The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Vodacom

  • Vodacom promotes e-learning in schools

    Furthering its mission to empower youth through communication technology (ICT), Vodacom Business Nigeria has hosted 56students from the S.S. Peter & Paul Nursery and Primary School, Ikate Elegushi on a special tour of the company’s facilities to learn about cloud computing and the technology behind e-learning.

    The students of the S.S. Peter & Paul Nursery and Primary School run by Loving Gaze, an independent non-profit organization, that serves the unprivileged communities in Lagos State, were given the opportunity to learn about new communication technologies and their importance to education. As a practical demonstration of e-learning, the primary five students aged between nine and eleven were introduced to virtual classroom and also communicated with their classmates placed in separate conference rooms located on different floors of the building.

    Abu Etu, Senior Manager, Product Portfolio, Vodacom Business Nigeria said, “We promote the education and training for students at primary level of education, empowering them at a much earlier stage of their lives. It is part of our responsibility to prepare these young ones for the post – digital age which will demand technical knowledge and skills”.

    The General Manager of Loving Gaze, Barbara Pepoli, who was present at the field trip said;: “We are excited that our students had the opportunity and learn new things beyond the walls of the classroom. Getting children interested in technology has been very important for our school and this field trip is a great way to make technology come to life for our students”.

    Vodacom Business Nigeria, through its Power to you project, uses industrial tours and field trips to educate students from primary, secondary and tertiary schools on new telecommunications technologies that are driving the economy. The program meis aimed at empowering Nigerian youths through ICT.

  • Vodacom wins awards

    Vodacom wins awards

    Vodacom has won the Cloud Services Provider of the Year and ICT Infrastructure Provider of the Year (Data Centre) at the BoICT Awards in Lagos.

    Its Director, Legal  Services, Nkechi  Newton-Denila, who received the awards at an event that brought together leaders in the industry to celebrate their achievements in the past year.

    She said the recognition was a call to do more, adding that the firm would keep working hard to grow businesses in the country with its cutting-edge technology.

    She said:  “We are happy to have received the Cloud Services Provider of the Year and ICT Infrastructure Provider of the Year (Data Centre) Awards. This is testament to our commitment to provide world-class and innovative services leveraging on our local expertise and global track record to support business growth in Nigeria. Our gratitude goes to our customers whose businesses are driving the Nigerian economy and the men and women at Vodacom who work round the clock to enable these businesses.”

    This is the fifth BoICT award the company has won in three years, winning Enterprise Solutions Provider of the Year in 2013 and last year and Cloud Service provider of the Year last year and 2015 consecutively. ICT Infrastructure Provider of the Year (Data Centre) is the newest addition to the company’s list of accolades. Early last year, Vodacom Business Nigeria’s Software as a Service solution (SaaS) was awarded Enterprise Solution of the Year, a prestigious award at the Cyber Africa Innovation Awards last year.

    The awards follows the company’s Enterprise Voice Solution launch event where the company introduced Business Express, a Cloud–based Hosted IPBX solution which enables businesses to save as much as 30 per cent on cost of voice calls to local and international destinations.

  • Vodacom signs to Convention on Business Integrity

    Vodacom signs to Convention on Business Integrity

    A technology firm, Vodacom Business Nigeria, has signed into the Convention on Business Integrity (CBi), a move which it said underscored its commitment to the observance of the Code of Business Integrity both within the company and in its dealings with customers and partners.

    Managing Director, Vodacom Business Africa, Douglas Craigie–Stevenson and his Vodacom Business Nigeria counterpart, Guy Clarke signed for Vodacom while the Executive Director, CBi, Mr Soji Apampa signed for his organisation during a ceremony in Ikoyi, Lagos.

    Craigie-Stevenson said Vodacom has always maintained the highest level of integrity in its business dealings in every country it operated, adding that formally joining the group is a further manifestation of the firm’s unalloyed commitment of standing on the side of integrity all the time.

