Computer News Middle East July-August 2019

ISSUE 329 | JULY-AUGUST 2019 TAHAWULTECH.COM

SMART DUBAI DATA CEO H.E. YOUNUS AL NASSER MICROSOFT UAE DATA CENTRES ORACLE MIDDLE EAST SVP OF BUSINESS APPLICATIONS GBM VP OF DIGITAL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS EITC CTO

THE EVOLUTION OF DATA STORAGE WESTERN DIGITAL ON HOW THEY’VE STEPPED UP TO MEET THE GROWING DATA STORAGE REQUIREMENTS IN TODAY’S DIGITAL ECONOMY

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The speed at which 5G will be deployed is highly dependent on the availability of 5G-enabled devices.”

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t is a great honour for me to be afforded the opportunity to pen my first editorial letter as the new Editor of Computer News Middle East.

The magazine is one of the most reputable and well-established B2B publications in the ICT industry following two decades of success.

I’m acutely aware of the daunting task of filling the shoes of the outgoing Editor James Dartnell, as he has rather large feet, but I’m excited about this new challenge, and confident through the help of my Deputy Editor, Giorgia Guantario, that we can maintain the market reputation and success of CNME. In this month’s combined issue of CNME, the cover feature charts the success of Western Digital, who have expanded their operations in an effort to meet the data storage demands in today’s everevolving digital economy.

Khwaja Saifuddin, Senior Sales Director at Western Digital, outlines the challenges many enterprises are facing in terms of how they manage their data storage efficiently, and why the area of surveillance has become one of their biggest markets.

In addition to this, we spoke to Chief Technology Officer at EITC, Saleem Al Blooshi to find out when 5G will become commercially available in the UAE. In a compelling interview, the CTO said that the speed at which 5G will be deployed is highly dependent on the availability of 5G-enabled devices.

Microsoft announced the launch of their first ever data centres in the Middle East, and we caught up with Mohammed Arif, Regional Director at Microsoft, in a bid to explore how these new data centres will help enterprises in the region to deliver digital transformation.

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CONTENTS

Advanced Computing Partner

Digital Innovation Partner

ISSUE 329 | JULY-AUGUST 2019

18 Western Digital Senior Sales Director

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GBM VP OF DIGITAL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

News CNME rounds up the biggest regional and global developments in enterprise technology, including Injazat MoU with Nuance Inc. and Emaar’s mission to boost business efficiency with Oracle Cloud.

22 Risks and rewards

Ali Al Nuaimi, Chief Commercial Officer at Injazat, explains why they are the ideal partner for organisations to achieve better customer experience by helping them progress in their digital transformation journey.

26 Manufacturers’ go-to digital player

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GOVTECH: SMART DUBAI DATA

Editor Mark Forker spoke to Terri Hiskey, VP of Product Marketing for Manufacturing at Epicor, in a bid to find out more about how the company aims to maintain its position as the ‘go-to player’ for mid-sized manufacturers seeking digital transformation.

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The comfort of Oracle Cloud Arun Khehar, Oracle Senior VP of Business Applications for the Middle East, Africa and India, discusses how the tech giant is supporting their regional customers in their journey to cloud.

30 Driving the 5G ecosystem CNME spoke to Saleem Al Blooshi, CTO, at EITC, to find out when 5G will become commercially available in the UAE, the challenges surrounding this technology, and the benefits it will bring for du customers.

46 The identity experts

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

Deputy Editor Giorgia Guantario sat down with Justin Doo, Territory Manager for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Okta to discuss the future of passwords, the importance of a Zero Trust approach and customers identity.

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NEWS

EMAAR PARTNERS WITH ORACLE TO BOOST BUSINESS EFFICIENCY

Arun Khehar, Oracle and Amit Jain, Emaar

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UAE-based real estate developer Emaar is driving a major digital transformation with Oracle Cloud Applications to modernise its core business processes.

The implementation will allow Emaar to drive integration and efficiency, scale operations easily, and nurture a future ready workforce to support the company’s expansion and future operations.

“As one of the world’s most admired, valuable and innovative real estate companies, Emaar is focused on growing its business success in two ways: first, by delivering unique products that appeal to a new generation of regional and international customers; second, by implementing a robust execution and delivery strategy,” said Amit Jain, Group CEO, Emaar.

According to Jain, investing in Oracle Cloud Applications will help Emaar achieve financial integration and increase their speed to market

by accessing real-time business performance. In addition, it will support their workforce planning strategy to attract and retain the best talent.

The new implementation is expected to increase productivity through automation and self-service with mobile application capabilities.

It will also enhance management visibility across all business operations for real-time performance measurement and analytics.

“New technologies are revolutionising decision-making and creating opportunities for CEOs, CFOs and their teams to scale their business, enter new markets and deliver exceptional customer experiences. This digital transformation initiative will help Emaar accelerate its growth strategy significantly,” said Arun Khehar, Senior Vice President – Business Applications, Middle East, Africa and India.

EMIRCOM BECOMES DELL TECHNOLOGIES TITANIUM PARTNER

UAE-based Emircom, one of the leading ICT solution providers in the Middle East, announced that it has been honoured with Titanium Partner status by Dell Technologies.

This status is reserved for partners demonstrating exceptional JULY - AUGUST 2019

capabilities, expert-level certifications and strong commitment to Dell Technologies and its market-leading portfolio of products and solutions.

The Dell Technologies Partner Program provides partners with the competitive advantage of Dell Technologies, enabling Emircom to do more business with transformational solutions. The evolved program provides simplified engagement to cross-sell and procure products and solutions across the Dell Technologies family of brands.

Mohamad Abou Zaki, CEO of Emircom said, “This partnership status is a testimony to our excellent service and unparalleled expertise which customers have grown to prefer and expect from us. In this age when customers are actively adopting and embracing digitisation, we know that

they want a partner that is more than an ICT provider and we strive to continue building strong relationships based on this understanding.”

Fady Richmany, Senior Director and General Manager - UAE, Dell Technologies said, “Organisations across all industries are no strangers to the paradigm shift sparked by digital transformation. At a time, when customers are influenced by choice, we are proud of the distinguished performance and quality service provided by Emircom, which makes them fully deserving of the Titanium Partner status. As businesses advance in their transformation journey, this recognition will enable Emircom to further enhance their approach, network and skills. As a result, they are able to deliver value to customers in new and innovative ways.” www.tahawultech.com

SOLARWINDS ANNOUNCES NEW IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT OFFERING SolarWinds, a leading provider of powerful and affordable IT management software, announced the release of SolarWinds® Service Desk, an IT service management (ITSM) offering that will empower IT professionals with a robust and easy-to-use service desk solution.

SolarWinds is expanding its capabilities in the space during a time of extreme importance for IT leaders. The ITSM market is forecasted to reach over $8.5 billion by 2023, according to IDC. Through the acquisition of market-leading ITSM solution Samanage earlier this year, SolarWinds has added a comprehensive, ITIL-compliant, cloud-based solution for companies of all sizes, helping them increase employee productivity and drive better business outcomes.

The company is working to help ensure smart, powerful, and affordable ITSM solutions are accessible to companies of all sizes and levels of IT maturity.

“IT service desks are a core solution every employee must interact with to get their jobs done each and every day,” said Doron Gordon, Senior Vice President, ITSM, SolarWinds. “As businesses make new strides in their digital transformation journeys, it’s essential their ITSM solution

Doron Gordon, Senior Vice President, ITSM, SolarWinds

can evolve with them and continue serving the needs of both the employees and the IT staff. For the first time, SolarWinds can offer a range of ITSM offerings, and put employee service offerings within the hands of IT pros from small businesses to large enterprises through SolarWinds Service Desk.”

INJAZAT SIGNS MOU WITH NUANCE INC.

(right) Khaled Al Melhi, CEO, Injazat

Injazat has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nuance Inc., an industry-leading provider of AI-powered solutions, to promote cloud-based speech recognition solutions in hospitals to enhance healthcare operations in the UAE. Using speech recognition technology, physicians will be able to www.tahawultech.com

record patient conditions accurately and efficiently, eliminating the need to manually document patient encounters and ultimately freeing up physicians’ time to focus on more meaningful interaction with the patient. Nuance’s cloud-based AI-powered Dragon Medical Direct provides the flexibility for physicians to update Electronic Health Records (EHRs) regardless of device and physical location.

Khaled Al Melhi, CEO, Injazat, said, “Healthcare is one of the most important sectors that is being disrupted by AI. Our partnership with Nuance shows our commitment to ensure the UAE is a forerunner in implementing AI-based solutions.

This solution facilitates better documentation that will help both doctors and patients in improving

the quality of healthcare provided in the UAE.” “Nuance has deep product integration with leading EHR vendors globally which provides physicians with an interoperable solution that optimises productivity levels and EHR functionality,” said Michael Clark, SVP and GM Provider Solutions, Nuance.

“Dragon Medical Direct seamlessly integrates into existing caregiver workflows and eliminates up to one hundred million clicks per day, enabling UAE healthcare providers to produce documentation up to 45 percent faster and capture up to 20 percent more relevant content.”

To support the launch and assist with compliance with patient privacy regulations, the solution is hosted by Injazat certified hosting infrastructures in the UAE. JULY - AUGUST 2019

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EVENT Microsoft Data Centres

THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA CNME REPORTS BACK FROM MICROSOFT GULF’S BIGGEST ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE YEAR, WHERE THE TECH GIANT REVEALED ITS MUCH-ANTICIPATED DATA CENTRES IN DUBAI AND ABU DHABI ARE FINALLY UP AND RUNNING. 8

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n the unspoken race between the Big Three public cloud providers to open data centres in the Middle East, Microsoft took the lead against Google and AWS as it announced two new UAE-based data centres will provide Azure and Office 365 to the region.

The announcement took place at the Burj al Arab, in Dubai on June 19th, where Microsoft executives, partners and media representatives came together to understand how the big news will affect the private and public sector.

Sayed Hashish, Regional General Manager at Microsoft Gulf said that this is “the dawn of a new era” in the UAE, which will drive digital transformation, economic growth and job creation.

He went on to explain the company’s tech intensity in the region has been built on three pillars: innovation, skills and digital transformation.

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Sayed Hashish, Regional General Manager, Microsoft Gulf

Hashish praised the Middle East as an area of deep innovation, one that Microsoft wants to be at the centre of. “We want to make sure that we are playing our part in delivering and

positioning the Middle East as an area of innovation. We don’t just consume here, we also innovate”, he said.

Talking about their partnerships with local organisations, Hashish www.tahawultech.com

His Excellency Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and Sayed Hashish, Regional General Manager, Microsoft Gulf

We want to make sure that we are playing our part in delivering and positioning the Middle East as an area of innovation.” said these are a key area of focus for Microsoft to deliver innovation and digital transformation.

“Our efforts on building skills are not just part of growing the community, it’s also very much towards our partners ecosystem.

That’s the key focus area for us because the partners are the ones that will make [our] changes a reality for you”, said Hashish.

Microsoft announced the plans to open the two new data centres back in March, in partnership with Emiratibased telecoms giant Etisalat.

At the event, Chief Business Officer at Etisalat, Salvador Anglada Gonzalez said the announcement was “great news” for the company because it feeds very well into Etisalat’s proposition.

“We are impressed with Microsoft with their transition to become a global cloud leader and are www.tahawultech.com

proud of our partnership”, Anglada Gonzalez said.

The UAE Minister of AI, His Excellency Omar bin Sultan Al Olama was also present at the event and delivered an insightful presentation on the significance of Microsoft’s announcement.

“There’s undoubtedly a shift taking place that will move us from a traditional way of life to a digital one.

It truly is an exciting time,” he said.

He suggested that the new cloud data centres in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, will empower enterprises in the Middle East to fully capitalise on the benefits that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will bring, and commended the US technology behemoth for the success they’ve enjoyed both in the Middle East, and globally.

Paul Lorimer, Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft O365, explained that data residency in the

UAE will help enable government organisations and enterprises to comply with in-country regulatory frameworks, while providing customers with the foundation for their digital transformation using local infrastructure at global scale.

Microsoft has also cemented their position in the country as the first cloud service provider in the UAE to achieve DESC’s Cloud Service Provider certification.

Moreover, Microsoft anticipates the cloud services delivered from the UAE will have a positive impact on job creation, entrepreneurship and economic growth across the region.

The International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that cloud computing and the Microsoft ecosystem is set to bring more than half a million jobs to the Middle East, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE between 2017 and 2022.

JULY - AUGUST 2019

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INTERVIEW

EMPOWERING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Microsoft Gulf

MOHAMMED ARIF, MODERN WORKPLACE & SECURITY – REGIONAL DIRECTOR AT MICROSOFT GULF, DISCUSSES THE IMPACT MICROSOFT’S NEW DATA CENTRES WILL HAVE FOR ENTERPRISES SEEKING TO ACHIEVE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND OUTLINED THE BENEFITS OF BUSINESSES BECOMING ‘MORE DIGITAL’.

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ICROSOFT HAS LAUNCHED THEIR FIRST EVER DATA CENTRES IN THE MIDDLE EAST IN THE UAE. CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO US HOW THESE NEW DATA CENTRES WILL HELP ENTERPRISES BECOME MORE DIGITALLY EFFICIENT AND SECURE? We launched Microsoft Office 365, many, many years ago across the world, and we’ve had rapid adoption.

We’ve now got millions and millions of customers globally. Our cloud services basically enable enterprises to become more efficient, and there has been an incredible adoption of cloud services over the years.

