A Nigerian-based indigenous cloud service provider, has re-affirmed the need for Nigerian companies to host contents locally, saying there are dangers associated with hosting data abroad.
The Chief Sales Officer of Layer3, Theresa Adeyinka, said Nigeria loses up to N60 billion worth of foreign exchange to other countries annually in payments for web hosting alone, according to the Nigeria Internet Registration Association(NIRA).
Mrs. Adeyinka said “Many Nigerian businesses and some public sector agencies have their data stored in data centres located outside of the country.
“They often do not know this. That’s because they host their data with foreign cloud service providers, who in turn keep their client’s data in physical stations in their country. Sometimes they even hold it in a data centre located in a third country.”
While noting that this raises all sorts of security concerns, she added that “organizations whose data are hosted in other countries do not have immediate access to the physical spaces in which they are kept.
“As a result, they are at the mercy of the data residency laws of the countries that host their data. If any of those countries determine that they (the organization) have violated their laws, the country could deny them access to their data.
“The fact that this could happen already places a large portion of Nigerian businesses in a vulnerable position.
“For context, a report from 2017 indicated that only 2.3% of .ng websites were hosted locally. The vast majority of Nigerian websites remain hosted on foreign soil, and are thus in danger of being targeted by authorities in their host countries for any number of reasons.
Theresa Adeyinka explained that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has shown how vulnerable businesses with data hosted outside the shore of the country are.
“ Proof that this is a genuine concern comes from recent national crises across the world, one of which is the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“ If Nigerian organizations have their data held in a country under attack like Ukraine, there’s always a risk that their data could be lost in attacks that affect data centers. Also, if Nigeria is caught in a diplomatic spat with another country, that country may seize control of any data from Nigerian organizations that’s hosted within its borders.
She added “Risks to foreign-hosted data could arise elsewhere along the global data transmission line. For example, the undersea cables that transmit data from stations elsewhere in the world to internet users in Nigeria may get damaged.
“An incident of this kind happened in 2020, when a submarine cable system was severed. This disrupted internet services to financial institutions, SMEs and larger corporations in Nigeria. Such disruptions could cost the affected businesses millions of naira in lost revenue, depending on how long they last.”
She said given the dangers that are associated with holding data abroad, it is only logical that Nigerian businesses move to host their data locally.
“In recent years, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has pushed for private and public sector organizations to have their data reside within the country’s borders.
“This move comes with several benefits. It keeps data within the reach of the entities that generate and own it. And it maintains data in areas under the jurisdiction of Nigerian law, which Nigerian businesses and public sector agencies are more conversant with.
“Ultimately, this also saves the country a significant amount of foreign exchange, which would otherwise have been lost in payments to foreign cloud service providers.
Shatse Kakwagh said “As Nigeria continues to battle an ongoing scarcity of foreign exchange, the resulting restrictions on the allocation of FOREX makes it difficult for organizations to find the dollars they need to meet their financial obligations to foreign cloud service providers.
“On the whole, a widespread switch to cloud services based in Nigeria will save the country a fair amount of foreign exchange—something that will benefit both public and private sector concerns. Billions of naira worth of FOREX will be kept within the country’s borders, and may help to reduce the prevailing exchange rate volatility.”
He added that this is where Layer3Cloud, which hosts data for organizations in several industries, comes in
“It services are globally certified with PCIDSS, ISO27001 and ISO27017 certifications and run out of data centers in Lagos and Abuja, thus bringing the cloud much closer to Nigerian users. This also guarantees ultra-high-speed connectivity and exceptionally low latency, compared to what is available from foreign-based vendors.
Source: vanguard
