Nigeria’s education in comatose, but redeemable –Experts

SOME leading academics, entrepreneurs and politicians, recently, dissected the Nigerian education sector and came up with a heart-rending view, saying the future of education in the country is bleak unless the government and all stakeholders do the needful to halt the spiraling decay.
Indeed, from the lips of emeritus professor and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Ayo Banjo; Publisher of Vanguard newspapers, Mr. Sam Amuka; it was lamentations galore as they decried the sorry state of the education sector in the world’s largest black nation.
Speaking in Lagos at a lecture “The Future of Nigerian     Education” to mark the 20th anniversary of Tanus Communications and public presentation of 110 primary, junior secondary and senior secondary school textbooks and classic series published by the company.
Notable personalities at the agenda setting event included former Governor of Ogun State, Aremu Segun Osoba; former Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke; Dr Doyin Abiola; Professor Oye Ibidapo-Obe; Mr Tunji Bello; Olorogun Sunny Kuku; John Edozien and Professor Stephen Uche.
Amuka, who chaired the occasion, opened the floodgates of lamentations, saying “There is no doubt at all that education has degenerated but considering my observation as an old man, it has gotten to a stage that I can say that those things that happened in the past were better than what we are experiencing today, though there are few exceptional cases like communication, which has improved over the years.
“But for education, it is sad that there are many habits, which we now observe which did not happen in the past and I am talking about two, three generations behind. Cheating during exams was not there when I was in school but it is now the norm. The universities have no more confidence in the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and, therefore, they insist on conducting their own exams.
“Let me relate another personal experience. I am an employer of labour and I enjoin you to go through any newspaper in the country, where you will find out that all the workers are graduates yet you will not find any of the newspapers free of grammatical errors, which are quite embarrassing.
“And I would say to you, don’t blame the newspapers, blame the institutions. We also have a situation whereby people do not read and if publishers depend on sale of books, they will die of hunger. The lecture is a very important topic because we all have something to learn and take away from the occasion.”

How we started derailing –Prof Ayo Banjo:
Delivering the lecture, Prof. Banjo, who, in a 20-page treatise, traced the history of Western education in Nigeria to the middle of the 19th century, lamented that the standard of education had fallen so low that urgent and emergency actions were needed.He noted that products of the primary education system of the early 20th century in the country spoke and wrote better English than their offspring of today, a point he argued is reflected in every other department of learning. He enumerated the factors, which boosted education in those days and those responsible for the prevailing decay.
The factors include: schools were supported by a network of well-trained teachers, who enjoyed higher status in society than their modern equivalents; Grade II teacher training colleges have now been phased out; fresh graduates doing their youth service, most of whom do not have teaching experience, are used as backbone of the teaching force in secondary schools; schools no longer have inspectorate divisions, which supervised and kept teachers on their toes; funding is inadequate and remuneration of teachers is poor.
He said “The co-existence of lack of proper training and absence of supervision is a recipe for the parlous situation in which the system finds itself today. The situation is that teaching has acquired a poor image and very few people now choose to be teachers. I am not aware that any teacher at the primary or secondary level in this country has ever won national honours.”
Banjo also x-rayed the decay at the secondary and tertiary subsectors and called for urgent reforms. He decried the implementation of the 6-3-3-4 system, which has defeated its primary aim of comprehensive education.
At the tertiary level, he lamented that irregular calendar had cut off Nigerian universities from the rest of the world, with the attendant low rating of the country’s tertiary institutions. He said it was sad that only three candidates scored above 300 marks in 2012 university matriculation examination.
To turn our education misfortunes around, Banjo said “All we need to do is look at our own history, at how the early primary and secondary schools, though few, were carefully nurtured, and how the University of Ibadan once came to be one of the 10 best universities in the Commonwealth, and learn appropriate lessons.”
DigitalSENSE Campus Pavilion spoke with some Nigerians during the holidays on the state of education sector.
Nancy Chimuaya,  a student:
I think the Nigerian education sector should be given a serious attention because in the nearest future if care is not taken, it will deteriorate more. Take a look at the ASUU strikes that lasted for 6 months, it’s not good for a country like ours, a giant of Africa to have a poor educational system.
Augustus  C. Ibechem, student, University of Nigeria,

Nsukka (UNN):
The Federal and State government should work hard to make 2014 for education to improve in Nigeria, if other governors will embark on truly free education, like Rochas Okorocha of Imo State and Kano state governor among others, I think education will improve.
Sammie Tosin, Correspondent
    The education system is a fallout of the society and it could only remedy itself by good leadership and sincerity on the parts of lecturers and government. Government funding will not be a problem. For example, you cannot tell a government that cheated in exam and in election to come and fund the school he attended; he’ll tell you that the same people that were there during my time are still there and they will squandered the money, so no need.
So, we all need to be sincere with ourselves and let the generation to come know that educational is the key for any development in any given society and make reading a culture.



... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Ayilara Sherif

iPhone 5 on the prowl

iPhone 5
Apple has just confirmed that it will hold a US press conference on October 4, a Tuesday. You’d best get saving because we’re almost certain this is when the iPhone 5, or 4S, will launch.
    It happens just once a year, but is a day sure to get thousands of gadget fans unhealthily excited - iPhone launch day. Unless Apple is planning on a dramatic change of tact, October 4 will be the day the next-gen iPhone is launched. What do we know about it so far? Virtually nothing is certain. As ever, Apple has kept incredibly tight-lipped about its new product, preferring instead to wait until it’s ready, like a temperamental artist pulling the velvet cloth off his latest masterpiece.
    Looking at the latest movements in tech, the iPad 2 and the writhing soupy mass of rumours that’s been simmering since the iPhone 4 launched, it’s not hard to make several reliable conclusions. The iPhone 5 will almost certainly feature a dual-core processor, in-line with Android rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S II. The iPhone 4 is snappy, but its 1GHz A4 chip is starting to sound musty - although its performance is admittedly still more than acceptable. This will up its gaming power, and introduce the ability to play high bit-rate 1080p video.
    The screen resolution and size will likely stay the same - rumours have suggested that size will rise above 4in, but we think Apple already knows it has hit a certain golden formula with its 3.5in screen. And its 960x640 pixel display remains class-leading with its 329dpi pixel density. If we’re wrong, feel free to blow us a raspberry in the comments on October 4.

