satellite companies out of balance or out of business leaving the infrastructure companies (Infracos) as the kings.
Some of these Satellite Service Providers evolved while some were innovative, one of the firms that have made tremendous impact whose footprints are visible in the telecommunication ecosystem is NETCOM AFRICA. Netcom can be described as an early bird in the Nigerian telecom space, not only being an early bird, the company has consistently shown adaptability and innovation in the space. Not only having the best worms as it is in case of early birds, figuratively, Netcom has brought world class solutions and international expertise in a local space. This singular attribute has made NETCOM visible and their services commendable to clients and prospects.
On the transition of the company, Sean Hsu, Chief Executive Officer of NETCOM Africa said “The transition is a matter of economics, the margins on data are small, it’s around three to four percent and this is not sustainable. The cost of doing business is high and as an organization, for one to still stay afloat in a highly competitive market, there is a need for evolution. Let us look at this example; data sales need so much volume now compared to when we entered the market 14 years ago. The internet penetration in Nigeria is in major cities and the rural areas need satellite and they are not economically viable. But in managed services, you can make some decent margins. That is why we have to diversify, and in technology there is constant evolution. At the end of the day we have to look at costs, prices, and margins, and that is why we did a transition. When we started out, the culture in the company was like “we are fine, why change”, but today everyone in the company embraces change because we are trying to predict the future of business’, which is business intelligence, analytical intelligence, that is the future. Companies are beginning to come to terms that as they mature, they might not have that 10% profit or more, the profits would shrink because of the ever-evolving market, sophisticated customer base and competition especially in a stable environment.”
Speaking on the evolution of Netcom Africa, Charles Harrington, Vice President, Corporate Development & Marketing, NETCOM Africa speaks the evolution of NETCOM AFRICA. In his words he said “When Netcom entered the market 15 years ago, we were primarily an internet service provider with a focus on corporate clients. As time went on our customers’ demands for more solutions led us to expand our service offerings. Our focus has not shifted from the corporate market, but our area of expertise now lies in connectivity, managed services such as Office 365, Virtual servers using Azure and Amazon, infrastructure as a service, and IT Outsourcing. Our IT outsourcing in particular is one area that is gaining a lot of momentum. We take decided to look at the IT needs of firms and we offer to handle the day to day duties of a company’s IT staff allowing them to focus on their core competencies while we handle their technology. In addition to taking over the responsibilities, we also set a technology roadmap showing them where they are and where we want to bring them to.”
The Group Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer of Netcom Africa, Yen Choi, speaks of the evolution of Netcom Africa these past years. He said “Well a lot has changed from how we started to the Nigerian information technology (IT) space. It was 2004 that Netcom Africa was established, and we started with VSAT services, ours was one of the most innovative then, we came to the market with a different mind-set. We came with 1.2 meter antenna whereas others have antennas that are as large as 2.4 meters. The 1.2 meter antenna which was smaller and also revolutionary in the Nigerian IT market, it was also cheaper and more efficient than what was available then. We grew in this space rapidly and our subscriber base increased exponentially. One of our ways of working was innovating, we constantly tried to innovated and that is what IT firms must understand, innovation is the key in this industry. We were also one of the first companies to connect to the SAT 3 cable system. ”
Yen added “This is an undersea cable that connects Europe to Nigeria. The benefits were that the capacity was large; this reduced the cost of internet and also latency. We were the first to offer SAT 3 services outside of Nigeria Telecommunications (NITEL) of then which was a national carrier. We tried to pre-empt the fact that the country wouldn’t only be dependent on satellite services. Very shortly, we launched one of the first mobile broadband platforms, it was a device that is the size of an average mobile phone it is a PCMCIA card that can be inserted into the laptop. This device made customers to have access to SAT 3 bandwidth anywhere in Lagos. We called it “MyNetcom.” At that time, the competition was the fixed wireless and our solution was faster than the competitors who were offering to subscribers then about 100 kilobits per second. When we came into the market, we changed the conversation and we started offering services over 10,000 kilobits kB per second as of then.”
