E-Business
Understanding IoT & Path to Nigerian Smart City
Today, it is almost impossible to go through a week in global technology news without reading something to do with Internet of Things (IoT), especially with the ongoing innovations in driverless cars.
Like many other innovations over the past decades, Internet of Things is today’s buzz word, the tech fad for today as others may put it.
To be clear, I don’t mean to take away from, or be-little the impact Internet of Things is having on the world, or at least the potential it will have in our world over time. My point is that, like other past technology buzz words, IoT is an evolution towards something greater.
In the 1970’s to 1980’s the major innovation of the day was personal computers, then we moved on to ‘Networks’ and then to the ‘Internet’ in the 1990’s. The 2000’s saw the growth of ‘Mobile’ then the conversations moved to ‘Big Data’ and ‘Cloud’ computing or services.
With this evolution, we are now in the era of the ‘On-Demand’ services, or as some would put it; the ‘Uber era’; where you have the Uber for this or the Uber for that. Following on this, we are in the early days of Internet of Things.
The question then is, what exactly is the Internet of Things?
According to Intel, “The Internet of Things is an Evolution of mobile, home and embedded applications, that are connected to the internet, integrating greater computing capabilities and using data analytics to extract meaningful information.”
With this definition, you begin to see how the evolution of technology over the past few decades have led to the Internet of Things. It is estimated that there are about 2 Billion people using the Internet; it has also been estimated that by the year 2020, we will have over 100 Billion equipment, appliances, machines and in essence, Things connected to the internet.
So just imagine a future where in addition to your phones, Laptops, TV, Security systems, Playstations and possibly your DSTV connected to the internet, we also have our Bikes, Cars, clothes, Homes (Doors, beds, fridge, cooker, lights, washine machine, stereo system, coffee machine etc), Offices (Doors, Chairs, floors, Security systems, Parking lot system etc), Street lights, traffic lights, toll gates, Danfos (public buses), boats and Ferries, hospitals, government etc all connected to the Internet.
Almost seems overwhelming when you think of the extent of the ‘sea of things’ which can be connected to the internet, especially when one considers a city like Lagos. However, this is where the world is going. With sensors being connected to almost everything.
Today with products like fitbit, the Apple Watch and other smart Watches, you can track your heart rate, the number of steps you take, your sleep patterns etc. All these, aid the ongoing ‘wellness’ movement to attain and maintain good health, as opposed to actually getting an ailment and going on to treat it. This is made possible by the constant monitoring and analysis of the body’s activities using these devices.
However, having all that raw data about your body’s activities is completely useless to the individual if it is not effectively delivered as meaningful information on the current state of health of the individual; because at the end of the day, having clear knowledge of the number of steps or distance covered and calories burned provides the user with the relevant information they need on their path to wellness.
Now that I have attempted to explain the principle of Internet of Things, at least, from a personal view in relation to wellness, how then can we expand on this to the level of Smart Homes and Smart Cities that we hear or read about?
And more importantly in the Nigerian frame of mind, where exactly do we start from, to achieve this? I will try to explain this down the line using one of our greatest problems in Lagos, TRAFFIC!
Smart Cities and the Internet of Things as a whole runs on the concept of ‘Networked Systems’, which is made up of individual systems connected to form Networks and sub-networks that work together towards a common purpose.
Imagine in the not too distant future, Lagos is a smart city, where your home would be a system within the network, with various appliances like your phones, laptops, alarm and security system, kitchen appliances, entertainment systems, utilities all connected together.
In this case, Lagos would have its own traffic management system with a network of connected street cameras, sensored traffic lights, toll gates, bridges, roads and side walks all with sensors, so the Lagos Traffic control centre can monitor and manage the flow of traffic (Just like we see in Hollywood movies).
In this case, you live in Lekki and need to catch a 10am flight at MMIA on a Saturday morning. In this scenario with limited traffic, you should be able to make it to the airport in about 45 minutes with no trouble. Let us assume you need to be at the airport at 8am, and need 30mins from the time you wake up to get ready, then your alarm (which is connected to your home system) would have to go off at 6:45am, giving you about 1 hour 15 minutes to wake up, get dressed and drive to the airport to make your flight.
Now lets assume that in a typical day from the time you wake up, the Smart Home sensors on your bed or bedroom floor, send information to the water heater to start heating up. Also, information is sent to the stereo to start playing your favorite morning songs (just so you start the day right), and data is also sent to the coffee machine so it starts brewing amongst other morning activities.