    “Joining the Convention on Business Integrity shows our commitment to conducting all our business affairs with honesty and professionalism,” he said.

    Apampa commended Vodacom Business Nigeria for taking the bull by its horns, stressing that with firms such as Vodacom joining the CBi, corporate governance will become a reality while corruption will become reduced.

    He said: “We recognise the necessity to build a strong alliance of companies and organisations such as Vodacom, their collective action will improve corporate governance and reduce corruption in the Nigerian business environment.”

  • UBA partners Vodacom on data

    UBA partners Vodacom on data

    United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and Vodacom are partnering on data and broadband communications. The business relationship, the bank said in a statement, is handled locally through Vodacom Business Nigeria.

    The firm, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vodacom, enables UBA to seamlessly interconnect business offices and ATMs and to generally deploy financial services across the Group.

    As a result of the scope and scale of the partnership, it explained, UBA has become a Vodafone Global Enterprise Customer, becoming the first financial institution of Nigerian origin to join the elite list of companies such as General Electric (GE), Apple and Microsoft.

    During the ceremony to formally present the certificate of recognition as a Vodafone Global Enterprise Customer to UBA, the Managing Director, Vodacom Business Nigeria, Guy Clarke, commended UBA for the leading role it is playing on the continents’ financial landscape.

    The Group Managing Director/CEO of UBA Plc, Mr. Phillips Oduoza said the UBA will leverage on this milestone recognition and its associated benefits, to significantly improve the efficiency of its operations and processes as well as optimize costs.

  • Vodacom expands to Ibadan, Kano

    Leading provider of enterprise-class communication solutions, Vodacom Business Nigeria, said it has opened new offices in Ibadan and Kano. It said the new offices are part of Vodacom Nigeria’s expansion plans which will strengthen services to customers in these regions and the surrounding areas.

    In a statement, the firm said it will leverage its extensive national communications network to provide secure and agile communication solutions to customers in these regions. These services include enterprise voice, cloud and hosting solutions as well as machine–to–machine solutions.

    Its Managing Director, Guy Clarke said: “We expanded into Ibadan and Kano in response to the demand for converged communications. These are thriving markets where companies are investing in cutting-edge telecommunication solutions to increase customer engagement and loyalty.”

    The new offices will provide services and support to large-scale enterprise, small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) as well as public enterprises in Ibadan, Kano and surrounding areas in both cities. “Our solutions will provide businesses in these regions with a single point of contact for their enterprise telephony and data services, all on a single secure network,” Clarke added.

    Vodacom offers connectivity, voice, cloud and hosting services from Nigeria’s only certified Tier 3 data center and now business in Ibadan and Kano can enjoy reliable, secure and scalable communication services regardless of their size or location.

  • Vodacom strengthens voice suite

    Vodacom strengthens voice suite

    Vodacom Business Nigeria has enhanced its enterprise voice suite with the launch of two new solutions, Business Connect and Business Express. These are enterprise-grade fixed telephony solutions made for Nigerian businesses and specifically designed to give superior and cost-effective voice services.

    Speaking at the launch in Lagos at the weekend,  its Head of Operations, Vernon Van Rooyen, said the innovatives products would reduce capital expenditure (capex).

    He said:  “We’ve worked hard to develop the right tools specifically for the businesses in Nigeria. We have regional numbers approved by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)  for all our customers. In addition, our solution is integrated allowing employees across all departments in an organisation to easily locate and communicate with colleagues, which enables them to reach one another anytime, anywhere and on any device. By empowering employees to work more flexibly, not only can overall productivity increase but work/life balance and job satisfaction also improve significantly.”

    Its Product Manager,  Abu Etu said: “The increase in employee mobility and the usage of multiple devices among employees, introduces some complexities that slow down processes in the workplace. The Enterprise Voice solution allows businesses to communicate with their staff across different devices maintaining one number and dialing behavior, so that every business call is answered.”

