TD Africa unveils exclusive discounts on Microsoft licenses across Africa - ITREALMS

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TD Africa, the continent's leading technology distributor, is offering substantial discounts on essential Microsoft licenses as part of its commitment to driving business growth and fostering digital transformation across Africa.

This limited-time, juicy promotion allows businesses access significant savings on a range of Microsoft solutions such as 15% reduction on Microsoft 365 E3, 40 % price slash on Power Apps premium and Power Automate premium Per User Licenses and 30 % rebate on Office 365 E1 plus.

TD Africa unveils exclusive discounts on Microsoft licenses for Africa - ITREALMS

Sponsored@ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

TD Africa, the continent's leading technology distributor, is offering substantial discounts on essential Microsoft licenses as part of its commitment to driving business growth and fostering digital transformation across Africa.

This limited-time, juicy promotion allows businesses access significant savings on a range of Microsoft solutions such as 15% reduction on Microsoft 365 E3, 40 % price slash on Power Apps premium and Power Automate premium Per User Licenses and 30 % rebate on Office 365 E1 plus.

Task Systems, Microsoft boost business efficiency with co-pilot - ITREALMS

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Leading ICT solutions provider Task Systems, in collaboration with Microsoft, recently hosted an event that left an indelible mark on its business partners. The event, a masterclass in leveraging technology for competitive advantage, was designed to explore the transformative potential of Microsoft Copilot.

The gathering brought together industry experts, thought leaders, and decision-makers, all eager to discover the myriad possibilities that Microsoft Copilot offers. Held in a collaborative atmosphere, the organisers engaged attendees in thought-provoking presentations, panel discussions, and break-out sessions tailored to the unique needs of various roles, including CTOs, CFOs, and HR Managers.

Microsoft resellers to benefit from TD cross-border licensing - ITREALMS

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In a bid to unlock new growth and profitability opportunities for businesses of all sizes, TD Africa has pulled wraps off its fully automated Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) platform.

Through this innovative automated portal, Microsoft's indirect resellers can now resell Microsoft licenses in 47 African countries and enjoy security, profitability, increased productivity, collaboration, and flexibility, courtesy, TD Africa.

Exclusive! 1.9bn users engage on AI-powered chats over Edge, Bing says Microsoft - ITREALMS

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Microsoft Corporation has declared that its Edge browser and Bing search engine users engaged in over 1.9 billion Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered chats as at the end of the 2023, reports ITREALMS.

Microsoft Edge is a web browser made by Microsoft, installed by default on all new Windows computers which alleges to run faster and with additional features than Internet Explorer, and could sync your browsing data and prides itself a secure and user-friendly web browser that offers features such as Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, Password Monitor, InPrivate search, and Kids Mode to mention but a few.

Airtel, Microsoft, TD unveil smartbox bundles for SMEs - ITREALMS

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Leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, has announced a partnership with Microsoft and foremost tech and solutions distribution giant, TD Africa to unveil Smartbox, office Internet bundles exclusively designed to significantly empower and improve the productivity of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.

The Airtel Office Internet Smartbox bundles provide SMEs with unfettered access to uninterrupted and reliable Internet connectivity, affordable data plans, free business domain, Microsoft 365 licenses, unrivalled Internet speed and complimentary data, among many benefits.

Breaking: 5m internet jobs: Microsoft partners FG on digital plan - ITREALMS

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President of Microsoft, Mr. Brad Smith has announced a digital plan to create some 5 million jobs for Nigerians leveraging the power of the Internet infrastructure, reports ITREALMS.

This job creation effort, he said, would be in partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria to accelerate the nation’s efforts in becoming a more digital economy.

Microsoft certifies MDXI as Gold Data Centre - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Full-scale data centre provider in West Africa, MDXI, has been certified as the Gold Data Centre by Microsoft which strengthens its position as one of the leading Cloud Services providers in Africa, reports ITREALMS.

This, ITREALMS gathered, demonstrated 'best-in-class' capability to meet Microsoft's customers' needs, whereas the Gold Data Centre is the highest partnership level with Microsoft in Data Centre Competencies for Cloud Productivity.

Disclosing this, Gbenga Adegbiji, General Manager, MDXI told ITREALMS that attaining Gold Partner status is an important step for MDXI in its drive towards supporting local companies face issues on digital transformation, particularly in relation to their data centre and computing platform strategies.

