Computer News Middle East May 2018 by Computernews Middle East

ISSUE 316 | MAY 2018 WWW.TAHAWULTECH.COM

TECH TITANS & THEIR GCC DATA CENTRES SIEMENS CTO DR ROLAND BUSCH ORANGE BUSINESS SERVICES CEO THE UAE STARTUP ELECTRIFYING AFRICA

AT YOUR SERVICE

ROTANA HOTELS TAKES GUEST EXPERIENCE TO NEW LEVELS WITH SLICK BI

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EDITORIAL

Right place, right time With Ramadan just around the corner, the coming weeks are set to be as busy as any in 2018. Like the rest of the GCC, the CNME team has been dashing around town to give you your fill of monthly technology news and features. On page 18, we find out how Rotana Hotels, one of the Middle East’s household names in hospitality, is enhancing the customer experience through slick business intelligence tools. The firm’s senior vice president Samir Abi Frem shares his story of success. With the world’s tech giants now looking to build Middle East data centres – Microsoft, “This month, CNME Oracle, Amazon Web Services and SAP chief among them – to accelerate looks at the factors public cloud adoption in the region, that determine CNME looks at the factors that determine where they build their sites. where tech giants There’s one running theme in this build their GCC month’s CNME – transport of the data centres. ” future. Glesni Holland and I spoke to Virgin Hyperloop One’s regional managing director and Blockchainbased flying taxi firm Vimana’s CEO respectively, and we found out just how close both innovations are to becoming a reality in the UAE. I had the pleasure of interviewing two global technology leaders, in the form of Orange Business Services CEO Thierry Bonhomme and Nutanix president Sudheesh Nair, who both gave fascinating perspectives on technology, industry culture and of course the GCC. I also met with Pawame chairman Alex Allegue, who told me how the UAE-based startup is aiming to bring electricity to millions of African households through mobile payments. Ramadan kareem! Talk to us:

E-mail: james.dartnell@ cpimediagroup.com

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Contents ISSUE 316 | MAY 2018

ROTANA HOTELS CORPORATE VP OF IT SAMIR ABI FREM

SIEMENS CTO DR ROLAND BUSCH

VIRGIN HYPERLOOP ONE IN THE UAE

PAWAME: AFRICA'S 'AMAZON' OF MICRO-FINANCE

FOUNDER, CPI MEDIA GROUP Dominic De Sousa (1959-2015)

Data drivers Commvault recently hosted its Connections (Live) conference in Dubai, where the backup and disaster recovery specialist put the spotlight on its Hyperscale solution.

24 Tech titans and their GCC data centres

High time The second edition of the Future Cities Show took place in Dubai last month, paying particular focus to the impact of emerging technologies on creating sustainable and smart cities of the future.

As organisations across the region develop an increasing appetite to run their business on cloud-based platforms, the world’s blue-chip tech firms are laying their bets across GCC cities for where they should house valuable customer data.

38 “Dubai dynamism equals any global city”

Orange Business Services chief executive Thierry Bonhomme says that the entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to adopt technology in Dubai is as strong as that of any city on earth.

"The best is yet to come" Seamless Middle East 2018 put the spotlight on emerging technologies that are set to revolutionise the region’s entire payments, ecommerce and retail ecosystems.

42 Vimana: the Blockchain-in-

Mind over matter

the-sky UAV

Siemens used its Innovation Day at Dubai Opera to announce that it would invest over $500 million into its digital presence in the Middle East over the next three years.

The CEO of Blockchain-based unmanned aerial vehicle provider Vimana tells CNME that the firm is in talks with the UAE’s airspace authorities, with the view to a 2020 launch. Publication licensed by Dubai Production City, DCCA PO Box 13700 Dubai, UAE

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FEATURE

Bodyo

PICTURE OF HEALTH According to insurance provider Zurich International Life, sixty percent of UAE residents are overweight. But with the help of artificial intelligence, homegrown start-up Bodyo is looking to transform how the nation perceives health and wellbeing by making it an â&#x20AC;&#x153;intrinsicâ&#x20AC;? part of everyday life.

MAY 2018

www.tahawultech.com

uring a thirteen-year stint as head of performance and fitness for the UAE national football team, Patrice Coutard began to examine the potential for technological advancements in bettering the performance of his players. Back in early 2016, following years of experimenting with various technologies to analyse the health and wellbeing of his players, Coutard established Bodyo – a health-tech company that uses an AI-powered full body scanner to empower UAE residents with the necessary insights to become fitter and healthier. “The original prototype was almost like a mirror,” explains Tariq Hussain, CEO, Bodyo. “It would give a reflection of your skeleton, including your veins and organs. We demonstrated the prototype at Arab Health two years ago, and at the time, the scanner could measure the user’s temperature, weight and height.” Since then, the technology involved in Bodyo’s scanners has evolved to now pick up vital health data, such as blood pressure, blood sugar, height, weight, fat mass, muscle mass, bone density and hydration – all of which play a fundamental role in identifying obesity and detecting conditions such as chronic heart disease and diabetes. “Sixty percent of the UAE population is obese, and chronic heart disease and diabetes are reaching almost epidemic levels on a global scale,” says Hussain. “But with these simple, non-evasive tests, users can now be fed the information that they need to be able to monitor these levels, enabling them to be notified at the earliest possible stage if action needs to be taken.” Users wishing to use the pod must first set up a Bodyo account using their Emirates ID. Hussain insists that any data collected via the pod is stored in a secure private cloud – and nothing www.tahawultech.com

Chronic heart disease and diabetes are reaching almost epidemic levels on a global scale. But with these simple, nonevasive tests, users can be notified at the earliest possible stage if action needs to be taken. Tariq Hussain, CEO, Bodyo is shared with third party health providers without the user’s consent. The company is looking to launch the Bodyo App in the coming weeks, which will allow users easy access to their data whenever, and wherever they wish. “We’ll also be offering users health and fitness programmes via the app, which are specifically catered to an individual based on the data that has been collected in the pod,” explains Hussain. “This will also give users access to thousands of exercise plans and nutritious recipe ideas.” These premium programmes will be chargeable at $9.99 a month, but the pod and the app are both free to use and download. Bodyo’s AI pod is currently stationed at Emirates Towers, as the company is involved in the fourth cohort of the Dubai Future Accelerators programme, under the Dubai Future Foundation initiative. However, the

plan is to integrate the AI pods into large corporations with an interest in employee wellbeing, as well as clinics, hospitals, gyms and pharmacies. “We’d like this process to become an intrinsic part of everyday life, which we believe can be made possible if these pods are installed in easily accessible locations, such as shopping malls,” explains Hussain. The firm has already had positive feedback from a selection of Dubai’s eager fitness fanatics, who are in agreement that the absence of needles in gaining their blood sugar levels acts as a major encouragement for people to use the AI pod. “The idea behind the pod is that it strives to be non-evasive, and an example of this is that we use infrared sensors to find out a user’s blood sugar, rather than a needle,” says Hussain. “The pod can also save a lot of time for users, as to gain such insights through an examination at a clinic could take anywhere between 25 and 35 minutes. With the AI pod, it takes just 5 minutes.” When registering a Bodyo account, users are given the option to declare the clinic they are registered with in the UAE. Updates can then be recorded and sent directly to the hospital in order for doctors to monitor a user’s health and wellbeing. “Like many residents, I don’t tend to go to the hospital unless something is falling off – and by that stage, it tends to be too late to cure,” jokes Hussian. However, the pod’s chatbot will ask the user a set of basic questions when they enter, such as how they’re feeling and whether they have any particular pains or ailments that day. “If the user points to their stomach, the pod will record that using the motion sensors,” he explains. “If, on the user’s second visit, they record the same pain, a doctor may then look to get in touch and request they come in for a check up to assess the situation further.” MAY 2018

ANALYSIS

Commvault Connections (Live)

DATA DRIVERS Commvault recently hosted its Connections (Live) conference in Dubai, where the backup and disaster recovery specialist put the spotlight on its Hyperscale solution.

Wael Mustafa, Commvault’s area vice president for the Middle East

MAY 2018

ackup, recovery and archive specialist Commvault showcased the advantages of its HyperScale technology at its first Middle East Connections (Live) event at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Jumeriah Beach Residence, Dubai. The event brought together industry experts, analysts, Commvault customers and partners from across the globe to provide hands-on perspectives on how to protect, manage and use data. Local and regional customers attending the event included Dubai Police, Dubai Municipality and Emirates Steel. Commvault’s global chief marketing officer Chris Powell got Connections (Live) underway by highlighting some of the biggest challenges enterprises now face in managing their data. “CIOs are now expected to deliver a highly reliable environment for less money, whilst also being innovative,” he said. “There’s one universal rule for data – that it always needs copies. The world has fundamentally shifted from doing backup audits to understanding whether an organisation has recovery readiness. Reports now predict that there is a 100% chance of being victim to a ransomware www.tahawultech.com

attack, and that necessitates recovery readiness. No company can turn off their environment and just move into modern, hybrid infrastructures.” Powell’s opener was followed up by an on-stage interview with Dubai Police’s IT resource investment department manager, Joseph Samaha, who highlighted how the firm’s smart goals were being met through Commvault’s help, including collecting data from motorists to analyse driving behaviour to help prevent accidents. “The increase in the volume and velocity of our data needs the servers and storage to accommodate that. We want to expand and out-scale as the demand comes in. You need to be agile, and that means you changing quickly according to demand.” www.tahawultech.com

CIOs are now expected to deliver a highly reliable environment for less money, whilst also being innovative.

