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Mara X smartphone Launching Soon

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In partnership with Google, Mara Corporation Limited (MC) is set to release the Mara X for the African market in the second quarter of 2018. The Mara X will be a one-of-a-kind high-quality, smartphone.

The Mara X will be launched as part of Google’s Android One portfolio, getting a software experience designed by Google to be smart, secure and simply amazing. The Mara X comes with the latest innovations from Google.

It will run the latest operating system, Android 8.0 Oreo; will get two years of OS upgrades; and the device has been optimized for the Google Assistant which is your own personal Google, ready to help throughout your day.

With unlimited high quality photo storage from Google Photos and a carefully curated set of pre-installed apps, the Mara X makes sure African users have enough space for the apps they love.

Regular security updates and Google Play Protect built in mean the Mara X is among the most secure devices available.

“Across Africa and in other emerging markets, we need smartphones that are both extremely affordable and high quality,” explained Mara Chairman Jagdish Thakkar. “These phones will give people the ability to improve their lives through accessing information online and using them for trade and financial services.”

Siya Chug, the Brand Director, describes the Mara Phone as a “proudly African brand.” Mara Group began as a small IT business in Uganda, and has since expanded to the globally recognized multi-sector investment group that it is today, employing over 14,000 people across 25 African countries and three continents.

Mara Corporation is also focused on building a digital e-commerce ecosystem to meet the evolving needs of consumers across Africa by investing in key e-commerce enablers like financial technology, social media, last mile logistics and now the Mara X.

“The Mara X is a device that people can have fun with, learn with and use to build a better future. Africa is seeing a new generation of entrepreneurs looking for mobile technology to help run their businesses, and the Mara X will work for them to pursue greater heights. Our continent is expected to have over 700 million smartphones within a few years, and that connectivity will truly transform lives.” – Mara Corporation Founder, Ashish J Thakkar.

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GRTech

Sophos Endpoint Now Integrated with Taegis MDR and XDR Strengthening Cybersecurity ROI

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Sophos new Logo
Sophos Logo

Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, today announced that Sophos Endpoint is now natively integrated and automatically included in all Taegis Extended Detection and Response (XDR) and Taegis Managed Detection and Response (MDR) subscriptions.

This milestone gives customers immediate access to combined prevention, detection, and response capabilities in a single platform, while lowering costs and simplifying operations.

The integration follows Sophos’ acquisition of Secureworks in February 2025 and represents a major milestone in combining the companies’ strengths to help customers defeat cyberattacks with a higher ROI.

Endpoint protection remains one of the most critical layers of defense against today’s cyberthreats, delivering both frontline prevention and vital telemetry for detection and response. 

With Sophos Endpoint included in all new and existing Taegis XDR and MDR subscriptions, customers can benefit from unmatched ransomware defenses and adversary mitigation capabilities that automatically deploy in the event of an attack.

The integration enables organizations to strengthen protection while lowering licensing costs, reduce management overhead through native integration, and accelerate threat mitigation with expanded response actions.

Taegis remains a fully open platform, ensuring customers continue to receive full value from their existing cybersecurity investments and maintain the freedom to use the endpoint protection solution of their choice.

This ensures that customers maximize ROI while allowing room in their budget for other cybersecurity priorities.

“Integrating Sophos Endpoint with Taegis delivers a best-in-class unified protection, detection, investigation, and response platform – while also reducing customer costs,” said Raja Patel, chief product officer at Sophos. “Too many organizations still treat endpoint protection like a commodity, and that’s exactly the mistake attackers are counting on. The reality is, not all endpoint products are built to stop today’s hands-on-keyboard attacks. Sophos Endpoint’s prevention-first capabilities, like CryptoGuard anti-ransomware protection and Adaptive Attack Protection, shut down attacks before they can escalate, which is a true game changer for enterprises managing thousands of devices. And by simplifying deployment and policy management, we’re helping organizations stay ahead of threats, lower their total cost of ownership, and maximize the return on their security investments.”

Key benefits for Taegis customers include:

  • Lower costs and improved ROI: Sophos Endpoint is now automatically included with all Taegis XDR and Taegis MDR subscriptions, eliminating the need to purchase a separate endpoint security solution.
  • Vendor choice preserved: Taegis remains an open platform, allowing organizations to continue using their preferred endpoint solution.
  • Industry-leading protection: A 16-time leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Endpoint Protection Platforms, Sophos Endpoint provides unmatched defense against ransomware and other advanced threats, with features such as CryptoGuard and Adaptive Attack Protection, accessible directly from the Taegis console.
  • Workflow continuity: Telemetry and detections from Sophos Endpoint are ingested into the Taegis platform, allowing customers to retain existing detection and response workflows.
  • Simplified management: Customers can download, install and manage Sophos Endpoint directly from Taegis.

