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34 THISDAY • MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 INTERVIEW SANNI: ORGANISATIONS NEED COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS GROWTH Are companies in Nigeria actually adopting the cloud computing technology? Adopting cloud computing is inevitable for organisations because it is the future for every organisation. Over time, companies realise the need to reduce their operational expenditure (OPEX), based on their capital expenditure (CAPEX) and this can be achieved through available technology solutions, and cloud computing offers such solution. In fact, cloud computing is one of the five disruptive solutions in the technology space and organisations are beginning to adopt the technology. Our conversation with customers today is centred on cloud computing and majority of them are beginning adopt it. With cloud computing, we offer our customers the opportunity of not only allowing their data to sit in their organisational premises, but also the opportunity where their data sits on the Oracle cloud and we manage their data from the Oracle cloud. So I still emphasise that cloud is the future and that is where Oracle is going and that is where customers are also going. It is a gradual movement anyway, but we are helping our customers and partnering them in developing a roadmap that will eventually lead them safely to the cloud. How will you describe the growth of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in Nigeria? Oracle is doing well in the enterprise space and we are aware that most companies also play in the enterprise space, using ERP. But be that as it may, Oracle does not only play in the enterprise space, as we are also looking at the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) space, and developing solution that they can afford and utilise. We have ERP in the cloud and in everywhere, addressing challenges of big and small organisations. With ERP, there are lots of scalability that helps to reduce cost of operations because it is built on pay-as-yo-go. As we are driving the ERP, are looking at market penetration, as well as market share. One of the biggest Oracle story today is the ability of Oracle to offer the customer, an end-end solution, right from application to Sanni infrastructure and storage, using ERP, and that is the value that Oracle is bringing to the table today, ahead of competition. Oracle has been in Nigeria for close to 10 years, doing business. How has Oracle added value to the Nigerian business and the economy? Yes, Oracle has been in business in Nigeria for about 10 years now, but Oracle took the decision to invest heavily in Africa two years ago, and since then, there has been significant investments by Oracle in the Nigerian technology space. Oracle is investing in Africa, specifically in Nigeria and Kenya. We have invested in people, including staff members, we have invested in facility and infrastructure and we have opened our offices in Lagos and Abuja. In the area of partnership, we are partnering state governments in the area of staff training, and we are looking at replicating same at the federal government level, especially so that Nigeria will be having a new government from May 29 this year. We are also building capacities, by training start-ups and helping them to develop their ideas in software development that will address real societal issues. In the area of education, Oracle is currently teaching new courses in Java at some Nigerian Universities and Polytechnics. With cloud computing, we offer our customers the opportunity of not only allowing their data to sit in their organisational premises, but also the opportunity where their data sits on the Oracle cloud and we manage their data from the Oracle cloud Since Oracle has been partnering state governments, how has Oracle solution helped governments in addressing financial leakages in different ministries? Oracle, like I earlier said, is partnering government in different ways. In the area of blocking financial leakages, our solution is helping various governments to address financial losses. For instance, the payroll of the federal government is sitting on the Oracle solution, and that has helped government to to reduce a lot of fraud in the system and has saved the federal government, billions of naira, and has also helped in eliminating ghost workers from the system. In all of these, what percentage of local content is Oracle deploying with its solutions? Oracle strongly believes in local content development and our technology suite have local contents. Our technology partners have been able to develop Oracle skills and have over the time, been able to deploy the skills locally to fit into the local needs of the people. In addressing technology skills shortage in Nigeria, some of our partners have developed Oracle skills, which they are using to drive businesses locally and some of them are even exporting the skills outside Nigeria. We have several home grown companies that are using Oracle skills to drive businesses locally. Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank Posts N125m Profit CHESTRAD Plans to Spread Nigeria’s GDP Growth Dele Ogbodo in Abuja The Chairman, board of directors of Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank(ITMB), Dr. Yinka Bibilari, has stated that the company made a totalprofit of N125 million in its 2014 business operations which ended December 31. The gross profit according to him, translates to cash dividend of 3kper share for its shareholders whose names appears in the books of its Registrars. The chairman made the declaration during the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), which held week end in Abuja. By this, he added that the bank has again declared a dividend of 3 Kobo for the second year running as a listed company. The bank’s 2014 financial report showed that its gross earnings rose from N584.3 million in 2013 to N742.99 million in 2014, representing an increase of 27 percent. Similarly, its profit after tax rose from N188.79 million in 2013 to N244.73 million in 2014 representing a 30 percent increase. The company also reported an increase in earnings per share by 30 per cent to 5.87 k 2014 from 4.53 k in 2013. Also the year under review saw the bank commencing operations in Lagos with the establishment ofits Lagos regional office. This, it said is in line with its national mortgage bank status as recently rated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and strategic organic growth. In a remark, the bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Olabanjo Obaleye, said the bank intends to increase its branch network to major cities in the country with a view to tapping into the huge mortgage bank sector potentials. He added that there is a huge market for housing development and mortgage lending in Nigeria despite the economic and legal constraints. He was optimistic that the future outlook will see the bank’s presence across major cities in Nigeria with good returns on investment and positive impact on home ownership growth in Nigeria. He revealed that there are ongoing plans to increase the bank’s capital by N10 billion. He said the bank will continue to drive it business thorough quality service, innovative product offering with dedicated and motivated staff as well as robust Information and Communication Technology (ICT) platform. According to him, Infinity Tust mortgage bank maintained a rating status of short term A3 and long term BB+ (NG); positive outlook by Global Credit Ratings (GCR) for the third successive time (2012, 2013 and 2014). A shareholder, Pastor Williams Adebayo commended the bank for declaring 3 kobo dividend despite the operating harsh condition and also for creating employment opportunities for those it employed in the operating year. He urged the bank to tap into the huge window of financial opportunity of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinancing Company (NMRC), to source for long time loan at a reduced interest rate. Eromosele Abiodun As the deadline for the millennium development goals draw closer with many Nigerians left out of the reported gross domestic product(GDP) the Centre for Health Sciences Training, Research and Development (CHESTRAD) International has announced plans to create a platform for crowed funding social development that will ensure that Nigerians have access to basic amenities. CHESTRAD is a global non-state, not-for-profit social enterprise established in 1992. It is registered in Nigeria as a corporation limited by Guarantee and is tax-exempt. In a chat with newsmen in Lagos, President, CHESTRAD International, Dr. Oluwafunmilola Dare, said the initiative tagged, ‘I Will Give,’ is platform for organised private giving in support of social development and key activities in education, health, youth development and women’s empowerment to take advantage of these resources and development. The initiative, she added, will provide a platform for private and corporate giving that has the potential for longterm impact on development financing in 21st century Africa. “It is a platform for crowed funding social development. Nigeria has witnessed growth in the middle class and GDP but the growth in the economy and GDP is not trickling dawn. So we decided to develop a platform to tap into the pocket of the rich and create a domestic financing platform. We will invite subscriptions from African middle class, high net worth individuals, corporations and public sector where necessary. “We will put these resources together to invest in social development. It is a combination of crowed funding and high impact investment for the purpose of bridging the gap between economic and social development by providing access to services for the poor,” Dare said. CHESTRAD, she added has been involved in development for more than 30 years stressing that it work through the various stages of development. She added, “We are in different phases of development now, this phase says MDGs ends in September, it is a reality so we are crafting a new phase of development plan. At the time we are doing this, there are also economic realities around the world. “Our traditional development partners have their GDP dropping and are in recession while we in Africa has seen its GDP growing and the economy booming. So the place to be now is Africa. What we are going to see is the overseas development assistance is going to drop. When this happens it is going to leave a lot of gap behind in terms of where we get money to fund developmental projects, fund projects that our development partners used to do. “So in the last two years we have been strategizing and looking at how we can bridge the gap in sustainability, transition and development continuum. The key question is how we can transition Africa from a donor dependent, aid dependent to a self-reliant community with its growing middle class. This is one of the reasons we are embarking on this effort.”
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