ZORACOM TO LAUNCH NETWORK SECURITY OPERATION CENTRE

ZORACOM TO LAUNCH NETWORK SECURITY OPERATION CENTRE

As businesses are getting more digitalized today, with a lot of business processes going online and virtual, the need to rejig and strengthen the cyber security architecture becomes imminent for any business to survive globally, Nigeria inclusive. Breaches are commonplace today, costing corporate world billions of dollars to combat. In line with this narrative, ZORACOM, an indigenous information technology (IT) firm located in Lekki will be launching their Network/Security Operation Centre (NSOC). This is to ensure that corporate organizations in the country have access to world-class cyber-security solutions in a cozy environment manned by competent manpower.

Speaking on the intention of ZORACOM to unveil this facility, John Nwachukwu, one of the Chief  Executives Officer of ZORACOM opined” We believe in doing things right, we are looking at how to service our existing clients better and how we can improve. We have a full grasp of the importance of cyber-security and business continuity; we are here to ensure that organizations are fully protected from these breaches that occur on daily basis. We are going to launch this NSOC facility just to ensure that firms are safe in their cyber environment. “

“Being a Zoracom Ninja (Zoran) means learning and doing new things every day, that revolve around helping digital businesses in data collection and analysis to make informed profitable decisions. Remember, we are on the journey of automating businesses, aimed at increasing end use revenue, enhancing satisfaction, and innovating solutions for business success”, John added.

To be launched this December 20th, the facility will be one of a kind in the country and will be a turning point in the area of cyber security solutions and manpower.  The facility will be a testament of the leading position of ZORACOM as an IT and Cyber-Security solution provider.

Zora Communications Limited is a technology company, automating digital transformation for cybersecurity, cloud, network, and service management. Zoracom, apart from cybersecurity solutions offers Broadband Access Networks,   Mobile Networks(3G/UMTS, LTE/4G, 5G),LoRa Access Networks, Radio Networks(Point-to-Point),Optical/SDH, Ethernet, IP/MPLS Aggregation. Others are Optical, IP/MPLS Backbones, Security/Firewalls and Voice/Soft Switch

 

Anthony Nwosu

 

 

” We believe in doing things right, we are looking at how to service our existing clients better and how we can improve. We have a full grasp of the importance of cyber-security and business continuity; we are here to ensure that organizations are fully protected from these breaches that occur on daily basis. We are going to launch this NSOC facility just to ensure that firms are safe in their cyber environment. “

Africa Data Centres extends edge cloud capability through Unitellas partnership at Lagos facility

Africa Data Centres extends edge cloud capability through Unitellas partnership at Lagos facility

Africa Data Centres (www.AfricaDataCentres.com), a business of Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, is pleased to announce that enterprise cloud services provider Unitellas will be bringing Zadara’s global federated edge service to its new facility in Lagos, Nigeria. Unitellas is a Nigerian-based full-stack managed infrastructure-as-a-service provider and distributor of “Zadara” – a renowned global leader of Edge cloud services.

 

According to Tesh Durvasula, CEO of Africa Data Centres: “West African enterprises are looking at cloud technology, but it will be vital to build trust to mitigate concerns around data sovereignty, security, and privacy. Addressing these issues will be vital if we are to onboard new cloud providers. Enterprises can take advantage of the cost, flexibility and scalability of cloud while local data centres provide the unique ability to control, localise and secure physical access to data. Through our ecosystem of partners, customers have access to multiple cloud onramps and connectivity options. Data centres and cloud technology provide a platform for effective disaster recovery, cloud migrations and hybrid solutions. Increasing the richness of the ecosystem by adding solutions like Zadara through Unitellas, makes our Lagos-based offering even more attractive to West African players.”

The move into Nigeria follows the announcement in July 2021 when Africa Data Centres (www.AfricaDataCentres.com) added edge cloud services to its Midrand marketplace in South Africa. However, where the Midrand deployment involved service provider Global Sense, in West Africa Zadara is distributed through Unitellas (www.Unitellas.com.ng).

Africa Data Centres has facilities across Africa’s major regional business and trade hubs and aims to help drive Africa’s digital transformation using that network. Both multinationals and large African enterprises are being attracted to these growing hubs of cloud-based business operation—all provided in highly connected, physically secure and efficient facilities that are designed, built and operated to the standards demanded by leading global cloud providers, carriers and enterprises.

