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CNN’s Decoded Explores How the Internet of Things is Changing the Way we Live

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In a new episode of Decoded, CNN’s Anna Stewart explores the smart, connected devices that make up the Internet of Things (IoT). From ordinary household items to complicated industrial systems, smart devices are changing the way we live.

Stewart visits the Expo 2020 site in Dubai to see how smart cities are using IoT to enable more informed city planning. Helmut Von Struve, CEO of Siemens Middle East gives an example, “Artificial intelligence can say within 20 minutes, 30 minutes, there would be maybe 150 people walking in this direction. So, you can already start cooling the building down.”

IoT devices are also being used to combat climate change. In Boston, a connected forest is helping scientists study how much carbon dioxide trees take out of the atmosphere.

Jackie Hatala Matthes, Senior Scientist at the Harvard Forest describes the project, “With IoT, we’re able to get really high-resolution data, high temporal resolution data, and we’re able to look at those changes in real time, which helps to feed into other global models of climate change.” One of the trees even uses IoT to tweet the data and communicate in real time what the tree is experiencing.

In Shenzhen, known as the Silicon Valley of hardware, the programme meets German entrepreneur Florian Simmendinger who has developed a modern twist on a metronome.

He explains that although it’s possible to create smart devices for many tasks now, the best ones are those that fulfil a need, “If you find something meaningful that actually improves the product experience, then you know you have a real winner on your hands when it comes to an IoT product. There’s definitely a case in the IoT space of just because you can connect something doesn’t necessarily mean you should.”

At the Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, Stewart meets Ibrahim Al Najjar, Vice President IT, at DP World who demonstrates how a network of connected sensors, devices, and software all communicate to operate the smart port.

Stewart also meets the man who created the term ‘Internet of Things’. In the late 1990s, Kevin Ashton was searching for a name for his presentation on supply chain logistics, “At that time the internet was such a big buzzword.

“I needed to shoehorn the word internet in to like get any attention at all. and here we are now. Still talking about it. That’s the biggest surprise.”

Ashton describes what makes a good IoT device, “The thing that I look for to make it the Internet of Things is it knows something about the world without a human being telling it. I don’t really think about these voice assistants people have in their kitchen where you say you know, Alexa, add this to my shopping list. Well, in my world, Alexa would know that you needed to add it to the shopping list, it wouldn’t need you to tell it.”

The idea that everything we touch, every we move we make, can be monitored and uploaded to the cloud may seem convenient and efficient, but for some it raises concerns about regulation and trust. Stewart speaks to professional hacker Ken Munro, CEO of Pen Test Partners.

He demonstrates how easy it is to hack IoT devices like a children’s doll with speech recognition and warns, “As we know, legislation often trails innovation. So I think it’s really important that we bring in some regulation to help manufacturers prioritise cybersecurity and also help protect us consumers from manufacturers who may be a bit fast and loose with security.”

The show also meets the man behind the first smart device – a Coca Cola vending machine, and visits an Amazon factory using IoT devices to be faster and more efficient.


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Why your business needs unified data analytics for growth and success

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By Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head, Zoho Nigeria

Most business leaders will agree that data analytics is a strategic necessity today. Without access to comprehensive data and effective ways to interpret it, organisational decision-makers may find themselves relying solely on intuition while navigating unfamiliar roads in the dark. Gut-based decisions can occasionally lead to success, however, those wins are often more coincidental than a reflection of true strategic insight.

More than 90% of the businesses derive benefits from data analytics strategies

A robust data analytics solution enables businesses to transform raw data into organised, actionable insights across numerous functions. They can span CX—helping personalise interactions based on an analysis of individual preferences and behaviours, growth strategies—allowing teams to identify distinct customer segments basis emerging deal patterns, post-sales support—enabling quick response times by analysing ticket allocation systems and discerning gaps, and so on. It’s no surprise, then, that nearly 92% of organisations reported measurable value from their data and analytics investments in 2023.

Unfortunately, many organisations fail to derive full value from their data analytics strategies. One of the reasons for that is analytics systems not having a full view of what’s happening across the company owing to data silos.

Information silos can affect the quality of data insights

There are numerous reasons why an organisation can end up with fragmented or siloed data, but a key factor is the existence of different tech platforms across various departments. Use of disparate tools for different functions can lead to decentralised management of data. For instance, while the sales team might know how many units of a product a customer has purchased, they may have no visibility into how quickly the customer pays their invoices or how many interactions they’ve had with marketing and communication collateral before making a purchase.

