Datacrest Technology Limited, an Information Technology and Software Developer organisation that partners globally recognised Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), has unveiled its Smart City solutions in Nigeria.

The Company introduced these solutions at the recently concluded Oracle Cloud Day 2019 held in Lagos, with a promise to assist Governments, Corporate Organisations and Individuals solve issues around traffic gridlocks, energy efficiency, and waste management.

Speaking to the press during the event, the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Datacrest, Mr. Kehinde Olashore said that as a data-driven company, they are passionate about offering practical solutions with the aid of Data to meet the growing needs of corporations and governments.

“We have a suite of products on offer; from CRM to ERP, business intelligence to artificial intelligence technologies. “

“We are also focusing heavily on groundbreaking technologies like Blockchain. We have a number of use-cases, which we are currently deploying in Nigeria. We also deal with intelligent Chatbots, and we have a vast range of IT solutions for different aspects of industries”.

“There are issues we are trying to solve in the Smart City space. We look at the pain points for different industries by either saving money, enabling efficiency or redefining the current solutions they have for either reduction in human power or time-related issues.

The model we have solves issues around waste management, parking, traffic and lighting management using efficient intelligent or IoT devices or sensors to identify cases or rules that need to be applied.

Where there are high-density of traffic, how best can it be resolved? We can use smart sensors to identify how many cars pass through certain roads, toll gates or bridges so as to prepare for efficient traffic management on those areas”, he said.

On waste management, Mr. Olashore said that there are sensors that can detect individual apartments, detect wastes and pick them up and take the refuse to a depot. This can be used on a vehicle that is autonomous and it works efficiently.

“There is also a way to manage your energy – to regulate usage in the morning, during the day and at night. You can maximize the use of energy by identifying your pain-points. These are smart ways of improving our society.

“In certain areas they are using trains, whereas we use buses here. There is the opportunity to use sensors to identify how many buses are needed on a particular route and at what time of the day”.

“As a company we are trying to solve problems that we have identified in Nigeria. Traffic is one of such challenges. That is why Mega Cities like Lagos should use alternative means of transportation such as buses and trains. Structures need to be built and maximized. We also believe you need to use technology to improve on our environment, because each of the States have different needs. The most important thing for the States is to identify the most cost-effective solution and maximize it”.

On the readiness of States to adopt these solutions, he said, “I strongly believe States will benefit a lot by adopting these smart city solutions. For instance, in Lagos, the Mega City project can become more outstanding with these smart solutions. I can give you an instance; the use of seat-belts in Nigeria, but today it is in the subconscious of every driver to put on the seat-belt. If the end-user benefits from the solution they will adjust and adopt the solutions. The only thing is that it must make economic, social and moral sense; we have to move on from traffic-driven cities by using technological intelligence to improve the way we do things”.

“Asked if the Company has the capacity to deploy such solutions, Mr. Olashore, said, “Capacity is a word that is ever growing. Technology is flat; adopting is a different thing and deployment is a different game. Adoption and deployment are like a joint-venture. We are ready to deploy at Federal or State government level, and also for corporate organisations”.