Together, we are enabling customers to reduce cost, increase agility and drive productivity within their businesses

“Providing local access to world-class cloud technology aligns with our strategy of digitally transforming Africa,” continues Durvasula. “The partnership between Africa Data Centres and Unitellas means that West African customers have at their disposal fully-managed IT infrastructure-on-demand, can flexibly scale their solutions as business needs change, simplifying potentially complex IT deployments so that they can focus on their core business. We value our continued growing partnership with Zadara through our secure, cloud and carrier-neutral facilities.”

“With the African data centre market expected to experience a CAGR of 15% over the coming years, the time is now to bring these benefits to the continent,” says Smith Osemeke, MD and CEO of Unitellas. “This means enterprises can now take advantage of the cost, flexibility and scalability of the cloud, because having this presence in a local data centre provides the unique ability to control, localise and secure physical access to data, enabling data sovereignty, security and privacy.”

According to Osemeke, Zadara delivers superior turnkey solutions with the benefits of on-demand compute and storage services anywhere, in an existing on-premises data centre, in a private colocation facility, or in the cloud. This flexibility enables customers to develop, deploy, run and virtualise any application on a true 100% opex consumption-based model. Africa Data Centres owns and operates Africa’s largest network of interconnected, carrier- and cloud-neutral data centre facilities.

When critical data of businesses and citizens of Nigeria are stored locally, the risk of leaks or access by foreign agents or foreign nation will be eliminated thus promoting greater confidence in local technology and a boom in domestic tech ecosystems and economic growth for Nigeria, adds Osemeke. “Our presence in Africa Data Centres brings computing power and storage closer to the source of data generation and enterprises requiring data to make data driven decisions can effectively utilise real-time applications because latency associated with processing and analysing data is reduced.”

With this strategic partnership, Osemeke says major regional businesses and trade hubs are now empowered to drive Africa’s digital transformation using the network of Africa Data centre across Africa.

“We are proud to work with Africa Data Centres – their state-of-the-art data centres combined with Zadara technology will allow African organisations access to advanced, localised compute network and storage cloud services.  Together, we are enabling customers to reduce cost, increase agility and drive productivity within their businesses,” ends Osemeke.

FINTRAK BRINGS INNOVATIVE TECH SOLUTIONS TO THE RWANDA FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM

FINTRAK BRINGS INNOVATIVE TECH SOLUTIONS TO THE RWANDA FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM

 

 

 

Fintrak Software Limited, an indigenous financial technology firm based in Lagos with an international footprint in various African country recently held banking and financial industry of Rwanda in awe with the reintroduction of their solution known as ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION. A software application that is designed for businesses to boost productivity and reduce human error in all the areas of their enterprise. The Fintech also presented their credit management solution known as CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOLUTION, the event was held at the KIGALI MARRIOT HOTEL, in the Rwandan capital City.

Speaking to the Rwanda financial ecosystem, the company described the Credit management solution as a software that was designed to help banks meet the need to identify, measure, monitor and control credit risk as well as to determine that they hold adequate capital against these risks and that they are adequately compensated for risks incurred. The Credit Risk 360 solution is Web based and can be easily accessed from all branches of the bank without separate installations on branch-by-branch basis.

“Banks are increasingly facing credit risk (or counter-party risk) in various financial instruments other than loans, including acceptances, inter-bank transactions, trade financing, foreign exchange transactions, financial futures, swaps, bonds, equities, options, and in the extension of commitments and guarantees, and the settlement of transactions”, they added.

Bimbo Abioye, the Group Managing Director of Fintrak used the opportunity to address Rwandan stakeholders on various features of their solutions such as Portal Driven Loan Origination, Online Loan Appraisal and documentation, Credit rating, mobile Loan approval and other areas of loan management such as SME Digital lending and disbursement.

On enterprise solution they focused on key features such as cost allocation, balanced scorecard, product profitability reports and flexible transfer pricing. All these features are embedded in the solution to make business seamless.