"To obtain the certification, MDXI has demonstrated the highest commitment to the integration of the latest Microsoft products, with proven expertise to help costumers drive innovative solutions on the latest Microsoft platforms," he asserted.

Stressing that the Gold Competency provides MDXI with a competitive advantage that helps us offer our customers the most relevant Microsoft solutions in the market. With this competency, MDXI is accredited as a partner to transform data centres into more flexible, scalable, and cost effective solutions using Microsoft Azure Cloud and hybrid solutions. This will enable us deliver greater value to our customers with best-in-class staff that have been subject to rigorous exams, proven implementation and satisfaction references auditable,” says Gbenga Adegbiji, General Manager, MDXI.

The new milestone proves MDXI’s commitment to enabling digital transformation for its customers through constant improvement in delivering only the best services with competency levels including Silver Cloud Platform; Silver Data Centre; Silver Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions; and Silver Application Development competencies.

In a similar vein, German business software maker, SAP, has given MDXI a clean bill of health with its recertification as a provider of infrastructure services for its cloud solutions. This recertification endorses the ability of the company to deliver high-quality cloud and infrastructure operations services for customers running SAP solutions and confirms MDXI can continue to host and manage SAP applications using the company’s enterprise cloud platforms.

As a SAP-certified provider of hosting services, MDXI offers cost-effective yet reliable delivery models for mission-critical applications for customers of SAP.

SAP customers that rely on MainOne’s data centre for hosting services are empowered to focus on the business value of their solutions and benefit from reduced operational expenses that a commercial data centre provides.

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Microsoft backs Data Science Nigeria’s on AI bootcamp - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Microsoft Africa has been confirmed as the lead sponsor of the third edition of the Data Science Nigeria (DSN) Artificial Intelligence (AI) bootcamp, which aimed at building capacity in the use of Deep Learning concepts in addressing analytical gaps in financial inclusion, reports ITREALMS.

The all-expense-paid bootcamp will focus on the use of modern tools, particularly Microsoft Azure in Deep Learning, for emerging concepts including Convolutional Neural Networks, Recommendations Systems and Natural Language Processing, with a view to applying them in Nigerian-centric, solution-oriented use cases.

The bootcamp is driven by a broader strategic intent to accelerate Nigeria’s development through a solution-oriented application of Machine Learning in solving social/business problems, and to galvanize data science knowledge revolution for employability, technological innovation and sustainable socio-economic development.

This is reinforced in the DSN’s vision to create one million new jobs in the next ten years through world-class knowledge and best practice application.

The five-day residential Artificial Intelligence Bootcamp and Hackathon will be held between 10 and 14 October 2018. It will feature face-to-face teaching, virtual online classes, and a hands-on hackathon using the Kaggle.com platform.

Distinguished data scientists from leading research and academic institutions from the USA, United Kingdom and South Africa will facilitate the sessions.

Microsoft, through its 4Afrika Initiative, has for the last five years been aggressively upskilling the African developer community in their use of modern technologies, equipping them to innovate in the fields of healthcare, education, finance, and agriculture. Through its 16 AppFactory academies, Interns4Afrika, MySkills4Afrika, Microsoft Virtual Academy and AI PopUp Lab programmes, it has paired developers with technical experts to gain real-world experience in cloud computing, secure coding, machine learning, bot framework, and data analytics.

The free residential bootcamp comes with an intensive requirement. All the participants are selected from an ongoing pan-Nigeria selection competition on recommendation engine algorithm after an intensive ninety-day pre-study of learning materials in Machine Learning theories and practice. All participants are also required to have a working knowledge of Microsoft Azure.

The bootcamp learning sessions will be enriched by leading experts from different parts of the world, including Matt Grasser, Director, Inclusive Fintech, Bankable Frontiers Associate, USA; Moustapha Cisse PhD, Google AI Lab; Dr Emmanuel Doro, Principal Data Scientist, Jet.com, USA; Sara Hooker, Google AI Lab; Prof Tom Dietterich, Distinguished Professor & Director Oregon State University & Founder BigML; Dr Sulaimon Afolabi, Argility South Africa; Ekow Duker, ex-Chief Analytics Officer, Barclays Africa and now MD IxioAnalytics South Africa; Dr Jacques Ludik, CEO Cortex Logic, South Africa; Karim Beguir, Founder/CEO Instadeep AI, London; Omoju Miller PhD, Senior Data Scientist, GitHub, USA; Abiodun Modupe, PhD Researcher, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; Adewale Akinfaderin, Graduate Researcher, Florida State University & Incoming Senior Data Scientist, Lowe's Inc., USA; Dr. (Mrs.) Sakinat Folorunso, Lecturer, OOU Nigeria; Robert John, Data Science Officer, enter5ive and Dr (Mrs) Yinka David-West, Director, Lagos Business School. Full details of the bootcamp’s activities and schedule is available here.

