The Nation Newspaper

Category: Infotech

  • ‘Bulk SMS veritable channel to drive sales’

    Despite the growth in the social media messaging applications such as WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook, BlackBerryChat, WeChat and SnapChat, experts have said bulk short message service (SMS) remains an effective channel for both big and small business enterprises to drive business sales.

    According to the Managing Director, Lampro Ventures, a bulk SMS solution provider, Mr Kayode Akinyele, bulk SMS is used to communicate with people that cannot be reached physically and it can be used to drive business sales as organisations can use it to communicate with people without hindrance.

    He said SMS is a communication tool that can be delivered to any mobile phone irrespective of the phone user, phone type or internet connection.

    “Organisations can make use of bulk SMS to boost sales based on the fact that information sent through this platform are reliable and clear communications which the receiver can respond to, if the sender uses shortcodes or numbers for the receivers to respond to.

    He noted that the strength in bulk SMS is that it can meet receivers anywhere and at any time, adding that most phone users read their text messages almost immediately when they receive them, thus making the information to be passed to receivers at almost the same time, whereas, social media means of communication will take longer time to be read because the phone users are not likely to see the information at the same time.

    Mr Akinyele noted that organisations can pass concise information across through bulk SMS, saying it is a fast way to do media marketing.

    “Bulk SMS is not limited in the number of people it can reach and it cuts across all geographical location.

    “There is SMS platform site which can be subscribed to, to send SMS to people. So to send bulk SMS, the number can either come from the senders or we have numbers that we can generate to people considering the geographical location and state you want the text information to be sent to,” he said.

    Chairman/Managing Director, Just Solutions, a subsidiary of Just computers and Network Solutions Limited, Mr Mark Sotonye, added that bulk SMS is a major and effective way for organisations to reach their customer base, despite the growing number of strings in the digital market.

    He said bulk SMS is an application that strives on the internet and can be received on any device instantly with feedback either immediately or later in the future.

    He added that bulk SMS goes above almost all media of advertisement because of the instant impact it has. “For you to use the social media, you have to pay for it, go online, search and see things for yourself but, SMS comes to you wherever you are without you having to pay for it.

    “Another advantage is that it is cheap and affordable, fast, it can be customised and people immediately know where it is coming from,” he said.

    He said bulk SMS can be used to grow one’s business, in that it is a good platform to have a target market, because numbers are available according to states, local governments and even depending on product type the message is to be directed to.

    “Here at Just Solutions, we have to know  what you are selling or those people you are targeting , so we give you ideas about it, most times people have numbers but it is not always enough, the numbers they have are from families, friends, so we have numbers that we can give, so it’s either you give it to us or we give you ours. We have numbers for virtually all areas and segment of business, you can pay online and you will get your credit in your account, so it is automated and there is no hazard for us and our clients,” he said.

    However, according to a report published by Business Matterson www.bulksms.com, Managing Director Bulk SMS, Dr Pieter Streicher, said SMS messaging was first used in December 1992 and has since become one of the most widely used features on any mobile phone.

    Also in an experienced sampling conducted by the Pew Research Centre baded at Washington DC, text messaging is the most widely used smartphone feature even amongst younger smartphone users.

     

  • Glo Xchange agents begin operations

    Globacom has announced its readiness to roll out the first set of market-ready agents for its mobile money service, Glo Xchange.

    This new development follows the  launch last year of Glo Xchange, which is Nigeria’s first mobile money super-agent network in the country. It was followed by a training for thousands of the agents in over 30 states in the country.

    The company said in a statement in Lagos that no fewer than 10,000 proficient Glo Xchange agents would be added to its super-agency network in the next 12 months to deliver the much-expected mobile money revolution in Nigeria.

    The Glo Xchange Agents, Globacom explained, would operate from designated mobile money outlets, such as kiosks, shops, pharmacies, supermarkets and mega stores in strategic locations.

