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Microsoft Reveals Top IT Trends, Fresh Business Perspectives @ Summit 2014

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Kabelo Makwane, country manager, Microsoft Nigeria
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Microsoft at its Mobility Summit Exhibition, disclosed key trends in reinventing productivity to empower individuals and businesses to do and achieve more.

At the exhibition Microsoft introduced its ‘Microsoft mobile-first and cloud-first word’, while demonstrating exciting new features of the improved operating system Windows 8.1, showing how Cloud strategy supports businesses.‎

‎In an exclusive interview with Nigeria CommunicationsWeek on the trends, Oluyomi Alarape, business group director , C& E, said, customers are collaborating with each other, sharing information and influencing decision-making and must not be overlooked by companies.

He said Microsoft has also discovered that “employees want to be able to find and talk to each other, and to build new value together across traditional hierarchies and silos. When social information becomes embedded in your tools and processes, you become a fully connected and engaged enterprise”.

Alarape added enterprises need solutions to ‎drive deeper, become more impactful while engaging with custimers.

These entail bringing together social capabilities across networking, collaboration, email, unified communications, and business applications to create new ways of engaging customers.

Microsoft ‎reaffirmed its efforts toward the provision of  comprehensive, integrated suite of social tools that spur interactions of customers and partners within consumer and business social networks; helping people bridge their business and personal lives and creating new ways of working and collaborating together.

From the cloud perspective, Ade Ajayi, business group director, MOD, said that successful digital businesses are holistically applying the concepts of mobile, social, and big data to reimagine their business.

According to him, Microsoft holds the view that cloud creates the connections that are not just p‎eople-focused, but enterprise-graded and that is the future of businesses.

This had necessitated the continuous upgrade of its suites like Windows 8.1 that has seen about150 new features added in the last 18 months.

Ajayi said the software giant has demonstrated how this world through the Office 365.

“Through the Office 365, Microsoft has been able to showcase how cloud ‎delivers experiences that appeal directly to employees and partners, increasing their engagement and allowing them to drive maximum productivity”, the Company explained.

The ‎enterprise-grade fundamentally changes how business operates and competes by partnering with a company that has the experience, reach, and footprint that can be trusted.

“No business is an island. Partner with the world’s largest developer base, with an integrated portfolio of cloud services across platforms, apps, and devices”, the Microsoft Mobility Report explained.

On mobility and productivity, Onur Altintas, business group director, Windows, Microsoft Nigeria, explained that the next wave in enterprise mobile will be focused on enabling a fluid, seamless mobile experience for users.

He added that going mobile is no longer about carrying a single mobile device, rather the ability for any user to pick up any device in the context of what they are doing, and have instant access to all of the “stuff”-settings, data, and applications that follow the user and flow seamlessly from device to device.

“Embrace device choice and anywhere access without compromising security”, he advised users while emphasising that “Windows 10 to be launched by next year will become pivotal in making this happen.

According to Altintas, organisations can grant it’s users access to their information from virtually anywhere, anytime, while still helping to protect their business information.

He said, “it’s possible, with the number of innovations unleashed by Microsoft, for you to even support compliant devices when they are personally owned rather than corporate provided, for maximum flexibility for users”.

‎He added that mobility and productivity solutions from the Company guarantee one can stay productive on the go with familiar, connected experiences.

Microsoft had earlier indicated that minimizing the learning curve is key to helping employees become more mobile.

To this end, Altintas said “We at Microsoft are committed to delivering best-in-class productivity experiences through business and social apps that work on the devices people want to use to get work done.

“For instance, ‎by using LOB solutions that already support a mobile experience (such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM). As well as taking advantage of an infrastructure for mobility, your developers can write one solution that delivers the best experience across the PC, tablet, and smartphone.

“This is made even easier when you can use the familiar tools, languages, and back-end infrastructure that you already have in place”.

