E-Business
IDC Retail Insights Put Microsoft, Google, Others On Spotlight

The International Data Corporation (IDC) Retail Insights has announced the results of the 2013 Annual Shopper Survey in the new report, “Green Lights and Bright Red Lines: Relevancy and Privacy Challenges for 2014”.
The report however put the likes of Microsoft, Google and Apple on the spotlight.
The new study presents a finer-grained assessment of consumers’ disposition toward the privacy/relevancy trade-off in more concrete terms by which consumers make their choices.
The analysis also identifies green lights of opportunities and draws bright red lines between data collection and offers orchestration tactics that retailers should use aggressively, with caution, or not at all depending on their shoppers’ attitudes toward the privacy/relevancy trade-off.
According to results, contrary to popular belief, only a minority of consumers are openly disposed to the “give to get” exchange of private information for guidance dependent on a retailer having access to such information–14% are privacy spenders and 15% are open guidance seekers.
“Retailers have to learn to earn the privilege of engaging consumers based on such information as activities on social network, mobile apps, 3rd party apps, and You Tube,” said Greg Girard, program director, merchandise strategies, IDC Retail Insights.
‘”Give to get’ dispositions aren’t simply matters of age. In addition to brands serving young adults, those that provide superior customer service, sell high attachment products, and cater to higher income shoppers attract disproportionately larger audiences of guidance seekers and privacy spenders,” Girard added.
The customer stands center stage in omni-channel retail. Earning the privilege of relationships, relevance, and reciprocity with today’s informed, discriminating, and willful consumers depends on meeting each one’s disposition to granting you rights to their private information in exchange for the opportunity to deliver differentiated value.
From the customer’s perspective it’s a “give to get” proposition; from a retailer’s it’s “learn to earn”. IDC Retail Insights’ recent survey research and market analysis of consumers’ dispositions toward “giving to get” and opportunities for “learning to earn” spotted green lights and bright red lines retailers should abide.
In IDC Retail Insights opinion: Shoppers split about equally into two groups, those who choose privacy over relevancy and those who prefer relevancy over privacy, 53% to 47%.
But by nearly a two-to-one margin, 62% to 38%, more consumers than not believe that they do not have enough control over their privacy in the hands of the retailers they shop.
There are financial and customer loyalty risks in following the common wisdom that your customers are the “give to get” type–disenfranchising customers who prefer privacy.
Consumers segment into three “giving” types–what they will share and four “getting” types–what they want in return.
Omni-channel retailers attract each giving and getting type in different proportions depending on their basis of competition, not based solely on their customers’ age.
Among the largest twelve omni-channel retailers those differentiating on service, selling high attachment merchandise, and attracting higher income customers disproportionately attract customers more disposed to “giving for getting”.
Those differentiating on value, selling commodity-like products, and attracting modest income customers disproportionately attract customers of the opposite ilk.
Engage privacy spenders and guidance seekers in digital and mobile media with life-centric messages extended possibly to social media activities.
Keep the privilege of personal engagement. Be cautious engaging privacy hoarders and stay on product promotions focused on product performance and benefits. Earn the privilege of personal engagement.
Only about 50% of retailers have a formal governance process for managing “give to get” data, creating risks for those without such a process and the industry overall.
On the positive side, about three in four consumers trust some non-retail brands, data aggregators such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple included, Behaviors associated with privacy spending and guidance seeking, e.g., using five or more connected devices or seven or more apps, are ascendant.
Creating brand and financial value by managing the “give to get” exchange of private information for the right to provide context-sensitive guidance needs to be managed within the context of the omni-channel transformation of retail: digital transformation of marketing, commerce, and merchandising, enterprise integration, and fulfillment broadly defined from product ideation to sale and delivery.
IDC Retail Insights asserts retailers that effectively manage the “give to get” exchange of privacy for the right to provide context-sensitive guidance will be successful.
Common wisdom that consumers and your customers are well-disposed to the “give to get” exchange will mislead the strategy and while there are concerns about access to and use of personal data in hyper-personalized offers, opportunities do exist.
E-Business
Galaxy Backbone, Rural Electrification Agency Commit to Deepening Digital and Energy Access Across Nigeria

