2020 - Page 2 of 2

Digital Transformation, Press Release, Success Stories

How Trustfund Increased Its Revenue Using Microsoft Cloud Service – Azure Provided by Descasio

With over 15 years of expertise, Trustfund Pensions has been the leading Pension Fund Administrator in Nigeria. The essence of Trustfund Pensions Limited goes beyond administering and managing pension funds, but also to improving the overall net worth of the average employee and providing a stable means of sustenance after retirement.

 To achieve its vision of scale and market dominance, Trustfund Pensions Limited delivers world-class, innovative, quality pension management products and services at low cost, through technology-enabled channels and highly skilled professionals, combined with an aggressive marketing strategy.

To sustain their dominance in the market, they partnered with Descasio, a leading technology solutions company in Nigeria, in order to deploy Microsoft Azure cloud solutions to host the company’s online assets which have greatly increased delivery speed and efficiency. 

Loss of Revenue

Prior to partnering with Descasio a year ago, Trustfund faced a lot of downtimes which caused a lot of strain on workers who had to work overtime to resolve the issues.  This translated to a huge loss of time and revenue as the prolonged system lags negatively impacted service rendered to customers. 

The pension company tried to solve the problem by moving to an open-source hosting platform, but due to regulation, they needed a more secured and structured cloud solution platform.

Flexibility and Reliability

Trustfund quickly sought for a more reliable and effective cloud solution platform to stem these incalculable losses. In stepped Descasio, in collaboration with Microsoft, to deploy a seamless Azure service that requires no manual process while delivering maximum business value, showcasing the flexibility and reliability of the cloud offering.

More Time to Focus on Other Aspects of the Business

The adoption of Azure by Trustfund through Descasio has helped the team to focus solely on other profitable aspects of the business as the technical team at Descasio continues to oversee the hosting infrastructure and resolve support requests that would have usually taken a lot of time.

According to Ndubisi Agba, the Head of Information Technology at Trustfund, the most positive experience of the solution is how efficient Azure is in meeting regulatory objectives, 

“Microsoft Azure through Descasio has helped the Technical team at Trustfund in having a successful IT audit with external auditors as it checks all the requirements and helps meet most of the standards in having a secure and reliable website hosting solution.” 

                                                                  Ndubisi Agba – Head of Information Technology

No doubt, it’s obvious the Pension Company has experienced a transformation with the use of Azure which has shore up revenue leaks before their partnership with Descasio.

3 Min. Read/November 10, 2020/by Team Descasio

Business Model

4 Ways to Optimise Security for Your Business

Just as in personal life, professional life can be filled with questions and pitfalls regarding security-related issues. While people can be tempted to cut costs and corners and hope for smooth sailing, unquestionably the best option is to plan.

Cover your bases, both in terms of general security and in special cases related to your business, and better financial outcomes, as well as lower stress, will inevitably result.

General Security
The most fundamental forms of security in business are going to the most regular. On a basic level, this means keeping all points of access to secure and maintain high levels of password strength. For optimal results here, you’ll want to adopt passwords that are at least 12 characters long. These do not have to be gibberish but ensure they aren’t related to the business itself or family.

Backup Security
Once-daily security is covered, you will also want to consider the possibilities for massive system failure. This can occur as the result of a wide range of unforeseen consequences, such as fires, electrical surges, floods, and malicious unexpected attacks. The best way to combat these problems is to shore up recovery methods beforehand, through the proper application of cloud-backups and software.

Cloud backups are also key. They can be an enormous boost because they constantly run in the background, never requiring much input from the workers of a business. By automatically updating data, any essential databases can then be redownloaded in the case of emergency, such as the loss of regular storage.

Stay Vigilant
Small daily and weekly checks whenever necessary can make all the difference in spotting problems and addressing them before they get out of hand. Stay vigilant, and what will undoubtedly start off alienating and challenging will eventually become simple and second nature. In the long term, your business’s security and health will be all the better for it.

Hire professionals
Cyber threats are always evolving. To stay on top of emerging trends an organization must be innovative and informed, this takes a lot of time and effort. To maintain those capabilities in-house requires a lot of resources. Utilizing a company that specializes in security is more effective as you have access to an entire team of experts that will allow your team to focus on other business-related tasks. Leveraging a team of experts ensures you’re protected by the best.

If and when an attack happens, your cybersecurity firm will know exactly what to do. Should your company suffer from an ongoing data breach, they’ll quickly go into action to resolve the situation as fast as possible in order to close the breach.

To learn more on how you can protect your company, contact us

3 Min. Read/October 19, 2020/by admin

Information Technology

4 Signs That You’ve Outgrown your IT Infrastructure

Not only is your business growing, but technology is advancing at a rapid rate. Which means knowing if it’s time to upgrade to a new IT system is key to protecting the future of your business. Here are four ways to know if your organization is ready for an upgrade.

Your Response Time is Lagging: If users are waiting too long for the system to respond – or if the system often crashes – then it is being overworked and overloaded. Downtime costs small-to-midsize businesses thousands of naira per hour and will hamper employee productivity.

Your cybersecurity is lax: According to the official cybercrime, report cybercrime will cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015. A Symantec study found that more than a third of all reported targeted attacks in 2014 were against small businesses. The emerging patterns show that cybercriminals will often target small and medium-sized businesses because they usually do not have the expertise or resources to fend them off. If your websites are consistently down and your staff are not security conscious then you may have a problem.

You can’t grow: As the organization grows, and the data that you store also grows, so too should your systems. If you add new products or expand your client portfolio, then this necessitates the expansion of your data warehousing system. In turn, the reporting functionality within your software must be dynamic and keep up with the pace of your past changing and vibrant business.

Everyone is complaining: Grumbling from employees and customers about delays, clunky processes, and tedious manual tasks means you have a big problem and it is absolutely time to reevaluate your IT infrastructure. Innovative software such as Microsoft Office 365 can help streamline your workflow and automating other processes can help keep customers to employees satisfied.

Final note: Ultimately, without updating your technology, you risk falling behind to competitors, while paying too much to keep your old systems alive or disappointing your clients. To future-proof your business and stay productive, you’ll need to embrace more modern technologies. The cloud can offer your firm space to grow, reliable uptime, flexible working, and cost-effective billing. It’s the freedom you need to do your best work efficiently. Want to find out more? Get in touch with our team.

3 Min. Read/October 18, 2020/by admin

Digital Transformation

What is Digital Transformation and Why Does it Matter?

Digital transformation is the use of a number of digital technologies to enable an organization to improve or evolve their business process, culture and customer experiences to meet today’s rapidly changing business environment.

This is achieved through a smart integration of digital technologies, processes and competencies across all levels and functions in a staged and strategic way.
The key thing to remember is that digital transformation will look different for every company, simply because each company structure and operation are different.

This means companies will require different levels of digital and software integration which will change day-to-day operations and how they deliver value to customers.

Why does digital transformation matter?
A business may take on digital transformation for several reasons. But by far, the most likely reason is that they have to: It’s a survival issue for many. According to the American Enterprise foundation in 1958, U.S. corporations remained on the stock market index for an average of 61 years, by 2011, it had dropped to 18 years. Today, companies are being replaced on the index approximately every two weeks. Technology has driven this shift, and companies that want to succeed must understand how to merge technology with strategy.

To make our definitions tangible, it will help to understand that there are three major types of digital transformation:

Internal Digital Transformation
As the organization grows, and the data that you store also grows, so too should your systems. If you add new products or expand your client portfolio, then this necessitates the expansion of your data warehousing system. In turn, the reporting functionality within your software must be dynamic and keep up with the pace of your past changing and vibrant business.
The first type of digital transformation is what goes on inside of a business. Internal digital transformation is any sort of technology that employees use to work with each other and business partners. Streamlining all interactions and creating central locations for work and files.
This leads to several things:
1. Increased workplace productivity
2. Better customer experience
3. Better time management as tasks take less time.
4. Automated systems that can reduce overhead.

External Digital Transformation
The next form of digital transformation is external transformation. This focuses on the organization’s relationships with its customers, suppliers, employees, and partners. E-commerce is the most obvious example. E-commerce not only improves the business processes between trading partners, whether B2C or B2B, but it can also improve the nature of the business relationship, from one that is largely transactional to one that is more strategic. Netflix for example runs an algorithm that selects films according to the users viewing history and will suggest content that the user is more likely to watch. This allows Netflix to gain a deeper understanding of customers both online and offline.

Data-driven Transformation
As Africa becomes more digitized, data-driven decisions will make or break organizations. Digital transformation will help businesses future proof by using data and analytics to study information gathered. This will help companies interpret customer decisions, make better marketing and sales decisions while giving the ability to provide quick and timely solutions to customers.

Gone are the days of going by your gut, in an economic reality where entire industries are changing, actionable intelligence is the new currency. Data and information have become core business assets, sources of revenue, and critical enablers in the information age.

Final note:
As technology change increases, industries will continue to be forced to change. Gone are the days of making decisions by gut instinct. We are in an economic reality where entire industries are changing and actionable intelligence is the new currency. The corporations that regard and pursue digital transformation in a multi-dimensional way will find greater success than those that don’t. For small businesses just getting started, the advantage you have today is that you can digitize your processes and future-proof from the word go. Talk to the experts now and find out how you can begin the transformation process for your business

4 Min. Read/October 18, 2020/by admin

Workplace

What Does the Modern Workplace Look Like?

How do you define a modern workplace? Is it a working environment that is set up with the most advanced technology?
A company that invests in sophisticated IT security?
A company that collects and analyses data to their advantage?

Why Does My Company Need a Disaster Recovery Plan?

Hardware failures, user error, viruses, software issues and natural disasters. All of these can be deemed IT nightmares. All your business data, emails and important documents have been lost. What do you do?

Whether it’s caused by human error or other, incidents that lead to a loss of data can be detrimental to a business. Although we can’t foresee these things coming, we need to expect the best and prepare for the worst as data loss events are anything but uncommon. The importance of a disaster recovery plan cannot be overstated. Regardless of industry, when an unforeseen event takes place and brings day-to-day operations to a halt, your organization needs to recover as quickly as possible and continue to provide services to your clients.

When effectively implemented, it empowers companies to break the boundaries of work styles and get things done from anywhere, on any device, and at any time using secure tools that enhance the way things work, not complicate it.

What is a disaster recovery plan?

A disaster recovery plan (DRP) is a procedure that protects and recovers a business’s IT infrastructure. As organizations rely more on technology and electronic data for their daily operations, the amount of data and information technology infrastructure lost to disasters is increasing. The disaster recovery plan focuses on the specified steps that a company is to take before, during, and after a disaster. The ‘disaster’ refers to any intentional, unintentional, man-made, or natural accident and breakage.

Benefits of a disaster recovery plan

Cost Savings
One of the most significant benefits of a DRP is the long-term cost savings. A successful DRP includes preventative measures to reduce the risk of man-made disasters, detective processes to spot unwanted activity, and corrective actions to quickly restore lost data and resume business as usual even after a disaster occurs.

Maximum Productivity
Executing a successful DRP is often dependent on having the right people in a position to lead during a disaster. With specific roles and responsibilities assigned in advance, you’ll be able to act quickly to increase effectiveness and productivity. Your employees will also feel a sense of security knowing leadership has everything under control.

Customer Loyalty
Your clients expect a lot from you, and in today’s world of competition, they’re not quick to forgive in the case of failure or downtime. If you’re unable to meet customer expectations, they can simply take their business to your competitor. A disaster recovery plan allows you to maintain your customer service quality, regardless if you’re faced with an unpredictable event.

Other key reasons why a business needs a detailed and tested disaster recovery plan include:
• To minimize interruptions to normal operations.
• To limit the extent of disruption and damage.
• To minimize the economic impact of the interruption.
• To establish alternative means of operation in advance.
• To train personnel with emergency procedures.
• To provide for smooth and rapid restoration of service.

Preparing for what can happen
Companies that don’t currently have a plan in place may recognize the importance of a Disaster Recovery Plan but struggle with getting started. Those who have not been affected by unforeseen events and costly unplanned downtime may even think that they are immune from disaster. However, it is better to be prepared since the cost of not having a plan in place can pose serious risks for an organization. With a disaster recovery plan in place, we can make sure that your business bounces back as quickly as ever when a disaster strikes and offer you peace of mind with regards to the recuperation of data in an unexpected event.

Final note
While there is no one size fits all plan for a disaster recovery plan. Our team can get you started with a comprehensive DRP. We’ll work with you to fully understand your needs and develop a unique plan that can keep your business running no matter what the future has planned for you. Contact us today to learn more.with our team.

4 Min. Read/September 16, 2020/2 Comments/by admin