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By Aanuoluwa Omotosho and Oluwatobi Opusunju
In the month in which the Wannacry Ransomware virus ravaged over 200, 000 systems majorly in Europe, America and Asia to keep the cyberworld on red alert, Nigerian officials took time out to attend the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC), the Internet of Things Expo (IoTx), The Big Data Show and the Gulf Enterprise Mobility Exhibition and Conference (GEMEC) all converging as a three-day event inside the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from May 21-23, 2017.
Led by Honourable Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo, Chairman, House Committee on ICT, and Alhaji Yusuf Kazaure, CEO of Galaxy Backbone Limited, the connectivity solutions company that manages all government digital access, the mix of legislators and technical services team was able to have insights into “ground-breaking technologies, game-changing plenary talks, and experience ready-to-market inventions that will disrupt the future of how we work, connect and live.”
The three day event was a gathering of “developers, programmers and enterprise architects, as well as government departments, major international blue-chip companies and thousands of SMEs exploring the next generation of pipeline technologies to boost their fledgling businesses.” The event showcases products like space to security systems and technologies, security services, security alerts and earning systems and all associated with the security industry.
For the Nigerian delegation, it was a platform to learn, to share and to seek ways of deepening Nigeria’s participation not only in global IT space as mere consumers but also as solution providers particularly in the connectivity, disruptive and internet security sub-sectors.
“This has been a most enlightening and educative visit for us. As legislators, it is important we have insight into the industry and trends in those industries we are supposed to legislate on by leveraging the practical experience of the industry players, this is an exposure that is both timely and strategic considering the dramatic changes in Nigeria’s technology sector,” said Onawo.
Other members of the House of Representatives at the event include: Hon Ahmed Garba Bichi, Hon Awaji-Inombek Dagomie Abiante, and Hon Ahmadu Jatau, the House ICT Committee clerk. Also present were Rabi Abubakar, Technical Assistant at Galaxy backbone, Mr. Akande Ojo president of Pinnacle Consulting International LLC, the West Africa’s representative for the DWTC and Mr. Segun Oruame, CEO of Knowhow Media International, local partners to Pinnacle LLC.
“We are here to explore the possibility of getting strategic partners, and see what exhibitors have on offer that can further improve our service delivery. We are open to exploring synergies and new developments to enhance our business. It’s a highly dynamic industry,” said Kazaure during an interactive session with Bilal Al Rais, senior director at the DWTC.
Like the 2016 event, the 2017 IoTx covers advanced connectivity, smart cities digitalization and cloud based control of devices, people, and enterprise operations. The event touched on emerging issues as they covered: ‘Capitalising on the booming industrial IoT ecosystem,’ ‘Sensor Explosion: realizing the world through ultra-High volume sensor application’, ‘Harnessing the power of M2M capabilities for higher productivity’, ‘Understanding ways in which industial IoT is changing the oil and gas industry’, ‘Robotics and other technology creating safer communities, cities and environments,’ and ‘The first step for SME’s to monetise consumer IoT products’, among others.