Chris Powell, chief marketing officer, Commvault

Gartner’s principal analyst, Santhosh Rao shared his insight on a selection of Middle East data centre trends, chief among them the backup, recovery and management of data. “By 2020, 30% of organisations will be targeted by major

cyberattacks, and they will spend more than two months cleansing their backups as a result,” he said. “Tape is still the cheapest media around, but it’s difficult to manage tapes and update to new media every 10-15 years. An alternative that is slowly emerging is cloudbased backup and archiving. Vendors in this area need to have a heterogeneous environment, and provide ease of use, tiered recovery and orchestration. Wael Mustafa, Commvault’s area vice president for the Middle East, South Africa and Turkey, said, “Our customers have demonstrated the advantages for organisations across multiple sectors in modernising their data backup and recovery platforms, ensuing that their information is readily available, cost-efficient and easy to manage. MAY 2018

ANALYSIS

Future Cities Show 2018

HIGH TIME

The second edition of the Future Cities Show took place in Dubai last month, paying particular focus to the impact of emerging technologies on creating sustainable and smart cities of the future.

he UAE is no longer a country that anticipates the future, but one “where future is shaped through relentless efforts to adopt impending trends and technologies in government work,” according to Popular Science magazine – one of the world’s oldest science and technology journals. Dubai was recently dubbed by the publication as the “city of the future,” and it’s no wonder. From flying taxis and robot police officers, to the vision of 3D-printing 25 percent of the emirate’s buildings by 2030, Dubai is not short of ambitions to make it the world’s most futuristic city. All of this, and more was showcased at Dubai World Trade Centre last month, during the annual Future Cities Show. A particular emphasis was placed on how the emirate could accelerate its efforts to becoming a smart city. Much of this will require Dubai to become a “talent magnet” for entrepreneurs and startups, according to Microsoft Gulf regional general manager, Sayed Hashish. 10

MAY 2018

“Almost 6.5 billion people are predicted to reside in cities by 2050, while sixty percent of citizens are expected to have access to smart devices by 2020. Despite this presenting complex issues for cities in terms of altering its infrastructure to cope with the expanding population, it also presents a range of opportunities in the smart city space,” says Hashish. Advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning, combined with the emergence of blockchain, are what will really change the future, Hashish believes. However, creating the right skill sets around operating such technologies is where cities of the future need to turn their attention to. “Cities that will succeed will not only embrace these technologies early, but will make themselves talent magnets – the ‘place to be’ – for entrepreneurs, start-ups and ideas, to progress forward and enable them to thrive in these emerging areas,” he says. Microsoft is currently involved in a number of new projects using such technologies, which are centred around

enhancing sustainability efforts around the globe. Last June, the firm launched its AI for Earth programme, and committed an additional $50 million to the project in December to provide cloud-based tools and AI services to organisations looking to tackle problems relating to climate change. Elsewhere at the conference, Brazilbased security firm Polsec showcased its AI-powered camera technology, which CEO Renato Werner claims could make Dubai the world’s safest smart city. The technology has reportedly played a part in reducing the crime rate of Manaus – the capital of Amazonas state in Brazil, by 70 percent, Werner says. Polsec’s technology is now being tested across India in Mumbai, Delhi and Agra, and Werner has high hopes that it can soon be brought here to the Middle East. “I had a conversation with a colleague that was responsible for installing the security surveillance system at Terminal 5 in Heathrow Airport, and he implemented over 5,000 cameras,” he says. “For every www.tahawultech.com

Our AI-powered camera technology could make Dubai the safest, smart city in the world.

Sayed Hashish, regional general manager,

Renato Werner,

Microsoft Gulf

CEO, Polsec

Cities that make themselves talent magnets for entrepreneurs, startups and ideas will be more successful in becoming a smart city.

8 cameras, an individual employee is required to keep watch and analyse the footage, meaning you need a huge team – and they can only work for a maximum of 4 hours at a time. With our technology, we do not require humans to gain insight, as the artificial intelligence can make decisions instantaneously when certain situations arise.” Polsec’s solution is equipped with four sensors to give it human-like capabilities, including visual, hearing, www.tahawultech.com

audio and smell. The ‘bio-behaviour’ visual technology can identify and track even fully-covered people by analysing the way that they walk, and can also be used to identify unusual human behaviour. The ‘bionicear’ hearing facility can be programmed through voice recognition to listen for specific words, such as ‘help’ or ‘police’ and send an immediate report to trigger sending the necessary assistance. The ‘smell’ sensors have a variety of uses, such as the ability to effectively monitor the air for pollution or detect and pinpoint chemical attacks and where the worst affected areas are. Finally, its ‘audio’ sensors can leverage the visual capabilities to see whether, for example, someone attempting to cross a road is looking down at their phone. It can then trigger an announcement to be made through the camera warning the person against this decision.

Dubai is an ideal city to embrace this technology on a large scale, believes Werner. “While the crime rate is known to be very low in Dubai, this technology could help the emergency services gain better insights into traffic behaviours, as this is more of an issue in this part of the world,” he says. However, amid recent concerns over personal privacy stemming from the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica saga, Werner admits there have been some difficulties in reassuring the public that the technology is purely dedicated to ensuring a more secure society. “The fact that the technology can listen to conversations seems to be concerning people, when this should not be the case – and is partly why we’re here in Dubai to spread this message,” he says. “Humans working on analysing the footage, as they are in Heathrow, can listen to everything, yet the AI here will only listen to the signals it has been programmed to. The rest will be processed as blank code.” MAY 2018

ANALYSIS

Seamless Middle East 2018

"THE BEST IS YET TO COME"

Now in its nineteenth edition, the Seamless Middle East 2018 conference brought together over 350 exhibitors and thousands of attendees under one roof at Dubai World Trade Centre, to spotlight the emerging technologies that are set to revolutionise the region’s entire payments, e-commerce and retail ecosystems.

or a nation that prides itself on luxury shopping and monster malls, the rise of online retail may not seem the ideal fit for the UAE. And yet, the country’s young population and the vision of the leadership to push digital transformation initiatives in every walk of life suggests otherwise. The Amazon acquisition of Souq. com last year tipped the Middle East onto the cusp of a major e-commerce growth spurt. Prior to that, the announcement from Emaar 12

MAY 2018

chairman Mohammed Alabbar that $1 billion would be invested into the GCC’s homegrown online store, Noon.com, before the platform launched in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia before the end of 2017, put the region’s stamp on this evolving e-commerce space. The Seamless Middle East 2018 forum featured keynote speeches from the CEOs of both companies, offering the audience a glimpse into what the future holds for the UAE’s retail alternative.

During the Amazon and Souq. com acquisition, it was announced that online retail sales for the region still sit at a mere 2 percent compared to more mature markets. Ronaldo Mouchawar, CEO and founder of Souq.com, said that while the $580 million acquisition put the UAE at the forefront of technology innovation, but there is still much to be done in the region’s e-commerce space. However, despite such a small percentage of retail sales currently taking place online in the Middle www.tahawultech.com

Customer expectations have changed dramatically, and 80% of our customers now shop through their mobile phone. Ronaldo Mouchawar, CEO, Souq.com

East, Mouchawar maintains that he has seen “significant acceleration” over the last three years, much of which can be put down to the region’s “young, always-connected population.” “Customer expectations have changed dramatically in recent years,” he said. “Today, 80 percent of our customers shop through their mobile phone, so we have turned a lot of our www.tahawultech.com

focus towards enhancing our mobile app’s performance and usability.” Delivery time has also been a major change factor in Souq.com’s evolution. “When we first established Souq.com, delivery time was 3 to 5 days – now it’s the same day,” he said. With the addition of Amazon to its operations, can we expect to see drone delivery options in the near future, as per Amazon’s service in the US? “At this stage, we’re in the middle of our integration process with Amazon and we’re still looking at what we can learn from them. We call it the ‘day one’ phase, because there is a lot still to be done, but I cannot comment on the potential for drones,” said Mouchawar. Noon CEO Faraz Khalid spoke of his experience in building a “memorable” that “people talk about” while also being “more than just the region’s go to e-commerce store.” Following the site’s launch in the UAE on 1st October last year, Noon expanded into Saudi Arabia on 12th December, and Khalid has been “blown away with the phenomenal welcome” the e-commerce site has witnessed in both markets. Noon’s vision extends beyond that of being a pure play retailer. “We want

to be a high performing consumer Internet provider,” said Khalid. “But we’re very aware that we can’t do this alone, and we need to bring on board partners and local startups to accelerate this journey.” In response to this, the company has opted to set up a 20,000ft coworking space in Saudi Arabia, where Noon plans to invite local companies to alleviate some of the challenges the site faces with regards to logistics and supply chain management. “It’s almost like an incubator, but we envisage it becoming more than that,” added Khalid. “It’s important to remember that those who shop online are the front-line soldiers – they’re hard to satisfy. We’re not even scratching the surface of how big this marketplace could be, and while I appreciate this transformation won’t happen overnight, it’s a process and one that we’re very much investing in.” Ensuring that Noon continues to put the customer at the heart of its entire operations is something Khalid is passionate about, and didn’t disregard the idea of setting up a physical Noon store in the future. “If that is what the customer demands, then we’ll do what we have to do,” he said. “It’s exciting to be where we are, and I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved so far, but the best is still yet to come." MAY 2018

ANALYSIS

BICSI Middle East and Africa Conference & Exhibition

BUILDING BLOCKS

Over 400 delegates gathered for BICSI’s 2018 MEA conference last month to gain insights into the technologies and standards driving the evolution of smart cities, smart buildings and smart infrastructures.

ack in October 2013, the UAE’s leadership pledged to transform Dubai into a smart city in a bid to provide seamless services to the public. Interconnecting departments and government entities were the first priorities, with the aim of eventually enabling the emirate’s residents to have access to government services – using the city’s high-speed wireless internet connection – from their smart devices. But according to Limor Schafman, director of smart building program the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), smart buildings are a microcosm of smart cities, and must be mastered first if the wider goal of achieving a connected city is to materialise. “Smart buildings play a critical role in the deployment of next-generation networks and can accelerate the development of smart municipalities, particularly highly sophisticated buildings which are microcosms of smart communities,” she says. “People used to define smart buildings as those that have a few sensors and an automated HVAC 14

MAY 2018

system – but this is simply not the case. Our plan is to create smart buildings that are next-gen IoT ready, supporting a network that is both robust and 5G enabled.” But it won’t just be consumers that benefit from smart buildings, says Schafman. “Building operators will be able to leverage intelligence from integrated, data rich systems within the building, that will allow them to optimise operations and understand on a granular level what is happening,” she says.

