The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has advised business organisations in the country to leverage the power of big data and internet of things (IoT) to survive the competitions in the present and future business environment driven by digital technology.

Deputy Governor of the CBN in charge of Operations, Mr. Ade Shonubi, gave the advice on Wednesday in Lagos while delivering his keynote address at the maiden Thought Leadership Colloquium organised in Lagos by Greenwich Registrars & Data Solutions Limited, with the theme, “Big Data in Nigeria: A Business Case in an Era of Digitalisation and Data Protection.”

The CBN Deputy Governor, who was represented at the occasion by a Director in the Information Technology Department of the apex bank, Hajiya Rakiya Shuaibu Mohammed, said that with the fast pace of technology, organisations which fail to meet up with the pace of change using the power of big data will go out of business.

“So to survive in this age,” he said, “organisations need to have an agile data architecture that will enable them harness the power of big data and be able to play in their competitive ecosystem. So what I think we should do as an organisation is to have a very clear vision and a very clear strategy. When we have to look at data, we have to make a conscious decision to look at data as an asset, and to do that, we have to look at the entire organisation.

“So if for example, let’s say in Central Bank or as banks, we have our payment infrastructure and we are taking it as our critical information asset, we do everything we can to make sure we protect it, to make sure we make it better, to make sure we use it to drive revenue or even bring down cost. We have to think about data in that light as well even we want to harness the power.

“The second thing is that we need to have tangible used cases. So when you understand the business drivers for harnessing the power of data in your organisation, you need to also ask yourself: what is it you want to use this data for? Is it that you want to increase revenue? Or is it that you want to use it to bring down cost? Or is it that you want to use it to improve the capability of your people so that they are more productive? Or is it that you want to increase customer loyalty?”

Earlier in her welcome speech, the Acting Managing Director of Greenwich Registrars & Data Solutions, Obiageli Chiki-Ijegbulam, who made reference to an IBM study, said that under-utilising data is a costly mistake for many organisations.

According to Chiki-Ijegbulam, “An IBM study in 2017 revealed that inferior data cost the US almost 20 per cent of the nation’s GDP – a pretty convincing case for improving and expanding data opportunity. Interestingly, statistics of this sort culminate in the recognition and appreciation of the pivotal role big data and its appreciation play in the building of a dynamic enterprise.”

She added that traditional institutions globally have hitherto keyed into the new development and that each of them was assiduously seeking means to leverage technology to provide their customers a better experience through the deployment of alternative engagement channels and platforms.

In his presentation, the Keynote Speaker and digital transformation strategist from Denmark, Mr. Steffen Damborg, said that senior business leaders and chief executive officers must create a strong digital culture in their organisations, stressing that a digital culture empowers people to deliver results faster.

According to Damborg, data will disrupt the way businesses operate. He added: “As algorithms grow more sophisticated and machine learning advances, many businesses will find themselves facing a choice: to automate or not to automate? Help desk chatbots are already replacing human assistants in many businesses, and entire industries are facing the opportunity, or threat of automation. Thus, it's up to individual business owners to react to the oncoming change.”

Damborg affirmed that not every business will survive the disruptions caused by big data and the questions is: “Will your business evolve, or simply be buried?”

However, the Lead Speaker, Ade Bajemo, Executive Director, IT and Operations, Access Bank, noted that Big Data is the new oil and it can help workers do wonders in their business.

He stressed that every business organisation, small or big, needs valuable data and insights; when it comes to understanding target audience and customers preferences. Also, big data plays a very important role because it can helps one anticipate customer needs, Bajemo said.

According to him, “Data is an asset to every business. Big data will enable companies to collect better market and customer intelligence and it will improve internal efficiency and operations and data will allow companies to improve the customer experience and build big data into their product offering.”

•PHOTO: From right Mr. Kayode Falowo, Chairman, Greenwich Registrars / Data Solution Limited and Group Managing director/CEO Greenwich Trust Ltd; Obiageli Chiki-Ijegbulem, Ag. Managing Director, Greenwich Registrars / Data Solution Limited and Steffen Damborg, Digital Transformation Strategist Copenhagen, Denmark at the Greenwich Registrars and Data Solution Colloquium with the theme "Big Data in Nigeria" on Wednesday 2nd October 2019 in Lagos.

Update news