Lets assume on this particular day, in this fictional, not so distant future, there was a delayed overnight construction on the Gbagada – Oshodi road, which had caused traffic to build all the way to Oworonshoki. In this scenario, if Lagos was not a Smart City, you would likely get into this traffic on Gbagada – Oshodi road, you would most likely miss the 8am check-in time and ultemately miss your flight.Sounds familiar?
Now, in the scenario where Lagos is actually a Smart City, as traffic builds due to the delayed construction on Gbagada – Oshodi road, traffic data would be automatically fed to the Lagos traffic management system, which in turn would send this information to the Lagos Smart City Management System (this system would be made up of different Lagos networks including, Traffic management, Security, Water, Education, Power etc and individual Smart Homes would have access to the information within this system).
With this information available on the Lagos Smart City Management System, your Smart Home’s system would identify traffic data, and instead of 6:45am, your Smart Home’s Alarm would wake you up at possibly 6:00am so you leave for the airport early enough with the hope to ride out the traffic on Gbagada – Oshodi road, or completely avoid that route and take an alternative longer route to the airport.
In essence, the true value we get from the Internet of Things revolution is ‘Intelligence’; brought about by the ability to derive meaningful realtime information from data available around us today.
So where do we start from in Nigeria to build Smart Cities? Will there be major disadvantages? What would be the cost to achieve these?
My candid opinion is to start small and focus areas/sectors that are important to our local communities, states and the country as a whole; which will provide more value to the populace, for example; traffic which is a bane for many in Lagos. It is estimated on average, that Lagosians spend an average of 3 to 6 hours daily commuting to and from work. Starting out with traffic would also aid other areas like medical, fire and security emergency services.
Let us not get carried away with building driverless cars, as I cannot see how that can add real value to our economy at the moment. However, in typical fashion, Nigeria would most likely leap frog to catchup with the next major technological innovation that awaits us in the future.
Idemudia Dima-Okojie, director at Openspace Digital Technologies. Openspace Digital Technologies provides solutions that enablesSMEs to automate their internal business processes, build their online presence and access a variety of out-sourced services including Accounting, HR, PR and Tax amongst other services, which are often out of the reach of small businesses.
E-Business
Cyber Resilience a Critical Priority for Manufacturing Amid Rapid Digitalization – Report Shows
As 60% of manufacturers race toward full digitalisation, cyber risk is increasingly manifesting as a business risk, according to a new global report by Kaspersky and VDC Strategy.
This means cybersecurity is not merely a compliance function, it is a cornerstone of production assurance, safeguarding uptime, quality, and operational continuity.
Manufacturers are modernising to deliver safer, more consistent and more cost-effective production and digitalization is moving fast: just 9% of organisations describe themselves as fully digital today, but 60% expect to get there within two years, according to the joint report by Kaspersky and VDC, titled ‘Cyber Resilience, Built for Manufacturing’.
That shift links shop-floor equipment, production lines and site operations to platforms such as Manufacturing execution systems (MES), Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and historians, turning many plants into cyber-physical systems (CPS), where a digital disruption doesn’t stay digital. It can slow production lines, quarantine work in progress, invalidate traceability records, or halt production outright.
What’s driving manufacturing digitalization?
Manufacturers are digitising for measurable operational gains, not novelty. Survey respondents identified the primary drivers of their digital transformation strategy as:
- Improving production output or efficiency (24%)
- Reducing operational or production expenses (15%)
- Enabling new strategic opportunities (14%)
- Improving cyber resilience (13%)
The same connected systems that unlock these gains, including MES, IIoT sensors, automated material handling, remote engineering access, also become the systems that determine whether production can be trusted to keep running.
Cyber risk is now a business risk
Cyber risk has evolved from a mere IT concern to a direct threat to revenue generation, as environments transform into cyber-physical systems. In these integrated settings, digital disruptions like malware no longer just affect data, they can cause unsafe operations, scrapped batches, and halted production on the plant floor. This shift highlights the urgent need to treat cybersecurity as a key part of operational resilience.
According to the report, nearly 60% of manufacturing organisations estimate that cyber incidents cause damages exceeding $1 million per event, with an average disruption of 15.3 hours. The most significant losses often result from production halts, missed delivery commitments, and penalties, rather than just forensic costs.