Microsoft executives will also visit the bootcamp to facilitate classes and share global best practices on Microsoft Azure and provide hands-on mentorship to the students.

The bootcamp will be heralded by a one-day industry stakeholders’ seminar on the theme, “New Algorithms for the Financially Excluded Segment”. The summit, scheduled to be held on Wednesday 10 October 2018 at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos will focus on understanding emerging trends and advanced data analytics use cases in financial inclusion.

Data Science Nigeria is a non-profit initiative of MTN’s Chief Transformation Officer, Bayo Adekanmbi, spurred on by a compelling drive to raise a new generation of data scientists and knowledge entrepreneurs who will lead high-impact artificial intelligence research for socio-economic development, transformational innovation and economic prosperity of Nigeria and the African continent at large.

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FinTech agenda: Herbert Wigwe to meet Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc. Herbert Wigwe, would on Thursday, September 27, meet with Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, reports ITREALMS.

The two chief executive officers are set to discuss issues regarding how financial institutions can further strengthen banking security and provide valued added services on digital platforms, leveraging on technology.

Among other things, Herbert Wigwe also disclosed that the strategic meeting is expected to showcase the massive progress of Access Bank - which has succeeded in positioning itself as a top leader in the Nigerian financial industry, with its commitment to promoting the adoption of technology as a tool to disrupt the banking industry and improving financial inclusion in Nigeria.

“Access Bank is revolutionising the Nigerian financial industry to create an ecosystem where customers can perform most of their transactions on digital platforms and the immense technological solutions provided by Microsoft has contributed to this mission. Our discussion will allow us explore various methods through which we can work together to create and deploy custom made solutions to the specific challenges experienced by customers in the country. We also have special plans  to reach the unbanked population, creating simpler and more efficient banking protocol for the banked, while also ensuring that our customers continue to trust us in this digital age”, he said.

Leading the way on its mission to become Africa’s gateway to the world in five years, Access Bank Plc has consistently built innovative products to satisfy the evolving needs of customers and maintain its track record of being an innovative bank and living true to its brand promise of providing fast, secure and reliable customer service.

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Private conversation comes to Skype via Signal, Microsoft collaboration

ITREALMS:

A San Francisco-based software entity, Signal and Microsoft Corporation, have advanced plans to introduce a Private Conversations feature in Skype, powered by Signal Protocol, reports ITRealms.

The collaboration, ITRealms gathered, would see Signal and Microsoft bring onboard end-to-end encryption to Skype, to make private communication simple and ubiquitous.

With hundreds of millions of active users, ITRealms gathered that Skype is one of the most popular applications in the world.

This, the partnership disclosed they were excited that ‘Private Conversations’ in Skype will allow more users to take advantage of Signal Protocol’s strong encryption properties for secure communication.

ITRealms also reports that the Private Conversations feature is now available in preview for Skype Insiders.

“There’s still more to come,” the partnership to ITRealms in a press statement made available at the weekend.

ITRealms recalls that with this development, Microsoft has joined a growing list of organizations including WhatsApp, Google, Facebook, and Signal itself that have integrated the open source Signal Protocol into their messaging platform.

Officials, told ITRealms, “We’re going to continue our efforts to advance the state of the art for frictionless private communication, in our own app and in others. We’re excited about the future of Signal Protocol and the places it is going.”

Further, they said, “Signal is making private communication simple. We design open protocols, develop Open Source software, and give it away for free.

Though they noted it has been challenging work, “… We started this project because we think making things is fun, privacy is valuable, and cryptography is remarkable.”

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Reliance Infosystems partners Microsoft on fintech

ITREALMS:

A renowned information technology service company and winner of the Microsoft Partner of Year awards, Reliance Infosystems is partnering with Microsoft Nigeria for a financial technology (fintech) workshop, reports ITRealms.

Confirming this to ITRealms, the Chief Executive Office, Reliance Infosystems, Olayemi Popoola, said the one-day workshop is expected to deliver latest insights to the stakeholders in the finance industry in the country.