Dubai could become the smart city model that the world follows in the coming years Jeff Beavers, president, BICSI

The smart buildings marketplace is already tipped to see significant growth from an estimated $7.24 billion in 2017 to an anticipated $32 billion in 2022, and the TIA hopes that by building a common framework and language, it will be able to contribute to the foundation of that market growth. In terms of smart city evolution on a global scale, Dubai could become the “model that the world follows in the coming years,” according to Jeff Beavers, BICSI president – who is based in the United States. “There are some advancements that are occurring here in Dubai that are not yet happening in the US,” he says. “We have many regulatory and jurisdiction issues that often have their own drivers and are therefore not unified, meaning they often limit the progression of such developments in the US.” The UAE – and Dubai in particular, he believes, is different. “The leadership can see the bigger picture and the overarching vision here, and seem to be working collaboratively towards the same goal.” www.tahawultech.com

ANALYSIS

Siemens Innovation Day

MIND OVER MATTER

Siemens used its Innovation Day at Dubai Opera – held in partnership with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and Expo 2020 – to announce that it would invest over $500 million into its digital presence in the Middle East over the next three years.

erman tech giant Siemens has laid its bets for the UAE’s technological future in energy, aviation and logistics, upon the announcement of a $500 million investment into the region, “$100 million” of which will go to the Middle East’s current leading nation for technology development. “Data is the oil of the 21st century,” the firm’s chief technology officer Dr Roland Busch told CNME. “The combination of operational technology and digitisation is now driving all-new value. People often ask why things are now changing so quickly with Industry 4.0. It’s down to the fast development of technologies, renewables and photovoltaics. The next part is digital technologies, 5G and enhanced processing power. New business models are changing things. 16

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www.tahawultech.com

These factors are coming together to create change across the industries we’re serving.” MindSphere, Siemens’ cloudbased operating system for the Internet of Things, will form the core of the investment, which will include building two new MindSphere Application Centres in the UAE, one each in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Siemens is planning to set up 20 of the Centres across 17 countries, with each one focusing on specific industries. The centres will host a total workforce of around 900 software developers, data specialists and engineers who will work with Siemens customers to develop innovations for data analysis and machine learning. The MindSphere Application Centre in Dubai will handle airports, logistics and cargo to co-develop approaches that aim to improve the movement of people and goods, as well as optimising the efficiency of logistics through analytics and IoT solutions. Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi centre will cater to process industries, mainly focusing on oil and gas, water and waste water. Busch said that the Middle East’s energy and transport industries are poised to benefit from new developments in IoT, and that the connectivity offered by the Middle East’s business hub is a hugely

Dubai is a logistics hub, where everything comes together. Dr Roland Busch, CTO, Siemens

www.tahawultech.com

attractive prospect for investment and development. “Dubai is a logistics hub, where everything comes together,” Busch said. “Airports rely on energy supplies, operations and logistics. We want to help assets to run better, with more efficiency.” He went on to add that the region’s leading economies are now looking for ways to use information technology to help ensure their nations’ futures. “The Middle East is a fast-growing market with a number of challenges,” Busch said. “Most of its countries are diversifying, looking at renewable energy sources and creating new industries, and I believe that creates challenges and opportunities. We’re here to help and support them, mainly via a programme where we take the policy and strategy of each country, and map what we can do. We’ve already done it for Abu Dhabi and for Saudi Arabia with its Vision 2030 ambitions. This is a comprehensive programme that cuts across a range of areas including energy, healthcare and mobility.” Busch said Siemens had invested $6.3 billion in the electrification, automation and digitisation of its services as of December 2017, with $1.45 billion having been spent on improving the firm’s technologies in the latter space. “Digitalisation starts in the fleet,” Busch said. “The fleet is where things will be connected. We’ve spent $10 billion in acquisitions to make us one of the world’s top 10 software companies.” On a panel discussion at the Innovation Day, Dubai Airports’ executive vice president of technology and infrastructure Michael Ibbitson lauded the potential for transformation through innovative technology use. Dubai Airports signed an MoU with Siemens to collaborate in data management and analytics via MindSphere, and Ibbitson said that Dubai Airports had already transformed

its operations by using IoT to help ease passenger traffic at its facilities. “Two years ago, we started working on initiatives to get rid of queues in our airports,” he said. “We haven’t quite done that, but they’re now half their previous length, and we’re processing 14 million more passengers than we were two years ago. Six months after we introduced new systems, we developed an app which provides real-time information on queue lengths. Our chairman, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed, has access to the same information as the person responsible for managing the queue. Now, everyone can see if the queue is 10 or 15 minutes long, and this triggers alerts so that action can be taken. The visibility of data has changed the performance of the airports. It’s about making sure people have the information they need to do the job.” Ibbitson went on to explain that Dubai Airports is now prioritising the ways it can allow employees to create new technological concepts that can be put into practice. “I spend a lot of my day encouraging my team to think critically,” Ibbitson said. “Over 70% of the passengers that go through Dubai Airports are in transit. We’re looking at how to create a crossborder, international system which is associated against all documents and visa requirements.” Along with DEWA and Expo 2020 Dubai, Siemens has also taken steps to develop a green hydrogen economy in the UAE. In February, the organisations signed an MoU for a pilot project for the region’s first solardriven hydrogen electrolysis facility. Expected to be located at DEWA’s outdoor testing facilities at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the project will test and showcase an integrated megawattscale plant to produce hydrogen using renewable energy from solar photovoltaic panels. MAY 2018

FEATURE

Rotana Hotels

HOW ROTANA'S BI IS REDEFINING HOSPITALITY Samir Abi Frem, corporate vice president of IT at Rotana Hotels, opted to implement a business intelligence solution to gain further insights into guest behaviour and put Rotana at the forefront of hospitality innovation.

rom the arrival of ondemand, online services such as Booking.com, to the rise of accommodation providers that rely solely on technology to secure bookings – but own no physical assets, the legacy hospitality sector has been turned on its head, and long-standing hotel chains are now facing the need to transform themselves into digital-

MAY 2018

first organisations that meet the expectations of customers today. Rotana Hotels has properties in 20 countries and 38 cities across the globe, and welcomes over six million guests through its doors every year. In a bid to stay apace with the burgeoning competition for customers here in the UAE – one of the world’s most desirable tourist destinations, corporate vice president of IT Samir www.tahawultech.com

In hospitality, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re up against the biggest accommodation provider globally â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and they own no hotels, so digital transformation is no longer an option for us.

Samir Abi Frem, corporate VP of IT, Rotana Hotels

www.tahawultech.com

MAY 2018

FEATURE

Rotana Hotels

Abi Frem sought to make a number of changes to the company’s operations. “Regardless of your business’ size, industry or location, we’re all facing external and internal pressures to compete, and innovation now needs to be the top priority for CIOs across the board. In hospitality, we’re up against the biggest accommodation provider globally with the rise of Air BnB – and they own no hotels, so digital transformation is no longer an option for us,” says Abi Frem. For Rotana Hotels, a major part of this transformation has centred around enhancing its data management systems with business intelligence tools to ensure a single-view of the information that really matters. “We were previously spending a lot of time consolidating and validating our data, rather than analysing it and extracting real value from it at both a hotel and corporate level,” he says. The absence of a single-view platform to consolidate the numerous data sources was leading to a delay in the analysis process, resulting in inefficient reporting processes. “There was no option for us to provide the top management with a real-time report, and this was a major challenge for us,” says Abi Frem. Reliance on Excel spreadsheets and manual processes to produce these reports were also major hindrances to the efficiency of Abi Frem’s IT department in delivering the necessary information to the board. “Spreadsheets only enable you with a static view, meaning we weren’t able to drill down or figure out how we’d come to reach these results,” he says. Rotana set out to change this by seeking a solution that could provide them with this intelligence wherever, and whenever it became necessary. “We sought to find an efficient database integration and sync 20

MAY 2018

engine that could provide us with a customisable and user-friendly interface,” explains Abi Frem. “We scanned the market and opted to work with MDS ap and SAP, and went on to jointly host a number of support workshops with MDS ap to ensure that we were all working towards the same goal.” Abi Frem prioritised the company’s customer relationship management (CRM) systems as the first data source to be loaded