On Fibre Optics and telecom infrastructure, Yen said “that We began to roll out fiber across the city, we focused on exclusively on demanding business customers, and we started connecting them to the internet using fiber and microwave. These are high speed connections. Upon enjoying extremely reliable and high-speed connections. These customers not only wanting wanted the internet connection, but they also wanted us to manage their IT operations. We achieved ISO and TL 9000 certification. These are a demonstration of our quality of service. We were the first and probably the only telecommunication company in Africa with TL 9000 certification. This was a big milestone for us.”
As consumers are getting more sophisticated, they demand for world class services. Netcom Africa understood the need to be abreast and in tune with the realities, having evolved from data or high-speed internet service provider. The company took a great step by introducing Smart Home Solution into the country. This service is focused on bringing a bouquet of telecommunication and smart solutions to facilities management. In today’s world, buildings are going smart and tenants are becoming more sophisticated by demanding that buildings are connected with fiber optic cables, biometrics, VPN, access control, and security cameras, this is why we came up with the e-space. “We are the preferred service provider for these buildings; we can tailor the solutions for each client. We have many partnerships globally for different solutions. We position ourselves to our clients as the trusted adviser or consultant. We try as much as possible to understand our clients and offer the best solutions. Netcom’s Smart Building Solutions connect, manage, and automate your building IT infrastructure. Downtime from IT infrastructure can lead to a huge loss in productivity and in turn affect the revenues. Global companies can lose precious time and money due to inefficient management of the IT infrastructure”, Yen opined.
As the world is shifting to cloud solutions, NETCOM AFRICA understands the need to move Nigerian corporate organisations to secure cloud solutions. As a world class company, security, encryption and support is their watchword over these years, Harrington expressed his view on this in a chat some time ago. “A couple of years ago companies would shudder to think they could put their servers in someone else’s server room or data center, and even worse to put it in the cloud! Today companies here in Nigeria are embracing the idea. At Netcom we offer data center colocation as well as VM’s. In addition, we now offer these on Microsoft and Amazon platforms, and we have in house experts to setup and manage these solutions for your company. One of our solutions for data backup and recovery is eVault. All companies should take data security seriously and it’s only after a disaster that some people think of it. Power outages, Hardware failures, ransomware and even human error are threats that could compromise your data. We can custom tailor a data backup solution for whatever environment you have so that you can feel confident knowing your critical data and systems can be recovered in such an event. Network security, event monitoring and access are few of the solutions that we have in place.
“The move to the cloud is never easy, and it’s even scary for some! Change is something that we as humans fear the most, but we can all agree that with constant improving change is best. Part of the big change for data is moving it to the cloud and then try to make it easy as possible for our clients. We go in and look at all of the data need that they have and help develop a plan for what they need to move. You would be surprised at how much data they don’t actually need to move, or that’s been duplicated or simply unnecessary”, Charles added.
“Netcom has been in business since 2004 as one of the foremost internet service providers in Nigeria, and we try as much as to stay ahead of competition. We have over time deployed cutting-edge infrastructure technology solutions such as VSAT, WIMAX, radio and as of today, fiber technology, as well as, managed IT solutions (Cloud PBX, ERP, CRM, SaaS, HaaS and IT outsourced services). Now we can be seen as a front runner in the area of transformational IT solutions for business. We also try as much as possible to engage organizations and ensure that they lead their market space by been abreast of the rapid changes in IT innovations. This is one of our strengths, using our team of our experts and in line with global best practices, we deliver transformational IT solutions. With a 24/7 dedicated support team, we can be said to be one of the best in the country. From our team of network engineers, system integrators, and application developers, we have been able to bring global best IT solutions to Nigerian firms”, Sean Hsu, CEO of NETCOM Africa concluded.
Aviation industry is bouncing back as the country emerge from Covid 19 crisis,many aviation firms are taking charge and finding new route to be profitable. Ibom Air,the new kid on the block owned solely by the Akwa Ibom State government is taking advantage of the Air Space by utilising Enugu Airport that was commisioned lately!
While the South Eastern Governors sleep on the matter of diversification,Akwa Ibom a nieghbouring state that is hugely dependent on oil and a major oil producer has started looking into the future by diversifying into other areas of economy such as the capital intensive projects like Aviation which is floating top class aircrafts and ICT ecosystem.