‎The trio believe that by tapping into information about the users’ context like  their location and integrating their other apps and data like their contacts and social network memberships, an organisation can delight her customers with rich, immersive mobile experiences.

Essentially, ‎the cloud based solution helps in meeting the challenge of delivering content to users around the globe on a variety of devices such as scaling to meet demand, managing and distributing rich media content, streamlining development, and enabling you to focus on delivering the optimal user experience.

Microsoft also released its expectations on the part of CIOs, financial, HR,‎ marketing, health and other sectors.

In particular, it said, “Any data, big or small, can be a powerful force to accelerate competitive advantage. As an evolution of your overall business intelligence and analytics strategy, a tactical approach to Big Data can put you on the path to reimagine your enterprise.

It thus, advised chief executives to make their organizations more ‘intelligent’ by generating rich and valuable data with internet-enabled devices and sensors – transforming business operations and creating exceptional customer experiences.

“Use Data to your advantage: extend easy-to-use, powerful analytics and dynamic data visualization to your workplace. Enable a data-driven organization by weaving data and analytics into your business processes – making Big Data a natural evolution of your strategy”.


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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.

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OADC Lagos Reinforces Commitment to Local Data Hosting and Digital Transformation @ NDPC’s National Privacy Week Summit

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Open Access Data Centres (OADC) Lagos has reaffirmed its commitment to Nigeria’s data protection and digital transformation agenda through its sponsorship and active participation in the Nigeria Data Protection Commission’s (NDPC) National Privacy Week Summit.

The National Privacy Week Summit, organised by the NDPC, convened policymakers, regulators, technology providers, and industry stakeholders to promote data privacy awareness, strengthen compliance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), and advance conversations around data security, sovereignty, and responsible data governance.

As a sponsor of the event, OADC Lagos demonstrated its continued support for the Federal Government’s drive toward local data hosting and data domiciliation, which are increasingly critical to safeguarding sensitive information, enhancing regulatory compliance, and building trust in Nigeria’s digital economy.

Through its carrier-neutral, Tier III Design certified data centre in Lekki, Lagos, OADC provides secure, resilient, and compliant infrastructure that enables government institutions and private sector organisations to host and manage data locally while meeting international best practices.

Commenting on the engagement, Adesola Adesugba, Country Marketing Manager, Open Access Data Centres Nigeria, said: “We are proud to have supported the Nigeria Data Protection Commission through the National Privacy Week Summit and to stand alongside the government in advancing Nigeria’s digital transformation objectives.

“Strengthening local data hosting and domiciliation is fundamental to national data sovereignty, improved security, and sustainable digital growth, and OADC Lagos remains committed to enabling this future.”

OADC’s participation at National Privacy Week Summit underscores its role as a trusted digital infrastructure partner to government and enterprise, supporting secure cloud connectivity, regulatory compliance, and the long-term development of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.

Open Access Data Centres is part of the WIOCC Group and operates open-access, world-class data centres across Africa, serving cloud providers, network operators, enterprises, and public sector institutions.


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Kaspersky Launches OT Calculator to Align Cybersecurity Investments with Business Goals

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Kaspersky’s new online tool has been specially developed for industrial organisations to assess the potential costs associated with insufficient operational technology (OT) security.

By offering detailed financial forecasts, the calculator empowers senior management to make well-informed decisions regarding security investments.

Industrial organisations increasingly depend on interconnected systems, elevating cybersecurity to a critical factor in business resilience and profitability.

According to VDC Research, over 60% of industrial companies last year reported that cybersecurity breaches had led to significant costs. Despite this, a persistent disconnect remains between security teams and executive leadership as security professionals focus on minimising risk, while executives must balance cybersecurity concerns with broader business objectives. This misalignment often results in competing priorities and underfunded security initiatives.

To bridge this gap, Kaspersky has launched the OT Cybersecurity Savings Calculator, an innovative online tool designed specifically for industrial organisations to assess the potential costs of inadequate operational technology (OT) security¹.

