by Emmanuel Elebeke

Leading Networking company, CISCO has said it is set to unveil its future strategy for cloud computing that will drive technology application and e-commerce. The new blue print on interconnectivity of devices, according to the company will centre on security, businesses, transport and e-commerce.

Other areas it will enhance quality service delivery include: internet/technology trends; user demands on information; less consumption in workplace, , reduction in device proliferation and alleviation of global IP traffic among others.

CISCO said this has become necessary in view of the major shift that is been driven by dynamics in the technology world, saying that it will leverage on its wide spanned network acros the globe to lead innovation in cloud infrastructure and services

Addressing the press at a live teleconferencing organized at its head office in Lagos, CISCO systems engineering manager, English West Africa, Olakunle Oloruntimehin described cloud computing as the next revolution in technology world that can help those in the developing world to leap-frog from their present their status.

To actualize its plan for the future of cloud computing, Oloruntimehdisclosed that CISCO has already started putting together infrastructure for building clouds, solutions for developing its services and innovation to accelerate the usage.

The engineering manager who defined cloud computing as sharing of infrastructure in the most appropriate way and providing services to consumers. He said that the complexity of the system grows with the number of application people use, which he said could make businesses and consumers use cloud services across boundaries.

He deplored the traditional data centre approach, which he said breeds poor utilization of networkd systems and make infrastructure flexible.

For him, cloud computing is inevitable for business development because cloud based IT delivery model applications run on virtualized infrastructure.

Oloruntimehin who identified scale and quality of infrastructure as the biggest challenge confrionting clioud computing in Africa, maintained that there can not be cloud computing without sustainable power supply in a country like Nigeria, even with full deployment of broadband connectivity.

Emphasizing the importance of wired infrastructure, the CISCO manager insisted that building a network wired Infrastructure has remained a challenge for the growth of cloud computing not just in Africa but globally, calling for collaboration among stakeholders to enhance industry growth.

On why customers must adopt cloud computing, the CISCO manager said “ cloud services change the fundamental economic s of IT; ensure new application and information delivery models, new wave ofs of innovation and revenue opportunities and risk management shifts from the user to the provider.

On cyber security, he said a work plan is ongoing with a view to tackling the menace that has grown to become another global challenge.

While enjoining Nigerians to embrace the new trend, Oloruntimehin said “ It is a way of pulling resources together, in order to manage cost. You do not need large resources, all you need to do is to build big infrastructure before you can build cloud computing.”

He however, assured on the company’s resolve to collaborate with service providers to deliver into the market..

Part of CISCo’s strategy includes, strategic Focus; diversify Cloud’s Possibilities; Make Clouds Possible; Network as a Platform; Enterprise Customers and Service Providers.