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HP, IBM Vying for No1 Spot on EMEA Server Market

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Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) and the International Business Machines Corporation (commonly referred as IBM) are in a battle for the soul of server market in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Result of overall server market standings by vendor released by the International Data Corporation shows that HP held the number one spot in 2Q13, despite annual revenue declines of 13.2% due to weaker demand for x86-based ProLiant servers, which were challenged by competitive pricing pressure and continued weakness in Itanium-based Integrity server revenue.

On the other hand, IBM held the number two spot with a 27.8% share for the quarter, with a slight factory revenue decrease of 1.3% compared with 2Q12.

Demand for IBM’s System z systems grew 59.6% annually, although the System x family generated more revenue for the vendor.

Meanwhile, IDC’s EMEA Server Tracker indicated that factory revenue in the EMEA server market reached $2.9 billion in the second quarter of 2013, a decrease of 3.3% when compared with the same quarter of 2012.

In euro terms, revenue reached €2.2 billion, a decrease of 4.9%. Shipments reached 483,000 units, an annual decline of 4.7%. 2Q13 was the seventh consecutive quarter since 4Q11 of annual revenue declines in EMEA, but it must be noted that quarterly server sales grew 6.8% in dollars and 8.0% in euros.

EMEA performance therefore compared favorably to the overall worldwide server market, which saw revenue declines of 6.2%.

x86 server revenue reached $2.1 billion, a decline of 4.5% year on year in 2Q13, a sharper decline than in the previous quarter, when revenue was down 1.5% annually.

Non-x86 server revenue was virtually flat, down just 0.1% annually, in stark contrast with the 34.8% yearly decline during the first quarter of 2013. x86 server sales reached 71.3% of the total in EMEA, down from 80.4% in the previous quarter, when industry standard servers reached the highest market share ever recorded by IDC.

Volume and midrange servers were down 6.4% and 5.6% year on year respectively, while sales of high-end systems increased 7.5% in the same period.

Server class performance was consistent with the direction the market took this quarter, driven by a temporary spike in mainframe refreshes.

“With new products and refreshes coming up in 4Q13, x86 server spending has proceeded at a slower pace in the quarter, especially in the volume SMB sector,” said Giorgio Nebuloni, research manager, Enterprise Server Group, IDC EMEA.

“Vendors are battling for share in that part of the market — typically distribution-driven — as new entrants continue applying pressure on established players. Stabilization and some growth in x86 spending is expected for 2014, when local cloud service projects will combine with broader refreshes and a less negative macroeconomic scenario.”

 “Mainframe performance enjoyed quite an uptick this quarter, driven by strong demand in Western Europe, particularly the U.K., France, and Germany, as well as pockets in other countries of EMEA, such as South Africa and Poland,” said Beatriz Valle, senior research analyst, Enterprise Server Group, IDC EMEA.

“This trend was driven by demand for refreshes on previous-generation mainframes. With the release of the zEC12 in 3Q12, focusing on security and analytics, IBM introduced important updates to keep the platform relevant. Mainframes are increasingly being deployed on Linux operating systems and high-availability needs remain a primary market engine in some industries.”

 On CEMA highlights, “Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa [CEMA] combined continued to record negative growth. Server revenue reached $721.97 million, declining as much as 10.5% year on year in 2Q13 with both x86 and non-x86 servers seeing contraction,” said Jiri Helebrand, research manager, IDC CEMA.

“The Central and Eastern Europe [CEE] subregion was down 20.4% to $363.42 million. Continued weakness in the Russian market is weighing heavily on the CEE region, which saw the weakest performance over the past three years. An increase in demand was seen in Poland, Czech Republic, and Hungary thanks to several large upgrades of existing server infrastructure in the financial sector.

 “The Middle East and Africa [MEA] subregion showed resilience despite the geopolitical tension, and server sales increased 2.3% year on year to $358.54 million. A focus on technological transformation and improving IT infrastructure is supporting server demand in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, and Pakistan, which are all growing at double-digit rates. The Turkish server market also grew in double digits, benefiting from strong demand in the government and financial sectors.”

 Other overall server market standings by vendor highlighted that

Dell maintained third position and was the only vendor in the top 5 to see revenue increases, with sales growing 7.9% year on year and a 1.5 percentage point increase in market share year on year, helped by strong demand from its density optimized datacenter solutions business.

Oracle was in fourth place, with revenue flat year on year, after benefiting from growth in sales of the Engineered Systems family as well as refreshes on its SPARC Enterprise line.

And Fujitsu was in fifth place, with a decline of 6.1% annually, and enjoying good performance of its BS2000/OSD family of mainframes, whose sales were up 11.2% year on year.

Etisalat Partners Brimass on Leadership Seminar for SMEs
Etisalat in partnership with Brimass Limited hosted a section of entrepreneurs, executives, business owners and other decision makers to an interactive leadership seminar with Mr. Brian Tracy, Leadership Expert and Business Coach

According to the company, ‘this is a way of reiterating its support for the growth of emerging businesses as well as providing businesses with the right platform to communicate ideas and grow their business enterprise’.

