Computer News Middle East December 2019 by Computernews Middle East

ISSUE 333 | DECEMBER 2019 TAHAWULTECH.COM

GOVTECH: UAE SPACE MISSION

AVAYA ENGAGE DELL TECHNOLOGIES FORUM TEDX IAN KHAN

SIMPLIFY AND ACCELERATE

NXN CEO GHAZI ATALLAH DOCUMENTS HOW THE COMPANY HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS A REGIONAL LEADER IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION.

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NAJM CEO INFOSYSTA: CASE STUDY

Top 10 Strategic Technology

Trends for 2020 People-centric

Smart spaces

Hyperautomation

Multiexperience

The empowered edge

The distributed cloud

Transparency and traceability

Human augmentation

Autonomous things

Practical blockchain

Democratization

AI security

Join us at Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2020 to learn about Gartner’s technology trends, if they will work for you and how to implement them.

2 – 4 March 2020 | Dubai, UAE gartner.com/me/symposium

EDITORIAL

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Next year promises to be one of the most exciting in the UAE’s history as the nation gears up for EXPO 2020.”

e’re coming towards the end of another decade which has been defined by incredible technological evolution – but the next decade promises to be even more transformative as technologies such as AI, Machine Learning, Blockchain and 5G become more mainstream. Technology has never played a more central role in how we live our lives and it is inevitable that our relationship with technology will mature even further in the next 10 years as we head into an era dubbed as The Fourth Industrial Revolution. In the past ten years applications like Uber and Airbnb have revolutionised the transportation and hospitality sectors, and more and more industries will be disrupted over the next decade. Next year promises to be one of the most exciting in the UAE’s history as the nation gears up for EXPO 2020. The event serves as another illustration of how far the country has come in a relatively short space of time and solidifies its standing globally as a hub of innovation and technological progress. Our cover story for December, is with digital services provider NXN. We spoke to the dynamic figurehead behind that company Ghazi Atallah, to learn how it has positioned itself as a regional leader in digital transformation and its plans for geographical expansion in 2020. In this month’s magazine, we speak to District 2020 to find out more about its efforts to nurture a flourishing blockchain ecosystem and its partnership with Chinese blockchain company Atlas Capital. In GovTech we examine the progress the UAE Government has made in its bid to become a leading player in space exploration, and we celebrate the incredible achievements of Hazza AlMansoori as he made history by becoming the first Emirati in space. Our Deputy Editor Giorgia Guantario also gives you the rundown on what happened at Avaya’s ENGAGE event and the Dell Technologies Forum which were both held in Dubai last month. On behalf of all the team at CNME we would like to wish all our readers, clients and industry colleagues a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year! Enjoy the festivities! Mark Forker Editor

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CONTENTS

Advanced Computing Partner

Digital Innovation Partner

ISSUE 333 | DECEMBER 2019

26 NXN

12 6

10 Unlocking data-driven

ERICSSON

digital transformation

News CNME rounds up the biggest regional and global developments in enterprise technology, including UAE’s WhatsApp calls ban and Zain’s first-ever 5G roaming service in MENA.

GOVTECH: THE UAE’S SPACE MISSION

CNME attended an IT roundtable discussion in Abu Dhabi last month and heard how NetApp is helping to drive change across the region with its end-to-end Data Fabric solution.

20 The rise of anti-fraud technology

Dr Mohammad Alsuliman, CEO of Najm for Insurance Services, explains how the Saudi-based company is making strides in the industry by leveraging emerging technologies.

24 Fast-tracking digital transformation

In a fascinating case study, we find out how Infosysta helped MODON in its digital transformation journey.

34 Driving change in the global workplace

Progress made real

Mark Ackerman, Regional Director, Middle East & Africa, at ServiceNow, explains how they have applied cutting-edge technologies, AI and Machine Learning, to their latest release.

At Dell Technologies Forum in Dubai, the IT leader highlighted its commitment to driving UAE’s ICT agenda towards a digital ready economy of the future.

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

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NEWS

IFS STRENGTHENS MIDDLE EAST OPERATIONS

The IFS team at the new office in Dubai

IFS has announced plans to strengthen its Middle East operations by opening its new office in Dubai and expanding its channel partner network to reinforce regional business. In line with its expansion plans, IFS will host its first partner conference in Dubai on 25th November 2019, which aims to educate channel partners about the opportunities with IFS as

well as advantages in specific aspects of ERP including Service Management, Enterprise Asset Management and Supply Chain. Mehmood Khan, managing director and vice president for the Middle East and South Asia, IFS, said, “IFS has been growing its business at more than double the industry average, with license revenue increases

YoY over 20 percent for the past six quarters. We are expanding in the Middle East deliberately and with purpose. The region plays an important role in our overall revenue goals. We are embarking on a partner recruitment drive to help propel our business into newer areas of growth. We are looking for partners with local market knowledge and deep technical expertise in different aspects of ERP, who can become our extended arm in the market and act as trusted advisors to our customers. “IFS is looking for value-added resellers and systems integrators, whose appetite to invest, grow and succeed complements perfectly with our company’s vision and global initiatives. While we are not precluding working with a distributor, our focus is to recruit limited but relevant partners to help customers with their business outcomes,” Khan added.

INJAZAT AND LAMPRELL TO DIGITISE ENERGY AND RENEWABLES SECTOR

Khaled AlMelhi, CEO at Injazat and Christopher McDonald, CEO at Lamprell

Injazat, a market leader in digital transformation and wholly owned by Mubadala Investment Company – Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investor – and Lamprell, a leading provider of fabrication, engineering and contracting services to the offshore and onshore oil & gas and energy sector, signed a Memorandum of Understanding and DECEMBER 2019

have started collaborating to create and market innovative digital solutions focused on the oil and gas and renewables markets. Lamprell and Injazat are working on a portfolio of technology – enabled digital ventures that will create new value for their target customers, primarily in the MENA region. Christopher McDonald, Chief Executive Officer of Lamprell said, “This is a pivotal milestone in our history. The world is changing. It’s critical that we stay ahead of the curve and push the boundaries from conventional thinking to ensure the Group is positioned well for the future. Working with a digital-enabler like Injazat is providing us new capabilities and channels to expand

and take to market our offering, and that will underpin the future sustainability of the business.” Khaled AlMelhi, Chief Executive Officer of Injazat, said, “Embracing new technologies and enabling digital transformation lies at the very core of our mission and business strategy. Through our collaboration with Lamprell we aim to create innovative digital solutions to solve the most pressing problems faced by the region’s energy and renewables industry. At Injazat, we are proud to serve as a strategic partner, trusted advisor and digital enabler to support our clients with their digital transformation journey, fulfilling our commitment to support the UAE’s innovation agenda.” www.tahawultech.com

ZAIN ROLLS OUT FIRST-EVER 5G ROAMING SERVICE IN MENA

Zain Group, a telecom operation covering eight markets across the Middle East and Africa, has successfully launched the region’s first 5G roaming service between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, with download speeds reaching as high as 500 Mbps for both outbound and inbound roaming.

The telco’s operations in Kuwait first launched its commercial 5G offering in May and its Saudi Arabia operations followed in October with the launch of what was and remains the largest 5G network deployment in the region, and third largest in the world. Zain Kuwait and Zain Saudi Arabia

between them count over 550 4G and 3G roaming agreements in over 215 countries, with this latest milestone 5G roaming agreement opening countless opportunities to further enhance the mobile experience for Zain customers as they travel the world, and as 5G becomes more widespread with the advent of more 5G devices. Bader Al-Kharafi, Zain ViceChairman and Group CEO, and Vice-Chairman of Zain Saudi Arabia, said, “This momentous stride taken on our 5G journey reinforces our global position at the forefront of the implementation of this exciting technology. It is through the vision and support of the country’s leadership in markets such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia that we can make such rapid progress in this nascent area, and in turn expedite our 5G roll out in support of both the New Kuwait 2035 Vision and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.”

NXN PARTNERS WITH MICROSOFT IN BID TO DRIVE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Ghazi Atallah, CEO, NXN

NXN and Microsoft have ventured into a partnership to launch NXN’s digital transformation platform “DNX” and its digital services on the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform for government entities, real estate developers and enterprises across the region. This will enable seamless delivery of www.tahawultech.com

DNX platform smart district services including smart energy, smart security, smart parking, Video Surveillance as a Service and AI-enabled solutions on Microsoft Azure. It will also involve technology collaboration and go-tomarket strategies aimed at driving the digitisation of cities. “We’re very excited to join hands with Microsoft to bring significant value to our customers,” said Ghazi Atallah, CEO, NXN. “Together, we will apply the power of Azure and scalability of DNX to enable seamless integration within a customer environment and rapid delivery of smart services. Our Smart City and District Digital services powered by Microsoft Azure enabled by data science capability will empower our

customers to make fast and informed business decisions.” Sayed Hashish, General Manager, Microsoft UAE, said, “We are delighted to partner with NXN to realise our shared vision of empowering organisations and industries to find new ways of generating value through digital transformation. Customers today look for specialists with deep skills, understanding of, and experience in their industry and NXN is a great match as they continue to play a key role in shaping the cities of tomorrow. Together with NXN, we look forward to further fueling the Middle East’s future economic ambitions with our two local datacenter regions now available in the UAE.” DECEMBER 2019

NEWS

KSA’S MISK FOUNDATION AND ABU DHABI HUB71 TO FOSTER STARTUP INNOVATION

Saudi Arabia’s Misk Foundation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, that outlined steps towards creating a more dynamic market for startups between the Kingdom and the UAE. The agreement was signed during the three-day Misk Global Forum in Riyadh.

The event also saw Hub71 named the UAE’s National Organiser for the world’s biggest pitch competition: The Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) 2020, which is also an integral part of the Misk Global Forum. Shaima Hamidaddin, executive manager, Misk Global Forum, said, “At Misk we’re committed to empowering

as many young people around the world to realise their potential in the future economy; a vital part of that is supporting innovative entrepreneurship and exciting founder-led ideas. This strategic MoU with Hub71 will allow us to create a more open and dynamic environment for these startups and others in the future, to grow, flourish and succeed.” Mahmoud Adi, CEO of Hub71, said, “The MoU agreement signed with Misk Foundation means that Hub71 startups will have better access to the flourishing Saudi market. It also opens up a world of possibilities between two aligned ecosystems looking to develop a more collaborative approach to sharing market insights, investor relationships, strategic partnerships as well as co-working spaces.”

