Nigeria’s capital market is experiencing significant advancements in operations and services thanks to the technological innovations implemented by the Central Securities Clearing System PLC (CSCS), according to Tobe Nnadozie, the company’s Head of Business Technology & Digital Innovation.
Nnadozie, who revealed this at the weekend in Lagos, said, the boost is delivering a new era in the country’s capital market technology with Nutanix at the helm.
CSCS, being led by Haruna Jalo-Waziri, as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, is Nigeria’s Central Securities Depository (CSD), licensed to carry on the depository, clearing, and settlement of all transactions in the Nigerian Capital Market.
The company processes an astounding 99.9% of all equity trades in the capital markets, underscored by its preeminent position in the equities market and considerable presence in bonds and other financial areas.
Over the last four years, CSCS has evolved as a technology giant in the market, connecting all stakeholders and changing the narratives that have affected the growth of the market.
Boasting an average uptime of 99.9999% of her infrastructure and platforms, the organization has enabled a lot of innovations in the market.
Some of the automation includes the provision of a 24/7 view of the investor’s portfolio and various platforms.
Today, 100% of the brokers in the capital market rely on the CSCS platform to complete various forms of transactions.
The platform, which has become a major part of the life of an average broker, enables brokers to provide portfolio management for their investors.
According to Nnadozie, “At CSCS, we’ve built a robust technological framework as the cornerstone of our success, propelling us to the pinnacle of Nigeria’s capital market. A defining characteristic of the business is that it is our deep-rooted technological ethos and the fact that we view ourselves not just as a financial entity but fundamentally as a technology company operating within the capital market.”
In 2018, CSCS began re-evaluating its operational strategy and recognised the need for an infrastructure overhaul.
Then by 2019, after meticulous planning and strategy formulation, it looked for a partner to support a redefined strategy anchored in delivering self-service platforms, expanded API infrastructure, and an environment that could support technologies like machine learning, artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, and blockchain.
“Three core tenets were foundational to our evaluation criteria: service, stability, and scalability. Following a thorough analysis of potential partners, one name emerged as a clear front-runner: Nutanix. Despite individual encounters with Nutanix previously, it wasn’t until the cusp of 2019 and 2020 that we considered a partnership,” adds Nnadozie.
However, the partnership faced a challenge: the absence of a reference within the capital market; no entity had deployed Nutanix at the scale it envisioned. “Our vision was audacious: transitioning all our vital infrastructure onto Nutanix, barring one environment,” says Nnadozie.
Transitioning to a new infrastructure, especially one as extensive as CSCS, is no small feat. Its legacy system was a behemoth, with an intricate web of over 70 physical servers.
The primary challenge? To retain only the core server and transpose functionalities from the others to a more modern, hyper-converged infrastructure.
Beyond the operational challenges, data security was a towering concern. Given the scale of their investment and the strict regulations in Nigeria, ensuring absolute data security was not just crucial—it was imperative.
“In our blueprint for technological metamorphosis, Nutanix was at the core. With their invaluable expertise, we streamlined our sprawling infrastructure to about 50 optimised servers. Our new avatar included a cutting-edge multicloud disaster recovery environment that promised rapid recovery and ensured zero downtime,” elucidates Nnadozie.
Their collaboration with Nutanix witnessed an overhaul of nearly 90% of their systems, which were transitioned to just five Nutanix clusters, including a three-node cluster for its production environment and a two-node cluster for its disaster recovery (DR) environment – paving the way for a streamlined and futuristic operational module.
“To put it succinctly, Nutanix now hosts our most vital components: our core database, crucial data sets, pivotal applications, and essential APIs.
“We have moved 90% of our systems across to the Nutanix clusters. We are developing a multi-cloud disaster recovery system that can transition between on-premises and cloud operations, providing us unparalleled flexibility,” says Nnadozie.
According to CSCS, something that sets Nutanix apart is the calibre of its support system. With its acquisition of the Nutanix Ultimate License, it has access to premium support services. Furthermore, Nutanix Flow has proven invaluable, simplifying the management of the entire Nutanix ecosystem.
“Incorporating Nutanix into our operations has brought transformative benefits to our company. Firstly, the financial advantages have been immediately clear, with savings of approximately $450,000. This arises from a combination of factors, including reduced licensing costs, diminished data centre expenses, and lesser dependence on costly network devices,” says Nnadozie.
This financial clarity extends to budget predictability. Unlike the uncertainties tied to traditional systems, Nutanix’s platform provides scalability and transparency, allowing CSCS and its partners to develop and scale new digital products and solutions rapidly. CSCS is also implementing a robust cloud strategy, moving from outdated backup systems to instantaneous replications.
Regarding workforce impact, the team can manage this advanced environment through comprehensive training without expanding its headcount, and remote management provides flexibility and supports work-life balance.
“Our agility has positioned us as a strategic player in the capital markets. We’re not merely providers but innovators. Our ability to promptly roll out servers, replicate workloads, and introduce changes has accelerated our go-to-market strategies. The change is so significant that our CEO makes it a point to visit what’s now perceived as the engine room of not just our business but the broader capital market of Nigeria,” Nnadozie added.
Beyond operational expectations, Nutanix has exhibited empathy, aligning with the company’s growth strategy and addressing concerns genuinely while remaining transparent about plans, potential gaps, or costs.
“I have been in IT leadership for over 20 years, and managing infrastructure has always been the biggest challenge. With Nutanix, that concern has taken a backseat. When I get a daily risk report from the chief risk officer, infrastructure on our Nutanix platforms is hardly ever on it, and if it is, we already have a solution,” says Nnadozie.
