Technology
Rimini Street Boosts Investment in Latin America
Rimini Street, Inc., the leading global independent provider of enterprise software support services for SAP SE’s Business Suite, BusinessObjects and HANA Database software and Oracle Corporation’s Siebel, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, E-Business Suite, Oracle Database, Oracle Middleware, Hyperion, Oracle Retail and Oracle Agile PLM software, has announced its continued strong growth trajectory and investment in the Latin American region due to fast-growing demand for Rimini Street’s premium-level ERP software support for Oracle and SAP licensees.
The Company announced that it has increased its total signed clients in Latin America by 189% year over year in the second quarter ending June 30, 2016, and that it has made numerous strategic hires in the region to meet demand in this fast-growing market. Rimini Street’s best in class support model is a welcome solution to organizations who are interested in growing, expanding and innovating their business in the region despite a difficult economic climate.
Rimini Street also announced that it has increased its recurring Oracle and SAP revenue in Latin America by 57%1 year over year in the second quarter ending June 30, 2016. Today, Rimini Street supports more than 100 global clients with operations in Latin America including well-known local Brazilian companies Atento, Embraer S.A., GRSA, Grupo Rodobens, Infoglobo, MRS Logística S.A. and Tecnisa S.A.
To meet fast-growing demand in the region, Rimini Street has increased its local investment by adding several local senior executives and staff, including highly experienced delivery and support engineers. During the 12 month period ending in June 30, 2016, Rimini Street’s headcount in the region grew 229% year over year compared to the prior 12 month period.
The Latin American economy continues to struggle in 2016 with lower global demand for exports such as oil and gas, mining, and agriculture impacting the entire region. This has had a ripple effect in all areas of business including IT infrastructure costs, with many companies citing a 20 – 30% decrease in their overall IT budgets for 2016. In 2017, this budget line item is expected to decrease another 15%. With these substantial budget challenges, many organizations only have budget to sustain their current IT infrastructure, with insufficient budget left over to fund strategic initiatives.
In Brazil specifically, the country is navigating its worst recession in 25 years. Rimini Street’s unique value proposition – the combination of unsurpassed quality support coupled with substantial savings on annual support costs – has addressed a real economic need. In addition to saving clients up to 90% on their support and maintenance costs, clients are able to run their current software release for a minimum of 15 years, avoiding expensive and unnecessary upgrades to their stable ERP system.
“Brazil’s economy is expected to shrink a further 3.5% this year and organizations are struggling to stay viable in this contracting market, actively seeking solutions for cost reduction while maintaining their competitive edge,” said Edenize Maron, general manager, Rimini Street Latin America. “With a 189% increase in our signed Oracle and SAP clients, it is clear that Rimini Street’s offering is an enormous benefit to Oracle and SAP software licensees in this challenging market – we are helping CIOs realign their IT budgets and unlock extra funds that can be reinvested back into their business. Furthermore, we are aggressively hiring and investing in the best, most experienced on-boarding, support, and delivery talent in our industry to help ensure our client’s success with their switch to Rimini Street independent support.”
Clients in the region who recently made the switch to Rimini Street support include leading Brazil media group Infoglobo.
Infoglobo moved the support of its SAP R/3 4.7 system to Rimini Street in November 2015, and then transitioned to SAP ECC 6.0 while under Rimini Street support. As experienced by all clients who switch to Rimini Street, Infoglobo realized immediate savings that the company can reallocate to more strategic areas of its business.
“Infoglobo has great expectations for our new partnership with Rimini Street. Rimini Street is delivering a more flexible, premium quality service with faster response times, and we get a personalized service approach from our primary support engineer,” said Alexandre Donner, CIO, Infoglobo.
“We are excited to explore new IT investment options now made possible through the significant savings we achieved by switching to Rimini Street support – this includes looking into updating our vast digital infrastructure.”
Atento, the largest provider of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing services in Latin America and Spain, engaged Rimini Street support for its SAP ECC 6.0 platform.
“Atento achieved its leadership position through a dedicated focus on providing superior client service and having a highly engaged employee base, and our SAP system is a critical component of our business operations across 14 countries. However, we did not see the business benefit of an expensive re-platforming to SAP S/4HANA, and wanted to implement a support strategy that would allow Atento to reliably run our current ECC 6.0 system for a minimum of 15 years. We selected a support partner in Rimini Street who could help us maximize our current SAP investment, and at the same time allow us to free up funds to put back into client service initiatives where it really counts,” said Rogerio Ribeiro, CIO, Atento.