DUBAI RESIDENTS TO BOOK RTA TAXIS EXCLUSIVELY VIA THE CAREEM APP

The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced the transfer of its taxi booking and dispatch services to car-hailing app Careem’s Hala platform. Beginning December 7, residents will no longer be able to book taxis through the RTA call centre. The move heralds a shift from the DECEMBER 2019

interactive voice response system of taxi booking in Dubai to Hala e-hailing system on the Careem app to improve quality and positive uptake since the launch of Hala in September 2019. “This step marks a paradigm shift of Dubai Taxi booking process from the call centre to Hala. It is part of RTA’s strategic drive to support Dubai Government’s Smart City initiative. This transition comes after a landmark one-millionth booking within days after the official launch of Hala service on 29 August 2019,” said Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of RTA’s Public Transport Agency. He added that several actions have been put into effect in order to guarantee a smooth transition for customers who are used to calling 04-

2080808 to order a Dubai Taxi. “The step contributes to RTA’s objective of revamping taxi services in Dubai making the service more accessible through e-hailing, and at the same time advancing the integration of public transit means, said Bahrozyan. According to the RTA, among the additional benefits that customers will enjoy from this innovative way of booking a Dubai taxi, is the ability to raise any questions or concerns directly via the Careem in-app chat. Safety and lost & found issues will remain to be handled by RTA’s Call Centre (8009090). Customers will also be able to book taxis from all over Dubai with a shorter estimated time of arrival (ETA). www.tahawultech.com

HUAWEI AND CNL SOFTWARE TO DRIVE INTELLIGENT CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT

Daniel Bloodworth, CNL Software and Zhao Qin, Huawei

Huawei, a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CNL Software to accelerate the deployment of Intelligent Campus and integrated physical security solutions in the Middle East.

The MoU was signed by Zhao Qin, Director of Huawei OpenLab in the Middle East and Daniel Bloodworth, Global Strategic Account Director at CNL Software. Bloodworth and Zhao Qin expressed their confidence in the collaboration and made a joint commitment to drive further

innovation towards Intelligent Campus operations in the Middle East; allowing customers to move towards a proactive and predictive campus with security management. CNL Software was also recognised by Huawei for their contribution towards building a safer and smarter community. Both organisations aim to bring the power of digital to every campus for pervasive intelligence. Jointly developed with partners, Huawei recently introduced the Intelligent Campus Ecosystem Plan and its intelligent HiCampus solution for enterprise customers. To address the needs of this fast-growing market, HiCampus serves as an integrated intelligent campus solution based on the Huawei Horizon Digital Platform. The platform is based on Huawei’s extensive experience of campus digital transformation. It is fully connected, converged, and open, helping customers and partners deliver rapid service innovation.

UAE MAY SOON LIFT BAN ON WHATSAPP CALLS, SAYS TOP CYBERSECURITY EXECUTIVE

The UAE may soon lift its ban on WhatsApp calls, the executive director of the UAE’s National Electronic Security Authority, Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, told CNBC’s ‘Capital Connection’. www.tahawultech.com

Speaking on the show, Al Kuwaiti said the UAE and Facebookowned WhatsApp have increased collaboration with regards to national security initiatives that could lead to a lift of the ban. “The collaboration with WhatsApp has actually increased, and in many of those (projects) we saw a very good understanding (from them) of the concept we have,” Al Kuwaiti said, “There might be a lift of that ban for (WhatsApp) voice calls… and this is going to happen soon, this is what we know and understand from the telecommunication authority here in the UAE.” WhatsApp calls, along with any other Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, such as Skype and FaceTime, have been illegal in the UAE since their

inception. Residents have been able to use paid-for VoIP services Botim, C’Me and HiU Messenger, as offered by du and Etisalat. In a statement on their website in 2015, UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) explains that VoIP services “are considered part of the UAE’s regulated activities,” and that they have” granted licensed operators the eligibility to provide such services across their networks.” Other GCC countries have softened their stance on VoIP services in the past years, with Saudi lifting the ban on WhatsApp calls altogether in 2017. The UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has yet to comment on Al Kuwaiti’s remarks on CNBC. DECEMBER 2019

ROUNDTABLE NetApp

UNLOCKING DATADRIVEN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

CNME ATTENDED AN IT ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION IN ABU DHABI AND HEARD HOW NETAPP IS HELPING TO DRIVE CHANGE ACROSS THE REGION WITH ITS END-TO-END DATA FABRIC SOLUTION.

DECEMBER 2019

www.tahawultech.com

Maya Zakhour, MEA Partners & Pathways Lead, NetApp

etApp, a global leader in hybrid cloud services, has documented its own digital transformation journey from a traditional storage provider to a fullyfledged data management vendor. At a roundtable discussion in Abu Dhabi, the company illustrated the benefits of its end-to-end Data Fabric solution, which has been specifically designed to empower and assist businesses seeking to both move their services to the cloud and manage their data in a more efficient and cost-effective way. Before the presentations commenced there was a brief overview of the strategic partnership between EBM and NetApp that was sealed earlier this year. Francois Frangieh, General Manager of EBM, expressed his delight at the collaboration agreement with NetApp, saying, “NetApp have shown www.tahawultech.com

a tremendous commitment and alignment in terms of working with the EBM team to grow our mutual business together. We look forward to more achievements and success in 2020.” His sentiments were echoed by Maya Zakhour, MEA Partners & Pathways Lead, NetApp, who began her presentation by candidly articulating how NetApp has embraced digital transformation. Digital transformation has become a prevalent theme in the IT ecosystem now and it’s almost impossible to find an IT conference in which the theme is not centered on digital transformation. Zakhour cleverly used the continued evolution of our experiences consuming coffee as an illustration of digital transformation. Zakhour said, “I want to discuss digital transformation and outline to you where NetApp is positioned in terms of its own digital transformation journey. However, I’m going to start with an example that doesn’t involve smartphones, instead it’s about coffee. Coffee was created in the 15th century, so it’s been about for a very long time and millions of people still need it to kickstart their day. However, coffee in terms of its production has seen many evolutions.

“Coffee machines entered the market and those machines have continued to become more and more sophisticated, so much so that now we have Nespresso. All you need is capsules for the machine and you’re instantaneously given fantastic coffee. This is digital transformation, and this is NetApp as well, so every morning when you’re preparing coffee, I want you to think of NetApp because the journey is almost the same.” NetApp underwent its digital transformation journey by transitioning from being a hardware vendor focused solely on storage to a fully-fledged data management vendor. Zakhour said, “We’re no longer just a hardware vendor that will only sell you storage. We’ve spoken about digital transformation and we’re part of this, because we’re not leaving the storage space, it’s still our bread and butter. However, we’ve now become a data management vendor in order to help our customers manage their data and harness the value from it to make better business decisions. Our Data Fabric solution is an end-to-end solution that is going to help businesses transform how they manage their data from A-Z. We also have alliances with Microsoft, AWS and Google which can really help enterprises on their transition towards the cloud.”

Our Data Fabric solution is an end-to-end solution that is going to help businesses transform how they manage their data.”

DECEMBER 2019

EVENT Avaya ENGAGE

MASTERING THE “ART OF EXPERIENCE” CNME ATTENDED AVAYA ENGAGE, THE ENTERPRISE COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY’S ANNUAL EVENT WHICH SAW PARTNERS AND CUSTOMERS COME TOGETHER TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE LATEST INNOVATIONS AND USE CASES FROM AVAYA.

DECEMBER 2019

www.tahawultech.com

vaya encouraged its customers and partners to master the “Art of Experience” at their annual event Avaya ENGAGE in Dubai. The event stretched over three days and saw over one thousand users and partners come together to discuss the latest updates and use cases in Avaya’s human-centric innovation. While the first day was dedicated entirely to Avaya’s partner ecosystem, the second and third date saw customers share the stage with Avaya’s executives to discuss success stories. Avaya presented several industryfirst features that are now available as part of its open and converged UC and CC platforms, as well as proven communications and collaboration use-cases developed in conjunction with customers and partners from across the globe, and innovative technology showcases to provide a glimpse into the future of employee and customer experiences. The strides Avaya has made in delivering powerful and practical applications, that enable organisations to embrace the cloud and AI at a pace that matches their business goals and ambitions, was a central focus through the first two days of the event. On day two, dedicated to both partners and customers, Fadi Hani, Vice President, Avaya MEA and Turkey, welcomed the attendants in a heartfelt speech. He said, “Avaya is like a family, and our customers and partners are an important extension to that family. Whenever we get together it feels like we have a special bond that keeps us going.” Fadi Moubarak, Vice President – Channels, Avaya International later gave an insightful keynote on the www.tahawultech.com

Fadi Moubarak, Vice President – Channels, Avaya International

importance of “connecting dots” to create the best experience possible for customers. Moubarak, who presented the keynote instead of Nidal Abou Ltaif, President at Avaya International who could not be present, said, “Connecting dots we can create an infinite number of experiences, but choosing which elements, when and where to connect them to try to achieve the desired experience – that’s the ever ongoing challenge we all face in our daily operations.” The VP continued to explain that Avaya is always striving to do its best to serve partners and customers and

Avaya is like a family, and our customers and partners are an important extension to that family.”

Fadi Hani, Vice President, Avaya MEA and Turkey

to create the best experience possible, and pushing this further by trying to exceed their expectations. “Today is about coming together to share all our experiences and solutions that can help us master the ‘Art of Experience’,” he continued. “Experience is an art – there is a lot of fundamental science behind it, which Avaya delivers, but the how, what, and where to use it take art, and we see it every day in every industry as we all try to deliver the best experience possible to our customers. Companies are all competing on experience because that’s one of the very few remaining spaces left to compete in. We can all deliver the best technology, but it’s about how you make it work for your customers – how you connect the dots.” Mourabak was followed on stage by Benjamin Steen, Head of Customer Care, Digital Licencing & Stadium at German football club FC Bayern Munich. Steen shared the club’s experience with new technologies, how they are embracing them to DECEMBER 2019

EVENT Avaya ENGAGE

Dubai Police International Call Center Awards

exceed their fans expectations and why customer loyalty is so important to any organisation. Steen argued that customers’ needs are changing, but too often organisations try to meet these needs by jumping too many steps that are necessary for a successful digital transformation journey. He said, “Everyone is talking about digital transformation, but most companies and brands make the second step before taking the first – organisations need to transform their company from within before deep diving into new technologies. You should ask yourself ‘do I have the right set up for digital transformation?’.” Steen also highlighted how Avaya has helped develop the technical infrastructure necessary to have a strong contact centre facility that in turn strengthens their fans’ loyalty. The event also saw Avaya announcing a MoU with Singaporebased start-up H3 Dynamics, which will see the companies deliver a suite of aerial video and real-time video analytics to help government entities and emergency responders react faster and more efficiently. DECEMBER 2019

We can all deliver the best technology, but it’s about how you make it work for your customers – how you connect the dots.” The worldwide leader in enterprise communications also announced a new subscription program for Avaya’s customers. The new program, Avaya IX Subscription, was launched in the international market, to make it easier for EMEA and APAC customers to purchase and consume Avaya’s world-class communications and collaboration solutions to drive their business growth. Showcased at Avaya ENGAGE, the Avaya subscription program provides customers with a flexible new consumption-based alternative to traditional perpetual pricing models, and can also facilitate their transition to cloud. “We continue to offer our customers the widest possible

choice for deployment options, and as part of that, we’re now able to extend a subscription model for on-premise communications infrastructures. We expect our customers to shift from an onpremise deployment paradigm to a private or public cloud architecture over the next two to three years, and Avaya IX Subscription provides a convenient steppingstone on that journey towards the cloud,” said Yaser Al Zubaidi, Senior Director – Engagement Solutions, Avaya International. “Avaya IX Subscription also highlights the flexibility inherent in Avaya’s solutions, which can be consumed across a range of deployment models and are fully capable of fitting into any given organisation’s hybrid cloud strategy.” The company also partnered with Dubai Police, which co-hosted the inaugural edition of the International Call Center Awards on the third day of the event. This recognised and honoured international government and police agencies, and private sector enterprises that have pioneered new standards and innovations in customer service. www.tahawultech.com

PROGRESS MADE REAL CNME REPORTED BACK FROM DELL TECHNOLOGIES FORUM IN DUBAI, WHERE THE IT LEADER HIGHLIGHTED ITS COMMITMENT TO DRIVING UAEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ICT AGENDA TOWARDS A DIGITAL READY ECONOMY OF THE FUTURE.

