E-Business
After Data WAR, What Next for Telcos’ Customers
In a ‘Signature Research’ series, an industry leading perspectives on telecoms technology, competition, and market evolution released by Ovum in November 2011, the analysts without much equivocation pointed at ‘customers’ and ‘cost reductions’ as the prime focus areas for telecoms service providers today.
They opined that, if tackled correctly, these objectives are not mutually exclusive: they are complementary. The Signature Research reflected the breadth and depth of Ovum’s coverage, including informed opinion, advice on how to capitalize on industry developments, and intelligence in the form of forecasts and market insight.
In a nutshell, analysts at Ovum identified thus, “telco customer service directors have identified that ‘addressing the customer service model’ is a top priority while CIOs have acknowledged that ‘improving the customer experience’ is a primary area for investment.
This demonstrates that telcos have recognized that their future lies with their existing customers.
However, customers’ service expectations have been raised by their experiences in other verticals, meaning that telcos will need to work very hard to engage, retain, and satisfy their existing customers.
It seems the telcos in Nigeria are borrowing a leaf from the Ovum’s perspective, as they have recently been entangled in a ‘data price war’; a sort of cold war with Airtel first to adjust its data plans, starting with the Android market.
Airtel today offers over 2GB data for less than N2000 and 4.5GB for N3000 on BlackBerry phones it could be applied on Android too; a feat that seemed impossible few years ago.
Glo followed with an even more enticing data plans, to the extent 12GB of internet data for sells for N5000.
Prompted by the enticing packages of the two operators mentioned above, MTN and Etisalat threw their hats in the ring. Are you kidding me? 3.5GB data on MTN line for N2000 and Etisalat offering with 1.5GB for N1000 and 3.5GB for N2000 club.
Well, this piece is not meant to dwell entirely on the so called ‘new data price regime’, but to remind the telcos that there are other nagging issues they must swiftly address – customer care.
Take the issue of electricity for instance. Mr. Babataunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, and the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) have been labouring towards convincing Nigerians on how to pay more for power, so that the GENCOS and DISCOS of this world will perform better. The argument has always been: provide power and we shall willingly pay.
In the case of telcos and the customers, the case is a little bit different in the sense, telcos seems to be covering their tracks by stuffing the mouth of the customers with price reductions. How do I mean? Remember, some time in 2015, the telcos, knowing that revenue from voice services has been on downward trend, they introduced ‘buy-now-pay-later’ campaign, where customers are to live as real kings; no more running out of credit. Though that is still on play, but the stem is no more there. That is not to say Nigerians have totally ditched that scheme. No.
Customer Service Is Lacking
Customer service is key! I think most customers would prefer an uninterrupted quality of service. Of what essence is giving one 2.5GB of data at the lowest price, but he ends up utilising only 1GB. That is obtaining by tricks; in other climes it would be called a deception and scam.
I believe such customer would prefer a moderate price regime with adequate service provisioning. There is no sacred cow here, but all telcos default at one point or the other. Yes, I admit that telcos are at the forefront of deepening the ecosystem, but there are plenty rooms for improvement.
From the same study quoted above, Ovum emphasized thus, “Customer service does not describe a point-to-point relationship between a telco and its customers, nor is it a relationship that exists purely to resolve problems. The relationship between a telco and its customers extends all the way from pre-sales research to in-life usage as customers look to purchase new services, upgrade existing ones, and add new features throughout their lifecycle. To secure the customer relationship in the face of disruptive competitors, telcos must stay with the customer through every step of their lifecycle”.
Please, pay attention to this, “Telcos need to be accessible, responsive, consistent, and effective. Web-based customer service delivers on accessibility and consistency and has the added benefit of diverting costs from more expensive alternatives such as contact centres, and has the ability to scale without adding exponentially to costs”. What can I say, as a result of Ovum’s breath-taking postulation, telcos in Nigeria should not cease from increasingly investing in web-based platforms, software, and business processes to improve their online customer service channels.
When the initial results are encouraging, with customer service-related capex, call volumes, and repeat calls to contact centers will start to decline.
“However, online customer service tends to lack the personal touch that other channels provide, and telcos need to ensure Online customer that they retain the hearts and minds of their customers”.
At this junction, it is pertinent to acknowledge the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for using its policy thrust in such a positive manner that now innovation dictates the pace of competition aimed at customers’ satisfaction.
ICT Investment
Fortunately, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communications, speaking at the first industry stakeholders forum convoked by the Ministry on his assumption of office, he acknowledged the need for improved infrastructure, as “Inadequate ICT infrastructure is the bane of ICT development in the country and a leading cause of quality of service deficiencies. From broadband penetration to last mile fibre optic connectivity, this infrastructure deficit is preventing all Nigerians from gaining affordable and reliable access.
Lack of affordability, due in part, to the proliferation of taxes, fees, levies and associated costs further inhibits investment in infrastructure required to support and grow our boisterous ICT market”, he said.
Nigeria’s ICT sector is growing and in view of the prevailing potentials, the Federal Government is targeting additional Foreign Direct Investment in the sector in excess of N4trillion ($15billion).
To this end, the government needs to stimulate the industry for further investments and deal with the issue of multiple taxation particularly the notorious right-of-way, while the telcos become more customer-centric to ensure that subscriber get value for their money.
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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