Tuesday 05 February 2019
www.businessday.ng
www.facebook.com/businessdayng
@businessDayNG
@Businessdayng
BUSINESS DAY
25
BDTECH
E-mail: jumoke.akiyode@businessdayonline.com
Globacom sets pace for the future of technology ... Plans to play in cloud storage market, deploy AI in telecoms, others Stories by JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON
G
lobacom, Nigeria’s second largest telecommunications operator is planning to revolutionize the sector with major investments in technology of the future which includes the use of cloud technology, deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI), mobile money and others. The company during a media parley in Lagos on Friday, February 1, 2019, revealed its plans to launch a series of digital products including, Glo Health; a digital health assistant, designed to help Nigerians access the best global healthcare, by connecting them with specialized doctors worldwide and allowing them to schedule appointments, track key health parameters and access information on common medical conditions directly through their phones. This new feature will be available in audio translation in all
three major Nigerian languages (Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa). Globacom is confident that the launch of its GLO TITI, the highly interactive and engaging artificial intelligence service, in a few weeks, will completely change customer experience. The company which will
be the first telecoms company to deploy this platform, says the AI platform will engage customers directly in English and Pidgin through voice and text and will assist them to get information on pressing issues. It will also support customers to choose the most convenient data and talk plan
in both the prepaid and postpaid categories, resolve general and specific issues such as ballance enquiry/Value Added Service (VAS) and respond to customer enquiries 24/7 without any human interface. Globacom will also be competing with the likes of
L-R: Olubunmi Bamijoko; head strategy, corporate performance and monitoring, Strategy, USPF, Oluebube Nwosu; CEO, placesandservice, Ijaola David; COO, placesandservices, and Chioma Agwuebo; founder, TechHer, at the recently concluded USPF Changemaker Challenge 2018, held in Abuja.
Google cloud, iCloud and One cloud for market share, with the launch of its Glo drive. The Glo drive is meant to address the problem subscribers face with storing data, as it would offer limitless storage in the cloud. Another product announced at the event is the Glo Entertainment Portal, a single point of access for all digital content through Glo Café which supplies premium content of top international labels. It has over 2million local and foreign songs. Bisi Koleoso, deputy chief operating officer, Globacom said; “We have invested massively in new technologies to introduce these products which we believe will redefine business, social and personal pursuits”. Another of its new offerings is the Glo call connect service that allows subscribers with zero balance notify called subscribers through SMS and helps them stay connected even without credit or
with low mobile phone battery charge. Similarly, the Glo world connect ensures that business executives stay connected to their offices regardless of wherever they may be around the world by offering affordable roaming data in 60 countries with over 6.4million WiFi hotspots worldwide. The company also unveiled its new communication direction and its endorsement by world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua. The endorsement contract with the world heavyweight boxing champion covers Nigeria and Ghana. Koleoso said Globacom is committed to ensuring that Nigerians are not left behind in the march towards a digital world. “Having ended 2018 on a very high note, retaining our position as the second largest operator with a remarkable 45.3 million subscriber base, we have resolved to further enrich customer experience on our network with these new offerings,” he said.