However, some specific industries have more rigid requirements when it came to compliance surrounding data residency.

For example, in the public sector, or the financial services industry, there is a need for that data to be housed and stored within the country. We’ve been

JULY - AUGUST 2019

receiving feedback over the years from customers, who have repeatedly expressed their desire to have data stored within the country as opposed to it being hosted overseas.

We took that message onboard and decided to invest in building data centres within these countries, so that the same customers can still

Our cloud services basically enable enterprises to become more efficient, and there has been an incredible adoption of cloud services over the years.”

leverage the power of the cloud.

However, now they get to tick one box that they always wanted, which is having data reside in the country, and that’s what the data centres will really help with. On top of this, we’re really hoping that customers avail of the chance to use our platform to do all the creative and innovative things they need to do by leveraging disruptive technologies like AI. THE UAE IS VERY PROGRESSIVE AND FORWARD-THINKING IN TERMS OF ITS APPROACH TO TECHNOLOGY. HOW IS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THESE NEW DATA CENTRES GOING TO HELP THE GOVERNMENT ACHIEVE ITS AREA 2071 OBJECTIVES? I think the speech delivered by H.E. Omar Al Olama, the UAE Minister of AI, was phenomenal. He really emphasised the importance of focusing on the fact that we need to ‘think bigger’. He echoed the www.tahawultech.com

Mohammed Arif, Modern Workplace & Security, Regional Director, Microsoft Gulf

comments made by our General Manager, who posed the question of whether customers really wanted to invest all the time and energy into building private data centres using commodity hardware versus the option of assigning the task to a large hyper-scale cloud vendor like Microsoft, which ticks all the boxes when it comes to security compliance.

This ultimately allows our customers to focus their time and energy on building other things that are more valuable to their business. We can help them empower their workforce to be more creative in a bid to better serve their end-users. I really think this is what the data centres are going to enable businesses to do.

For example, if you look at the public sector, data centres are going to allow them to leverage the cloud, which in turn will help them to remove a lot of the effort, time and focus in terms of managing their own infrastructure. www.tahawultech.com

YOU’VE ALREADY HIGHLIGHTED THE IMPORTANCE OF DATA RESIDENCY TO MANY ORGANISATIONS IN THE UAE. HOW IS MICROSOFT GOING TO ENSURE THEIR DATA IS SAFE AND SECURE? We’ve got over 100 data centres across the world, and they’re all built on three key principles. The first principle is security. We want to ensure that anyone who entrusts us with their data is comfortable in the knowledge that it’s in the most secure place possible. The second principle is privacy, and it really is an important topic for us, as a company, we want to ensure that we respect the privacy of our customers as well as our customers’ customers. The third principle is compliance. We are wholly committed to ensuring that we meet all the global and local privacy standards.

One major announcement we made recently was we’re now the first cloud vendor to be certified by the Dubai Electronics Security Center (DESC).

That really enables the public sector

to come to us, and say we want to leverage Microsoft Office 365 or Azure, because I know that it’s certified

by DESC. The Microsoft data centres are enabling the private sector to finally leverage the power of the cloud in a compliant and secure manner.

CAN YOU OUTLINE TO US WHAT YOUR PRIMARY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ARE AT MICROSOFT? I must admit that my role is quite exciting, as I get to lead what we call the modern workplace and security business. Essentially, I get the opportunity to speak directly to customers and partners about how they can be more productive, efficient and more secure in the way in which they work using the latest and most innovative technologies. This includes technologies like Office 365, Windows 10 and our Enterprise Management Suite. It’s my responsibility to help our customers and partners to work much more productively and securely.

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INTERVIEW UiPath

AUTOMATION FIRST ATTITUDE Karan Dixit, Vice President of Sales, Middle East and Africa, UiPath.

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HAT APPROACH TO RPA DO YOU SEE FROM ORGANISATIONS IN THE REGION? The Middle East is a strategic region for UiPath and one that is really at the forefront of the “Automation First” vision. Companies and organisations here are now seeking solutions to increase their efficiency, profitability and competitiveness. Given the macroeconomic environment, companies are eager to upskill their teams to more value adding and creative contributions rather than limit them to handling enormous volumes of data, complete countless repetitive and mundane tasks under time pressure. In the region, the very progressive government visions are transitioning us into digital nations, and this has translated into government organisations themselves being receptive towards the advantages JULY - AUGUST 2019

KARAN DIXIT, VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA AT UIPATH, EXPLAINS WHY AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS ARE A MUST FOR ANY ORGANISATION THAT STRIVES TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY, EFFICIENCY AND WORKPLACE SATISFACTION.

of using RPA and introducing a digital workforce. The big strides UiPath has made since settling in the region less than 18 months ago speak for the readiness of the region, and the visionary approach of both public and private institutions.

WHAT IS THE PROCESS UIPATH GOES THROUGH WITH ORGANISATIONS WHO ARE THINKING OF IMPLEMENTING RPA? As soon as we hear from organisations of their interest in implementing UiPath’s automation solutions, teams from UiPath and our partners engage in better understanding the pain areas and how we can address with an “Automation First” attitude. Although there is only one UiPath platform, the needs from customers are so diverse, and our multidisciplinary team will tackle in a very tailored manner. Together with

the teams involved in developing the automation project, which typically include business management and IT representatives, they will assess the processes for their suitability to being automated. Once the organisation has successfully completed the pilot phase, and is keen to continue their digital transformation, the next step is setting up a Robotic Operation Center (ROC). Essentially centers of excellence, ROCs are dedicated to gather people whose roles are to ensure the longterm governance of RPA projects.

Holding positions such as RPA Solution Architect, RPA Business Analyst or RPA Structure Engineer, these are just a few examples of the new type of jobs created by the advance of RPA. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS THE HOT TOPIC OF THE MOMENT, WITH MANY ORGANISATIONS THINKING OF IMPLEMENTING THIS www.tahawultech.com

TECHNOLOGY. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF DOING SO AND HOW DOES AUTOMATION COME INTO PLAY? We at UiPath no longer talk about RPA alone, but see our automation solutions as a technology ecosystem that always includes Artificial Intelligence.

Although the advance of RPA has been tremendous, for many it has become apparent that RPA needs an ally when tackling more complex processes, like calculating or predicting outcomes.

That is why, for us evolving towards an automation solution that creates a unified RPA and AI experience, such as UiPath’s AI Fabric, was a natural step. This delivers an end-to-end AI/ML skill deployment and management within the UiPath RPA platform. We at UiPath believe that the road to AI is via RPA led automation and we are seeing this successfully being deployed at multiple locations.

HOW CAN ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION DRIVE A NEW ERA OF PRODUCTIVITY, EFFICIENCY AND WORKPLACE SATISFACTION? Automation is bringing to the workplace a change so profound that we, as a company, have always been aware of our transformative mission since our early days. Thinking back to computers and their introduction to the workplace - nowadays there isn’t an office worker that doesn’t use one. We truly believe the next revolution in the workplace will be driven by the arrival of software robots and as our CEO and co-founder Daniel Dines put it, we want to give one robot to every person to help them with their daily tasks and free them from the burden of boring, repetitive tasks.

This makes the job more creative and engaging, and our customers’ employees are reporting excitement from working alongside software robots. These are error free, work 24/7, don’t take holidays or sick days, and www.tahawultech.com

are dealing with large volumes of tasks at a rapid speed, which not only increases a business efficiency, but also boosts customers trust and satisfaction.

instance, our clients, both enterprises and public sector agencies which take a longterm commitment towards automation, set up ROCs which represent the go-to place for in-house RPA expertise. The Robotic Operating Team brings together RPA engineers, developers and RPA change managers.

We have also seen many companies actually increasing their teams where RPA is deployed as the teams freed from mundane activities, now spend time doing more decision making, analysis and improving customer experience.

We want to give one robot to every person to help them with their daily tasks and free them from the burden of boring, repetitive tasks.”

THERE IS A LONGSTANDING DEBATE REGARDING AUTOMATION BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT IT MAY HAVE ON THE WORKFORCE. DO YOU THINK RPA WILL LEAD TO JOB LOSSES? Several months ago, a report from the World Economic Forum was forecasting that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will create more than 60 million jobs in the next years.

Whilst automation is not replacing jobs, but tasks, there are industries that are more at risk than others.

From the outset, the founders of UiPath have taken responsibility for the transformative impact of the automation industry and have put in place ways to counteract. UiPath Academy is a free online platform offering training for the jobs of the future: RPA Business Analyst, RPA Developer, RPA Solution Architect, etc.

Anyone in the world has free access to these. Additionally, we’ve created the UiPath Academic Alliance program pledging to train one million students in automation from one thousand schools in the next three years. We are preparing our youth for the workplace of the near future.

Additionally, what our experience has shown us is that RPA has so far led to the creation of new jobs by bringing to organisations new roles that support RPA implementation. For

CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT SOME OF UIPATH’S REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS? UiPath has been quite humbled by the adoption and acceptance it has received in the Middle East. A multitude of local ICT companies have seen the challenges that their customer face and have become certified partners.

This has allowed us to present to our customers a vibrant and skilled channel ecosystem. One of the most exciting elements has been that our partners have taken the platform and have now started to build their own IP on top to address local and regional challenges.

We have focused intensely on local skills development and have launched our Academic Alliance program and you will be hearing a lot on this in the coming days. With major customers such as Etisalat, Landmark, STC, EGA in addition to many banks, retail, healthcare, government and other sectors that are now deploying UiPath at scale, we are truly excited about what we can achieve together.

JULY - AUGUST 2019

13

INTERVIEW GBM

ACCELERATING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION GBM VICE PRESIDENT OF DIGITAL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS CHERIF MORCOS DISCUSSES THE WAYS ORGANISATIONS CAN MOVE FORWARD IN THEIR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY AND HOW GBM CAN SUPPORT CUSTOMERS IN THIS PROCESS. Cherif Morcos, Vice President of Digital Business Solutions, GBM

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RECENT WHITEPAPER CONDUCTED BY IDC AND GBM REVEALED THAT BETWEEN 2018 AND 2022, ITRELATED SPENDING ON DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WILL TOUCH $7.5 TRILLION. HOW SHOULD REGIONAL BUSINESS ADAPT TO THIS NEW DIGITAL ERA TO MAKE SURE THEIR INVESTMENTS WILL PROVE BENEFICIAL? In the Gulf region we are seeing a growing number of customers who are increasingly focused on their digital transformation journey.

However, the adoption of “emerging” technologies such as AI or Blockchain is still slow, especially in the private sector. These technologies are still in the phase of proving their business value to local, as well as global, organisations. As we progress into the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, we will see more adoption of these JULY - AUGUST 2019

technologies. We are at a crossroad, there are less disruptors in the region and more adopters. According to the IDC’s CIO Survey 2018, 53 percent of large enterprises in the Gulf countries are currently undergoing digital transformation. While the local markets have seen disruptor successes such as Careem or the late Souq.com, I believe we are still in the middle of the adoption phase with surprising leap frogging in some industries. This environment creates big opportunities for GBM. We can take our customers to the next-level of their digital transformation journey.

It’s very important to us to also be able to show them the capabilities of the solutions we offer. While we depend on our strategic partners in their development of these major themes and notions, at GBM we are able to transform these notions into real solutions, solving our customers’ real business challenges. Having been

in the region for over 29 years we are closer to these businesses. This is why in the past year we have been focusing and investing in reinventing our portfolio of solutions and our routes to market to provide actual industry content to solve day-today business problems for our customers, rather than just reselling the technology.

THE AFOREMENTIONED WHITEPAPER EXPLAINS ORGANISATIONS ARE STUCK IN A “DIGITAL DEADLOCK”. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN AND HOW CAN GBM HELP THEM TO OVERCOME THIS ISSUE? There is a major shift in the digital economy that is sweeping all markets, and more so in the Middle East. Software is no longer sold as a package, but rather as a solution to a business problem. This means that the more customers embrace www.tahawultech.com

digital transformation, the more they rely on Digital Solutions to solve their business challenges. GBM works with organisations at all levels of maturity, whether they are already embracing digital transformation, or just starting to explore it. Our main focus is to make sure customers can get to the next-level in their business journey and stay relevant in the market. IDC estimates that globally nearly 60 percent of organisations are stuck in the lower stages of digital maturity.

In light of this, we understand that to help our customers we need to bring together different technologies from a multitude of vendors, in order to be able to build solutions that can help customers apply the strengths of digital economy to their businesses.

YOU HAVE MENTIONED MANY ORGANISATIONS ARE STUCK IN THE LOWER STAGES OF DIGITAL MATURITY. HOW CAN THESE BUSINESSES TAKE THE NEXT STEP IN THEIR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY? There are many entry points to move forward in digital transformation.

As we look more at our customers’ needs, I think it’s clear that their data is at the centre of everything they do.

Whether you look at transformation from the customer facing side, or all the way down to the infrastructure, organisations take all their decision based on their data.

This is why I would urge any organisation on a digital transformation journey to have a look at their data and to create an information architecture for their whole organisation. This is clearly not an easy task – GBM offers the methodologies and technologies to www.tahawultech.com

help customers through this process.

We can take our customers on an information architecture journey because we understand that the main disruptors and top-players in the market are currently monetising data.

This is where the markets are heading and GBM is focusing and investing heavily in this area. We believe that an information architecture is key to this, especially for businesses that would like to start using technologies such as artificial intelligence to drive better insights and decision making.