    These outlets will complement the over 160 Gloworld and Glozone shops, which are offering Glo Xchange services to customers along with branches of all Globacom’s mobile money partners, such as First Bank, Ecobank, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Zenith Bank.

    Head, Mobile Money Financial Business in Globacom, Mr. Esaie Diei, said Glo Xchange was introduced to speed up financial inclusion in the country. It added that this will take cashless transactions and e-payments to the grassroots.  With mobile money, he said the mobile phone users could make payments, do transfers, buy airtime, pay bills  for example Dstv, GoTV, PHCN etc, pay expressway tolls and conduct any such financial transactions without cash exchange, but through the mobile phone.

    Diei said the company has also in-built innovative features to enhance security, convenience and effectiveness of the operations.First, the service comes with a dedicated toll-free Agent-Care short number 33003 for quick assistance to Glo Xchange Agents.

    Secondly, a dedicated USSD Short Code, *800#, has been introduced to allow Glo Xchange Agents to access the mobile money services of any Mobile Money Operator (MMO).  There is also an application to inform the end-user of the nearest Glo Xchange Agent location.

    “The customer can have more information by dialling the USSD Short Code *800# free of charge,” Diei added.

    He said robust communication campaign, including TV commercials, TVCs, Radio and market storms nationwide will be part of the activities to create awareness about mobile money services, and educate millions of mobile phone users on the benefits of mobile money service. All businesses which would join the Glo Xchange Network will get the reward of being the pioneer for the mobile money revolution in Nigeria added.

     

  • Why Microsoft partnered MDX-i on cloud solution, by Makwane

    Microsoft Nigeria’s Managing Director, Kabelo Makwane, has said the firm is partnering  MainOne’s Data Centre subsidiary, MDX-1 because of its strength in connectivity and its certification as Tier 3 Data Centre in the country.

    He said the firm will continue to explore ways of working with indigenous firms that have braved the odds to invest in the provision of the state-of-the-art infrastructure to realise the goals of economic development of the country and the continent.

    Makwane spoke during the announcement of the launch of MDX-1’s new cloud-based service offering with Microsoft in Lagos at the weekend.

    The solution, which is built on Microsoft Azure’s enterprise grade infrastructure, provides flexible, highly available and fully secure private computing environments to companies on a pay-as-you-go basis.

    By combining expertise in proven, yet familiar technologies and geographic specialisation, MDX-i Cloud Services deliver a solution tailored to meet the needs of enterprise customers in West Africa. Benefits of the Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS) solution include access to a wide range of computing resources, such as storage, central processing unit (CPU), memory, security firewalls and network bandwidth, provisioned on a subscription basis.

    The new solution is the first Cloud offering MDX-i is launching in partnership with Microsoft, the leading global provider of Cloud Services. With this launch, MDX-i is positioned to meet the computing infrastructure needs of companies deploying private, public or hybrid clouds from its Tier III Data Center in Lagos.This ensures quick and agile provisioning of infrastructure for businesses and government agencies as required, thus improving their time to deliver on-demand applications and services.

    Makwane said: “The Cloud OS Network is a worldwide group of select service providers that partner closely with Microsoft to offer customers hybrid cloud and Azure-enabled solutions. Uniquely combining expertise in Microsoft technology, customer requirements, and geographic specialisation, Cloud OS network members deliver the Microsoft Cloud Platform customised to your specific needs.”

    Also, MDX-i’s Business Development Executive, Rob Lever said the new cloud platform is a scalable and cost effective alternative to dedicated computing resources deployed in-house by companies and includes managed virtual data centers, virtual private servers, and virtual LANs to assure customers of high availability.

    He said: “Businesses are beginning to embrace Cloud services because it promises increased agility in addition to savings in OPEX (operating expenditure) and CAPEX (capital expenditure). Our IaaS platform reduces complexity, interoperability, and security concerns of our customers. It provides them the benefit of leveraging our infrastructure, and the expertise of MDX-i and Microsoft, without their having to incur the substantial costs associated with deploying such solutions.”