To support a range of environments, customers can now choose between three deployment options for endpoint protection:

  • Sophos Endpoint: Natively integrated for comprehensive prevention, detection, and response in a single agent.
  • Non-Sophos native integrations: Telemetry ingestion ensures full visibility from products such as CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender, SentinelOne and Carbon Black by Broadcom.
  • Other non-Sophos endpoint security solutions: Supported through a detection only sensor deployment option.

“This integration expands the value and flexibility we deliver to customers and partners,” said Chris Bell, senior vice president of Global Channel, Alliances and Corporate Development at Sophos. “By including Sophos Endpoint in Taegis, organizations gain stronger protection, reduced costs and simplified operations. For partners, it creates new opportunities to help customers consolidate tools, drive renewals and expand enterprise relationships.”

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The Economics of Product Decisions: Applying Behavioural Economics and Game Theory in PM

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Amarachi Nnochiri
Amarachi Nnochiri

Product managers often need to make a clear-cut decision: what should we build next? But the decisions which hold real importance go beyond adding features.

It’s about getting what makes people tick.

It goes way beyond what you would expect, getting into how people behave and using game theory.

These areas give insight into how users decide and how a product’s design can improve growth and keep people interested.

This is what Amarachi Nnochiri excels at. She is a senior product manager that knows how to use economics and psychology in her job.

She goes beyond simply managing product tasks; she develops whole product systems based on how users think, feel, and use a service. Her background shows how understanding human psychology and behaviour can give you a significant advantage in the competition.

One idea Amarachi uses is  “loss aversion.” In this scenario, people feel worse about losing something than they feel good about gaining something of equal value.

She uses this when designing her products, mostly when it comes to pricing and getting people to try new strategies. For example, instead of giving a free trial, she might use a freemium setup where users get some stuff for free but could lose it if they don’t buy an upgrade. This pushes them to pay.

She might also use progress bars or streak counters, since losing progress gets people to keep using the product.

Amarachi also uses ideas from “game theory” to get how users act and change their behavior. She realizes that users are doing more than operating a product, but are playing a game with other users or with the product itself. She designs things that use ideas like “Nash equilibrium,” where nobody can do better by changing what they’re doing. For a social product, this could mean creating a system where doing something good for yourself (like inviting friends) also helps everyone else. This makes the whole thing stable and positive.

Her know-how in game theory also applies to making strong “network effects.” This means making stuff that gets better as more people use it.

A good example is a social network where each new user makes the product more helpful for everyone else. Amarachi endeavours to make things go viral on purpose, not just by luck.

She might use “commitment devices,” which are things that make a user stick with a behaviour by making them depend on it socially or functionally. For example, inviting team members to a tool makes the user stick with the platform and makes the product’s network stronger.

This way of thinking is better than just following the usual steps. By using these economic and psychological tricks, Amarachi develops competitive advantages which are difficult to replicate.

She knows that a company’s best thing is not just a simple interface, but a product that’s designed to sync with how people behave.

Her product choices aren’t just about the needs of users, but equally focus on motivating them to like the product, use it, and stick with it.

In her work, choosing a subscription price isn’t just a business thing; it’s about behaviour. Designing a social feed isn’t just about the content; it’s about balancing what people want and watching how they interact. Amarachi knows extensively about the economics of product decisions. This makes her products innovative and appealing to human behaviour, which leads to more use, keeps people around, and helps the product grow. She’s a leader in product management, where identifying customer desires is backed by understanding human motivation.

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Glo reduces international call rates 

By Sandra Ani

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Glo and Globacom


Technology Company, Globacom, has announced significant reductions in its International Direct Dialing (IDD) rates, making international calls more affordable for its existing and new customers across Nigeria.

Effective August 10, the new rates began applying to over 15 popular international destinations, including United States which will has moved to ₦30 per minute, down from ₦35, United Kingdom is now N350 from ₦400, while India also moved down to ₦40 from N45.

The rates for China, Saudi Arabia and Cameroon however recorded major reduction moving to N75, N300 and ₦700 respectively.


The reduction was also extended to African countries including Benin Republic which goes for ₦650 per minute, Niger Republic ₦750, Ghana ₦500, and Togo ₦650. United Arab Emirates also moved from ₦450 to ₦325, Germany to ₦550, Côte d’Ivoire ₦700, Libya ₦700, while calls to Malawi is now N1,100 from ₦1,200.

Glo aims to provide more value for its customers through these revised rates, encouraging them to make Glo their preferred network for international calls. New IDD bundles will also be introduced, offering frequent international callers even more attractive deals.

Globacom, which remained optimistic that frequent international callers will benefit immensely from the reductions in IDD bundles, enjoined customers to take advantage of the new rates to stay connected with friends and business associates across the globe.

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