iOS 5 may be available on October 4 too
    One improvement we’re almost sure of is in its cameras. The iPhone 4 has among the better mobile phone cameras - it’s easy to use, produces decent shots and great video. Yet, at five megapixels its specs are actually way off the best. If Apple continues the quality trend set by the iPhone 4, the iPhone 5’s rumoured 8-megapixel camera could be something very special. We’ll also be getting the ability to take a snap with a hardware button of some description - for iPhone 4 users the volume button will double for this duty.
    Then there’s the name. Some say it’ll be the iPhone 5, some say it’ll be a minor iterative upgrade and will adopt the “3GS-like” iPhone 4S tag. Others even suggest a budget iPhone will be introduced, but we doubt whether Apple would let the base quality of its products drop too low. October 4 should also see the iPhone 4 model drop into the bargain bin (this being Apple, its contents still aren’t cheap, mind) so if you’re thinking of snapping-up an iPhone 4 this week, wait.

Tim “Tiger Eyes” Cook may present the iPhone 5
    This will be the first Apple product launch where tech superhero Steve Jobs has not acted as Apple CEO - having resigned in August 2011. As such, Tim Cook may be the man to take his place in the spotlight. Most likely wearing a shirt, rather than the Jobs trademark black polo neck.


... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Ayilara Sherif

Leo-Stan Ekeh: Emergence of Microsoft global advisor

THE world software giant, Microsoft has named the chairman of Zinox Group, Dr. Leo-Stan Ekeh, the first of its Global Partner Advisors, for a-two year term, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.
Ekeh, DigitalSENSE Business News learnt is the only African among the Advisors currently and was appointed in recognition of his pioneering and pivotal role in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development in the continent, most especially, for his intuitive leadership and capacity to define market trends.
In his acceptance speech, Dr. Ekeh, a Fellow of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) and IT Personality of the Year 2011, appreciated Microsoft for identifying with his vision to move Africa from the analogue to digital platform.
He also commended Microsoft, the software multinational, for upholding the relevance and merits of the channel thereby helping to grow the IT market in Africa according to international standards.
Ekeh praised Microsoft for its belief in customer feedback as necessary consideration for business planning, product rollout and strategy development in both developed and emerging markets.
The Zinox Chairman told DigitalSENSE Business News that he would use the Global Advisor platform to advance the objectives of the Digital Knowledge Democracy and create technology value for Africans.
DigitalSENSE Business Newsrecalls that on October 1st, 2002, Dr. Ekeh was honoured as an icon of Hope by President Olusegun Obasanjo, for his sustained entrepreneurial efforts in Information Technology, he pointed out that part of his responsibility would be to advise Microsoft on how best to domesticate technology and catalyze development in Africa.
He pledged to work closely with ICT institutions, professionals, governments, and the trade to ensure that his contributions to Microsoft are truly representative.
Also commenting, the President, Institute of Software Professionals of Nigeria (ISPON), Chief Chris Uwaje, described the appointment of Leo Stan Ekeh into the committee of Global Partner Advisors for Microsoft as a welcome development.
As said by him, the appointment of an African is a reflection of the growing importance of the African IT market.
He said that Leo Stan Ekeh has the experience, exposure and goodwill as pioneer of many strategic ICT platforms to make Africa proud in this endeavor, recalling that Ekeh’s sustained innovations have propelled many international OEMs to the Number One position in sub Saharan Africa.
Chief Uwaje said that this appointment means more than business for Africans because it would also be a source of inspiration for the development of IT capacities among professionals.
The Microsoft Global Advisor Committee is a committee of distinguished IT icons around the world who serve as feedback channel to Microsoft for business models and strategy for product rollout and meets two times every year.
They also act as an advocacy group for customers and channel partners.
Also speaking the former president of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Dr. Chris Nwannenna, told DigitalSENSE Business that the honur is well deserved and wish Dr. Ekeh the very best in this endeavour.



... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Ayilara Sherif

Getting the best out of Linkedin in 2014

 IF you have fortunately registered on LinkedIn, this gives you the privilege of being an important member on the largest networking business site in the world; reserved exclusively for determined professionals.
One of the reasons, I use this social media site more often than others is because it has helped me connect with local and foreign professionals unlike the other more popular ones. The simple steps that have helped me not only achieve success but awarded 5% most viewed profile for 2012 is what I want to share here. Unfortunately, LinkedIn is yet to announce the 2013 results as at the time of writing this piece but I hope to be among the top 1%.
With more than 240 million professionals using LinkedIn as an immensely popular business meeting place, you definitely need to seek out strategic ways of building strong relationships with more right people, in order to make the most of this excellent platform.
Obviously, the very first thing you would want to do is choosing the people that you believe you should be engaging with. In other words, this would be your prospective clients, your possible future employers, professionals within your own industry or trade, strategic local and International partners for business, and much more. Once you have made up your mind on those who you specifically consider worth attracting, your next task is to make a steadfast plan that ensures you will not be wasting your precious time and efforts while you are engaged on LinkedIn.

Below are some Proven LinkedIn strategies I have applied over the years;

1. Be Visual
Everyone is nudged by LinkedIn to be as visual as possible in the approach to appear their best on this platform; regardless of whether it’s working on your own profile or producing a company page. You will never go wrong if you choose to follow this excellent free advice. To supplement the text and build up your LinkedIn credibility, upload videos, images, and presentations as well.

2. Regular Updates
Even if your profile stands out simply great and you also have a company page that’s awesome, you’ll still fail to engage adequately with the right people using LinkedIn, if all else you do is wait for others to find you first. What you should do is post interesting updates that help in attracting your target audience. To be heard among them, simply posting links to recent newspaper articles or some other supposedly more authoritative source won’t be of much use. Here, you will need to interact by expressing your views and positive opinions on various topics of common interest.

