Digital Transformation: Microsoft Responds To FG’s Call
TECH DIGEST – Global software giant, Microsoft has responded to federal government’s desires to digitally transform operations and the economy of the country. The company is systematically entrenching itself at the heart of the digital transformation plans, just as it has concluded plans to introduce its Dynamic 365 business central solutions in Nigeria, Kenya and a few other African countries.
Nigeria hinges its quest for a digitally transformed economy on two policy frameworks, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (2020-2030) and Nigeria National Broadband Plan (2020-2025) launched in November 2019 and March 2020 respectively.
For the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, which champions this transformation, the two policies will provide the framework for digital-led growth strategy for the Nigerian economy. It means that relevant government agencies will develop IT-based networks that will provide network connectivity to its ministries and agencies.
However, corporate organisations in the business ecosystem are also expected to drive a more ambitious vision of taking the sector to a higher level.
For instance, with digital transformation now a necessity, small and medium-sized businesses are seeking cost-effective, streamlined systems that will make their transition seamless. That is where companies like Microsoft come in.
Fortunately, the software giant says it is dedicated to enabling digitalisation across the Middle East and Africa. Taking a first shot at this promise, the company is moving its cloud-based business management solution, Dynamics 365 Business Central, to Nigeria, Kenya, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Lebanon beginning this month.
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Dynamics 365 Business Central helps small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) connect their financials, sales, service, and operations to streamline business processes and improve customer interactions.
Regional Business Applications Director for Microsoft MEA Emerging Markets, Maher Al-Khaiyat, explains that when this happens, multiple, disconnected systems are now easily combined under one secure, centralised application.
Dynamics 365 Business Central is said to boost efficiency through automated tasks and workflows all from within familiar Office tools like Outlook, Word, and Excel. It helps businesses to have an end-to-end view of their operations, with built-in intelligence when and where they need it.
The application is easy to tailor and extend to meet unique business or industry-specific needs. By putting flexibility at the core of business, Dynamics 365 Business Central enables businesses to start quickly, grow at their own pace, and adapt in real time. That makes it the ideal solution for SMBs.
SMBs account for over 90 percent of all businesses in Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Lebanon, where Dynamics 365 Business Central will launch. SMBs across these markets will be empowered to accelerate the digital transformation of their own business processes using solution.
According to Khaiyat, SMBs can bring people, processes, and data together to manage their business end-to-end, instead of juggling standalone systems that disrupt business flow. With previously disconnected systems now brought together, tasks like connecting workflows across sales and accounting to automatically track cash flow are made effortless.
He said: “Microsoft’s unique ability to deliver the depth of integrated business applications necessary, alongside fully integrated analytics, productivity, and IoT solutions at cloud efficiency, and scale, drives the success of its Dynamics 365 Business Central solution”. Dynamics 365 Business Central integrate easily with applications like payroll, banking apps, or custom APIs, with the same consistent and secure experience across devices, from laptops to phones, no matter where teams are accessing the application from.
