E-Business
Gartner Says CRM Software Market Grew 13.7 Percent in 2013

Worldwide customer relationship management (CRM) software totaled $20.4 billion in 2013, up 13.7 percent from $18 billion in 2012, according to Gartner, Inc.
“High levels of end-user investment in digital marketing and customer experience initiatives were the primary growth drivers of the market in 2013,” said Joanne Correia, research vice president at Gartner.
“CRM will be at the heart of digital initiatives in coming years. This is one technology area that will get funding because digital business is critical for companies to remain competitive.”
Strong demand for software as a service (SaaS), which represented more than 41 percent of CRM total software revenue in 2013, was driven from organizations of all sizes seeking easier-to-deploy alternatives to replace legacy systems, implement net-new applications or provide alternative complementary functionality.
Competition intensified as major players continued to vie for broader market penetration internationally, and more widespread functionality adoption within midsize to large enterprises. The top five CRM vendors accounted for 50 percent of CRM software revenue in 2013.
Salesforce.com continued to be the largest vendor overall in the CRM market with 16.1 percent of the market.
SAP remained in the No. 2 position in the overall CRM space, but is still the leader in terms of revenue and market share for the subsegments of customer service and e-commerce.
From a regional perspective, Western Europe had strong growth of 15.2 percent in 2013, and North America continued to drive the bulk of the revenue share (52.9 percent) for the overall CRM market. These two regions represent almost 80 percent of all software spending on CRM technologies.
In these markets infrastructure for cloud/SaaS deployments are more mature, and customer retention and acquisition continue to be main drivers of the focused build-out for the major vendors and on-premises software that is being upgraded.
The emerging Asia/Pacific and Greater China regions experienced less-aggressive growth, but they still reached double-digit growth rates.
The regions are far from maturing, but are impacted by a slowing macroeconomy, and influenced by notable depreciation of some local currencies such as the Indian rupee and the Indonesian rupiah.
The communications, media and IT services vertical industries are the largest spenders on CRM because they focus on large groups using call center technologies.
They also invest more to improve analytics-related areas and improve/provide more consistent customer experiences.
Manufacturing (including consumer packaged goods) is in second place, with these companies using CRM for product and channel management.
Third-ranked is banking and securities, in which customer service and upselling to other financial products are core to growth.
E-Business
Kaspersky Warns of a New Phishing Technique Leveraging Bubble, a no-code AI Platform

Kaspersky has discovered a new phishing tactic used to evade traditional security controls that exploits Bubble, a platform that allows users to build web and mobile applications through a visual interface without writing code.

Attackers are increasingly adopting innovative tools designed for legitimate software development and repurposing them to boost phishing campaigns.
Traditional phishing attacks often rely on malicious links or obvious redirection techniques, which are typically flagged and blocked by modern security systems.
However, attackers are now leveraging Bubble’s no-code environment to generate intermediary web applications which are hosted on Bubble’s legitimate infrastructure and trusted domains such as *.bubble.io, which improves their credibility and helps them bypass security filters.
These applications function as disguised redirectors, silently forwarding victims to malicious credential-harvesting websites.
In the observed campaign, victims were ultimately redirected to a convincing imitation of a Microsoft login page, protected by a Cloudflare verification layer designed to further obscure malicious intent.
This technique is likely being integrated into broader phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platforms and phishing kits. These kits enable a wide range of malicious capabilities with ready-made tools, including real-time interception of session cookies, driving phishing campaigns through legitimate services such as Google Tasks and Google Forms, and carry out adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) attacks that can bypass multi-factor authentication.
They also support the generation of phishing emails using AI, implement geo-filtering and anti-detection mechanisms to evade security crawlers and are often hosted on reputable cloud services like AWS to avoid blacklisting.
“The use of legitimate platforms like Bubble introduces a new level of trust abuse, making it harder for both users and automated systems to distinguish between safe and malicious content. This significantly increases the likelihood of credential theft, unauthorised access and potential data breaches,” comments Roman Dedenok, Anti-Spam Expert at Kaspersky.
E-Business
NITDA Takes Over National Digital Architecture System

Nigeria has taken a major step toward strengthening its digital governance framework as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) officially assumes control of the Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA) infrastructure.