Studies show that less than one percent of data produced is analysed and more than 80 percent of the available data is unstructured.

Imagine the possibilities of information and knowledge if this data is captured, organised, and analysed in addition to the 20 percent of structured data.

to their own customers in return. This is supported by processes that are more or less automated. When we talk to businesses in the region, we focus on two things: operational efficiency and enhancing revenues – so top and bottom line discussions. Automation comes into play to enhance operational efficiency. Many of our customers have processes that are not well integrated, not streamlined and not automated. In many cases human resources are also misused. One of the main concerns with automation and Robotic Process Automation is obviously the impact on people’s jobs. This is why we help them understand that automation does not necessarily mean job losses, but rather transforming employees' responsibilities.

Studies suggest that 50 percent of jobs that will arise over the next ten years have not yet been created.

There’s always been a challenge to increase efficiency while keeping people’s jobs, but we can automate processes to do manual jobs that might not need a person’s skillset – I think as human beings we can do so much more than push a button every two minutes. This is not different from the industrial revolution of the last century. Having automated processes doesn’t mean humans will become

With the technology we have in hand, we have enough proof that sharing, integrating and externalising data doesn’t have to be a risk for your organisation.”

ONE OF THE THREE ELEMENTS TO ACCELERATE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION MENTIONED IN THE WHITEPAPER IS AUTOMATION. HOW DOES GBM HELP THEIR CUSTOMERS IMPLEMENT AUTOMATED AND OPTIMISED PROCESSES? We look at helping our customers from various angles – one of them is the digital automation that we can offer to them and that they can offer

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15

INTERVIEW GBM superfluous. The multitude of jobs won’t reduce, it will change in nature.

GBM is helping customers with Design Thinking methodologies to solve their business challenges, to improve their current processes and applications, while modernising them, automating them and adding AI to them, when it makes sense.

Moreover, operational efficiency is not only about reducing the number of resources needed, but also about making them faster and more efficient and secure. This level of efficiency cannot happen without some kind of automation in the background.

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I think as human beings we can do so much more than push a button every two minutes.”

EARLIER THIS YEAR SMART DUBAI CONCLUDED PHASE ONE OF THEIR PAPERLESS STRATEGY, WHICH AIMS TO BUILD AN INTEGRATED GOVERNMENT FRAMEWORK TO GO FULLY PAPERLESS BY THE END OF 2021. HOW CAN GBM HELP DUBAI GOVERNMENT ACHIEVE THIS VISION? As I have mentioned before, 80 percent of data is still unstructured, and this poses a challenge for the public and private sector alike. The UAE government is very progressive in this regard. There are two main elements to any paperless strategy: capturing physical paperwork and digitising new transactions. In my experience, I have seen governments spending more money in creating physical archives for old paperwork, than to digitally capture new ones.

Dubai government is embracing a JULY - AUGUST 2019

positive shift with this strategy – they clearly understand the benefits of digitising all new transactions.

GBM is a strong player in this area. We have our own Content Management asset and we have recently added enhanced security to it thanks to the latest blockchain technology. As this notion picks up more and more, one of the main concerns will be in fact ensuring the integrity and security of each transaction.

We are investing greatly to provide this level of security to our customers in the public and private sector.

SECURITY IS INDEED A BIG CONCERN FOR MANY ORGANISATIONS, SPECIFICALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR DATA. WHAT IS GBM’S APPROACH TO YOUR CUSTOMERS’ DATA SECURITY NEEDS? As discussed, a key component

for successful ROI of a digital transformation journey is the usage of data both internally and externally. We’ve seen that one of the inhibitors of data integration is the sharing element of data.

This was already a big concern for many eGov initiatives and private sectors earlier this century, and the consequences of a security breach could prove even more catastrophic now. GBM applies strong encryptions, methodologies and data ciphering technologies to ensure a high level of security for our customers. We are proud to have the right technologies to provide organisations with a strong data governance program. We are able to show them how to secure their data and how to securely share it. With the technology we have in hand, we have enough proof that sharing, integrating and externalising data doesn’t have to be a risk for your organisation. www.tahawultech.com

REDEFINING technology transformation

+971 4 440 9100

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Khwaja Saifuddin, Senior Sales Director Middle East, Western Digital

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www.tahawultech.com

COVER FEATURE Western Digital

THE DATA STORAGE EVOLUTION CNME SPOKE TO KHWAJA SAIFUDDIN, SENIOR SALES DIRECTOR FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AT WESTERN DIGITAL, TO DISCUSS HOW WD HAS STEPPED UP TO MEET THE GROWING DATA STORAGE REQUIREMENTS IN TODAY’S DIGITAL ECONOMY. 19

Customers who buy our plug-and-play products, such as ‘My Passport’, our external storage solutions, can benefit from a 128bit encryption” www.tahawultech.com

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ATA HAS BEEN BRANDED AS THE NEW OIL IN TODAY’S DIGITAL ECONOMY AND ITS GROWTH HAS BEEN FASTER THAN EVER BEFORE. HOW HAS THIS IMPACTED WESTERN DIGITAL? As a matter of fact, I think it was someone at Western Digital who coined the phrase. This is because we believe we are making the best ‘barrel’ for this oil. Oil flows and it’s impossible to monetise unless you harness it and put it in a barrel – data works in the same way. The biggest change for us is where organisations and individuals are using data. This can pose some limits, but it also opens new horizons. A decade

ago, we perceived data as Excel worksheets, PowerPoint, numbers, or digital pictures to a certain extent.

Today data is communication, your history, your memory, even currency.

Data has become the foundation of everything that happens around us every day – that’s the biggest change we have seen in the way we, and the world, perceive data.

ONE OF THE MAIN CONCERNS WITH DATA IS SECURING IT CORRECTLY. WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH TO DATA SECURITY WITHIN DATA STORAGE SOLUTIONS? Customers who buy our plug-andplay products, such as ‘My Passport‘, our external storage solutions, can JULY - AUGUST 2019

COVER FEATURE Western Digital

benefit from a 128-bit encryption, as well as a free, preloaded backup solution. We must keep in mind that accidents do happen – while obviously no one should be able to access your data in the unfortunate case you lose your drive, it’s also important to understand that data is irreplaceable, and a back-up solution is always necessary.

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MORE AND MORE ORGANISATIONS ARE IN THE PROCESS OF, OR HAVE ALREADY MOVED THEIR DATA TO THE CLOUD. DOES THE FUTURE OF DATA STORAGE LIE IN CLOUD OR DO YOU SEE OTHER SOLUTIONS BECOMING PREDOMINANT IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS? The way I personally look at it, cloud is mainly a place where you can replicate your data. In this sense, cloud is more of a convenience rather than a shift from the way data is created, accessed and shared. Cloud just makes it easier to share and access data because you don’t have to carry your hard drive everywhere. However, it’s fair to say that data shared on the cloud is usually just public or corporate data, very rarely it’s personal. This is because over the past few years we have witnessed a lot of personal data breaches in the cloud. In light of this, we offer personalised cloud solutions, so that your data remains within your premises. This cloud solution is installed into a customer’s house so that they will be able to access it from anywhere just using their internet connection, without having to pay a subscription fee.

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WESTERN DIGITAL HAS GONE THROUGH AN IMPORTANT M&A PHASE IN THE PAST YEARS. HOW HAS THIS CHANGED YOUR PORTFOLIO? Our latest acquisitions have made us the only vendor that can offer such a varied range of products. This has opened a lot of opportunities, but it has also increased the responsibility we have towards our customers. Our offering ranges from a one terabyte microSD, which is smaller than the nail of your thumb, to the highest-end cloud and enterprise solutions. While having these end-to-end solutions opens new business opportunities, it also means our customers expect the highest level of service to receive everything they need from us. We have stepped up to meet this challenge and we always strive to fully support our customers.

BESIDES SECURITY, WHAT OTHER CHALLENGES DO ORGANISATIONS ENCOUNTER WHEN IT COMES TO DATA STORAGE AND HOW CAN WESTERN DIGITAL HELP THEM OVERCOME THEM? The biggest challenge is educating customers to understand that when it comes to data storage, one size does not fit all. This is why we have different products for different verticals and needs. For example, in surveillance, data is written 24/7, 365 days, but it’s only read if needed. On the other hand, the banking industry sees more data being read than written. You clearly can’t have one solution to fit all these applications. We are constantly trying to educate customers, and even regulating bodies, to have very specific standards based on needs. Similarly, we also aim www.tahawultech.com

Our offering ranges from a one terabyte microSD, which is smaller than the nail of your thumb, to the highest-end cloud and enterprise solutions.”

to educate our customers to make sure they adopt the latest and newest technologies like SSD vs Hard disk drives if they need faster read and write.

THIS PAST APRIL YOU EXPANDED YOUR PORTFOLIO IN SAUDI. HOW HAVE THINGS PROGRESSED SINCE THEN? We are the oldest vendor present in Saudi Arabia. Earlier this year we launched some new products regarding our external SSDs, and our gaming and surveillance portfolios.

It’s been a good story so far – Saudi is one of the largest consumer-driven markets, so we also tried to educate and inform consumers, not only about new products, but also about the features and benefits this refreshed portfolio will offer them. www.tahawultech.com

LOOKING AHEAD AT 2020, WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS IN TERMS OF NEW MARKET OPPORTUNITIES? In the UAE, and across the Middle East in general, we are currently working on a new range of products, but also on educating partners. It’s important to understand that we don’t offer a transactional product – as I mentioned one size does not fit all. This is why every quarter we focus on a specific country wholeheartedly: just like we did in Saudi a few months back, last week we were in Lebanon educating and informing partners and consumers. We are planning on continuing this in the next quarter as well. In 2020, our key focus will be on emphasising and revisiting this message to make sure we take our customers’ happiness and satisfaction to the next level.

WHAT INDUSTRIES DO YOU WORK WITH THE MOST AND WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THIS IS THE CASE? Overall, we work with all industries, but some tend to have higher requirements than others. For

example, the surveillance sector is one of our largest customers mainly because it generates so much data 24/7. They need more and more storage capacity, especially as now they are also required to retain data for much longer. Similarly, from a consumer perspective, the gaming sector is our biggest customer because of the amount of data generated daily.

WHAT MAKES YOUR OFFERING UNIQUE COMPARED TO YOUR COMPETITORS? The main differentiator between us and our competitors is definitely our vast range of products. This is also based on the quality and commitment we offer to our customers. We have a very strong local presence that goes beyond the Western Digital team – it includes our channel partners, our distributors, and it delivers the ease of approaching that every other vendor is missing. We have been in the Dubai market for over two decades and we are always present for our customers.

FINALLY, WHAT ARE YOUR PRIMARY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AS SENIOR SALES DIRECTOR FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AT WESTERN DIGITAL? I manage the Middle East market across our brands. We are no longer just WD, we also have brands like SanDisk, G-Tech, UpThere, as well as our enterprise solutions under the Western Digital brand. My responsibility is to make sure that we are the name to be reckoned with when it comes to storing any digital content.

JULY - AUGUST 2019

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22

Ali Al Nuaimi, Chief Commercial Officer, Injazat

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www.tahawultech.com

INTERVIEW Injazat

RISKS AND REWARDS ALI AL NUAIMI, CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER AT INJAZAT, A MUBADALA COMPANY, EXPLAINS WHY THE GOVERNMENTOWNED COMPANY IS THE IDEAL PARTNER FOR ORGANISATIONS TO ACHIEVE BETTER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE BY HELPING THEM PROGRESS IN THEIR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY.

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HE EMERGENCE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES HAS FORCED MANY INDUSTRIES TO EMBRACE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN ORDER TO STAY RELEVANT AND INTOUCH WITH THE EVER-EVOLVING DEMANDS OF CUSTOMERS. CAN YOU OUTLINE THE ROLE INJAZAT PLAYS IN HELPING COMPANIES ACHIEVE THEIR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION GOALS AND OBJECTIVES? Injazat has a large customer base covering many different sectors, from healthcare to defense, utilities and financial services. Digital disruption has been very challenging for all industries, but the key differentiator between them is the level of maturity and readiness across public and private organisations. Injazat plays a critical role as a digital enabler and trusted advisor to support our clients in starting or progressing in their digital transformation journey. We www.tahawultech.com

do this by helping them to adopt a truly holistic approach, including both traditional technology and process elements and, more importantly, the people and change management dimension – often the most critical barriers for many companies.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO US IN DETAIL HOW INJAZAT HELPS ENTERPRISES ENHANCE THEIR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE OFFERING THROUGH DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION? We sit down with enterprises and we help them in three main ways. First of all, we provide customers with a clear and agnostic overview of the quickly evolving technology landscape, as well as the capability to effectively assess different vendors marketing technology solutions that have the potential to transform the customer experience (AI, VR/AR, BI, etc.). We also help our clients identify and prioritise the pain points and “frictions” experienced by their own clients in their customer

journey. Once we have identified their challenges and needs, we can provide a unique mix of advisory, solutioning, implementation and operational capabilities and assets.

Injazat offers customers end-toend, single accountability in any digital transformation projects aimed at transforming the customer experience.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS A TERM THAT HAS BECOME PREVALENT ACROSS ALMOST EVERY MAJOR INDUSTRY GLOBALLY. HOWEVER, MANY ENTERPRISES HAVE BEEN RESISTANT TO CHANGE, AND HAVE SHOWN AN UNWILLINGNESS TO OVERHAUL ITS OPERATIONS DESPITE MARKET DEMANDS. WHAT RISKS DO BUSINESSES SKEPTICAL OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION TAKE BY NOT EMBRACING NEW TECHNOLOGIES? From a revenue point of view, enterprises who stays idle and do not embrace digital transformation JULY - AUGUST 2019

23

INTERVIEW Injazat

are forced to cut prices and focus on a reduced segment of the market, causing a progressive erosion in margins and slower growth rates.