We were spending a lot of time consolidating and validating our data, rather than analysing it and extracting real value from it at both a hotel and corporate level.

onto the new business intelligence platform. “We then switched our focus onto having a solution dedicated to collecting guest feedback, before implementing an integrated loyalty programme which enables us to provide a loyalty performance dashboard for our top spenders,” he says. “Previously, it would have

taken us a long time to collect this data and make real use of it – which, in this case, reflects directly onto the customer.” Phase one of the implementation, which began in August last year, is due to go live in the coming weeks, says Abi Frem. “We’ve been carrying out a number of tests before releasing it as a full launch,” he says. “But once the project has gone live, we expect to be able to quickly access a complete view of our reality, while also being able to generate different levels of reporting, therefore enabling us to easily provide the right information to the right people to permit them to do their job to the best of their ability.” Abi Frem is a firm believer of initiating IT projects based on their value to the business, not simply for the fact that they may be “nice to have” or follow the “latest tech trends.” “We’re just not that kind of company,” he says. “We invest in areas where we can get immediate and measurable returns. Our board believes we can utilise technology to better ourselves and differentiate ourselves from the competition, meaning company executives are often very open and supportive for new projects.” With the onset of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics now putting their stamp on the Middle East, Abi Frem believes it won’t be long before they make an impact on the hospitality sector. “We have started working on enhancing our guest service and booking processes through the installation of AI-driven chatbots,” he says. “But this is a technology we plan to investigate on a larger scale in the coming years, and I absolutely see it having a major impact on the industry in the future.” www.tahawultech.com

FEATURE

Microsoft Dynamics

DYNAMIC DUO Microsoft Middle East & Africa’s Keith Fenner, Dynamics 365 Business Group Director, explains why the firm’s platform brings unrivalled business insight and technology under one umbrella that marries ERP and CRM.

ow is AI now enhancing Dynamics 365, and how will customers be able to experience the benefits of these changes? Dynamics 365 is the most intelligent commerce platform on the market, thanks to an extensive family of AI-powered tools that access the Dynamics Common Data Model. With the ability to easily homogenise corporate data, it becomes possible to uncover deep insights about your enterprise that bridge business functions. Not only do customers get access to the predictive analytics and business intelligence of Dynamics 365, but because the application lives in the trusted Microsoft cloud, they can also integrate it with a host of other AI tools, such as Delve, MyAnalytics and Power BI. And while the intelligent cloud plays a major role in the Dynamics 365 success story, the intelligent edge is just as important. A manufacturing firm, for example, can use Dynamics 365’s Connected Field Service to implement an IoT solution that monitors its entire production process. Sensors feed the Common Data Model with information gathered on the factory floor, and the AI applications of the intelligent cloud can identify deep insights. IoT can be used to make better products, optimise existing 22

MAY 2018

Data is the currency of success in the digital age. It is estimated that 90% of the planet's accumulated data did not exist two years ago. ones and allow more efficient human-machine interaction. Such solutions can discover efficiency bottlenecks; deliver predictive maintenance, where remote sensors tell a manufacturer when there is a problem with an installed product at a customer site, before it breaks down; or monitor the progress of deliveries and proactively inform customers of delays. How can Dynamics 365 enable users to effectively build their own apps? There are several ways to extend

Dynamics 365’s core functionality, depending on an organisation’s internal skill set and preferences. For example, you can customise, extend, and build apps with the Microsoft Business Application Platform, which gives access to seamless Dynamics 365, Office 365, and Azure integration. The platform includes connectors to more than 200 data sources, making it extremely easy for Microsoft Office developers to build apps that add real value to a business. PowerApps offers a drag-anddrop interface for app design that allows developers to choose from a large selection of templates, or to start from scratch. Connecting your app to data is easy, and familiar Excel-like expressions can be used to add logic. PowerApps also makes it easy to publish a solution to the Web, iOS, Android or Windows 10. Then there is Power BI, which can connect easily to the Dynamics Common Data Model and hundreds of other data sources, to create rich, visual information on all aspects of the business. What differentiates Dynamics 365 from its competitors? Microsoft Dynamics 365 is an innovative merger of CRM and ERP solutions into a unified, powerful commerce platform. It is built around the Common Data Model, www.tahawultech.com

which allows for a homogenised, 360-degree view of the company across the functions of management, administration, human resources, finance, sales, customer service, marketing, warehousing, logistics and others. Because it is hosted in the Microsoft cloud, Dynamics 365 offers a range of industry-specific options for integration with other digitally transformative technologies. Dynamics 365 cloud customers can also concentrate on engaging, empowering, optimising and transforming, without having to worry about security, as the Microsoft cloud leads the industry in intelligent protection and mitigation measures. Data is encrypted to the highest industry standards, and a team of dedicated security specialists oversees our infrastructure, and that of our cloud customers, around the clock. Why are data-driven decisions now imperative for the enterprise? Data is the currency of success in the digital age. There is so much data out there that it has become increasingly difficult to capture the scale of its production and consumption. Research from July 2017 reveals that humanity produces 2.5 billion gigabytes of data each day, or around 30,000 GB per second. And an estimated 90% of the planet’s accumulated data did not exist two years ago. The importance of retrieving insights from that data that are actionable, non-trivial and previously unknown, cannot be overstated. Those insights can place your business ahead of the curve. Whether you use deep-dive business analytics to discover a market trend before others notice it, or use the Internet of www.tahawultech.com

The UAE is never afraid to merge the physical and digital worlds to the betterment of society.

Things and machine-learning to finetune production methodologies – advantages are there for the taking. That makes the quality and quantity of a company’s data almost more important than its revenue.

to reinvent its entire marketing campaign process. Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim Ventures adopted elements of Microsoft Dynamics 365 – including Dynamics AX 2012 and Dynamics CRM – along with Office 365, Power BI, SharePoint Online and Delve, in an effort to engage customers more effectively and optimise internal efficiencies across the group’s many business units. UAE-based Engineering Techniques Services LLC (ETS) combined Dynamics 365 Field Service, Dynamics 365 Sales, and Dynamics 365 Customer Service into the company’s existing financial suite, and was able to fully integrate its entire ERP in one stroke.

What kinds of unique benefits can Dynamics 365 bring to specific industries? The answer to that question is starkly illustrated in the UAE – a country at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, never afraid to merge the physical and digital worlds to the betterment of society. Customer-centric retail; enhanced government services; some of the world’s most luxurious and advanced hotels – all supported by digital transformation, and in many cases, by Dynamics 365. Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts leveraged data from its customer loyalty programme using Microsoft Dynamics 365

Keith Fenner, Dynamics 365 business group director, Microsoft Middle East & Africa

MAY 2018

FEATURE

GCC data centres

LOCATION, LOCATION

The race to build Middle East data centres is swiftly gathering pace. As public and private sector organisations across the region develop an increasing appetite to run their business on cloud-based platforms, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blue-chip technology firms are laying their bets across GCC cities for where they should house valuable customer data.

MAY 2018

www.tahawultech.com

n the last 15 months, a selection of technology titans have lined up to announce when and where they will build data centres to serve the Middle East public cloud market. What is perhaps most noteworthy is the breadth of location choice among the global tech elite. Microsoft is the latest to have announced regional data centres, with two sites – one each in Dubai and Abu Dhabi – due to arrive in early 2019. Archrivals SAP and Oracle announced plans in the first half of last year, with the latter initially naming Abu Dhabi as the location for its site – and announcing in February that it would build a site in Riyadh – while SAP opted for Riyadh, as well announcing a $200 million investment into the UAE which would include a data centre site. Global cloud leader Amazon Web Services perhaps deviated most from the well-trodden path of the GCC tech industry, choosing Bahrain as the location for its new Infrastructure Region and three Availability Zones, expected to be complete next year. There are global players who have already set up shop in the region. Alibaba Cloud already has a data centre in Dubai, which opened in December 2016 as a joint venture with Meraas Holding. Oracle’s senior vice president of technology for the Middle East and Africa, Abdul Rahman Al Thehaiban, believes that developments around building data centres are ultimately a sideshow to the bigger picture, and that suggestions of intense competition between cloud providers are blown out of proportion. “The frequency of this type of conversation is interesting – but it ends up being more of a playground squabble over whether mine is bigger than yours,” he says. “It isn’t a straightforward equation, and it distracts attention from what is really more important – what businesses are actually doing and to what affect. For www.tahawultech.com

Saudi Arabia is where a lot of the future demand will come from for cloud services. Sam Blatteis, co-founder and CEO, The MENA Catalysts

the most progressive organisations, other than for data that by law has to reside in a particular location, those CIOs who are actively embracing cloud don’t actually care where it is housed.” With a range of high-stakes industries including banking and government legally obliged to keep sensitive data on GCC soil, it was only a matter of time before the world’s leading cloud companies responded to market demand and laid plans to build their own facilities in what represents a fast-growing digital economy. According to ReportLinker, the MENA cloud infrastructure services market is expected to grow from $2.66 billion in 2017 to $8.79 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 27%, while cloud traffic in the Middle East and Africa region is expected to quadruple by the end of 2019. Sam Blatteis, co-founder and CEO of UAE-based policy consulting firm The MENA Catalysts, believes the region is now witnessing a major shift in its technological development. “The Middle East has historically been a bit of a dead zone on cloud computing centres, but the ground is shifting,” he says. “There MAY 2018

FEATURE

GCC data centres

is, however, an emerging trend of tech titans waking up to the booming Middle Eastern digital economy. They are voting with their feet and establishing physical data centres in the Gulf, which makes sense: there is a lot to play for in the region. The lack of local cloud data centres has been one of the major factors inhibiting the large-scale use of public cloud platforms in the region. But I don’t see evidence of “a race” to build data centres per se.” Blatteis says that individual attributes of GCC countries provide unique draws for companies looking to open regional data centres, and that these factors would have played a part in the thinking of firm’s who have recently announced data centre plans. “Each Gulf country has 26

MAY 2018

The UAE and Saudi Arabia will aggressively compete against each other to gain market share.