In this context, downtime links cybersecurity risks to overall business performance. Cyber incidents can reduce Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), strain staffing, and disrupt supply chains. Recovery involves more than system restore, it requires re-establishing confidence in process parameters, quality records, and traceability before resuming operations.
Mature cybersecurity programs now incorporate OT security into governance, focusing on metrics valued by production leaders such as time to restore, backup confidence, legacy asset coverage, and safe degraded operation. This alignment ensures cybersecurity supports continuous production and resilience, not just IT compliance.
However, challenges remain due to split ownership. While 59% of organisations’ IT departments manage security policies, these often overlook plant realities. Managing many security tools (44%) and OT patching issues (38%) show that cybersecurity must be embedded into daily routines of production, engineering, and quality teams. Only through such integration can cybersecurity effectively enhance operational reliability and defend against evolving threats.
“As manufacturing environments become increasingly interconnected, cybersecurity shifts focus from merely adding protective layers to ensuring the availability, resilience, and integrity of production processes. The goal is to minimise operational impact and speed up recovery, rather than solely preventing intrusions.
“Kaspersky offers a unified ecosystem that integrates IT, OT, and IIoT security, empowering manufacturers to pursue digital transformation securely. This strategy helps maintain operational continuity and reduces long-term cybersecurity costs,” comments Andrey Strelkov, Head of Industrial Cybersecurity Product Line at Kaspersky.
To implement this strategy, manufacturing companies can leverage solutions from the Kaspersky OT Cybersecurity Ecosystem, centered around Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity (KICS), a native Extended Detection and Response platform designed for critical infrastructure protection. KICS enables centralised detection and response to complex attacks across the entire industrial network, ensuring comprehensive visibility and security.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has commenced a forensic investigation into the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lotus Bank and Hackerbella Ltd over alleged violations of data protection laws involving students’ personal information.
The investigation follows public complaints alleging that students’ personal data were used to open bank accounts without a lawful basis.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner and chief executive officer of the NDPC, directed the investigation team to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the circumstances surrounding the collection, processing, use and disclosure of the affected students’ personal data.
The investigation will also determine the respective roles and responsibilities of UNILAG, Lotus Bank and Hackerbella in the alleged processing of the data.
According to the Commission, the investigation will assess the data protection compliance obligations of the parties under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDP Act), as well as potential risks posed to the rights and freedoms of the affected data subjects.
The NDPC said the probe would cover several areas, including Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), the lawfulness and transparency of credit scoring or profiling activities, and the use of automated decision-making systems.
It will also examine the adequacy of privacy notices, data-sharing arrangements, lawful bases for processing, data minimisation and purpose limitation.
Other areas include data retention policies and the adequacy of technical and organisational measures put in place to safeguard the rights and personal data of affected students.
The Commission reiterated that institutions entrusted with the personal data of students, staff and other members of their communities have a heightened responsibility to ensure that such information is processed lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely.
The NDPC therefore warned educational institutions that are yet to comply with its existing data protection compliance directives to take immediate steps to achieve compliance.
The Commission said it would continue to exercise its regulatory mandate to protect the privacy rights of Nigerians and ensure that organisations processing personal data comply with the provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
Microsoft is planning to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall, potentially as soon as next month, The Information reported on Monday, citing people with direct knowledge of the plans.
The company introduced its Maia AI chip in November 2023 but has lagged rivals such as Alphabet and Amazon in scaling up its in-house chip efforts as it seeks to reduce its reliance on Nvidia’s costly processors.
Google began recognizing revenue from direct sales of its custom AI chips, called Tensor Processing Units, in the quarter ended June, while Amazon has also seen growing adoption of its processors, including its Trainium chips.
Microsoft has been in talks with chipmaker TSMC to secure manufacturing capacity for more than 300,000 units of the chip for delivery in 2027, according to the report. It is also looking to significantly ramp up production and persuade major cloud customers such as Anthropic to adopt the chip.
Microsoft ultimately aims to secure capacity for more than 1 million Maia 300 chips, though component supplies and ongoing capacity negotiations with TSMC could constrain its plans, according to the report.
It unveiled its second-generation Maia 200 in January, built by TSMC using 3-nanometer technology.
Microsoft packed the chip with a significant amount of SRAM, a type of memory that can provide speed advantages for AI systems handling large numbers of user requests.
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