NITDA to Use Cloud Computing Policy to Support Galaxy Backbone
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has promised to influence the implementation of the Nigeria Cloud Computing Policy (NCCP) and the Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT to assist Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) in its partnership with the cloud services.
Mr Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director general, NITDA, said Cloud Computing was an essential way of delivering services especially in database, networking, artificial intelligence and analytics over the internet, to offer faster innovations, flexible resources, reduced IT costs and better security.
Abdullahi disclosed this while making his keynote address at a Webinar organised by Galaxy Backbone, in collaboration with Zadara, a cloud computing company based in California, United States of America on Tuesday.
The NITDA boss expressed his excitement at the theme of the event; ‘Cloud Services and the Journey Towards a Digital Economy’. He said Cloud computing has become an essential part of business continuity and key to unlocking growth in the digital economy as worldwide spending has gone through the roof especially with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic which has globally accelerated digital transformation.
“According to McKinsey’s survey, the pandemic has accelerated the digitization of customer interactions by several years, with a global adoption acceleration of three years.”
“In March 2020, the virus took the world off the streets and forced everyone to make use of their phones and other devices for work, education, entertainment and socialization.
“The demand for online services during this period skyrocketed and cloud computing played a crucial role in migrating processes online quickly, easily, efficiently and conveniently.
He opined that it was at this point that working remotely, adopting technological innovation ecosystem strategies to contain the virus, protect jobs and observing virtual engagements in government circles has become the new normal.
He further explained that, according to data from Gartner, in 2020, the combined end-user spending on cloud services was about $270 billion and is expected to increase by 23.1 percent this year to reach $332.3 billion and $397.5 billion by next year, 2022.
“With respect to this, it is therefore necessary for the adoption and implementation of cloud computing in enhancing existing business models and deploying new innovative procedures”, he added.
Professor Muhammed Bello Abubakar, director general,Galaxy Backbone, further expressed his pleasure at the efforts of Galaxy Backbone in providing reliable, efficient, and robust cloud services to Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), as well as the private sector in Nigeria.
This effort, he said, will accelerate the Nation’s journey to the digital economy and create opportunities for growth in the digital economy.
He acknowledged that, in Nigeria, private and public sectors have made tremendous progress in cloud computing adoption.
He also expressed his delight at the partnership between Galaxy Backbone and Zadara which was borne out of the implementation of the National Digital Economic Policy and Strategy by NITDA.
“At the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), we will align the implementation of the Nigeria Cloud Computing Policy (NCCP) and the Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT to support this partnership
“The Policy will encourage a cloud-first strategy in government with goals which are set to ensure a significant increase in the adoption of Cloud Computing among Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by 2024” Kashifu maintained.
He also urged both Galaxy Backbone and Zadara to explore more opportunities while laying emphasis that many promising trends to watch this year include hybrid cloud, distributed cloud, serverless computing, cloud-based disaster recovery, platform as a ser lookvice, and edge computing.