E-Business
Tablets Killing Africa’s PC Market – IDC Report
The Middle East and Africa (MEA) PC market experienced a significant decline of 14.1 per cent year on year during the first quarter of 2013, according to preliminary results released weekend by International Data Corporation (IDC), the premier global market intelligence and advisory firm for the information technology and telecommunications markets.
The results says a total PC shipments in the MEA region slowed down to 5.3 million units, with desktops declining 18.4 per cent year on year to 2 million units, while notebook shipments declined 11.2 per cent year on year to total 3.3 million units.
Fouad Rafiq Charakla, research manager for PC, systems, and infrastructure solutions at IDC MEA and Turkey said: “With a growing portion of end users opting for tablets to meet their computing needs, the demand for PCs continues to suffer.
Looking at the more mature markets within the region, this trend is extremely visible within the power retail channel, where tablet sales have already exceeded portable PC sales in some power retail outlets.
Meanwhile, in markets where the purchasing power of end users is more restricted, low-cost tablets are cannibalizing the demand for locally assembled desktops.”
Microsoft’s recently launched operating system, Windows 8, which was primarily designed for a touch-enabled interface, has also been unable to spur incremental demand for PCs in the region. “Since adding the touch-screen interface hikes up the price of a PC by a considerable margin, the majority of PCs shipped presently still lack touch-enabled screens,” said Charakla.
“This has had the consequence of preventing the operating system from delivering to end users the user experience it is capable of, thus causing the demand for PCs to slow down.”
Growing competition from tablets has caused all key markets in the Middle East and Africa region to decline year on year, with the exception of Turkey, which attained marginal growth, driven by an aggressive sell-in push from certain vendors, power retail campaigns, and public sector initiatives.
“While the ‘Dubai Shopping Festival 2013’ and the ‘GITEX Shopper’ event of April 2013 positively impacted PC shipments in the UAE, these could not prevent the country’s PC market from experiencing a double-digit decline year on year,” said Charakla.
The shift towards demand for tablets was the key reason for the year-on-year declines in PC shipments seen in both Saudi Arabia and South Africa, while the worsening economic situation in the latter compounded the slowdown of its PC market. Two large PC deals were delivered into the education sectors of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan during the quarter, but these were unable to halt the regional decline.
Meanwhile, in Egypt, political instability continues to negatively affect the economy.
“The country is facing a major credit crisis,” said Victoria Mendes, a research analyst for personal computing, systems, and infrastructure solutions at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.
“The devaluation of the Egyptian pound resulted in PC prices increasing during the quarter, eventually causing sales and PC shipments into the country to slow down.”
The situation is similarly bleak elsewhere, according to Feras Ibrahim, a research analyst for personal computing, systems, and infrastructure solutions at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.
“All the smaller Gulf countries experienced a slowdown on PC shipments year on year due to tablet cannibalization and lack of foreign investments,” he said.
“Despite huge ongoing infrastructure-development projects in Qatar, PC shipments into the country declined year on year. Inventory liquidation efforts by market players in Oman prevented the country from accepting high shipments, while Kuwait and Bahrain suffered due to ongoing political and social unrest.”
Despite suffering a sharp year-on-year decline in PC shipments of 28.8 per cent, HP continued to dominate the Middle East and Africa PC market during the first quarter of 2013. Dell also experienced a slowdown in shipments, posting a decline of 12.3 per cent year on year, but it maintained its position at number two.
Lenovo was the only player among the top vendors to experience growth in the region during Q1 2013, growing 44.1 per cent year on year to place third.
A common trait among each of these top vendors is that all three enjoy a stronghold in both the commercial and consumer end-user segments.
Portable PC vendor Toshiba suffered a decline of 5.4per cent year on year, but was able to climb up to fourth position, while Taiwanese vendor Acer saw its PC shipments shrink by 25.5per cent over the same period as it slipped down to the fifth place. The key strengths of both these vendors continue to lie mainly within the consumer segment.
E-Business
CBN Affirms Alpha Morgan Bank’s Capitalisation

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has affirmed the capitalisation of Alpha Morgan Bank, marking an important milestone in the bank’s growth journey and reinforcing its commitment to building a strong, resilient, and future-ready financial institution.