At the same time, they will have to find a space in a highly competitive digital market. Over the past years we have seen the breakthrough of digital-native competitors entering the market with a completely new business model, like in the case of Uber, and disrupting entire industries.

On top of that those incumbents who have been faster and more aggressive in adopting a digital strategy in the battle against new entrants will also pose a risk for enterprises who are not embracing new technologies.

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INJAZAT HAS FIRMLY ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS A MARKET LEADER IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, DATA CENTRES AND MANAGED SERVICES. IN YOUR EXPERT OPINION, WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS THAT DIFFERENTIATES INJAZAT FROM ITS COMPETITORS? First and foremost, the level of trust public and private organisations can extend to Injazat based on its long track-record, government-owned status and vendor-independent approach to solutioning. Second, the capability to be a true strategic partner for major digital transformation projects and digital ventures. We are willing to share both risks and rewards with our clients. Injazat is able to timely deploy the level of resources and investments required from our clients. This is possible because we are uniquely positioned to take end-to-end responsibility from idea generation through solutioning, implementation and operation.

JULY - AUGUST 2019

Injazat offers customers end-to-end, single accountability in any digital transformation projects aimed at transforming the customer experience.”

CAN YOU HIGHLIGHT TO US WHAT ARE THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS IN INJAZAT’S DIGITAL STRATEGY ROADMAP? Injazat’s Digital Strategy roadmap has three main pillars: First, expanding our Digital Business Advisory and Digital Ventures practice and capabilities, also through collaboration with strategic partners Second, developing a range of new solutions and services addressing our client’s most pressing and urgent needs and priorities through a pragmatic and agile adoption of Emerging Technologies Finally, leverage Injazat’s InCloud platform to host and provide access to the rising number of new Emerging Technologies solutions being added to Injazat’s portfolio across three main domains – AI, IoTs, Blockchain.

DO YOU HAVE ANY MAJOR PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE THAT YOU’RE GOING TO ANNOUNCE IN THE FORTHCOMING FEW MONTHS? We have signed a strategic longterm partnership which will enable our clients to generate significant savings, to re-invest in accelerating their transformation program. We have also recently been awarded a

landmark project to revolutionise the traditional concept and customer experience of a visitor to a public space by integrating their physical and digital journeys.

WHAT ARE YOUR PRIMARY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AS CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER AT INJAZAT? As Chief Commercial Officer, I head up the Sales, Customer Relationship and Marketing and Communications teams.

Injazat thrives on innovation and we have great teams full of talented individuals from a range of disciplines.

One of the key areas that I take care of is building agile, high performing organisations and teams.

Our partners and customers are extremely important to us, of course, and we work hard to create a culture of collaboration. We want to enable Injazat teams to form deep relationships with key partners, as the organisation moves clients forward on their path to digital transformation.

I personally oversee over 50 accounts and numerous executives and managers, and I act as an adviser to the C-Suite and other top executives across business platforms on priority issues and challenges. www.tahawultech.com

WHERE THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY MEET

10th September 2019 | Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai 8.30AM -1.30PM (Networking Lunch provided) Complimentary Event for the IT Industry

ABHIJIT MAHADIK

Director - Cyber Security Business UAE & KSA, Raqmiyat LLC

JALEEL B RAHIMAN

IT Director, Prime Healthcare Group

KAISER H. NASEEM

Advisor, MENA Fintech Association

SACHIN CHANDNA

Head of Customer Lifecycle Management & Digital Marketing, Emirates NBD

Evolve Digital Transformation Forum, scheduled to take place on the 10th September at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Dubai, will address the exciting merger of business with the future of technology, where it’s going and how it can help you. It will help you discover how technology innovation can drive your business transformation and unlock new business opportunities.

ENG. SARA ABDELWAHAB OSMAN

Internal Auditor and Network Engineer, Abu Dhabi Police GHQ

SUNIL VARKEY

CTO & Strategist – Emerging Region, Symantec

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PARTNER

Join more than 150 business and IT decision makers from the public and private sectors, who will share their journey on implementing strong cyber security strategies, adopting new technologies that effectively manage and process data and offer real examples of AI implementation including challenges and successes.

DIGITAL INNOVATION PARTNER

STRATEGIC VAD PARTNER

Panel Topics at this year’s event include: • Examining the Transformative Power of AI • Driving Better Business Insights with Big Data and Analytics • Making Cyber Security Risks your Business Confirmed Speakers included so far: • Abhijit Mahadik - Director - Cyber Security Business, UAE & KSA, Raqmiyat LLC • Jaleel B Rahiman - IT Director, Prime Healthcare Group • Kaiser H. Naseem - Advisor, MENA Fintech Association • Sachin Chandna - Head of Customer Lifecycle Management & Digital Marketing, Emirates NBD • Eng. Sara Abdelwahab Osman - Internal Auditor and Network Engineer, Abu Dhabi Police GHQ • Sunil Varkey - CTO & Strategist – Emerging Region, Symantec • Tatiana F. Labaki - E25 Partner – Strategic Projects, Emaar Properties PJSC • Stay tuned, more speakers to come!

TATIANA F. LABAKI

E25 Partner – Strategic Projects, Emaar Properties PJSC

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INTERVIEW Epicor

MANUFACTURERS’ GO-TO DIGITAL PLAYER EDITOR MARK FORKER SPOKE TO TERRI HISKEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF PRODUCT MARKETING FOR MANUFACTURING AT EPICOR, IN A BID TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOW THE SOFTWARE LEADER AIMS TO MAINTAIN ITS POSITION AS THE ‘GO-TO PLAYER’ FOR MID-SIZED MANUFACTURERS SEEKING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION.

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PICOR IS RECOGNISED AS AN INDUSTRY LEADER IN TERMS OF HOW IT IS HELPING MANUFACTURERS ON THEIR QUEST FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION. CAN YOU TELL ME HOW THE LATEST VERSION OF THE EPICOR ERP IS ENABLING THE ‘CONNECTED ENTERPRISE’?

I’m very excited, because the latest version of the solution includes Epicor IoT, which is now embedded into the product, as well as EVA, which is our Epicor virtual agent, which provides the

What we need to focus on is figuring out how we can automate things, so we can do more with less” JULY - AUGUST 2019

artificial intelligence. I’ve been talking a lot about digital transformation, and Industry 4.0 - and I’ve been explaining why manufacturers need to think about having an ERP system that can leverage these technologies. However, this is really the first time that our product has these features embedded into it.

So now it’s not a matter of a manufacturer having to take Epicor ERP, and then figure out how to plug these new technologies into their product. If they invest in the latest version of the product, they’ll get that in there, and that’s a real game changer, especially for small and midsized companies, that might not have the financial muscle, or IT team to do that for them.

Now they have a product with that technology embedded inside of it, that they can start to use and test to really figure out how best they can use these technologies to their benefit.

YOU’VE ALREADY HIGHLIGHTED HOW THE INTRODUCTION OF THIS PRODUCT IS A ‘GAME CHANGER’

FOR MANUFACTURERS. HOWEVER, DO YOU STILL FACE RESISTANCE FROM SOME MANUFACTURERS WHO ARE SKEPTICAL OVER THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES, AND ARE WARY OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION? It really is a generational issue. It’s fair to say that a number of those involved in manufacturing are of an older generation, and that can be problematic when dealing with new technologies. They can be very resistant to change, and wary of these disruptive technologies.

When we introduced EVA for example, which is our AI-based virtual agent, a lot of the manufacturers we spoke to told us, “that’s a very cool technology, but I don’t think I’ll ever use it.” However, when we showed the same technology to the new generation coming into the manufacturing workforce, their response was totally different.

They could see the benefits of EVA, because they’re already familiar with using this type of technology on their www.tahawultech.com

Terri Hiskey, Vice President, Product Marketing for Manufacturing, Epicor

smartphones on a day-to-day basis, so there is generational dynamics at play. The younger generation gets it right away, whereas the older generation might not have been exposed to these technologies, so it’s probably natural for them to be both wary and skeptical of them.

CAN YOU PROVIDE US WITH SOME DETAILS OF THE OTHER INNOVATIONS EPICOR HAS LAUNCHED, AND CAN YOU OUTLINE TO US HOW THE APPLICATION OF THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND SOLUTIONS ARE HELPING ENTERPRISES TO BECOME MORE COMPETITIVE IN TODAY’S INDUSTRY 4.0 WORLD? I would say one of the biggest investments we’ve made, and again this is a generational thing, is that we’re investing a lot of time and money into revamping and overhauling our user interface through this Kinetic Design system.

We did this in a bid to make it more modern, to make it fresh - and to www.tahawultech.com

make it usable across any device, whether it’s your mobile or your tablet.

This was something our customers told us they wanted when we reached out to them for feedback, especially amongst the workforce coming in. They were informing us that they were looking at ERP screens that were ten years old or more, and that you could only access them on the computer that they got assigned in the manufacturing shop, and this was a huge problem.

We quickly discovered that if the younger generation is involved in the decision-making process, then they don’t want to use old technology.

We’ve invested a significant amount of capital into just making the product more aesthetically pleasing and modern.

AI IS EXPECTED TO IMPROVE HUMAN LIVES. HOWEVER, MANY THOUGHT LEADERS REMAIN SKEPTICAL ON AUTOMATION, AND FEAR THE INTEGRATION OF AI INTO MANUFACTURING WILL LEAD TO MULTIPLE JOB DISPLACEMENT ON A GLOBAL SCALE. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THOSE EXPRESSING CONCERNS OVER THE FUSION OF ROBOTS AND PEOPLE INTO MANUFACTURING? It’s a very interesting topic. However, from talking to our manufacturers, their biggest pain point across the board is replacing their workforce.

When I hear this narrative that people are worried that workers are going to be displaced from manufacturing through the advent of AI, how does

that correlate with the fact that manufacturers are worried most about not having enough workers to be able to meet their output? We’re part of a customer advisory board, which basically entails executives from our biggest manufacturing clients having a forum to express and relay some of their biggest concerns to us, and I was surprised to hear that one of the biggest problems they’re encountering, is a declining workforce.

What we need to focus on is figuring out how we can automate things, so we can do more with less, and we know that AI can take people away from manual tedious jobs - towards more strategic and rewarding ones.

EPICOR WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1972 AND HAS ENJOYED PHENOMENAL SUCCESS IN THE 47 YEARS SINCE ITS INCEPTION. WHAT HAS BEEN THE SECRET TO THAT LONGEVITY, AND WHAT ULTIMATELY DIFFERENTIATES YOU FROM YOUR COMPETITORS? I think our deep industry expertise is what truly differentiates us from our rivals. At Epicor, we have people that have grown up with the same manufacturers we still have as customers 30 years later. They know those businesses inside and out, and they know those manufacturing processes inside and out, so I think one differentiator is just the deep knowledge that Epicor has within its own employee base. I think the other key differentiator for us is our focus on small to mid-sized manufacturers. There are a lot of companies out there, including startup manufacturers that simply can’t afford the end-to-end solutions of some of the higher priced enterprise companies. We have experts in-house that will enable you to get on your journey faster - the journey towards digital transformation.

JULY - AUGUST 2019

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FEATURE Oracle

THE COMFORT OF ORACLE CLOUD DEPUTY EDITOR GIORGIA GUANTARIO SAT DOWN WITH ARUN KHEHAR, ORACLE’S SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS APPLICATIONS FOR THE MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA AND INDIA, TO DISCUSS HOW THE TECH GIANT IS SUPPORTING THEIR NEW AND EXISTING REGIONAL CUSTOMERS IN THEIR JOURNEY TO CLOUD.

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n recent years, CIOs and IT decision-makers in the region have been facing increasing pressure to meet the new and ever-changing requirements of the digitised world.

The IDC predicted that by 2022, more than 60 percent of global GDP will be digitised, with growth in every industry driven by digitally enhanced offerings, operations, and relationships. Those who fail to take on the digital transformation challenge risk seeing two-thirds of their addressable market vanishing by 2022.

In this fast-paced environment, organisations are constantly looking for innovative solutions that are flexible, scalable, and secure – and cloud seems to be the answer to their needs.

Driving the transition to the cloud across all enterprise segments and industries is no easy task, but cloud provider Oracle has risen to the challenge to deliver the necessary level of comfort their customers need to move forward in their journey to the cloud.

“Back in February we opened the Abu Dhabi data centre because we believe it was the natural progression

JULY - AUGUST 2019

for us and our customers. We recognised a huge potential in the region – customer needs were changing and having data stored in the region became part of their digital journey checklist. We knew that in order to complete that checklist we had to invest in regional data centres.

This allowed us to give them, and our partners, an increased level of comfort to transition to the cloud,” told us Arun Khehar, Senior Vice President of Business Applications for the Middle East, Africa and India at Oracle.

With over twenty years of business leadership experience, Khehar believes Oracle is in a very unique

position to help CIOs overcome the many different challenges that have arisen in the past five years.

“The market and investments have changed profoundly.