3. Stepping Your Best Foot Forward
On LinkedIn, one rarely gets a lot of time for making a good first impression or, for that matter, anywhere else. When people look your profile up, either while searching or even accidently, they usually want to see what you look like and also what your stated professional headline reads. So, make the best of this onetime, or it may even be a lifetime, opportunity.
In a matter of just 2-3 seconds people will have made their minds up about whether they are going to continue reading further or not. You have the option to post a single image, in addition to 120 characters that inform your reader about you.
It’s your job, by making use of an image and a professional headline to convince your audience that as a professional: you mean business. You will need to guide those who view your profile in deciding that they actually want to establish a connection with you or your business, contact you, or read some more about your activities and interests.
If you spend a little extra time to create the right message and do a little exercise in squeezing a lot more information within 120 permissible characters, the rewards fetched by your efforts will justifiably amaze you.

4. Use Relevant Keywords
Before sitting down to write a summary that describes your career, work and company, consider using keywords that are both relevant as well as construed to create a positive impression. Insert these in the title fields for your job, project headings, expertise and skills list, as well as in the text that is produced by you.
Above all, be specific and to the point. Let’s say, if someone, who could also be your potential customer, is looking up LinkedIn for a specific specialist related to “Tax Expert”, you would undoubtedly be difficult to locate, particularly if your profile plainly describes you as a qualified accountant. Do you see the fine differentiation which, looked upon from an entirely business point of view, would clearly make the difference between your company being hired for the job or not.
I believe these 4 simple LinkedIn strategies will be of tremendous help just as they have helped me, especially for those who are wise enough to understand its place on today’s over crowded social media space.

Now let me talk about 3 things you probably did not know about LinkedIn
As an (aspiring) online marketer, at one time or the other you are bound to come face to face with facts. At first glance, this may appear daunting or perhaps even as sheer waste of your precious time. Yet, it certainly has a pertinent significance. One of those daunting factors we are talking about is called LinkedIn. It is an absolutely essential component of your well-rounded presence on social media and is for good reason considered one of the prime priorities for every marketing professional, regardless of what your own specific business niche or trade is. I love Linkedin (please add me by visiting http://ng.linkedin.com/in/cfagbata/)
 so much to the point that sometime in 2013, I upgraded to a premium business account which I figure would help me achieve my goal of being among the top 1% of Linkedin users worldwide.
However, if all what you plan on doing is slapping together a passable resume and simply throw in a scanty fraternity of bondsmen as your potential contacts, there is every probability that you are least likely to gainfully harness enormity of the power that LinkedIn in actual reality holds for you and your business.
Therefore, to get what’s most beneficial from this spectacular social experience, let’s take a look at some of its seldom talked about, yet highly useful features.

1. You needn’t be personally acquainted with each contact added by you
Though this may apparently seem to counter every bit of advice you may have so far listened to, which advocates you to strictly abide by those known to you outside your social media contacts either at a professional or personal level; it simultaneously denotes that limiting yourself in such a manner would likewise result in missing out on the sheer quantum of individuals, groups and companies that you could otherwise contact on LinkedIn. Thus, totally missing out on the magic the site has the potential to work out for you. On the other hand, in itself, this hardly constitutes sending out tons of messages that are unsolicited to persons who may be total strangers, as far as you are concerned. You need instead to look for people that share common interests with you. A wonderful manner of achieving this would be connecting mainly with ones who share the same group on LinkedIn.

2. Make best use of your LinkedIn group
Regardless of whether your prime focus is professional networking, competitor research, or lead generation; your LinkedIn groups, along with all discussions held within specific groups that you are a member of, can be priceless for your business. The art here however is not simply joining a single group but finding a whole lot of potential groups that you can join. Though a need for you to participate in each individual group is never there, notifications that you get may occasionally prompt chiming in or just provide you with food for thought. Don’t forget, if you find there’s no precise group you would want to join; simply create one that suits you best and invite others to join.

3. LinkedIn lead generation works wonders
That is actually true. LinkedIn does a lot more than just help you look for a job or connect with your former colleagues or classmates. By taking complete control of tools offered on LinkedIn, you can practically generate endless leads through your presence on the site. As a distinct part of your working strategy, you should consider involvement of a positive use of the groups that you have joined; without forgetting the ones you created. Moreover, you must also learn to mine the highly targetable LinkedIn advertising, in addition to integrating your profile on LinkedIn with all your other efforts on social media, in generating leads for your product or services.
I wish you and your family a prosperous and fulfilling 2014. Please not forget to add me on Linkedin http://ng.linkedin.com/in/cfagbata/) and I look forward to your feedback.



... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Ayilara Sherif

Cloud: Nigeria leads African growth

 Experts have variously declared Cloud as the next big revolution and to realize it will all depend on the adoption of this service by Nigerians and that is what would make the bang, writes REMMY NWEKE.