Rimini Street Support for Dynamic, Complex Latin American Tax and Regulatory Laws
Licensees in Latin America must manage dynamic, complex tax and regulatory laws that are difficult for both global and local organizations to comply with and keep current with updates to their systems. The process is labour intensive and complex, often requiring thousands of labor hours. In fact, according to the World Bank, corporate tax compliance in Brazil is 14 times lengthier in process than the United States, and longer than any other country in the world2.
In Brazil, Rimini Street provides critical ongoing support for evolving trade and tax regulation under the Sistema Público de Escrituração Digital (SPED) and legal books/taxation compliance – all at no additional cost to clients. Rimini Street has delivered to its clients all complex SPED updates including Nota Fiscal Eletrônica (NFe), Digital Accounting Bookkeeping (ECD), Digital Tax Booking (EFD), Accounting Tax Booking (ECF), Notas Técnicas, Social Security Contributions, SPED Social HR (eSOCIAL), EFD Block-K and EFD Reinf.
To ensure timely and accurate updates, Rimini Street’s dedicated team works directly with government organizations and thousands of additional sources in a patent-pending process to identify, analyze and deliver update capabilities for nearly 200 countries. Globally, the Company has delivered more than 115,000 updates to date, provided by a range of support, development and tax, legal and regulatory (TLR) research professionals in the market.
In addition to delivering the most comprehensive, timely TLR updates to clients around the world, each client is assigned a named, Primary Support Engineer (PSE), and benefits from ultra-responsive 24x7x365 support with response times of 15 minutes or less for Priority 1 cases. Clients also receive support for their own system add-ons and customizations, which are all provided at no additional cost as part of Rimini Street’s global award-winning support. The Company’s superior service model and seasoned engineers have won numerous awards for delivering excellence in customer service.
Technology
IBM to Exit Nigeria, Others from April 2025 Amid Low Sales

By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the global tech giants, International Business Machines (IBM), is planning to quit a few markets in Africa from April 1, 2025.
According to reports, IBM will leave Nigeria, Ghana and other key African markets because of its declining sales in the region.
The company has struggled to impress consumers because of stiff competition from rivals like Dell, Huawei and others with attractive products.
Its operations in Nigeria and other African countries will now be handled by MIBB, a subsidiary of the multinational conglomerate, Midis Group.
MIBB will sell a wide range of IBM products and services in Africa like software, hardware, cloud solutions, and consulting services.
IBM has had a significant presence in Nigeria for over five decades, playing a crucial role in the country’s technology landscape.
The company provided infrastructure and consulting services to key sectors, including banking, telecommunications, oil and gas, and government.
Technology
50% Tariff Hike to Trigger Investments in Telecom Sector—ATCON

By Adedapo Adesanya
The Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) says the increase in telecommunication tariffs by 50 per cent will boost investment in the sector.
ATCON President, Mr Tony Emoekpere, said the public concern was natural and expected, especially when considering the economic realities of many Nigerians.
He, however, described the increment as an investment in the future of Nigeria’s digital economy, citing its numerous benefits.
“For years, telecom operators have operated under immense financial strain due to foreign exchange fluctuations, high energy costs, multiple taxation, and rising infrastructure expenses.
“These challenges have made it increasingly difficult to expand network capacity, improve service quality, and bridge the digital divide.
“Without adjustments in pricing, Nigeria’s digital infrastructure would risk stagnation, making it harder for the country to compete in the global digital economy,” Mr Emoekpere said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday.
He said the adjustment was not just about pricing but ensuring enough resources to maintain and improve the quality of services Nigerians rely on daily.
“This tariff increase is an investment in the future of Nigeria’s digital economy, as it will enable operators to expand 4G and 5G coverage across more locations, particularly the underserved areas.
“This increment will bring about the upgrade of network sites to ensure better reliability.
“It will also enhance broadband speeds to support businesses, education, fintech, telemedicine, and other critical digital services.
“At the end of the day, the success of this move will be measured by real and tangible improvements in quality of service with faster internet speeds, fewer dropped calls, and wider coverage, leading to the digital transformation we all desire.
“That is the ultimate goal, and the telecom industry is fully committed to delivering on this promise,” Mr Emoekpere said.
According to him, the tariff hike is necessary, being the only viable option to ensure the right investments guarantee good quality service.
He added that the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) had recognised that sustainable pricing was crucial for long-term network investments.
He, however, stated there were still other pressing industry challenges that must be addressed if the government would truly support digital transformation.
“The focus should also be on simplifying Right of Way (RoW) permits to speed up fibre deployment.
“It should also be to fully enforce Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) protections to stop vandalism of telecom assets.
“Again, we should emphasise the reduction of the multiple layers of taxation that telecom operators face at federal, state, and local levels, and provide incentives for rural broadband expansion to ensure digital inclusion across all communities,” Mr Emoekpere said.