    Chief Executive Officer (CEO), PCL Mobisafe, Christian Landmark, said the pilot customer of the new cloud offering, expressed his confidence in the performance levels and reliability of the solution.

    He said: “We chose MainOne as our Cloud Provider because of their excellent reputation for quality and support in the telecoms sector. We are impressed by their technical expertise and willingness to go the extra mile in their provision of what is a fairly complex solution.”

     

  • Online travellers’ platform makes debut

    Quantum Travels Limited, a travel management company, has unveiled a new online travel platform, ajala.ng.

    Its Head, Brand Marketing and Projects, Ms. Omolua Oyakhire, described platform as a one-stop online travel management platform delivering unique offerings that allows customers take control of their travel plan and optimise opportunities at the lowest cost possible.

    “Our number one aim is to provide travel paths and plans that won’t break the bank, whilst meeting our customers’ need.We provide a holistic approach to our travel service offerings thereby granting control to the traveler to create a travel experience that exceeds their expectations” she said.

    Oyakhire explained further that the new online platform would help improve the ease of acquiring travel information and support customers who desire to travel but do not have adequate resources by providing them with the option of spreading payment over a specific period of time and still meeting their travelling desires with a relatively low cost.

    Its Head, Customer Relationship Management, Mrs. Bukola Isaac-Oluwasanmi, said the new travel platform is convenient, fast and user-friendly in comparison to what is currently obtainable in the industry, providing unique browsing experience for the customers.

    “By utilising a combination of automated tools and manual processes, we are able to deliver to our customers the lowest available airfare real-time at any given time. Every booking made would go through a rigorous lowest logical fare check to ensure the best fare is available for the traveler” she said.

    She enjoined the firm’s customers to take advantage of its unique services to get a stress-free travelling experience both local and international.

    “You are guaranteed the best of travel management services through our strong affiliations with Destination Management Companies (DMCs) and low cost travel providers across the globe. This platform offers this unique service which is not obtainable from any other travel booking website as other platforms provide only international flight services for domestic travel routes” she said.

     

  • IHS, Airtel complete tower sale, lease deal

    IHS, Airtel complete tower sale, lease deal

    Nigeria-based telecommunications infrastructure group IHS Holding Ltd has completed sale and lease back of telecom towers in Zambia from Airtel Zambia.

    Last December, Bharti Airtel announced that it had sold over 1,100 telecom towers in Zambia and Rwanda to IHS Holding at an estimated $180-200 million to pare debt.

    As part of the 10-year renewable contract, Airtel will lease back the towers from IHS.

    Its Executive Vice Chairman & Group CEO, Issam Darwish, said: “This acquisition will enable us to eventually upgrade these towers and continue to roll-out innovative energy saving technology throughout the continent.”

    Outsourcing tower infrastructure to IHS allows Airtel to focus on its core business and customers; enables it to deleverage through debt reduction, and will significantly reduce its ongoing capital expenditure on passive infrastructure, Airtel said in a statement.

     

  • Smile Telecoms secures $365m for LTE in Africa

    Smile Telecoms secures $365m for LTE in Africa

    Smile Telecoms Holdings Ltd (Smile), which owns and operates mobile wireless 4G LTE broadband networks in the 800 megahertz (MHz) band in Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda, has raised $365 million in debt and equity financing.

    Smile Telecoms Holdings Ltd is the parent company of Smile Communications Nigeria Limited.

    The funding will be used to expand Smile’s 4G LTE networks and services, such that, by the end of this year, the firm will offer voice services, in addition to mobile broadband; and will have national coverage comparable to that of the largest 3G network in each of its countries of operation. It will also launch its broadband network in DRC early next year.