Santhosh Rao, principal research analyst, Gartner

different features,” he says. “Bahrain has made a big bet on becoming the region’s big data capital. The UAE is heading for the digital pantheon, and is 20-30 years into the future ahead of its neighbours. It is transforming the Internet of Things into a reality, is at the vanguard of AI development in the region, and aims to become its AI capital. Saudi Arabia has the largest Arab economy, and the highest average revenue spend per user. It is where a lot of the future of demand will come from for cloud services.” However, Gartner’s principal research analyst, Santhosh Rao, does not believe there is a strategic reason as to why the world’s biggest cloud providers have opted for separate GCC cities. “There is no specific reason www.tahawultech.com

Other than for data that by law has to reside in a particular location, CIOs who are actively embracing cloud don’t actually care where it is housed.

Abdul Rahman Al Thehaiban, SVP of technology, Middle East and Africa, Oracle

why these cloud service providers will have their data centres in completely different cities, it is just a coincidence,” he says. However, Rao does believe that the region’s two biggest markets will be the obvious choice for international tech firms looking to gain a local foothold. “In the long term, we can expect both Saudi Arabia and the UAE to host multiple cloud providers, who will aggressively compete against each other to gain market share.” Marita Mitschein, SAP’s SVP and managing director of the firm’s MENA Training and Development Institute, and the figure heading up SAP’s Middle East data centre strategy, says that other factors dictated the location of the firm’s impending Riyadh and UAE www.tahawultech.com

sites. “Because of nationwide and regional connectivity in the Middle East, the location of a data centre is not necessarily directly related to that city’s technology industry,” she says. Irrespective of the motivations behind selecting a country in which to build a data centre, the interesting development in recent months has been the shift in choices that tech companies have made. Since its launch in 1999, Dubai Internet City has reigned supreme as the Middle East and North Africa region’s hub for technology companies to base their head offices. While preferences for data centre location have been split, it must be asked whether the GCC’s other leading cities have the potential to catch up with Dubai as its

technological hub, and whether moves by the likes of Amazon Web Services, Oracle and SAP could set a trend for transformation across the GCC. Data centre colocation provider Equinix, who has a centre in Dubai, sees “a clear strengthening” of Dubai as a hub, according to the firm’s managing director for the Middle East and Africa Jeroen Schlosser. Blatteis laughs off the possibility, meanwhile. “No, that won’t be the case,” he says. “It’s the emerging rise of the rest. Dubai is moving light-years ahead. When I think about the public policy challenges here compared to other parts of the Middle East, I’d rather have Dubai’s.” MAY 2018

FEATURE

Virgin Hyperloop One

BEYOND THE HYPE Harj Dhaliwal, Virgin Hyperloop One’s managing director for the Middle East and India, tells Glesni Holland how the company plans to create a “door to door, seamless journey” for the region’s passengers as early as 2023.

Harj Dhaliwal, Virgin Hyperloop One

MAY 2018

www.tahawultech.com

ot so long ago, the route between Abu Dhabi and Dubai was nothing more than a dusty sand track that lined the coast for nearly 160 kilometres. While the E11 that now connects the two emirates is a significant step up from the camel lined road that it once was, it seems recent announcements suggest that the route will soon be transformed once again – this time, at the hands of lightning fast Hyperloop technology. Harj Dhaliwal, Virgin Hyperloop One’s managing director for the Middle East and India, is an Abu Dhabi resident himself, but spends his working days in Downtown Dubai. “My commute to work is fine – until I reach Dubai,” he jokes. But in years to come, commuters could be using the high-speed transport method to not only travel between emirates, but between major cities outside of the UAE too. Aside from plans to bring this technology to the UAE in the form of a 12-minute journey between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the company is also assessing the possibility of installing a number of routes in Saudi Arabia, following Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the Virgin Hyperloop test centre in LA last month. “We are looking at key routes that we could develop, with particular focus on the cutting the travel time between Riyadh, Jeddah, Jamil and Damman,” says Dhaliwal. “We’re also investigating ways to connect NEOM with major Saudi cities. Branded as the tech city of the future, it is vital that NEOM can connect with the rest of the country in a quick and efficient manner, as it cannot operate as an isolated system on its own.” With no existing infrastructure to deal with in the wide-open desert landscapes that these potential routes involve, one may presume that the undeveloped areas of the GCC lend itself perfectly to the installation of this new transport ecosystem. www.tahawultech.com

Branded as the tech city of the future, it is vital that NEOM can connect with the rest of the country quickly and efficiently.

“Ultimately, we’re not a tram system,” says Dhaliwal. “We’re not going to stop every kilometre, as this just won’t work.” Instead, Hyperloop One is targeting distances of “anywhere between 50 kilometres and 800 kilometres,” which equates to the same distances that are involved in short to medium-haul flights. However, that’s not to say that the technology cannot cope with cityscape infrastructure, says Dhaliwal. “When we’re in a city centre environment, we can go underground,” he explains. “We would also cause less disruption than traditional means of transport, as our pods create much less environmental damage than that of a railway. We create no vibrations, meaning no noise.” In an “ideal world,” Dhaliwal says, the Hyperloop One experience will involve users getting into their autonomous cars at home, and programming into the Hyperloop One app where it is they’d like to go – which will then calculate the fastest route; be it by plane, car, metro or Hyperloop. “If it selects the Hyperloop option, your car would then take you to the nearest pod station, drive into the MAY 2018

FEATURE

Virgin Hyperloop One

When you start playing around with this equation of distance, time and speed, the possibilities are endless.

pod for the high-speed journey, then continue from the appropriate pod station with transporting you to your final destination, creating the ultimate last-mile experience,” he says. Hyperloop One reportedly has the potential to transport approximately 3,400 people an hour, 128,000 people a day and 24 million people a year. “For us, it’s about eliminating the barrier of distance,” says Dhaliwal. “If 30

MAY 2018

you look back in history, you’ll find that we’ve always been limited by our ability to travel. That, and the speed at which we travel at, defines our cities.” He went on to cite the example of London in 1840 – back when it was the largest city in the world with a population of nearly 2 million. “At its densest point, the furthest people would live from the River Thames was 1.5 kilometres, because it was the main source of wealth in the capital. Similarly, nowadays most people are comfortable with a one-hour commute to work. But if you lived in London today with the ability to travel via Hyperloop, a one-hour commute could cover all of England, all of Wales, and most of Western Europe. When you start playing around with this equation of distance, time and speed, the possibilities are endless.” The firm has raised $295 million to date in venture capital funding, with one of the main investors being Dubai

based port DP World, which Dhaliwal says reflects Hyperloop One’s vision of incorporating cargo into its business plan moving forward. But the real question: when can we expect to see these – borderline – supersonic speeds of travelling at 700 miles per hour here in the region? “I think we’re looking at installing a demonstrator track within the next three years as a means of encouraging the acceptance and understanding of this technology,” he says. “From there, we can progress towards getting safety certifications in place to be able to transport commercial passengers within the next five to seven years.” www.tahawultech.com

DP World Cargo Speed

FEATURE

FULL SPEED AHEAD Virgin Hyperloop One recently announced the launch of DP World Cargo Speed – a service set to transport cargo around the world at “jet speeds, for the cost of trucking.”

irgin Hyperloop One has been no stranger to the headlines in recent weeks. Since the company’s visit from Saudi’s Crown Prince to its test centre in LA last month, discussions have been rife in assessing the impact that the firm’s supersonic speeds will have on the Middle East in years to come. But it seems that transporting passengers is not the only priority. Aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 in Port Rashid, Dubai last month, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, the launch of DP World Cargo Speed was unveiled. “The evolution towards on-demand logistics is having a profound impact on the freight and logistics industry,” said Rob Lloyd, CEO, Virgin Hyperloop One. “The express delivery for high-priority shipments is set to hit $516 billion by 2025, and demand for air freight, the go-to shipping method for high-priority goods, is set to double over the next 20 years – creating a strain on already overtaxed air, roads, and rail infrastructure.” To address this challenge, the firm is joining with DP World to support the “fast, sustainable and efficient delivery” of cargo around the globe. www.tahawultech.com

Cargo Speed will deliver any cargo around the world in less than 14 hours.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman, DP World Group

Virgin Hyperloop One chairman Richard Branson, who was present at the launch, praised Dubai for “always being at the cutting edge” of technology innovations, and spoke of his own passion in creating and being a part of this transformation in the region. “Ports are often sitting on valuable land, but why waste land on ports? With this technology, freight can be unloaded straight onto a Hyperloop and shipped straight in land, meaning this land can be repurposed as hotels and leisure facilities,” he said. Since the partnership between DP World and Virgin Hyperloop One began in

2016, the pair have come to understand there is a demand for “lightweight, high value” cargo deliveries, said Lloyd. “There has been a fundamental change in the way goods are being shipped today,” he said. “33 percent of retail will be done online by 2030, yet we have an infrastructure around the world that still demands us to put goods in containers and put them on the back of a train, truck or airplane in order to deliver these products – but we’re now in an on demand, e-commerce generation that want it now.” Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, DP World Group chairman reconfirmed these “inefficiencies in the supply chain,” and announced that the Cargo Speed service would operate at speeds of up to 620 miles per hour. He went on to add that the service could deliver “any cargo around the world in less than 14 hours,” with a maximum of “one hour” delivery time between Dubai and Saudi Arabia. “Hyperloop is selling time to people, and that is very valuable, and this technology is somewhat of a necessity to the future of transportation,” he said. MAY 2018

FEATURE

Red Hat

25 YEARS YOUNG

CNME caught up with Lee Miles, Red Hat’s manager for the CEMEA region, to discuss how the progression of open source adoption has contributed to the company’s recent 25-year milestone.

