E-Business
Report Identifies Financial Benefits for Large Enterprises on Private Cloud
Most large enterprises can save a minimum of 25 percent on their IT costs over five years by moving to a private cloud from a legacy IT environment, according to a financial analysis conducted by Nokia.
The analysis, known as the ‘Nokia Enterprise Private Cloud TCO Model’ – the first of its kind in the industry – also demonstrates that enterprises can expect to break even on their private cloud investment in less than three years.
Advocates of enterprises moving to private cloud have typically focused on the operational and business benefits that this approach can offer, in terms of flexibility, agility and the ability to scale quickly.
The analysis underlying the Enterprise Private Cloud TCO Model is among the first available in the market that exclusively explores the question that is most critical to IT managers – what are the cost benefits of this move?
The model shows that the common assumption that private cloud is too difficult or costly to adopt is wrong, and that large enterprises should make the move directly to private or public-private hybrid cloud because it utilizes off-the-shelf components and is less expensive.
The analysis began with an existing budget for a representative legacy IT environment, and contrasted that with the requirements of a shift to a private cloud model and associated costs.
More specifically, the analysis takes the overall operational budget of the enterprise data center (eliminating costs that will be largely the same in either scenario such as facilities costs – power, rent, air conditioning/heating), and then provides a high-level breakout by the software or operational tasks performed.
The breakout was then used to calculate potential cost impacts – both increases and decreases – for a cloud environment.
Nokia’s financial model is based on a private cloud, or private-public hybrid cloud architecture that can be built at any large enterprise today, incorporating commercial components from a variety of vendors as well as open source components including OpenStack® cloud management software.
The model also assumes that the cloud architecture is one that does not require ‘forklift’ replacement of the IT environment, but instead sits on top of the existing IT infrastructure as an overlay.
As a result, it also assumes a deployment strategy that would minimize changes to day-to-day IT operations.
Leading industry analyst firm IDC validated the model overall, including the ranges of potential increased and decreased costs by category.
Randy Perry, vice president, Business Value Strategy, IDC, said: “IDC has conducted an extensive analysis of the structure and operation of the Nokia Enterprise Private Cloud TCO Model. We are satisfied that the assumptions, all supported by 3rd party references, are reasonable and comprehensive enough to establish a fair comparison of total costs of private cloud and legacy environments. Also, the industry data and default settings fall within acceptable ranges based on IDC business value research with over 450 enterprises over the last two years. Finally, the algorithms and methodology for calculating cost savings are accurate and adhere to commonly accepted financial guidelines.”
Mike Loomis, head of the large enterprise segment at Nokia, said: “The Private Cloud TCO Model we are introducing today is an industry first. Most advocates for the deployment of a private or hybrid cloud in large enterprises focus their arguments on the benefits offered by a cloud approach, be it faster deployment times for new applications, a more flexible approach to deploying and managing their resources and similar claims. While these claims in many cases are legitimate, our model differs by addressing the core concerns most enterprise IT managers have: is this move worth the investment, and are the savings really there? Our analysis provides a resounding ‘yes’. Better yet, IDC, a highly respected analyst firm, agrees.”
Lauren Sell, Vice President Marketing and Community Services, OpenStack Foundation, said: “More and more enterprises are embracing OpenStack-powered private clouds for their performance advantages and their cost savings – both over public clouds and proprietary private clouds. The Private Cloud TCO Model developed by Nokia is the latest example of OpenStack community members creating valuable and validated tools that can help enterprises as they plan and execute their strategies for agile, open cloud.”
The cost savings identified by the model were calculated using the most conservative assumptions available, based on the needs of highly regulated industries such as finance and healthcare.
Further, increased costs, such as the costs of migrating legacy applications to the cloud, were calculated at the upper end of a possible range of values. Therefore the overall 25 percent cost savings can be considered a minimum baseline – actual savings in practice would likely be considerably higher.
Today, the Nokia Enterprise Private Cloud TCO Model offers a generic analysis of likely cost savings for large enterprises.
For enterprises that are interested, it can quickly be modified to incorporate a particular enterprise’s data and deliver not only a custom savings but also a budgeting estimate by cost category.
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has opposed a bill seeking to compel major global social media companies to establish physical offices in Nigeria.
The rights advocacy group urged the National Assembly to discard the proposed legislation, warning that it could become a tool for censorship and undermine citizens’ constitutional right to freedom of expression, despite being presented as a measure to strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy and improve corporate accountability.
The position was contained in a presentation submitted yesterday by Emmanuel Onwubiko, national coordinator, HURIWA, to the chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Ned Munir Nwoko, has already passed second reading in the Senate and is before the committee for further legislative consideration.
HURIWA said it carefully reviewed the proposed legislation and concluded that compelling global technology companies to establish offices in Nigeria was unnecessary and potentially counterproductive.
The organisation argued that while the firms generate substantial revenue from Nigeria’s vast digital market, they already engage Nigerians through existing structures, including paying eligible content creators, working with local technology professionals and participating in legal proceedings whenever required.
According to the group, appointing local representatives where necessary would adequately address concerns about engagement with regulators and users without forcing the companies to maintain physical offices.
It also dismissed claims that mandatory country offices would significantly improve consumer complaint resolution, technology transfer or employment generation.
HURIWA maintained that the platforms already have effective feedback mechanisms for resolving users’ complaints and routinely appear before Nigerian courts through their representatives whenever litigation arises.
The group, however, said its greatest concern was the potential for the proposed law to be used as an instrument for restricting freedom of expression.
It argued that establishing local offices could expose global social media companies to pressure from government authorities to remove online content considered critical of those in power.
