Connect with us

Telecom

Huawei, Lenovo Flood Africa’s Market with Low-cost Servers

Published

on

Huawei-Logo.jpg
Kindly share this post

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) server market – comprising x86 and non-x86 servers – contracted 10% year on year in Q2 2015 to total 65,000 units, according to the latest figures from International Data Corporation (IDC).

IDC also reported that decline in the market’s revenue will be driven by the fact that vendors like Huawei and Lenovo are offering servers that are almost 40% cheaper than the prices offered by the market’s A-ranking vendors

This decline can primarily be attributed to the poor political and socioeconomic conditions that have hampered a number of countries in the region; this was particularly notable in the x86 server market where a number of significant projects within the government sector were delayed.

In revenue terms, the market remained flat as there was a slight increase in the number of higher-end servers sold during the quarter.

“Saudi Arabia and the UAE experienced very slow quarters, both in terms of x86 server units and revenue, primarily due to delayed budget rollouts, the traditional slowdown over Ramadan, and continuing uncertainty around falling oil prices,” said Victoria Mendes, a research analyst for systems and infrastructure solutions at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey. “Combined, these two countries suffered declines of 28% in volume and 21% in value year on year in Q2 2015. But despite the slowdown, the UAE did see a few deals take place in the government and financial sectors, while Saudi Arabia saw a big deal in the oil and gas industry.

The South Africa server market expanded 24% year on year in revenue terms as a result of some non-x86 deals in the banking and telecommunications sectors.

The declining average price of x86 servers has resulted in an increase in the number of units being purchased

Revenue in Turkey was up by around 20% year on year despite the market suffering a 10% decline in shipments.

This anomaly can be attributed to the fact that several large-scale deals took place during the quarter

The market is also seeing improved uptake of virtualization technologies, which consume lesser server units than is the case in traditional datacenters.

HP retained top spot in the MEA server market with 42% share, followed by Dell with 27%.

Lenovo saw its share shrink, but managed to hold onto third place. Cisco’s shipments slowed a little year on year, but its revenue was up 31% over the same period thanks to the strong performance of its blade form factor.

Looking at the second half of 2015, IDC expects the MEA server market to experience a 4% increase in volume and a 6% decline in value year on year.

The growth in units will be spurred by a number of significant deals that are expected to take place in key countries like Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Nigeria.

These deals will primarily be within the healthcare, government, financial services, and telecommunications sectors.

The decline in the market’s revenue will be driven by the fact that vendors like Huawei and Lenovo are offering servers that are almost 40% cheaper than the prices offered by the market’s A-ranking vendors.

“Longer term, the outlook for the MEA server market makes for grim viewing, with single-digit growth rates forecast for the duration of IDC’s five-year forecast period,” said Mendes. “This represents a significant slowdown from the bumper double-digit growth rates seen in the past. The first half of 2015 has ascertained that the prevailing macroeconomic forces are having a negative impact on enterprise IT spending, and the server market is unlikely to escape the fallout.”

 


Kindly share this post

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Comments

Telecom

Flutterwave Announces Massive Staff Shake-Up, Promotes Over 100 Employees

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Flutterwave has announced a company-wide employee support package that includes promotions for about 25 per cent of its global workforce, a one-off economic relief payment and enhanced support measures for employees in Nigeria.

Flutterwave Announces Massive Staff Shake-Up, Promotes Over 100 Employees

The fintech company said more than 100 employees across its global operations had been promoted as part of efforts to reward performance and strengthen employee welfare.

In addition, all staff worldwide will receive a one-time economic relief payment, while employees in Nigeria will benefit from additional tax support and cost-of-living adjustments following recent regulatory changes affecting take-home pay.

The company said the initiative was introduced in response to rising living costs across key markets, particularly in Nigeria, where inflation and increased transportation expenses have placed pressure on household incomes.

Speaking on the development, Olugbenga Agboola, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Flutterwave, described employees as the driving force behind the company’s growth and innovation.

“I often say our people are our secret sauce. They are the ultimate engine behind everything we build, giving us the capacity to create solutions that power businesses, unlock opportunities and move money seamlessly across Africa and beyond,” he said.

According to the company, the support measures form part of its broader strategy to improve staff welfare, retain talent and create an environment where employees can focus on their work without undue financial pressure.

Also speaking, Annette Akpolo said the initiative reflects a balance between rewarding individual performance and addressing the collective needs of employees.

“Our goal has always been to build an environment where our people can focus on doing their best work, rather than being weighed down by economic anxiety.

“Pairing merit-based individual growth with supporting the collective needs of the whole team are both essential parts of how we build a company culture where people genuinely want to stay and grow over the long term,” she said.

Founded in 2016, Flutterwave is marking its 10th anniversary in 2026.

The company disclosed that it has processed more than one billion transactions and facilitated over 40 billion dollars in total payment value globally since inception.

Flutterwave also reported strong growth across its payment channels, including a 289 per cent increase in wallet-based collections by transaction volume and a 184 per cent rise in bank transfer value over the past year.

The company attributed the growth to increasing adoption of local payment methods across its operating markets.

Industry observers note that the latest employee support package comes amid increasing competition for skilled talent in Nigeria’s fintech sector, where firms are adjusting compensation and benefits to retain workers in the face of rising living costs.

Agboola said future growth opportunities within the company would continue to be based on performance, leadership and meaningful contributions to its mission.

