E-Business
Why Sustainable Supply Chains are Critical for the Channel
By Bradley Pulford
The need for sustainable business practices is becoming weightier by the moment. With headlines dominated by protesting students and images of plastic waste polluting our waterways and oceans, we now live in a world that is awakened to the necessity for businesses to ensure they are not negatively impacting our planet but helping to reduce their carbon footprint.
As Gen Z enters the workforce with clear purpose and enlightened consumers put pressure on businesses to offer transparency around supply chains, all industries are faced with the same prospect: adapt or be disrupted.
Success is, and will increasingly be, defined by a business’ ability to demonstrate its focus on sustainability.
That means more than just lip service, and for the channel it requires smarter collaboration and shared goals. From energy hungry data centres, to increasingly complex supply chains, the technology sector has a huge role to play. Like all other industries there are environmental, social and economic implications.
In fact, the technology that is set to tighten up sustainable practices will by default be data-centric and lead to further pressure on the channel to build environmentally sensitive, resource savvy supply chains and practices.
By now we all know that a data explosion is on the horizon. According to an IDC report, the Global Datasphere – a measure of how much new data is created and replicated each year – will grow by more than five times over the next seven years. The total amount of new data created in 2025 is forecast to increase to 175ZB from 33ZB in 2018.
The report suggests that nearly a third of the Global Datasphere will be driven by growth of video surveillance, signals from IoT devices, metadata, and entertainment.
One of the top five fastest-growing segments of data creation is attributed to user-created and user-consumed online video like YouTube. We’re on the cusp of an incredibly exciting moment technologically and businesses are looking for trusted advisors to provide intimate knowledge of their environments, to guide them through tailored transformations that enable them to seize the opportunities afoot. And sustainability must be a part of this equation.
Some businesses may still be ‘scratching their heads’ when it comes to truly understanding what the term sustainability means for them.
For example, Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) is a process by which public authorities seek to achieve the right balance between the three pillars of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental – when procuring goods, services or works at all stages of the project.
This is the point at which channel partners could find themselves in a tight spot, when a potential customer asks at the point of tender how their business is working towards minimising its impact on the world? Those prepared with comprehensive and concrete proof-points are more likely to win the deal – and rightly so.
As the IT industry grows and data centres boom, it is important that partners take this seriously. But ultimately, businesses need to be led by example – and that needs to be set by the government. Improvements in sustainability practices can be influenced from the outside in, with the EU Public Procurement Directive of 2014 stating that businesses must consider how sustainable their IT choices are, instead of focusing on competitive pricing, the initiative is there.
But this needs to backed-up by and scaled out with businesses across all industries being held to account under the same guidelines – creating standardised and easily navigable goals.
Take for example, the EU Commission-funded EURECA project, which was set up to help public sector organisations across seven European countries to identify the environmental and financial impacts of their data centres.
In 2018, after three years of work, the project revealed that assessing 350 public sector data centres helped save 45 gigawatt hours of energy a year and €4.5m in cost savings annually.
This calls to attention both the environmental and financial burdens that hidden unsustainable practices and technologies can bring to an organization, as well as the substantial gains that can be made from tweaks to existing process and operations.
With pressure from end-customers and policy-led sustainability requirements and government initiatives raising the bar, channel partners need to look internally, too. After all, trust in a company starts with transparency and customers expect it.
This means creating open, knowledge sharing relationships with partners and peers in order to progress sustainable working practices – and from collaboration, innovation is born. Supporting and empowering those in the supply chain to evolve and align will only bolster transparency and trust.
Ultimately, progressing towards sustainable supply chain goals gives businesses a competitive edge, while contributing to the ongoing innovation set to enable future businesses – in a world where environmental and social resources are gold. But no partner is in it alone, the extraordinary is only achieved together and that includes sustainability.
Bradley Pulford, is Senior Director, Channel Sales, Africa, Dell
Microsoft is planning to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall, potentially as soon as next month, The Information reported on Monday, citing people with direct knowledge of the plans.
The company introduced its Maia AI chip in November 2023 but has lagged rivals such as Alphabet and Amazon in scaling up its in-house chip efforts as it seeks to reduce its reliance on Nvidia’s costly processors.
Google began recognizing revenue from direct sales of its custom AI chips, called Tensor Processing Units, in the quarter ended June, while Amazon has also seen growing adoption of its processors, including its Trainium chips.
Microsoft has been in talks with chipmaker TSMC to secure manufacturing capacity for more than 300,000 units of the chip for delivery in 2027, according to the report. It is also looking to significantly ramp up production and persuade major cloud customers such as Anthropic to adopt the chip.
Microsoft ultimately aims to secure capacity for more than 1 million Maia 300 chips, though component supplies and ongoing capacity negotiations with TSMC could constrain its plans, according to the report.
It unveiled its second-generation Maia 200 in January, built by TSMC using 3-nanometer technology.
Microsoft packed the chip with a significant amount of SRAM, a type of memory that can provide speed advantages for AI systems handling large numbers of user requests.
X has announced plans to discontinue its Revenue Sharing programme and introduce a new Original Content Rewards programme to reward creators for producing original content on the platform.
The social media company announced the changes at the weekend in a post on its X Creators handle, saying the new programme would reward creators who contribute original content.
“Today, we’re introducing the Original Content Rewards Program, a new way to reward creators who bring original ideas, expertise, reporting, creativity, and commentary to X,” the company said.
