E-Business
Western Digital Fuels Faster Decision Making at the Edge in Harsh Remote Environments
Providing the foundation for the world’s essential data infrastructure, Western Digital has announced the availability of its new high-performance Ultrastar® Edge server family that brings compute closer to where data is generated for faster processing, lower latency and real-time decision making, even when disconnected.
With the growing adoption of 5G, IoT and the cloud, businesses and consumers expect super-fast performance with their applications. This is creating demand for new, distributed intelligent architectures outside of core data centers to help ingest, analyze and transform data at the edge.
In addition, organizations are running applications in extremely remote locations, such as deserts, seas or jungles, and are driving the need for ruggedized compute and storage where networks can be expensive, intermittent or nonexistent.
Designed for cloud service providers, telcos and system integrators, Western Digital’s Ultrastar Edge servers are easy to transport, deploy and scale in the field, at colocation (colo) facilities, in a factory, or in remote data centers.
The new family includes the Ultrastar Edge-MR, an extremely rugged, stackable and transportable server for military and specialized field teams working in harsh remote environments, and the Ultrastar Edge, a transportable 2U rack-mountable server with a portable case for colos and edge data centers. Both solutions are now sampling and orderable with general availability beginning CQ4 2021.
“More compute capacity is needed at edge locations as latency-sensitive applications are proliferating. We expect server deployments at edge locations to double through 2024, totaling an estimated five million units as they are an essential component in enabling new innovations and products, cloud services, remote campuses, CDNs, and virtually any vertical industry that relies on IoT, sensor or remote data,” said Manoj Sukumaran, senior analyst, Data Center Compute at Omdia.
“In the world of 5G and IoT, compute must happen at the edge – closer to devices, end-users and the machines that are generating the data – as latency and bandwidth are essential factors for success. We’re glad to see Western Digital enter the market as the industry needs reliable products from vendors they can trust.”
“As a storage technology leader, we’re constantly looking ahead and anticipating how we’ll continue to serve our customers’ needs,” said Kurt Chan, vice president, data center platforms at Western Digital.
“The growth in data creation at the edge, the opportunities to extract value from that data, and the total available markets and customers innovating and doing work at the edge, gives us a great opportunity for our new Ultrastar Edge server family.”
The Ultrastar Edge-MR is an extremely rugged, stackable solution that is designed and tested in accordance with MIL-STD-810G-CHG-1 standards for limits of shock and vibration, and to the MIL-STD-461G standard for electromagnetic interference.
The unit is also rated IP32 to provide ingress protection against water and debris. Whether conducting a military operation, doing research in the Amazon, or analyzing data during oil and gas explorations, the Ultrastar Edge-MR can handle extremes.
Both Ultrastar Edge solutions also feature the Trusted Platform Module 2.0, a tamper-evident enclosure and is built to meet FIPS 140-2 Level 2 security standard to help store, secure, transfer and disseminate sensitive data.
“From healthcare to intelligence missions, it’s critical for the federal government and its agencies to gather information quickly, and deliver insight when and where it’s needed, including at the network’s edge,” said Jeff Johnson, co-founder, Aeon Computing.
“We’re thrilled to have the new Ultrastar Edge-MR server in our arsenal, as meeting these stringent military specs is no small feat. We can now deliver a secure, rugged solution that brings the power of the cloud to virtually any edge or tactical environment around the world.”
The core of each Ultrastar Edge solution is a durable, high-speed server that supports up to 40 cores with two 2nd Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors, an NVIDIA® T4 GPU and eight Ultrastar NVMe™ SSDs providing up to 61TB of storage.
This unique combination delivers blazing speeds and capacity for real-time analytics, AI, deep learning, ML training and inference, and video transcoding at the edge. It features two 50Gb or one 100Gb Ethernet connection for sending critical data back to the cloud or data center when connected.
Nigerian government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has announced a strategic collaboration to strengthen cybersecurity and clean up the nation’s cyberspace.
Recognizing that cybercrime knows no borders, Nigeria also reaffirmed its commitment to fostering stronger global partnerships within the cybersecurity ecosystem.
