General News
Small Business Storage Solutions for Growing Productivity Needs
By Ghassan Azzi
Around the world, Small and Medium Entreprises (SME) have proved to be the backbone of economies. In Nigeria, the case is not different with data1 revealing that SMEs contribute about 49% to the national GDP.
In addition, SMEs account for about 96% of the total number of businesses in the country and employ approximately 84% of the local workforce in Nigeria. For this sector and the economy, the lockdown necessitated by the Coronavirus pandemic meant a new level of economic depression. This added to the many challenges facing SMEs in Nigeria.
One factor which indicates the improvement of the competitiveness of many enterprises is the usage of Information Technology in managing their business. In Nigeria, the impact of IT on SMEs operation performance has not been greatly explored.
In this information age manual operations is beginning to be inefficient with time and labour. Likewise, the new way of work necessitated by the Coronavirus pandemic has forced many SMEs in Nigeria to imbibe the use of information technology in order to survive.
The way we work and learn changed significantly in 2020 and it’s still evolving. In a flash, remote work has become the new norm. This massive shift means productivity and efficiency are changing everywhere and for everyone.
However, working from home does not take away the requirements for data and files to be efficiently managed and for workers to stay productive – from work documents to family photos to music and movie archives and more.
Doing so goes beyond simply storing data, to backing up data. One of the main ways to accomplish this goal is with network-attached storage (NAS). In a NAS system, data is centrally stored on a handful of bays, typically filled with hard disk drives (HDDs) or solid-state drives (SSDs).
Creating a robust NAS infrastructure is a necessity for backup, data protection, remote access and digital collaboration. There is now a spotlight on the need for storage solutions that offer high capacity, throughput, and reliability.
The increase in storage capacity also means that some users can take advantage of NAS systems with fewer bays, while others won’t have to upgrade to a higher-bay system when they run out of space.
Western Digital has designed and tested certain HDDs for NAS environments, keeping the productivity requirements of content creators and businesses at the core.
Since the range of use cases for NAS has become increasingly diverse, we are now making it easier for users to match the right drive with their applications and workloads – from moderate small office/home office (SOHO) workloads to intensive small- and medium-business (SMB) use, as well as more demanding environments.
Demands to store, share, and access personal data are increasing. As a result, NAS devices are tasked with balancing scalable performance and affordable cost. Now, NAS applications for small office and home office (SOHO) can get a huge performance boost from SATA SSDs that are robust enough for most users, yet significantly faster than any HDD. Our WD Red™ SA500 is one example.
The Right Drive for SOHO Users
From our experience, many SOHO users rely on their systems for office file sharing, home backup or content archiving.
Throughput and capacity are key considerations in these types of SOHO environments and WD Red Plus drives are built and tested for SOHO NAS systems. These drives give you the flexibility, versatility, and confidence in storing and sharing your personal home and work files.
For the Demands of Big Business
WD Red Pro drives, including the latest 16TB and 18TB capacities, are designed specifically with medium to large-scale business customers in mind and are available for up to 24-bay NAS systems.
Engineered with CMR recording technology at 7200RPM to handle high-intensity workloads in 24×7 environments, WD Red Pro drives are ideal for archiving and sharing, as well as RAID array rebuilding on extended operating systems such as ZFS or other file systems.
These drives add value by enabling employees to quickly sync and share their files, including backup folders, reliably in their NAS solution, thereby increasing productivity and efficiency.
Built for Optimum NAS Compatibility and Larger NAS Bay Shock Protection
WD Red Pro drives with NASware technology take the guesswork out of selecting a drive. Optimized for NAS systems, the unique algorithm balances performance and reliability in NAS and RAID environments. Simply put, a WD Red Pro drive is one of the most compatible drives available for NAS enclosures.
WD Red Pro drives are equipped with a multi-axis shock sensor that automatically detects subtle shock events and dynamic fly height technology, which adjusts each read-write function to compensate and protect the data.
This combination of technology further protects the drives in larger 24-bay NAS environments and helps increase hard drive reliability. Built specifically for RAID and NAS environments, WD Red™ Pro drives come equipped with error recovery controls as part of NASware™ 3.0 technology to help reduce drive fallout in RAID applications.
As a leader in HDD and flash technologies, we are committed to addressing the evolving needs of our customers and to offering the right technology for each implementation. This philosophy launched WD Red drives years ago, and they have been a leader in their field ever since.
We continue engaging customers and partners and analyzing real-world data to offer a family of WD Red NAS drives – from HDDs to SSDs – that serve a variety of workloads and applications.
Ghassan Azzi is Sales Director, Africa at Western Digital
Police in Abuja have uncovered a criminal group making fake diplomatic and government number plates.
