Freshworks Inc, provider of cloud-based business software, recently announced its expansion into the African market in order to reinforce easy accessibility to internet usage by business concerns.
The company plans to substantially increase its commitment with specific investments in marketing, sales and partner resources to better serve its customers in the region and Nigeria in particular.
Speaking in Lagos, Saurabh Prabhuzantye, head, Business Development, Middle East and Africa, Freshworks, said that cloud computing helps to provide the basic software for internet use and this makes it more convenient and easier for organisations to access internet rather than putting up resources zapping infrastructure in place.
“The opening of Africa is an important milestone for us, as it demonstrates our expanding commitment to the region and strengthens our position as a leading software provider. The combination of our industry-leading solutions along with a growing customer base in the region will augment our local operations. Our aim is to build rich, meaningful engagement with enterprises of all sizes that are looking for new cutting-edge solutions to power their customer and employee experiences.”
“ What you see is a huge application in terms of internet access. Africans are accessing internet through smart phones but cloud computing will help you to provide basic software for that process which is easy and convenient instead of wasting a lot of infrastructure,” he said.
According to Prabhuzantye, even though cloud computing awareness in Nigeria appeared hazy, the company is doing a bunch of things to create awareness among the general public and that it is going to invest in human resources and marketing.
Speaking on whether the company has the knowledge of the Nigerian market, he said even though they are still learning, it already has some customers which they are putting through the process of the technology and through which they are trying to penetrate the market.
Prabhuzantye said the only challenge the company has currently is creating awareness for the product; stating that it has no problem with the technology.
According to him, the technology does not require high level training before anybody is able to use it.
“In terms of cloud computing you don’t need to engage in any extraneous training or spend a lot of resources on training. Our philosophy is, the product must be user friendly, it is very straight forward for anybody to comprehend.”
As for investment to be made, he said: “We need to only invest in two things, marketing and human capital.
Olusola Bello