“I

f someone had said back in 1993 that Red Hat, or any open source company for that matter, would one day become a $3 billion organisation, they’d have laughed you right out of the room,” says Red Hat’s manager for the CEMEA region, Lee Miles. The firm recently celebrated 25 years in business, and according to Miles, Red Hat is as strong as ever. Four years into his tenure at the company here in the Middle East, he has been “pleasantly surprised” and “very impressed” that regional organisations are already pursuing strong strategies in open source. “When I first arrived at Red Hat, I was under the impression I would be here to evangelise companies to open source, when in fact, that hasn’t needed to happen,” he says. “The market is already very well versed, and various industry organisations are utilising open source to accelerate performance.” Areas of particular focus for Red Hat in the last four years have centred around three key verticals: telcos, financial services and the public sector. “We’re lucky that many of the government organisations across the Middle East are working towards digitisation, and we’re working very closely with many of them to deliver 32

MAY 2018

the nation’s smart government initiatives,” he says. But while the acceptance of open source is accelerating in the region, there are still common misconceptions that Miles is working to demystify. “The two main ones I often hear are that open source is free, and not secure,” he says. “It’s common knowledge that open source doesn’t require a licensing fee and is therefore free to download and utilise. While open source software with zero support can be obtained at no cost, it may not be a finished product. Costs are incurred for the development of feature enhancements, maintenance and 24/7 support.” Despite this, adoption rates are accelerating globally – which

The Middle East is already very well versed in the use of open source.

Miles puts down to the increased acceptance of hybrid cloud models and the drive towards the Internet of Things. In order to ensure this growth is replicated here in the Middle East, Red Hat is seeking to develop homegrown talent through its Academy programme. “Not having the desired skillset available in the region has been the main challenge we’ve found in the recent years. To combat this, we’ve opened more than 20 Red Hat Academies across the Middle East and Africa since 2015. We’re now starting to see the results of these initiatives, as graduates are being fed back into the market with the requisite skills,” he says. “We’ve also tripled our workforce across the region during this time, adding various sales, marketing and consulting support functions to our team.” To ensure Red Hat is still a key open source player in the coming 25 years, Miles believes maintaining the value of subscription is vital to the “bed rock” of the company’s overall vision. “We’re proving that our business model is sustainable,” he says. “While it’s difficult to look too far into the future, I believe the support we receive from our partners here in the region stands us in good stead for at least the coming three to five years.” www.tahawultech.com

PRESENTS l Reality

Blo ckch

AI/ M a

uto mation

Virtua

e a rni n g eL n i ch

IT A

WHO

Business leaders seeking to explore and leverage the benefits of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, Blockchain, IT automation and virtual reality.

WHY

Learn how your organisation can prepare for the onslaught of these new technologies, and explore the best methods of integrating them into future business models. Get to grips with how your organisation can utilise these technologies to progress to the next phase of digital transformation with measurable business value.

Speakers

Adam Lalani Group Head of IT, Tristar

Ajay Rathi Senior Director of IT, Meraas Holding

Farid Farouq Director of IT, Dubai World Trade Centre

Alia Al Hammadi Director of IT, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation

Herbert Fuchs Chief Information Officer, ASGC

David Ashford Chief Information Officer, The Entertainer

Jon Richards CEO, Yallacompare.com

Faisal Ali Senior IT Manager, Deyaar

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FEATURE

Pawame

UAE-BASED PAWAME AFRICA’S “AMAZON” OF MICROFINANCE The startup is on a mission to bring electricity to 150 million subSaharan African households that don't have access to grid power.

MAY 2018

www.tahawultech.com

n a region so rich with energy, full of cities with bright lights and air conditioning that helps residents to withstand 50-degree summers, it can be easy to brush off the importance of basic electricity. While the world’s biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia has a population of 27 million people and a total power capacity of 55 gigawatts, Kenya, one of the biggest countries in sub-Saharan Africa and one of its biggest drivers of industrialisation, has a population of about 44 million, and a total power capacity of about 3 gigawatts. A staggering 150 million sub-Saharan African households – 70% of the vast region’s population – meanwhile, do not have access to grid power.

www.tahawultech.com

“The major problem that Africa is facing is electric transmission distribution, which is usually paid for by governments, who often don’t have money to do so,” Alex Allegue chairman and co-founder of UAE-based startup Pawame says. “There’s often no incentive to connect remote customers, because they’re often poor and can’t help to repay the government’s investment.” Pawame began its journey after Allegue and the firm’s founders, who had spent years working in Saudi Arabia’s solar industry, reverse-engineered a range of solar kits to design a new product that was easy to operate and at a low cost. By early 2016, he had hired a core team and moved to Kenya, partnering with a German kit manufacturer that operated from Thailand. Now, Pawame now offers a solar energy kit powered by a panel with a battery, which is connected to energyefficient lamps, and contains a module which allows the user to charge the lamps through their mobile phone. The firm has sold more than 4,000 kits, and is set to announce a selection of new products. Pawame’s solution is relatively simple, but, put to good effect, has the ability to bring electricity and energy efficiency to millions of homes across Africa, transforming lives, according to Allegue. The firm – which recently completed a $2 million round of funding – has already received numerous accolades since its inception. It was a finalist at both the prestigious New Venture Contest of Harvard Business School and at the SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event. Pawame was also selected as a semi-finalist by the MIT Enterprise Forum for the Pan-Arab Region for the

There’s often no incentive to connect remote customers, because they’re often poor and can’t help to repay the government’s investment.

Innovate for Refugees Competition for its work in one of the world’s largest refugee camps. The firm also began a partnership this year with MasterCard to deliver technology expertise to transform refugee settlements into “digitally-connected communities”. “Universal energy remains a longterm aspiration rather than a shortterm reality as electricity is still out of reach for over 700 million people in Africa,” Allegue says. “The potential for Pawame to impact lives is significant, and we have already touched the lives of more than 20,000 people in Kenya by giving them access not only to lighting, but to other life-enhancing services. We’re not only looking at MAY 2018

FEATURE

Pawame

Once we build a connection to customers, we could become the micro-finance amazon for Africa.

markets without electricity, but also those with power shortages, which need multiple sources of energy.” While Pawame has the potential to deliver the transformative benefit of basic electricity to its users, Allegue also believes that its potential only begins there. He says that it has the ability to provide economic inclusivity to citizens who were otherwise marginalised. A large factor in this will be the continent’s mobile revolution, which has a landscape unlike any other region on earth. “Landline telecom use never really picked up in Africa because of infrastructure issues,” he says. “However, once mobile networks picked up, Africa jumped directly to mobile. I believe we will see the same trend in Africa’s energy industry. It’s interesting that Africa’s most successful startup, M-Pesa, has done well because 36

MAY 2018

it could bridge the gap between banks and customers. It’s a platform that’s managed by Safaricom, and with a lowtech phone you can have a virtual wallet and buy goods for just $1.” This gap between large institutions and the ordinary citizens of Africa is one that Pawame hopes to address. The firm hopes to allow customers to build a credit history that can unlock access to other life-changing products and services, from TVs and refrigerators to solar water pumps and school loans that they would not otherwise be able to access or afford. “Once we build a connection to customers, we could become the microfinance amazon for Africa,” Allegue says. “The true value will come from collecting and capitalising on information to make something bigger out of it. The more that customers grow in terms of

financial inclusion, the more they can benefit from growth. That also allows us to provide goods and services through micro-credit. We aren’t an energy business, but more of a service and micro-finance business. We’re providing financing to get lighting, charging and other services and goods, that’s why we don’t fall under energy regulation, which makes us easy to scale.” Pawame is currently developing an algorithm to forecast potential default payments, and once they have that in place, they hope to team up with insurance companies to monetise that information. “We will have customers’ insurance details, which banks don’t have,” Allegue says. “It has limitless potential. We can use it to tackle a range of other pillars of development, including healthcare and education. We’re using Africa’s lack of infrastructure to our advantage.” www.tahawultech.com

8TH MAY, 2018

JUMEIRAH EMIRATES TOWERS

DRESS CODE:BLACK TIE &BOLLYWOOD GLAM Reseller Middle East’s Partner Excellence Awards has been the industry’s most prominent event over the last decade. In its ninth year, the Awards applauds the successes of the regional channel business, saluting the excellence and resilience of individual executives and firms. Raising the bar every year, the Partner Excellence Awards strives to create a memorable, action-packed and entertaining evening to honour the crème de la crème of the channel business. FOR SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES Natasha Pendleton Publishing Director natasha.pendleton@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9139 +971 56 787 4778