Organisations used to spend a lot of money to update old infrastructures just to keep the lights running. End-users would get the short end of this. This old model has now changed: endusers expect newer applications, faster implementation and lower cost of ownership. If in the past speed of implementation was no issue, now every second counts to keep afloat. On top of this, security has also become a major focus. Because of the extreme customisation of

Oracle has the most complete cloud offering out there.

With our unique ability to deliver solutions at every layer of the cloud stack, SaaS, IaaS, DbaaS and PaaS – they can tackle digital disruption head on.”

www.tahawultech.com

Arun Khehar, Senior Vice President – Business Applications, Middle East, Africa and India, Oracle.

old on-premise, organisations had to deal with a growing number of security holes. In light of these factors, having a clear cloud strategy has become the most viable solution, has become all providers have what it takes to meet the end-user’s needs.

Oracle has the most complete cloud offering out there. With our unique ability to deliver solutions at every layer of the cloud stack, SaaS, IaaS, DbaaS and PaaS – they can tackle digital disruption head on. We understand every organisation has different needs, and we have the capabilities to deliver accordingly. We provide a very unique level of comfort and flexibility to new and existing customers.”

Change is inevitable, according to Khehar. 77 percent of Oracle new business in the region is on the cloud, and the SVP expects this number to reach a hundred in the next two to three years.

“Nowadays retailers have to be as digitally advanced as the telecoms or IT industry, and this applies to all industries. When we look at some of our customers, this is very clear.

“Real estate developer Emaar has been one of our customers for many www.tahawultech.com

years, but as they kept on growing, so did their and their shareholders’ needs and expectations. We sat down with them and spent months analysing what they had, what they needed, and how to meet their new requirements.

While some years ago companies took baby steps in cloud implementation, now companies like Emaar understand that an end-toend implementation delivers the highest value, and Oracle is capable of providing that.”

REGIONAL INNOVATORS The launch of the Abu Dhabi data centre has greatly supported the UAE’s strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but even before that, Oracle had been part of government’s initiatives in the country for over twenty years, and Khehar recognises how lucky the company is to work in the region.

“In this part of the world being innovative is taken for granted. Rulers and ministers are innovators themselves and are always on the lookout for new technologies that will improve their citizens’ lives and the country overall.

“We work very closely with the government and understand their vision. We constantly make sure they understand our technologies and what’s available to meet their expectations. We help them fill any gaps they may have by implementing IoT, AI, Blockchain and security into their plans. One of the key contributors to realising this is our ‘Zayed Innovation Hub’ – the hub has now trained 500 Higher Colleges of Technology students who will be able

to drive the country’s private and public sector forward with a better understanding of new technologies.”

THE MULTI-CLOUD REALITY In a bid to optimise cost and leverage existing investments, many organisations have embraced the opportunity to access a multi-cloud strategy for their business – and Oracle is well aware of this.

“We have recently announced a collaboration with Microsoft to interconnect Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud. This is a great opportunity for our customers. It allows them to capitalise on their investments even more. We recognised that some of our customers were also using Microsoft Azure and vice versa, so it was important to us to make sure we could provide a higher investment value to them.

“Multi-cloud is the reality of today’s world – unlike others, we are able to offer it to our customers. It’s enhancing the relationship we have with them and I am sure it will soon become a much bigger enhancement for them.”

A GLOBAL OUTLOOK Landmark Group, Apparel Group and Fine Hygienic Holding are just a few of Oracle’s growing number of customers leveraging the power of Oracle Cloud. These all have one thing in common, says Khehar – their role as global players in their industries.

“Our customers in the region have transformed their businesses and have expanded beyond the Middle East – this is only possible with an IT strategy running on the cloud.

“Nowadays they just need a browser and internet connection to run Oracle Cloud. It’s an amazing shift for them in terms of investment and it enhances the relationships and trust they have in our offering.”

JULY - AUGUST 2019

29

INTERVIEW EITC

DRIVING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM CNME SPOKE TO SALEEM AL BLOOSHI, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, AT EITC, TO FIND OUT WHEN 5G WILL BECOME COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE IN THE UAE, THE CHALLENGES SURROUNDING THE DEFINITION OF 5G USE-CASES, AND THE BENEFITS NEXT-GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES WILL BRING FOR DU CUSTOMERS.

30

E

ITC ANNOUNCED AMBITIOUS PLANS TO DEPLOY AROUND 700 5G-ENABLED BASE STATIONS

BY THE END OF 2019, WHICH WOULD ENSURE IT WOULD BE ONE OF THE FIRST OPERATORS IN THE WORLD TO PROVIDE 5G SERVICES IN 2019. ARE YOU STILL ON TRACK TO MAKE 5G COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE THIS YEAR? We’ve been rolling out our commercial 5G since early Ramadan.

On June 12th, we launched 5G in distributed locations in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We are adding new sites every day, and we have now over 100 sites across the two locations out of the 700 5G-enabled base stations we planned to have live by the end of 2019. The target of deploying 700 5G sites is dependent on the pick-up and adoption of 5G-enabled smartphones. The first 5G device that is commercially available is the

JULY - AUGUST 2019

Saleem Al Blooshi, Chief Technology Officer, EITC

www.tahawultech.com

ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G smartphone.

We were the first to make the ZTE handset commercially available in the UAE. Currently 5G - powered handset manufactured by Huawei, the Mate 20X is available to our customers, whilst Samsung is expected to launch their 5G devices in August.

In addition to this, Huawei announced that the UAE will be the first international market that it launches its 5G handsets, so based on the availability of the handsets, now that ZTE, Huawei and Samsung all have 5G devices in the UAE market, we believe that September will be a good time for us to check the status of the market. We believe that there will be a significant adoption in 5G handsets from consumers in the country, and we’re projecting that we will accelerate our rollout of 5G as a result. As I’ve already highlighted the target of 700 5G sites was from our Q1 plans for 5G in 2019, if customers adopt 5G handsets as we project them to do, then we’ll reach that target in Q4.

However, as I’ve stressed this is all dependent on market dynamics.

WHAT IMPACT WILL THE COMMERCIAL DEPLOYMENT OF 5G SERVICES HAVE FOR EITC CUSTOMERS? WE KNOW 5G WILL REDUCE LATENCY AND ENHANCE THE CONSUMPTION OF DIGITAL CONTENT FOR CONSUMERS, WHAT OTHER TANGIBLE BENEFITS WILL IT PROVIDE? The deployment and maturity of next-generation technologies will deliver three variables, which are higher speeds, latency and Internet of Things. However, at this stage of the 5G standardisation process, the only aspect it is currently delivering on is in relation to speed. It’s very important that we set the right expectation for customers as we continue to rollout our 5G infrastructure and www.tahawultech.com

technologies. We’re currently using non-standalone 5G, which relies on the existing 4G networks. So there hasn’t been an independent implementation of 5G. 4G remains the underlying technology.

We expect that by the end of 2020, the standard bodies will be ready with the standardisation of standalone 5G. When the standalone 5G becomes available that’s when we’ll be able to utilise the capabilities of the three variables we already discussed which are latency, connected devices and speed. There are two challenges surrounding 5G and one of them is defining the use-cases. What killer application is going to be created that monetises the high throughput and the lower-latency capabilities of 5G? It’s obviously not clear at this stage and that’s why many operators are reluctant to over invest in their 5G infrastructure until concrete use-cases emerge.

We have so many creative minds and ambitious entrepreneurs that we know they’re going to utilise the capabilities of 5G. We had the exact same discussion

We’re currently using non-standalone 5G, which relies on the existing 4G networks.

So there hasn’t been an independent implementation of 5G. 4G remains the underlying technology.”

when leveraging investment in 4G. The dynamics in relation to how we engineer the networks are continuously evolving and we expect 5G to go through the same life cycle as 4G. EITC ENJOYS A CLOSE PARTNERSHIP WITH CHINESE ICT VENDOR HUAWEI. HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR COLLABORATION WITH HUAWEI, AND WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS ON THEIR TREATMENT AT THE HANDS OF THE US? From a technology perspective, Huawei has the competitive advantage. They’re the leading vendor globally in terms of developing 5G solutions and that is a fact. However, we’re also working with other ICT vendors such as Nokia, and they have a clear roadmap on how to bridge the gap to Huawei. Obviously, there’s been a huge amount of publicity surrounding Huawei due to the current trade war between the US and China. However, for us it’s business as usual with Huawei in the UAE. We have not seen any security threats from Huawei and we’ve got a specialised security team within du that regularly and robustly tests our networks. When we implement new technologies like 5G, we send our engineers to the manufacturing entities’ labs to inspect the hardware from an end-to-end perspective in a bid to identify whether there are any abnormalities in the system.

This is also the case internationally, with the UK announcing recently that it hadn’t detected any security concerns with Huawei. For us it’s business as usual, and we strongly value our partnership with Huawei. However, if Huawei was exposed as a security risk, our 5G aspirations would be largely unaffected as we work in a multi-vendor environment and have close collaborations with Nokia, Ericsson and ZTE. JULY - AUGUST 2019

31

10th September 2019 Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai, UAE

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GovTech JULY-AUGUST 2019 TAHAWULTECH.COM

DATA ‫البيانات‬ ً FIRST ‫أوال‬ PUBLICATION LICENSED BY DUBAI PRODUCTION CITY, DCCA

GovTech Smart Dubai Data Challenge

DATA FIRST CNME ATTENDED THE LAUNCH OF SMART DUBAI’S “DATA FIRST, THE CITY’S DATA CHALLENGE”, WHERE H.E. YOUNUS AL NASSER, CEO OF SMART DUBAI DATA, EXPLAINED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHALLENGE TO ACHIEVE HIGHER COMPLIANCE WITH DUBAI DATA LAW AND TO CREATE A MORE INSIGHTFUL CITY.

34

T

he financial possibilities of data economy aren’t a secret to anyone. Data is now a form of capital and the race to produce the most unique and valuable data sets is in full swing in both the private and public sector.

Traditionally, each government entity used to have its own data platform, but Dubai Pulse is where they can all finally come under one highly secure and efficient platform.”

JULY - AUGUST 2019

No one is more aware of this shift than Dubai government. In 2017, a research conducted by KMPG for Smart Dubai revealed that “by 2021, open and shared data has the potential to add 10.4 Billion Dhs to the economy every year.”

In light of this astonishing number, Dubai’s aim to be the world’s best-connected, smartest and happiest city is firmly underpinned by Smart Dubai Data (SDD), established in 2016 as a subsidiary of Smart Dubai by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE. The SDD was created with the intention of enforcing Dubai Data Law, Law No (2) of 2016, as well www.tahawultech.com

H.E. Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General of Smart Dubai and CEO of Smart Dubai Data

as establishing and managing the structure for the data that comes under the Law and carrying out any activity in regard to this.

One of these activities is the new data challenge Smart Dubai launched between government and semi-governmental entities on July 14th.

“Data First, The City’s Data Challenge”, a six-month-long challenge that brings together Smart Dubai’s government and semi-government data partners, aims to increase the valuable data available to government entities and to recognise those that have made the most contributions in terms of providing their respective entities data to the Dubai Pulse platform. www.tahawultech.com

“This challenge has many benefits – it will push the adoption of one single platform to exchange information between all government entities, as well as driving and nurturing data economy and moving towards becoming a more insightful city”, said His Excellency Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General of Smart Dubai and CEO of Smart Dubai Data.

Al Nasser explained that one of the main goals of the challenge is to accelerate the level of compliance of government entities with Dubai Data Law. “So far, we have raised the number to 45 percent, but we aim to reach 70 percent by the end of 2019 and 100 percent compliance with Dubai Data Law from all government entities by 2021.

“By having most of the city’s data available on one single platform, the program will accelerate the availability of information, as well as the compliance of these entities. This will also build a data culture within those organisations to understand that data is first whenever it comes to decision making, to be more efficient and to drive a new economy for Dubai”, said Al Nasser.

Dubai Pulse, the central web platform ideated by Smart Dubai and du, will play a pivotal role in the challenge.

Since its launch in 2017, the digital operating system has aimed to serve as the central platform for “providing computing and storage services, core analytic services as well as Big Data services, for use of various entities in Dubai for the purpose of utilising data to enhance the way of living for all of Dubai’s residents and visitors,” as explained on the portal.

“One of the purposes of Dubai Pulse is to be a data exchange platform between government entities. Traditionally, each government entity used to have its own data platform, but Dubai Pulse is where they can all finally come under one highly secure and efficient platform.

“So far, we have categorised more than 400 data sets on it, but we want to increase this number and the JULY - AUGUST 2019

35

GovTech Smart Dubai Data Challenge

36

number of entities that will contribute to this. We focused the challenge on government and semi-government entities because we need to boost the majority first. Our goal is to increase the availability and quality of information, as well as decreasing the time it takes to access this information. We aim to be the only trusted source of Data in Dubai,” said Al Nasser.

The challenge requires government entities to ingest a minimum of five data sets a month onto Dubai Pulse for a chance to win. Sara Al Zarooni, Director of Data Management and Compliance Affairs at Smart Dubai Data delivered an insightful presentation to the many “data champions” who attended the launch of the challenge.

“We don’t want [organisations] to ingest any type of open data sets in Dubai Pulse, they should all go through a prioritisation process first.

The ultimate goal is not to increase the number of data sets, but to increase the value these data sets will deliver.

“Each entity needs to assess their data sets and understand the value of each of them, after that they will be able to understand what should be ingested into Dubai Pulse first.

Data sets should serve the whole community and the prioritisation process should be based on demand,” said al Zarooni.