In the past few weeks the issue of Nigeria’s role in adoption of cloud or otherwise came into focus at different fora. One of those fora was at the presentation of African Cloud Report in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and follow up report by Cisco Systems.
ITRealms reports that at the Addis Ababa presentation, which incidentally was delivered on behalf of a team of researchers on the continent by a Nigerian notable, Mr. Fola Odufuwa of Research ICT Africa for his team namely Alison Gilwald and Mpho Moyo of Research ICT Africa, Cape Town, South Africa.
Dwelling on “Cloud Experience in Africa: Emerging Trends and Perspectives” the presentation made to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) seminar on Cloud Computing and e-Government, Mr. Odufuwa noted that though a number of South African-based companies like Dimension Data and Internet Solutions seem to be competing aggressively to provide services on the continent, Nigeria assumes the investment destination for Information and Communication Technology-inclined investments.
He told ITRealms that locating cloud computing in the ICT ecosystem showed that users including consumers and citizens have been placed at the centre of the ecosystem and factors such as price and quality of service are a measure of access and affordability of services provided.
Cloud computing, for instance, he said to ITRealms is located within the broader ICT ecosystem as cloud services are delivered via an internet connection.
Stressing that the reliability of cloud computing is critically dependent upon the availability of underlying broadband-driven infrastructure.
To distinguish cloud services and cloud-based services, Odufuwa and his cohort defined cloud services as those provided and utilised ‘on demand at any time, through any access network, using any connected devices that use cloud computing technologies’ according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Explaining that cloud services utilise software and applications that are held in the cloud which are not on the users’ own devices. Pointing out that these are used for internal administration by cloud user or for the management of service delivery to end-users and cited an instance with the customer relations management.
On the other hand, Odufuwa said, cloud based services include mass market applications such as Facebook and YouTube, to name a few, consisting of user data that are then posted on the cloud.
“With the proliferation of mobile phones, the expansion of mobile broadband networks and the increased access to the internet via the mobile phone; the delivery of mobile based cloud services is becoming important in the African context,” he said.
He further told ITRealms that types of cloud providers include mere ‘Cloud Providers’ whose primary source of cloud offerings is to “create, configure, run and distribute services” as narrated by Kushida et al.
He also said that mainly global Information Technology (IT) brands, most of which are present on the continent, offering some cloud solution in most markets, with Nigeria assuming a hub status after South Africa.
According to him, continental IT giants, have begun to play in this space as aggregators and system Integrators, which has been further subdivided into continental and indigenous vendors and system integrators, who provide “boots-on-the-ground” for Cloud Providers by managing the cloud migration process.
“They match their knowledge of global cloud computing technologies with local needs,” he said.
For some, he revealed that they now offer own solutions as Cloud Brokers, whereas third party service providers acting as intermediaries between end-users, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and system integrators.
On the emerging trends in Africa, the Research ICT Africa team disclosed to ITRealms that cloud-computing is in its early growth stages, as large corporate enterprises are the early adopters. Hence, market activity across Africa appears supply-side driven rather than demand-side driven.
“Exception is South Africa where demand is arising from the private sector,” Odufuwa declared, underscoring the fact that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the public sector without legacy IT assets could be greatest beneficiaries. Just as cloud providers are mostly global United States-based players with some local presence across Africa.
South African-based companies seem to dominate the cloud service providers on the continent with the likes of Dimension Data and Internet Solutions contesting vigorously.
In addition, he revealed to ITRealms that local IT providers and telcos typically compete with global brands within the cloud market. Just as public sector usage is limited though the governments of Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria are beginning to explore public cloud solutions.
He listed some drivers of cloud computing in Africa to comprise suppliers, vendors and system integrators as well as infrastructure providers, particularly the mobile operators and submarine cum fibre optic companies; thereby enabling Internet on mobile phones, low bandwidth applications, and social networking.
He cited  that in South Africa, cloud uptake is being driven by private sector demand. While African telcos and mobile operators are leveraging existing infrastructure to deliver cloud services in order to diversify their revenue streams.
Trends in Nigeria:
Cloud trends in Nigeria, he disclosed to ITRealms as being in early growth, though driven by global IT companies offering Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS).
ITRealms gathered that Cory Janssen of Techopedia.com defined IaaS as a service model that delivers computer infrastructure on an outsourced basis to support enterprise operations. Typically, IaaS provides hardware, storage, servers and data center space or network components, which may also include software. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is also known as Hardware as a Service (HaaS).
Techopedia explains Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Janssen emphasised that an IaaS provider offers policy-based services and is responsible for housing, operating and maintaining the equipment it provides for a client, this is because clients usually pay on a per-use or utility computing basis.
Equally for the software as a service (SaaS), which is sometimes referred to as “on-demand software” supplied by Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) or ‘Application-Service-Providers’ which is a software delivery model in which software and associated data are centrally hosted on the cloud.
Also, the platform as a service is a category of cloud computing services that provides a computing platform and a solution stack as a service. Along with software as a service and infrastructure as a service, it is a service model of cloud computing.
However, Odufuwa affirmed that larger corporations, and to some extent, the public sector implementing variants of the private cloud. While the mobile operators also launch often cloud offerings targeted at the SME market.
He listed some main local players to include Computer Warehouse, Datagroup IT, and Business Connexion. Odufuwa maintained that innovation is real-time cloud solution being implemented by IBM and Sproxil that enable drug manufacturers in Nigeria to prevent counterfeiting.
Ethiopia:
ITRealms confirms that cloud trends in Ethiopia indicates that country’s movement towards the cloud is at a very early stage, as efforts to promote cloud computing is largely government-driven.
“The government is working with the Republic of Korea to upgrade data centers using technology supplied by Samsung. Recently, there has been significant investment by the government in the telecoms sector: National rollout of 16,000 kilometers (km) of fibre has extended broadband access to about 40 per cent of the population,” he said.
The country, he further revealed is connected to international cables through neighboring Djibouti and Sudan, and plans to link to the EASSy cable through Kenya ongoing.
Major obstacle to cloud deployment, he said, is limited competition as the government holds a monopoly on the communications market in Ethiopia, whereas the Broadband usage is not widespread.
“At the end of 2012, there were about 221,000 broadband users, representing 0.25 per cent of the population, according to Ethiopian Telecom,” he said.