The handover ceremony held in Abuja, marks the culmination of a high-level partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
This transition signals a shift from fragmented IT projects to a unified, disciplined approach to national digital investment.
The NGEA initiative forms a core part of the e-Government Masterplan 2.0 (Ne-GMP 2.0), aimed at establishing a unified and structured approach to managing government IT investments and digital resources.
The framework is designed to ensure that technology deployment across public institutions aligns with national priorities while improving efficiency and accountability.
With the system now operational, government agencies are expected to adopt more integrated digital processes, allowing seamless data sharing and interoperability.
This is anticipated to reduce duplication, strengthen risk management, and translate policy objectives into measurable digital outcomes.
Over the past two and a half years, Nigerian technical experts worked closely with their Korean counterparts to develop the architecture framework, create reference models, and execute pilot programmes in key institutions.
These include the National Identity Management Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, and NITDA.
Officials say the NGEA represents a shift from fragmented digital efforts to a more coordinated, citizen-focused system.
The infrastructure is hosted by Galaxy Backbone Limited, providing a secure and reliable platform for nationwide deployment.
Looking ahead, NITDA is expected to work with government stakeholders to expand and sustain the system, while the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy will provide policy guidance to ensure its adoption across the country.
E-Business
FG Shifting Focus to “Meaningful Connectivity” to Drive Inclusion – Minister

Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has said the government is shifting focus from expanding access to ensuring “meaningful connectivity” that drives economic growth and inclusion.

Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy
The minister made the statement on Friday while addressing stakeholders at the inauguration of board members of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) in Abuja.
He said that although Nigeria had made significant progress since the introduction of GSM services, millions of people, particularly in rural and underserved communities, remain either unconnected or unable to fully benefit from digital services.
Dr Tijani highlighted ongoing investments in digital infrastructure, including plans to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic network and nearly 4,000 telecom towers nationwide.
He said initiatives under the USPF had improved access through projects such as rural connectivity and digital facilities in schools but stressed that the next phase must prioritise effective usage.
“It is not enough to connect a community. We must ensure that schools can teach with digital tools and that small businesses can access market opportunities,” he said, citing a pilot project in the Kura community where connectivity has enhanced access to communication, education and healthcare.
Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) also called for a shift towards meaningful connectivity, noting that while data usage had grown significantly, it remained concentrated in urban areas.
According to him, recent data shows that telecom usage has increased by about 160% over the past two years, largely driven by urban demand.
“When we drill down, we see that a lot of that growth is actually in urban centres. So, the gap between those who are not connected or not meaningfully connected is growing,” he said.
Dr Maida added that the trend underscored the need for the USPF board to intensify efforts to bridge both access and usage gaps across the country.
Both officials emphasised the importance of collaboration, sustainable investment models and improved digital literacy to ensure that connectivity translates into real economic benefits for Nigerians.
E-Financial3 days agoCBN bars large‑ticket loan defaulters from banking services in tough new crackdown
General News3 days agoARN Rejects Medical Bill over Attempt to ‘Scrap’ Profession
Telecom3 days agoNIGCOMSAT Supports Startups Growth with the Launch of Accelerator 3.0
News3 days agoMeningitis Kills a Quarter Million People a Year -Study
Telecom3 days agoFG Unveils Digital Economy Research Fund Scheme
News3 days agoStakeholder says AI is Crucial to Nigerian Data Centres Amid Persistent Grid Collapse
E-Financial2 days agoNGX REGCO Fines 5 Firms N291m for Market Manipulation
News2 days agoDangote Refinery Debunks Speculations on IPO



