The event tagged, “The Remarkable Leaders’ Conclave with Brian Tracy” with the theme The Making of Innovative Leaders: Winning Leadership Strategies for Building World Class Organizations and Societies, was designed to expose delegates to Tracy’s best productivity secrets to help them maximize their leadership positions and ultimately produce excellent results in their businesses and other spheres of life.

The three part seminar which started with the Entrepreneurs’ Breakfast Conclave, followed by the Executives’ Lunch Conclave and climaxed with an exclusive Executives’ Dinner, delivered tips and keys for growing a successful business as well as the role of management in building effective leaders.

During his teaching on the seven responsibilities of a leader, the top selling author of over 45 books said that an effective leader is one who can provide customer satisfaction and this can happen by offering innovative products and services.

He added that businesses should continually seek better ways to acquire and keep their customers.

Reputed for its role in bringing innovative offerings in the telecommunications sector in the country, Bidemi Ladipo, Etisalat Nigeria’s head, Business Segment, said the platform was one of many ways Etisalat is showing its commitment to the growth of small and medium scaled businesses who require necessary information to succeed in their various industries.

“As a company we pride ourselves in innovation and building businesses, an attribute similar to Brian Tracy. We have created a number of products that address the communication needs of these emerging businesses of note is the Easybusiness, a pre-paid package which gives business owners and their customers and partners an effective communication experience at cost effective rates”.

Speaking further, Ladipo said that Etisalat in partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) organizes a quarterly business networking meeting known as Market Access which has held in major cities in Nigeria.

“We also are involved in the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) together with the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan-Atlantic University, the world’s largest celebration of innovators and job creators. As the fourth entrant to the Nigerian telecoms market, we have grown, accruing over 15 million subscribers in just about five years in operation so we are passionate about connecting entrepreneurs, small and medium scaled with businesses with the resources they need to grow and succeed”, he said.
Commenting on the workshop, Stephen Ojji, chief operating officer of Brimass Limited, said the essence of bringing Brian Tracy was to create sustainable change in leadership and innovation in doing business especially for SMEs as well as senior management and executives of different organizations. 

He said the company decided to take the event to a larger scale due to sponsorship from business minded companies like Etisalat who gave them the required mileage that made the event a success.


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E-Business

NITDA Advocates AI, Security Integration for Sustainable Development

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Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has emphasised that integrating intelligence, security, and sustainability is critical to driving Nigeria’s digital transformation and global competitiveness.

Inuwa made the remarks on Tuesday in Kano while delivering a goodwill message at the opening of the 19th International Conference (CONNOVATE 2025) of the Nigerian Computer Society (NCS), themed “Intelligent, Secure, and Sustainable Innovations for a Connected World.”

Represented by Engr. Salisu Kaka, Director of E-Government and Digital Economy Development, Inuwa said the three elements were now indispensable drivers of national progress. He highlighted the need for their convergence to unlock new opportunities in Nigeria’s technology sector, citing Estonia’s X-Road platform — which enables 99% of government services online — as a global model.

“In Nigeria, trust is the ultimate currency in our high-stakes digital environment, where scams and cybercrime are prevalent. Security builds and protects this trust,” Abdullahi said.

He stressed that while security provides the foundation, intelligence builds the structure, pointing to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and data analytics as tools for addressing Nigeria’s complex challenges. Warning that “innovation without security is unsustainable,” he likened it to “a high-performance race car without brakes.”

The DG urged the next wave of Nigerian startups to go beyond digitising existing processes to creating new value, citing AI-powered wealth management and ML-driven remote diagnostics as examples.

He further highlighted the various Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy (FMCIDE) initiatives supporting this vision, including the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), the Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT), the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023, the national digital identity programme, interoperable payments, and human capital initiatives such as the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) and Digital Literacy for All (DL4ALL) programmes.

Inuwa cited example with International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) President, Antony Wong, that called for stronger protection and strategic use of data in the Global South to safeguard indigenous knowledge. He stressed the importance of legal clarity on data ownership as Nigeria’s cultural heritage in medicine, ecology, and art is digitised and incorporated into AI systems. Wong praised Nigeria’s role in the recent World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaty protecting genetic resources and traditional knowledge.

Delivering his welcome address, the NCS President, Dr. Muhammad Sirajo, said the conference would serve as a platform for IT professionals to address critical issues, including intelligent systems, fintech, sustainable energy, and innovations in agriculture, health, education, and national planning.

“This conference will provide an interdisciplinary platform for researchers, practitioners, and educators to present and discuss recent innovations, trends, and solutions for improving technological systems,” Sirajo said.

The week-long event includes plenary sessions, a doctoral consortium, a youth and entrepreneurship forum, the Fellows Forum, the Annual General Meeting, an IT quiz competition for students, and an induction ceremony for new members. It will conclude with the election of new national executives, a dinner, and an awards night honouring contributions to the ICT sector.