    The funding comprises $50 million of equity, raised from the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) for the government Employees Pension Fund (PIC), and a $315 million multi-tranche, multi-jurisdictional debt facility led by Africa Export-Import Bank with participation from the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Diamond Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria, the PIC, the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Limited and Standard Chartered Bank.

    Smile’s shareholders comprise Al Nahla Group, a Saudi Arabian-based company, the majority shareholder; Renven Investment Holdings, a pan-Africa investment vehicle, which represents the majority Nigerian investors, among others; Verene, representing Smile senior management and social entrepreneurs from South Africa; Telecom Investments, a Saudi Arabian-based investment company; Capitalworks, an alternative asset management firm; the PIC; and Smile employees.

    Under the terms, the proceeds will be used to accelerate national network roll-out, including equipment and services provided by Alcatel Lucent and Ericsson, a full Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) network, a London Point of Presence (PoP) and expanded international backhaul services, and to fund operational expenditure and working capital.

    Smile’s objective is to become the broadband provider of choice for super-fast data and clear voice in each of its markets and to provide the over 300 million potential customers in its four countries of operation with an efficient, reliable, quality tool to accelerate development and wealth creation. Technological advancement has facilitated the realisation of this objective by creating an ecosystem for the 800MHz band that can overcome the restrictions associated with limited fixed line infrastructure and over-contended legacy networks and lead to higher broadband penetration, which is a key driver to economic growth.

    According to Broadband Strategies Handbook, of the World Bank, “A 10 per cent increase in the penetration rate of broadband in developing countries is associated with a 1.4 per cent increase in GDP (gross domestic product) per capita …” Furthermore, there is persuasive evidence linking broadband to job creation; the Brookings Institution states that “for every one percentage point increase in broadband penetration, employment is projected to increase by 0.2 to 0.3 per cent per year.”

    The funding is one of the largest capital raises ever for a telecommunications operator in Africa and brings the total funding committed to Smile since its founding in 2007 to approximately $600 million.

    Its Chief Executive Officer, Irene Charnley, said: “Now that we are fully funded to deliver national coverage of unrivalled super-fast internet access and clear voice services, our priority is to ensure that our customers experience and benefit from the power of high speed mobile broadband compared to the narrowband services available to date, including how to effectively manage the superior experience in terms of data consumption.”

    Chairman, Smile Communications Nigeria Limited, Dr. Ernest Azudialu- Obiejesi, said the funding is an enabler of its quest to deepen broadband penetration in Africa especially in key markets of Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

    He said: “Nigeria is one of

  • Place order, drones ‘ll deliver to your doorsteps, says Yudala

    Place order, drones ‘ll deliver to your doorsteps, says Yudala

    The management of Yudala, Nigeria’s e-commerce platform, said the firm will deploy  drones to get products across to its customers to avoid delays caused by traffic snarls in major cities.

    Its Online Co-ordinator, Prince Nnamdi Ekeh, who spoke in Lagos, said customers would get revolutionary experience of online retail with the launch of online shopping bay, adding that the firm is determined to fast-track products’ delivery nationwide with the aid of drones.

    He said: “We have acquired a few drones and working with partners in Asia to develop and deploy these Integrated Drones to avoid vehicular traffic in major cities in Nigeria. We are working to secure appropriate permits from the relevant government agencies. This will go live soon as we live up to our mandate of setting new milestones for the online retail business in the country.

    “We are extremely delighted with the reception of Yudala Online and the massive hits received on Yudala.com from the moment we went live on Monday. This is testimony to the fact that this is the revolution in e-commerce which every Nigerian has been waiting for.

    “For the first time ever in the history of e-commerce in Nigeria, the customer no longer has to face the uncertainty of where to turn for support. We offer core after-sales support on both warranty and out-of-warranty products purchased from our online platform or from any of our offline stores nationwide.

    “Most importantly, you are guaranteed peace of mind when you buy Yudala. Apart from the secure, safe shopping experience you enjoy on the website, every product carried on our platforms, either online or offline, comes directly from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). As a result, there are no issues of grey products finding its way into your hands. You also get to enjoy all risks cover (except theft) from Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc. on every product purchased from us. These are the bases for the Yudala management taking responsibility for every product purchased from and delivered by us.”

