Ayo Omotayo is an accomplished ICT expert, whose career is marked by engagements with industry giants such as IBM, Ericsson, Huawei, and Schneider Electric. Serving in capacities ranging from manager to solution architect, Omotayo, in this interview with SEGUN ADEBAYO, speaks on how African leaders and business owners can embrace ICT to transform their region and secure investment opportunities.
With your many years of experience in Information and communications Technology (ICT), what would you attribute your success and professional advancement to?
I will say planning has been a critical part of my career trajectory. Assessing my current level in terms of knowledge, readiness, and the level of my preparedness for any aspired role or position is an ongoing process. Also, I will say my curiosity is another key factor. For instance, I graduated as a mechanical engineer from the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, and somehow picked interest to know and be part of the evolution in the digital space, especially at the advent of telecommunications in Nigeria. So, continuous learning and openness kept me going.
For somebody who has worked with top companies over the years, how would you describe the experience and what did you do differently to stay relevant till today?
I will count myself blessed to have worked with key players and organisations in the industry, including IBM, Ericsson, Huawei, Schneider Electric, among others in full time and consulting capacities. My creativity was challenged in various roles, be it as a manager, subject matter expert, specialist, or solution architect and integrator to be the best in meeting customers’ needs. My experiences in these roles really changed my perspective in solutions deployment and service delivery based on the industry exposure. Also, I had the opportunity to work with outstanding leaders, colleagues and collaborate with diverse team across Africa, the Middle East and India. These are finest professionals in the industry that challenged my knowledge, capacity, and the aspiration to keep pushing the boundary, with the provided platform, for success.
You have served in different capacities. What was it like switching jobs and how would you say you have contributed to the network and security solutions field?
Switching jobs? I actually see it as career advancement. In my view, it is a calculated risk one must take at advancing career especially in a competitive space. Various opportunities come with different job descriptions and the opportunity to grow. In my case I loved been challenged because routine can easily wear me out. So, once I find myself at the saturation point in any organisation, I know it is time to move because at times getting comfortable could be detrimental to growth, development, and disservice to oneself. Also, you know exposure is an integral part of one’s evolution, critical thinking, perception, and major ingredient to valuable contribution.
Regarding contribution in the industry, I will not say I have done much because I am just getting started but I have been contributing to solution deployment and support across Africa and the Middle East for effective service delivery in critical sectors including utilities and industrial.
Could you highlight some of the major projects you have undertaken in the Middle East and Africa?
I have done a couple of interesting projects across the continent and the Middle East. Some of those projects include data center security and transformation project across 17 African countries with Bharti Airtel, EITC du Dubai billing project, Vodafone Oman modernisation project, Airtel Nigeria managed service project, among others.
The African community still seems not to be catching up with the western world in terms of technology and its application to the modern way of business operations. Why do you think this is still happening?
Africa needs to be intentional if things will change significantly. I think visionary leadership is key for stable institution, development, and advancement. Deliberate, measurable, and strategic goals must be set for Africa to evolve and be competitive. There must be deliberate long-term investment in education with a revamp curriculum that meet up with the present-day and future challenges. Research and development are critical to advancement in technology of any nation. I can see a slight move in Nigeria for instance, but we are still far from where we should be when compared, at least, with nations that we have the same capacity and potentials in both human and natural resources. Above all, African nation needs to leverage on the numerous potentials in the continent and provide the necessary platforms for growth and development.
Would you rather blame this on government’s lack of political will or foresight that would pave way for such technological advancement across the continent?
Well, an Africa adage says that you know a good fish from its head. So, good governance and formidable institution requires strong political will. Like I said, a significant development in technology in Africa must be intentional with strong political will, clear leadership, and vision. Clear policy direction is key to attract both foreign and internal investment in the required sectors.
What steps have you taken to address this anomaly, and would you say that there is a head way?
For various platforms I had opportunity to express my opinion, I think the citizenry must reflect what they want. So, we must demand a platform for proper engagement with the political class prior to being voted for and taking office. The political office holders must be in tandem with the citizenry expectation for good governance, robust and formidable institution, improved education, healthcare, and infrastructural development. In my view, some of the countries in East Africa are taking steps in this direction and I believe Nigeria is well positioned to advance the same course.
 Tell us about what it means to be service delivery manager to some of the big brands to have worked with?
Wow! That is a big one. Well, I think from the job role it is clear. As an SDM, it was my responsibility to manage resources to deliver services. That was my first designation when I joined Ericsson in 2014 in consulting capacity reporting to the COO. I was responsible for business continuity and service delivery for Airtel Nigeria across the 36 states and Abuja, managing Airtel network operations with teams of engineers in Nigeria and India. That is a huge network with about 32 million subscribers as of 2015. It is a memorable experience working with wonderful people on that project to improve the network capacity and ensure consistent availability for the end-users improved service experience.
 What role did you play in the Bharti Airtel DC transformation across African and Vodafone Oman turnkey project?
These are two different projects. For the Bharti Airtel project I was the network service specialist. For the Vodafone Oman project I was the lead solution integrator and the solution architect at a time. Both projects were very successful.
Could you provide insights into your involvement in the SMILE Nigeria 4G/LTE project?
I was the IP subject matter expert in the managed service project responsible for network optimization, capacity, and security improvementacross Nigeria. The project was the first 4G/LTE deployment in Nigeriawith integration London POP for Internet access. On this project I collaborated with teams across the telco and enterprise domains in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda.
How have you demonstrated depth of knowledge in technology and experience in project delivery throughout in the course of your career and how do you intend to replicate same knowledge to impact others in Nigeria?
I think interest, passion, and curiosity are the key for me. One thing that contributed to my growth is that the exposures in my previous roles prepared me for all my prospective opportunities. Beyond that, evolution in the industry kept me on my toes for continuous unlearning, learning, and relearning. Leveraging on communities and platform is another means to stay afloat for relevance. That is the way to survive in this volatile industry because technology requirements kept changing and I find it very interest to be part of the change.
How much of your knowledge have you shared with the Nigerian people?
Can I really quantify that? However, I have had opportunities for knowledge transfer be it on the on-the-job, platform engagement, training, and one-on-one engagement.
What are the plans for the new year?
Professionally, I have the desire to deepen my knowledge in secure design architecture for utilities and industrial sectors. I want to do more for the various platforms and associations like International Society of Automation (ISA), Information Systems Security Association (ISSA), Nigeria Institute of Industrial Security (NIIS), among others for continuous learning, knowledge transfer, and making positive impact.
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