Dr. Patricia Florissi, Vice President and Global Chief Technology Officer of Sales, Dell Technologies

ith digital transformation being a major area of focus for businesses and government across the UAE, Dell Technologies has reinforced its commitment to advancing the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ICT agenda. The Dell Technologies Forum 2019 that was held in Dubai, brought together business leaders and industry experts to share their insights on how technology can help shape the future success of businesses in the country. The 2019 edition of the Dell Technologies Forum served as a platform for knowledge sharing and

DECEMBER 2019

best practices that aim to enhance and transform the ICT landscape in the UAE. The event also provided a blueprint for how ICT transformation initiatives can enable organisations to become digital enterprises of the future by showcasing next-generation technologies that support Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT). Dr. Patricia Florissi, Vice President and Global Chief Technology Officer of Sales at Dell Technologies was the opening keynote speaker and shared insights on how technology can drive human progress. She highlighted the importance of the role of data in fueling the success of digital transformation initiatives and www.tahawultech.com

EVENT Dell Technologies Forum

Fady Richmany, Sr. Director and General Manager, Dell Technologies

how emerging technologies will turn data into value, giving organisations a competitive advantage to succeed in a digital era. In an interview with CNME, she said, “I believe that one of Dell’s biggest differentiators is that we have a clear vision to create technology to drive human progress. When you have that kind of perspective it really gives you a bigger purpose, than goes beyond your workday. From a business side, we also have a very broad portfolio of technologies. We are number one in most of the industries we play in. Not only it’s a broad portfolio, but we excel all across. Last but not least, we have www.tahawultech.com

a rich culture inside Dell – a DNA that brings people together. We respect and motivate each other to do the best every day, day in and day out.” The informative sessions held at the event examined how digitisation spurs the development of new sectors that include but not limited to: Artificial Intelligence, e-commerce, mobile financial services, IoT, cloud computing and more. It also highlighted the positive impact it would have on the national GDP and how companies across industries such as logistics, infrastructure, trade, finance and more can enhance their productivity, efficiency and profitability without compromising on quality. This in turn is in line with the UAE’s strategy to be at the forefront of innovation across key sectors of growth. Fady Richmany, Sr. Director and General Manager - UAE at Dell Technologies explained, “The UAE continues to place ICT at the heart of its development strategy as it becomes a competitive and dynamic digital economy. It is therefore important that organisations ensure

that their IT infrastructure enables them to compete in a hyper-digital world and are laying the foundations for their digital future. At Dell Technologies, we are committed to helping our customers and partners unlock new enterprise value as they advance their digital roadmap, pursue innovation and continue building momentum in the country.” Another key aspect of Dell Technologies Forum 2019 Dubai was its focus on how technology is driving positive societal impact. As part of its ‘Progress Made Real Vision 2030’ social impact framework, Dell Technologies is committed to changing the world by advancing sustainability, cultivating inclusion, transforming lives with technology and upholding ethics and data privacy. The event also included specific workshops and breakout sessions led by experts from the Dell Technologies family on the move to the cloud, improving cybersecurity, AI and Machine Learning as well as 5G technology. These sessions were built around four key transformation pillars that include: Digital, IT, Workforce and Security and will enable business leaders to identify how they can use advanced technologies to drive growth and improve competitiveness.

At Dell Technologies, we are committed to helping our customers and partners unlock new enterprise value”

DECEMBER 2019

INTERVIEW Ericsson

SPECTRUM SHARING FOR GREATER AUTONOMY CNME EDITOR MARK FORKER SPOKE TO WOJCIECH BAJDA, VICE PRESIDENT AND HEAD OF GULF COUNCIL COUNTRIES AT ERICSSON MEA, IN A BID TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ITS APPROACH TOWARDS 5G TECHNOLOGY, ITS NEW SPECTRUM SHARING FEATURES, AND WHAT GIVES THE COMPANY A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN THE MARKET.

G is being tipped to completely transform the world we live in and communication service providers are finding new ways to capitalise on the opportunities of the next-generation technology after seeing their traditional revenue streams become challenged by the emergence of OTTs. Ericsson is a telecommunications powerhouse and through careful strategic planning and execution has positioned itself a key player for operators looking to commercially deploy 5G networks. Ericsson has been measured in its strategic approach to 5G technology and has played a leading role in standardisation efforts. Bajda said, “If you examine the number of patents related to 5G, then you can clearly see that Ericsson

DECEMBER 2019

has been leading the standardisation process of 5G for a long time. We have submitted the largest number of papers that were approved as part of the standardisation efforts. In 2016, when we realised that 5G was going to be happen sooner than we all had initially thought, we added 4,000 R&D engineers to accelerate the development of the technology.” Bajda expressed his satisfaction in the diversification of Ericsson’s 5G portfolio and said its 5G ready software gave the Swedish vendor a huge market advantage over its competitors. “I think our portfolio is very strong in terms of addressing all spectrums, whether it be low-band, mid-band and high-band, and we cover all bands which are dependent on the licensing and spectrum regulations of specific countries, but our diverse product portfolio can support all www.tahawultech.com

these frequencies. All the networks that we have delivered since 2015 are 5G hardware ready. Operators can switch on 5G with software activation. Operators that have been with us for a considerable length of time and who have had networks built since 2015 can activate 5G on their existing spectrum – and our ability to do this is a real market differentiator for us.” Ericsson has also enjoyed an edge in what is an ultra-competitive market with the development of its spectrum sharing features which empowers operators to have autonomy on their networks. Bajda explains spectrum sharing in more detail, “Our spectrum sharing features enables telecommunication operators who have Ericsson Radio System hardware, which has been 5G-ready since 2015, to activate 5G across all their networks and the www.tahawultech.com

specific radio you need to share its resources between 5G and 4G.” According to Bajda this gives operators a greater sense of autonomy and control over their networks and the flexibility of its spectrum sharing features ultimately empowers them to

In many cases 4G is still your primary revenue stream, and in areas where there is a lot of 4G consumption you will more than likely want 4G to be the main driver.”

make whatever decisions they want in relation to the network. Bajda added, “In many cases 4G is still your primary revenue stream, and in areas where there is a lot of 4G consumption you will more than likely want 4G to be the main driver. In other cases, you may have some customers using 5G, so it makes sense in this instance to prioritise 5G. The key for us is that we’re empowering operators with this new feature to be able to choose which network they want.” Bajda pointed out that 5G at its core is very much use-case driven and for that Ericsson is working closely with operators as part of an effort to look at industries in which they create and deliver industryspecific 5G services and use-cases. He concluded by saying, “5G is very much use-case driven and there has been different stages on this 5G journey. At the beginning of the year, the narrative was focused on who was going to win the race to be the first to commercially deploy 5G. Then the focus switched to what kind of usecases are going to drive monetary value for operators in the 5G era. “We’re all working on use-cases that are specific to certain countries. We need to focus on industries that are in the country. We’ve been working with operators and industries here to prototype 5G use-cases in Oil & Gas, Mining and Sea Ports. There are many ideas for use-cases, but we’re now entering the monetisation phase. We’re trying to help our customers to build offerings based around 5G. We want to bring our technology, know-how and expertise to the table and ultimately we want to support all mobile operators.” DECEMBER 2019

FEATURE Najm

THE RISE OF ANTI-FRAUD TECHNOLOGY THE INSURANCE SECTOR IS FACING INCREASING PRESSURE TO ADOPT NEW TECHNOLOGIES AS THE NUMBER OF FRAUD CASES ARISES. DEPUTY EDITOR GIORGIA GUANTARIO SAT DOWN WITH DR MOHAMMAD ALSULIMAN, CEO OF NAJM FOR INSURANCE SERVICES TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE SAUDI-BASED COMPANY IS MAKING STRIDES IN THE INDUSTRY BY LEVERAGING EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.

he power of data and analytics is clear to all organisations that hope to stay ahead of the curve in today’s digital economy. This approach has been welcomed by all sectors – including insurance. A study by Coalition Against Fraud Insurance shows that 41 percent of insurance companies said their tech budgets for 2019 would be larger, with a focus on predictive modeling, link analysis and social network analysis. However, while industries such as banking have traditionally received a great deal of attention when it comes to leveraging the capabilities of data and analytics, insurance – an industry that is significantly exposed to fraud and financial risk – has been somewhat forgotten in this overall innovation process and risks falling behind. So much so that according to Accenture, 86 percent of insurers believe innovation must happen at an increasingly rapid pace to retain a

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competitive edge and a whopping 96 percent think digital ecosystems are having an impact on the insurance industry. Insurance companies are indeed facing as much pressure as ever as lower insurance penetration, fraudulent cases and a manual approach to processes risk hindering their profitability. Before 2007, the Saudi insurance sector was no different – the industry was fractured, and insurance penetration suffered from a lack of education from end-users. It’s in this environment that Najm, a Saudi-based insurance services company, was born. The company was born in 2007 by a jointly initiative by regulators, law enforcement and the insurance industry, explained Dr Mohammad Alsuliman, CEO of Najm for Insurance Services. “The main reasons for creating the company was to bring together the industry and increase

the enablement of insurance penetration. At the same time, it was also to provide better quality services for the end-users and the insurers. “At the time, achieving that required an intervention by a professional entity who had experience in raising a report for insurance, processing claims and also indicating any kind of fraudulent transaction happening within automotive insurance,” said Dr Alsuliman. In 2007, Najm for Insurance Services only had 13 insurance agencies as shareholders, but the company now works with 26 insurance companies, and expanding. Essentially a B2B company, Najm for Insurance Services does not sell any products to end-users, but only provides different products and services to the insurance industry. Amongst these are liability determination, preparation and submission of accident related documents and claim requisition. However, the company has also been www.tahawultech.com

making great strides in their digitasation process, according to Dr Alsuliman. “We have a claim management system that comprises of an automated centralised database to maintain a proper record of all claims being processed after the accidents occur. “All our platforms and products are run by sophisticated technological systems and software that have been mostly developed by Najm itself. We have a strong infrastructure and we just invested tremendously into building a Tier 3 data centre that we hope will be the hub of our big data initiative,” continued Dr Alsuliman. Najm’s sophisticated infrastructure, and their innovative approach to digitisation, aim to increase the enablement of those companies that hope to penetrate the Saudi market – to have such an infrastructure already in place would mean cutting costs for newcomers and it would facilitate entry to the market, improving the Saudi insurance market overall.

