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E-Business

Looking For Agility “As A Service”

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adebayo sanni, country managing director, Oracle Nigeria
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The drive for improved agility and more rapid deployment of services is a main concern for business leaders across virtually all industry sectors.

For their part, IT decision-makers are under increased pressure to make sure business solutions can deliver on these ambitions.

In its latest “Business Value Scorecard”, Forrester found that business leaders increasingly measure success by comparing what percentage of their IT-spend actually fuels innovation to how much just helps “keep the lights on”.

This view of success is undoubtedly a large driver behind the rapid rise of cloud computing in the past few years, and why the technology has today joined the enterprise’s formal IT portfolio.

In its many forms, the technology offers businesses a gateway to improved agility.

To add to this, vendors’ cloud offerings today have at once become more varied and more granular, which means discerning companies can pick and choose exactly from a large menu of business solutions to suit their needs.

The public cloud, in particular, has become popular with businesses seeking a cost-effective means to reduce their time-to-market for new services or quickly deliver crucial add-ons to customers using their existing offerings.

With customer satisfaction scores now serving as a measure of success for IT initiatives, it’s hardly surprising that the market for Software-as-Service (SaaS) cloud solutions is set to expand by 17 per cent each year up to 2018.

The public cloud has already earned a reputation as an enabler of service agility in a number of fields, with the healthcare industry serving as a prime example of this.

According to a recent survey, 67 per cent of healthcare institutions use SaaS cloud-based applications.

What’s just as notable, however, is what these organizations expect from the cloud. 45 per cent of respondents cited “speed to deploy new services” as a top measure of the cloud’s value to their business.

This fell only slightly behind the top measure – “improving technological capabilities” – which is of course the central purpose of any technology investment.

SaaS cloud solutions area also leading the pack in this regard by helping mid-sized businesses and expansion-oriented larger companies gain agility in the pursuit of their growth ambitions.

As they become more successful, businesses will need to build on the breadth and functionality of their IT systems.

SaaS applications allow organizations to very quickly make scale-appropriate upgrades and implement expansion packages developed specifically for their needs.

As a result, they can make the jump to the “next level” without the high costs and growing pains that have traditionally accompanied these expansions.

Of course, companies will continue to consume the cloud in different ways depending on their needs.

For example, while many financial institutions and government bodies do make wide use of SaaS, others may have specific requirements that make an in-house cloud platform more appropriate for some applications.

That being said, business agility takes many forms. By taking advantage of the variety of cloud platforms available to them today companies can actually gain a great deal of flexibility when launching new services.

Because SaaS applications from established vendors are built on the same heritage and technologies as those traditionally developed for in-house IT systems, companies can seamlessly transition between a public and private structure as they see fit.

Business leaders eager to launch new services quickly to stay ahead of the market can roll these out in the cloud in a matter of weeks, and then move them in-house if they want to keep valuable data or processes out of the public domain down the line.

The truth is that the debate over which cloud platform – SaaS, Infrastructure-as-a-Service, or one of the many other options available – is creating a lot of noise but has in fact become a moot point.

Ultimately, business leaders will make intelligent investment decisions as they always have – first determining what pain points they want to address and then choosing whichever cloud platform and add-on services they need to address these challenges.

For example, many businesses have already begun to create their own mobile applications to empower employees to work more collaboratively and productively using their connected devices.

Applications developers need the proper tools and resource libraries to build this software, and will fuel rising demand for Platform-as-a-Service cloud solutions in the coming years.

No matter what they want to achieve with the cloud, what IT leaders will notice is that the breadth and customization options offered by vendors today present them with a seemingly unlimited range of options to choose from.

With the level of flexibility and extensibility available to them, it will be up to business leaders to choose the most suitable cloud platform for their needs, and build on their investment by developing services and add-ons that will set them apart and help them remain agile no matter what the market throws their way.

By adebayo sanni, country managing director, Oracle Nigeria


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

E-Business

Amazon CEO Says AI will Reduce Number of Workers Needed

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Amazon’s management on Wednesday said that it expects that artificial intelligence software will reduce the number of office workers at the world’s largest online retailer.

Amazon CEO Says AI will Reduce Number of Workers Needed

Andy Jassy, chief executive, Amazon

“We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today and more people doing other types of jobs,” Andy Jassy, chief executive, Amazon  wrote in an email to employees.

He said it was difficult to predict how the overall workforce will evolve, but in the next few years, it is expected that AI efficiency gains will lead to a reduction in the number of office workers.