FinTrak Software is a global Financial Technology organization providing innovative technology and business solutions to financial institutions in the financial services sector and enterprises across continents. FinTrak Software is a global company, with business offices in Nigeria, Ghana and Gambia. Armed with and army of software engineers and professionals with competencies across banking, finance, audit, consulting and software development, FinTrak Software is on a mission to support organizations and states with technologies and intellectual strength required to enable them surpass their stakeholders’ expectations.

 

 

ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU

 

AfriTECH 2.0: Theme, Date and Venue Announced

AfriTECH 2.0: Theme, Date and Venue Announced

 

Trailblazers in the technology and business circle in Africa are set to gather in Lagos, Nigeria (West Africa) on 9 November 2022 for another edition of Africa Tech Alliance Forum (AfriTECH 2.0) as the continent’s sought-after technology Forum, exhibition, and awards ceremony.

AfriTECH 2.0 scheduled to hold at Oriental Hotel, Lekki Road, is focused on ‘Sustainability and The Company of the Future’, as the central theme.

According to the organisers from TechCastle Foundation and TechEconomy.ng, AfriTECH 2.0 will convene Business leaders/CEOs of Companies and Organisations, Innovators, Government Representatives, International Organizations, Diplomats, Investors, Academia, Start-ups and Entrepreneurs in their numbers.

The array of industry leaders, and tech-entrepreneurs, decision-makers, and tech ecosystem players from across the continent, will unpack the various challenges, scenarios, and mind-blowing economic opportunities in ‘Harnessing Digital Identity for Digital Economy Agenda’; ‘Creating Sustainable Future through Connectivity’; ‘Blockchain & Cryptocurrency – The Future of Money’; and ‘Cloud Computing in 5G Era – Everything-As-A-Service’.

According to Statista, 97% of respondents to a digital transformation survey stated that the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, sped up digital transformation processes in their respective organisations.

Global spending on digital transformation is projected to reach $1.78 trillion in 2022. But in what ways will this transformation manifest?

Africa Tech Alliance Forum 2021 to center on digital transformation solutions - ITPulse.com.ngThe answer lies in trends that will shape the businesses of tomorrow. The case is no different for the Government: The current, incremental pace of economic and social advancement shows too many of Africa’s expanding youth population will be denied the opportunity to live up to their potential. Therefore, Africa should think big on digital development.

“Digital technologies offer a chance to disrupt this trajectory – unlocking new pathways for rapid economic growth, innovation, job creation and access to services which would have been unimaginable only a decade ago.

“Yet there is also a growing ‘digital divide’, and increased cyber risks, which need urgent and coordinated action to mitigate. Access to the internet remains out of reach for many citizens in the continent. Too few citizens have digital IDs or transaction accounts – locking them out of access to critical services and e-commerce”, said Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi, the co-Convener AfriTECH 2.0 and Co-Founder of TechCastle Foundation.

Continuing, he said, “Digital startups seek more funding and ‘traditional’ businesses are only slowly adopting digital technologies and platforms to boost productivity and sales. Few governments are investing strategically and systematically in developing digital infrastructure, services, skills and entrepreneurship.

“To become tomorrow’s innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders, Africa’s youth need to be empowered with the digital skills and access to technology and markets that are essential to thrive in an increasingly digitized global economy. The time for action is now! Join us at AfriTECH 2.0

On his part, Peter Oluka, the Editor of TechEconomy.ng, said that AfriTECH 2.0 will be a consolidation on the last year’s edition with massive publicity and industry participation, adding that delegates should expect issue-based Forum through Keynotes, Panel Discussions, Exhibitions, Innovation Management Workshops, and AfriTECH AWARDS 2022.

“Africa Tech Alliance Forum 2022 will culminate in awards ceremony which aims to celebrate and reward companies and individuals on the African continent that have demonstrated excellence in the areas of innovative product/service development, policy/regulations, amongst other areas”.

“We are very excited about the feedbacks so far with regards potential speakers, panellists and even the potential awardees.

Delegates will be exposed to unique insights into the different ways 5G networks, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain/cryptocurrency, digital identity, and the Internet of Things (IoT) will shape the future of Africa’s development.