Ghana:
In Ghana, despite that the revolution of cloud in the country is still at infancy, it has over 20 providers - many of which are local companies who provide “boots–on-the-ground” for global cloud providers.
“Others are pan-African mainly South African based companies. Cloud services offered is mainly IaaS and PaaS,” he reiterated.
Ghana, he affirmed is one of Africa’s most liberalised ICT markets with 6 mobile operators; all of which offer data services based on Third Generation (3G) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) platforms.
More than 20 companies actively provide broadband Internet access, led by Vodafone.
Companies that provide hosting, managed services and data centres such as Internet Ghana, Ostec, Ecoband Networks, Computer Information Systems, among others, have the potential to grow their businesses into the cloud.
Kenya yet to develop CaaS:
As for cloud services offerings in Kenya, the Research ICT Africa group said that cloud services are evolving and supply-side driven, though competition is emerging between local and international companies IaaS CaaS, PaaS, and SaaS
KDN, MTN Business and Safaricom Ltd, he said, operate in this space, even as KDN has the largest private sector optic fibre network of 7000km, KDN and provides data centre services.
On the other hand, government of Ghana has built its own data centres and is in the process of building other centres for public access as (PPPs).  With Safaricom, in partnership with an integrator Seven Seas Technologies offers public PaaS- servers, storage, backup and operating system.
In the 2011 market entry which changed market dynamics as potential users now explore local clouds as a feasible alternative to foreign clouds.
Range of the platform is however limited to one operating system environment, with the key actors targeting the market include Pamoja Cloud Services, a SEACOM’s value added services business unit, offering content aggregation and associated services.
Xtranet, in addition allows customers to connect own software to their servers. Kenyan Cloud equally provides mail, data recovery and storage services. At the same time as Sofgen launched the Temenos T24 cloud-based MFI banking software solution entered the market.
Communications as a Service (CaaS), however, is yet undeveloped and emerging in Kenya.
Cloud in Tunisia:
The growth in the telecommunications sector, the team told ITRealms, was accelerated by (a) liberalisation at the turn of millennium (b) the political transition of the 14th of January, 2011 which saw the end to censorship and has resulted in freedom of expression, (c) amendments to the legal and regulatory framework in 2013.
These landmarks, the researchers described as having opened the market to the deployment of new technological innovations such as cloud computing.
Since 2011, Odufuwa said, cloud providers began to focus on the Tunisian market, especially Microsoft, Oracle and OEMs including Hewlett Packard (HP) are increasingly advertising cloud offerings.
While several cloud providers have emerged within Tunisia that provide public clouds, with local players comprising the Tunisia Telecom, Smart host and Axelaris.
Services of other international operators like Amazon are hardly used in Tunisia due to the foreign exchange regulations; whereas the universities have commenced introduction of courses and researches in this area.
South Africa aware of cloud-computing:
Odufuwa’s group revealed to ITRealms that growing adoption as various sized companies become acutely aware of the benefits of cloud-computing in South Africa. Stressing that out of 100 large companies in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) corporations interviewed recently by World Wide Worx, 46 per cent were already using cloud computing, mostly the private cloud as companies still have security concerns about moving on the public cloud.
With these obvious advantages, he said, some large enterprises are constrained by governance rules that prevent them from moving some of their applications into the public cloud as the location of the servers remain unknown as required by law or company policy.
Main players including Microsoft, Google, AWS, Salesforce.com, MTN Business, Dimension Data, Internet Solutions and Telkom, thus Iaas, PaaS, SaaS are seen as established in South Africa, while CaaS is however conceptually challenged.
Cisco and Wide Worx connection:
Latest survey by key finding of the Cloud in Africa: Reality Check 2013 research study¹, released last December by World Wide Worx and Cisco made available to ITRealms showed that while South Africa currently leads the continent in Cloud uptake, it is about to be overtaken dramatically by no other than Nigeria.
The study also showed that in 2013, 50 per cent South African medium and large businesses are using Cloud services; while a slightly lower proportion, 48 per cent are using the Cloud in Kenya. Nigeria lag’s substantially behind, with only 36 per cent of businesses currently using the Cloud.
However, a significant 44 per cent of Nigerian businesses expressed optimism of going Cloud before the end of this year, 2014, which is expected to soar the total in Nigeria to 80 per cent by December 31, 2014. And when compared to 24 per cent of organisations in Kenya and only 16 per cent in South Africa, who said they will be taking up Cloud within this year, the difference is clear.
Cisco’s Vice President for Africa, Mr. David Meads, told ITRealms that Cloud computing is the next big step in the evolution of computing and the Internet. Stressing, “The broadband revolution sweeping across Africa and the continent’s reputation for innovation add up to tremendous appetite for services that will drive this evolution. Looking ahead, the Internet of Everything represents the largest online trend today. As more people, things and devices connect to the Internet in Africa, more data from more places will be introduced across corporate and service provider networks, which will open up new opportunities and increased demand for the Cloud.”
And for the Arthur Goldstuck, managing director of World Wide Worx, “The fact that no one is expressing doubt about the reliability of the Cloud means that the final pieces of the puzzle are falling into place. Now the Cloud becomes real in Africa.”

Conclusion:
The continent is definitely making some progress and its believed that by end of 2015 the story will certainly be different with increased yearning for cloud and spurring of cloud-computing. The aforementioned scenes across Africa show mostly early adoptions with Nigeria due to the velocity of revolution in the telecom industry, gradually positioning self as second to none in Africa.

 

... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Ayilara Sherif

A review of stewardship by Juwah

 ALTHOUGH it is expected that every leadership gives account of their stewardship without public prompts, it is therefore commendable that on Thursday, November 28, 2013, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah, took time to share his personal overview of NCC leadership under his watch at the 2013 Telecoms Executives and Regulators Forum.
DigitalSENSE Business News reports that the forum attended by the who-is-who in the industry including stakeholders and media, was organized by the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and held at the Golden Gate Paradise, Ikoyi-Lagos.
Dr. Juwah highlighted to DigitalSENSE Business News some programmes of the commission, pointing out that overtime, the provision of telecommunication services in the country has evolved from the exclusive preserve of a state monopoly like the days of the Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL), managed then as an agency of government to the current private sector-led growth.
The world, Juwah told DigitalSENSE Business News, has taken voice telephony as basic while moving fast into the new world of data transmission for the provision of multi-media services and access to the internet.
According to him, broadband has been characterised by the speed at which the Internet highways transmit data from one end of the world to another or from one computer to another.
Juwah reiterated that as the industry evolves, ensuring effective competition amongst industry players, optimal quality of service provision to subscribers, providing the required framework for the development of the broadband ecosystem through supporting the provision of both fixed and mobile broadband infrastructures, became imperative, just as ensuring the implementation of frameworks that support the attainment of important security requirements of the country in the new digital world is pertinent.
NCC in the year just ended, he disclosed took a number of steps towards the attainment of these objectives and not limited to the introduction of Mobile Number portability (MNP); enforcement of Quality of Service (QoS) regulation; articulation of the Nigerian Open Access framework; and steps taken to make additional spectrum bands available for the industry.
Importance of MNP:
Elaborating further, Juwah said, the MNP scheme launched in Nigeria on April 22, 2013 removed one of the key restrictions on subscribers changing their network providers, thus making it absolutely possible for subscribers to move their mobile subscriptions from one operator to another without changing their mobile numbers.
This is in line with the objective of the Commission to continually empower subscribers and deepen competition in the telecommunication industry, whilst putting required framework in place for continuous improvement in quality of service delivery.
The MNP scheme has provided the required impetus for players within the industry to become more proactive and expedite resolution of subscriber issues whilst also launching new products aimed at retaining the loyalty of their subscribers.
He likened any technology-based service to a mechanism for continuous feedback from players and subscribers within the telecommunication industry to be incorporated into the MNP scheme to continually improve the MNP experience. Even as NCC is committed to ensuring all participating mobile operators in the scheme adhered to the MNP business rules agreed to by all players represented in the MNP steering group.
Delivery of QoS:
Still concerned on the state of the Quality of Service (QoS), the apex regulatory body for telecommunications, NCC led by Dr. Juwah, emphasized that the delivery of optimal quality of service by operators to subscribers is a key goal of the Commission. Operators, he insisted are obligated to provide quality services to their subscribers, as these services are paid for, in most cases on a pre-paid basis.
As said by him, the operating environment has been variously blamed for the challenge in consistently meeting the expectations of subscribers. Whilst these challenges like electrical power issues, multiple taxation, generator theft, fibre infrastructure damage and vandalisation as well as multiple regulations at various levels of government have been highlighted as the reason behind this, operators need to ensure more proactive measures in the operation and design of their networks are taken to ameliorate some of these issues as subscribers are, rightly so, interested in enjoying the services paid for without issues.
The Commission, DigitalSENSE Business News gathered, took steps to address these challenges with relevant agencies of government with the active support of the Honourable Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, adding that NCC has put in place a methodology for fairly and objectively assessing the QoS delivery from operators’ networks.
The Nigerian Open Access Model:
Juwah underscored the fact that Nigerian telecommunications industry is dominated by few vertically integrated players that have created infrastructures with duplications, which are being leveraged on to compete in the provision of broadband services.
These infrastructures, he said, are usually only available to new players in the broadband market at a premium as replication of the infrastructure is both capital intensive and has a long lead time for delivery. Stressing, this has led to unfavourable pricing of services in the market place which in-turn inhibits an increase in broadband penetration.
And in order to address these scenarios and open up the industry for effective competition in line with the Commissions objective, Dr. Juwah told DigitalSENSE Business News at the occasion that industry restructuring then became pertinent, which informed the articulation of the Nigerian Open Access Model.
This model, he said, is a key part of the Nigeria National Broadband Plan and to achieve the objectives, DigitalSENSE Business News gathered that NCC has held several consultations to incorporate useful industry feedback into the framework; Divided the broadband infrastructure industry into three (3) layers namely the passive network, wholesale bandwidth services and retail service providers layers in that order.
In addition, he said that these has enabled NCC to properly map the fibre infrastructure in the country; Divided the country into seven (7) license areas for the provision of fibre infrastructure; and commenced the auction process for one (1) slot of 30 MHz in the 2.3 GHz for wholesale wireless access service provision.
The aforementioned, he said, are geared towards opening up the broadband sub-segment of the industry to ensure the benefits of increased broadband penetration accrue to the country.
Digital Migration:
Also, sharing what the Commission is doing in terms of ensuring Nigeria key into the global migration programme of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) by June 2015, Juwah noted that the migration of the broadcast industry from analog to digital means of transmitting their signals has presented an opportunity to free-up valuable frequency spectrum for use in the provision of services that will be most economically and socially valuable to the country.
With developments in technology, he said, the bandwidth requirement for the provision of broadcast content has reduced, which means capacity left un-used could be used for other purposes.
“This freeing up of spectrum bandwidth due to the migration from analog to digital techniques has led to the digital dividend in the 700 MHz band. There is also the freeing up of the 2.6 GHz spectrum band also planned auction and deployment of this for the provision of broadband access services once all the broadcast services on this band has been successfully migrated off the band. These bands are currently under the control of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC),” he explained.
However, Juwah stated that from the Nigerian National Broadband Plan, wireless broadband is a key driver towards the attainment of the broadband penetration objectives of government. As a result, the 700 MHz spectrum band will be available for auction for the provision of wireless broadband services when the band is freed up on the conclusion of the analog to digital migration of the broadcast industry which is scheduled to be completed in 2015.
Broadband for all:
This, he said, will provide players within the industry with the required spectrum holding to both cost effectively increase their wireless coverage as well as provide optimal broadband services to subscribers.
Although the benefits associated with broadband in developing countries remain enormous, it has to be understood that broadband for all is a medium to long term strategy and the main beneficiaries, in the short term, of the broadband revolution will be businesses. Attributing this to broadband networks’ need to generate traffic to lower their costs and increase their profitability, and in light of the fact that broadband is an ecosystem in which users play a central role, stimulating demand is very important.
Wrapping up:
In his conclusion, Dr. Juwah said that the increased expansion of telecommunication infrastructure and new ways of utilising these infrastructures to communicate has also regrettably created means for the criminally minded to use electronic methods in perpetrating their criminal acts.
Therefore, NCC, he said, will ensure that the security agencies continually get the required support in carrying out their legally assigned duties. Just as it’s committed towards ensuring a vibrant telecommunication industry that positively contributes to the socio-economic development of the country through the articulation and implementation of frameworks, regulations and policies towards this goal.
Looking at the report card of NCC under Dr. Juwah, so far, within the period under review, it would be a good assumption that NCC has done well in terms of policy pronouncements, whereas industry watchers are keen on how the implementation will play out in 2014.
 So, keep tuned on this space.


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Study exposes how carriers can add value to mobiles

DigitalSENSE Business News:

The latest study by Strand Consult has shown how carrier’s carrier could add value to the mobile market across the world, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

According to the study which cited Mexico as an instance, says there are opportunities to achieve that but the necessary conditions for the model to work, and how the actors could maximize the benefits of the model, have to be followed to help organizations.