Although insurance penetration and quality of services are still big problems for the industry, the principle issue the insurance sector faces is fraud. Nearly three-quarters of insurers that participated in a 2018 survey say fraud has increased either significantly or slightly – with an 11-point increase since 2014, according to Coalition Against Fraud Insurance. Najm has however been very successful in using anti-fraud technology as a major weapon to address increased fraud. Dr Alsuliman explained, “Within the last year and this year, we were able to cross-reference core variables and capture over 25,000 suspicious anti-fraud cases, 4,500 of which have been confirmed, for a value of SAR 45 million. The total value of cases currently under investigation is worth well over SAR 250 million. “Technology is enabling the insurance industry to increase margin and profits by identifying fraudulent cases. We are specifically

Technology is enabling the insurance industry to increase margin and profits by identifying fraudulent cases.”

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working with SAS in ‘baby steps’ to improve this process – they are incorporating their services and data analytics into our anti-fraud segment to help us become more proactive in our understanding of cases.” SAS, a global leader in analytics, recently formed a partnership with Najm to automate aspects of the Saudi company’s claimant profiling, and to complement existing manual processes to detect fraud claims through behavioral responses and automatically assess risk patterns. “Having automated processes allows us to filter cases and flag the probable fraudulent ones more easily, whilst saving resources and expanding our geographical reach. This process obviously also includes a level of Artificial Intelligence implementation which will initially need human intervention to adjust the scoring of each and every case – eventually the system will start working as a fully automated AI platform,” continued Dr Alsuliman. Besides forming a partnership with SAS, this year Najm also unveiled a new corporate identity that promotes the digitasation process discussed by Dr Alsuliman, as well as supporting the country’s Vision 2030 – the groundbreaking plan introduced by the Saudi government to secure the country’s success in the future. The new identity aims to create awareness and raise maturity of the industry in order to increase penetration, said Dr Alsuliman. “We would like to help people understand that insurance is good for them – insurance protects their assets and takes a lot of hassle out of their lives. By integrating automation, we take all the hassle away from the insurance process, creating better services for end-users and the insurance industry as a whole,” concluded Dr Alsuliman. DECEMBER 2019

FEATURE TEDx Ian Khan

UNTAPPING AI'S POTENTIAL CNME EDITOR MARK FORKER MANAGED TO SECURE AN INTERVIEW WITH TECHNOLOGIST AND CELEBRATED TEDX SPEAKER IAN KHAN, FOLLOWING THE CONCLUSION OF HIS PRESENTATION AT SERVICENOW’S ‘FUTURE OF WORK’ EVENT WHICH ILLUSTRATED HOW EMERGING AND TRANSFORMATIVE NEW TECHNOLOGIES ARE RESHAPING OUR SOCIETY. 22

hen asked to define what exactly his role as a technologist entails, Khan describes his job as that of a gel between the different constructs of the private and government sectors. Khan said, “I think my role is to serve as an educator, be that with the public, private or government sector. It’s my duty to be a catalyst that can accelerate a process - or bring people together or talk about something that can get people thinking in the right direction. I think we’re now living in an era in which we’re all very distracted. In my opinion leaders are unable to focus on the things that really matter, so it helps when you can channel their attention in a specific way.” When pressed on the overall message of his presentation which was a detailed and forensic analysis

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on how technology is fueling change within our society, Khan said his objective was to challenge the mindset and the status quo. Khan said, “I think if attendees go away and focus on maybe one or two topics that I highlighted during my presentation then my job is done. One of the messages I was trying to amplify in my presentation was centered on change. I want people to start thinking about change, to start thinking about automation and how these new and disruptive technologies are going to be a big part of our lives - and how we together can shape our future.” Elon Musk has positioned himself as one of the world’s most innovator thinkers and the CEO of SpaceX has recently revealed plans for a sustainable city on Mars. However, the tech entrepreneur has spoken of his concerns over AI - and has called for regulation on the technology

as he believes it could have a very harmful impact on society. Khan believes Musk was too outspoken regarding his fears over AI and said that technology thought leaders like Musk are wired much differently to everybody else. Khan said, “People like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezoz and Jack Ma just think at a completely different level to anybody else. I feel Elon Musk is slightly too vocal in relation to how he thinks the world could be in jeopardy and danger because AI in his opinion could get out of hand. Musk has invested in a company called Neuralink, who recently demonstrated how they can now put a sensor in your brain that can read your own thoughts – so I think when he speaks about AI he’s thinking about things that we can’t even fathom or imagine.” According to Khan AI remains largely untapped and he believes that www.tahawultech.com

we’re very far away from realising the true potential of the capabilities presented by AI. Khan said, “I think we’re miles away from delivering on the opportunities AI can provide for our society and I think in general people just don’t fully understand what AI is. I think there’s a lot of misconceptions surrounding the technology. There’s a lot of hype and the general public seem to think AI is going to consist of crazy robots talking over our jobs but it’s not like this at all. The truth is AI is all about good automation designed to reduce our workload and replace mundane jobs so we can have more fulfilling work experiences and that we can do things that are more meaningful.” There has undoubtedly been somewhat of a tech backlash following the Cambridge Analytica and Facebook data harvesting scandal provoked a lot of anger from users who feel betrayed at how their personal information was www.tahawultech.com

manipulated. There is now a lot of skepticism around technology but Khan feels the issue goes back to education. Khan said, “I think there are far too many skeptics who just want to put technology down. I think we need to go through a stage in which we educate everybody on understanding what it is. But I do think people need to open a book

I think we’re miles away from delivering on the opportunities AI can provide for our society and I think in general people just don’t fully understand what AI is.”

and read it instead of listening to somebody else’s viewpoint and then forming an opinion based on that. That’s why I always say we need to unlearn some of the things we know in order to make space for the things that we can relearn because some of our decision making is really old fashioned and outdated.” Interestingly during his presentation Khan highlighted the fact that AI isn’t a new technology and has been around for over 40 years and blockchain is also over 10 years old – so why are they only now becoming mainstream? According to Khan it’s a combination of investment and use-cases. Khan said, “We’re now finding uses for these technologies, so usecases are driving the acceleration in the adoption of AI and blockchain. If you look at the big four in the accounting world KPMG, Deloitte, PwC and Ernest & Young, they’re spending a collective of $2 billion on technologies in a bid to figure out what to do next and where to invest? Microsoft are spending in excess of $10 billion, whilst Google is spending in excess of $15 billion on AI. This has contributed to the accelerated adoption of these technologies into the mainstream.” In addition to this, Khan pointed out that an entire new ecosystem of startups is now relying on AI. He added, “If you go to Silicon Valley and Singapore there is thousands of startups that are doing something which is focused on AI. I think there has been a mass reaction to these new disruptive technologies and different things are flourishing. It is a truly exciting time and we need to embrace change and we need to think differently.” DECEMBER 2019

FAST-TRACKING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INFOSYSTA HELPED SAUDI AUTHORITY FOR INDUSTRIAL CITIES AND TECHNOLOGY ZONES (MODON) IN ITS DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY BY IMPLEMENTING ALM USING THE ATLASSIAN SUITE TO ALLOW STRONGER COLLABORATION BETWEEN BUSINESS AND IT TEAMS. MODON IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REGULATION AND PROMOTION OF INDUSTRIAL ESTATES AND TECHNOLOGY ZONES IN SAUDI ARABIA, AND IN THIS FASCINATING CASE STUDY IT DOCUMENTS HOW INFOSYSTA HELPED THEM TO ADOPT SHORTER DEVELOPMENT CYCLE TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH REDUCED TIME TO MARKET.

HE CHALLENGE The development process was not defined in a tool and the Application Lifecycle Management was a difficult process to track where each new business request requires multi-team engagement, and each team serves a different function under the IT department hat, including business analysts, developers, project ABOUT THE CLIENT managers, release The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, and configuration also known simply as MODON is a government organisation personnel. created by the Government of Saudi Arabia in 2001. It is MODON was looking responsible for the regulation and promotion of Industrial Estates and Technology Zones in Saudi Arabia and to encourage for a tool to implement the private sector to become involved in the development, Application Lifecycle operation and maintenance of Industrial Estates. Management. This tool DECEMBER 2019

shall bring different teams to work together in a single platform to have good tracking visibility, effective code integration, continuous delivery and deployment. A tool that allows all the functional teams to work effectively and seamlessly. THE SOLUTION The IT department was having different bottlenecks in their process caused by manual administrative tasks and was looking for a way to track their processes, deadlines, risks and application road map in one place. Jira Software, Bitbucket and Bamboo motivated them to move forward with the investment and transition. Infosysta supported the IT www.tahawultech.com

CASE STUDY Infosysta

MODON’s investment was fruitful allowing stronger collaboration between business and IT teams.”

development team in MODON have the visibility to track/locate each code change.

Automated Deployments Bamboo introduced a continuous integration (CI) server to automate the release management for a software application, creating a continuous delivery pipeline including building and functional testing, tagging releases, assigning versions, deploying and activating the new version in production.

department in MODON in the journey of applying best practices and moved to implementation, automation plans, culture building, training and support, ensuring the IT department get the best out of the Atlassian Suite. THE RESULT Process tracking Jira Software allowed different teams at MODON to introduce Agile methodology into their culture be it Scrum, Kanban, or MODON’s own unique flavor. Teams can plan, track, and manage all software development projects from a single tool allowing team release faster with higher quality software. www.tahawultech.com

Document Collaboration Confluence added a great value to the implementation by presenting a collaboration wiki tool helping teams to collaborate and share knowledge efficiently. Confluence offered an open place where it connected all teams (IT & Business) to up to date ideas and information and helped everyone does their best work. Code Collaboration Bitbucket introduced a version control repository hosting service and gave teams a one place to plan projects, collaborate on code, test, deploy and ship in an efficient manner. With the help of Jira Software integration, the

THE CONCLUSION Infosysta helped with the journey of digital transformation at MODON by implementing ALM using the Atlassian suite – the best of breed tool that is in the magic quadrant of Gartner. MODON’s investment was fruitful allowing stronger collaboration between business and IT teams. This also introduced quality improvements by improved project management, including better estimation, tracking and reporting through a single, unified view of the project. The Agile culture allowed the IT department to rapidly build and adapt applications to support changing business requirements and adopting shorter development cycle to improve productivity with reduced Time to Market. DECEMBER 2019

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www.tahawultech.com

COVER FEATURE NXN

NXN – A DIGITAL SERVICE PROVIDER THAT SIMPLIFIES AND ACCELERATES DX CNME EDITOR MARK FORKER SPOKE TO GHAZI ATALLAH, THE DYNAMIC AND VISIONARY CEO OF NXN, A DIGITAL SERVICE PROVIDER THAT HAS POSITIONED ITSELF AS A REAL AGENT OF CHANGE FOR ENTERPRISES AND GOVERNMENTS SEEKING SMART AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION.