The state government will be opening new routes especially the Enugu Airport. As a capitalist nation,this means that the Ibom Air Haas come to understand the itineraries of the Igbo population which is pegged at over 30 million which makes it am aviation hub for tourists and business traveller. A move that has been applauded by the industry watchers and stakeholders.
Speaking on the expansion of the route,the young and focused governor, Emmanuel Udom said ” We are glad to announce that from September 14, 2020, Ibom Air will be flying to Enugu from Lagos and Abuja daily. Akanu Ibiam International Airport, here we come!Stay tuned for schedules and opening of booking.”#IbomAir
Founded around June 2019, Ibom Air is a Nigerian Airline owned by the Akwa Ibom State Government. Ibom Air is committed to safety, service excellence, hospitality & innovation. We are proud to be the airline of choice for customers.
The airline has shown that states in the country must start thinking outside the box especially those of South Eastern Governors that mostly go cap in hand to Abuja for allocation. Ibom Air has shown promise and it is said that it is one of the few airlines that ply Akwa Ibom State,having flew the airline, I can categorically say they have what it takes to take on the South Eastern Skies while the governors sleep , figuratively. Employing the indigenes of the state and contributing to the nation’s aviation development,the airline can be said to be a reference point on what it means to have a focused governor.
In continuation of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the Governor of Akwa Ibom state, His Excellency, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, has approved that there should be no public gatherings to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of the creation of our dear Akwa Ibom State on 23 September, 2020.
This directive is in response to the difficulty that can be experienced in enforcing compliance with AKSG/NCDC/WHO COVID-19 guidelines and protocols during big state-wide celebrations. This decision is taken in the interest of public health and safety of the citizens of Akwa Ibom state. The health, lives and wellbeing of Akwa Ibomites must be prioritised over any celebrations.
The Governor however invites all citizens to deeply reflect on the historical struggle for the creation of our state and apply themselves to worthy causes that will continue to positively transform and uplift the name of our state. God bless Akwa Ibom!
Signed:
Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem Secretary to the State Government & Chairman of COVID-19 Management Committee of Akwa Ibom State.
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has recommended the parliamentary system of government as a credible democratic alternative for Nigeria.
Governor Ortom made the call today at the Benue Peoples House Makurdi while inaugurating the Benue State Constitution Review Committee with a charge on members to be diligent sensitive to their assignment.
He said the parliamentary system of government provides opportunities for power-sharing such that smaller parties also participate in governance, stressing that it is more accountable and considerably less complex.
According to Governor Ortom, the current system of federalism where the Federal Government has constitutional powers in nearly 100 per cent performance while states and local governments only function 30 per cent or less is a distortion of the spirit and practice of federalism.
He stated that Nigeria needed a constitution that sets out a system which the various tiers could simultaneously engage in the types of relationships common to all functional federations and specifications where the tiers have autonomy, need cooperation and supervisory roles.
Governor Ortom also called for the establishment of a constitutional court to support the Supreme Court in settling disputes between levels of government as a court of first and last resort.
The State Constitution Review Committee is to prepare memorandum on gender equality, federal structure and power devolution, local government and local government autonomy, public revenue, fiscal federation and revenue allocation.
Other areas include Nigeria Police and Nigerian Security Architecture, comprehensive judicial reforms, electoral reforms to strengthen the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC for transparent, credible, free and fair elections.
The committee is to also submit proposals include state creation, residency and indigene provisions, immunity, the National Assembly, socio-economic and cultural rights as contained in chapter two of the constitution among others.
Chairman of the committee and former Chief Judge of the State, retired Justice Adam Onum, pledged the commitment of members to timely completion of the assignment. Secretary to the State Government and Attorney General of the state will serve as Secretary and assistant Secretary of the committee respectively.
As part of efforts aimed at saving lives during associated ailments which often result in cardiac arrest, the Lagos State Health Service Commission has commenced the training on Basic Life Support (BLS) techniques for 500 personnel selected across public hospitals and cadres.
Speaking at the commencement of the training programme held at the Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, the Permanent Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Benjamin Eniayewun, observed the need for first responders to get acquainted with Basic Life Support procedure, as part of moves to curb the sudden death of patients experiencing cardiac arrest.