    He expressed delight with the visits to the e-commerce platform which officially went live late last month with the company taking to its social media pages and other channels to thank Nigerians for their resounding patronage and acceptance of the medium.

    He said: “Thousands of enthusiastic shoppers besieged the Yudala website, which went live at 12 noon to take advantage of the mega deals and other mouth-watering promotions on offer which ended at the weekend. Yudala Online processed orders and other enquiries from all over the country including Ghana, Cameroon and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa while huge discounts and millions of freebies were enjoyed by shoppers.”

    Yudala had launched its Offline Stores Division with simultaneous roll-out of four stores in Lagos: two Experience and two Smart Stores – in July before following it up with the unveiling of its e-commerce platform and the roll-out of more physical retail stores in various locations across the country. These locations include Abuja, Owerri, Asaba, Warri, Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Uyo.

    Yudala enjoys strong partnership and comparative advantage for products from major brands including HP, Apple, Lenovo, Tecno Mobile, INNJOO, Infinix, X-Touch, Wiko Phones, SONY, YEZZ, DELL, Philips, ITEL, IBM, Microsoft, APC Schneider, Cisco, Canon, D-Link and many more  in the ICT space, with the company expected to roll out additional product lines such as consumer lifestyle, urbane fashion, food, wines and spirits, healthy living products, consumer electronics and many more in segments soon.

    Backed by its multi-pronged yet standard business model, the company has a bold ambition to dictate the pace and set new milestones for online and offline retail business, with the delivery of world class products and services in every Yudala store and on the online platform.

     

  • Banks not doing enough to tackle online fraud, says survey

    Banks not doing enough to tackle online fraud, says survey

    ABOUT half of banks and payment systems prefer to handle cyber incidents, rather than invest in equipment which can prevent them, a survey has revealed.

    The survey was conducted by Kaspersky Lab and  B2B International among company representatives to find out their attitudes toward data security, including financial companies’ policies towards protection from online fraud.

    More than 5000 representatives, including 131 banks and payment services, from 26 countries participated.

    During the survey, 48 per cent of financial organisations said they  protect their clients from online fraud, aiming at mitigating the consequences rather than preventing incidents entirely.

    It said 29 per cent of companies believe it is cheaper and more effective to address cases of fraud, rather than attempt to prevent them.

    According to the responses, whenever a cyber-fraud incident involving a client’s account occurs, only 41 per cent of organisations take measures to prevent it from re-occurring in the future.

    According to Engineer IT, the survey showed that 36 per cent of companies conduct an analysis of the vulnerability exploited in the attack, and 38 per cent compensate the losses. The most popular policy among companies is to try to find out who was behind the attack: two-thirds (66 per cent) of financial organisations are guilty of this practice.

    Global Head, Fraud Prevention Division at Kaspersky Lab, Ross Hogan, said relying on mitigating the negative consequences of fraud is similar to trying to treat the symptoms of an illness rather than its cause.

    The symptoms will recur, and the illness will progress. In this respect, Kaspersky Lab recommends that you do not forget how important prevention is. Many of the world’s leading banks have acknowledged this and have implemented “root cause fraud prevention”, but alarmingly many still rely on “reactive fraud detection”.

    Experts recommend that banks and payment services use comprehensive online fraud protection methods to protect the bank’s clients at several levels.

    One such method is a fraud prevention platform which includes threat control tools installed on client devices, as well as the server component located within the bank’s information infrastructure. Through the special code imbedded in the bank’s web-page, this component can remotely detect a client device infection.

    Hogan laments that each year, cybercriminals invent more and more sophisticated methods of attack, and if the banks do not have preventive measures in place, it enables further growth in the numbers of financial cybercrime and increased losses.