In a major step towards deepening Nigeria’s digital and energy infrastructure, Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at a brief but impactful ceremony held in Abuja.
The MoU signals a collaborative effort between both agencies to enhance Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda by integrating reliable energy solutions with cutting-edge ICT infrastructure, especially in higher institutions, Government institutions, underserved and rural communities across the country.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone, Professor Ibrahim A. Adeyanju, described the partnership as “a landmark moment in Nigeria’s journey towards a digitally empowered, sustainably powered, and inclusively connected nation.”
“This partnership exemplifies what is possible when two visionary government institutions come together, united by shared goals and driven by the desire to improve the lives of Nigerians everywhere,” he said.
Professor Adeyanju emphasized that while Galaxy Backbone’s core mandate is to provide secure digital infrastructure that powers government operations, reliable and sustainable energy particularly in rural areas is essential to fully actualize digital transformation.
Major highlights of the MoU include:
- Solar electrification of some of GBB’s Metro Fibre sites in Abuja by the REA.
- Powering Hostels of Higher Institutions across the country through the Fibre to Hostel Project being driven by the Federal Ministry of Communications Innovation and Digital Economy (FMCIDE).
- Support for the rollout of the 774 Local Government Digitization Initiative, beginning with six pilot Local Government Areas.
- Provision of LANs, access points, cloud services, colocation infrastructure, and temporary connectivity to enhance REA’s operational facilities nationwide.
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency Mr Abba Aliyu, in his remarks, expressed optimism that this collaboration will further bridge the digital and energy divide across Nigeria. He noted that by combining REA’s achievements in expanding energy access with GBB’s robust ICT backbone, both agencies are poised to create lasting impact across governance, education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship.
This partnership is also in direct alignment with the Renewed Hope Digital Transformation Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, which envisions an inclusive digital economy powered by innovation and sustainable energy.
The ceremony was attended by top management from both organizations as well as members of the media.
With today’s signing, Galaxy Backbone and the Rural Electrification Agency have set the tone for stronger, smarter, and more inclusive public service delivery powered by strategic inter-agency collaboration.
E-Business
NIMC Says NIN Services Back Online

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced the restoration of its National Identification Number (NIN) verification services nationwide.
This, according to the commission, follows the completion of a system maintenance exercise.
In a statement issued on Friday, the NIMC confirmed that all previously disrupted services have resumed.
“NIMC wishes to inform the general public that the recent technical maintenance has been completed and all services have been restored,” the statement read.
The NIMC urged Nigerians seeking to enroll for NIN to visit the its official website to locate the nearest enrollment centers.
The agency also encouraged individuals to make use of its self-service portal for tasks such as data modification, including name changes.
To further ease the verification process, the Commission recommended downloading the NIMC NameAuth app (oath.app) from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store for quick and secure NIN authentication.
NIMC expressed appreciation for the public’s patience during the service disruption, which had impacted banks, telecom providers, and government agencies that rely on NIN verification for their operations.
E-Business
Report Reveals African Organizations Dangerously Overestimating Cyber defences

Many businesses are overestimating their defence against cyber attacks, which creates a significant human risk blind spot. A new KnowBe4 report exposes a worrying disconnect between what leaders think about their cyber security readiness and what employees experience.
According to the KnowBe4 Africa Human Risk Management Report 2025, based on insights from cyber security decision-makers across 30 African countries, despite high awareness, a critical gap exists in turning that awareness into actual readiness and resilient behaviour.
Key findings from the KnowBe4 Africa Human Risk Management Report 2025:
Confidence vs awareness: While cyber security awareness is high, leaders express uncertainty about their workforce’s ability to act on that awareness. Many feel employees may overestimate their capabilities in recognising, reporting and mitigating threats.
The need for adaptive and personalised security awareness training: Many companies fail to personalise security awareness training to specific roles or risk exposures.
Widespread BYOD usage: A large percentage of employees (between 41% and 80%) use their personal devices for work.
AI policy development is lagging: Many companies (46%) are still in the process of developing policies for using AI tools in the workplace.
Regional variation: Southern Africa trains more, East Africa governs AI better and West/Central Africa sees the most human-related security incidents.
This gap is significant because Africa has become an attractive target to cyber criminals, especially those that launch AI-powered attacks. A LexisNexis Risk Solutions study found 60% of South African organisations have seen an increase in AI-facilitated financial crime – above the 56% global average.
Kehinde Popoola, regional manager and key representative for West and East Africa at Rubrik, said digital transformation is gaining momentum in Africa and companies are more exposed to cyber risk. The Rubrik executive adds that amid an increase in threats, it is crucial that organisations adopt an assumed breach mindset.
The KnowBe4 research shows that cyber security preparedness and the actual structures required to support secure behaviour seem misaligned.
The report highlights that just 10% of cyber security leaders are fully confident that staff would report a phishing attack or other cyber threat, despite rating employee security awareness of cyber threats at four out of five or higher.
There is also a significant perception gap between decision-makers and general employees in Africa regarding security awareness training, with 68% of leaders believing that training is tailored to roles, compared to only a third of employees feeling adequately trained.
KnowBe4 asserts that many organisations only conduct annual or biannual training that is too generic to effectively change behaviour, contributing to uncertainty about its effectiveness.
According to another report, the KnowBe4 African Cybersecurity and Awareness Report 2025, which focuses on end-user based responses, only 43% of African respondents felt confident in their ability to recognise a cyber threat, and just one in three believed their security awareness training was adequately tailored to their role. This comparison suggests the development of a dangerous perception gap in many organisations.
“There’s a disconnect here – between what leaders think is happening and what employees are actually experiencing,” says Anna Collard, SVP content strategy and evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa. “The data shows that without procedural and cultural follow-through, awareness simply doesn’t translate into readiness.”
“The continent’s cyber security posture may be more confident than it is truly resilient,” Collard adds.
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