By Olubunmi Adeniyi
Lagos. October 17, 2012: MTN Nigeria, the mobile phone market leader and Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), a leading technology consultancy in Nigeria have jointly introduced a cloud computing service hoped to deliver over 70 per cent cost saving to players in the Microfinance banking sector.
The application managed by MTN Business, the business-to-business division of MTN Nigeria, under the MTN Cloud Services platform is expected to boost microfinance banking service delivery and improve the operations of microfinance banking in Nigeria, both companies announced.
Under the plan, MTN XaaS Micro-banking software as a service platform has been designed to enable micro-finance banks (MFBs) carry out banking operations without having to pay so much in licensing, storage and implementation costs required for typical banking applications.
Brett Goschen, CEO, MTN Nigeria said at the signing of the deal in Lagos that the new service underscores the mobile phone company’s commitment to delivering solutions that will make Nigerian businesses more productive and ultimately more profitable.
Babatunde Osho, Chief Enterprise Solutions Officers, MTN Nigeria, MTN XaaS Micro-banking software as a service is just one of a number of cloud services MTN Business is launching in the Nigerian market.
“Technology, has made it possible for us to deliver robust cloud services direct to our customers via public or private connections without their need for storage, licensing and infrastructural concerns,” he adds.
According to him, micro-finance banks can access these services from anywhere via a secure private or public connection and gain access to the banking platform hosted in MTN’s data centre. That way, the only investment the bank makes in the form of hardware are the laptops and desktops that will be used to access the platform, MTN says.
Osho motes that MFBs need to remain cost-effective while delivering innovative services to the nation’s unbanked poor and financially underserved adding that the new MTN platform will save microfinance banks up to 70 per cent of the traditional costs involved in procuring, hosting and implementing typical banking software today.
MTN XaaS is designed to be implemented within a short period of time and without attendant costs, such as OS/application license fees, data centre setup, servers as well as extensive in-house IT expertise, he adds.
Austin Okere, Group Managing Director, CWG, says that it is a pleasure partnering with MTN Business to deliver this service that will enable microfinance banks increase productivity and improve customer service while remaining cost-effective.
MTN says it is committed to adding value to the lives and businesses of Nigerians, through delivering tailor-made, productivity-enhancing solutions to every part of this vast country.
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