With only 300 in-person passes available to the public, interested attendees are encouraged to secure their spot by going to AfriTECH 2.0 or click the link here to register: https://registration.africatechallianceforum.africa/

 

 

 

 

CELLCORE UNVEILS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) SOLUTION FOR LOTTO PLAYERS 

CELLCORE UNVEILS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) SOLUTION FOR LOTTO PLAYERS 

 

 

In line with clients’ demands and technology trends, CELLCORE Ltd, an IT firm  in Ibadan unveils artificial intelligence (AI) solution  for lottery companies in Nigeria.  Celebrating their 10 years in the Nigerian IT industry, the LOTTOBOT which is first of its kind is a ChatBot technology that automates the playing of lotto games via Facebook Messenger.

The introduction of LOTTOBOT to the Nigerian gaming industry is timely and presents a wealth of opportunities for businesses looking to up skill their workforce and transform the user experience.

In his chat with the media, Mike Nwaogu, the Chief Executive Officer of CELLCORE Ltd said “We have made gaming simpler and easy. Facebook’s Messenger and other chat applications launched CHAT BOTS, and it was the cue  we needed to integrate the new AI technology buzz into their gaming experience.

Instead of having to go back and forth, logging out of their Facebook accounts and websites, and then visiting their gaming portal of choice, they can simply access it via our Facebook’s Messenger CHAT BOT”.

He added that “ We are at the forefront of deploying artificial intelligence into the gaming industry not only in Nigeria but Africa. We have been in this industry for almost a decade and we are using this solution to celebrate a landmark” .

LOTTOBOT Prime  allows gamers  to play lotto games by merely chatting with a bot,  thereby presenting a convenient, relaxed process and experience of playing lotto without having to leave your zone. With this chatbot, anyone can play lotto games directly via their Facebook Messenger, get direct updates of results and get prize winnings credited directly to their Messenger LOTTOBOT account.

Industry stakeholders have lauded the product, noting that with the introduction of LOTTOBOT into the Nigerian gaming industry, it has demonstrated that  the gaming industry is maturing. Amongst the industry stakeholders that attested to the solution is De Donkings Lotteries Limited.

Key features of LOTTOBOT include the ability for  gamers to subscribe to updates, players  can subscribe to receive automated updates of results via  their Messenger inbox. Known as Cash Out, winners get notified immediately by the Bot when they win. Their LOTTOBOT account is credited with the prize immediately. The players, can also check the balance of their winnings on the Bot or cash out their winnings through a simple process; either by having the cash withdrawn at an ATM or transferred to  their bank account.

“The intelligent LOTTOBOT is trained to guide players to play and submit available lotto games of partner lotto companies hosted on the platform, including soccer betting and soccer pools from select countries and leagues from around the world” remarked  Gideon Nwaogu, Chief of Operations,  CELLCORE Limited .

LOTTOBOT is  also trained to address some questions and challenges players may have while interfacing with it. For ease of play, LOTTOBOT is built to accept the Universal token PINs which can be used to play lotto games on the platform of select lotto game service providers across Nigeria. The PINs can be purchased online via the BOT  or from agents on the street.

 

ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU

NOWNOW DIGITAL SYSTEMS TO EMPOWER SMEs SEGMENT BY CREATING A DIGITAL PLATFORM

NOWNOW DIGITAL SYSTEMS TO EMPOWER SMEs SEGMENT BY CREATING A DIGITAL PLATFORM

 

 

In Africa, the Nigerian financial technology (Fintech) ecosystem is one of the busiest and biggest in the continent. Handling transaction worth billions of Naira on daily basis. The need to be innovative, adaptive and secured platform are core factors that makes the industry players relevant. In this market, an indigenous fintech firm, NOWNOW Limited has taken the industry by the storm with their arrays of robust services and innovative solutions that have come to awe the tech savvy customers.

Speaking to the media on these solutions, Oyenike Owomoyela who is the Head of Growth at NowNow said that “Our mission as a leading African B2B and B2C FinTech company is to deliver best in class financial services to SMEs, Agents and Consumers alike. We have a passion to deepen financial inclusion and provide job opportunities to the unemployed youths in Nigeria. We are a mobile bank that gives you control over how you spend your money. Be the Boss when you send money, receive money and pay bills for everyday essentials such as recharge card and data, insurance, electricity, shop online and instore-all in one place.”

