Cloud computing has become a thriving trend in data storage. However there are still skepticisms from many Nigerian organizations over the safe of their information and what becomes of their privacy if their data goes up in the cloud.
Fortunately, Hi-Tech ran into the managing Director, Levant and Emerging Africa Region, EMC, Mr Nazim Fraijat, at the EMC forum in Lagos recently. We put some of these questions to him and his answers were very educative. ONE of your major businesses is cloud computing which has become a major trend in data storage. Is there more to this term in your own view?
Cloud computing is basically the transformation of Information Technology, IT, from a standard physical implementation tool, including data centres, software, hardware, networking and servers, into a service.
The technology enables organisations to obtain their IT requirements as a service, based on consumption models towards improving service level agreements, SLAs, being more efficient, reducing costs and being much more agile.
How can cloud computing be utilized in Nigeria with regard to business management?
I think that businesses in Nigeria and around the world can leverage cloud computing in so many ways.
For many organisations, IT is not a core business, but they have to deploy technology in order to take advantage of innovation and automation in delivering services to their customers.
Quality of service
If businesses have a means of delivering services to their customers in a much more efficient way that reduces cost and also improves the quality of service delivery, they will definitely do this.
Right now, Nigeria and indeed, the whole world is undergoing a transition. A lot of businesses today that utilize technological applications are thinking ‘why do I need to invest in the full stack of IT infrastructure if I can get the service from one of the service providers at a much lower cost and with better SLAs, while being much more efficient?’ The current adoption rate of IT as a service is good, but we believe that the potential is even bigger than what we have seen.
Does Nigeria currently have the required technology foundation that can actually accommodate the Cloud model?
I am not trying to be diplomatic, but my answer is yes. Against the backdrop of what we have seen so far, Nigeria and most of the emerging economies in Africa, have a better advantage in comparison to the mature world when it comes to leveraging cloud computing and I will tell you why.
The more developed markets have made huge investment in data centres, infrastructure and legacy systems and are now facing the challenge of moving to the cloud and changing their processes and standards while adapting to cloud computing.
In Nigeria and other emerging African countries, in so many cases, you don’t have these legacy systems to begin with, so organisations can immediately move to the cloud.
In this scenario, the transition becomes a mission not to reduce cost or to improve SLAs. As a matter of fact, it becomes a process that enables businesses to have access to services that they were not able to have before. It’s like adopting mobile and data technology compared to fixed lines.
A lot of people now think, ‘why should we invest in fixed lines; why don’t I go with mobile and data?’ This is not the first time we’ve seen this happen with technology.
But yes, I believe that what we have in terms of infrastructure is good. It still needs a lot of improvement but there is a lot of progress in the sector.
The whole country is really investing to develop this but I believe that what we have on ground is a good platform for leveraging cloud technology.
Third platform technologies, including Big Data, cloud computing and analytics are often perceived as technology for large enterprises. Can SMEs benefit from these services as well?
I consider SMEs to be the biggest beneficiary of cloud computing. There is the challenge of having enough investment for SMEs to build their own IT infrastructure that will enable them to benefit from these services.
If there is no cloud service provider offering these services, a lot of the SMEs will get stuck in the middle, unable to take advantage of this technology. Today, we see SMEs as the biggest adopters of cloud computing.
On the side of the larger enterprises, cloud computing is a means of reducing cost and improving SLAs but for SMEs, it is a business enabler.
Virtualisation and building storage infrastructure is the cornerstone of enabling cloud service providers to start building infrastructure that can provide IT as a service and cloud as a service.
Without having the proper virtualisation and storage infrastructure, IT service providers will not be able to offer cloud services.
Fortunately, Hi-Tech ran into the managing Director, Levant and Emerging Africa Region, EMC, Mr Nazim Fraijat, at the EMC forum in Lagos recently. We put some of these questions to him and his answers were very educative. ONE of your major businesses is cloud computing which has become a major trend in data storage. Is there more to this term in your own view?
Cloud computing is basically the transformation of Information Technology, IT, from a standard physical implementation tool, including data centres, software, hardware, networking and servers, into a service.
The technology enables organisations to obtain their IT requirements as a service, based on consumption models towards improving service level agreements, SLAs, being more efficient, reducing costs and being much more agile.
How can cloud computing be utilized in Nigeria with regard to business management?
I think that businesses in Nigeria and around the world can leverage cloud computing in so many ways.
For many organisations, IT is not a core business, but they have to deploy technology in order to take advantage of innovation and automation in delivering services to their customers.
Quality of service
If businesses have a means of delivering services to their customers in a much more efficient way that reduces cost and also improves the quality of service delivery, they will definitely do this.
Right now, Nigeria and indeed, the whole world is undergoing a transition. A lot of businesses today that utilize technological applications are thinking ‘why do I need to invest in the full stack of IT infrastructure if I can get the service from one of the service providers at a much lower cost and with better SLAs, while being much more efficient?’ The current adoption rate of IT as a service is good, but we believe that the potential is even bigger than what we have seen.
Does Nigeria currently have the required technology foundation that can actually accommodate the Cloud model?
I am not trying to be diplomatic, but my answer is yes. Against the backdrop of what we have seen so far, Nigeria and most of the emerging economies in Africa, have a better advantage in comparison to the mature world when it comes to leveraging cloud computing and I will tell you why.
The more developed markets have made huge investment in data centres, infrastructure and legacy systems and are now facing the challenge of moving to the cloud and changing their processes and standards while adapting to cloud computing.
In Nigeria and other emerging African countries, in so many cases, you don’t have these legacy systems to begin with, so organisations can immediately move to the cloud.
In this scenario, the transition becomes a mission not to reduce cost or to improve SLAs. As a matter of fact, it becomes a process that enables businesses to have access to services that they were not able to have before. It’s like adopting mobile and data technology compared to fixed lines.
A lot of people now think, ‘why should we invest in fixed lines; why don’t I go with mobile and data?’ This is not the first time we’ve seen this happen with technology.
But yes, I believe that what we have in terms of infrastructure is good. It still needs a lot of improvement but there is a lot of progress in the sector.
The whole country is really investing to develop this but I believe that what we have on ground is a good platform for leveraging cloud technology.
Third platform technologies, including Big Data, cloud computing and analytics are often perceived as technology for large enterprises. Can SMEs benefit from these services as well?
I consider SMEs to be the biggest beneficiary of cloud computing. There is the challenge of having enough investment for SMEs to build their own IT infrastructure that will enable them to benefit from these services.
If there is no cloud service provider offering these services, a lot of the SMEs will get stuck in the middle, unable to take advantage of this technology. Today, we see SMEs as the biggest adopters of cloud computing.
On the side of the larger enterprises, cloud computing is a means of reducing cost and improving SLAs but for SMEs, it is a business enabler.
Virtualisation and building storage infrastructure is the cornerstone of enabling cloud service providers to start building infrastructure that can provide IT as a service and cloud as a service.
Without having the proper virtualisation and storage infrastructure, IT service providers will not be able to offer cloud services.