n a compelling interview, Atallah articulates how NXN’s ability to remove the complexity involved in digital transformation journeys by simplifying and accelerating the process is ultimately what differentiates the innovative company from its rivals. In addition to this, he highlights the capabilities of its cutting-edge and award-winning digital transformation platform DNX - and outlines his plans for geographical expansion in 2020 following the phenomenal success of NXN in the MENA region. DIGITAL LEADER: The charismatic figurehead of NXN stated that the reason the digital service provider has become the market incumbent in relation to executing digital transformation

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projects is largely down to its business model. “NXN is the leading digital service provider in the region, and we don’t mince our words when we say that. We’re not only the leading provider in the region, but we’re also extremely unique in the sense that as a service provider you want to simplify and accelerate for your customers. You don’t want to add complexity or engage in long-term projects that don’t deliver the right outcomes,” says Atallah. “Our objective is to simplify the relationship with the customer and to accelerate the customer’s transformation journey. We’re able to achieve success because our service provider model is completely unique, and we’re truly the only fully-fledged digital service provider in the region.” DECEMBER 2019

COVER FEATURE NXN

EXPERTISE: The uniqueness of NXN’s business model is that they’re able to fuse all their technological, consulting and data science expertise to ensure that their customers are clear in what exactly it is that they want to achieve from digitising their processes. “What we do is address the technology component through our DNX platform, and we also bring in our consulting team to work with the customers as part of an effort to better understand the customers needs and then plan out their transformation journey with them. We also onboard our data science team which helps them to organise, orchestrate and make sense of their data to ultimately make better informed business decisions,” says Atallah. “Our technology team integrates DNX into the customers environment which helps simplify and connect everything. Once we’ve established a clear picture and understand where we want to go in terms of use-cases and their transformation goals, then our software team comes onboard to develop these use-cases. This is our main value proposition and why we say that we’re the only true digital service provider in the region.” CUSTOMER-CENTRICITY: According to NXN’s CEO one other key component of its incredible success is its customer-centricity, as he explains they’re not an SI that sells hardware or software. NXN is a service provider that is invested with their customers on a multi-year business model that is fundamentally based on a partnership ethos. Atallah explains, “We help the customer to plan what they need, build what they need, and we help them DECEMBER 2019

manage it on an ongoing basis with a very flexible commercial model which makes what we do even more unique.” Addressing Customer Complexities: NXN’s customers are predominantly smart digital cities or digital governments, which are typically very complex environments. However, according to Atallah this enables NXN to be able to have a bigger impact because the environment is complex. “In these environments, traditional transformation projects take several years, but we can shorten this through our ability to do this in weeks or months depending on what is the outcome that is sought by the customer.”

This partnership aligns with the rapid rise of the UAE’s technology industry and the increasing prominence of blockchain on a global scale.”

DRIVING USE-CASES: As aforementioned above NXN can deliver use-cases for its customers within a matter of weeks and will have a full transformation masterplan in place within months which will be integrated into its digital platform. However, a recurring theme throughout this discussion is simplify and accelerate. But what does simplify and accelerate mean when it comes to digital transformation? “Our message is very clear. Our primary objective is to help our customers simplify and accelerate. The simplification part consists of understanding what the customer has, what they want to integrate and then develop a plan with them to execute their main objectives

and goals. The acceleration part sees us engage with the customer to integrate their environment through our DNX platform in a bid to accelerate the development of usecases,” says Atallah. NXN are direct when conveying the message to their customers that it is critical you establish a digital transformation masterplan if you want to transform. “If you’re building a new city then you’re not going to build it without a masterplan. You can’t embark on a transformation exercise without a robust masterplan in place that outlines the key milestones in a roadmap,” says Atallah. DATA VISIBILITY: Atallah explains that following the planning consultation process, the second part of the digital transformation project always revolves www.tahawultech.com

around data. Data is a common challenge for NXN’s customers. “Firstly, then don’t really know what data they have. They don’t have clear view of what data exists within the organisation, nor do they know its quality or readiness. If you want to evolve from turning data into information and insights to make better informed business decisions’ then you need to have clear visibility of your data and this is what we provide with our data science and practices team,” says Atallah. He added that NXN’s approach was to start from the bottom to understand their customers data and perform a quick snapshot of the current state of data within the organisation to help set out data standards and policies in a bid to evolve the quality of the data at the organisations disposal. www.tahawultech.com

EDUCATING CUSTOMERS: The other challenge NXN encounter with their customers is from a technology perspective. As already highlighted above AI, blockchain and Internet of Things are dominating the discussion in the current tech climate, and companies want to integrate all this disruptive technology into their existing operations now, but as Atallah explains that this desire to infuse all that technology at once can blur their vision. “Customers come to us and they say I want an AI platform, an IoT platform and a blockchain platform, but this mindset makes it then quite difficult for the customers to have a birds-eye view of what they really want to do,” says Atallah. “There is a knowledge exchange process involved as we explain the concept behind the DNX platform. We

outline to them what DNX can bring into their environment and integrate it, in order to provide the technology infrastructure required to accelerate digital transformation. What we do is basically help them simplify their technology environment.” Geographical Expansion: NXN’s primary market is the MENA region and the digital services provider has physical offices in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait which represents their three most important marketplaces. The company is visible all over the GCC and has specific engagements in Egypt and Jordan as well as strategic projects in Qatar and Oman. NXN’s vision has resulted in it being the leading digital services provider in the Middle East, but he is ambitious and has expressed a desire to expand his company’s footprint on a global scale, highlighting how its model is not a regional one, but instead a global model. He said, “We’re focused on geographical expansion. The type of expertise and capabilities we bring to the table is unrivalled and has resulted in a huge upsurge in interest from other countries who want to adopt our platform.” One such country is Canada and the NXN CEO revealed that the company is already rolling out services in the country. “We’re using our platform to rollout smart services in Canada in partnership with key players such as telecommunications operator TELUS. We’re also getting pulled into Europe and other countries so geographical expansion is something we’re really focused on. What we have is not a regional model, it’s global,” says Atallah. DECEMBER 2019

DISTRICT 2020 WILL FUEL UAE’S BLOCKCHAIN ECOSYSTEM NADIMEH MEHRA, VICE PRESIDENT, DISTRICT 2020, LEGACY DEVELOPMENT AND IMPACT, EXPO 2020 DUBAI, AND RAIN HUAN, CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER AT ATLAS CAPITAL DISCUSS THE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE GROWING BLOCKCHAIN SECTOR IN DUBAI, AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESSES TO BE PART OF THE BLOCKCHAIN CAMPUS. ALL OF WHICH SIT INTO THE UAE’S WIDER EMIRATES BLOCKCHAIN STRATEGY 2021.

Nadimeh Mehra, VP, District 2020

AN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN DISTRICT 2020 AND ATLAS CAPITAL? NM: District 2020 will be Dubai’s newest innovation district – a leading innovation hub and mixeduse ecosystem that encourages collaboration between global businesses, start-ups, and SMEs. The

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ecosystem we’re curating supports the UAE’s vision for sustainable economic development, and will therefore support the shift to a diverse, innovation-based economy through a focus on key growth industries such as travel and tourism, logistics and transport, education, construction, and technology. As such, the District 2020 team is actively engaging with partners that will add value to our ecosystem. Atlas Capital is one of the latest global players to announce its collaboration with us and has committed to

establishing and developing the nation’s first blockchain campus in District 2020. Our shared mission is to develop a leading global space to help accelerate the progress of blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies and businesses. These advanced facilities will enable the launch of research projects and provide a place to bring together industry leaders to exchange ideas and share insight. We are even talking about developing a digital currency and an official blockchain wallet. This partnership aligns with the www.tahawultech.com

FEATURE District 2020 the world’s leading ecosystem for blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies. Our primary focus is to develop and establish a community-driven programme that will grow and drive forward the blockchain industry within the District 2020 ecosystem. This includes supporting start-ups and established businesses, making policy recommendations, initiating research projects, and hosting conferences, hackathons, and other industry events. We are also working to bridge the UAE market with the global blockchain community, for mutual gain.

Rain Huan, Co-founder & Managing Partner, Atlas Capital

rapid rise of the UAE’s technology industry and the increasing prominence of blockchain on a global scale. District 2020 is the ideal smart and sustainable location to nurture blockchain’s rise in the region while developing the nation’s innovationdriven economy. Looking ahead, we are determined to partner with other global companies, SMEs, and start-ups to help us build a community-driven blockchain and fintech ecosystem that is attractive to accelerators from all over the world. DO YOU THINK DISTRICT 2020 WILL SERVE AS AN INCUBATOR FOR OTHER CHINESE BLOCKCHAIN COMPANIES SEEKING NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN THE UAE? RH: Yes, it will. We are developing a Blockchain Campus at District 2020, which will be an independent, government-supported entity located in Dubai, UAE. Our mission is to build www.tahawultech.com

reduce their operating costs, enhance transparency, improve security, and make supply chains more efficient. With a 5G network and smart city services, District 2020 will be the ultimate environment for techfocused companies to test new technologies and products. THERE HAS BEEN SOME SCEPTICISM TOWARDS BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY, ESPECIALLY FROM THE TRADITIONAL FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM. HOW DO YOU COUNTER AGAINST THAT? RH: Due to the nature of their set-up, financial organisations are naturally questioning how blockchain will affect their operations. The world’s existing financial institutions are basically centralised financial intermediaries, and include commercial banks, security and insurance companies, and information consulting services. Blockchain technology eliminates the traditional centralised intermediary and may therefore have a huge impact on the current established system. To this end, blockchain has the potential to displace any financial activity built on transactions that happen through traditional financial databases. Therefore, when promoting the application of blockchain technology, a gradual adoption is paramount. Governments are important players in this process and must consider the substitution effect of blockchain technology on centralised institutions and help to implement change steadily.

This partnership aligns with the rapid rise of the UAE’s technology industry and the increasing prominence of blockchain on a global scale.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT DISTRICT 2020 SUPPORTS THE UAE’S GOVERNMENT’S BLOCKCHAIN STRATEGY 2021? NM: Our collaboration with Atlas Capital Holding emphasises just how important it is that we play a role in enabling the UAE to meet the goals of the Blockchain Strategy 2021, as laid out by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council. By facilitating Dubai’s transformation into a city that invests in emerging technologies to become truly interconnected and ‘smart’, District 2020 will play a central role in ensuring industries and enablers across public and private sectors have the tools to implement blockchain. They will be guided through an understanding of the benefits of blockchain which include: how it can

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INTERVIEW SAS

THE POWER OF ANALYTICS DEPUTY EDITOR GIORGIA GUANTARIO SPOKE TO YIGIT KARABAG, REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER ADVISORY, MIDDLE EAST & EASTERN EUROPE AT SAS DURING THE ANALYTICS-LEADER’S ANNUAL EVENT, ANALYTICS EXPERIENCE IN MILAN TO DISCUSS THE COMPANY’S STRATEGY IN THE REGION AND THE CHALLENGES ORGANISATIONS FACE WHEN IT COMES TO DATA AND ANALYTICS.