On why they choose the name NOWNOW, she added that” We wanted to resonate first with one of the country’s local languages; Nigerian Pidgin English, what NowNow means in pidgin is to make haste or get something done instantly. The name also connotes that we are a fast-paced technology company that offers efficient services with speed! Our mission is to be a leading African B2B and B2C FinTech company whose mission is to deliver best in class financial services to SMEs, Agents and Consumers alike. We are building the world’s best technology that digitizes cash payments and provides financial empowerment for a better life for everyone. We wanted to play on the double words ‘NowNow’ hence the slogan. Also, we realized there were a lot of negative sentiments with brick-and-mortar banks which included crowded banking halls, non-presence of bank branches at remote locations, slow response to customer complaints and resolution of issues.”

With the dearth of capacity in the industry, this has seen a lot of software developers and engineers leave the country and has resulted to downtime in some of the financial players platforms. NOWNOW has reassured their customers of 99% uptime and has made sure that they have the required manpower to power the industry. Oyenike opined that “One thing we have done right in NowNow is to gather experienced professionals from across the world in the FinTech and Financial Services space hence we have a global view of what we need to do to achieve our goals as an organization. We are also focused on agile and adaptive technology and have a presence not only in the urban centres but rural communities also. We offer financial literacy tools as well as business solutions to all our consumers and merchants as a whole and have empowered a lot of youths and the unemployed through our agency banking model. “

On the as of doing business and opening account, this has been one of their major achievements; fast and seamless onboarding. What NOWNOW has done is to leverage API integrations with NIBSS and other 3rd party providers to ensure that we are opening quality wallets and profiling customers in line with the CBN 3-tiered KYC policy. Oyenike said that “Our Compliance team is also doing a lot at the backend to ensure transaction monitoring takes effect and processes related to KYC upgrades are done as at when due digitally. We also carry our EDD on transactions when the need arises.”

During this last quarter, the company has a lot of things for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMs) and they have said that thy are desirous of moving their business offline to online where businesses and transactions will be seamlessly. Noting that the SMEs are the power house of the economy and shouldn’t be overlooked. They said that this last quarter will be focused on them. “Our card campaign, which is aimed at our B2C customer segment – a project that we have been working on extensively for quite some time. We also have a new product launch to tackle the SME segment in Nigeria, which has one of the largest footprints of SMEs in Africa. We want to empower this segment by creating a digital platform that moves them from offline to online, provides access to market channels as well as financial capabilities, and ERP solutions. All these and many more are in the pipeline to really propel business owners to the next level of exposure and success. We will begin to roll out these products as we progress”, Oyenike concludes.

 

 

ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU

 

 

 

“One thing we have done right in NowNow is to gather experienced professionals from across the world in the FinTech and Financial Services space hence we have a global view of what we need to do to achieve our goals as an organization. We are also focused on agile and adaptive technology and have a presence not only in the urban centres but rural communities also. We offer financial literacy tools as well as business solutions to all our consumers and merchants as a whole and have empowered a lot of youths and the unemployed through our agency banking model.”

 

HARNIX TECH BRINGS INNOVATIVE WEB AND ONLINE SOLUTIONS TO NIGERIAN SMEs

HARNIX TECH BRINGS INNOVATIVE WEB AND ONLINE SOLUTIONS TO NIGERIAN SMEs

 

 

In a very competitive business world today, Nigeria inclusive. The need for brands to be constantly present in the eyes of customers and prospective buyers becomes very important for any business. The importance of online presence has been described as the new way to drive revenue and profit for any organisation. Unfortunately for many Nigerian businesses especially those in the Small and Medium, Enterprises known as the SMEs have refused to understand the critical importance of internet and the immense value it has to every business with less than ten percent of SMEs having a functional website in Nigeria. Harnix Tech, an indigenous web development and online presence firm located in Lagos talks about the need for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to invest in online presence,

Speaking to the media on the importance of digital marketing and virtual presence for Nigerian firms, Harrison Okafor, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Harnix Tech Limited said, “Firstly, I would say we need to educate small business owners on why it is very important to have their business online. The reason I am saying this is because, we have dealt with clients who are clueless about the digital space, and when we present them with results of how their website was performing, they simply don’t get it. We have to break it down, so that they could truly understand what we are doing and what the next step is, when it comes to positioning their brand online.”