Ahmed Sanusi, commissioner of Police FCT, stated this during a press briefing on Friday.
He explained that criminals use these fake plates to dodge security checks and enter restricted areas.
The investigation started soon after Sanusi took office.
He noticed too many unauthorized cars driving around with official government and diplomatic tags.
“I immediately ordered a comprehensive investigation into this disturbing trend,” Sanusi said. He noted that these individuals use the plates as a cover to commit crimes and avoid arrest.
The police have already arrested several people caught using the fake plates.
They have also figured out who is making them.
The manufacturers operate outside Abuja, and police are actively hunting them down.
Sanusi kept their names secret so they would not flee.
He stressed that this is a highly profitable illegal business.
Buyers pay between N500,000 and N1.7 million for a single fake plate.
“This will tell you that they are making such huge expenditure because they have an agenda,” Sanusi explained.
“Now they will face punishment that is bigger than both the cost they incur and the agenda they are planning.”
The commissioner urged residents to report any cars with suspicious diplomatic plates.
He reminded the public that real diplomatic tags follow a very specific format.
A diplomatic number plate in Nigeria is a special vehicle identification tag issued to foreign embassies, high commissions, and accredited international diplomats.
Gavi has approved $500 million to strengthen Nigeria’s immunisation programme, primary healthcare services and long-term vaccine financing.
The move followed high-level discussions between Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, coordinating minister of Health and Social Welfare, ]and Dr. Sania Nishtar, chief executive officer, Gavi in Abuja.
The funding, approved under the Gavi 6.0 programme, will support Nigeria’s efforts to accelerate routine immunisation, sustain polio eradication, expand HPV vaccination, strengthen primary healthcare services, and improve long-term vaccine financing.
Speaking during the meeting, Pate said Nigeria was strengthening its partnership with Gavi to accelerate immunisation, expand primary healthcare services, and ensure sustainable financing for vaccines.
He welcomed Gavi’s country-focused reforms, including the introduction of a predictable five-year funding envelope.
Pate said the US$500 million allocation will enable Nigeria to plan more effectively and deliver life-saving vaccines to more children and vulnerable populations.
The minister also revealed that quarterly visits to primary healthcare centreshad increased from about 10 million in 2023 to more than 45 million, reflecting significant progress in revitalising the country’s primary healthcare system.
Pate welcomed the announcement of a US$600 million pledge by the United States government to Gavi, describing it as a strong endorsement of the alliance’s leadership and the global value of vaccines.
He also commended Nishtar for prioritising Nigeria and praised the closer coordination among Gavi, World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, World Bank, Gates Foundation, and other development partners, describing it as a model that has improved efficiency and aligned support with Nigeria’s health sector reforms.
The minister expressed appreciation to Gavi and its partners for their continued technical and financial support, while calling on state governments to invest more in healthcare and immunisation to complement federal efforts.
For many women, financial independence means the freedom to provide for their families and build a better future. Yet, this remains out of reach due to limited access to opportunities, business support, and secure payment solutions.
Like millions of women in Nigeria determined to be financially independent, Pricillia started with a single PalmPay POS terminal, and as an agent, every successful transaction provided a commission which brought her one step closer to achieving her dream.
Through consistency, discipline, and support from the payment platform, she reinvested her earnings and eventually opened her own provision store.
“I started as just a PalmPay agent with one POS. The consistency of the platform gave me the confidence to expand. With the income I earned, I was able to open my own provision shop.” Priscilla said.
For Priscilla, PalmPay was more than a payment platform. Its secure payment infrastructure gave her the confidence to serve her customers, build trust, and grow her income.
Today, Pricillia has joined the statistics of SMEs powering Nigeria’s economy and PalmPay continues to support her daily operations, helping her receive payments, as she works towards her next business milestone. Her journey is a reminder that when women have access to secure financial tools and opportunities, they can build lasting economic independence.
Speaking on Pricillia’s journey, Femi Hanson, Head of Marketing, PalmPay said: “Providing a secure platform that users can trust, whether for everyday payments or high-value transactions, is central to our vision of advancing financial inclusion. Priscilla’s story reflects our commitment to supporting the ambitions of Nigerians by providing a platform they can rely on to grow their finances. After all, seamless banking begins with security, and every successful transaction reinforces the trust our users place in us.”
Priscilla stands among thousands of PalmPay agents nationwide who are helping to expand financial access across Nigeria while earning commissions to create sustainable sources of income for themselves.
Every payment tells a story. It begins with trust, the confidence that your money is secure and that financial services are accessible. And when that opportunity reaches women, it creates ripple effects that transform families, strengthen communities, and drive economic growth.
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