    Successful business communications in the modern environment require secure real-time collaboration, single phone number reach, and solutions that can ensure mobility while reducing cost.

    The firm said the Vodacom Business Connect enables enterprises with existing Private Branch Exchange(PBX) infrastructure to make and receive external calls. It integrates seamlessly with the customer’s legacy PBX and supports a wide range of protocols and interfaces including SIP, FXO and E1.

    For enterprises without an existing PBX, Vodacom now offers Business Express, which is an IP PBX solution hosted from Vodacom’s data centre. This solution provides businesses with the functionalities of a PBX without the need for any cpital expenditure (capex) investment.

    Vodacom Enterprise Voice Solution comes with an edge that can make a big difference with automatic call hunting between staff, dedicated conference bridge, all at cost effective rates, helping businesses to reduce their telephony expenses.  Customers can answer calls to their office landline number on multiple devices, so they will never miss a business opportunity.

  • Cloud computing IT game changer, says Vodacom

    Cloud computing IT game changer, says Vodacom

    Vodacom Business Nigeria has said the adoption of cloud computing by business organisations will ultimately lead to significant reduction in the costs of doing business by both small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and big units.

    It however lamented that businesses in the country are still lagging behind with only a third of them currently using cloud technology.

    Its Executive Head, Cloud and Hosting Services, Nkosi Kumalo said: “Cloud is the ultimate place to do Business. Most chief information officers (CIOs) spend their time managing complex IT delivery however, by adopting cloud technology; corporates have reduced their total cost of operation (TCO) and increased productivity. Cloud technology transforms the way we do business.”

    Speaking on Utilising Cloud As Key Business Tool, at the CIO forum sponsored by Vodacom Business Nigeria in Lagos, he urged firms still doing business in the usual way to start thinking about looking inwards by embracing cloud technology.

    Kumalo stated that factors driving cloud adoption include improved connectivity, reduction in IT costs and the retention of key skills. “Companies can no longer afford to invest too much of their capital expenditure (CAPEX) into IT infrastructure as this is an expensive, long-term investment,” he added.

    According to him, despite this increased interest in cloud technology across Africa, it is evident that the major adaption inhibitor is the security of cloud computing.

    Kumalo who responded to questions raised around cloud security at the forum said: “We have taken care of the fears around security; our solutions are designed to incorporate the very latest in security technology. Our cloud security solution ensures that your business critical applications are safe. We also have cloud backup and Archiving Solutions offering customers full redundancy for business continuity and disaster recovery.”

    As companies establish confidence in cloud solutions, they will move more of their solutions into the cloud, however, to achieve this, it is important that enterprises partner with a company that has a robust network and relevant skills to deliver the value that the Cloud promises.

  • Vodacom bags ICT awards

    Vodacom Business Nigeria’s outstanding contribution to connecting and enabling enterprise businesses in Nigeria was recognised at the Beacon of ICT (BoICT) Awards in Lagos.
    Vodacom emerged winners in Enterprise Solutions Provider of the Year and the Cloud Service Provider of the Year categories.
    Vodacom Business’ core infrastructure connects over 580 million people across more than 40 African countries and includes over 50 satellite transponders, 24 dedicated teleports and access to multiple sub-sea cable landing ports. By utilising on-the-ground support, Vodacom Business provides system integration and maintenance, Broadband Internet, Dedicated Hosted services, Cloud Services, International and Pan-African data networks, Enterprise Voice and a host of other Value Added Services to its customers.
    Managing Director of Vodacom Business Nigeria, Guy Clarke, said: “We are honoured to receive this award, as a customer centric organisation; we are passionate about our customers’ business and we will continue to support them with enterprise-class communications solutions to help them grow their businesses.
    “What makes this award special to us is that we are receiving recognition not only from the telecoms industry but from businesses that have come to realise the benefits of using our solutions.”