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Microsoft Drives Digital Transformation through Cloud Adoption in Nigeria

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Wale Olokodana, Intelligent Cloud (Azure) Business Group Lead, Microsoft Nigeria
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Microsoft recently hosted an event aimed towards creating awareness around its Azure offering as well as drive cloud migration in the country. The event also aimed to share global best practices in data migration.

 

According to the IDC, worldwide spending on public cloud services and infrastructure is forecast to reach $210 billion in 2019 – an increase of more than 23 percent over 2018.

 

In Nigeria, a further 78 percent of companies increased their cloud computing budgets last year.

 

With digital transformation becoming the driving force behind organisational strategies across the continent – Nigeria is no different.

 

With the country recently emerging from its first recession, businesses have been forced to review their IT strategies and spending, leading to an increased awareness for improved cloud adoption.

 

With this wave comes the need for organisations to consider cloud computing as a way of storing and managing servers, databases, networking analytics and software through the internet (cloud). With this, experiencing faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale.

 

Akin Banuso, Country Manager, Microsoft, Said “We created our Azure cloud offering recognising that organisations that migrate to the cloud would require an ever-expanding set of cloud services to help them meet business challenges.

 

“The solution also allows organisations the freedom to build, manage, and deploy applications on a massive, global network using preferred tools and frameworks.

 

“For business transformation in the digital age, this allows organisations in Nigeria to pay only for cloud services used, helping to lower operating costs, run infrastructure more efficiently, and streamlining scaling as business needs change.”

 

The event also raised awareness on the hybrid cloud, Wale Olokodana, Intelligent Cloud (Azure) Business Group Lead, Microsoft, speaking at the event, said “For organisations in the country not wanting to move to the public cloud completely, leveraging a hybrid model may be better suited.

 

“This combines private and public cloud capabilities, allowing data and applications to be shared between them.”

 

“Furthermore, when computing and processing demand fluctuates, hybrid cloud computing provides businesses with the ability to seamlessly scale their on-premises infrastructure up to the public cloud to handle any overflow—without giving third-party data centres access to the entirety of their data.

 

“Organisations are afforded the flexibility and computing power of the public cloud for basic and non-sensitive computing tasks, while keeping business-critical applications and data on-premises, safely behind a company firewall.

 

“And this is where a monumental factor comes into play – with Microsoft recently launching its first cloud data centres in South Africa. Going forward the latter will allow for faster, more agile business operations and provide access to next-generation technologies for the rest of the continent, including Nigeria”, continues Banuso.

 

“Our aim with this event, is that CTO’s, CIO’s and the like will recognise not only the value that the public cloud has to potentially revolutionise their businesses – but also that it doesn’t stop there.

 

“Products like Azure stack as well as the just released Azure Stack HCI (Hyper Converged Infrastructure) solutions allow customers adopt models like the hybrid cloud to accelerate their digital transformation journeys –For businesses in Nigeria this will only help to keep them abreast in a dynamic and fasted paced environment”, Olokodana concluded.


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Ugo Onwuaso is an ICT enthusiast. He believes technology should be used for general good. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Lagos state University. Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

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MTN Nigeria Recovers N32Bn out of N74Bn USSD Debt

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Karl Toriola, chief executive officer of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc
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MTN Nigeria has recovered N32 billion from Nigerian banks as part of the N74 billion outstanding debt owed to the telecom operator for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) service charges.

MTN Nigeria Recovers N32Bn out of N74Bn USSD Debt

However, N42 billion remains unpaid, highlighting the lingering tensions in the protracted dispute between banks and telecom companies.

USSD, otherwise quick codes or “feature codes s a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol that is used to send text messages.

According to MTN Nigeria’s Q5 financial statement, the circular specified that: “The directive from CBN and NCC requires sixty percent (60%) of all pre-API invoices to be paid as full and final settlement by 2 July 2025 while for post-API invoices the DMBs are required to pay 85 percent (85%) of outstanding invoices issued after the February 2022 implementation of APIs by 31 December 2024. In addition, future invoices are to be settled within one month of issuance.

Based on this directive, on 31 December 2024 MTN received N32 billion payment from the banks out of the N74 billion in CBN and NCC circulars to banks,” they stated.

Recall that telecommunications companies had threatened to withdraw their services over the N250 billion accumulated debt by banks.

In December 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) issued a joint circular to resolve the long-standing USSD debt impasse between banks and mobile network operators (MNOs).

 

 


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Microsoft Confirms Skype is Shutting Down

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Microsoft has confirmed that Skype will shut down on May 20, 2025, with the free version of Microsoft Teams for consumers as the designated successor.

Microsoft Confirms Skype is Shutting Down

The company said, “Skype users will be in control, they’ll have the choice. They can migrate their conversation history and their contacts out and move on if they want, or they can migrate to Teams.”

However, telephony features are being discontinued.

Skype, the once one of the go-to messaging platforms is being shut down after 21 years.

The video calling service that was

Introduced in 2003, Skype was then acquired by Microsoft in 2011.

It was used as a replacement for early communications apps like Windows Live Messenger, but the history of the Skype platform within Microsoft products has been bumpy.

The writing has been on the wall for a while now since Microsoft has put most of its efforts over the last decade into its Teams platform.

Skype has also become less relevant over the years as platforms like Google Chat, WhatsApp Messenger, Facebook’s Messenger, Zoom and Apple’s FaceTime have taken over the mobile video calling space.

 

 

 

 


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GSMA Report Finds 70 Percent of Consumers Willing to Pay Premium for Environmentally Friendly Phones

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Fast-changing consumer attitudes towards repair and reuse of mobile phones are driving a rapidly growing market for ‘circular’ devices and services which could exceed $150bn by 2027, according to a new report published today by the GSMA, which represents mobile operators worldwide.

As technology leaders prepare to gather for MWC25 Barcelona, the world’s largest and most influential connectivity event, the GSMA’s ‘Rethinking Mobile Phones: the Business Case for Circularity’ report which surveyed more than 10,000 mobile phone users across 26 countries worldwide, shows that evolving consumer attitudes, regulatory changes and the growing impacts of e-waste are converging to challenge the traditional linear business model of the mobile phone industry.

With more than 70% of consumers surveyed globally stating that they would be prepared to spend more for environmentally friendly phones, the report highlights the growing opportunity for the mobile industry to embrace circularity, not simply for positive environmental reasons, but also commercial benefits.

Within the report, a survey of 31 operators from around the world highlights how they are embracing circular business models. 90% of operators surveyed already operate at least one circular business model, with refurbishment and e-waste management being the most popular.

However, respondents recognised huge potential in scaling up further; 80% with refurb programmes thought ‘a lot more’ could be done.

This could include developing leasing, renewal and upgrade propositions which would tap into new revenue streams, increase customer loyalty, and provide quality assurance.

Steven Moore, Head of Climate Action, GSMA, said: Fast-growing consumer demand for green and refurbished phones, as well as repair services, is a fantastic business opportunity for the mobile industry.

Unlocking this requires strong collaboration across the value chain, helped by enabling policies and incentives from governments, bringing together manufacturers, mobile operators, refurbishers, repairers, and recyclers to address key barriers to unlock new revenue streams and future-proof business models.”

 


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