EGIONAL GOVERNMENTS HAVE BEEN PRAISED FOR THEIR INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO DELIVERING DIGITAL SERVICES TO MEET THE GROWING DEMANDS OF THEIR CITIZENS. HOW DOES SAS ANALYTICS SUPPORT THE UAE GOVERNMENT TO ACHIEVE THEIR VISION 2021 AND THE SAUDI GOVERNMENT’S VISION 2030? In the recent years we’ve seen huge attraction in the public sector in the Middle Eastern region, especially when it comes to applying advanced analytics to data. In the past, government entities were mostly focused on simple digitisation and collecting the data. However, now they are faced with the challenge of how to apply the power of analytics to the data they’ve collected to create additional value for their citizens while decreasing public spending. We are seeing lots of innovative use cases in this field – just to give a

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few examples, we are working with agricultural agencies to make sure that the grants they’re giving to farmers are utilised properly; we are working for customs and other taxation authorities to implement more AIdriven and analytics driven methods to detect any kind of leakage on taxation; we are working with a job employment agency in the region to perfectly match candidates to job openings, thus reducing unemployment rates in the country; and this is just a small list of all the projects SAS has been working on to help regional governments achieve their visions. ONE OF THE MAIN CHALLENGES BOTH THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS ARE FACING IS THE LACK OF SKILLED HUMAN RESOURCES. WHAT OTHER CHALLENGES DO ORGANISATIONS FACE WHEN IT COMES TO LEVERAGING THEIR DATA EFFECTIVELY? As you’ve mentioned, lack of skilled human resources is a global

challenge – there is tremendous demand in this field, which is why SAS has put in place various strategic initiatives to support academia. We want to make sure the next generation of graduates are equipped with the right data science skills to push both the private and public sector forward. However, there are other ‘gaps’ when it comes to leveraging the power of data, especially in the public sector. One of the major ones would be the lack of frameworks to safely share data between entities. Analytics make a lot more sense and add a higher level of value when you’re able to have a wide view of what’s happening across the board. In order to do this, government entities need to be able to share data effectively without violating any kind of regulation or data privacy legislation. In that sense, the private sector is much more flexible, but they still suffer from the same skillset www.tahawultech.com

prospects and accelerate their digital transformation journey. Moreover, we have a world class platform which includes end-to-end capabilities for all data science needs, including the ability to incorporate open source. Our experience, combined with our cutting-edge platform, puts us in a really unique position to provide advance analytics support and delivering innovative solutions to leverage the power of data.

problem and in many cases, they also suffer from ‘cultural’ issues. The best applications of data science and analytics require doing things differently, which often results in changing an organisation’s culture. Decisions that may have taken by institution in the past need to be taken with a more rational and data-based approach when you implement analytics and data science. This means that there has to be some kind of consensus when it comes to analytics, which is not always easy to achieve when human emotions play a part in the decisionmaking process of a company. SAS has been recognised as a Leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data Science & Machine Learning Platforms for the sixth consecutive year in 2019. WHAT MAKES YOU THE GO-TO PLAYER IN THE ANALYTICS AND DATA SCIENCE MARKET? SAS is the largest and oldest www.tahawultech.com

advanced analytics provider in the world – this means we have tremendous experience in this field, and an astounding number of use cases proving we are the top leader in analytics and data science. We work with all organisations, whether in the private or public sector, and our extensive experience means we can transfer our knowledge to our

Our experience, combined with our cutting-edge platform, puts us in a really unique position to provide advance analytics support and delivering innovative solutions to leverage the power of data.”

INVESTMENT IN AI SYSTEMS IN THE MEA REGION IS EXPECTED TO REACH $374.2 MILLION IN 2020. HOWEVER, DO YOU THINK WE HAVE REACHED THE LEVEL OF MATURITY NECESSARY TO SEE REAL VALUE IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE? I think the answer varies between industries – certain industries which have been traditionally very strong in advance analytics, like banking, telco, or insurance, already have a very advanced use cases, creating additional value from this technology. However, especially in this region, emerging industries like manufacturing, government, or energy and utilities, may be able to see the huge opportunities deriving from AI, but still need to find the right entry point to leverage it. AI needs to stop being just a buzzword for these industries, so that they can start realising the value of analytics and put something into production – it may be called AI, it may be called advance analytics, but in the end the main thing is that it needs to be a value-driven proposition. These industries need to stop thinking about the words and labels and start thinking about what they want to achieve and then work it backwards to see how these tools, technologies and methodologies, which SAS offers, can help them get there. DECEMBER 2019

FEATURE ServiceNow

SERVICENOW TECHNOLOGIES CONTINUE TO DRIVE CHANGE IN THE GLOBAL WORKPLACE CNME MANAGED TO SECURE AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH MARK ACKERMAN, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA, AT SERVICENOW WHO EXPLAINED HOW THEY HAVE APPLIED CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGIES TO THEIR LATEST RELEASE.

he Silicon-Valley based cloud computing behemoth has completely revolutionised our approach to work. The company has established itself as a champion of change in the workplace since its inception in 2004. ServiceNow’s ability to create digital workflows that create great experiences and unlock productivity is the primary reason why the multinational conglomerate is now valued at over $2 billion. The cloud-based IT management tool releases two new versions of its ServiceNow platform every year and is typically named after major global cities. In a compelling interview, Ackerman explains how the company has applied cutting-edge technologies

DECEMBER 2019

in the form of AI and Machine Learning to its latest release entitled New York. According to Ackerman the integration of AI and Machine Learning has transformed and enhanced the employee experience. Ackerman said, “In the current IT climate there’s a lot of prevalent buzzwords such as AI and Machine Learning, and for a lot of companies they remain just that, buzzwords. However, we’ve been incorporating these technologies through a wide number of acquisitions to date. We’re known for our investment in nascent technologies and we’re repurposing that onto the platform. We launched New York a couple of months ago, and we’ve integrated AI and Machine Learning on to that platform.” ServiceNow’s business model has www.tahawultech.com

Ackerman also highlighted that part of its evolution has seen ServiceNow turn its attentions to intent around natural language, pointing out the traditional methods of recording reports had become obsolete and outdated. Ackerman said, “The traditional method of recording and reporting a problem is archaic. In the past when there was an issue with your laptop you would be forced to record it manually. However, now you can just use natural

always been customer-centric and they are continuously striving to deliver enhanced experiences in the workplace. The objective according to Ackerman is to ultimately empower workers through their technology. He added, “We’ve incorporated new technologies in New York, but we’re also using the full platform on the mobile, so if you’ve got an issue for example with your laptop then you can open the application and take a picture of it. The technology that is now embedded within the platform will immediately identify the location of the laptop and who owns it and will start generating options for you to pursue in a bid to resolve the issue you’re experiencing. This gives the employee autonomy.” www.tahawultech.com

We launched New York a couple of months ago, and we’ve integrated AI and Machine Learning on to that platform.” language understandings and hit the record button and deliver an audio which reports and records the problem instantly. We’ve made a significant number of acquisitions, and we’re focusing on intent around natural language. The intent around what it is that you’re asking for is very important.” Ackerman also highlighted how ServiceNow has deployed a new solution called Agent Intelligence.

He added, “Agent intelligence enables you to log your report and be assigned to the correct designated person that can resolve the issue for you, instead of being initially directed to a line agent. Because we’ve got all this data, we’ve applied machine learning to identify where exactly a certain problem should be re-directed to. Predictive analytics and machine learning empowers us to do this and it has something that has really resonated with users - as it simplifies and streamlines the process in a much faster, efficient and effective way.” When pressed on the benefits of ServiceNow’s Future of Work event and what vision is it trying to curate and convey, Ackerman conceded there was room for improvement. I think this event will evolve. I think if I was to be hyper-critical is that we don’t always deliver our message in an effective way when we’re doing these types of events. Do we wow those in attendance? I’m not so sure, but we are getting better,” says Ackerman. He highlighted how Chris Pope and other executives from ServiceNow were now hosting experiential workshops. “It’s a pragmatic approach, but the biggest battle we face with customers is that when they leave here, and they think that all of this is awesome, but say to themselves where do we start? People have been guilty of overcomplicating it,” says Ackerman. “Digital transformation isn’t building a massive vision, strategy and execution plan. Digital transformation starts by saying what if tomorrow nobody in the company will have to reset their password through a bot – but instead can just do it through their mobile. That’s digital transformation.” DECEMBER 2019

SPONSORED Huawei

OPENING UP AI SYSTEMS FOR THE ICT CHANNEL ALAA ELSHIMY, MD & SVP, HUAWEI ENTERPRISE BUSINESS GROUP, MIDDLE EAST, DISCUSSES HOW HUAWEI IS BUILDING AN ECOSYSTEM THAT FOSTERS SHARED GROWTH AND VALUE TO HELP THE CHANNEL TO ENABLE CUSTOMER DIGITISATION AND BRING DIGITAL TO EVERY ORGANISATION.

s GCC countries turn to smart solutions to drive national development, the demand for artificial intelligence (AI) has grown immensely – and rightly so, given the potential for AI solutions to transform economies by introducing increased value for every member of society. There is an opportunity for ICT channel players to capitalise upon this growth as government entities and businesses alike are investing more in AI. Some organisations have estimated that by

DECEMBER 2019

2030, AI will contribute up to US$320 billion to Middle East economies. Huawei predicts that by 2025, AI will have an even larger role to play in shaping the industry and our world as a general purpose technology, particularly in terms of contributing towards seamless communication, automation, augmented creativity and more. The region’s evolving telecoms infrastructure will also serve as a driver for the adoption of AI. Ultra-broadband 5G is already poised for full-scale adoption in GCC countries, who have been amongst the leaders globally in 5G investments. Once these networks are fully functional and accessible by all, 5G networks will deliver the reliability, speed, and accessibility that will make AI even more valuable in the connected society. While there is a clear recognition of the value of AI in both the public and private sectors, many organisations www.tahawultech.com

still require assistance to properly identify the right AI for their needs. A helping hand is needed to plan and then justify the often-substantial investments made in new technology. This is where the ICT channel has a critical role to play. We see more regional governments and enterprises turning to the channel not only for information on specific AI solutions, but the ecosystems that these solutions reside within. It is for this specific reason that Huawei has adopted an expanded ‘Platform + AI + Ecosystem’ strategy. This aims to provide end-users with the pervasive intelligence they desire, while easily integrating their existing IT platforms with the wider AI ecosystem. Huawei continues to enhance its ICT portfolio across multiple domains, including cloud, artificial intelligence, campus networks, data centers, Internet of Things, and intelligent computing. It remains a trusted supplier for government and utility customers, as well as customers in commercial sectors like finance, transportation, energy, and automobile. Like many of our channel partners, our goal is to enable customer digitisation and bring digital to every organisation. By actively collaborating with channel partners and other external parties—especially AI technology partners—we are all able to build an ecosystem that fosters shared growth and value. We are delivering ubiquitous connectivity and pervasive intelligence to our government and enterprise customers. We have also built a digital platform integrating new ICT technologies including cloud computing, AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, integrated communications, video, and geographic information system (GIS). www.tahawultech.com

Moving forward, it will be even more important for companies like Huawei to support the channel in simplifying their entry into AI, building the right AI talent, and managing margins in this dynamic category. Simplifying entry into AI: The consolidation of AI technologies into a full-stack, all-scenario portfolio is perhaps the single most important step-change in making advanced intelligence more accessible. It also makes it easier for channel leaders to offer end-to-end solutions to their customers without having to build complex, multi-vendor systems.

