Nigeria: Country's IT Spending to Top U.S.$5.3 Billion in 2016

By Bankole Orimisan

Come 2016, Nigeria Information Technology (IT) spending will top $5.3 billion, as organisations increasingly embrace digital transmission initiatives, in a bid to streamline their costs and bolster flexibility.

This projection was announced by Global Technology Research and Consulting Services, arm of International Data Corporation (IDC), at its event held in Lagos,to announce a series of 'IDC FutureScape Predictions' for the year ahead.

"Some combinations of the technologies of the 3rd Platform - namely mobility, cloud, Big Data analytics, and social business - sit at the heart of most digital transformation efforts across Nigeria," says Mark Walker, IDC's associate vice president for Sub-Saharan Africa.

"Smart City initiatives, whether greenfield or brownfield, are driving greater adoption of third Platform technologies as well as a deeper paradigm shift on the part of governments, technology users, and vendors. Indeed, the success of Smart City initiatives will play a role in Nigeria's digital transformation journey in 2016."

  The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem is another key facet of the digital transformation revolution beginning to take place in Nigeria, the IDC continues.

   IoT applications in the government, retail, transportation, manufacturing, and utilities verticals will offer the greatest growth opportunity for vendors operating in Nigeria, while security is expected to form a key component of any robust digital transformation strategy.

And according to OluwoleAbegunde, a telecommunications research analyst at IDC West Africa, cost-optimisation efforts and a lack of skills will drive demand for security services in the years ahead, while the proliferation of IoT technologies will push concerns around privacy and physical security to the top of the ICT agenda.

  "The adoption of IoT will accelerate the rate of digital transformation in Nigeria as organisations and stakeholders seek actionable insights from the high volumes of data that will inevitably be generated by the proliferation of connected 'things' such as mobile devices, wearables, and sensors," says Abegunde. "These insights will transform the way businesses and government organizations interact with customers, citizens, suppliers, and even employees, helping them to become more agile and innovative than they could have previously imagined."

   According to the IDC elsewhere across the African continent, public and private sector organisations will shift to tighter, more digitised supply chains in 2016.

Regional integration, public-private partnerships, and omni-channel services are expected to accelerate supply chain cohesion, driven by a combination of trade agreements and a reduced reliance on commoditised trade.

 A systems and infrastructure solutions research analyst at IDC West Africa,BabatundeAfolayan, noted that continued urbanisation - together with demographic/social changes - will further drive the need for digital solutions. "eCommerce and mcommerce developments are expected to bolster the African sharing community and mobile, IoT, user experience, security, and analytics will create new experiences and opportunities across the continent," says Afolayan. "African examples of these trends will become showcases for established and emerging markets around the world."

   IDC's country manager for West Africa, Bola Adisa, believes that technology in Africa is undoubtedly an equalizer that enables innovation and transparency. "In Nigeria, the democratisation of information is preparing the country for a digital future and enabling it to become included in the digital economy," says Adisa.

"While the digital transformation trend signals a positive development for Nigeria's ICT vendors, a number of macroeconomic factors may nevertheless prevent the ICT market from reaching its full potential. Indeed, a challenging economic outlook, high structural unemployment, electricity supply challenges, and volatile currency fluctuations are all impacting ICT market spend. Despite market headwinds, IDC predicts ICT spend in Nigeria will grow 6.5% year on year in 2016, with mobile devices responsible for much of the increase.

Why Nigerian youths must take up career in IT, by Aptech

Kallol Mukherjee

The Deputy Vice President – International Business, Aptech Training Institute, Kallol Mukherjee, spoke with BANKOLE ORIMISAN on the need for Nigerian students to take up a career in Information Technology that would make them become more skillful and employable. Excerpt.

What is Mission IT scholarship all about?
Mission IT scholarship is an initiative taken by Aptech to encourage deserving students to take up a career in I.T. The objective is to empower the students with excellent knowledge of IT so as to make them skilled and job-ready individuals.