He added that “Secondly, I will say making use of affordable resources. I say affordable because, we are talking about SMEs here, if they find the price of a website too expensive, then what happens when we start pitching SEO to them? They would take to their hills, because SEO is very costly. SEO costs ranges from 100k – 300k monthly, and an SEO campaign could take up to 6 months or more. You don’t want to pitch SEO to an SME brand, rather you want to draft out affordable marketing strategies, which they can use to scale their business.”

On the jobs that they have executed and their go-to-market approach, Harrison opined that” At Harnix Tech, one of the things, we do is create and optimize our clients Google MyBusiness account, one of our clients, Parkview Astoria Hotel is on their top game, when it comes to ranking on Google MyBusiness, when you search for keywords like luxurious hotels in Ikoyi, 4 star hotels in Ikoyi, or hotels in Ikoyi, Parkview Hotel is with in position 1 or 2. This has helped their business generate over a million in 4-5 months. So, when dealing with SMEs, think of Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Influential Marketing, Google MyBusiness or Apple Map listing. Then once they start generating that revenue, they would have more confident in the online business, and then you could pitch SEO to them.”

On the Nigerian SMEs attitude to online presence, the tech guru said “Now when we look at the analysis of how many small businesses there are, you will notice there are over 80% small businesses and more are still going to come up. Now if we decide to check the rate of how many small businesses own a website, they are very few. We could say around 5-8%. But again, sometimes it is not about the price, it’s actually about small business owners lacking knowledge about the digital space and how the digital space could help scale their business. Businesses that do not key into the vast opportunities that internet offer is basically missing it big time.”

He said that At Harnix Tech, we make use of Influencial Marketing, social media, SEO, and Content Marketing currently. Now when it comes to Influencial Marketing, it has helped our brand generate visibility in the online space. While social media has helped us communicate more with our audience, our posts, our designs, everything communicates and we have used that to generate revenues for the brand. Content Marketing helps us build trust with our clients and create a bonding relationship with them, one of the things we do at Harnix Tech is study our client’s industry, and provide our clients information that can help them scale and stand a chance to compete in that industry. SEO has helped us generate online traffic and even sales for the brand. We are currently looking at using a new strategy, which involves turning our customers to our ambassadors, and creating a referral system.

Harnix Tech is a creative digital agency, located in Lagos. They are a team of IT professionals combining the knowledge of our skills to provide outstanding digital solutions to our business clients. With a team of professional graphic designers, web developers, content writers, marketers and IT specialists.

 

FPG Technologies Partners With Accuras To Sell DelphixOps Platform

FPG Technologies Partners With Accuras To Sell DelphixOps Platform

The need for organizations in the country to protect their critical data and information Technology (IT) architecture has become imperative in order to avoid several types of breaches. Being in the business agility and cyber security ecosystem,  FPG Technologies & Solutions Limited (a member of FlexiP Group), your go-to partner for practical digital transformation (DX) consulting services and technologies, business insights and productivity solutions recently became a reseller of Accuras, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) based information technology company focused in building software solutions that large enterprises  have to depend upon day to day, hour to hour. This partnership has been lauded by industry watchers as very timely and a demonstration of global organizations confidence in Nigerian IT firms which FPG Technologies represent.

Being the sole distributor and implementer of Delphix products in Turkey, Middle East and Africa; Accuras now extends its solutions and services delivery capability to Nigeria and West Africa with this new partnership with FPG Technologies.

Accuras Delphix Ortadoğu ve Afrika distribütörü oldu • BT Günlüğü
Chief Executive Officer of Accuras, Ercan Eray

With a combined expertise of the two technology companies, they would be able to deliver transformational DataOps, Data Management, Data Protection and Data Governance capabilities to large enterprises, including Finance and telecommunications companies in Nigeria and West Africa region.

Every company is a DATA COMPANY or is in the process of becoming one and Delphix gives data stakeholder teams self-service access to personal, production-quality, data environments that enable them to accelerate innovation and significantly reduce data compliance risks. This solution improves the speed of access to test and analytical data. This allows businesses to off-load production systems for analytical purposes and accelerates the software development lifecycle.

Delphix accelerates innovation by rapidly delivering secure enterprise data anywhere and ensures that non-production data is as secure and compliant as production data. Over 40% of the worlds Fortune 100 companies use Delphix to drive innovation and digital success.