He also said the workshop, slated for Friday, November 10, 2017 at Microsoft Office, Civic Towers, Ozumba Mbadiwe, Victoria Island, Lagos, and is anticipated to give pertinent solutions to how the financial sector could benefit from the rise of digital.

In addition, he said, the workshop would highlight how the finance sector could digitally sense customers’ changing preferences and how do they achieve adequate reinforcement of their financial bunkers to withstand the effect of recessive economy.

“All these and more will be deliberated upon at the workshop,” he said, stressing that the mission is to ensure that Nigerians are educated and supported to advance in financial technology and the ease of work it proffers in the financial sector.

ITRealms recalls that Reliance Infosystems specializes in designing and implementing business critical information technology solutions, uniquely combining our proven intellectual property with premier partner technologies to provide our customers with the competitive edge needed to succeed in today’s business and technology.

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Reliance Infosystems, Microsoft host MANTech2017

ITRealms:

All is now set for the MANTECH 2017 being put together by Reliance Infosystems Limited in collaboration with Microsoft Nigeria in efforts to mainstream how manufacturers in Nigeria are progressively transforming with Microsoft solutions, reports ITRealms.

Slated for Friday, May 19, this year, ITRealms gathered that the first ever MANTECH event would hold at Microsoft Nigeria’s Head office, Victoria Island, Lagos.

ITRealms reports that MANTECH was coined from manufacturing and technology which describes the enhancement of manufacturing processes in order to reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve reliability using technologies that help magnify the effort of individual workers and give the industrial nation the power to transcend.

Reliance Infosystems’ publicity strategist, Ms. Ibunkun Ogundipe said the event seeks to capture the process of driving technology adoption within the manufacturing environment, explaining that it would entail discussions on the benefits of various Microsoft technologies such as Microsoft Azure, Office 365, Dynamics 365, SharePoint, Power BI and more in the manufacturing industry.

Also, Ibukun said that MANTECH 2017 has been tailored to specifically encourage stakeholders of manufacturing industry to embrace technology transformation for maximum influence within their scope.

Equally speaking, the Managing Director, Reliance Infosystems, Mr. Olayemi Popoola said that the company aims at providing customers with the differentiations they require to stay ahead of competition.

Chuks Egbune/GEE 

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Rwanda, Microsoft partner for nationwide smart classrooms by Dec. 2017

ITRealms:

The Rwandan government and Microsoft have concluded plans to embark on a nationwide smart classrooms deployment by December 2017, reports ITRealms.

The Regional Education Industry Manager for West, East, Central Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, at Microsoft, Warren La Fleur told TheNew Times in Kigali that the first batch of smart classrooms will be ready by the end of the current fiscal year.

The report also added that Rwandan schools are expected to start using smart classrooms by the end of this year as a result of a partnership agreement signed three years ago between the Government of Rwanda and Microsoft on digitization of the country’s education sector.

ITRealms further gathered that the smart classrooms are expected to offer students access to computers and basic software in addition to internet access towards digitization of teaching and learning.

“I would say that before the end of the current financial year you will have smart classrooms in Rwanda where this new way of teaching with digital identity will certainly be in place,” Wareen said.

According to the Education Minister, Dr Musafiri Papias Malimba, recently, students in all schools are expected to have access to the internet by 2020, as currently, only 531 schools in Rwanda out of the 3,500 are connected.

Rwanda is touted as one of the fastest growing countries in Africa.

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Recession, motivator for MainOne’s cloud deal with Microsoft

ITRealms:

The Chief Executive Officer of MainOne, Funke Opeke has said that the current recession in the country was a motivator for her company to leverage Microsoft cloud, which led to the debut of its HoloLens, reports ITRealms.

Opeke in her address to the occasion with the theme: “Disruptive Technology: Achieve More with Less” said the economic downturn has left businesses with no alternative than to adopt and leverage disruptive technology to drive efficiency, save cost and deliver economic value.

She noted the need to align business needs with technology, the need to be agile and the importance of security, citing the successes recorded in the e-payment, e-commerce sectors with businesses such as eTransact, Konga, Jumia and Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBBS) as of the adoption of disruptive technology in Nigeria.

Ms. Opeke reiterated that the annual Nerds Unite conference is a commitment of MainOne and its partners to sharing knowledge and ideas aimed at transforming the businesses of its customers.

“At MainOne, we believe that our customers are the most able in this society to bring about disruption in the Nigerian economy leveraging technology. Nerds Unite provides a vantage platform for us to enable our stakeholder community with new ideas to disrupt the Nigerian business landscape”.