While there is a clear recognition of the value of AI in both the public and private sectors, many organisations still require assistance to properly identify the right AI for their needs.” Today it can be almost as simple as plug and play to get started with AI. Building the right talent: The world around us is increasingly digital. However, we hear time and again that there is not yet enough talent within the region’s ICT sector—especially when it comes to AI—to perpetuate widespread adoption across vertical industries. It is thus our responsibility to support local AI talent, working with government authorities, colleges and universities in the Middle East to

identify, support, and grow the future leaders of the sector. Introducing more robust AI certification programs for the channel must also be a priority for the region. Managing margins: Given the rapid advancements happening in the AI field, it can sometimes be a challenge to build win-win pricing and sales margins for new solutions. End users themselves must also understand the full value of the solutions they’re adopting. In the end, more and more companies have come to realise the value of AI. As awareness increases, Huawei is committed to continuous innovation that will further enable the development of the ecosystem. Our recent advances in AI include the world’s most powerful AI processor, Ascend 910, as well as the launch of GaussDB, an AI-Native database. With the advancement of 5G commercial progress, business applications are emerging in an endless stream. This is where the deeper integration of the 5G ecosystem and AI becomes critical. Today, organisations are being provided with all the tools needed to thrive in the 5G era. Moving forward, smart media, manufacturing, education, healthcare, agriculture, intelligent transportation, and more will all be supported by AI. It is already used in core IT infrastructure such as data center networks, storage and data center facilities, and the cloud. We want to work more closely with partners across the value chain to create greater value for our customers, and a better experience for enterprises in the Middle East. Together, we can promote the healthy and sustainable development of the entire AI industry. DECEMBER 2019

REDEFINING technology transformation

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DECEMBER 2019 TAHAWULTECH.COM

MISSION ‫تمت‬ ACCOMPLISHED ‫المهمة‬ PUBLICATION LICENSED BY DUBAI PRODUCTION CITY, DCCA

DECEMBER 2019

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GovTech UAE Space Mission

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED CNME TAKES A CLOSER LOOK AT ONE OF 2019’S BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT FOR THE UAE, THE SPACE MISSION – FROM THE MISSION TO MARS INITIATIVE TO HAZZA ALMANSOORI, THE FIRST UAE ASTRONAUT, WHO EARLIER THIS YEAR BOARDED THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FOR A HISTORIC EIGHT-DAY MISSION.

he UAE government has drawn praise for its progressive approach to new technologies which have transformed Dubai into one of the most technologically advanced cities in the entire world. Moreover, the government is also aggressively pursuing an ambitious space program which it believes will enable it to become a global player in the aerospace industry. A perfect illustration of its space aspirations is its Mission to Mars initiative. The UAE will send a probe to Mars, which is expected to reach the planet in July 2021, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the United Arab Emirates. At the time of the official announcement of its Mars project in 2014, the President of the UAE, HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan said, “The UAE Mars probe represents the Islamic world’s entry into the era www.tahawultech.com

41 of space exploration. We will prove that we’re capable of delivering new scientific contributions to humanity. The UAE’s purpose is to build Emirati technical and intellectual capabilities in aerospace and space exploration, and to enter the space industry, making use of space technology in a way that enhances the country’s development plans.” HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler

Everyone dreams. But we rise to the challenge and strive to realise our dreams.”

of Dubai echoed the sentiments expressed by the President by adding, “Our region is a region of civilisation. Our destiny is, once again, to explore, to create, to build and to civilise. We chose the epic challenge of reaching Mars because epic challenges inspire and motivate us. The moment we stop taking on such challenges is the moment we stop moving forward.” The U AE believes that the ‘Hope spacecraft’ will advance human knowledge about the atmosphere and climate on Mars, about which very little is known. This mission being embarked upon by the UAE will produce the first truly global picture of the Martian atmosphere. In addition to this, it will study how the lower and upper layers of the atmosphere interact with each other and will search for connections between today’s Martian weather and the ancient climate of the Red Planet. The Emirates Mars Mission is DECEMBER 2019

GovTech UAE Space Mission

The UAE Mars probe represents the Islamic world’s entry into the era of space exploration.” managed in the UAE by an Emirati team divided into seven groups including Spacecraft, Logistics, Mission Operation, Project Science Education and Outreach, Ground Station, and Launch Vehicle. The 75-strong team will build a core capability to develop and share the UAE’s space knowledge base. The team will also be working with universities and research institutes to collaborate on developing the mission’s science and analysing mission findings and data. Another key component in the UAE’s aspirations to achieve its space objectives is the Mohamed bin Rashid DECEMBER 2019

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai live calls AlMansoori on ISS

Space Centre which was established in 2015, alongside the Emirates Institute for Advanced Science Technology (EIAST). The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre has a clear mission to implement the UAE’s drive to enter the space age and to develop scientific competencies among Emirati professionals in line with UAE Vision 2021 and helping fulfill 2015 as the UAE’s “Year of Innovation”. The Center is set to develop research, projects and studies related to the fields of space and advanced science and technology. It will also oversee the preparation and implementation of all phases of the Emirates Mars Mission. However, the UAE’s biggest statement thus far in terms of announcing itself on the global aeronautical stage was sending the first ever Emirati Hazza AlMansoori, into

space for a historic eight-day mission. The ISS mission carrying AlMansoori was successfully launched on September 25, 2019 at 5:57pm UAE time. HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, who witnessed the launch live from MBRSC, expressed his best wishes to the astronaut for the completion of the historic mission and the scientific experiments planned as part of it. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also expressed his happiness to the astronaut during a live call to ISS. “The word impossible does not exist in our dictionary – you are the UAE’s pride; many Emiratis will follow in your footsteps and continue to make the UAE’s dreams a reality. “Everyone dreams. But we rise to the challenge and strive to realise our dreams. Our next goal is to reach www.tahawultech.com

Mars. My brother Mohammed bin Zayed and I firmly believe in our ability to achieve this goal. Some say this is impossible. But we say ‘impossible’ does not exist as long as there is a will,” he told AlMansoori. AlMansoori docked with the ISS along with Russian flight leader Oleg Scripochka, and NASA astronaut, Jessica Meir. The three joined six astronauts on board the ISS; Christina Koch, Andrew Morgan, Nick Hague, Aleksandr Skvortsov, Aleksey Ovshinin, and Luca Parmitano. In a historical moment, the Emirati astronaut was the first to present an introductory tour in Arabic at ISS. In the introductory tour, he explained the components of the station, the equipment on board and methods of conducting experiments in zero gravity. AlMansoori also conducted earth observation and imaging experiences, whilst documenting the daily lives of astronauts at the station.

AlMansoori also undertook a scientific mission to study the impact of microgravity in comparison with that of gravity on Earth. This mission included 16 experiments selected based on MBRSC’s ‘Science in Space’ competition, which targeted schools in the UAE. Furthermore, AlMansoori was also assigned to complete existing scientific missions at ISS laboratories. In February, The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) announced the details of the mission to the International Space Station during a press conference attended by both Hazza AlMansoori and UAE’s backup astronauts, Sultan Al Neyadi. HE Yousuf Hamad Al Shaibani, Director General of MBRSC explained that one of the astronauts, later announced to be AlMansoori, would fly to ISS for an eight-day Russian space mission aboard a Soyuz-MS 15 spacecraft and would travel back aboard a Soyuz-MS 12.

Hazza AlMansoori with Russian flight leader Oleg Skripochka and NASA’s Jessica Meir

“Announcing this date is a milestone and a great achievement for the entire Arab region. For the first time, an Arab astronaut will travel to ISS so that Arab youth can repeat the accomplishments of their ancestors who excelled in science and mathematics. This step also supports the aspirations of Emiratis,

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and their determination to achieve the vision of the UAE’s leadership, and support the UAE in exploring space and preparing national cadres to contribute to enriching scientific progress, serving humanity and promoting more achievements in the industry. This also supports the effort to build a national economy based on knowledge, innovation, and creativity,” said Al Shaibani at the press conference. AlMansoori was first selected alongside Sultan Al Neyadi back in September 2018. Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum chose the two from 4022 applicants for the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre’s (MBRSC) UAE Astronaut Programme, which was launched in 2017 to participate in global space exploration missions by 2021. AlMansoori and Al Neyadi had to pass six stage of medical, psychological and advanced tests and a series of personal interview in cooperation with NASA and advanced medical tests at the Russian Space Agency, Roscomos. At the time of the announcement, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said, “It’s a new Arab achievement to announce the names of the first Arab astronauts for the International Space Station. Hazza AlMansoori and Sultan Al Neyadi represent all Arab youth and raise the ceiling of aspirations for the new Emirati generations to come.” AlMansoori is a military fighter pilot with 14 years of military aviation experience. In 2016, he qualified to be an aeronautical pilot and previous to the ISS mission piloted an F-16B60 aircraft. DECEMBER 2019

‫جوف تك‬ ‫بعثة الفضاء اإلماراتية‬

‫المهمة أنجزت‬ ‫ألقت مجلة ‪ CNME‬نظرة عن كثب عىل "بعثة الفضاء" اإلماراتية والتي تعترب‬ ‫واحدة من أكرب اإلنجازات التي حققتها دولة اإلمارات يف عام ‪ ،2019‬بدءا من‬ ‫مبادرة املهمة إىل املريخ إىل هزاع املنصوري‪ ،‬أول رائد فضاء إمارايت‪ ،‬يصل إىل‬ ‫محطة الفضاء الدولية يف وقت سابق من هذا العام ملدة ثمانية أيام تاريخية مهمة‪.‬‬

‫‪44‬‬ ‫شادت حكومة اإلمارات العربية‬ ‫املتحدة بنهجها التدريجي‬ ‫للتكنولوجيات الجديدة التي حولت‬ ‫دبي إىل واحدة من أكرث املدن تقدماً من‬ ‫الناحية التكنولوجية يف العالم بأسره‪.‬‬

‫أ‬

‫عالوة عىل ذلك‪ ،‬تسعى الحكومة اإلماراتية‬ ‫بشكل جدي ً‬ ‫أيضا إىل تنفيذ برنامج فضايئ‬ ‫طموح تعتقد أنه سيمكنها من أن تصبح‬ ‫العباً عاملياً يف املهام الفضائية‪ ،‬ومن أهم‬ ‫األمثلة عىل طموحاتها الفضائية هي مبادرة‬ ‫"مهمة إىل املريخ"‪.‬‬ ‫سرتسل اإلمارات العربية املتحدة مسبارًا‬ ‫إىل املريخ‪ ،‬والذي من املتوقع أن يصل إىل‬ ‫الكوكب األحمر يف يوليو ‪ ،2021‬ليتزامن مع‬ ‫الذكرى الخمسني لتأسيس دولة اإلمارات‬ ‫العربية املتحدة‪.‬‬ ‫ويف وقت اإلعالن الرسمي عن مشروع املريخ‬ ‫يف عام ‪ ،2014‬قال رئيس دولة اإلمارات‬ ‫العربية املتحدة‪ ،‬صاحب السمو الشيخ‬ ‫خليفة بن زايد آل نهيان‪" ،‬إن مسبار املريخ‬ ‫اإلمارايت يمثل دخول العالم اإلسالمي إىل‬

