By EMEKA AGINAM
The Chief Executive Officer of Computer Ware House Group, (CWG) Mr. Austin Okere at the weekend disclosed that about 17 million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country would benefit from the connectivity of the center for a token.

While assuring that the CWG Data Center just inaugurated at the weekend would alleviate sufferings of ICT entrepreneurs in Nigeria, he said it will also offer entrepreneurs the prerequisite connectivity for advancement.
According to him, the ultra-mordern center will help the SMEs to have presence in the cloud to sell their wares.
“Apart from offering services to our customers like banks, we are targeting about 17 million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) who we are going to offer connectivity for a token.

“It will be based on subscription just like DSTV. They will pay on monthly basis and have the opportunity to run their businesses.
“The essence is that through the process, about 1.6 million of them would have migrated from the low level they are now, repackaged themselves, and can obtain loans from banks.
“At the end, 200 of them or more can enlist on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) which will be a massive development for the economy.
“We want to see ‘dots’ and small CWGs emerging from different strata of the economy,” Okere said.

Hosting data locally will reduce cost, create employment
For the former Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, hosting data center will not only reduce cost of hosting in Europe and other developed economies but will also create employment for the jobless youths who roam the street.
When hosted locally, a lot of things can be controlled including security, he said, even as he commded CWG for the giant stride.

“The building of the data centre was timely. CWG  is  one of Nigeria’s IT firms that had maintained integrity and leadership prowess, which had translated to several achievements lately, especially with its listing on NSE.. The age of CWG (21 years now), suggests it has been there before the revolution started, and for them to remain relevant means they have to be proactive.
“They have demonstrated the capabilities of the leadership through their various achievements in recent times, especially with the commissioning of this ultra-modern facility,” Ndukwe said.

He said that the data center  would benefit not just the current customers, but the SMEs, who have a special package to better their worth.
While urging d CWG to look beyond Nigeria and Africa, especially now that connectivity binds countries together