The purpose and usage of Dubai Pulse to this date is highly dependent on users and leaves much of the decisions regarding ingestion rate JULY - AUGUST 2019

H.E. Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General of Smart Dubai and CEO of Smart Dubai Data and H.E. Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, Director General of the Smart Dubai

and prioritisation to them. Al Nasser hopes this will encourage government entities to participate in the challenge in order to benefit from the sharing of data.

“Dubai Pulse is dependent on the data that is being ingested from government entities, but entities should cater to requests from other entities as well. As an example, an entity might agree to ingest and update a particular data set on a quarterly basis. However, if another entity was to request for such data to be updated more often, then this request should be fulfilled by the entity ingesting the data.”

Government and semi-government entities participating in the challenge will be assessed based on five different criteria: compliance with the Dubai Data Law; participation with Smart Dubai data events; collaboration on data requests from other government and semi-

government entities; participating in each ingestion cycles; and support for a data-driven culture through internal and external workshops and awareness programmes. www.tahawultech.com

Data is at the centre of many other pioneering initiatives by Smart Dubai, including the Paperless Strategy, now in phase two of its implementation.

Smart Dubai aims to make Dubai completely paperless by 2021 to guarantee a more seamless and impactful digitised experience for each individual.

“In order to build this improved digitised journey for all citizens we require all the necessary data. In the Data First challenge, we definitely have prioritised some of the data sets that are necessary to implement the Paperless strategy and other smart city strategies.

“We also believe that having full compliance from all government entities with Dubai Data Law and providing us with more data will also accelerate the journey of Dubai towards celebrating its last paper transaction in December 2021,” said Al Nasser.

The Smart Dubai Data CEO also hopes to extend the challenge to the private sector in the future, in order to benefit from a wider variety of data sets that could help Dubai become the smartest and happiest city in the world.

We aim to be the only trusted source of Data in Dubai”

Al Zarooni explained protecting the data is also fundamental to the successful realisation of the challenge.

“We want to maximise and share the data on Dubai Pulse, but on the www.tahawultech.com

other hand we also need to protect it. One of the criteria is to be a Data Champion, to change internal cultures to be more data-driven while also ensuring the security of the data.”

JULY - AUGUST 2019

37

‫ستلعب "نبض دبي"‪ ،‬منصة الويب املركزية‬ ‫التي تشتهر بها ‪ Smart Dubai‬و ‪ ، du‬دورًا‬ ‫محور ًيا يف هذا التحدي‪ .‬ومنذ إطالقه يف عام‬ ‫‪ ، 2017‬يهدف نظام التشغيل الرقمي إىل أن‬ ‫يكون بمثابة منصة مركزية "لتوفري خدمات‬ ‫الحوسبة والتخزين‪ ،‬والخدمات التحليلية‬ ‫األساسية‪ ،‬وكذلك خدمات البيانات الكبرية‪،‬‬ ‫الستخدام مختلف الكيانات يف دبي بغرض‬ ‫استخدام البيانات يف تعزيز طريقة العيش‬ ‫لجميع سكان دبي وزوارها "‪ ،‬كما هو موضح‬ ‫عىل البوابة‪.‬‬

‫سعادة‪ .‬يونس الناصر ‪ ،‬مساعد المدير‬ ‫العام ‪ Smart Dubai‬والرئيس التنفيذي‬ ‫في ‪Smart Dubai Data‬‬

‫وأحد هذه األنشطة هو تحدي البيانات‬ ‫الجديد الذي أطلقته "دبي الذكية" بني‬ ‫الجهات الحكومية وشبه الحكومية يف ‪14‬‬ ‫يوليو ‪.2019‬‬

‫"تحدي البيانات ً‬ ‫أوال ‪ ،‬تحدي بيانات‬ ‫املدينة"‪ ،‬وهو تحد ملدة ستة أشهر يجمع‬ ‫شركاء بيانات حكومة دبي وشبه الحكومة‪،‬‬ ‫يهدف إىل زيادة البيانات القيمة املتوفرة‬ ‫للجهات الحكومية واالعرتاف بالجهات‬ ‫التي قدمت أكرب املساهمات من حيث توفري‬ ‫بيانات الكيانات الخاصة بكل منها إىل منصة‬ ‫نبض دبي‪.‬‬ ‫قال سعادة يونس الناصر‪ ،‬مساعد مدير عام‬ ‫دبي الذكية والرئيس التنفيذي لبيانات دبي‬ ‫الذكية‪" :‬هذا التحدي له العديد من الفوائد‬ ‫ سيدفع اعتماد منصة واحدة لتبادل‬‫املعلومات بني جميع الكيانات الحكومية ‪،‬‬ ‫باإلضافة إىل القيادة وتنمية اقتصاد البيانات‬

‫‪www.tahawultech.com‬‬

‫والتقدم نحو أن تصبح مدينة أكرث ً‬ ‫ثراء"‬ ‫وأوضح الناصر أن أحد األهداف الرئيسية‬ ‫للتحدي هو تسريع مستوى امتثال الجهات‬ ‫الحكومية لقانون بيانات دبي‪.‬‬ ‫"لقد رفعنا النسبة حتى اآلن إىل ‪ 45‬يف املائة‪،‬‬ ‫لكننا نهدف إىل الوصول إىل ‪ 70‬يف املائة‬ ‫بحلول نهاية عام ‪ 2019‬وامتثال ‪ 100‬يف‬ ‫املائة لقانون بيانات دبي من جميع الجهات‬ ‫الحكومية بحلول عام ‪.2021‬‬ ‫وقال الناصر‪" :‬من خالل إتاحة معظم‬ ‫بيانات املدينة عىل منصة واحدة ‪ ،‬فإن‬ ‫الربنامج سوف يسرع من إتاحة املعلومات‪،‬‬ ‫وكذلك امتثال هذه الكيانات‪ .‬كما سيؤدي‬ ‫هذا ً‬ ‫أيضا إىل بناء ثقافة بيانات داخل تلك‬ ‫ً‬ ‫املنظمات لفهم أن البيانات تأيت أوال عندما‬ ‫يتعلق األمر باتخاذ القرارات‪ ،‬لتكون أكرث‬ ‫كفاءة وتحفيز االقتصاد الجديد لدبي "‪.‬‬

‫"أحد أغراض نبض دبي هو أن تكون منصة‬ ‫لتبادل البيانات بني الجهات الحكومية‪، .‬‬ ‫تجري العادة أن يقوم كل كيان حكومي‬ ‫بامتالك منصة بيانات خاصة به‪ ،‬لكن نبض‬ ‫دبي هو املكان الذي يمكن فيه أخريًا أن‬ ‫ً‬ ‫جميعا لنظام أسايس آمن للغاية‬ ‫يخضع‬ ‫وفعال‪.‬‬ ‫وقال الناصر‪" :‬نهدف إىل أن نكون املصدر‬ ‫الوحيد املوثوق للبيانات يف دبي‪ ،‬حتى اآلن‬ ‫‪ ،‬قمنا بتصنيف أكرث من ‪ 400‬مجموعة‬ ‫بيانات عىل ذلك ‪ ،‬لكننا نريد زيادة هذا‬ ‫العدد وعدد الكيانات التي ستساهم يف ذلك‪.‬‬ ‫ركزنا التحدي عىل الجهات الحكومية وشبه‬ ‫الحكومية ألننا نحتاج إىل تعزيز األغلبية ً‬ ‫أوال‪.‬‬ ‫هدفنا هو زيادة توافر املعلومات وجودتها ‪،‬‬ ‫باإلضافة إىل تقليل الوقت املستغرق للوصول‬ ‫إىل هذه املعلومات"‪.‬‬ ‫يتطلب التحدي من الجهات الحكومية‬ ‫استيعاب ما ال يقل عن خمس مجموعات‬ ‫بيانات شهر ًيا عىل نبض دبي للحصول عىل‬ ‫فرصة للفوز‪ .‬حيث قدمت سارة الزرعوين‪،‬‬ ‫مديرة شؤون إدارة البيانات واالمتثال يف‬ ‫ً‬ ‫عرضا تقديميًا‬ ‫‪، Smart Dubai Data‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫عميقا للعديد من "أبطال البيانات" الذين‬ ‫حضروا إطالق التحدي‪.‬‬

‫وقالت الزرعوين‪" :‬ال نريد للمنظمات‬

‫‪JULY - AUGUST 2019‬‬

‫‪38‬‬

‫جوف تك‬ ‫دبي الذكية تخوض تحدي البيانات‬

‫ً‬ ‫البيانات أوال‬ ‫حضرت ‪ CNME‬مؤتمر إطالق برنامج مدينة دبي الذكية‬ ‫الجديد "البيانات ً‬ ‫أول‪ ،‬تحدي املدينة للبيانات"‪ ،‬حيث أوضح‬ ‫سعادة يونس الناصر ‪ ،‬الرئيس التنفيذي لبيانات دبي‬ ‫الذكية‪ ،‬أهمية التحدي املتمثل يف تحقيق مستوى أعىل من‬ ‫االمتثال لقانون بيانات دبي وإنشاء مدينة أكرث ثرا ًء‪.‬‬

‫‪39‬‬

‫العوائد‬

‫املالية القتصاد‬ ‫البيانات ليست سرًا‬ ‫بالنسبة ألي أحد‪ ،‬حيث أن البيانات اآلن هي‬ ‫شكل من أشكال رأس املال والسباق إلنتاج‬ ‫مجموعات البيانات الفريدة والقيمة عىل‬ ‫قدم وساق يف القطاعني العام والخاص‪.‬‬

‫ال أحد يدرك هذا التحول أكرث من حكومة‬ ‫دبي‪ .‬ففي العام ‪ ، 2017‬كشف بحث أجرته‬ ‫‪ KMPG‬لـ ‪ Smart Dubai‬أنه "بحلول عام‬ ‫‪ ، 2021‬سيكون للبيانات املفتوحة واملشرتكة‬ ‫القدرة عىل إضافة ‪ 10.4‬مليار درهم إىل‬ ‫االقتصاد كل عام‪".‬‬ ‫ويف ضوء هذا الرقم املذهل‪ ،‬فإن هدف دبي‬ ‫هو أن تكون أفضل مدينة يف العالم وأكرثها‬ ‫ً‬ ‫ذكاء وأسعدها‪ ،‬تدعمه بقوة بيانات دبي‬ ‫الذكية (‪ ،)SDD‬التي تأسست عام ‪2016‬‬ ‫كشركة تابعة لـ دبي الذكية من قبل صاحب‬ ‫السمو الشيخ محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم‬ ‫نائب رئيس الدولة ورئيس الوزراء‪.‬‬

‫تجري العادة أن يقوم كل كيان حكومي بامتالك‬ ‫منصة بيانات خاصة به ‪ ،‬لكن نبض دبي هو المكان‬ ‫ً‬ ‫ً‬ ‫الذي يمكن أن يخضعوا فيه جميعا أخيرا لنظام‬ ‫أساسي آمن للغاية وفعال‬ ‫‪JULY - AUGUST 2019‬‬

‫تم إنشاء بينات دبي الذكية بقصد تطبيق‬ ‫قانون بيانات دبي‪ ،‬القانون رقم (‪ )2‬لعام‬ ‫‪ ،2016‬باإلضافة إىل إنشاء وإدارة هيكل‬ ‫البيانات التي تأيت بموجب القانون والقيام‬ ‫بأي نشاط يف هذا الصدد‪.‬‬

‫‪www.tahawultech.com‬‬

‫من الجهات الحكومية وشبه الحكومية‬ ‫األخرى ؛ املشاركة يف كل دورات االبتالع ؛‬ ‫ودعم ثقافة تعتمد عىل البيانات من خالل‬ ‫ورش العمل الداخلية والخارجية وبرامج‬ ‫التوعية‪.‬‬ ‫وأوضحت الزرعوين أن حماية البيانات أمر‬ ‫أسايس لنجاح هذا التحدي‪ ،‬حيث قالت‪:‬‬ ‫"نريد زيادة وتبادل بيانات نبض دبي إىل‬ ‫أقىص حد ‪ ،‬ولكن من ناحية أخرى نحتاج‬ ‫ً‬ ‫أيضا إىل حمايتها‪ .‬أحد املعايري هو أن تكون‬ ‫بطل البيانات ‪ ،‬لتغيري الثقافات الداخلية‬ ‫لتكون أكرث تحر ًّكا للبيانات مع ضمان أمن‬ ‫البيانات ً‬ ‫أيضا‪" .‬‬

‫سعادة‪ .‬يونس الناصر ‪ ،‬مساعد المدير العام‬ ‫‪ Smart Dubai‬والرئيس التنفيذي في ‪Smart‬‬ ‫‪ ، Dubai Data‬وسعادة‪ .‬الدكتورة عائشة بن بشر‪،‬‬ ‫مدير عام ‪Smart Dubai‬‬