This affirmation reflects the bank’s adherence to regulatory requirements and its strategic focus on strengthening its capital base to support sustainable growth, innovation and improved service delivery to customers.
With this milestone, Alpha Morgan Bank is well positioned to continue expanding its footprint with its 14 approved branches across different states, while deepening inclusivity and enhancing the range of banking solutions available to individuals, businesses, and institutional clients nationwide.
Commenting on the development, the Managing Director of Alpha Morgan Bank, Mr. Ade Buraimo, expressed the readiness of the bank in ensuring compliance with regulatory requirement, good governance framework while delivering satisfying banking along the long-term vision of the bank to become the best bank to work and strong financial institution to reckon with.
He said: “Capitalisation is more than a regulatory requirement; it is an opportunity to strengthen the institution for the future. The affirmation of Alpha Morgan Bank capitalisation reflects the work we have done to build a solid capital foundation that allows us to support businesses more effectively, expand financial access and continue delivering the level of service our customers expect.’’
According to him, Alpha Morgan Bank remains committed to maintaining strong corporate governance standards, sound risk management practices, and prudent financial management as it continues to support economic development and create long-term value for stakeholders.
“As Alpha Morgan Bank enters the next phase of its journey, the institution will continue to scale its operation, invest in technology, expand its branch network and digital banking presence, whilst delivering reliable and satisfying banking experiences to its growing customer base,” Buraimo added.
E-Business
Police Says Victims Enable Cyber Attacks Out of Ignorance

Mr Uche Ifeanyi, commissioner of Police in charge of the Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC), said on Friday that most cyber attacks occur because victims act out of ignorance.

He spoke in Abuja at the opening of an online cybercrime awareness campaign themed “Odogwu No Dey Hide Him Face,” organised to educate and empower communities about online safety and cyber hygiene.
“Studies reveal that the majority of cyber attacks are initiated or enabled by victims due to lack of knowledge.
“Personal information is invaluable and must be protected at all times.
“Just as we maintain physical health, we must also maintain a healthy digital lifestyle,” he added, stressing that simple cyber hygiene practices could greatly reduce the risk of becoming a victim.
He urged the public not to disclose confidential information to unauthorised persons and to use strong, unique passwords, enable multi-factor authentication, and apply security safeguards on digital devices.
“Keep personal information private, avoid suspicious links, and regularly update software or system patches,” he said, adding that antivirus programmes and firewalls were essential for online safety.
Ifeanyi warned against falling for “free gifts” online.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is fraud,” he said, advising caution with urgent or suspicious messages.
He also urged internet users to verify information before sharing to avoid spreading fake news, emphasising that cybercriminals could exploit everyone regardless of age, occupation, or social class.
Vincent Olatunji, director-general, National Data Protection Commission (NDPC), commended NPF-NCCC for its efforts and said the campaign theme was commendable.
He noted the importance of educating people on legitimate wealth and safe internet use.
Olatunji said that the fight against cybercrime required collective effort, warning that the risks were increasing daily as more people connected to the internet across Nigeria.
E-Business
Firm Enhances its Security Awareness Platform with SCORM and PDF Support

Kaspersky has introduced an update to its Automated Security Awareness Platform, adding full support for PDF and SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) – the industry-standard protocol for deploying and managing e-learning content.

The enhancement enables organisations to build fully customised cybersecurity training programmes that reflect their infrastructure, risk profile, and internal policies, while continuing to benefit from Kaspersky’s expert-driven security content and phishing simulations.
According to the Kaspersky report titled “Redefining the Human Factor in Cybersecurity”, employees responding to phishing attacks was one of the main causes of cyber incidents in companies worldwide, accounting for 21% of cases among other reasons.
At the same time, additional Kaspersky research reveals that social engineering attacks are predicted to increase more than any other type in the nearest future, with 87% of respondents believing that social engineering attacks will become even more effective due to the use of AI tools.
The new Kaspersky Automated Security Awareness Platform (Kaspersky ASAP) update directly addresses several persistent challenges such as reducing the number of human-related incidents, cutting time spent on managing training programmes, decreasing regulatory and compliance risks, and minimising potential legal or reputational damage stemming from cybersecurity breaches.
With the new SCORM support, the platform becomes even more flexible: companies can now upload, track, and manage their own SCORM-based learning materials directly within the system. In addition, companies can accelerate their programmes by using easier-to-create PDF-formats.
This allows organisations to tailor training to their specific technology stacks and emerging threats targeting their industry or region. Businesses that have already invested in third-party SCORM courses or internal learning development can now seamlessly reuse their existing modules, protecting their prior investments while strengthening their cybersecurity posture.
The combination of Kaspersky’s embedded content built on real cases uncovered by the company’s world-class experts with customers’ PDF materials or SCORM modules enables a true best-of-breed approach to human risk management.
Organisations can supplement Kaspersky’s up-to-date cyberattack scenarios with internal policies, unique workflows, and industry-specific lessons, ensuring training resonates with employees and reflects real operational challenges.
“Human behaviour remains one of the most unpredictable elements in cybersecurity and also one of the easiest for attackers to exploit. By adding SCORM support to Kaspersky Automated Security Awareness Platform, we’re giving organisations the flexibility to build training programmes that truly match their internal realities.
“Combined with Kaspersky’s expert-driven content and real-world attack data, this update empowers companies to create more adaptive, relevant, and impactful awareness programmes than ever before,” comments Svetlana Kalashnikova, Security Awareness expert at Kaspersky.
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