Microsoft boosts SME productivity with new cloud service

Ben Uzor Jr

Microsoft Corporation says it is contributing significantly to the development of Nigeria’s Small Medium Enterprise (SME) sector through the provision of cloud-based technologies specifically designed to enhance enterprise productivity and efficiency. Industry analysts told Benuzorreports at the launch of the solution in Lagos that Microsoft was finally stepping into the small-business cloud-computing segment with company executives at the launch claiming downright that the internet is the one and only future for Microsoft. Branded as Office 365, the service costs $6 per user per month, and is Microsoft's Web-based version of its franchise Office product.

With the cloud-based solution, professionals and small businesses can be up and running with Office Web Apps, Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Lync Online and an external website in just 15 minutes. These tools, according to Microsoft put email, voicemail, enterprise social networking, instant messaging, Web portals, extranets, video conferencing, web conferencing and more at everyone’s fingertips. In Nigeria today, 80 percent of businesses are SMEs but their contributions to the economy from a value add perspective is insignificant. Industry analysts have blamed this rather worrisome situation on poor access to capital and low adoption of Information Communications Technology (ICTs).

In most cases, financial constraints hinder SMEs from making investment in ICTs.  Speaking at the launch of the solution in Lagos, Emmanuel Onyeje, country manager, Microsoft West Africa, pointed out that not every single business, individual or enterprise needs to build its own IT infrastructure. “Cloud computing is computing on scale. Through our large data centres, we are offering high quality enterprise collaborative products for everybody. “It means that our enterprise product like Exchange for messaging, SharePoint for collaboration, Lync for universal communications is now available to every SME, individual and large firm. It means that every business in Nigeria has access to top quality infrastructure that can enable it compete globally.

According to him, the introduction of the service to Nigeria has the potential to fuel economic transformation across the region by delivering cost-effective, flexible access to best-in-class IT infrastructure and services. “We are evolving from the information age to the collaboration age, where the ability to take action on information will set successful businesses apart from the rest. “The launch of Office 365 in Nigeria will accelerate that evolution by delivering enterprise-grade collaboration for all businesses - large and small”, Onyeje explained.

In the same vein, Dele Akinsade, director developer platforms, Microsoft West Africa, noted that the solution provides the productivity backbone for modern businesses in Africa. According to him, moving to the cloud with Office 365 doesn’t require a business to change the way it works, because the service is based on familiar productivity tools people know and trust.

“Employees get new ways to work together with ease, on virtually any device or mobile phone, and businesses get the reliability, security and IT controls they need in the cloud, even without a dedicated  IT staff”, he added.