    A recent example is the discovery of Blue Termite – a cyber espionage campaign that has been targeting hundreds of organisations in Japan for over the past two years.

    The attackers hunt for confidential information and utilise a zero-day Flash player exploit and a sophisticated backdoor, which is customised for each victim.

    In October last year, Kaspersky Lab researchers encountered a never before seen malware sample, which stood out from others because of its complexity.

    Further analysis has shown that this sample is only a small part of a large and sophisticated cyber espionage campaign. The list of targeted industries includes governmental organisations, heavy industries, financial, chemical, satellite, media, educational organisations, medical, the food industry and others.

    To infect their victims, Blue Termite operators utilise several techniques. Before July this year, they mostly used spear-phishing emails – sending malicious software as an attachment to an email message with content, which would most likely attract a victim’s attention.

    However in July, the operators changed tactics and have started to spread the malware via a zero-day Flash exploit. The attackers have compromised several Japanese websites so that visitors of the sites would automatically download an exploit once they are on the website and become infected. This is referred to as a drive-by-downloads technique.

    After a successful infection, a sophisticated backdoor is deployed on a targeted machine. The backdoor is capable of stealing passwords, downloading and executing additional payload, retrieving files and conducting other dangerous exploits.

    One of the most interesting things about the malware used by the Blue Termite actor is that each victim is supplied with a unique malware sample that is made in a way that it could only be launched on a specific PC, targeted by the Blue Termite actor.

    According to Kaspersky Lab researchers, this has been done in order to make it difficult for security researchers to analyse the malware and detect it.

     

  • How technology can develop rural communities

    How technology can develop rural communities

    In spite of the benefits that information communication technology have brought to the country, many rural communities are either unserved or underseved. OLATUNDE ODEBIYI writes that initiatives, such as Samsung Digital Village, will help bridge the digital divide.

    Mama Bassey, 40, a petty trader, left her home for her shop beside the ever-busy main road in Oban town, Cross River State. She takes a bike with her wares. On her way, she received a call on her phone that her youngest son had come down with fever. She aborted her journey and quickly dashed home, picked her son and proceeded on a 10km journey to the nearest hospital.

    After consultation with the doctor, the boy was placed on malaria drugs but the hospital’s pharmacy was out of drugs. He was also supposed to receive a vaccine; unfortunately, the last batch, which the hospital received a few months ago, had been discarded because there was no power to preserve the vaccines.

    Mama Bassey and her family paid dearly for the illness in terms of time and money. It would have been worse had help not come on time.

    The global socio-economic landscape has welcomed many organisations that are changing the educational, healthcare and business terrain with innovative and exciting products and services that make life better and easier.

    In India, Educom is providing solutions that can support every level of the educational need from teachers, to large scale procurement for new educational projects, by working with schools, colleges, state bodies and teachers to provide advice and resource materials to improve learning. These smart schools are fostering opportunities for teaching and learning by integrating learning technology. People in this community and its environs, however, spend less on acquiring better education.

    Africa Indoor Residual Spraying programme (AIRS), since 2001, has also helped protect millions of people in Africa from malaria, by spraying insecticides on the walls, ceilings, and other indoor resting places of mosquitoes that transmit malaria. The group also ensure that spraying does not harm people or the environment. It is expected that Africans with the help of this programme will spend less on the treatment of malaria and will be at a lower risk of death caused by malaria.

    In Nigeria, Samsung Electronics West Africa came up with unique solutions in education, healthcare and electrification when it launched its digital village. The village uses one resource that Africa has in abundance – sunshine.

    In partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Samsung launched a solution, dubbed the Samsung Digital Village, in Oban, Cross River State. This is first of its kind in Nigeria and it is made up of various solar powered innovations, which altogether provide holistic solutions to rural infrastructure challenges, such as those faced by people like Mama Bassey. The Digital Village relies on solar energy to power its activities.