There are other data issues that businesses face too. Among them is poor data quality. This can be caused by manual data collection practices that often yield inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and redundancies. Poor data quality forces businesses to spend a lot of time and resources on cleaning up, which further prolongs the analysis process. The best approach to solve these issues is to digitalise and unify data sources with the right tech platform that interconnects all departments.

The right software matters

Fortunately, with the right software, achieving a unified view of data becomes much simpler. Effective data analytics software will bring disparate data points together and make analysis easier. To do this effectively, the software should provide native integrations with a diverse array of data sources, including local files, feeds, databases, and business applications.

Beyond that kind of integration and unified view, what should organisations look for in business analytics software?

First, it should be accessible to all users—whether they are business users, data analysts, data engineers, or BI specialists—ensuring ease of use and value for everyone. The software should also offer pipeline builders, be compatible with other forms of software, support streaming analytics, deliver real-time insights, and provide unified metrics.

In addition,the software must evolve with a business’ changing data analytics needs. This means supporting features like generative AI analytics, predictive AI, and machine learning capabilities. The ability to trigger actions based on alerts and pipelines, connect to niche business apps, and integrate multiple BI and data analytics tools will further enhance its benefits.

Ultimately, the software should demonstrate clear value by reducing manual effort and streamlining processes, handling large datasets efficiently, and delivering cost and time savings.

The data’s there; now bring it together

Given the clear benefits that good data analytics software offers businesses, embracing it should be a no-brainer. Most organisations already sit on a treasure trove of data; it’s simply not being put to effective use. A unified data analytics software can change that by bringing together disparate data points and providing a consolidated view with actionable insights. Implemented correctly, those insights can supercharge a business’s growth trajectory.


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King Shipping Felicitates with Aluo, NNL Chairman as He Bags Sports Administrator of the Year Award

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A leading shipping company in the country, King Shipping Trading Maritime Services Limited has congratulated the Mr. George Aluo, chairman of Nigerian National League ( NNL),  on his nomination for the Sports Administrator of the Year Award by the Imo State Chapter of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria ( SWAN).

In a congratulatory message he personally signed, the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the company, Bob  Chukwuma Hyacinth, the company described Aluo as a Sports administrator per excellence whose nomination for the award did not come as a surprise to anyone.
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The award to Mr. George Aluo, is well deserved and did not come to us as a surprise considering the various transformation he has brought to the country’s second tier League within a short period of time of being n charge of the league.
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As he receives this award, we urge him not to relent in his efforts at making the NNL a household league in the country but to see it as a call to more meritorious service to the country”, concludes the statement by the company whose operations  covers Ship Chandelling, Ship handling and repairs, supply of Diesel, commodities , beverages , shipping logistics, clearing and forwarding.
Meanwhile, the company has also congratulated the wife of the Managing Director Mrs.Loretta Bob-Chukwuma on her birthday.

In a congratulatory message, the CEO described her as his pillar of success and prayed that God Almighty will continue to clothe her with garment of blessing, and good health
” I also want to use this occasion to congratulate my wife who is a year older today.

She has been the pillar of my success and I pray that the Almighty God will continue to bless her, clothe her with garment of blessings and good health as well as give her long life and prosperity to celebrate many more years in good health.”


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Northern Broadcasters Sue Arewa 24, 7 Others over Licensing   

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Board of Trustees of the Northern Broadcast Media Owners Association (NBMOA) has filed a lawsuit against the broadcast company Arewa 24 Limited and seven other entities, alleging they are operating without proper licenses.

Northern Broadcasters Sue Arewa 24, 7 Others over Licensing   

The case, set for hearing before Justice Omotosho at the Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), lists the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council (FCCPC), MIPAN, MultiChoice, StarTimes, and ADVAN as defendants.

In a statement issued in Abuja, Alhaji (Dr.) Ahmed Tijjani Ramalan, chairman of the NBMOA Board of Trustees, highlighted concerns that the unlicensed operations of the defendants pose a threat to Nigeria’s established legal and competitive media landscape, impacting media owners and audiences nationwide.

Ramalan stated, “Our objective is to ensure a fair, regulated media environment in line with established broadcasting standards, while maintaining a commitment to the rule of law.”

The NBMOA affirmed its commitment to lawful broadcasting standards and noted that it would refrain from further public comments until the legal proceedings are concluded to respect the judicial process.

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s broadcasting industry are closely watching the case, as its outcome could have significant implications for media regulation and licensing across the country


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