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Obaro, SystemSpecs Boss Urges Firms to Embrace Digital Transformation

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John Obaro, managing director of SystemSpecs
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With businesses around the world confronting the challenges that arose as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and fully adjusting to the realities of a new normal, the need for organisations to fully embrace digital transformation has been more pressing than ever.

Obaro, SystemSpecs Boss Urges Firms to Embrace Digital Transformation

John Obaro, managing director of SystemSpecs

By adopting digital technology, they would be able to gain competitive advantage, attain new frontiers and generally stand the test of time in a sustainable and profitable manner.

John Obaro, managing director of SystemSpecs, made this assertion as he recently delivered the keynote address to a cross-section of business leaders from all over Nigeria at the opening of the 2-day Executive Education Programme organised by frontline training institute, Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), which held online.

SystemSpecs, provider of Remita, HumanManager and Paylink, is home to some of the most innovative financial and human capital technology solutions and services from Nigeria to the rest of Africa and the world.

Represented by Demola Igbalajobi, SystemSpecs’ executive director in charge of Public Sector and Special Projects, Obaro said: “Businesses must innovate around the challenges that confront the world today while also leveraging the limitless opportunities that the future holds. The capability of organisations to adopt technology to enhance different aspects of their operations for optimal productivity and sustained growth will determine the extent of their success.”

Noting that the implementation of digital transformation strategies is no longer just an option but a necessity for businesses, Obaro stated that it is important to be clear on the objectives and the desired outcomes of such exercise. Organisations must also invest in the enhancement of processes, people, tools and products as well as ensure they maintain good standing with the laws of the land.

“Transformations do not happen on a platter; they require deliberate actions taken in the face of restricting regulations, competing priorities, noncommittal stakeholders and a dearth of resources like funds and expertise,” Obaro added.

To thrive in the economy of the future, organisations must adopt forward-thinking, end-to-end approaches.

However, Obaro also clearly identified the need for organisational cultures that support innovation because with a non-progressive organisational culture will dwarf or even be the death of any innovative strategy.

The FITC event, which helped businesses to be more intentional about improving performance through the adoption of digital technologies, robust business models and highly innovative workforce, exposed participants to innovative tools, skills, trends and techniques to thrive in an immensely competitive world.

FITC provides top-notch performance improvement solutions through learning, advisory and research services to all sectors of the economy.


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E-Business

UK Orders Apple to Create Backdoor for Encrypted iCloud Data

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United Kingdom has issued a “technical capability notice” to Apple, mandating that the company create a backdoor to access users’ encrypted iCloud data.

UK Orders Apple to Create Backdoor for Encrypted iCloud Data

This directive, issued under the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, requires Apple to provide British security officials with the means to retrieve all content uploaded to iCloud by any user worldwide.

Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature, introduced in 2022, offers end-to-end encryption for iCloud data, ensuring that only users can access their information.

The UK’s demand challenges this security measure, potentially compelling Apple to either comply by creating the backdoor or withdraw the ADP feature from the UK market.

Compliance could set a precedent, leading other governments to request similar access, thereby raising global privacy concerns.

The UK Home Office has declined to confirm or deny the existence of such notices, stating, “We do not comment on operational matters, including, for example, confirming or denying the existence of any such notices.”

This development underscores the ongoing tension between governmental surveillance efforts and technology companies’ commitments to user privacy.

 


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Oracle Adds AI Pricing Features to Financial Software

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Oracle on Thursday added another set of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to NetSuite, one of its corporate finance software offerings, including some that might make it faster for consumers to get a price quote on purchases like custom bicycles.

Oracle has taken a different tack with AI than rivals such as Microsoft. Rather than racing toward general purpose virtual assistants, Oracle has decided to add targeted features that speed common-but-tedious tasks like entering a brief write-up of how a sales meeting went into a corporate records system.

Another such task that is common in the business world is giving a customer a price quote on a complicated purchase that might have a lot of options, when a sales professional would need to sift through materials to come up with a price.

NetSuite on Thursday announced a feature to compile such a quote via conversation with a chatbot asking what the customer wants, which can either be used by sales professionals behind the scenes to speed up their work, or directly by consumers in the case of e-commerce businesses.

“When you buy something like a bicycle, you have to configure it – figure out what parts you want and which parts work together. We all do it when we buy our cars on the web these days,” Evan Goldberg, executive vice president of Oracle NetSuite, said.

“If you can configure (products) for customers more easily, you can do more deals in a day, or each deal costs less.”

To power those features, Oracle has decided to skip the costly race to develop huge AI models and instead works with partners such as Canadian startup Cohere.

Goldberg said that Oracle’s recent agreement to build massive data centers with ChatGPT creator OpenAI could lead to working with it as well, though the two firms have made no formal announcements.

“I think you could safely say that there’s a possibility that OpenAI will be part of this,” Goldberg told Reuters. “We are eager to work with OpenAI.”

 


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IBM Exits Nigeria and Ghana, Transfers Operations to MIBB

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IBM, the American multinational technology giant, has reportedly announced plans to exit Nigeria, Ghana, and other key African markets, transferring its regional operations to MIBB, a subsidiary of the Midis Group.

IBM Exits Nigeria and Ghana, Transfers Operations to MIBB

The move, which according to TechCabal was revealed in a statement by the company, effective April 1 2025, is part of a new operating model IBM is adopting across select African countries.

Under this arrangement, MIBB will take over IBM’s local operations, customer support, and relationships while marketing and selling IBM products and services across 36 African nations.

“MIBB will market and sell IBM products and services in 36 African countries, thereby giving MIBB’s sales network direct access to IBM products, services, and support, further boosting innovation and growth in the region,” IBM stated.

IBM has been a key player in Africa’s tech industry for decades, providing critical infrastructure for banking, telecom, oil and gas, and government services.

However, its planned exit follows a trend of multinational corporations leaving Nigeria.

In December 2024, Swiss cement giant Holcim announced its departure from Nigeria, selling its 83% stake in Lafarge to a Chinese firm.

Similarly, South African grocery retailer Pick n Pay disclosed plans in October 2024 to exit Nigeria by selling its 51% stake in a joint venture.

IBM has yet to respond to media inquiries regarding the specifics of its transition strategy and reasons for the exit.


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