CWG’s Tier-3 data center debuts in Lagos, unveils future direction

DigitalSENSE Business News:

Pan African Information and Communication Technology multinational, the Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) plc, recently launched a Tier-3 ultra-modern data center in Lagos, just as the company unveiled its future direction, classified as CWG2.0, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

The Group Chief Executive Officer, CWG plc, Mr. Austin Okere, told DigitalSENSE Business News at the event which saw to the unveiling of CWG 2.0 direction, revealed that the state of the art data center, located at Lekki phase 1, was specifically built for CWG’s cloud computing business, which has excess capacity to enterprises, especially banks for use as a disaster recovery data centre on a co-location basis, alongside growing online companies such as Jumia and Konga to avail themselves of the facility.

According to him, CWG’s data center has been equipped with what he described as N+1 power and environmental management infrastructure, with generate capacity of 0.7MVA. Stressing that this would ensure incoming main power is conditioned and available at all times, in addition to redundant and modular 250KVA Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). Even as the UPS functions as bull-mark against power surges and blowout.

Okere speaking specially on CWG 2.0 noted that having majorly completed the pillars for Information Technology as a Service (ITaaS) strategy, by creating a platform for rapid Pan African growth and repositioning service model to cater to the new cloud computing mind-set, CWG is on target to achieve the objectives of being the the number 1 IT utility enabler on the continent.

By launching three cloud services in Nigeria, namely the MTN SaaS for Microfinance banks in conjunction with MTN Nigeria, the Diamond Yello Account bringing Financial inclusion to the 55 million MTN Mobile subscribers in partnership with MTN and Diamond Bank, and the CWG SMERP, which is a vertically modular Enterprise Resource Planning application for Micro, Small and Medium scale enterprises (MSME); which could be used on a subscription basis by hotels, hospitals, spare-parts dealers, and farmers among others.

“We consider the refocusing of our business into a subscription based model as a dual advantage play. In addition to being a more sustaining strategy, it maximizes our social impact investing on the economy of Africa, and helps to create jobs by empowering entrepreneurs. This in essence defines the new CWG plc, which we have christened CWG 2.0” he declared.

Okere also explained that MSMEs are regarded as the engine of economic growth, which statistically shows that there are 17m+ MSMEs in Nigeria.

“This compares overwhelmingly with the 260 listed companies on the stock exchange. Without accurate business records, they are unable to generate the accounting reports that banks and financial organizations can depend on to provide financing. Without credit, they are unable to grow their businesses aggressively,” he said, pointing out that CWG SMERP could provide these organizations with a strong foundation for growth and sustainability and also provide these firms the opportunity to exploit the internet to access a bigger market.

“The substantial cost of utilizing ICT is a big barrier for these firms to take advantage of ICT to grow their businesses,” Okere said.

On the explosive impact of MSME on the economy, Mr. Okere asserted, “… Do you that by just employing only one additional staff each, the 17m MSME would have created 17million jobs?’

He to DigitalSENSE Business News that present setup by CWG requires payment only on a subscription basis which completely removes the CAPEX requirements of ICT usage, adding that for effective nationwide coverage, CWG will use a franchise model to enable smaller IT firms and consultancies to assist the MSMEs as business support organizations, and by so doing spur a secondary growth in IT MSMEs which will create thousands of additional jobs.

Remmy Nweke

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Pix; Ndukwe cutting take of the data center (2) Ndukwe, Okere and Lanre Ajayi at the event. Short URLs: goo.gl, mcaf.ee, cli.gs