Infrastructure Virtualization Crucial for Service Delivery Efficiency- EMC

The virtualization of infrastructure will translate into improved data management and ultimately facilitate cost savings and more efficient use of service delivery networks in Nigeria’s public sector.

Mr. Travers Nicholas, manager, Systems Engineers at EMC, said a major step towards attaining this goal is by migrating public services and infrastructure from legacy technology investments to more cloud-centric operations.

At the workshop on ICT-enabled Public Services Solutions held in Dubai, in partnership with Galaxy Backbone Limited and other solution providers, to create awareness and buy-in for cloud solutions among stakeholders in government, Nicholas highlighted the various challenges associated with the delivery of public services in different countries, using detailed case studies.

He also described how these challenges were successfully overcome by deploying EMC’s three pillars of opportunities – Big Data, Cloud Computing and Trust.

According to the EMC, these solutions not only deliver the necessary scalability as more public services are integrated, they also provide a base for the computing of the future.

“EMC is working extensively to bring advanced solutions to governments across the world and Nigeria’s position as a leading emerging market makes it a prime candidate to benefit from the gains of the most modern technology available. The increasing mobile internet penetration also presents a platform for government agencies to provide citizen services via mobile applications,” Nicholas said.

By having a dedicated focus on shared services platform across the whole of government, EMC and Galaxy Backbone Limited are positioned to provide Nigerian government agencies with solutions for more efficient service delivery systems.

Galaxy Backbone Limited was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2006 based on the need for government to pursue a streamlined approach to information and communications technology acquisition, operation and use in the public sector.

The main focus of the establishment is to provide IT infrastructure and support to government ministries, departments and agencies via investment in shared infrastructure and technology solutions, towards enhancing economies of scale, improving interoperability of systems and strengthening government’s capacity to deliver electronic services.

Also speaking at the workshop, Alaa Abdulnabi, regional pre-sales manager for Turkey, Emerging Africa and the Middle East at RSA, the security division of EMC, highlighted the need for integration of IT systems that can respond to security incidents before they can impact processes.

“We can no longer rely solely on perimeter protection to secure our systems and networks; we need to invest in monitoring and response in order to balance our efforts and ensure maximum security from advanced threats. RSA and Galaxy Backbone are already on this journey of implementing advanced security solutions,” he said.

In furtherance of its efforts to boost Nigeria’s growing IT segment, EMC will be hosting the second edition of its annual technology conference and exhibition, EMC Forum, in Nigeria.

The event has been scheduled for November, 2014 at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos and will see top decision makers and IT professionals from different organisations brainstorm on the latest challenges and trends in the industry.