This announcement was made during a press conference before the inaugural National Cybersecurity Conference, which is scheduled to take place in Abuja from July 9th to 11th, 2025.
Sa’ad Abubakar, national cybersecurity coordinator from the Office of National Security Advisor, said fighting cybercrime must take the whole of society and the whole of the government approach.
According to him, “Apart from the deterrent approach whereby government agencies such as Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrest individuals, take them to court and prosecute them, the youth can be nurtured into better citizens who can showcase their capacity in better ways and be useful to the country.”
Similarly, Kashifu Abdullahi, director-general, NITDA, also stressed the need for collaborative efforts in fighting cybercrimes.
According to him “Then, in addition to that, we also want to build a stronger global collaboration with the global cyber security ecosystem, because when you look at cybercrime in general, it doesn’t respect the borders.
“Someone can commit a crime from Ghana using a Nigerian ID in the US. So you can look at him physically in a different jurisdiction, pretending to be in another jurisdiction, committing the crime in another jurisdiction.
“So without that kind of synergy and working together, it will be difficult to address these challenges. The third one is challenge. The third one is getting an alternative to cybercrime for our kids in Nigeria. We have this as a major challenge.”
Inuwa further highlighted the upcoming conference’s importance, noting that it would tackle key issues through workshops, discussions on emerging threats, cross-border cybersecurity collaboration strategies, and training programmes.
He also announced that the National Cybersecurity Conference 2025 would feature the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards, recognising top contributions in the field.
The DG extended an invitation to global partners to collaborate with Nigeria in building a safer digital future.
The press conference was attended by notable figures, including Ahmad Sa’ad Abubakar, National Coordinator of, the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NCCC); Hanniel Jafar, Representative of the President, of Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN); Ankit Shukla, Managing Director, QNA Marketing Management LLC and members of the press and other stakeholders.
XIAN Telecom has acquired an 8% stake in pan-African e-commerce company Jumia Technologies, citing the platform’s fintech and logistics strengths as key drivers of its backing.
This marks the first major telecom investment in Jumia since MTN Group’s exit in 2020.
AXIAN, a fast-growing telecom and digital services provider with operations across Africa, disclosed the purchase in a Schedule 13D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
While the financial terms were not disclosed, AXIAN Telecom CEO, Hassan Jaber, described the move as a strategic alignment with Jumia’s growth trajectory and digital ecosystem.
“Jumia’s achievements in digital retail and fintech, particularly through JumiaPay and its logistics network, make it a very attractive investment for us. We believe in Jumia’s potential to promote financial and economic inclusion, which aligns with our core values,” said Jaber.
Once dubbed the “Amazon of Africa,” Jumia became the first African-founded tech company to list on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019.
But years of underperformance, leadership changes, and competitive pressures dented investor confidence.
In October 2020, South Africa’s MTN Group offloaded its 18.9% stake for $138 million, well below the $698 million value it once held post-IPO.
Since then, Jumia has undergone a significant transformation. Under CEO Francis Dufay, appointed in 2022, the company exited low-performing markets like South Africa and Tunisia, cut costs, and doubled down on core markets – Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and Morocco.
The firm is now focused on high-growth verticals, including everyday essentials and digital financial services.
Jumia’s regional CEO for East Africa, Vinod Goel, recently revealed plans to scale up international brand offerings and open its logistics network to third-party businesses.
Jaber underscored that AXIAN Telecom’s investment signals renewed confidence in Jumia’s long-term potential.
The telecom firm’s CEO said the company views Jumia as a key player in advancing Africa’s digital economy, aligning with AXIAN’s mission through its fintech and digital infrastructure brands such as Yas and Mixx by Yas.
Abisoye Coker-Odusote, director general, National Identity management commission (NIMC) has said that the commission is set to register 95 percent of Nigerians into the National Identity Database before December 2025.
Abisoye Coker-Odusote,, DG, NIMC
She made this statement at a press briefing to highlight the commissions goal aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly on digital governance and inclusive development.
The mass enrollment drive will be powered by a combination of improved infrastructure, expanded registration centres, and robust public sensitization campaigns.
As of May 2025, NIMC reports over 120 million Nigerians have been enrolled, and about 100 million more would be captured by December.
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