E-Business
Oracle Introduces New All Flash FS1 Storage System

Oracle expanded its flash storage portfolio with the announcement of an all-flash model of its Oracle FS1 Flash Storage System.
Available now, the new Oracle All Flash FS1 Storage System delivers superior flash performance, capacity scaling, and flash provisioning and is designed to handle concurrent mixed workloads, such as OLTP and high-speed data backup, in enterprise SAN environments as well as in private or public clouds.
It delivers up to 64 all-flash domains for highly-secure data isolation in multitenant cloud environments, I/O prioritization based on business value, scales to nearly 1 PB of raw flash capacity, and goes from pallet to power-on in less than 30 minutes.
All Flash FS1 demonstrates superior I/O performance and low latency with minimal falloff.
Tests performed for customers show sub-one millisecond latency when running simultaneous workloads across small to large block sizes with up to 8x faster IOPS and 9.7x faster write throughput than EMC XtremIO(1).
As a result, All Flash FS1 can reduce Oracle Database I/O wait times and effectively give customers back time for projects that can help drive a company’s top-line growth and bottom-line savings.
Oracle All Flash FS1 is the only all-flash storage system co-engineered with Oracle Database and Applications and delivers net incremental business benefits to customers when deployed with Oracle software, from industry-leading data compression to one-click application provisioning.
All Flash FS1 is uniquely able to take advantage of Oracle Hybrid Columnar Compression, available only to Oracle Storage, the most advanced data reduction technology in the industry.
Hybrid Columnar Compression typically delivers a10:1 compression ratio, nearly twice the data reduction usually obtained with deduplication techniques, reducing storage capacity requirements and accelerating Oracle Database queries.
While encrypted Oracle Database data can’t be deduplicated, it can be compressed with Hybrid Columnar Compression, providing significantly higher levels of security to customers and maintaining Oracle Database best practices.
All Flash FS1 also features Flash Profiles, which provide pre-tuned and optimized provisioning profiles for Oracle Database and enterprise applications to simplify and accelerate flash storage provisioning and application deployment.
As the industry’s best all-flash scale up two-node system, Oracle All Flash FS1 can support hundreds of Oracle databases—all in flash.
“High latency has impacted customers on shared storage platforms for years, slowing down OLTP response times and preventing mixed workloads from running at full speed. Customers are looking to flash to address these issues,” said Mike Workman, senior vice president, Flash Storage Systems, Oracle. “Oracle All Flash FS1 dramatically reduces I/O wait times typically seen in today’s highly virtualized, transaction-driven enterprises where low latency is critical to response time.
“This superior performance combined with unique features, such as Flash Domains and Flash Profiles, make the All Flash FS1 the platform for customers who want to significantly accelerate their applications in SAN and secure cloud environments.”
“Oracle practitioners in our community expect the highest levels of data integrity and security coupled with predictable performance,” said David Vellante, chief research officer, Wikibon. “Products such as the All Flash FS1 are riding the flash price/performance curve and promise to deliver dramatically lower latency and consistent response times at an affordable price. This can significantly reduce the effort required to deliver what are often among the most stringent service level requirements in IT.”
“With their introduction of the Oracle All Flash FS1, which was engineered from the ground up to maximize Oracle Database performance and scale, Oracle enters the ranks of what IDC defines as the ‘true All Flash Array (AFA) vendors’,” said Eric Burgener, research director, Storage, IDC.
“AFAs feature unique designs that are specifically optimized for flash media, delivering more consistent performance across their entire throughput range than Hybrid Flash Arrays, and making them the storage platform of choice for application environments that demand the highest levels of performance.”
E-Business
BPP Partners NDPC to Strengthen Data Protection

Dr Adebowale Adedokun, director-general, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), has reaffirmed the bureau’s commitment to data protection in Nigeria.
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.
E-Business
FG Mulls Fibre Optic Layout to Bridge Internet Gaps

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.
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.
E-Business
African Startups Raised $345m in Funding in May

African startups raised more than $345 million across 65 deals in May, more than double the amount raised in the same period of last year, according to a report by Briter, a research and business intelligence firm.
The report disclosed that both the number of deals and participating companies declined, confirming a growing trend of fewer companies raising funds in larger sizes.
It said fintech attracted the highest share of funding in May, accounting for 34 percent of the total, while cleantech followed closely, driven by a debt deal from Sun King. The company raised $80 million (in local currency) to expand clean energy access in Nigeria.
“Equity remains the primary instrument in terms of total value. There’s no doubt about it; in fact, equity deals with disclosed amounts captured more than half of the total funding volume in May.
“However, debt financing is increasingly proving its weight. Although it accounted for only 8 percent of all deals, it represented 32 percent of the total funding, highlighting the typically larger size of debt transactions. With the rise of specialised vehicles targeting early-stage businesses, debt is becoming an increasingly important part of Africa’s innovation funding landscape,” it said.
Briter’s report added that grants continued to play a vital role in early-stage support, especially in the education technology (EdTech) sector. The Mastercard Foundation led the pack in grant activity, funding a new cohort of EdTech innovators in Nigeria and Kenya. Each selected startup is set to receive $100,000 in grant funding, in addition to mentorship and business development support.
Multilaterals also made a strong showing in May, it said. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a World Bank Group member, issued a $179.6 million guarantee to CleanTech firm KOKO Networks. The support will help scale its clean energy solutions across Kenya.
“This deal not only demonstrates growing international confidence in African climate ventures but also signals a promising pathway for other asset-intensive startups in clean cooking, agriculture, and renewable energy,” the report said.
From a geographic perspective, Egypt emerged as the continent’s fundraising powerhouse for the month, contributing 51 percent of all funding raised. The country recorded 12 deals across equity, debt, and bond instruments. Notably, FinTech platform MNT-Halan raised $50 million through a bond issuance, further illustrating the diversification of capital-raising mechanisms in the region.
Outside Egypt, funding was distributed across Africa’s three other key markets, which are Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya, with limited activity recorded in countries such as Ghana, Tunisia, Morocco, and Uganda, each registering between one and three deals.
In terms of exits, the African tech landscape continues to mature. Three companies—Baobab+, Qardy, and Shopa—were acquired in May, bringing the total number of exits this year to 22. This already surpasses last year’s count for the same period. Qardy was acquired by Catalyst Partners Middle East (CPME) in a disclosed deal valued at $23 million, the report added.
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