According to him, “Cardiac arrest is a sudden unexpected loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness, often resulting from an electrical disturbance of the heart; if not immediately and medically attended, could result in death”.
“There is ample need for extensive knowledge on BLS techniques, through constant appraisal, such that it could be deployed as often as possibly required in order to avoid the death of victims if resuscitation procedures were duly administered by a competent health worker or individual”, he added.
Dr. Eniayewun reiterated that some associated illness in society can induce cardiac arrest in any individual and can eventually lead to deteriorating condition, unless there is someone in the immediate environment with comprehensive knowledge of BLS technique to salvage the situation.
While emphasising its relevance at enhancing medical aid amongst healthcare workers, the Permanent Secretary stated that the Basic Life Support process helps to save lives, stressing that all healthcare providers should inculcate the knowledge, irrespective of position or cadre, as a form of first aid treatment to preserve the victim’s life until help arrives.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Deputy Director in the Directorate of Medical Services and Coordinator of the training, Dr. Shola Pitan, said the initiative was part of moves at improving the capacity of the trainees towards enhancing healthcare standards for all patients and residents of Lagos State.
In his words: “There is a need to improve the capacity of healthcare providers in order to improve the growing medical demands of the ailing public. The participants at the programme, schemed under the American Heart Certified (AHA) standard, will be awarded Certificates of Practice valid for a two-year period”.
The training entailed practical sessions by participants to enhance their mastery of the Basic Life Support techniques.
The Agency’s Response Team, Shark Squad at Lekki, rescued three passengers onboard an LT bus with registration number KTU 681XS that collided with a private tow-truck with registration no. SMK 482CA while enroute Ebute-Ero on Lagos Island today, Monday 7th September, 2020
The incident was attributed to reckless driving by the driver of an LT bus who lost control whilst on top speed and rammed into the tow-truck from behind.
Fortunately, no loss of lives was recorded but the Response Team alongside other Responders, Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps, LNSC and LASTMA rescued three adults, comprising of one male and two females, recovered the LT bus with the three victims who sustained various degrees of injuries, were stabilized by the Agency’s Paramedics before being taken to Marina General hospital with the aid of the Agency’s Ambulance for further treatment.
As Enterprise Architecture is being used as a standard tool for executing a digital transformation strategy, the National Information Technology Development Agency has implemented the Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA) to set clear directions for Government digital transformation in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi at 12th ISACA Annual Conference where he delivered Keynote Address with the theme: “Accelerating Digital Transformation: The Nigerian Trends.
Abdullahi said NITDA implemented the Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture framework to drive short, medium, and long term digital transformational impact.
He added that the framework provides direction enabling other government parastatals to easily, quickly, and conveniently execute digital initiatives. It also reduces the complexity associated with digital transformation and accelerates adoption across the board.
“The framework we designed at NITDA is in line with the digital transformation foundation laid by President Muhammadu Buhari. In October 2019, the president renamed and expanded the mandate of our Ministry to cover Digital Economy, he said.
He further stated that, “In November the same year, 2019,the president unveiled National Digital Economy Policy for Digital Nigeria, and he directed my Minister Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, to implement the policy. On the same day, the president also directed all Federal Public Institutions to set up a Digital Transformation Technical Working Group and on 27th August this year, the Honorable Minister of communications and digital economy inaugurated the first set of 100 Federal Public Institutions’ digital transformation working group. The idea behind setting the technical working group is to consolidate on the achievements recorded under some of our initiatives such as the Nigeria e-Government Master Plan (NeGMP), Nigeria e-Government Interoperability Framework (Ne-GIF) and Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA).”
According to him, the framework has two value propositions. Firstly to promote One Government digital service and secondly, to guarantees the autonomy of each Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) to make individual decisions around business processes, digital services, and applications.
Furthermore, the framework has seven layers, namely Business, Service, Data, Application, IT Infrastructure, Security, and Performance, which centered around people and processes. Each layer has high-level expectations for FPIs and as well as specifies best practices, standards, tools, reference models and recommendations that will help FPIs achieve their value propositions and meet citizens’ expectations for government digital services. Abdullahi opined that with the current reality of COVID-19, digital transformation strategy focuses more on how to deliver digital service to Nigerians. Therefore, the strategy depends on existing capabilities as a country to achieve operational excellence in a digital economy.