FPG

Speaking of the partnership, Rex Mafiana, CEO of FPG Technologies said, “this partnership further shows our commitment and strengthens our portfolio in our bid to help our customers in their digital transformation journey, from a company that may be maximizing their Data to one that surely does. Your organization’s ability to virtualize it’s data securely is a measure of your digital transformation maturity as it enables you to unleash innovation and truly weaponize your Data for efficiency and the bottom-line”.

“We have been passionate about the transformational change delivered by Delphix solution since signing as a reseller in 2016, in 2018 we have extended our partnership as a distributor to Middle East and Africa region. We have brought the DataOps and Data Protection message to Turkey, Middle East and Africa. Today we are extremely excited that we will bring transformational data capabilities to our clients in Nigeria and West Africa by partnering with FPG technologies. We are very impressed by the success that FPG Technologies achieved in the region so far and we are totally sure that we the right alignment with FPG Technologies to combine our expertise together in order to do what we do best”,Ercan Eray, Accuras’ Chief Executive Officer added.

Sent in by

Anthony Nwosu

“this partnership further shows our commitment and strengthens our portfolio in our bid to help our customers in their digital transformation journey, from a company that may be maximizing their Data to one that surely does…”

ATCON SECTORAL FORUM 2020: TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANIES ARE BEING OWNED OVER 17 BILLION NAIRA – NCC EVC

ATCON SECTORAL FORUM 2020: TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANIES ARE BEING OWNED OVER 17 BILLION NAIRA – NCC EVC

​In a post Covid 19 workplace and era, information technology, communication and data will be the critical drivers that would power the era. Having seen the change of narrative, the Association of Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ATCON) headed by Olusola Teniola invited the key stakeholders in an online forum tagged “ATCON’ Sectoral Virtual Forum 2020.” Isa Pantami ,the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy in Nigeria, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Office (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Inuwa Kashifu Abdullahi  the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and host of others looked at how ICT will play a vital role in  post Covid 19 economic realities.

Taking to zoom conference, Isa Patanmi promise to look at the cost of broadband deployment, the minister said that the ministry is looking at reviewing the taxes that are collected by various states of federation to the Infracos and also promising to  look at giving preferential treatment to indigenous firms using the Executive order 003 and Presidential order 005.He also buttressed the need for patronage for the local Telco firms, a policy is being formulated to this regard. The Minister said that the government is doing the desired intervention to ensure that the indigenous telecom firms which ATCON is the body would be looked at.

NITDA has aided growth of Nigeria's tech ecosystem -- DG, Kashifu ...

On the interest of consumers, the Minister said that it is in the interest of the Ministry to protect the subscribers and consumers of telecommunication products and services is paramount to the Government. The Minister is working with NCC Operators to ensure a robust framework that would protect the interest of consumers. The minister used the forum to harp on the quality of service, though in most cases are caused by vandalization. The QoS is key to the government, especially the price of data will be looked at. The minister made it known that the right of way has a way of impacting on the price of data and there are efforts made to come up with packages.

The leadership of ATCON, is the body that helped to push the National Broadband Plan and the minister is looking at 70% penetration rates in the next 5 years. The Minister promised to work with ATCON members to ensure that this is feasible in a few years’ time. Speaking on the forum, Olu Teniola, the President of ATCON said that the organisation is desirous to assist the ministry on the issue of right of way and double taxation. The Minister said that telecom infrastructure is seen as national infrastructure. The minister said that the issue of Right of Way has been lingering and he is working with governors on this.

NITDA Begins Registration, Licensing of Indigenous Information Technol

Prof Danbatta, opined that the Covid 19 impact affected the whole economy and there is need to utilise the power of Information Technology and in the heart of ICT, infrastructure is the key. He said that NCC is striving very hard to meet up especially in the area of broadband deployment. On the issue of underutilisation of submarine broadband and landing capacity, the EVC said that the Commission is in the process of reviewing the Infraco framework as mandated by the National Bureau for Privatization (NBP). He said that the spectrum utilization especially 800MHz CDA, 1800MHz for LTE and Spectrum auctioning, the EVC reassured Nigerians that the NCC is in the process of issuing last mile satellite operators’ licenses to provide broadband services.

