The Country Manager of Zoho Nigeria, Mr Kehinde Ogundare, has urged Nigerian businesses to prioritize data security, privacy, access control, and business continuity when making technology decisions.
Ogundare made the call on Thursday during a fireside chat on data sovereignty and enterprise technology at the GrowthX by TechEconomy conference in Lagos.
He said the need for stronger data protection had become more important as Nigeria moved towards enhanced data localization and sovereignty requirements.
According to him, businesses should not view data sovereignty merely as a regulatory requirement or a question of where data is physically stored.
“It should also encompass who controls the data, how it is used, who can access it and whether the business can retrieve and use it when needed,” he said.
Ogundare said Nigerian businesses, particularly fintech companies handling large volumes of sensitive customer information, needed to pay greater attention to the security and privacy implications of their technology platforms.
“Where does your data reside? This should be among the first questions businesses ask technology providers,” he said.
He also urged companies to examine providers’ business continuity arrangements to ensure their operations and data remained protected in the event of service disruptions or a provider’s exit from the market.
Ogundare stressed the importance of internal access controls, saying that employees should have access only to the information required for their specific responsibilities.
According to him, controlled access could facilitate cross-departmental collaboration while reducing the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive business information.
He identified infrastructure, security, privacy, cost and scalability as key considerations for businesses adopting cloud and enterprise technology.
On the growing adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Ogundare cautioned businesses against deploying technologies without first determining how they would create value for their operations.
He said companies could invest heavily in AI and other technologies without achieving meaningful improvements if the tools were poorly understood or unsuitable for their business processes.
The IT expert also identified trust as a major factor influencing technology adoption among Nigerian businesses.
He said enterprise technology providers needed to understand the local business environment and work with customers to identify their specific challenges before recommending solutions.
Ogundare said technology adoption should ultimately be driven by business value rather than trends, adding that businesses should ensure their chosen platforms could support customer retention, acquisition and day-to-day operations.
“For a Nigerian company seeking to modernize its operations, there are three key questions to ask before adopting an enterprise cloud platform.
“Can the technology grow with the business? Can it integrate with existing operations? And will employees actually use it?” he said.
He explained that a technology solution that cannot scale with a growing business could eventually become inadequate, while one that fails to integrate with existing systems could create additional operational challenges.
Ogundare also cautioned businesses against restructuring their entire operations simply to accommodate inflexible software.
According to him, technology should be adaptable enough to fit existing business processes while helping organizations identify and optimize areas of weakness.
The discussion highlighted the growing importance of data sovereignty, cybersecurity, privacy and practical technology adoption as Nigerian businesses increasingly rely on cloud platforms, AI and other digital tools to expand their operations.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that GrowthX by TechEconomy is an executive conference and dialogue platform focused on Nigeria’s digital economy, with a focus on strategic partnerships, infrastructure development, and policy innovation.
