Can Nigeria take advantage of Cloud Computing?

Taking advantage of aggressive model like Cloud Computing by Nigerian businesses is aligning itself to the 21st century business outline, writes REMMY NWEKE.

A fortnight ago, Cloud Computing experts has predicted that the technology innovation has potentials to create new businesses, which means new jobs and avenues of engagement with the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) communities, especially in developing countries.

Defined by intellectuals at the open source-driven online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Cloud Computing is made up of computation, software, data access and storage services that ordinarily do not require end-user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system that delivers his or her services. This could be likened to the usage of public electricity power services without bothering where the electricity is actually coming from; whether powered by a Dam far away or extended to your community with simple transformer.

The experts at Wikipedia also described cloud computing as a natural evolution of the widespread adoption of virtualization, service-oriented architecture, autonomic and utility computing. Therefore, it’s a new supplement, consumption, and delivery model for core Information Technology (IT) services based on Internet Protocols (IP), via the ease-of-access to remote computing sites provided by the Internet.

The President of Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Mr. Chris Uwaje noted recently at Lagos Mobile Web conference that normal cloud computing service providers, should be able to deliver common business applications online that are easily accessed from any other web service or software like a web browser, while the software and data are stored on servers.

He highlighted that most cloud computing infrastructure are made up of services delivered through common centers and built on servers, thereby appearing as single points of access for consumers’ computing needs. Whereas the commercial offerings are generally expected to meet quality of service (QoS) requirements of customers, and typically include service level agreements (SLAs) among others.

But speaking at a breakfast session in Lagos, Cloud Computing Executive at Internet Solution, Cloud Services Executive, Internet Solutions South Africa, Mr. Greg Montjoie, declared that cloud computing would enthrone new businesses in the future, more so for developing economies like Nigeria and people need to embrace it as soon as possible, especially those who intend to play in this innovative products keying into the roles for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Mr. Montjoie also said that one of the key benefits for businesses deploying cloud services include that employees would be at liberty to log into the office virtual machines and perform their functions which ordinarily were performed at the office.

For him, it’s quick provision of virtual machines as well as very cost effective upgradeable solutions to the end-user, adding that a wide range of peripheral services available is not limited to management of cloud services for businesses, which Montjoie noted are moving towards low risk, high flexibility of Information Technology (IT) delivery vehicles, so as to free-up capital, resource intensive models that tie a business into a single vendor and technology for a long period of time.

Cloud clients, Montjoie said need a solution that allows them to access their office systems from anywhere in the world and operate it on flexible infrastructure that could be ramped up or down on demand. Citing an instance with the Cloud Managed services by Internet Solutions, saying it was designed to provide elastic value added services (VAS) and back office applications from the core of its network; either by using dedicated hosting solutions or virtual Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), the product suite allows businesses to focus on core services while outsourcing seamless integration of Cloud services into a given network.

Equally, he said that in the current African market and particularly Nigeria, technical resources are not only expensive but hard to find and by using the designed managed cloud services it would free businesses up from making large Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) investments or Operating Expenditure (OPEX) commitments in infrastructure and services that may not be core to mere business.

Hence, he urged businesses in Africa and precisely Nigeria to leverage on economies of scale on offer made out of the best of breed technologies.

Already various players in the ICT communities have come up with different concepts of what they think Cloud Computing is all about and should be in Nigeria, including Hewlett Packard (HP), Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, and Ericsson to name a few.

This was corroborated with the deal sealed a few days after between LM Ericsson and Novatium partner on simplified cloud computing with PC as a Service, even as demonstration was held at the recently concluded 2011 Mobile World Congress, according to Public and Media Relations manager, Ericsson West Africa, Ms. Omasan Ogisi.

She said, PC as a Service is an operator offering which includes a managed monetized PC desktop and brings the strengths and advantages from mobile prepaid to the personal computer by allowing flexible recharging and diverse subscription models.

This partnership, she said, avails an innovative concept which stores computing features from operating systems to antivirus in the cloud, thus allowing computing to be amazingly affordable and simple without missing the user-friendly experience of more advance devices.

Ogisi highlighted the fact that PC as a service brings together the power of mobile broadband and cloud computing to reach out to the next billion users. She stressed that the partnership tends to transform personal computing experience to the level of simplicity of a household appliance, dramatically reducing battery consumption and allows PC to start in five seconds.

This service, she said, is available to telecom operators across Asia, Africa, Americas and Europe, pointing out that by making use of a cloud-based operating system (OS), PC as a Service removes the complexities of virus protection, software updates, application installation and maintenance.

“These features are moved away from the user to the cloud. The service, including client hardware, is remotely managed end-to-end by experts,” she said, just as it gives a superior and convenient computing experience at a really great value reaching out with an optimal solution for the next billion users, especially in emerging markets.

Ogisi assured that the service holds tremendous promise for telecom operators globally looking at ways to monetize their mobile broadband infrastructure, while ensuring subscriber value, adding that several leading telecom service providers in India have already deployed the concept under their brand names and invited Nigerian operators to key-in.

For instance, HP sees it as a means of taking service delivery to the next level. Experts at HP Nigeria led by Mr. Ime Umo believe that anyone who uses technology today should expect things to be immediate, interactive, connected and solution, stressing that delivery technologies enable services is more important than ever nowadays.

“Successful enterprises don’t just respond to this, they embrace it,” he said, thus cloud computing assures the agility the chief information officers (CIOs) need, thereby helping them to deliver the precise portfolio of services their customers require.

He explained that this could be accomplished by each from the best source, namely, public cloud, private cloud and traditional network, saying that the result effect has got to be flexible which is visible in Hybrid Delivery model. He, cautioned that getting the ‘most’ out of the cloud is not as easy as some novice may think, this is because to create the right service delivery model could mean taking advantage of HP’s Hybrid Delivery cloud, comprising building of the cloud services, consummation of the new cloud services, management and securing of the entire hybrid service portfolio as well as transformation of legacy IT environment to modernity.

For Microsoft, there could need to smile in terms of unpredictability, especially if one is conversant with its Windows Azure, which is Microsoft’s operating system for the cloud. Communication Lead for Microsoft Nigeria, Mrs. Ngozi Ife Anene, notes that this lets customer’s applications to scale up or down depending on the demands of business, which means freeing your developers to flex their creative muscles on a platform that already speaks their language such as .Net, PHP, Java or Ruby.

“Wherever their creativity take them, in the language they need, from any place they choose—they have the power,” she asserted, pointing out that there is also a pay-for-use business model, which ensures that customers do not waste their hard-earned money on services they might not need after all; declaring “now that’s a win-win situation and that’s cloud power.”

While urging for an embrace of cloud computing as business model for Nigerian businesses, Mr. Steve Herridge of Internet Solution, noted that server virtualization, which is key to cloud computing has become a precursor and enabler that Nigeria cannot be allowed to be left out by joining this global technology trend, but there is an urgent requirement to ensure steady improvement on the electricity power supplied to the populace and especially business community in the country.

This, experts submitted would act as a boost to the adaptation of cloud computing as a business model for Nigerian entities, while better the lives of SMEs.

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