•••Nigerians In UK Vote For Globacom, Rate Adenuga Personality Of  The Year

Nigerians in the United Kingdom have adjudged the Chairman of telecoms giant, Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga jr., the Personality of the Year in the maiden Nigeria Arise Awards, held in recently in London.
The Nigeria Arise Awards is designed to recognise Nigerians who are doing exceptionally well to promote the image of the country on the international scene, given that the outside world sees Nigeria mainly in negative light.
In a survey for Nigeria Arise Award , conducted by BEN Television, the first black Satellite TV channel in Europe with about 7.5 million viewers, Nigerians in UK rated Globacom the number one African corporate institution, saying that the company, more than any other corporate institution,  made them proud.
Presenting the Personality of the Year Award to Globacom's Group Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Mohamed Jameel, who received it on behalf of Dr. Adenuga, Mr. Lanre Ijaola of BEN TV said that Globacom has debunked the belief that only bad things come out of Nigeria. “It is a thing of pride to know that Globacom is a Nigerian company. We in the UK are holding our heads up high because of what Globacom is doing,” he said. “Globacom is a national treasure, which Dr. Adenuga has nurtured to an iconic international brand…. This is consistent with his achievement streak and eminently qualifies him for the coveted Personality of the Year Award.” Ijaola said.
Receiving the award plaque Jameel said that the award would give the company the impetus to do more for the good of Nigeria.
Also appreciating the award,  Globacom's Executive Director Legal, Mrs Gladys Talabi, noted that it was a deserved recognition, knowing the passion that Dr. Adenuga works to give Nigeria the very best. “Africa is in for a surprise” she said.
On the future of the company, Jameel announced that Globacom is consolidating its operations, “we want to double our subscriber base in 2009 from the current 20 million and build capacity with 2000 more base stations all over Nigeria. We also want to sign on 1.2 million subscribers in Benin Republic, up from 500,000 which we accumulated within two months of roll out in that country.”
He disclosed that there is a huge expectation for Glo to replicate its Nigeria success story across Africa.


Swap Technologies To Empower
Youlth  With N1.5 m

As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) as well as contributing towards human capacity development in the nation, Swap Technologies & Telecoms Limited, a fully home grown Nigerian company, has announced its commitment of N1.5 million to empower youths in the country.
The support is in form of a partnership with the Workforce Management's Employability Skills Development Programme Scholarship Scheme (ESDPSS). The scheme seeks to ensure that youths, especially university and polytechnic graduates, are better equipped with modern ICT skills that will enhance their status preparatory to gaining employment in today's hyper-competitive job market.
The Corporate Services Manager of Swap Technologies & Telecomms, Mrs. Isabella Yusuf, said that: “This corporate support of youth empowerment underscores our company's believe that individual Nigerians and the nation as a whole can become more competitive through the creation of technological advantage which a program like ESDPPSS engenders”.
Swap Technologies & Telecomms has been one of the best performing, profit-making telecoms infrastructure companies in the country. It imports telecom towers, shelters, rectifiers, generators, antennas, palisade fence, RF cables and other accessories that are so vital for the roll out of telecommunication network.
The company supplies these materials to private Telecom Operators/ GSM operators. Some of the happy customers include Multi-Links-Telekom, Reltel Wireless, Visafone Communications Limited, Celtel and contractors of virtually all GSM/ PTO companies. These include Harris Staratex, Huawei, Alcatel-Lucent, Helios Towers, IHS Nigeria, Bell-X, Telcon, Ghatoni, Fadco, Lucratel, Interkel, Alps, IPNX and CITCC.
 The company is also a major player in the field of construction of cell sites, and has built over 200 sites for mega companies like Multilinks-Telkom, Reltel and Visafone. It has also built sites in Ivory Coast and it plans major expansion of its business outside Nigeria in the growing markets of the Benin Republic, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
 The company has strategic tie-ups with manufacturers of highest standards like Africa Cellular and Tricom Structures for un-interrupted supplies of telecom towers. It brings in the best quality and highest specification shelters from JK Shelters and Palladium Projects. All the manufacturers are located in South Africa. It also buys the rectifiers and batteries from the world-famous company, the Emerson Network Power. Swap is also partnering by becoming one of the two exclusive distributors to the Nigerian industrial house that has set up a state-of-the art factory for manufacturing telecom towers in Nigeria.
 The Managing Director, Mr. Tunde Titilayo, assured the staff, customers and suppliers who had gathered recently to celebrate the moving of the company to its swanky new building in Lekki Phase I that the company is committed to unhindered growth but with strict adherence to all the laws of the land.