“Having understood how important digital capabilities are in driving digital transformation, we have embarked on upskilling and reskilling Nigerians with appropriate knowledge and skills that the necessary building blocks for digital transformation. We have trained over 26,000 Nigerians this year alone on different digital skills to help them understand and embrace digital transformation.
“In addition to the capacity building, we have provided thousands of digital tools to Nigerians raging from artisan toolbox set, smart mobile devices, laptops to building Community training centers, IT hubs, Innovation, and incubation hubs and center of excellence for emerging technologies,” he added.
Since you can’t pay tithes, pastor turns you into an errand boy.He sends you to buy biscuits for his children, wash pants for his wife and clean his cars.
You sweep the church for free while awaiting your heavenly reward while the pastor fly private jets and drive flashy sedans.
You are happy that your pastor is rich and argue for him whenever anyone mentions him in negative light concerning his riches.
While pastor runs to the UK at the slightest symptoms of headache he will pray for you when you are sick and bedridden.He will tell you to bring your sick mother to church for prayers instead of taking her to hospitals to waste money.
She dies and he tells you that it was God’s will while his mother has been in the UK for months receiving the best treatment that tithes can buy.
He buys a new land for a new church branch, you help to carry blocks and turn concrete, then collect blessings as reward. That way he saves on labour cost though that had been factored in the quotation and will still be reflected on the expenditure in case some nosey fellow starts asking the hard questions..You are happy to be working for the salvation of your soul, heaven will pay. The pastor lives his heaven on earth.
The new church building is completed on your sweat.He invites the deputy president,senator,member of parliament and every other person who made sure that you are poor by design.
The whole area is policed with guns and armored cars. You are comfortably seated at the back while straining your neck to see who and who came.
The deputy president and governor and senator plus their contractor friends donate hundreds of millions for the new church while you cheer from the back.
The food they shared didn’t get to you but you are happy the deputy president and governor and senator came to your church. You even brag to others of how your pastor is well connected.
You get home, hunger Knocks angrily on the belly door, your neighbor bails you out while you wait for heaven to pay.
Age is no longer on your side, pastor hooks you up with another aunty that sweeps the church for free with no education just like you and Weds you both on a Friday evening church service and you are happy.
20 years later you are still waiting for the elusive miracle. By this time the pastor’s children have been sent abroad for studies while your kids are active members of the praise and worship team where they offer their services free of charge.
you are proud that your pastors kids are blessed and tell anyone who care to listen just how blessed the bishops family is.
Corrupted Pentecostalism is one of the worst things that ever happened to Africa.”
Hanson Johnson the founder of one of the foremost ICT capacity building facilities in Niger Delta Region known as Start Innovation Hub, can be known as a software developer. He is always in sync with coding but that isn’t what he is known truly for! Johnson is a man that is building capacity in Uyo! Recently, he introduced Graphic Training that would equip youths to be graphic designers especially in the areas of product packaging.
Product-packaging design refers to the creation of the exterior of a product. That includes choices in material and form as well as graphics, colours and fonts that are used on wrapping, a box, a can, a bottle or any kind of container.
Design is a key factor in packaging. A quality package design can attract potential customers and set the product apart from the competition. The visual presence represents not only the quality of the product, but should also suggest a clear personality.
To test how much she has been able to grasp in 60+ days of CREATE 2.1, Aniefiok Udosen a Graphics design Trainee was asked to replicate the product package for CTORCH which she did successfully.
That being said, did you know that the Centennial Light is the world’s longest-lasting light bulb, burning since 1901, and almost never switched off? ☺️☺️
As we know, the basic elements of graphic design include line, shape, form, texture, and balance. They might not seem like much on their own, but together, they’re part of almost everything we see and create.
After taking them through the whole basics of graphic design for two whole months, it was time to test their knowledge and know to what extent they have grasped all they were taught using real-life projects.
Those of us who love quick breakfast will be familiar with this pack whose design was replicated by Chinonso Ejike.
Chinonso Ejike one of our CREATE 2.1 graphics design trainees replicated the exact design on the pack of White Oats.Pay attention to her application of the basis which she was taught in the classroom to produce this amazing replica from scratch.