According to the rights group, the presence of social media companies in Nigeria could become an avenue for authorities to pressure them into abandoning internationally recognised digital rights standards in favour of politically motivated content moderation.
It recalled previous attempts to regulate social media in Nigeria that generated widespread concerns over possible restrictions on free speech, stressing that any legislation affecting the digital space must contain clear safeguards against abuse.
The organisation warned that the proposed law should never become “a backdoor mechanism for government surveillance, arbitrary content removal or political censorship.
Nigeria has emerged as one of Africa’s most regulated online gambling markets, even as illegal operators continue to dominate the continent, according to a new report by Gaming Compliance International (GCI).
The report, the first comprehensive assessment of online gambling across all 54 African countries, showed that Africa’s online gambling Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) reached $23 billion in 2025.
However, only $5.2 billion (23 per cent) was generated by licensed operators, while $17.8 billion (77 per cent) remained in the unregulated market.
In West Africa, total online gambling revenue rose to $4.8 billion in 2025 from $4.3 billion in 2024. Of the 2025 figure, regulated operators accounted for $1.5 billion (31 per cent), while $3.3 billion (69 per cent) flowed to unlicensed platforms, highlighting the region’s persistent enforcement challenges.
Nigeria stood out as the region’s strongest performer, recording the lowest unregulated market share at 56 per cent, compared with the West African average of 69 per cent and the African average of 77 per cent.
The study also found that online gambling participation across Africa increased from 198 million people (13 per cent of the population) in 2024 to 215 million (14 per cent) in 2025.
Despite this growth, GCI estimated that illegal operators deprived African governments of about $3.55 billion in tax revenue in 2025. The number of unlicensed gambling platforms targeting African consumers also rose to 4,129, up from 3,644 in 2024.
Commenting on the findings, Matt Holt, chief executive officer, GCI, said the report provides regulators with the first continent-wide benchmark for strengthening oversight and consumer protection.
Ismail Vali, president, GCI, urged governments to develop competitive and well-regulated markets that encourage consumers to patronise licensed operators, boost public revenue and attract greater investment.
Online gambling in Nigeria is regulated by the Nation Lottery Regulatory Commission.
At the height of the Northern Hemisphere tourist season, demand for communications and mobile Internet services rises sharply. Kaspersky’s security experts have uncovered scams that target anyone purchasing mobile connections or SIM cards worldwide.
Fraudsters create counterfeit websites that look like the portals of major regional and international telecom providers to trick users into revealing their phone numbers, personal details or banking information.
Kaspersky is sharing several examples of these fake login pages that mimic legitimate telecom operator sites and giving recommendations on how not to be deceived.
In the first case, scammers exploit the brand name of an international telecommunications company operating services in Asia, Africa and Europe. Fake authentication pages encourage users to put in their phone number and credentials.
While the first example shows the different design, the second scam site closely mimics the original log in page, making it hard for users to tell the difference and spot a fake. Entering authentication or payment data on fraudulent web sites may result in money or data loss and become a reason for more frequent spam and fraudulent calls.
Another example is a scam page which poses as another international communications company, working in North Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In this scheme scammers encourage users to top up their mobile data/Internet plans by entering their personal information and bank cards details.
Kaspersky experts have also identified a scam when cyber criminals suggest users enter their personal data to check and pay a bill inquiry. Such scam schemes are usually aimed at gaining victims’ personal data for further fraud or account hacking and stealing money.
“Because of the active use of AI, scammers can now create fake pages with ever increasing accuracy and speed, targeting the most popular user interest areas. We constantly see scams revolving around sports events, music concerts, seasonal sales and holidays. Unfortunately, the telecoms industry is no exception.
To keep your data and money safe, be vigilant when purchasing mobile or Internet plans online. Using an eSIM – purchased through an official app – is one way to avoid fake telecom sites, as it eliminates the need to enter personal details on questionable web pages.
If you’re unsure about a site’s legitimacy, search for the brand name directly in a search engine and enable a security solution that blocks phishing links for you,” comments Tatyana Kulikova, cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky.
HURIWA, CLO Protests Bill Asking Social Media Firms’ to Open Shops Nigeria
Anambra Govt Bans Graduation Ceremonies in Anambra Schools
Airtel Secures Another 10-year Spectrum Renewal in Nigeria
Moniepoint as a Key Driver in Expanding Financial Access for Businesses in Nigeria
Nigeria, Israel Strengthen Research, Technology Collaboration
NRC, Ponzi Scheme Collapses Resulting Loss of Billions of Naira
NASENI Moves to Digitize CCB’s 5m Assets Declaration and Operations
EFCC Busts NIS Visa Overstay Racket, Uncovers N700m in an Account
Tokenization, Blockchain Technology will Transform Financial Institutions – IMF
From Scarcity to Scale: What Africa Can Learn from India’s Agricultural Transformation
E-Financial3 days agoFG Says Rumours, Fear, Can Crash Banks
Telecom3 days agoCourt Dismisses Pan African Towers’ Bid to Halt Ex-CEO’s Suit, Awards ₦500,000 Costs
E-Business3 days agoKaspersky Warns of a Phishing Campaign Abusing Microsoft Authentication Mechanism
News3 days agoIMF Sees 4% AI Growth Boost for Africa
Telecom3 days agoTelcos Seek Clear Regulatory Framework on Airtime Credit Services
Telecom3 days agoMTN Nigeria Announces 2026 mPulse Spelling Bee, Opens Entries for Students Nationwide
E-Financial3 days agoEU Debunks Fake Compensation Scheme Targeting West African Bank Customers
Telecom3 days agoMTN Warns Customers against Fake Promo