X said it would stop accepting new enrolments into the Revenue Sharing programme from Friday, while existing participants would continue earning until September 7, 2026.
“Starting today, we’re no longer accepting new enrollments into Revenue Sharing,” it said.
According to the company, existing Revenue Sharing participants will receive three final payouts, with two scheduled for August 14 and August 28, while the final payment for earnings accrued through September 7 is expected around September 11.
X said existing Revenue Sharing participants would begin getting access to apply for the new programme from September 8, subject to meeting its eligibility requirements.
The first payout under the Original Content Rewards programme will be made on August 28, 2026, while existing Revenue Sharing creators who enrol in the new programme from September 8 will receive their first payment on September 25.
Under the new programme, eligible creators will earn from qualified impressions generated by their original content, with payments made every two weeks.
X defined qualified impressions as unique impressions from Premium users on the Home Timeline feed, where at least 50 per cent of a post is visible.
On the other hand, “The following are excluded from qualified impressions: impressions from the same account counted more than once per post; paid, promoted, or artificially generated impressions; and fraudulent impressions,” it said.
To qualify, creators must be at least 18 years old, live in a country where the programme is available, maintain an account in good standing and have either a personal or vusiness account.
They must also subscribe to X Premium, Premium+ or Premium Business, have at least 500 verified followers and record at least 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users within the previous 90 days.
X said creators must also regularly post original content to remain eligible.
“We want to recognize creators who break news, share expertise, tell stories, create entertainment, and contribute meaningful perspectives to the conversation,” the company said.
The platform said original content could include threads, videos, memes, graphics, illustrations, reporting, analysis, commentary and reactions that add meaningful value to existing conversations.
It said creators who use content produced by others would need to add meaningful commentary, context, analysis, humour or creative transformation for such posts to qualify.
“Building on existing conversations is a core part of X, but simply reposting someone else’s content is not enough,” it said.
X said minor edits such as cropping, filters, borders, watermarks, speed adjustments or simple text overlays would generally not qualify as meaningful transformation on their own.
It also warned that content copied or substantially reproduced from another creator, content downloaded and re-uploaded from X or another platform without being the original author’s, automated content, disinformation and misleading content would be ineligible.
The company said accounts that violate the programme’s requirements could be temporarily or permanently removed from it, depending on the severity of the violation.
It added that creators would be responsible for ensuring they had the necessary rights, permissions or licences to use content created by others.
“Original content is content you personally create that reflects your own voice, perspective, expertise, or creativity,” X said.
The company said the new programme was intended to reward creators who make the platform more valuable by bringing original ideas and perspectives to its conversations.
“The Original Content Rewards Program is designed to reward the creators who start them, shape them, and move them forward,” it said.
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has introduced so-called Nigeria’s Certified Cloud Register, regulatory framework developed under the agency’s National Sovereign Cloud Initiative to determine which cloud providers are authorized to handle sensitive data, such as banking records.
In effect, from October, NITDA requires banks, fintech companies and other regulated organisations to source cloud infrastructure providers from a national register of certified firms approved to host sensitive financial and government data.
The Certified Cloud Register, is expected to strengthen data sovereignty, improve regulatory oversight and support the implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) data localisation policy, which takes effect on January 1, 2027.
Under the framework, banks, fintechs, government institutions and other regulated entities will be able to verify whether cloud service providers, data centre operators, managed service providers and Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure companies have met NITDA’s certification requirements before entrusting them with critical digital workloads.
The initiative is expected to provide regulated institutions with a standardised process for selecting cloud infrastructure providers that satisfy Nigeria’s technical, security and regulatory requirements.
According to NITDA, the framework establishes “a common national standard, an independent assessment process and a public register of approved providers that banks, fintechs and government institutions can rely on when selecting cloud infrastructure partners.”
The register is expected to become a key compliance tool ahead of the CBN’s directive, which requires all payment transaction data generated within Nigeria to be stored and processed locally, effective from January 1, 2027.
The policy applies to deposit money banks, microfinance banks, mobile money operators, payment service providers, switching companies and other financial institutions.
The certification regime is also expected to reshape Nigeria’s cloud computing ecosystem, making regulatory approval a major requirement for cloud providers seeking to handle sensitive data for regulated industries.
Figures cited by NITDA showed that Nigeria’s 10 largest banks spent about N177.91 billion on information technology in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 31 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year.
A sizeable portion of the investment currently supports cloud infrastructure hosted outside Nigeria, a trend the new certification framework is expected to address by encouraging greater utilisation of compliant local infrastructure.
NITDA said the certification programme will apply the same technical and regulatory standards to indigenous cloud providers and international hyperscale operators, creating a level playing field for all companies seeking to provide cloud services to regulated sectors.
The agency also disclosed that more than 85 per cent of Nigerian businesses currently rely on cloud services, with the majority using infrastructure hosted outside the country.
It said the new framework is aimed at improving confidence in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure while promoting local capacity and enhancing oversight of critical national data.
Speaking on the objective of the initiative, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director-general of NITDA, said the programme is designed to strengthen Nigeria’s position in the global digital economy rather than exclude foreign technology companies.
According to him, the initiative is intended “to redefine the terms under which Nigeria participates in the global digital economy rather than isolate the country from international technology providers.”
The Certified Cloud Register forms part of broader efforts by the Federal Government to deepen digital trust, strengthen cybersecurity and ensure that critical financial and public sector data are managed in line with Nigeria’s evolving data governance and sovereignty objectives.
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