According to him, the positive news is that the issues are at different stages of being solved.
He noted that if the recent successes like the resolution of the USSD debt issue were anything to go by, “We are optimistic that the current administration will make progress in these areas as well.
“This should not stop us from remembering that consumers have a right to demand better services.
“The tariff increase should come with a visible improvement in quality: faster speed, wider coverage, and greater reliability.
“From all indications, the telecom operators are geared toward meeting these expectations, and the NCC has set clear quality service targets,” Mr Emoekpere said.
Technology
Nigeria’s Digital Quality of Life Index Declines to 100

Surfshark’s Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) 2024 ranks Nigeria 100th in the world. The study indicates how well the country is performing in terms of overall digital well-being compared to other nations. Nigeria drops by twelve places from last year, which reflects a lack of commitment to developing the digital landscape and positioning the country as a leader in leveraging technological advancements to improve citizens’ quality of life.
“In an election year like 2024, where the digital realm shaped political discourse and societal values, prioritizing digital quality of life proved to be more important than ever. It helps to ensure informed citizens, protects democratic processes, and fosters innovation. Our annual project helps to better understand where each county stands in terms of digital divide, highlighting where a nation’s digital quality of life excels and where further focus is required,” says Tomas Stamulis, Chief Security Officer at Surfshark.
Out of the Index’s five pillars, Nigeria performed best in e-security, claiming 76th place, but faced challenges in e-infrastructure, ranking 108th. The nation ranks 94th in e-government, 103rd in internet quality, and 106th in internet affordability. In the overall Index, Nigeria lags behind South Africa (66th) and Kenya (89th). Collectively, African countries lag behind in their digital quality of life, Nigeria taking 14th place in the region.
Nigeria ranks lower in e-government than 77% of the countries analyzed, with 93 countries above.
E-government determines how advanced and digitized a country’s government services are. A well-developed e-government helps minimize bureaucracy, reduce corruption, and increase transparency within the public sector. This pillar also shows the level of Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness a country demonstrates. Countries with the highest readiness to adopt AI technology are also ready to counter national cyberthreats. Nigeria ranks 94th in the world in e-government — six places lower than last year.
Nigeria is 76th in the world in e-security — three places lower than last year.
The e-security pillar measures how well a country is prepared to counter cybercrime and how advanced a country’s data protection laws are. In this pillar, Nigeria lags behind South Africa (75th) and Kenya (69th). Nigeria is unprepared to fight against cybercrime, the country has some data protection laws.
Nigeria’s internet quality is 25% lower than the global average.
- Nigeria’s fixed internet averages 39Mbps. To put that into perspective, the world’s fastest fixed internet — Singapore’s — is 347Mbps. Meanwhile, the slowest fixed internet in the world — Tunisia’s — is 14Mbps.
- Nigeria’s mobile internet averages 78Mbps. The fastest mobile internet — the UAE’s — is 430Mbps, while the world’s slowest mobile internet — Yemen’s — is 12Mbps.
Compared to South Africa, Nigeria’s mobile internet is 15% slower, while fixed broadband is 51% slower. Since last year, mobile internet speed in Nigeria has improved by 65%, while fixed broadband speed has grown by 55%.
The internet is unaffordable in Nigeria compared to other countries.
- Nigerians have to work 10 hours 43 minutes a month to afford fixed broadband internet. It is 46 times more than in Bulgaria, which has the world’s most affordable fixed internet (Bulgarians have to work 14 minutes a month to afford it).
- Nigerians have to work 2 hours 44 minutes 14 seconds a month to afford mobile internet. This is 18 times more than in Angola, which has the world’s most affordable mobile internet (Angolans have to work 9 minutes a month to afford it).
Nigeria is 108th in e-infrastructure.
Advanced e-infrastructure makes it easy for people to use the Internet for various daily activities, such as working, studying, shopping, etc. This pillar evaluates how high internet penetration is in a given country and its network readiness (readiness to take advantage of Information and Communication Technologies). Nigeria’s internet penetration is low (35% — 109th in the world), and the country ranks 102nd in network readiness.
On a global scale, investing in e-government and e-infrastructure improves digital well-being the most
Among the five pillars, e-government has the strongest correlation with the DQL index (0.92), followed by e-infrastructure (0.91).
Internet affordability shows the weakest correlation at 0.65.
METHODOLOGY
The DQL Index 2024 examines 121 nations based on five core pillars that consist of 14 indicators. The study is based on the United Nations’ open-source information, the World Bank, and other sources. Nigeria’s full profile in the 2024 Digital Quality of Life report and an interactive country comparison tool can be found here: https://surfshark.com/research/dql/country/NG.
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