‫الحكومية عىل املشاركة يف التحدي من أجل‬ ‫االستفادة من تبادل البيانات‪.‬‬ ‫يعتمد نبض دبي عىل البيانات التي يتم‬ ‫الحصول عليها من الكيانات الحكومية ‪،‬‬ ‫ولكن يجب عىل الكيانات تلبية الطلبات‬ ‫املقدمة من الكيانات األخرى ً‬ ‫أيضا‪ .‬عىل سبيل‬ ‫املثال ‪ ،‬قد يوافق كيان ما عىل استيعاب‬ ‫وتحديث مجموعة بيانات معينة عىل أساس‬ ‫ربع سنوي‪ .‬وعىل أي حال ‪ ،‬إذا طلب كيان‬ ‫آخر تحديث هذه البيانات يف كثري من األحيان‬ ‫‪ ،‬فينبغي تلبية هذا الطلب بواسطة الكيان‬ ‫الذي يستوعب البيانات‪" .‬‬ ‫سيتم تقييم الجهات الحكومية وشبه‬ ‫الحكومية املشاركة يف التحدي ً‬ ‫بناء عىل‬ ‫خمسة معايري مختلفة‪ :‬االمتثال لقانون‬ ‫بيانات دبي ؛ املشاركة يف فعاليات بيانات‬ ‫دبي الذكية ؛ التعاون بشأن طلبات البيانات‬

‫‪www.tahawultech.com‬‬

‫تقع البيانات يف قلب العديد من املبادرات‬ ‫الرائدة األخرى من قبل دبي الذكية ‪ ،‬بما‬ ‫يف ذلك اسرتاتيجية بال أوراق ‪ ،‬وهي اآلن يف‬ ‫املرحلة الثانية من تنفيذها‪ .‬تهدف دبي الذكية‬ ‫إىل جعل دبي بال أوراق بالكامل بحلول عام‬ ‫‪ 2021‬لضمان تجربة رقمية أكرث سالسة‬ ‫وفعالية لكل فرد‪.‬‬ ‫"من أجل بناء هذه الرحلة الرقمية املحسنة‬ ‫لجميع املواطنني‪ ،‬نحتاج إىل جميع البيانات‬ ‫الالزمة‪ .‬ففي تحدي ‪ ، Data First‬قمنا‬ ‫بالتأكيد بإعطاء األولوية لبعض مجموعات‬ ‫البيانات الالزمة لتنفيذ اسرتاتيجية بال أوراق‬ ‫وغريها من اسرتاتيجيات املدن الذكية‪.‬‬ ‫وختم الناصر‪" :‬نعتقد ً‬ ‫أيضا أن امتثال‬ ‫جميع الهيئات الحكومية لقانون بيانات دبي‬ ‫وتزويدنا بمزيد من البيانات سيعجل ً‬ ‫أيضا‬ ‫برحلة دبي نحو االحتفال بمعاملتها الورقية‬ ‫األخرية يف ديسمرب ‪."2021‬‬ ‫كما يأمل املدير التنفيذي لشركة ‪Smart‬‬ ‫‪ Dubai Data‬يف مد التحدي إىل القطاع‬ ‫الخاص يف املستقبل‪ ،‬من أجل االستفادة من‬ ‫مجموعة واسعة من مجموعات البيانات‬ ‫التي يمكن أن تساعد دبي عىل أن تصبح أذىك‬ ‫وأسرع مدينة يف العالم‪.‬‬

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‫جوف تك‬ ‫دبي الذكية تخوض تحدي البيانات‬

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‫نهدف إلى أن نكون المصدر‬ ‫الموثوق الوحيد للبيانات في دبي‬

‫استيعاب أي نوع من مجموعات البيانات‬ ‫املفتوحة يف نبض دبي ‪ ،‬يجب أن تمر‬ ‫جميعها بعملية تحديد األولويات ً‬ ‫أوال‪.‬‬ ‫الهدف النهايئ ليس زيادة عدد مجموعات‬ ‫البيانات ‪ ،‬ولكن لزيادة القيمة التي‬ ‫ستقدمها مجموعات البيانات هذه‪.‬‬ ‫وأضافت الزرعوين‪" :‬يحتاج كل كيان إىل‬ ‫تقييم مجموعات البيانات الخاصة به وفهم‬ ‫قيمة كل منها ‪ ،‬بعد ذلك سيكونون قادرين‬ ‫عىل فهم ما ينبغي استيعابه يف نبض دبي‬ ‫ً‬ ‫أوال‪ .‬يجب أن تخدم مجموعات البيانات‬ ‫املجتمع بأكمله ويجب أن تستند عملية‬ ‫تحديد األولويات إىل الطلب"‪.‬‬ ‫يعتمد الغرض من نبض دبي واستخدامه‬ ‫حتى هذا التاريخ اعتما ًدا كبريًا عىل‬ ‫املستخدمني ويرتك الكثري من القرارات‬ ‫املتعلقة بمعدل االبتالع وتحديد األولويات‬ ‫لهم‪ .‬يأمل الناصر أن يشجع ذلك الجهات‬

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‫‪www.tahawultech.com‬‬

SPONSORED Huawei

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THE SMART CITY 4.0 PHASE ALAA ELSHIMY, HUAWEI MIDDLE EAST MD AND VP OF ENTERPRISE BUSINESS, DISCUSSES THE PIVOTAL ROLE OF DATA AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE UPCOMING FOURTH PHASE OF SMART CITY DEVELOPMENT.

Alaa ElShimy, Managing Director and Vice President Enterprise Business, Huawei Middle East

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www.tahawultech.com

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he MENA region’s population growth is one of the highest globally, and today’s urban environments are under pressure to accommodate more people in smarter ways. This means more than just providing adequate housing. A growing city must take into account the extra pressure on utilities, roads and transport, and other facilities. One recent report notes that the total value of active infrastructure projects in the GCC alone has reached a staggering $1.14 trillion in 2019.

During this historic period of infrastructure planning, it is crucial that such investments are intelligent investments primed for a digital world. Ambitious plans like the Dubai Autonomous Transportation Strategy—aimed at converting 25 percent of mobility means into driverless mobility means by 2030— are setting a clear vision for both the public and private sectors.

Driven by these government visions, several cities in the region are now entering what we call the fourth phase of smart city development. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in particular is going to underscore many of the changes we see during this phase.

But before examining that, one must recognise that the development of smart cities is characterised by an evolution, not a revolution. To date there have been three distinct phases of the smart city evolution.

In phase 1.0, e-Government services enabled residents and organisations to access information and services online. In phase 2.0, citizens embraced mobile Internet applications to manage their government affairs but also more of their social activities. In phase 3.0, there was a real escalation in the deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT), soon to be managed over www.tahawultech.com

high-speed 5G broadband networks in several GCC countries.

This powerful combination of technologies allows cities to get to the heart of phase 4.0—mass data mining enabled by AI. This mining allows municipalities to converge their own data, public data on the Internet, and IoT data from millions of urban devices.

Mass data mining also enables city planners to mirror the physical world by creating a ‘digital twin’ based this vast quantity of information.

These smart city ‘nervous systems’ can now leverage full-stack, all-scenario AI portfolios across all elements of the ICT ecosystem.”

However, the immediate challenge to this phase 4.0 development is the relationship between a city’s data systems. Organisations have traditionally built their own siloed applications—from surveillance cameras to smart lighting or traffic sensors. The limitations of these silos are now being reached.

CONNECTING SYSTEMS THROUGH AI Artificial Intelligence is a core component of the Middle East’s move into the smart city 4.0 phase.

For the first time, a single, all-scenario AI platform is now being made available to a wide diversity of vertical industries; giving governments and enterprises the

ability to quickly deploy AI across their public cloud services, private clouds, in edge computing, across industrial IoT devices, and directly to consumer devices—what we refer to as ‘cloudpipe-device’ synergy. This integration of various AI form factors overcomes the challenge of fragmented, siloed systems faced in the smart city 3.0 phase.

This convergence is a historic step change. Gone are the days of piecing together bespoke AI systems, niche software, and then trying to push that “intelligence” onto IoT devices. Again, this is evident in mass data mining. A new breed of heterogeneous, AI-native databases are already becoming the infrastructure of choice for financial services, telecoms, government, and other industries worldwide.

Similar to how a person’s nervous system detects and reacts to changes in its environment, connecting a city’s infrastructure using AI will help them to sense, process and deliver informed decisions that improve the environment for its inhabitants. These smart city ‘nervous systems’ can now leverage fullstack, all-scenario AI portfolios across all elements of the ICT ecosystem.

Ultimately, these platforms will integrate digital urban resources such as IoT, big data, geographic information, video, and integrated communications to enable better data sharing, business collaboration, and agile development.

In fact, the connection between smart city 4.0, data mining, and allscenario AI was recently in focus at the region’s first Ai Everything Summit this spring. Having helped more than 160 cities in over 40 countries and regions implement smart city projects, it’s clear to us that data—and the management of it—is quickly becoming the fourth utility of cities today, and that AI will play a pivotal role in making this utility accessible to all.

JULY - AUGUST 2019

43

INTERVIEW ScreenCheck

CHECK MATE CNME EDITOR MARK FORKER, SPOKE TO SHAJI ABDUL KADAR, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AT SCREENCHECK, TO FIND OUT HOW THE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS PROVIDER AND DISTRIBUTION COMPANY HAS MAINTAINED ITS STATUS AS A MARKET INCUMBENT, THE COMPLEX SECURITY CHALLENGES AROUND DISRUPTIVE NEW TECHNOLOGIES, AND WHY THE PUBLIC SHOULDN’T BE FEARFUL OF RFID AND BIOMETRICS.

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S Shaji Abdul Kadar, Chief Operating Officer at ScreenCheck

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CREENCHECK OFFERS ENDTO-END SOLUTIONS IN IDENTIFICATION, BIOMETRICS, PHYSICAL SECURITY AND RFID ACROSS 25 COUNTRIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA. HOWEVER, IN YOUR OPINION WHAT DIFFERENTIATES SCREENCHECK FROM ITS MARKET COMPETITORS? What makes us unique and different is our approach to the market.

ScreenCheck, as a distributor has a team of dedicated sales professionals who are focused on specific regions.

Part of the job remit requires them to travel across our locations to meet with our channel partners face-to-face, to find out what their issues may be, educate them on our new products and assist them with additional training.

They also reach out to our end-users www.tahawultech.com

and engage with them to inform them about our new cutting-edge innovations and products, whilst outlining to them how they can add value to their business.

We provide a very personalized approach, and once the requirement emerges from the market, we put it towards the right partner in that country.

In addition to this, we have tailormade and customised solutions as per the customer requirement. We’re not a company that just buys a product that’s a box, we provide tailormade solutions to the end customer and our channel partners, so they can ultimately have a better market share.

One other key advantage we have over our competitors is the fact we’ve got a very well-maintained inventory here in the United Arab Emirates. We have a large warehouse located here, and with Dubai being such a regional hub it makes it much easier to export goods out of here to any part of the world. The transportation network is superb, and as I already highlighted, we maintain our stocks efficiently, especially the fastmoving items which our customers need.

The demands of our customers are always evolving, and in the current climate you know if a customer orders something they don’t want it the next day, they want it yesterday!

However, this is were we have a distinct advantage over our rivals. We know the market very, very well, and we know what moves faster. The expertise of our highly-skilled workforce allows us to solidify our status as a leader in what is an ultra-competitive distribution market.

RFID, BIOMETRICS AND VIDEO SURVEILLANCE HAVE BEEN MET WITH WIDESPREAD SKEPTICISM BY SOME, WHO HAVE EXPRESSED FEARS THAT THE TECHNOLOGIES WILL INFRINGE UPON THEIR PRIVACY. ARE THESE CONCERNS WARRANTED, OR IS THERE A LACK OF EDUCATION AROUND THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES? What we need to understand is that www.tahawultech.com

the technologies that are being used to track and identify citizens are being used to improve people’s lives. There are undoubtedly, pros and cons to these technologies when it comes to the security and privacy aspect of its application. However, I do believe the technology has been created to improve the lives of people and to make cities safer places to live in.

I do firmly believe that it is very, very important for us to educate people in terms of what data they share online.

We need to outline the precautions to them - and create a framework which

One other key advantage we have over our competitors, is the fact we’ve got a very well-maintained inventory here in the United Arab Emirates.” clearly documents what sort of data they need to divulge when browsing online - or speaking to people on their smartphones.

Hacking into a bank account isn’t that difficult in the current climate as the sophistication of these attacks are on the rise. However, it’s much harder to hack somebody if the only way to gain access is through biometrics. You can’t just hack a fingerprint. It’s obviously much more secure to use a fingerprint, facial recognition or iris scanning to access your personal details.

In the future, I envisage people going to an ATM machine to withdraw cash and using either a fingerprint, facial recognition or iris scan to access their account.

DO YOU THINK THE EMERGENCE OF THESE NEW DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS AI, INTERNET OF THINGS AND BIG DATA HAS ENHANCED THE SECURITY FRAMEWORK AND STANDARDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST? Technologies like Internet of Things, AI and Blockchain presents a huge number of opportunities for enterprises and the public sector. All these entities can exploit the transformative power of these technologies to radically streamline their existing processes and create new business models for the next generation of customers that are currently in the market.

These technologies can help enterprises build a business for tomorrow. However, the issue of security surrounding these technologies is obviously a key concern for every organisation. Companies are spending vast amounts of money on their data protection and security features. In the past, security wasn’t high on the list of priorities for enterprises. They bought software and thought they were protected. However, that attitude no longer exists, not only because data is so valuable, but because the consequences of misusing data is severe.

In a multi-layered ecosystem, data security is complex and is a tough obstacle for enterprises to properly address. Every security framework should include device provisioning, data encryption, secured access control and various layers of IoT. I think what is abundantly clear when you look at governments across the Middle East, is that they have recognised the increased level of security threats that have emerged as a direct result of digitalisation. However, in response to that they have proceeded to elevate the level of protection around their critical national information infrastructure and have developed some of the most robust cybersecurity policies in the entire world.

