E-Business
Growing The CFO’s Influence with Technology
Opinion
The past few years have witnessed significant changes to the traditional role of the chief financial officer (CFO). Their expertise in cost management and operational efficiency management has been instrumental in ensuring the survival of their organization during tough economic times.
Those CFOs who successfully navigated the challenging landscape undoubtedly helped elevate the role of CFO from financial steward, to corporate strategist and change agent.
As businesses aim to get their recovery underway, the CFO is being asked to evolve again. In light of their growing influence, the CFO is required to not only manage the disruptions caused by rapid technological change, emerging markets, government intervention, and empowered consumers and employees, but also identify and invest in the business models, products, and services that will lead to sustainable, profitable growth. It’s a significant challenge and one we’re sure the CFO is more than capable of.
However, key to fulfilling their strategic potential and driving transformational change will be the willingness of CFOs to embrace disruptive technologies, such as big data, cloud computing, mobile, and social media, in a changing marketplace.
Today, consumers expect to interact with brands at a time and place that suits them, across a variety of touch points, whether in-store, online or via the telephone. While this is a challenge, it’s also an unprecedented opportunity.
Increased interaction provides businesses with more customer data, which if used properly will empower organizations to offer enhanced and tailored services capable of growing the bottom line. It’s encouraging to see that most CFOs already recognize this, with three quarters viewing access to information as a driver of organizational agility, according to a recent study from Oracle and Accenture titled “The CFO as Catalyst for Change”.
The same study also found that 57 per cent of CFOs believe investments in big data and analytics as a key source of competitive advantage.
Emerging technologies, like cloud computing, have a crucial role as CFOs look to fulfill their traditional role of cost management.
Cloud computing, for example, offers CFOs opportunities to drive additional efficiencies by reducing the need for up-front capital expenditure on hardware and software licenses, and because it minimizes the uncertainty associated with investing in new technologies. Additionally, it frees up capital that CFOs can allocate elsewhere.
CFOs also rank improved technological knowledge second only to industry knowledge as a critical enabler to improving their current skillset.
The growing importance of technology to the CFO is further supported by the finding that 82 per cent of CFOs have noted their cooperation with their CIOs has increased over the past three years.
This does not necessarily mean CFOs require in-depth technical knowledge on a day-to-day basis, but rather they need the know how into how can this technology can help the business continue to grow.
We’re sure that if CFOs continue to embrace new and traditional technologies in the workplace their strategic influence will only grow.
Given their experience in managing change and their unique oversight of the company, no C-Level executive is better placed to drive recovery.
By following the CFO’s lead, organizations can remove the organizational siloes that have hindered businesses for too long, empowering them to identify new opportunities and better respond to market conditions.
Without question, growth has never been as important to businesses as it is today. CFOs recognize what’s needed to achieve this, and now is time for the business to look at the CFO’s proven track record and follow their lead.
Adebayo Sanni is Country Manager Oracle Nigeria.
E-Business
Attackers Target Employees with Fake HR Updates

Kaspersky has identified an advanced phishing campaign targeting employees with personalised emails and attached documents disguised as HR policy updates.
This campaign marks a significant escalation in phishing tactics, with attackers tailoring not only the email body, but also the attachments by addressing individual recipients, showcasing an unprecedented level of customisation. The goal was to lure the victim into entering their corporate email credentials.
The attackers likely prepared by parsing employee names to make the campaign targeted and more convincing.
The emails feature a deceptive body: a fraudulent “verified sender” badge to build trust, the recipient’s name, and an invitation to open the attached file to review remote work protocols, benefits administration and security standards. However, the whole email body is in reality just an image with no real text in it; this is done to bypass email filters.
The attached document, posing as an updated “Employee Handbook,” does not contain any actual guidelines – only a title page, a table of contents with the items that have supposedly been changed highlighted in red, a page with a QR code, supposedly for going to the full document and common instructions on how to read QR codes using a phone. The document features the victim’s name multiple times to convince that this document was created specifically for them.
If the victim scans the QR code and follows the link, they land on a fraudulent page where they are asked to enter their corporate credentials, which is what the attackers are hunting for.
“This campaign demonstrates a new level of sophistication in phishing attacks, and we may be seeing a new mailing automation mechanism that generates a separate attached document and a separate image for the email body for each recipient.
“This tactic allows to scale the attack and at the same time possibly evade traditional defenses. Organisations must prioritise advanced security measures and employee education to stay ahead of these threats,” comments Roman Dedenok, Anti-Spam Expert at Kaspersky.
E-Business
Temu Joins INTA to Combat Counterfeits and Elevate IP Standards Worldwide