According to earlier reports, Amazon employed around 1.5 million people worldwide, with approximately 350,000 office employees in various roles.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the company does not anticipate further large-scale layoffs, as seen in 2022 and 2023, in the near future.

Instead, it expects that vacant positions will not be refilled.

However, layoffs are not ruled out, according to sources familiar with the matter.

“Amazon is focusing on so-called AI agents, software capable of independently performing tasks. These agents could, for example, summarise information from the web and data sources, write software, translate languages and automate many time-consuming tasks,” Mr Jassy explained.

“Agents will be teammates that we can call on at various stages of our work,” he added, urging employees to experiment with AI whenever possible.

The impact of AI on the job market has been a concern for many years.

Recently, Spotify, the leader in music streaming, announced that teams requesting additional staff would first need to prove that AI could not perform the tasks.

The creators of the language-learning app Duolingo plan to gradually replace external workers with AI.

 

 

 

 


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E-Business

BPP Partners NDPC to Strengthen Data Protection

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Dr Adebowale Adedokun, director-general, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), has reaffirmed the bureau’s commitment to data protection in Nigeria.

BPP Partners NDPC to Strengthen Data Protection

He disclosed this in a statement at the weekend by Zira Nagga, head of Public Relations, BPP, following a courtesy visit by a delegation from the National Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

Adedokun stressed that data protection is vital to Nigeria’s economy and development, particularly in areas such as demography, health, education, and other key sectors.

He emphasised that no country should leave its data unprotected, as it plays a crucial role in future planning and national development.

“Data governs the world. It is essential to technological progress and must be protected for a country or business to be taken seriously,” he said.

Adedokun described the visit, aimed at fostering partnership on data policy implementation and protection, as timely and aligned with national goals.

He said the BPP would collaborate closely with the NDPC to boost data development, capacity building, and enhance the procurement system.

“The BPP will support compliance as part of the ‘Nigeria First’ Policy, although it is not a core procurement eligibility requirement,” he explained.

He suggested a hybrid training model to help build strong capacity in data protection, privacy awareness, and policy understanding.

According to him, a dynamic training approach will reduce logistics costs and improve public confidence in data safety and privacy.

Dr Vincent Olatunji, CEO, and national commissioner, NDPC, praised Adedokun and the BPP for supporting data protection initiatives.

He said the partnership supports President Bola Tinubu’s vision and will strengthen data privacy across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

“The collaboration will create awareness and train BPP staff to ensure a firm grasp of data protection principles and policies,” he stated.

Olatunji said the NDPC would establish a working group to finalise a Memorandum of Understanding beneficial to both institutions.

He added that President Tinubu signed the NDPC into law on 12 June 2023 to uphold citizens’ rights and protect national and business data.

Olatunji also noted that strict legal measures were in place to enforce data protection and ensure full compliance nationwide.

Both agencies agreed to form a team to sign the MoU and focus on capacity building and data management in procurement and beyond.

 

 


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FG Mulls Fibre Optic Layout to Bridge Internet Gaps

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President Bola Tinubu said that his administration has initiated a project to install fibre optic cables across the country, aimed at enhancing the socio-economic development of Nigeria.

FG Mulls Fibre Optic Layout to Bridge Internet Gaps

His plans were contained in a speech he delivered at a joint session of the National Assembly in commemoration of Democracy Day on Thursday, June 12.

He said the fibre optic layout is part of other projects being embarked on.

“In addition, we have embarked on an ambitious project to lay fibre optic cables across the nation, a transformative step toward bridging the digital divide and fostering greater connectivity.

“This initiative promises not only to enhance the speed and reliability of internet access but also to revolutionise how businesses operate, how students learn, and how communities stay connected,” Tinubu stated.

He maintained that by extending this critical infrastructure, his government is empowering entrepreneurs, enabling digital education, and providing the tools for our youth to compete in a globalised world.

In a most recent report on Internet connectivity, The ICIR pointed out how Nigeria has faced setbacks in its deployment of fibre optic cables and needs a transformation.

The challenges revolve around vandalism, inadequate coordination between road construction and telecom infrastructure, and varying right-of-way (RoW) charges across states.

Among industry experts, these issues impact network outages, increase repair costs, and hinder broadband expansion efforts.

It has also further threatened the digital economy, leading to slower Internet speeds, dropped calls, and unreliable connectivity among others.


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