“At Flutterwave, growth is earned through meaningful contributions to the business and to the mission we are building together.

“As we continue to grow, the people who will shape our future are those who consistently step up, solve hard problems, support others and move the company forward,” he said.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Telecom

NCC Retains Rudman as Chair of Newly Inaugurated IPv6 Council Board, Urges Advancement of Nigeria’s Digital Migration

Published

on

Kindly share this post

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has officially inaugurated the new board of the Nigerian Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) Council in Ikeja, Lagos. Mr. Muhammed Rudman, Chief Executive Officer of the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), will continue to serve as Chairman.

This inauguration marks a significant milestone for Nigeria’s telecommunications sector, as global demand for IPv4 now exceeds the available IPv4 address space.

Following the event, Rudman acknowledged the contributions of former board members, including Olusola Teniola (former President, ATCON), Funke Opeke (Founder, MainOne), Mary Uduma (former President, NiRA), and Lanre Ajayi (past President, ATCON), emphasizing that their involvement was instrumental in establishing the nation’s foundational IPv6 migration efforts.

Rudman noted that membership in the IPv6 Council is institution-based. The reconstituted board includes Mr. Muhammed Rudman as Chairman and a representative from the NCC as Co-Chairman. Institutional representatives from NITDA, ATCON, NIRA, ALTON, ISPON, and NgREN serve as board members, with Dr. Chris Uwaje and Prof. Latif Ladid acting as Advisers. This group is responsible for leading the nationwide migration from IPv4 to IPv6.

“The transition to IPv6 is a strategic national priority. It is essential for enabling Nigeria’s digital transformation, economic growth, and global competitiveness. The council’s strategy identifies IPv6 as a primary catalyst for national development, focusing on three pillars: supporting emerging technologies such as 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT), promoting economic diversification, and providing enhanced security and performance compared to legacy solutions such as Network Address Translation (NAT),” Rudman stated.

To achieve these objectives, the council’s action plan is structured around two primary initiatives: awareness-raising and capacity-building. The board will prioritize promoting national awareness of IPv6 through targeted events and workshops, while also providing IPv6 training to network engineers across various operators, including ISPs, telecommunications companies, educational institutions, and financial organizations. These efforts are expected to facilitate the acquisition and deployment of IPv6 throughout Nigerian networks.

The council will develop and oversee the national IPv6 strategy, monitor adoption across sectors, and report regularly to the Federal Government. Additionally, the council will identify technical challenges, strengthen local engineering capacity, and recommend regulatory measures to encourage ISPs, telecommunications operators, academic institutions, and enterprises to upgrade.

With the Nigeria IPv6 Council now operational, local enterprises and network providers are required to upgrade their systems to sustain the nation’s position in the global digital landscape.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Telecom

MTN, ALTON, Upperlink, NiRA back 2026 Nigeria DigitalSENSE forum, awards

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Leading telecommunications, technology, and internet governance stakeholders have thrown their weight behind the 16th milestone edition of the annual Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum (NDSF) on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D), scheduled to hold on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at the Welcome Centre Hotels, Ikeja-Lagos.

MTN, ALTON, Upperlink, NiRA back 2026 Nigeria DigitalSENSE forum, awards

The high-profile convergence, organized by pioneer tech-media firm ITREALMS Media and hosted by DigitalSENSE Africa (DSA); an ICANN-certified At-Large Structure, will center its discourse on the national theme: “Sustaining WSIS Vision with Multistakeholder Synergy in Nigeria.”

Confirming their corporate backing and institutional participation are industry giants including ICT infrastructure leader MTN Nigeria; the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON); premier software and DNS infrastructure firm Upperlink Limited; and the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA).

Speaking on the preparations, the Lead Convener of NDSF and Group Executive Editor of ITREALMS Media Group, Ogbuefi Remmy Nweke, KSM, stated that the 2026 forum marks a crucial trajectory in examining how local multi-stakeholder synergy can sustain the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) frameworks to accelerate Nigeria’s digital public infrastructure (DPI) and domain economy.

“We are delighted to have the robust support of critical ecosystem drivers like MTN, ALTON, Upperlink, and NiRA. Their participation underscores the vital importance of multi-stakeholder dialogue in addressing contemporary policy, infrastructure growth, digital rights, and the transition into more advanced, secure digital spaces,” Nweke said.

A major highlight of this year’s forum will be that it will hold under the distinguished chairmanship of industry veteran, Dr. Olusola Teniola (hon), as approved by the Board of Directorate and the Central Committee. Under his chairmanship, the forum will also feature the presentation of the prestigious DigitalSENSE Africa 2026 awards to distinguished players in the ecosystem and corporate technology landscape across the continent.

The forum’s comprehensive agenda will feature high-level plenaries and technical sessions led by seasoned industry experts. Key areas of discourse will cut across the role of regulatory organs in the digital economy, bridging innovation gaps, leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for SME growth, digital rights, and data protection.

The organizers have invited additional internet stakeholders, including civil society organizations (CSOs), academia, young innovators, women in tech, and industry professionals, to maximize the networking and advocacy windows presented by this 16th edition.

With corporate sponsorship tiers spanning Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze partnerships now actively filling up, corporate brand materials and production collaterals are expected to reach the NDSF secretariat on or before Thursday, June 4, 2026, to guarantee technical alignment.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending