Nigeria’s Digital Convergence and the Vacuum

The digital convergence associated with the information superhighway (computing, mobile telephony, electronic business via the internet) demands the services of a well structured Information Technology/Information and Communications Technology (IT/ICT) Help Desk solutions provider in Nigeria.

The Information Technology/Information and Communications Technology market in Nigeria was initiated by the arrival of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) led by IBM, ICL and NCR, subsequently followed by Dell, Compaq, Unisys and HP. However, these companies found the Nigerian business environment extremely difficult. They incurred huge bills, including multiple taxes, and they could not handle government contracts which exposed them to excessive over-invoicing, unending public relations demands from civil servants, and long delays in getting paid after executing contracts. These companies therefore quit Nigeria and appointed local Distributors (whom they called Partners) to market their products.

The exit of the OEMs created a vacuum in customer care and customer satisfaction in Nigeria’s IT market which their local Distributors could not fill. The Distributors merely dumped IT products on end users and provided no service beyond the manufacturer’s warranty period.

But the technology is changing very rapidly. It is almost impossible for any organization to keep pace with the necessary technical know how. Given the shortage of trained ICT manpower in Nigeria, the rapid changes in ICT applications, the rapid application upgrades and streams of certifications required to keep pace with the technological advancements, attracting and keeping skilled personnel in an average Nigerian ICT environment is near impossible. Virtually every company’s ICT workforce suffers from rapid turnover and instability. The effect of this vacuum, this gap in customer satisfaction that has been widened by the exit of the OEMs is a problem indeed.

To solve this issue, it is important for enterprises, including government Agencies, to consider these key questions:

• How can we keep up to date with the ever-changing technological world?
• How can we make the best use of all the products and services the ICT world offers?
• How do we stay ahead and ensure we are developing the next generations of business solutions driven by ICT investments?

It is this vacuum, these problems, that AstroData Systems Ltd. (ADS) has come to relieve. Unlike the OEMs, ADS is here to stay; and unlike their Distributors, ADS focuses on customer-centered service via a robust knowledge-based Help Desk solutions system. Contact us today!