Cyberspace achieves international certification for Quality Management system
AerinX: Augmented reality solution promises reduced rate of aircraft disasters
yberspace Limited, an indigenous systems integration company has achieved the ISO 9001:2015, an internationally recognized Quality Management System certification. ISO 9001: 2015 is a standard that sets out the requirements for a quality management system. It helps businesses and organizations to be more efficient and improve customer satisfaction. The certification which will be officially presented to the company today, Tuesday February 5,2019, at a ceremony in Civic Centre Lagos, stands Cyberspace out as a company committed to continual improvement of operational processes in line with global best practice. Boma Beddie-Memberr, sector lead trade advisor for ICT, United Kingdom International Trade and Investment will officially hand over the certificate to Cyberspace Limited on behalf of British Standard Institute (BSI). According to BSI, ISO 9001 is designed to be a powerful business improvement tool which helps organizations to manage social, environmental and financial risks, improve operational effectiveness and reduce costs. Its benefit to businesses
he near-death experience of Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of Nigeria, after the helicopter conveying him and some members of his team crash landed in the Kabba area of Kogi State Nigeria on Saturday has sent shivers down the spine of many Nigerians, even as it has been emphasized that aircraft safety should be of utmost importance in every country and technology could well be the go-to solution to the incessant problem of plane crashes in the world today. International aviation industry statistics show that some 70 to 80 percent of aircraft accidents occur due to human lapses or mistakes. While a significant portion of such cases involve mistakes committed by either pilots or flight crew, a marked amount of lapses happen during checking and maintenance of aircraft. Recently, AerinX, a Hungarian firm announced its plans to develop an augmented reality (AR) solution for the external inspection and maintenance of aircraft and other aerial vehicles. In fact, it is reported that the company has already started a partnership with one of the largest maintenance, repair and overhaul companies of
C
also include helping to increase customer and stakeholder satisfaction, protect brand and reputation, remove barriers to trade and bring clarity to the marketplace. With this achievement, Cyberspace Limited, has further demonstrated its commitment to building a resilient and sustainable business with strong corporate governance. Since establishment in 1995, Cyberspace Limited has worked its way to becoming a one-stop systems integration company with wide and varied experience in solving complex business challenges. “Cyberspace is an indigenous company that has its business processes aligned with global best practice. We started many years ago with ISO 9001:2008 until last year when we decided to work with BSI for the ISO 9001:2015. It was a much more rigorous certification process but at the end, we are better for it,” Fred Young, coordinator, Cyberspace audit team said. According to Young, the benefits of ISO 9001 include but are not limited to the following: “It helps us to demonstrate to stakeholders that our business is run effective-
ly, the process of achieving and maintaining the certification helps ensure that we are continually improving and the regular assessment process improves staff responsibility, commitment, and motivation,” he said. Before now, Cyberspace has attained the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) level 3 certification. The CMMI is a software development process improvement approach, which has become the standard for measuring an organization’s capability to apply a processbased methodology to software development. Olusola Bankole, chief marketing officer, Cyberspace Limited said the CMMI helps to integrate traditionally separate organizational functions, set process improvement goals and priorities, provide guidance for quality processes, and provide a point of reference for appraising current processes. According to him, CMMI has aided Cyberspace Limited’s growth in diverse ways. “Our software development work and processes have received the highest form of third-party validation. It helps us to take a proactive approach to managing projects and processes,” Bankole said.
T
Central and Eastern Europe to test and refine the system. In a statement sent to BusinessDay, AerinX says it aims to solve the problem of aircraft disasters with an ARbased system which assists with external surface checks and the conduct of related maintenance of aircraft. The system is expected to make the process simpler, faster and more precise. Most damage detection, registration and documentation still occur manually, with maintenance engineers measuring damage with a ruler, marking the spot with a marker pen, before having to sift through long, PDF or paper-based documentation when determining the seriousness of the damage. “The aircraft industry, commercial and military aviation are highly technology-intensive branches of the industry, so it can be shocking, even for laymen, how backward in some aspects the segment’s digitalization is,” says Antal Bence Kiss, AerinX’s CEO. “This is also true for the surface inspection and maintenance of aircraft. Our smart inspection system combines AR technology with modern picture processing, giving a decision-supporting tool in the hands of professionals.” According to the com-
pany, the technology system allows engineers conducting maintenance to determine the size and exact location of damage. AerinX is able to project all relevant technical information about a given aircraft type in 3D on the surface of the plane, including plate thickness at the given point and damage history, which will allow inspections to be considerably faster and more accurate, decreasing the chance of human mistakes, and resulting in fewer accidents. Reducing flight delays The system might also come in handy during socalled “aircraft on ground” (AOG) situations, when planes have to be immediately inspected due to damage or other incident. Currently, an average external inspection may take up to 90 minutes, or even two hours with the current methods. AerinX claims to be able to reduce this time to 20 minutes, which may result in several tens of thousands of dollars in saved costs, while also resulting in reduced delays. The AerinX system is currently in its prototype phase, with the firm getting venture capital investment support for further development and market introduction in both civil and defence aviation segments.