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FEATURE

Thierry Bonhomme, CEO, Orange Business Services

“DUBAI DYNAMISM EQUALS ANY GLOBAL CITY” Orange Business Services chief executive Thierry Bonhomme has said that the entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to adopt technology in Dubai is as strong as that of any city on earth.

peaking to CNME on a visit to Dubai from the firm’s Parisian headquarters, Bonhomme said that Orange Business Services is now ideally positioned as a technology advisor to deliver smart city success, and that the opening of the firm’s regional HQ in Dubai Silicon Oasis will strengthen its regional operations. The Saudi France CEO Forum on 10th April saw the signing of 20 MoUs between the countries, worth over $18 billion, including a deal between Orange Business Services and Saudi chemicals giant Sabic. “In Saudi, we started by providing network services to Aramco and Sabic, and we’re still involved with them, but we’re also building additional services. Sabic 38

MAY 2018

has signed an MoU with us to co-innovate on IoT, joint labs, and potentially a startup accelerator. Two or three years ago, we started replicating there what we’ve done in other regions,” Bonhomme said. Bonhomme made it clear that Orange Business Services is looking to work with the Middle East’s largest companies. “We’re targeting MNC’s,” he said. “We have around 3,000 of them across the around the globe, and we’re currently generating revenue of about €7 billion per year, and we can deliver any of our solutions to regional customers.” He also said that the innovation culture being fostered in Dubai, as well as the city’s appetite for technology, were some of the best he had seen in the world.

“The atmosphere and the way people behave in Dubai Silicon Oasis is the same as any leading international accelerator across the world,” Bonhomme said. “One thing I think is interesting here is cooperation around outcomes. Here, the outcome seems to count more than anywhere else. As soon as Dubai detects a service, it’s keen to use it within its own ecosystem. That seems to be systematic here. We’ve embedded four startups to build POCs to customers in the UAE. This country definitely has the innovation aspiration to drive startups into business. “In Dubai, there’s an increasing global economic dynamism of the city. To Silicon Oasis and DMCC – our landlords, if you like – an outcome is not just www.tahawultech.com

To Silicon Oasis and DMCC, an outcome is not just providing a location for us, but increasing trading.

www.tahawultech.com

providing a location for us, but increasing trading.” Bonhomme was also at pains to stress that Orange Business Services has done considerable work to reinvent itself in terms of the services it now provides. “We’re still generally considered as a network provider, but for five years we’ve been evolving on our data journey and as a digital services company,” he said. “Our expertise lies in how to generate money from smart cities. Today, we need to focus on use cases and the value that can be provided to citizens and the public, local authorities, and the economy in general. We need to discuss value creation. POCs alone don’t generate value. “To deploy our strategy, we need internal innovation, and our

Dubai HQ is very important for that. It’s about co-innovation with our customers, and developing partnerships.” Bonhomme offered the analogy of shifting tectonic plates to describe how a range of different organisations operating in technology now have overlapping interests. “Vendors, IT developers, integrators, telcos and startups are now more or less on the same continent,” he said. “It’s a case of big and small animals competing together. We’ve been unique in how we’ve presented ourselves, in how to run and design a network in terms of its orchestration, operation and optimisation. That’s what we want to provide along the data journey.” MAY 2018

FEATURE

Sudheesh Nair, president, Nutanix

“AMERICAN TECH GIANTS TOO ARROGANT TO APPRECIATE GCC" Nutanix president Sudheesh Nair has said that the cloud and hyperconverged infrastructure vendor will go the extra mile to appreciate the nuances of each Middle Eastern country, as well as highlighting the firm’s plans to open an Abu Dhabi office following significant customer demand from the UAE capital. Sudheesh Nair, president, Nutanix

MAY 2018

peaking to CNME in Dubai on a visit from Silicon Valley, Nutanix president Sudheesh Nair said that blue-chip technology firms often allow their own arrogance to impede their prospects in high-growth markets such as the Middle East. “The common mistake that American companies make is to believe that the world starts in San Francisco and san ends in New York,” he said. “The reality is that you cannot afford to be cocky. You need to be humble. To be a global company, you need to be local-first. You need Kuwaiti, Bahraini and Omani success stories. You need to appreciate local restraints. We haven’t done a good enough job www.tahawultech.com

at telling our transformation stories and giving a local flavour. A Chicago success story doesn’t mean much to customers in Kuwait.” Nair cited the way that Uber had walked away from operations in China and South East Asia as clear evidence that American technology giants must pay attention to the nuances of markets around the world. “The fact they’re walking away from these markets is a defeat for them,” he said. A key part of this mentality was ensuring that companies retained some of the principles they relied upon when they first started their journey, Nair said. “You need to remember how to keep being a startup, which means delivering by learning fast,” he said. “When companies get bigger, their customers become mere numbers.” Nair also said how after hearing Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman speak at a dinner, he fully realised the scale of ambition in the region’s largest economy and its potential for change. “The core of Vision 2030 is digital disruption, moving away from an old economic model, and disrupting Saudi Arabia to make it more diversified,” he said. “He wants education, technology and design to underpin how Saudi Arabia is viewed in the future. Other economies around the world struggle with the legacy of infrastructure, but that isn’t the case in this region. Legacy isn’t holding countries back, which means it is fertile ground for Nutanix.” Nair highlighted the vast opportunities that are now opening up across the GCC, paying careful attention to the differences on offer in each market. “We are seeing tremendous traction in Abu Dhabi, and we’re now looking at opening an office there. We don’t have dates for that yet, but we’re looking to put a team on the ground there.” www.tahawultech.com

To be a global company, you need to be local-first. You need Kuwaiti, Bahraini and Omani success stories. Nair also highlighted the importance of delivering a “commoditised” user experience across business software, and said that Nutanix had learned from mistakes made by rival VMware. “We respect VMware,” he said. “They did a great job in building a

community, and we learned from them. They did a good job of staying disruptive in a fast-changing market. They went from being a small to a large company, and they kept their culture. VMware struggled on cloud, and their approach fell on its face. They made many mistakes. We’re a young company, and we saw their mistakes. “If you look at iPhone photo sharing, the cloud has become invisible. We believe the same should apply for business data. We were very opinionated about the user experience becoming commoditised. We’re not afraid to challenge them.” Nair ended by saying that businesses who are looking to transform need to be helped by technology partners, not given more technical headaches. “Complexity is the carbon dioxide of innovation,” he said. “Whatever industry you’re in, you need to transform to deliver a better user experience. Businesses need to protect their operations while modernising the customer experience. That means we need to put an arm around people who are looking for change.” MAY 2018

FEATURE

Vimana

VIMANA: THE BLOCKCHAININ-THE-SKY UAV The CEO of Blockchain-based unmanned aerial vehicle provider Vimana has said the firm is in talks with the UAE’s airspace authorities, with the view to a 2020 launch of its services in the country’s skies.

peaking to CNME at the Future Cities Show at Dubai World Trade Centre, Evgeni Borisov said the firm, who has developed a prototype for the potentially revolutionary vehicle, is seeing increased interest in the Middle East region, and would be willing to work with competitors who have agreed deals in the UAE. Based on a patent-pending invention, Vimana delivers a UAV, whose aircraft and applications use 42

MAY 2018

Blockchain technology. The firm has developed a prototype for a blockchain-based and blockchain-regulated aerospace ecosystem, which intends to provide urban air mobility programs in smart cities. “There’s definitely room for us to work with Dubai,” Borisov said. “Dubai is now the best global point of entry for VTOLs (vertical take-off and landing aircraft). The speed of progress in the UAE is

faster than anywhere else in the world. We’re in close touch with the UAE airspace authorities and are discussing the possibility of deploying the Vimana Blockchain aerospace network in 2020. It’s a process which takes time.” Borisov said the technology Vimana is offering has the potential to build a platform for UAVs to be widespread, and part of a safe, transparent ecosystem. “We’re bringing machine www.tahawultech.com

Dubai is now the best global point of entry for VTOLs.

consensus to the skies, and this means the delivery of an ideal air and transport system,” he said. “Historically, flight controls have been designed by people. We are bringing to market a joint solution to provide a human-less protocol which delivers a decentralised air traffic management system based on the Vimana system, creating node-to-node signal transmission.” www.tahawultech.com

Borisov said Vimana had already signed five MoUs with companies in the Middle East and North Asia region, and had “35 more” in the pipeline. He added that he does not believe Vimana should fear rivals such as Ehang, who have already agreed highly publicised deals with the UAE government. “Every company in the space is making an effort towards colonising

the world’s last ocean – the skies,” Borisov said. “We believe cooperation is needed in the UAV space. The market is huge, and breakthrough technology will find its way to the market. The next three years will be a showcase for companies trying to find their way in the field. Our technology gives us performance that no other company in this class can deliver.” Borisov also went on to claim that UAVs will be in the skies much sooner than driverless cars. “We’ll see AAVs in the skies before we see self-driving cars on our roads,” he said. “With selfdriving cars, there are 100 times more obstacles to detect and avoid. UAVs have less obstacles to contend with; the manoeuvrability is easier, and they’re safer.” MAY 2018

EVENT

GISEC 2018

GISEC 2018: WHAT TO EXPECT Organised by Dubai World Trade Centre, the 2018 Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC) will run alongside Internet of Things Expo, under the umbrella of Dubai Future Technology Week, from 1st-3rd May.

