IT decision makers at Nigerian businesses are determined to expand to new regions and counties, despite challenges including skills shortage, supply chain issues and cyber security threats.

This is according to the Equinix 2022 Global Tech Trends Survey, which highlighted that 34% of IT decision makers in Nigeria are planning to move to a new region and 33% to a new country. At the same time, 58% view a shortage of personnel with IT skills as one of the main threats to business and 93% see customer experience as a priority.

The survey adds that there are huge opportunities for Nigeria’s businesses to successfully expand into new markets and reach new customers.

However, a number of potentially limiting factors were identified by businesses when it came to global growth including concerns and challenges in supply chain, cyber security, and staff retention and recruitment.

55% said their business was plagued by global supply chain issues and shortages, while 50% specified the global microchip shortage as a threat to their business.

Additionally, there remain significant concerns around cybersecurity in Nigeria.

As part of their digital-first strategies, 85% of respondents in Nigeria confirmed a key priority is improving cybersecurity. 88% said complying with local market data regulations is critical, while 85% highlighted the need to futureproof their businesses. According to IT specialists in Nigeria, the most feared threats were cyberattacks (73%), security breaches and data leaks (68%).

Staff retention and recruitment

Despite having one of the youngest populations and workforces in the world, 58% of IT decision makers in Nigeria view a shortage of personnel with IT skills as one of the main threats to their business.

The survey showed that among the most common concerns for businesses in Nigeria are candidates with the wrong skill sets applying for jobs (56%), pay and compensation (49%), changing expectations around ways of working (41%), and the retention of current talent (38%).

Additionally, In Nigeria, the most in-demand tech employees are those with skills in areas such as AI/machine learning, data analysis, cloud computing specialists, data protection, security software development, IT technicians and security analysis

Tools to grow business

To help grow their businesses, 77% of IT leaders in Nigeria said they plan to move more business functions to the cloud including business-critical applications and security functions.

Hybrid cloud models were the preferred approach for 36% of respondents in Nigeria, although 18% still rely on a single cloud provider and 2% not using the cloud at all.

40% of respondents in Nigeria said they plan to facilitate global expansion plans by deploying virtually via the cloud, with 21% doing so using a bare metal solution.

Meanwhile, 46% said they expect increased spending on carrier-neutral co-location solutions to facilitate the planned rise in digital deployments, while 70% said they intend to increase investment in interconnection services as they plan to progress digital transformation and build resilience.

COVID accelerates digital evolution

Earlier this year Equinix, Inc. expanded into Africa through the US$320-million acquisition of West African datacentre and connectivity solutions provider MainOne, with presence in Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.

According to Equinix, the pandemic also continues to have a significant impact on businesses’ digital strategies.

More than half of IT leaders in Nigeria (64%) say they are accelerating their company’s digital evolution because of the COVID-19 crisis. Over half (64%) confirm their IT budgets have increased as a direct outcome of its legacy - an insight into the now broadly acknowledged necessity for robust digital infrastructure to pivot to evolving business needs in an instant.

Furthermore, almost three-quarters of respondents (73%) believe the technology changes and investments implemented during the pandemic are here to stay.

Funke Opeke, Managing Director, MainOne, an Equinix Company says: “The acceleration in digital transformation in Nigeria reinforces the need for businesses to have access to single points to interconnect locally. Increased speed of connectivity, increased flexibility of connectivity, and reduced cost of connectivity were identified by IT decision-makers in Nigeria as the most beneficial aspects of interconnection.MainOne provides a rich interconnection ecosystem that allows customers connect to each other multiple telecoms networks, and Cloud, Payment and Content Providers in a single location.”