HP Launches New Device
To Boost Virtualization

By JUSTUS ADEJUMOH

Leading world provider of technology, products, solutions and services to consumers and corporate organisations, Hewlett Packard (HP) has introduced new machines to help improve the quality of virtualization within organisations.
Virtualization which is a framework or methodology of dividing the recourses of a computer into multiple execution environments by apply one or more concept or technologies such as hardware and software partitioning, time-sharing, partial or complete machine simulation, emulation, quality of service, and many others has grown to be top of mind for most organisation information officers.
Presenting the HP latest innovation, ProLiant BL495c Virtualisation Blade to journalists last week, the company's Enterprise Server manager, Mr. Chuks Okpaka stated that the HP's newest introduction is built to eliminate bottlenecks to virtual server performance.
According to analyst, the market for Virtual machine software grew 69 percent  from 2006 to 2007 and is projected to grow more than 50 percent this year And the adoption rate reflects that many business are already realizing benefits from their implementations”, he stated.
Addressing journalists on its latest innovation, HP urged organisations to rethink application and IT operations management, infrastructure barriers and client architecture so as to leverage virtualization to achieve greater reliability and security as well as improved manageability, flexibility and the Returns On Investment (ROI) of end-user computing.
On the barriers inhibiting most organisations from thinking virtualization HP stated that the biggest inhibitors to appreciating and adopting virtualization are majorly connected with upfront cost, staff training and experience.
Others are the problems associated with gaining approval from corporate management and infrastructure planning and the challenges of effectively managing both physical and virtual resources.
Enumerating however the benefits derivable from “Rethinking Virtualization”, HP at the presentation of its new machine stated that customers who employ the use of Virtualization devices stand to enjoy faster delivery of applications and services and will also have the advantage of being able to put unused resources and capacity to work.
Other benefits accruable from the use of Virtualization, a according to HP are, increased focus on business priorities, improved security and manageability, improved ROI and better protection of end-user data.
Listing the unique benefits that the new introduced HP ProLiant BL495c Virtualisation Blade has in stock for its prospective customers, Okpaka stated that the new device built to eliminate bottlenecks to virtual server performance has the advantage of offering its users reduced costs and power consumption, better Virtual machine performance and improved manageability.
“The new machine we are introducing to you today has two times more memory than Dell M605 and IBM LS21, and also has two more Ethernet Nics than the other two brands” he concluded.


Firms Turn To IT To Weather Financial Storm

CIOs are seeing their budgets increase to help firms boost efficiency and competitiveness in the current economic climate, Gartner said. (Getty Images)Companies in the Gulf are turning to their IT departments to help them weather the global financial crisis, a senior executive at IT research and advisory firm Gartner told Arabian Business on Monday.
Speaking during a brief trip to Dubai, Elias Bayeh, EMEA vice president of Executive Programmes, said the budgets of chief information officers (CIOs) are actually growing at a time when many companies are re-examining spending plans.
Bayeh said budgets for CIO's are increasing by 4.5 percent year-on-year worldwide, and the picture is similar in the Middle East.
He said companies are looking to CIOs to boost efficiency and competitiveness as the role of CIOs becomes more widely recognised as a vital part of a company's growth.
“CIO's view it [the credit crunch] as a opportunity and their perception is that when the business is in trouble it turns to IT to try make a difference, to try to help the business become more efficient and competitive,” Bayeh said.
He said 40 percent of CIO's budgets for innovation and growth within the business are growing and as a result of the credit crunch are likely to continue to grow.
"Costs are being cut on the operation side, but there is more pressure to innovative and as a result they [CIOs] get more money to do that," he said.
 “Most companies are investing more in IT and telling CIO's to help them innovate and come up with better ways of being competitive and profitable.”



Etisalat To Introduce Branded Mobile Devices

Etisalat is to launch its own branded handsets. UAE telecom Etisalat plans to start retailing its own branded mobile devices and terminals across 17 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, the company said last week.
The company said it is negotiating purchase contracts with international vendors and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on behalf of its subsidiaries.
The move into branded devices - a strategy pursued by operators in mature markets as a means of increasing margins and brand loyalty - will provide "great value" for Etisalat's customers through lower priced devices and promotional bundles, the company said.
Etisalat said it will also negotiate volume agreements to maximise its purchasing power.
Etisalat chairman Mohammad Hassan said in a statement the company will provide devices "at an accessible price point".
Etisalat said this strategy will help bring both high-end models and entry-level devices within the reach of consumers across the region.


Dell Expects Sales
Boom In M/E

Dell, the world's second biggest computer maker, expects strong growth in the Middle East (M/E), as more companies and consumers demand high-end technology on the back of economic growth, a top official said .
"We've been growing in excess of 35 percent for the last five to eight years both in revenues and number of unit sales in the commercial sector... We don't see any reason why it shouldn't continue as such," Pim Dale, vice president and general manager of Dell Emerging Markets, told newswire Reuters on the sidelines of an exhibition in Dubai.
“The Middle East is a success story on both fronts, the consumer and the commercial.”
In the Middle East, Dell posted 55 percent growth in unit sales in the second quarter over the same period last year, according to company figures based on International Data Corporation (IDC) information.
Dell, whose clients include Emirates Airlines, Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), Aramco Oil and the United Arab Emirates' interior ministry, plans to open its first two stores in Dubai in the next few months, Dale said. He added that the company expected more people in the Gulf would buy their second PCs, creating growth opportunities.
In September Chief Executive Michael Dell said the company's new push to sell in stores rather than just online would help it reach consumers in energy markets buying their first computer.
"Because there is no legacy in the region of old technologies, the region is grasping new technologies faster than anywhere else in the world," Dale said on Sunday.
Dell plans to invest "heavily" in this region, including on infrastructure, employees and marketing, Dale said. The Middle East is among the top-three growth regions in the world on the consumer side, he said.
Dell said in September that slow demand had spread from the United States to Europe, and Asia and had not rebounded as expected after the summer lull.
Asked whether Dell expected growth in this region to offset a slowdown in other markets, Dale said: "Not necessarily. We have a global business, we are very successful in China and in Japan, we have a balanced business across the world."
Dale said Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy, had "big potential" for growth.