The primary aim of this tool is to translate cyber risks into tangible financial metrics and support strategic discussions around priorities and budget allocation. By entering details such as their sector, sub-sector, region, company size, breach history, and existing cybersecurity measures, organisations can estimate their potential cost savings and receive customised, actionable recommendations.

The calculator benchmarks performance against industry peers and highlights the company’s position within the current threat landscape.

“We believe this calculator is a powerful resource for transforming complex cyber risk data into straightforward financial insights. It enables OT leaders, security professionals, and executive teams to develop clear, data-driven business cases and recognise the value of cybersecurity investments. With actionable guidance, it promotes a comprehensive approach to resource management and strengthens overall organisational resilience,” comments Andrey Strelkov, Head of Industrial Cybersecurity Product line at Kaspersky.


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Local App Developers Rake $1m in Sales in 2025- NOTAP

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National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has said Nigerian software developers have reached significant milestones with locally made applications generating over one million Dollar in sales across domestic and regional markets.

Local App Developers Rake $1m in Sales in 2025- NOTAP

Dr Obiageli Amadiobi, director-general of NOTAP, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Thursday in Abuja.

Amadiobi said the development signified the growing strength of Nigeria’s digital innovation ecosystem and how local innovation powers digital growth.

She said it was also a direct outcome of targeted support initiatives led by NOTAP.

She added that the initiative helped to build capacity, protect intellectual property, and connect developers to market opportunities.

According to the NOTAP boss, the journey from concept to impact started with understanding and securing intellectual property (IP) rights, a step many local innovators missed.

“Whether it’s a literary work, a laboratory invention, or a creative digital product, the process of bringing an idea to life demands immense time, skill, and dedication.

“An innovator might wake up with a solution to a pressing problem; spend months testing and refining it and achieve remarkable results; so it is their fundamental right to patent that creation and claim ownership.

“Without this protection, someone else could easily replicate their work; patent it in their name; and legally control what was built with Nigerian brainpower,” she said.

Amadiobi said that the challenge was compounded by widespread digital piracy and counterfeiting, which hit the ICT sector hardest.

“From copied software applications to replicated content on social platforms like TikTok, unauthorised duplication has become a major barrier to growth.

“We see talented young creators develop unique digital content or tools, only to watch others rebrand and profit from their work within weeks,” she said.

The DG noted that most popular online personalities with distinctive styles often don’t realise they could protect their original contributions through IP registration.

She said that to address these gaps and unlock the value of Nigerian innovation, NOTAP implemented a multi-pronged strategy,- a cornerstone initiative – which is the Local Vendor Policy.

“The Local Vendor Policy mandates that foreign technology firms entering Nigeria partner with domestic counterparts,’’ she said.

Amadiobi said that among the performing apps are solutions addressing critical local challenges such as a mobile health platform that now serves 750,000 users across six states.

“There is also the agricultural marketplace connecting smallholder farmers to buyers; and an educational tool that has been adopted by 200 schools to improve learning outcomes,” she said.

She added that the apps were developed by teams that gained skills and resources through NOTAP’s Local Vendor Policy.

According to her, the policy requires foreign technology firms operating in Nigeria to allocate a portion of their technical service fees to local partners.

“Three years ago, many of these developers were only providing support services to foreign companies.

“But today, they are building their own products that compete globally. 60 per cent of last year’s sales came from other African countries, showing our developers can lead on the continent,” she said.

The D-G explained that the one million dollar figure represented sales from over 50 locally developed apps, with individual developers earning between 5,000 dollars and 80,000 dollars from their products.

“Looking ahead, NOTAP aims to double these sales figures by 2027, with plans to expand support to developers focusing on fintech, renewable energy management, and climate adaptation tools.

“These are the sectors identified as high-growth opportunities for Nigerian innovation,’’ Amadiobi said


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