Enterprise IT vendor IBM has opened two new Innovation Centers in Lagos, Nigeria and Casablanca, Morocco in Africa.
These two new centers are expected to enhance local growth and fuel an ecosystem of development and entrepreneurship around Big Data and Analytics and cloud computing in Africa, said IBM in a statement.
According to IBM, approximately one in every two medium to large businesses in both South Africa and Kenya already use the cloud.
In Nigeria, cloud usage is expected to more than double to 80 percent of businesses by the end of next year.
African enterprises are looking for ways to improve their analytics skills and more accurately tap into the data being produced by mobile devices and tablets – and, better anticipate the needs of their customers by delivering improved services.
The new Innovation Centers will focus on providing constituents with solutions that use Big Data and Analytics and cloud computing technologies to solve key local and global challenges such as improving government services, digitizing banking services and enhancing customer centricity in telecommunications.
Clients will now be able to participate in virtual and in-person training, test out new products, network with peers from around the world, and receive mentoring and guidance from IT and business experts.
IBM Innovation Centers will give clients hands-on access to cloud-based industry solutions such as IBM Intelligent Operations designed to provide cities, governments and utilities with a central command center that utilizes predictive analytics to enhance efficiency and centrally manage all of their operations.
IBM’s Innovation Center in Johannesburg has also been enhanced with new capabilities. Located at IBM South Africa’s offices in Sandton, the IBM Innovation Center will now offer clients hands-on access to advanced technologies in cloud, data, mobility and social business in a variety of industry and client environments.
IBM is engaged with hundreds of clients across the region, such as: Santam, RAWBANK in the DRC, Fidelity Bank and Surfline Communications in Ghana, Bharti Airtel across 17 African countries, and Morocco’s Ministry of Economy and Finance.