In its third year, Nerds Unite 2017 featured world-class leaders from global, blue chip IT firms sharing knowledge on new trends and other disruptive technologies facing today’s technology landscape.

The event also had in attendance, MainOne partners including Radware, Cisco, SAP, Huawei and Samsung, with representation from the Internet Society.

Chuks Egbune/GEE 

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Pix: From left: Senior Development Manager, Internet Society, Michuki Mwangi;  CEO, Venture Garden Group, Bunmi  Akinyemiju; CEO, MainOne, Funke Opeke, and Principal Group Manager, Microsoft Corporation, Robert Di Benedetto during the Nerds Unite 2017, organized by MainOne at Landmark Center, Oniru, Lagos.

Microsoft offers Ekovolt, 11 others grants to accelerate affordable Internet access

ITRealms:

Microsoft Corporation has awarded Affordable Access Initiative grants to 12 entrepreneurial businesses, including Ekovolt in Nigeria to scale-up their solutions and business models to increase affordable Internet access in communities around the world, reports ITRealms.

Each company, ITRealms gathered, received seedgrants, and resources including BizSpark tools such as free software, services and technology support to help extend the reach of their hardware, applications, connectivity and power solutions.

In Nigeria, the grant received by Ekovolt would enable simplify everyday life and connect people, places, and things with technology.

ITRealms also reports that with Affordable Access Initiative grant support, this wireless broadband and cloud services provider is expanding its solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises in Nigeria.

The Managing Director, Ekovolt, Mr. Emeka Ebo, the partnership would help in the application of new technologies in delivering Internet services to underserved markets and rural communities in Nigeria.

“As we combine Microsoft’s cloud solutions with Volt Internet services, we can offer bundled packages of customized Internet and Enterprise solutions for small to medium-sized businesses typically only found at large corporations,” he said. 

The executive vice president, business development at Microsoft, Peggy Johnson, pointed out that with more than half of the world’s population lacking access to the Internet, connectivity is a global challenge that demands creative problem solving.

“By using technology that’s available now and partnering with local entrepreneurs who understand the needs of their communities, our hope is to create sustainable solutions that will not only have impact today but also in the years to come,” Johnson said.

ITRealms recalls that Microsoft’s Affordable Access Initiative aims to democratize access to the Internet through grants, commercial partnerships, connecting new leaders and community engagement. 

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PIN gets Microsoft, Stanbic IBTC support for Tent Gathering

ITRealms:

 

Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) has said Microsoft, the technology giant and Africa innovative bank, Stanbic IBTC, are solidly behind its 2015 Tent Gathering, ITRealms reports.

The event which will take place at the main Auditorium of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka will feature Tent @ OAU Student Panel Session and Clash of the Campus on November 24 to 26.

Keynote speakers include Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem; Adeniran Oluwaranti; Entrepreneurial speaker, Chude Chideonwu; Techie speaker, Emeka Okoye; Gbenga Sesan; Panel speakes, Boye Adegoke, Sola Amusan and Longe Odunoluwa.

Trainers at the event, ITRealms gathered,  are: Kalu Dimgba, Omotunde James, Kendra Nnachi and Okoye Nzubechukwu.

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Modern Workplace: Microsoft gears up to host October episode

ITRealms:

Microsoft is gearing up for its October episode of Modern Workplace, a webcast on thought leadership in business that brings access to entrepreneurs and thought leaders who are changing the future, reports ITRealms.

This webcast, ITRealms also gathered, would hold live on the web, October 13, 2015, at 8:00 am PDT / 3:00 pm GMT for what Microsoft team tagged “Sink or Sell: Rethink how you connect with customers.”

ITRealms equally gathered would avail participants to learn more about the latest sales innovations and insights on building lasting relationships with your current and potential customers.

“During this episode we take a deep dive into the world of sales with two top professionals in the industry,” a public statement made available to ITRealms revealed.

Lead speakers include Mathieu Loury, Senior Vice President and Group Head of Global Merchant Solutions for MasterCard, and Mick Hollison, the Chief Marketing Officer of Insidesales.com.

ITRealms further gathered that while Loury is expected to share how getting smart about shoppers today is paramount to successful business, Hollison would dwell on the most common oversights sellers make and what they could do to transform those into successes.

+ITRealms DSA +Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +Microsoft Corporation 

 
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