 


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AfDB Adopts AI to Fast-track Africa’s Development Blueprint

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The African Development Bank (AfDB) is betting big on Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a catalyst for delivering Africa’s ambitious Agenda 2063.

With hands-on training in tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, the Bank believes the results could redefine how the continent plans, measures, and delivers its development goals.

Through its Joint Secretariat Support Office, the AfDB has provided technical and financial support to the 5th annual training workshop for African Union member states, focusing on the use of AI to track and implement the second ten-year plan (2024–2033) of Agenda 2063.

The five-day workshop, held in Lusaka, Zambia, was co-organised by the African Union Commission and the African Capacity Building Foundation.

Participants from across the continent rolled up their sleeves for hands-on training with emerging AI platforms like Ailyse, Google AI Studio, and Perplexity.

The goal of Africa’s multilateral development finance institution is to turn complex development data into actionable insights that can drive smarter decisions, faster interventions, and more accountable governance.

AbibuTamu, lead programme co-ordinator at the AfDB, said AI was now an indispensable tool for Africa’s future.

“These tools are not only revolutionizing how data is collected, analysed, and reported, they are also enabling more targeted policy interventions and efficient resource allocation,” Tamu told delegates.

Agenda 2063, dubbed “The Africa We Want,” is the African Union’s 50-year blueprint for inclusive growth and sustainable development. The second 10-year plan prioritises industrialisation, digital transformation, and sustainable livelihoods.

With AI now in the mix, African policymakers can track progress in real-time, spot bottlenecks before they choke projects, and reallocate resources where they are needed most.

The AfDB’s backing underscores a broader strategy of boosting both human and institutional capacity that propels African states to harness the digital revolution.

Beyond technical skills, the Lusaka workshop doubled as a peer-learning platform, with countries sharing real-world success stories on integrating AI into national planning and reporting.

“If Agenda 2063 is Africa’s long-term roadmap, this AI training is about upgrading the continent’s GPS that ensures leaders not only know the destination, but also have the intelligence to navigate every twist and turn on the way,” said Tamu.


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Firm Shares Tips for Safer Remote Working

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It is holiday season in many parts of the world. These days though, going on holiday does not always mean turning your back on office life – hybrid work cuts both ways.

Today’s widespread connectivity—available at airports, train stations, restaurants, hotels, and most indoor public spaces—makes staying connected easier than ever, with free Wi-Fi in many locations and reliable 4G or 5G coverage elsewhere, helping to facilitate a seamless blend of work and leisure even while on holiday.

This increase in connectivity among travellers has not gone unnoticed by cyber criminals. Kaspersky experts analysed nearly 25,000 free Wi-Fi spots in Paris ahead of the Summer Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The analysis revealed that almost 25% of these networks had weak or no encryption, making users vulnerable to personal and banking data theft.

Travellers often have their guard down. The unfamiliar surroundings of a new location or a different language can throw up a useful smokescreen for a cyberattack, meaning additional care needs to be taken when logging on. Fortunately, a few smart tools and habits can help you stay protected while enjoying the flexibility of remote work.

Use a VPN for secure connections

A VPN is one of the most effective ways to safeguard users’ online activity, especially when working from unfamiliar locations. By encrypting Internet traffic, a VPN ensures that hackers can’t intercept sensitive data like login credentials or financial details. This is particularly important when accessing work emails or company files on public Wi-Fi, where cybercriminals often lurk.

Switch to an eSIM for reliable, secure mobile data

Another useful digital tool that provides a seamless way to stay connected using local mobile networks with no physical SIM card required is the eSIM. This is a game-changer for international travellers who want to avoid sky-high roaming charges or the hassle of hunting down temporary SIM cards in foreign countries.

With an eSIM, a user can download a local data plan before you even arrive at your destination, ensuring instant connectivity the moment you land. This eliminates the need to rely on unsecured Wi-Fi hotspots, significantly reducing your exposure to cyber threats.

Plus, many eSIM providers allow you to manage multiple profiles on a single device, making it easy to switch between work and personal data plans without juggling multiple phones.

Services like Kaspersky eSIM Store enables users to purchase and activate data plans in advance, track usage and top up as needed, all from a single app.

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)

When travelling, people often leave devices unattended. To protect against unwanted people logging in, travellers should ensure two-factor authentication (2FA) is enabled on all critical accounts and that passwords are used on all devices.

Final tips for a secure workation

Even with a VPN, eSIM and 2FA in place, your devices still need strong defenses against malware, phishing scams and ransomware. Cybercriminals often target remote workers who may let their guard down while travelling, making real-time protection essential.

Modern antivirus software does more than just scan for viruses, it actively blocks malicious downloads, warns you about phishing attempts and even secures your passwords and financial data.

For the most robust security, consider a solution like Kaspersky Premium, which combines antivirus protection, a VPN and password management into a single, easy-to-use package.

By combining a VPN, eSIM and strong antivirus, you can work from anywhere with confidence, whether you’re sending emails from a poolside or joining a video call from a festival tent.

 


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