On the protection of consumers, NCC has brought out measures such as DND lines 2442 and a toll-free line of 622 has been in place. Over two hundred and seventy thousand complaints have been received by the commission. On the issue of Mobile number portability, over 1.1 million have utilised this service. The commission also launched a web portal as an alternative platform where consumers can lay their complaints. The draft review of consumer code of practice is being concluded for publication.

NCC Denies N300m Subventions To NITDA - Brand Communicator

The teething problem of Right of Way, the Commission has made tremendous strides in this regard. This year alone, NCC resolves Right of Way (RoW) disputes in Ekiti, Imo, Kaduna, and Plateau states and is working towards the harmonization of right of way charges. As a proactive agency, The NCC has allowed mobile numbers operators (MNOs) to participate fully in the provision of mobile money services through the National Financial Inclusion Strategy. This is designed to achieve an 80% financial inclusion target of the Federal Government. The EVC lamented on the huge debt being owed to telecommunication firms by many agencies, saying that over 17 billion is being owned and this has hampered the full capacity utilisation.

Kashifu Adullahi, the Director General of NITDA in his remarks said that “In a post covid 19 era, the economy would be powered by information technology. “We are witnessing the emergence of new trends such as remote work, conferences and meetings. There is a need for government intervention here because strains are being put on existing infrastructure. With over 30 million subscribers using smartphones to access the internet, there is a need for a robust framework which the president did by launching the national broadband plan”, he said.

Nigeria: ATCON to hold virtual meeting on impact of Covid-19 on ...

The DG of NITDA said that the Agency is involved seriously in the area of developmental regulation especially in the area of privacy and trust. The data assets guidelines, blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are the frameworks that the agency is working on. The agency has built about 3 IT hubs, 80 Digital learning centres and other key infrastructures.

ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU

On the issue of underutilisation of submarine broadband and landing capacity, the EVC said that the Commission is in the process of reviewing the Infraco framework as mandated by the National Bureau for Privatization (NBP). He said that the spectrum utilization especially 800MHz CDA, 1800MHz for LTE and Spectrum auctioning, the EVC reassured Nigerians that the NCC is in the process of issuing last mile satellite operators’ licenses to provide broadband services.

Why AI is the next best thing for customer experience management

Why AI is the next best thing for customer experience management

While an omnichannel approach has become the norm across most industries, forward-looking businesses are considering the next level to gain competitive advantage. According to Andrea Tucker, Research and Development Head at e4, to disrupt a market using omnichannel strategy businesses will need to turn to Artificial Intelligence (AI).

“AI has become a tool that is being utilised to improve customer service, but what has been achieved is really just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more that can be done to improve and evolve customer service to meet the needs of a much-changed and mobile customer,” says Tucker.

Given the nature and pace of business today, coupled with the blurred lines between a consumer and a client, Tucker says that self-service is set to boom as one of the key take-outs from AI. 

In a Salesforce report, State of Service AI adoption is predicted to grow by 143% in the next 18 months. This pending spike is attributed to AI’s ability to automate manual tasks, answer routine questions and scale support: “This gives the business more time to be strategic, focusing on building customer relationships as opposed to the more menial tasks that are often time consuming,” says Tucker.

AI driven self-service also addresses digitally-savvy consumers via the use of chatbot technology. This is a step further forward in terms of time-saving when doing manual tasks and keeping customers happy by providing instantaneous answers: “Chatbots will greatly enhance omnichannel engagement and more importantly, improve customer service experience. The technology is perfectly designed to handle a variety of simple tasks often requested by customers,” says Tucker. 

The automation derived from AI enables the business to address more important customer queries, reduces the average handle time of the interaction as well as creating a better experience for both the agent and the customer.

In its report, Tucker says that Salesforce has identified that only high-performing organisations, with excellent customer service rates, are more likely to employ AI: “There are significant benefits to using AI on the inside too. As a growing trend, an integrated approach delivers immense benefits to business, of which enhanced customer experience is one of the most important.”

End-to-end AI delivers better customer experiences and business results. It impacts the bottom line and improves several customer experience metrics.

“An AI solution needs to compliment a business and its approach to customer experience. Once you have the right one, focus on doing what you do best and the technology will help you engage with customers intelligently, while being efficient and effective too,” says Tucker.

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