    Speaking during the inauguration of the facility, Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Brovo Kim, said a sizeable proportion of rural communities across Africa do not have access to electricity, a situation that denies people in these areas access  to tools and resources to drive socio-economic development. “We are not only bridging the digital divide but also providing a facility that meets the most critical health and educational needs of the rural community,” he said.

    The Digital Village has various components that the beneficiaries can leverage on to enhance their livelihoods. For instance, the solar powered generators are the heart of the village and are designed to power classrooms, small businesses and community facilities.The generators can last for up to 25 years, compared to the normal traditional diesel generators which are not sustainable and require a lot of servicing. The batteries in the generators can last for up to eight years before they are replaced.

    Innovations such as the Digital Village, smart classroom and malaria management have been known to transform lives and communities. Just last year, a randomised control trial in a Ugandan community found that tea, when consumed once a week, was effective in preventing multiple malaria attacks in human beings. Smart classes, however, have changed the process of learning. In this new dispensation, learning is happening more through screens; be it television, laptop or films. Students are quick in learning new technologies, particularly when used in education.

    The Village is designed to help beneficiaries overcome socio-economic barriers that prevent rthem from accessing quality healthcare and education.The initiative will also contribute to the ICT sector, through the provision of transformative e-learning solutions.

    With these fetters lowered, the digital environment offers opportunities for people to take part in the wide spectrum of activities that makes learning sociable and fun.

    The thrust of this innovative initiative reveals an operational shared value approach, which is manifested in the fact that both Samsung and its consumers are expected to benefit from this innovative social investment to transform the lives of its beneficiaries.

    The Village has previously been launched in South Africa, Ghana and Gabon and has positively impacted on the lives of millions of people in these countries,  providing them with a cluster of connected health and education facilities, helping to fast track the development of these countries.

    With innovations such as this, it is expected that there will be less demand on the family purse and time.

     

     

  • Corporations, others to increase security spending by 25 per cent

    Corporations, others to increase security spending by 25 per cent

    A new view toward information technology (IT) security and the protection and its enablement has sparked a new wave of increase in security investment from 18 per cent it is today to 25 per cent over the next three years.

    In the industry, protection is still the main driver for security, but a new study released at the weekend showed that organisations understand that the application (app) economy demands a new view and approach to security.

    The study, sponsored by CA Technologies and 8 Steps to Modernise Security for the Application Economy as its title showed how mobility, Application Programme Interfaces (APIs) and an eye for growing business have brought a balanced view of control and enablement to security.

    Speaking on the study, BU Manager, Security, CA Southern Africa, Michael Horn, said:  “Today, we need to live in a security-first world – light-years from the days when security was an afterthought and bolted on after a service or application was deployed. With the application economy going full-throttle in the hyper-connected world of people, devices and expanding ambient data, businesses realise that security goes beyond protection. The same tools that govern who and what can access our data, also can deliver a frictionless and positive customer experience and contribute to business growth in a variety of ways.”

    The study showed that when it comes to mobility matters, improving the mobile customer experience was cited as a top security priority (42 per cent), second only to protecting against data breach (56 per cent). In addition, 49 per cent of respondents say mobility has a big or significant impact on security practices and policies with respect to customers.

    “We expect this number to expand as mobility, BYOD (bring your own device) and the Internet of Things (IoT) drive an increasingly “unwired enterprise” where perpetual connectivity adds a complexity and security risk that must be addressed for employees, customers and partners,” the report added.

    Success in the application economy requires businesses to innovate and release applications more quickly, and API-assembled apps will lead the way. To facilitate that need, 79 per cent of respondents are opening their data as APIs to accelerate mobile and web application delivery, improve customer engagements and open new revenue channels and opportunities. This adds new considerations to the protection factor of security.

    Similarly, 48 per cent of respondents recognise that business enablement is an important benefit of security and can drive growth.  Seventy-eight per cent of respondents have seen or expect to see increased revenue from new services enabled by improved security.