JULY - AUGUST 2019

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INTERVIEW Okta

THE IDENTITY EXPERTS DEPUTY EDITOR GIORGIA GUANTARIO SAT DOWN WITH JUSTIN DOO, TERRITORY MANAGER MIDDLE EAST, TURKEY AND AFRICA AT OKTA TO DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF PASSWORDS, THE IMPORTANCE OF A ZERO TRUST APPROACH AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHAT THE COMPANY DOES BEST – IDENTITY.

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RECENT STUDY BY IDC SHOWS THAT BETWEEN 2018 AND 2022, IT-RELATED SPENDING ON DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WILL TOUCH $7.5 TRILLION. HOW DO YOU THINK ORGANISATIONS WILL ADAPT TO THESE CHANGES AND WHAT CHALLENGES WILL THEY FACE? Digital transformation is a process, not a product. Nowadays every organisation either is, or should be, a technology company. Many of the world’s top companies no longer even have any physical infrastructure. They’re mostly cloud-based. Take as an example Uber or Airbnb – they are organisations utilising best of breed cloud technology to deliver their services. In this region we see a similar breakthrough in the hospitality and entertainment industry, but many other are starting to move in this direction. Those who aren’t, will have to constantly look over their shoulder at who may be moving into their space with this new transformed model – a model that is all about user experience.

We are all consumers and we now vote with our thumb. If an application is not intuitive or good enough, nine times out of ten we’ll just delete it and move onto the next one.

Many organisations are trying to move forward from an advisory perspective, JULY - AUGUST 2019

but they’re not necessarily delivering the experience consumers expect.

Identity is one of the key challenges organisations face and that is our main focus at Okta. Companies become the custodians of people’s identity, and as such they have huge responsibilities.

This is why so many organisations rely on us to provide a secure and resilient identity platform. Moreover, we have tens of millions of authentications coming in from around the world, providing a vast pool of information.

We’re cutting off threats before our customers even know they exist.

FOR MANY BUSINESSES A USERNAME AND PASSWORD ARE THE ONLY BARRIER BETWEEN A SECURITY BREACH AND THEIR DATA. HOW CAN OKTA HELP ORGANISATIONS IMPROVE THEIR SECURITY BEYOND THIS? Passwordless authentication is no longer just a thing of the future, it is quickly becoming reality. Passwords as we know them will eventually become redundant mainly because the credentials entered in a public domain are the main target of breaches. We have to start removing that threat.

Consumers have a much bigger online presence now than they used to. Ten years ago we might have had three or four online accounts; now we

have three times that number, each needing a different authentication. As an industry we have to make it easier for the customer to stay safe without compromising their experience. If we fail on this front, we risk a slow-down in cloud adoption.

Unfortunately, the more organisations try to make quick, cost effective fixes, the more risk there is for a breach. Brands can lose the trust that they have spent years to build in a matter of seconds. We have all seen organisations that have tried to move too quickly and got it wrong. It is imperative to choose the right partner to help you achieve the right safety standards for your organisation and to appreciate the very real benefits offered with a buy vs build approach.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT A ZERO TRUST APPROACH IS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT FOR ORGANISATIONS TO IMPLEMENT IT? Zero Trust, just like digital transformation, is a process. It’s an extension of what we all recognise as the security building block. Ten years ago, organisations were still implementing firewalls to protect and define where their networks stopped.

However today it’s very difficult for an organisation to define where their reach ends, as we connect to its www.tahawultech.com

network from a myriad of devices.

The Zero Trust principle just means that unless an organisation can identify who someone is very quickly, independently of who they say they are, they’re not to be trusted. This means analysing and questioning aspects like user’s behaviour, location, device usage, time of day, last log in and so on.

Organisations need to put an extra layer of challenge into their authentication model in order to be safe.

ONE OF THE MAIN GOALS OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS TO LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGIES TO CREATE A BETTER EXPERIENCE FOR EXTERNAL CUSTOMERS. DO YOU THINK CIOS SHOULD ALSO FOCUS ON RESHAPING INTERNAL PROCESSES AND TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPES FOR THEIR INTERNAL CUSTOMERS, THESE BEING THEIR EMPLOYEES?

Justin Doo, Territory Manager Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Okta

www.tahawultech.com

“Clever” companies are looking very closely at their relationships with their employees. Working for an organisation that has better benefits, for example, encourages employees to be more productive. Companies like this are looking at their onboarding process and how to create a productive environment from day one. As an example, when you join a company that’s using Okta, you can start being productive within half an

Passwords as we know them will eventually become redundant, mainly because credentials entered in a public domain are the main target of breaches.” hour of starting. The Okta portal gives you access to organisational structures, online storage, email account, CRM tools and so on – all while only using one authentication system.

Every time an employee logs on after that, the applications are what we call “federated” – you can

only access them within the Okta portal. Organisations can make the onboarding process easier and more secure, while also making the employee feel more valuable. By partnering with us, companies benefit from increased security as well as ease of use for their employees.

IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WE’VE SEEN MORE AND MORE ORGANISATIONS INVESTING IN DATA CENTRES IN THE REGION – MICROSOFT BEING THE LATEST ONE WITH THE LAUNCH OF TWO NEW DATA CENTRES IN THE UAE. HOW DO YOU THINK THIS WILL HELP ORGANISATIONS MOVE FORWARD IN THEIR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY? I think the change will be significant.

The public sector in the region demands to have their data within a geographic boundary they can control. This includes healthcare and education records for example.

In terms of moving from hybrid and private cloud into local cloud services, I believe companies such as AWS or Microsoft will enable economies and businesses to grow. This will in return put higher requirements on Okta – we’re completely vendor agnostic and we act as an integration layer.

We connect everything to everyone.

Okta has six and a half thousand pre-integrations on our platform, from Microsoft O365 to Oracle Cloud.

We’re not dedicated to a particular vendor or a particular stack of tech. As more organisations start their journey to cloud, we’re going to be able to offer them the necessary speed of implementation. We understand many organisations are looking at time to value and want to be up and running as soon as possible. In today’s world nothing stops and even seconds make a big difference.

JULY - AUGUST 2019

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EVENT Evolve

EVOLVE 2019: WHERE THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY MEET

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THE THIRD EDITION OF TAHAWULTECH.COM EVOLVE FORUM WILL SHED LIGHT UPON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, DATA MANAGEMENT AND CYBER SECURITY STRATEGIES, AND WILL EXPLORE HOW ORGANISATIONS CAN IMPLEMENT THESE TECHNOLOGIES TO DRIVE THEIR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION.

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ahawultech.com is delighted to announce the first batch of confirmed speakers for the third edition of Evolve Digital Transformation Forum.

Evolve Forum, which promises to shed light on the implementation of the latest innovative technologies needed for regional businesses to drive their digital transformation, will be held on Tuesday 10th September 2019 at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai.

The event will bring together more than 150 business owners from the public and private sectors, who will share their journey on implementing artificial intelligence, data management and a strong cyber security strategy.

Three panel discussion will explore the steps organisations must take in order to successfully transition into the new digital economy.

JULY - AUGUST 2019

The first panel, titled ‘Examining the Transformative Power of AI’ will explore how this innovative and much-debated technology can help organisations move forward in their digital transformation journey.

Speakers from different industries will offer real examples to overcome the challenges and benefits attached to AI implementation.

Tatiana Lebaki, E25 Partner Strategic Projects at Emaar Properties, has been confirmed as the first speaker on the panel. Lebaki heads the Food & Beverage Strategy, Analytics, and Revenue Management for E25, and she manages a number of initiatives for Emaar, including food wastage reduction using Artificial Intelligence.

The second panel, ‘Driving Better Business Insights with Big Data and Analytics’, will focus on the importance www.tahawultech.com

Jaleel Rahiman Director of IT, Prime HealthCare Group

Kaiser H. Naseem Advisor, MENA Fintech Association

Eng. Sara Abdelwahab Osman Internal Auditor and Network Engineer, Abu Dhabi Police GHQ

Tatiana Lebaki E25 Partner Strategic Projects, Emaar Properties

Sunil Varkey CTO & Strategist Emerging Region, Symantec

Sachin Chandna Head of Customer Lifecycle Management & Digital Marketing, Emirates NBD

of driving better business insights through big data and analytics. Our experts will highlight the specific pain points for businesses, and outline what they need to do to transform how they conduct their operations through data.

Confirmed speakers include Kaiser H. Naseem, Advisor at MENA Fintech Association, Jaleel Rahiman, Director of IT at Prime HealthCare Group, and

GO TO TAHAWULTECH.COM/EVOLVEFORUM TO REGISTER FOR THE EVOLVE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FORUM, AND JOIN US AT THIS EXCLUSIVE INDUSTRY EVENT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EXCITING MERGER OF BUSINESS WITH THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY, WHERE THIS IS GOING AND HOW IT CAN HELP YOU ACHIEVE SUCCESS IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY.

www.tahawultech.com

Sachin Chandna, Head of Customer Lifecycle Management & Digital Marketing at Emirates NBD. As a Banking and Digital Transformation professional, Naseem currently works with several banks and financial institutions globally to assist them in strategising their digital journey.

Rahiman has over 20 years of experience in diverse organisations with expertise in IT Service Management, Change Management, Project Management, Team Management, Solutions Delivery, and IT Infrastructure Design. Chandna is an experienced Financial Services professional with a successful track record in key leadership roles for Top Tier Financial Institutions.

The third and final panel, titled ‘Making Cyber Security Risks your Business’, will help delegates

develop a security strategy across their business. The six panellists will provide insights to help get ahead, and stay ahead, of cyber threats and system compromises.

Confirmed speakers include Eng. Sara Abdelwahab Osman, Internal Auditor and Network Engineer at Abu Dhabi Police GHQ, and Sunil Varkey, CTO & Strategist Emerging Region at Symantec. Varkey has over 23 years of leadership experience specialised in various domains of Information Security with large corporates in Banking, Telecom, ITES and Manufacturing in Middle East, US & India. Osman has 14 years’ experience in Abu Dhabi Police Information Communication and Technology Department (ICT) and has been extensively recognised for her work with Abu Dhabi Police.

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INTERVIEW Raqmiyat

CHANGING DYNAMICS ABHIJEET SANYAL, AVP TECHNOLOGY STAFFING SERVICES AT RAQMIYAT, EXPLAINS WHAT MAKES THE COMPANY STAND OUT IN THE IT STAFFING INDUSTRY AND WHAT'S IN STORE FOR THEIR FUTURE. Abhijeet Sanyal, AVP Technology Staffing Services, Raqmiyat

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AQMIYAT HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS AS AN INDUSTRY LEADER IN IDENTIFYING IT PROFESSIONALS TO TAKE ON ROLES IN MULTIPLE INDUSTRIES ACROSS THE UAE. HOW HAVE YOU ADDED VALUE TO THE REGION? Raqmiyat comes across as a locally incubated and grown IT Systems Integrator. As the IT industry has evolved over the last 35 years, Raqmiyat has evolved with the times.

Staffing business in Raqmiyat was started with the same vision of not just adapting to the dynamic changes in the IT industry, but to pioneer a completely new dimension. In the last 20 years, Raqmiyat has executed hundreds of projects in UAE and KSA, possibly building the most complex systems in the country. Our consultants are primarily placed in critical government entities and large banks performing tasks that act as a catalyst to our day to day life. This I believe has added tremendous value to the region.

JULY - AUGUST 2019

IN ORDER TO MEET THE GROWING DEMAND FOR NICHE ROLES IN THE MIDDLE EAST, TECHNOLOGY STAFFING SOLUTIONS (TSS) WAS FORMED. WHAT DIFFERENTIATES TSS FROM OTHER IT RECRUITMENT CONSULTANTS? I always maintain Raqmiyat is not an IT Staffing company. TSS is part of a very large canvas that Raqmiyat is all about. Something that differentiates us is that we are technology agnostic.

We have the capabilities of hiring skilled IT professionals from any technology scape. Right from the very basic IT Helpdesk Engineer to the most complex Infosec Consultant; from plug-and-play software developers to the senior software Architects; from a normal DBA to a complex functional or a technical consultant. With our skilled recruitment team, we have the leverage of hiring a resource pertaining to any skill. I can hire a resource from any geography as per the need of the customer. Currently, my consultant spread is across 17 nationalities.

One of the most critical differentiators for Raqmiyat is our

employee engagement program once they come onboard with us. We have a separate team that looks after the well-being of our consultants once they start working. This starts right after they land in the country and stays till their separation.

This team meets every consultant once a quarter over a meal and understands their issues and problems, and then ensures there is a fast-track redressal of these issues.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE REMAINDER OF 2019?

H1 has been fabulous for us. We have not lost a single contract while we have added new logos and headcount to our business. As a business unit that is very proud of its activities, we have set quite aggressive goals for H2 of 2019. We intend to double the business volume of H1 and hire consultants on high value chain of the technology. We are looking to add strength to cyber security, SAP, AI, BI and analytics in the upcoming months. www.tahawultech.com

CLOUDENGINE SERIES SWITCHES, REACHING NEW SPEEDS FOR DATA CENTER NETWORKS IN AI ERA Ai chip and iLossless algorithm combined, attaining the first ever 100% lossless performance • 27% betterment in Ai training* • 30% faster in HPC job completion* • 30% improvement in distributed storage latency* e.huawei.com/ae enterpriseME@huawei.com

＊Compared with other products, as verified by Tolly Group.

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