Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 05 | Page 76

EDITOR’S QUESTION A DAY IN THE LIFE GET TO KNOW... WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FACING THE ADOPTION OF IOT IN AFRICA? On the lighter side of things, we ask the industry- experts what makes them tick… Olakunle Oloruntimehin, General Manager of Cisco Systems in Nigeria An excerpt taken from an article by Morten Illum, VP of EMEA, Aruba, titled ‘Internet of things: the best is yet to come’. Blending technology and innovation Olakunle Oloruntimehin is the General Manager for Cisco in Nigeria, and is responsible for Cisco’s business across government and private sector organisations. He also works with Cisco’s partner ecosystem in the region. He is responsible for building relationships with government and private sector stakeholders, while ensuring that Cisco’s business objectives are closely aligned. Prior to this position, he was Head of Systems Engineering Sales in sub-Saharan Africa for Cisco Systems and also a Director of Cisco Systems Nigeria. In addition to serving on the board of Cisco Systems Nigeria board, he oversaw the development and implementation of the technology sales investment strategy and provided strategic direction to several functions and business teams comprising more than 300 channel partner organisations. Olakunle joined Cisco from MTN Nigeria, where he was a Carrier Services Specialist in the Network Group and a pioneer staff responsible for GSM and Mobile services roll out in Nigeria. Olakunle had worked earlier as a network projects engineer in Shell Nigeria. His choice of hot technology for the year is adaptive security. “Security has become very important due to the ever- increasing attack surface. Adaptive security attempts to make security more intelligent and resilient to attacks,” he points out. Olakunle believes a leader should evolve and adapt their management styles with their teams. But in his value system there are three attributes that have been singular in his approach. These are clear vision, integrity and execution. Teams need to understand the vision, need to be able to trust 76 INTELLIGENTCIO His choice of hot technology for the year is adaptive security that the leader would keep their word, and be consistent in execution. “It is important to also care and be generous with your time and resources to colleagues inside and outside the company. This tends to build trust, which is the foundation for leadership success,” he explains. For him the most exciting and memorable time of his career has been building and working with high- performance teams. As a young boy, he was curious about how cars and planes worked, and wanted to be an automobile or aeronautical engineer. However, he settled for graduation in BSc Electronic and Electrical Engineering, which gave him a broad and significant engineering foundation. His personal interests cover innovation topics and he does find time to participate in the Shark Tank business reality show by contributing and reviewing entries. He also has a postgraduate degree from University of Durham Business School and Executive Education from University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He destresses by watching football, reading a book and spending time with his family and friends. He is passionate about sea fishing.  www.intelligentcio.com The Internet of things (IoT) is a term that’s been bandied about for a long time and we’re finally at a stage where it’s coming more into the forefront, in terms of the technology and consumer adoption. IoT is starting to make a difference to many areas of our lives. Connected smart meters wirelessly track our domestic energy usage, while smart watches and smart cars are playing a small but influential role in the wider IoT movement. And this is even before we get started on connected home technologies, ranging from security sensors to connected light bulbs and even smart toasters. However, one question is still in the back of my mind: “When will the Internet of things really hit the big time?”. If we accept that IoT’s moment is indeed yet to come, then I’m glad to say we can put a date on it at last. In a new international study, ‘The Internet of Things, Today and Tomorrow’ Aruba asked 3,100 execs from 20 countries about IoT. The research found a whole range of interesting ideas and attitudes, but it also revealed that 2019 will be IoT’s breakthrough year. In fact 85% of businesses plan to start using IoT technologies by 2019. The study also found: INTELLIGENTCIO 77 www.intelligentcio.com • IoT is over-delivering. Our survey discovered an ‘expectations dividend’: the real-world benefits gained from IoT are exceeding original expectations in all areas. In other words, believe the hype (and how many times can that be saud about a new technology?). • ROI is looking good, very good. Four-fifths of companies that use IoT technology report seeing an increase in business efficiency, while the average return on investment from an IoT deployment is 34%. • A lot of people claim to know what IoT means. But few really know. A massive 98% of those surveyed think they have the true definition, but there’s no consensus. Kevin Ashton, a renowned tech pioneer, has offered this definition for IoT in his new eBook ‘Making Sense of IoT’, commissioned by Aruba: “It is not connecting everyday objects like toasters and refrigerators to the Internet. Products like these exist, but it is hard to see why. What defines the Internet of things is data capture. The ‘Internet of things’ means sensors connected to the Internet and behaving in an Internet-like way by making open, ad hoc connections, sharing data freely and allowing unexpected applications.” • IoT has some hurdles to clear. IoT has proven its value, but barriers still exist. Cost of implementation (50%), maintenance (44%) and integration of legacy technologies (43%) are the top three. But there is hope: technologies are already available that both cut infrastructure costs and smooth the integration process. • IoT brings incredible opportunities, but also credible threats. Alarmingly, 84% of organisations that use IoT have experienced an IoT-related security breach. As IoT continues to grow, businesses need to take steps to protect their networks and devices. Without gaining visibility of IoT activities, organisations are leaving themselves open to attack. Arguably Europe and the wider EMEA region have a more conservative approach towards IoT today. Europe, the Middle East and Africa showing a 50% take up of IoT technology, compared to 60% in APAC and 66% in the Americas. This could be from a lack of preparedness and a lack of willingness to explore IoT’s benefits: currently, 17% of EMEA respondents claim their IT infrastructure isn’t ready to support IoT yet – nearly double that of the Americas – but 82% of EMEA companies plan to adopt IoT technologies by 2019. So there’s still a little way to go yet to take full advantage of IoT. IoT isn’t just for the tech geeks wanting to be constantly connected to the Internet via data sharing. It’s revolutionising how businesses and public sector companies alike operate to make a real difference.  INTELLIGENTCIO www.intelligentcio.com 77