How will Mission IT help students in Nigeria?
Mission IT would encourage students to take up a career in IT and help them secure the best of opportunities in the IT field. Financial assistance is always a boon for students who deserve but unable to finance their education.

How can students in Nigeria avail your scholarship programmes?
The students can walk into any Aptech center, register for a scholarship exam and score well to get up to 50 per cent scholarship.

What are the available IT courses that students study at Aptech in Nigeria?
Students can take up career starter, career professional and career builder programs. Courses under career starter are designed for younger students who are in college or have recently graduated. This includes modules such as MS Office, Advanced MS Excel, C Programming, HTML 5, Designing websites in Dreamweaver Cs5. Career Professional courses are for those who are already a part of the industry, but want to add to their current professional knowledge and be a step ahead in their careers. The courses include Java fundamentals, Aptech Certified System Administrator, MS SQL Server, App development on Android and lots more. Also, we have Career Builder courses, which includes Aptech Certified Computer Professional (ACCP), a program that not only gives you comprehensive understanding but also makes you job-ready.

What are the benefits of Aptech courses? How can students apply for Middlesex University after completion of Aptech Courses?
Aptech’s courses are designed by certified faculty and provide in-depth understanding of concepts right from the basics to the complex topics. Having 30 years of expertise in the training business, Aptech has carved a niche for itself in the I.T. business. Aptech’s courses are updated as per the latest trends and technologies, which are crucial for the student to secure next-generation jobs.

On completion of the Aptech Certified Computer Professional (ACCP) program, the student gets admitted to the final year of BSc IT (Hons) through the unique credit transfer facility. This gives the student a chance to study at any of the campuses of Middlesex University in London, Dubai, Mauritius or Malta.

What are the job opportunities open for Aptech students?
There are various job opportunities available for students after pursuing courses. Some of the job profiles are programmers, web developers, system analysts, database analysts, architects and administrators, project managers, technical writers and document specialists, software architects, solution builders and consultants. There are a lot more opportunities open for students pursuing a career in I.T.

Do your offer Degree certificate?
We have an alliance with the Middlesex University. As per this alliance, the students get a degree in BSc IT (Hons) post the completion of two years in Aptech.

What is the contribution of Aptech in IT industry Nigeria?
Aptech has been present in Nigeria since 2001. Over the past 15 years Aptech has helped produce remarkable talent in Nigeria. Having trained numerous students, Aptech has been instrumental in furthering the progress in the I.T. space in Nigeria. With trained talent come skilled professionals who shape the destiny of the future I.T. industry.

Nigeria: Experts Charge HR Practitioners On ICT Skills

By Bankole Orimisan

Human Resource practitioners have been charged to adopt technology as a skill to drive business operations, enhance learning and decision-making processes that would raise profitability for businesses growth.

Experts at the second edition of Human Resource Leaders breakfast forum and the unveiling of a Learning and Development Benchmark Survey, organised by a capacity building firm, DigitalJewels, stressed that businesses across the globe continue to face various and diverse forms of challenges.

Dean, Lagos Business School, Dr. Enase Okonedo, in her paper titled, "Learning and Development: An Impact Assessment", noted that the need for a continually improving, more dynamic and skillfully up-to-date workforce is increasingly making learning a critical priority for business.

  The landmark Digital Jewels Learning and Development Survey themed, 'Learn and Thrive', revealed that fresh challenges to L& D are being posed by technological advancement, customers' expectations, the competition, bargaining power of suppliers and threats of substitutes products, but the skills required to address them are not being developed at the same pace and proportion.

  The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, DigitalJewels, Adedoyin Odunfa, who gave an insight into the new survey said that the survey was designed to assist government agencies and organizations to reflect on their current practices and identify key areas for change.

  According to her, Nigeria's L&D practice is still in the early stages of development and lacking maturity. The challenging economic environment of the past few years has had a significant impact on the resources available for learning and development in many organizations and this is not expected to abate in the short run.

   Ironically there is an increasing shortage of requisite skill. New skills need to be acquired and continuous update is required by a vast majority of the workforce in order to confront organisational challenges for improved RoI.