A carrier’s carrier is a business model in which an operator with a mobile network serves only wholesale customers, such as mobile operators, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and 

Mobile virtual network operator (MVNOs).

“In markets where many carriers compete, the cost of acquiring customers is high.  When prices and margins are under pressure, it is necessary to think outside the box,” part of the study said.

Stressing that in order to understand Net Neutrality and Stakeholders’ arguments, there is need for consolidation of the mobile industry is a reality.

“The question is not whether the mobile market will experience consolidation but how and in which countries,” Strand Consult highlighted.

The operator, study said could build and run its network most cost-effectively has a comparative advantage in the marketplace.

“It may make sense for this operator to specialize just in network and let competitors focus on other areas of the business,” DigitalSENSE Business News reports.

Other potential carrier’s carriers include green-field players that win spectrum as part of the digital dividend, or even smaller operators that would like an alternative future than being part of a consolidation.

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Pix: Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of ALTON

Airtel bonds Nigerian youths with Come Alive!

DigitalSENSE Business News:

Airtel Nigeria has launched a Come Alive campaign targeted at Nigerian youths and those youth at heart, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, told DigitalSENSE Business News that the new campaign effectively summarizes its brand promise of empowering Nigerians to realize their full potentials and dreams, thus enabling youth and the young-at-heart to come alive and to stay in touch with their family, loved ones and friends with the latest and most innovative mobile Internet and digital value offerings.

He also said Airtel is committed to exciting telecoms consumers, creating the right digital environment for them to succeed and empowering young Nigerians to express themselves, share their stories, connect with the rest of the world, inspire other people and practically blaze the trail in their respective endeavours.

The General Manager, Brand Assets, Airtel Africa, Obinna Aniche told DigitalSENSE Business News the new campaign offers Airtel’s 3.75G data network, underscores enrichment of digital experience and in assisting young Nigerians and telecoms consumers to actualize their dreams by staying connected with the right community of friends, families and associates anytime, anywhere and through a robust bouquet of mobile Internet package and innovative digital value offerings.

According to Ogunsanya Airtel is committed to empowering young Nigerians with the latest and most innovative package and exciting digital experience.

Nigerian youths, he said, are highly talented, resourceful, innovative, hardworking and resilient people, also noting that Airtel is well-positioned to enable young Nigerians and the youth-at-heart to create success stories for their life ambitions.

“We have come a long way in preparing for this moment that Nigerians can be proud of. As a youth-focused, mobile Internet network, actualizing dreams can only be more realistic with us,” he said.

For the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, Airtel Nigeria, Deepak Srivastava, Airtel provides innovative, exciting and pocket-friendly products and offerings that will further allow subscribers on the network achieve success in all areas of interest.

He pointed out that Airtel Nigeria has matched its leading role as the ‘customer-centric network’ with a bouquet of bespoke voice and data products, services and offerings including the 3.75G network, the 2size SIM, a first of its kind in the country, Talk More, Bid & Get, Facebook Bundle, WhatsApp and Airtel My Business among others.

DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that other top management from Airtel at the event include Mr. Inusa Bello, the Chief Sales Officer, Mr. Emeka Oparah, Director of Corporate Communications and CSR, and Adebayo Osinowo, Lagos Regional Operations Director  as well as Artiste Shade and Half-Dollar and Nollywood Actor and Airtel's 'Come Alive' Ambassador, Mike Ezuruonye among others.

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Pix: Mike, Segun and Half-Dollar

Election deal: India jettisons Google over internal security

DigitalSENSE Business News:

Internet giant, Google has been jettisoned by the Indian Election Commission (IEC) over concerns raised by stakeholders on internal security, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

The Election Commission, DigitalSENSE Business News gathered decided not to pursue its proposed tie-up with internet giant Google after concerns over national security were raised from several quarters, including major opposing parties.

Reports by TheHindu made available to DigitalSENSE Business News showed that the U.S-based Google had earlier this week made a formal presentation to the Election Commission proposing a tie-up with it for voter facilitation services ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

The Commission, in its meeting in New Delhi on Thursday which was attended by Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath and Election Commissioners H.S. Brahma and S.N.A. Zaidi, deliberated on the issue and decided not to go ahead. “After due consideration, the Commission has decided not to pursue it any further,” said an EC official. The EC said Google had proposed to provide electoral look up services for citizens to help in Commission’s efforts for better electoral information services.

The Commission had earlier signed a non-disclosure agreement with Google but had not shared or handed over any data to the internet giant so far and was deliberating on the tie-up with it for using its search engines for voter facilitation. Congress and BJP besides some cyberspace experts had voiced concerns over the proposed tie-up, saying stakeholders should have been consulted before a decision. 

The Congress legal cell has written to the Chief Election Commissioner raising security concerns over the proposed tie-up and hoped it will not have any effect on the electoral process and national security. BJP also expressed concerns and said the issue could have been discussed first at an all-party meeting by EC.

A group of cyber security experts had petitioned the panel amid concerns over sharing of vital data pertaining to Indians to a foreign company. The concerns also come at a time when eyebrows have been raised over leaking of vital data of Indians to United States intelligence agencies as exposed by Edward Snowden.

Chuks Egbuna/GEE with additional report from TheHindu

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Africa must tackle threats of unemployment - Elumelu

DigitalSENSE Business News:

Former chief executive officer of the United Bank for Africa (UBA), Mr Tony Elumelu, has tasked Africa entrepreneurs on tackling of the threats of unemployment, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

Elumelu, who is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and chairman of Heirs Holdings Limited, a pan-African investment company, insisted that Africa must do more to tackle the threat of unemployment, which risks derailing Africa’s economic growth.

In an article published on Reuters  and made available to DigitalSENSE Business News, Elumelu advocated the launch of a comprehensive, coordinated approach similar to the ‘Marshall Plan’ implemented by the United States in Europe after World War II.

Also, he suggested that this Marshall Plan be built on the three interdependent ‘pillars’ of development: policy reform and a commitment to the rule of law; investment in infrastructure; and commitment to developing Africa’s manufacturing and processing industries.