Temu, the global online marketplace, has joined the International Trademark Association (INTA) as a corporate member and serves on its Anti-Counterfeiting Committee.
INTA is a global association that brings together more than 6,700 organizations, representing over 37,000 trademark professionals and brand owners across 181 countries. By joining INTA, Temu deepens its commitment to building a trusted online marketplace and advancing global IP protection through broader, cross-industry collaboration.
“INTA welcomes TEMU’s willingness to engage in anticounterfeiting initiatives, including in the Association’s annual Anticounterfeiting Workshop and Online Takedown Certificate Program which serve to share best practices and connect stakeholders,” said Alastair Gray, Director of Anti-Counterfeiting, INTA. “Constructive collaboration with these efforts can contribute to the protection of intellectual property rights for INTA members and support the removal of counterfeit products from the platform which ultimately protects consumers.”
At the 2025 INTA Annual Meeting held in San Diego in May, Temu participated in the Anti-Counterfeiting Committee Roundtable, serving as a moderator to facilitate discussions among brand owners, online platforms, and government officials on emerging technologies, best practices for collaboration, and strategies to strengthen global anti-counterfeiting efforts.
“Joining INTA and serving on its Anti-Counterfeiting Committee reflects Temu’s ongoing commitment to ensuring a trustworthy online shopping experience,” said a Temu spokesperson. “We value collaboration with industry peers and stakeholders and are dedicated to advancing collective efforts in intellectual property protection.”
Temu also participates in INTA-led online workshops, including the Online Platform Notice and Takedown Certification Program, which outlines the latest procedures and best practices used by e-commerce platforms and social media companies. These workshops aim to enhance the quality and accuracy of rights-holder notices, promoting more effective takedown processes and content moderation.
Since launching in 2022, Temu has made significant investments in IP enforcement. Its measures include comprehensive seller vetting and compliance training, 24/7 algorithmic monitoring with manual review, a dedicated IP protection portal and brand registry to streamline takedown submissions, and an internal enforcement team that handles claims with speed and accuracy.
E-Business
Huawei Unveils AI Computing System to Challenge Nvidia’s Flagship Product

China’s Huawei Technologies unveiled an AI computing system on Saturday that an industry expert said rivals Nvidia’s most advanced product, as the company aims to expand its footprint in the country’s booming AI sector.
The CloudMatrix 384 system made its public debut at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), a three-day event in Shanghai, attracting a large crowd to Huawei’s booth with its showcase of cutting-edge AI innovations.
The system has attracted significant interest from the global AI community since Huawei (HWT.UL) first introduced it in April. Industry analysts see it as a direct challenger to Nvidia’s GB200 NVL72, the most advanced system-level offering currently available from the U.S. chipmaker.
In an April article, Dylan Patel, founder of semiconductor research firm SemiAnalysis, stated that Huawei now possesses AI system capabilities that could surpass those of Nvidia.
Huawei staff at its WAIC booth declined to comment when asked to introduce the CloudMatrix 384 system.
A spokesperson for Huawei did not respond to questions.
Huawei has become widely regarded as China’s most promising domestic supplier of chips essential for AI development, even though the company faces U.S. export restrictions.
Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang told Bloomberg in May that Huawei had been “moving quite fast” and named the CloudMatrix as an example.
The CloudMatrix 384 system features 384 of Huawei’s latest 910C chips and, according to SemiAnalysis, surpasses Nvidia’s GB200 NVL72 in certain performance metrics, despite the latter using 72 B200 chips.
SemiAnalysis attributes this performance advantage to Huawei’s strong system design, which offsets the lower power of individual chips by leveraging a greater number of them and incorporating system-level innovations.
Huawei describes the system as utilizing a “supernode” architecture that enables ultra-high-speed interconnectivity between chips.
In June, Zhang Pingan, CEO, Huawei Cloud confirmed that the CloudMatrix 384 was already operational on Huawei’s cloud platform.
- E-Financial3 days ago
Union Bank Rewards Customers with ₦5 Million Each in Save and Win Palli Promo Season 4 Grand Finale
- E-Business3 days ago
Huawei Unveils AI Computing System to Challenge Nvidia’s Flagship Product
- General News3 days ago
New Tax Law Empowers NRS to Fine Offenders up to N10m
- News3 days ago
Lawyers Drags NLS to Court for Alleged Election Fraud, Data Violation
- Telecom2 days ago
Glo Boosts Network Capacity for Enhanced Customer Experience
- E-Financial3 days ago
Edun, Finance Minister Inaugurates NDIC New Management
- News2 days ago
Transcorp Power Posts Strong Half-Year Profit, Declares ₦11.25Bn Dividend
- E-Financial2 days ago
FG Asks Banks to Report Individuals with N25m Monthly Transactions to FIRS