upported by the Dubai Electronic Security Centre, Dubai Police, Smart Dubai, National Crime Agency and CSA Singapore, GISEC will highlight the importance of robust information security frameworks by addressing challenges on global cybersecurity vulnerabilities and threats against governments, industries and organisations across the region. Major online data breaches are constantly in the headlines. Whether it is personal information of end users, confidential corporate records or classified documentation being leaked or stolen and used surreptitiously, the collection and use of data online is a burning issue and increasing concern for many. Recently, it emerged that the data of 87 million Facebook users was accessed without their consent by political research company Cambridge Analytica during the

MAY 2018

2016 US Presidential elections to create targeted advertisements. This revelation has cost the tech giant more than $100 billion in market value. “Technology is a double-edged sword that brings opportunities and dangers,” said Ng Hoo Ming, deputy chief executive officer of operations for the Cyber Security Agency Singapore, who will address the 6th edition of GISEC. “Everyone – users, tech companies and governments – need to be mindful of its use. As users, we need to constantly equip ourselves with information about the risks we face before using an application. Technology companies also need to play their part to safeguard customers’ online experience and exposure. “Explicitly stating their company’s ethical code of conduct is a start. Adhering to it is critical and will be assuring to all. Governments can help to create a safe and trustworthy

cyberspace by implementing a sound regulatory framework for technology companies. This will help to spur new technology innovations that we can embrace with more confidence.” Hoo Ming’s views on regulation were echoed by Ali Rebaie, president of Rebaie Analytics Group, who will be taking the stage on day two of GISEC. “The major issue is that not all data provided by people is done so voluntarily,” Rebaie said. “You might voluntarily give your data to a social media network, but then there is information that is supplied passively, such as using location services or integrating data across devices. This massive data collection is leading to the de-contextualisation of people’s data. The data on platforms on social networks may well be re-used in very different contexts than you expect. There needs to be transparency, this has to be done on a notion of reciprocity.” www.tahawultech.com

EVENT

Network World Middle East Awards 2018

NETWORK WORLD AWARDS 2018 CNME once again honoured the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top networking talents from both vendors and end-users at the annual Network World Middle East (NWME) Awards.

ow in its ninth year, the Network World Middle East Awards has established itself as a major industry event that recognises and celebrates networking excellence. Held at the Habtoor Grand Resort and Spa, Dubai, the event placed the spotlight on organisations who have implemented technology innovations that produced measurable results in enabling the success of their businesses. This year, the CNME team enlisted a selection of proven technology experts as its judging panel, who know just what it means to deliver excellence as an end-user. Kumar Prasoon, CIO of Al Safeer Group, has been a proven regional expert in the retail industry, and has worked to enable the firmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s networks to accommodate a sophisticated applications suite that is helping the firm gain a unique understanding of its customers. Aliasgar Bohari, director of IT at Zulekha Hospitals, has been tasked with delivering a network that can help to support the needs of patients in life-or-death situations, while Ashith Piriyattiath has consistenty proven himself to be a regional digital leader as IT director at Al Masah Capital. 46

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www.tahawultech.com

MAY 2018

PRODUCTS Launches and releases

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH Brand: HTC Product: Desire 12

Brand: Intel Product: Core i9-8950HK The i9 is said to be Intel’s highest performing laptop processor to date, and is set to deliver “the best” gaming and content creation experience on the go. The new 8th Gen i9, i7 and i5 processors reportedly provide a 29% increase in overall performance compared to the 7th Gen i7 processor. Specifically designed to cater for gaming enthusiasts and content creators, it can also deliver up to 41% more frames per second in gameplay, and edit 4K video up to 59 percent faster than the previous generation. WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: The new processor will support Intel Optane memory, which is a “smart and adaptable system accelerator” to increase the performance and responsiveness of SATAbased storage technology, without compromising storage capacity.

MAY 2018

The 5.5-inch HTC Desire 12 and the 6-inch HTC Desire 12+ are both surprisingly slim and comfortable to hold despite their impressive, 18:9 edge-to-edge screens. Both models are offered in Cool Black and Warm Silver, and will later be unveiled in an all-new signature Royal Gold colour never seen on an HTC smartphone before. Paying tribute to the U11 series’ exquisite Liquid Surface, the HTC Desire 12 and HTC Desire 12+ incorporate a durable acrylic glass back surface. Each model comes with three SIM and microSD card slots so that users can easily expand storage while still running multiple SIMs for all social, browsing, and call requirements. The HTC Desire 12 is priced at AED729, while the HTC Desire 12+ retails for AED899.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: As a special offering for UAE consumers, those purchasing the HTC Desire 12 and the HTC Desire 12+ will reportedly get a bundle of complimentary accessories across select retail channels, including a free screen protector, transparent back cover, guaranteed 48-hour express service, and a 2-year warranty.

Brand: Pure Storage Product: AIRI Architected by Pure Storage and NVIDIA, AI-Ready Infrastructure (AIRI) is purposebuilt to enable data architects, scientists and business leaders to extend the power of the NVIDIA DGX-1 and operationalise AI-at-scale for every enterprise. With AIRI, cloud, enterprise and government organisations can “accelerate time-to-insight and bring new, impactful innovations to humanity, faster,” according to Pure Storage. AIRI is powered by FlashBladeTM and four NVIDIA DGX-1 supercomputers, delivering four petaflops of performance with NVIDIA Tesla V100 GPUs, which is said to provide a “powerful solution to speed up deployments at scale and

enable AI problem solving approaches to be dramatically simplified.” WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: AIRI is supported by the NVIDIA GPU Cloud deep learning stack and Pure Storage AIRI Scaling Toolkit, enabling data scientists to “jumpstart their AI initiatives in hours, not weeks or months,” according to the company. www.tahawultech.com

PRESENTS

8TH MAY, 2018

JUMEIRAH EMIRATES TOWERS HOTEL, DUBAI SPEAKERS

RAMKUMAR BALAKRISHNAN President Redington Value

ASIM ALJAMMAZ CEO AlJammaz Distribution

NIDAL OTHMAN Managing Director StarLink

NICHOLAS ARGYRIDES Chief of Sales and Deputy GM Mindware

HESHAM TANTAWI VP MENA Asbis Middle East

GARETH HANSFORD General Manager Gulf Software Distribution

FAYEZ IBBINI Managing Director Alpha Data

NEHUL GORADIA Co-Founder Enabler One

FARAH ANWAR Co-Founder Ashraf Electronics

SAVITHA BHASKAR COO Condo Protego

DHARMENDRA SAWLANI President Dubai Computer Group

SHAILENDRA RUGHWANI Managing Director Experts Computer

HURRY SEATS LIMITED REGISTER NOW AT www.tahawultech.com/marginbuilder/2018/ THE LARGEST REGIONAL EVENT FOR THE CHANNEL INDUSTRY Join the conversation and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss over 200 - Industry Experts, CEOs, Channel and Partner Managers, Business Heads, Integrators & Services Providers, IT Resellers and Speakers all driving discussion on pertinent issues, sharing ideas, networking and discovering solutions! Hear from companies such as Redington, Mindware, AlJammaz Distribution, Asbis Middle East, StarLink, Gulf Software Distribution, Alpha Data, Experts Computer, Enabler One, Dubai Computer Group, ENBD and many more. Discover, Identify and Optimise!

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THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

ubai’s futuristic ambitions are well versed across the globe. The World Economic Forum’s ‘Readiness for the Future of Production 2018’ report ranked the UAE as a “high potential” nation – and it’s no wonder. From flying taxis and driverless metros to robotic assistants in all walks of life, the city prides itself on transforming into one of the world’s smartest cities through the adoption of innovative technologies. I recently visited the Dubai Frame and was pertinently reminded of this vision. The 150-metre-high viewing deck gives a picture-perfect snapshot of Dubai’s origins by capturing a glimpse of the low-rise, souk-studded streets of Old Dubai. To the south of the Frame, gleaming skyscrapers and Sheikh Zayed Road encapsulate the city’s modern infrastructure and highend lifestyle. But what grabbed my attention the most was the neon-lit vortex tunnel 50

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that concludes the Frame tour, which portrays how the city will look 50 years from now through augmented reality displays in an Expo-pavilion style environment. Drone deliveries, autonomous vehicles and 3D-printed buildings look set to play key roles in this utopia of the future – particularly as 25 percent of buildings are expected to be 3D-printed by 2030. Artificial intelligence-powered body scanners that can detect physical ailments are also on display during the film, and automatically trigger prosthetic limbs to be 3D-printed to suit a patient’s needs. The film also suggests that prosthetic organs can be printed on demand. It’s been no secret in recent months that the RTA has been betting big on the future of transport in the emirate, and this certainly doesn’t go unnoticed in Dubai’s future. Twentyfive percent of journeys are expected to be conducted via self-driving means

by 2030, and the Hyperloop pods, which are set to reduce the travel time between Dubai and Abu Dhabi to just 12 minutes, are also in use during the film. Fifty years from now takes us to 2068, and in the words of Sheikh Mohammed – a quote which is displayed at the end of the ARexperience, “We may not live for a hundred years, but the products of our creativity can leave a legacy long after we are gone.” While some may be dubious about Dubai’s futuristic visions becoming a reality, one thing you can’t deny is its ambition, and I for one am excited. Dubai isn’t just chasing headlines – there is substance behind its plans that deserves commending, and this is now being recognised worldwide. It is important to remember that this is a nation that is less than 50 years old. But the progress that has been made in that time confirms that in the UAE, the future starts now. www.tahawultech.com

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