Such a plan is needed, Elumelu highlights in the article, because of the continent’s demographic time bomb: 122 million Africans are forecast to enter the labour market by 2020, yet economists expect just 54 million new jobs to be created within the same period.

Elumelu’s investment philosophy, Africapitalism, encourage the public, private and development sectors working together with the objective of creating economic and social wealth, could provide a way to generate the jobs needed to keep Africa’s path to prosperity on track.

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Pix: Tony Elumelu

Etisalat-FC Barca U-17: Keke High School battles Al Yasmina School @ UAE

DigitalSENSE Business News:

The winners of the 2013 Etisalat FC Barcelona U-17 School Cup, Keke High School, Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos is to battle with Al Yasmina School, Abu Dhabi, at the United Arab Emirates (UAE), DigitalSENSE Sport reports.

The international school friendly, billed for January 13, 2014 is expected to excite lovers of youth football in both countries while also exposing the talents of the young footballers at international stage.

Acting Chief Executive Officer at Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher said the oversea trip is part of the reward for winning the 2013 Etisalat/FC Barcelona U-17 schools’ championship. 

“The boys are in good spirit and are already looking forward to the trip with excitement and we have high hopes that the team will make Nigeria proud in the UAE,” he said.

DigitalSENSE Sport reports that the Keke High School team with a full complement of their coaches and parents is billed depart Lagos on Wednesday, January 8, 2014 and are expected back in Nigeria 14 January, 2014.

“Since signing a partnership deal with Spanish Football Club, FC Barcelona in 2009, we have continued to provide our subscribers with the best of both worlds – our world class quality of service and the best in football by FC Barcelona,” he said.

Also the Acting CEO expressed excitement that the game is coming at a time that Nigerian football could be said to be on a high, with the Super Eagles qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the Golden Eaglets winning the FIFA U17 World Cup in the UAE recently.

It will be recalled that the Etisalat FCB U17 schools championship, a 5-aside tourney involving 16 schools in Lagos kicked off 1st August, 2013 and rounded off with a thrilling final at the Campos Square Mini Stadium, Lagos Island with Keke High School carting home the trophy,  winning prize money of N1 million and this trip. The first and second runner-ups smiled home with N750,000 and N500,000 respectively.

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GTBank Market Hub shops for customers

DigitalSENSE Business News:

The GTBank is shopping online for customers of its unit known as GTBank Market Hub, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

In a mail made available to DigitalSENSE Business News, Jimah Buhari of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Okota, Lagos Mainland, informed that Market Hub gives customers direct access to Guaranty Trust Bank’s online platforms including over 1,536,322 Facebook friends, 108,771 Twitter followers and over 250,000 views on YouTube.

“It is a platform that offers benefits to your business,” Buhari said, stressing that these benefits include advertising your goods and services to millions of customers and receiving payments securely on your unique website address to your bank account directly.

In addition, Buhari told DigitalSENSE Business News that benefit would encompass gathering statistics about customers business and clients’ behavior as well as invitation to seminars and professional networks to boost the profile of clients businesses.

Also, Buhari said the benefits include availing customers the tools to help their businesses maintain accounts, taxes and recruitment.

“On the GTBank MarketHub, you will have access to your own, unique website address, personalized online storefront, shopping cart application with no consignment fees,” Buhari said.

Furthermore, Buhari said online payment gateway, inventory listings with inventory management tools, and order as well as enquiry notifications, messaging service and membership within the MarketHub directory will be part of the benefits.

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AfDB approves N3,9 trn ICT-Infrastructure Fund phase 2

DigitalSENSE Business News:

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved the sum of up to USD 25 million, about N3,9 trillion in the Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund phase 2 (PAIDF-2), DigitalSENSE Business News reports.

PAIDF2 is a Private Equity Fund that will invest in projects across the power, transport, water and sanitation, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and healthcare infrastructure sectors throughout the continent.

DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that the Fund’s investments will contribute to the development of Africa’s infrastructure backbone, foster economic growth and contribute to the creation of direct and indirect employment. 

Also, DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that in 2007, the Bank approved an investment of USD50 million in the Pan-African Development Fund (PAIDF-1), a Private Equity Fund investing in infrastructure projects across the continent.

Harith General Partners (Harith) of South Africa was established as the fund manager of PAIDF-1, which is now almost fully committed in nine transactions.

Nenye Dom/GEE with additional report from BizTech Africa

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Slot plans expansion into ECOWAS countries

DigitalSENSE Business News:

Acclaimed phone retailer based in Lagos-Nigeria, the Slot Systems Limited has advanced plans to expand its presence to member-countries of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

The chief executive officer of Slot Systems Limited, Mr. Nnamdi Ezeigbo made this disclosure to DigitalSENSE Business News in a chat on the 15 years anniversary of the company in Lagos.

Although he was not specific as to the first port of call as far as the expansion is concerned, industry analysts hinted DigitalSENSE Business News that Ghana is likely on top the list of ECOWAS countries to be soon receive Slot Systems, from where the mobile device retailer tends to grow revenue in the coming years.

Ezeigbo accompanied by the Managing Director, Slot Systems Ltd, Mrs. Ezeigbo and General Manager, Marketing, Mr. Stanley Uzoechina, restated the resolve of the company to maintain the best practices Slot is known for in terms of customers services on devices, including mobile phones, computers, cameras, laptops, among others.

As said by him, nowadays, consumers’ aware of their rights and benefits cannot be over-emphasised, hence Slot Systems cannot afford customer services that is below international standards, so as to remain in tune with customers demands within right prices and products.

Complaints by mobile devices users in Nigeria have radically been brought to minimum due to the fact that companies like Slot invested heavily in effective customer care alongside by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).

“Slot has partnered and advised other equipment manufacturers on the need to improve on the quality of their products and after-sales services,” he said.

DigitalSENSE Business News gathered that currently, Slot Systems has some 35 stores located nationwide, just as, Slot has provided employment to over 450 Nigerians and business opportunities to hundreds of contractors and service providers.

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