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‫عصر استكشاف الفضاء‪ .‬سوف نثبت أننا‬ ‫قادرون عىل تقديم مساهمات علمية جديدة‬ ‫لإلنسانية‪ .‬إن غرض دولة اإلمارات العربية‬ ‫املتحدة هو بناء القدرات الفنية والفكرية‬ ‫اإلماراتية يف مجال استكشاف الفضاء‪،‬‬ ‫والدخول إىل صناعة الفضاء‪ ،‬واالستفادة‬ ‫من تكنولوجيا الفضاء بطريقة تعزز خطط‬ ‫التنمية يف البالد "‪.‬‬

‫الجميع يحلم‪ .‬لكننا‬ ‫نواجه التحدي‬ ‫ونسعى جاهدين‬ ‫لتحقيق أحالمنا‬

‫رحب صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن راشد‬ ‫آل مكتوم‪ ،‬نائب رئيس الدولة رئيس مجلس‬ ‫الوزراء حاكم دبي‪ ،‬باملشاعر التي عرب عنها‬ ‫الرئيس بإضافة‪" :‬منطقتنا منطقة حضارية‪.‬‬ ‫مصرينا هو‪ ،‬مرة أخرى‪ ،‬أن نستكشف وننئش‬ ‫ونبني ونحضر‪ .‬لقد اخرتنا التحدي امللحمي‬ ‫املتمثل يف الوصول إىل املريخ ألن التحديات‬ ‫امللحمية تلهمنا وتحفزنا‪ .‬إن اللحظة التي‬ ‫نتوقف فيها عن مواجهة مثل هذه التحديات‬ ‫هي اللحظة التي نتوقف فيها عن امليض‬ ‫ً‬ ‫قدما"‪.‬‬ ‫تؤمن اإلمارات العربية املتحدة بأن "مركبة‬ ‫األمل الفضائية" ستعمل عىل تعزيز املعرفة‬ ‫اإلنسانية حول الغالف الجوي واملناخ عىل‬ ‫املريخ‪ ،‬والذي ال يعرف عنه الكثري‪ .‬هذه‬ ‫املهمة التي شرعت فيها اإلمارات ستنتج أول‬ ‫صورة عاملية حقيقية لجو املريخ‪.‬‬ ‫باإلضافة إىل ذلك‪ ،‬سوف تدرس كيفية‬ ‫تفاعل الطبقات السفىل والعليا من الغالف‬ ‫الجوي مع بعضها البعض‪ ،‬وسوف تبحث‬ ‫عن روابط بني الطقس املريخ اليوم واملناخ‬ ‫القديم للكوكب األحمر‪.‬‬

‫‪DECEMBER 2019‬‬

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DECEMBER 2019

‫جوف تك‬ ‫بعثة الفضاء اإلماراتية‬

‫هو الوصول إىل املريخ‪ .‬أخي محمد بن زايد‬ ‫وأؤمن إيمانا راسخا بقدرتنا عىل تحقيق هذا‬ ‫الهدف‪ .‬يقول البعض أن هذا مستحيل‪ .‬لكننا‬ ‫نقول "املستحيل" غري موجود ما دامت هناك‬ ‫إرادة "‪.‬‬ ‫التحق املنصوري بمحطة الفضاء الدولية‬ ‫مع رائد الرحلة الرويس أوليغ سكريبوشكا‪،‬‬ ‫ورائدة الفضاء من ناسا‪ ،‬جيسيكا مائري‪.‬‬ ‫حيث انضم الثالثة إىل رواد الفضاء الستة‬ ‫عىل منت املحطة الفضائية الدولية؛ كريستينا‬ ‫كوخ وأندرو مورجان ونيك هاج وألكسندر‬ ‫سكفورتسوف وأليكيس أوفشينني ولوكا‬ ‫بارميتانو‪.‬‬ ‫يف لحظة تاريخية‪ ،‬كان رائد الفضاء اإلمارايت‬ ‫أول من قدم جولة تعريفية باللغة العربية‬ ‫يف محطة الفضاء الدولية‪ .‬يف الجولة‬ ‫التمهيدية‪ ،‬شرح مكونات املحطة‪ ،‬واملعدات‬ ‫عىل منت الطائرة وطرق إجراء التجارب يف‬ ‫الجاذبية الصفرية‪ .‬كما أجرى املنصوري‬ ‫تجارب مراقبة األرض والتصوير‪ ،‬أثناء توثيق‬ ‫الحياة اليومية لرواد الفضاء يف املحطة‪.‬‬ ‫قام املنصوري ً‬ ‫أيضا بمهمة علمية لدراسة‬

‫ً‬ ‫مقارنة بتأثري‬ ‫تأثري الجاذبية الصغرى‬ ‫الجاذبية عىل األرض‪ .‬شملت هذه املهمة‬ ‫‪ 16‬تجربة تم اختيارها ً‬ ‫بناء عىل مسابقة‬ ‫‪" MBRSC‬العلوم يف الفضاء"‪ ،‬والتي‬ ‫استهدفت املدارس يف اإلمارات العربية‬ ‫املتحدة‪ .‬عالوة عىل ذلك‪ ،‬تم تعيني املنصوري‬ ‫ً‬ ‫أيضا الستكمال املهام العلمية املوجودة يف‬ ‫مختربات محطة الفضاء الدولية‪.‬‬ ‫ويف فرباير‪ ،‬أعلن مركز محمد بن راشد‬ ‫للفضاء (‪ )MBRSC‬تفاصيل املهمة إىل‬ ‫محطة الفضاء الدولية خالل مؤتمر صحفي‬ ‫حضره كل من هزاع املنصوري ورائد الفضاء‬ ‫اإلماراتيني سلطان السلطان النيادي‪ .‬أوضح‬ ‫معايل يوسف حمد الشيباين‪ ،‬مدير عام‬ ‫‪ ،MBRSC‬أن أحد رواد الفضاء‪ ،‬الذي أعلن‬ ‫ً‬ ‫الحقا أنه املنصوري‪ ،‬سيتوجه إىل محطة‬ ‫الفضاء الدولية يف مهمة فضائية روسية ملدة‬ ‫ثمانية أيام عىل منت مركبة فضائية ‪Soyuz-‬‬ ‫‪ MS 15‬وسيسافر عىل منت سفينة الفضاء‬ ‫‪.Soyuz- MS 12‬‬ ‫وقال الشيباين يف املؤتمر الصحفي‪" :‬إن‬ ‫اإلعالن عن هذا التاريخ يعد عالمة فارقة‬ ‫ً‬ ‫وإنجازا كبريًا للمنطقة العربية بأسرها‪.‬‬

‫حيث وألول مرة‪ ،‬سيسافر رائد فضاء عربي‬ ‫إىل محطة الفضاء الدولية حتى يتمكن‬ ‫الشباب العربي من تكرار إنجازات أسالفهم‬ ‫الذين تفوقوا يف العلوم والرياضيات‪ .‬تدعم‬ ‫هذه الخطوة ً‬ ‫أيضا تطلعات اإلماراتيني‬ ‫وعزمهم عىل تحقيق رؤية قيادة دولة‬ ‫اإلمارات العربية املتحدة ‪ ،‬ودعم اإلمارات يف‬ ‫استكشاف الفضاء وإعداد الكوادر الوطنية‬ ‫للمساهمة يف إثراء التقدم العلمي وخدمة‬ ‫اإلنسانية وتعزيز املزيد من اإلنجازات يف هذه‬ ‫الصناعة‪ .‬هذا يدعم ً‬ ‫أيضا الجهود املبذولة‬ ‫لبناء اقتصاد وطني يعتمد عىل املعرفة‬ ‫واالبتكار واإلبداع‪".‬‬ ‫تم اختيار املنصوري ألول مرة إىل جانب‬ ‫سلطان النيادي يف سبتمرب ‪ ،2018‬من‬ ‫قبل نائب رئيس الدولة رئيس مجلس‬ ‫الوزراء حاكم دبي‪ ،‬حيث اختار صاحب‬ ‫السمو الشيخ محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم‬ ‫ً‬ ‫متقدما لرواد الفضاء‬ ‫االثنني من بني ‪4022‬‬ ‫بمركز محمد بن راشد للفضاء (‪)MBRSC‬‬ ‫الربنامج‪ ،‬الذي تم إطالقه يف عام ‪2017‬‬ ‫للمشاركة يف مهام استكشاف الفضاء‬ ‫العاملية بحلول عام ‪.2021‬‬ ‫كان عىل املنصوري والنيادي اجتياز ست‬ ‫مراحل من االختبارات الطبية والنفسية‬ ‫واملتقدمة وسلسلة من املقابالت الشخصية‬ ‫بالتعاون مع ناسا واالختبارات الطبية‬ ‫املتقدمة يف وكالة الفضاء الروسية‪،‬‬ ‫روسكوموس‪.‬‬ ‫ويف وقت اإلعالن‪ ،‬قال صاحب السمو الشيخ‬ ‫محمد بن راشد‪" :‬من اإلنجازات العربية‬ ‫الجديدة اإلعالن عن أسماء رواد الفضاء‬ ‫العرب األوائل ملحطة الفضاء الدولية‪ .‬هزاع‬ ‫املنصوري وسلطان النيادي يمثالن كل‬ ‫الشباب العربي ويرفعان سقف تطلعات‬ ‫األجيال اإلماراتية الجديدة القادمة‪" .‬‬ ‫املنصوري طيار مقاتل عسكري يتمتع بخربة‬ ‫‪ً 14‬‬ ‫عاما يف مجال الطريان العسكري‪ .‬يف عام‬ ‫ً‬ ‫مؤهال ليكون طيارًا يف مجال‬ ‫‪ ،2016‬كان‬ ‫الطريان‪ ،‬وقبل مهمة محطة الفضاء الدولية‬ ‫قام بقيادة طائرة من طراز ‪.F-16B60‬‬

‫هزاع المنصوري مع قائد الرحلة الروسية‬ ‫أوليغ سكريبوشكا وجيسيكا مائير من ناسا‬ ‫‪www.tahawultech.com‬‬

‫‪DECEMBER 2019‬‬

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‫يمثل مسبار المريخ في‬ ‫دولة اإلمارات العربية‬ ‫المتحدة‪ ،‬دخول العالم‬ ‫اإلسالمي إلى عصر‬ ‫استكشاف الفضاء‬ ‫تتم إدارة مهمة طريان اإلمارات يف دولة‬ ‫اإلمارات العربية املتحدة بواسطة فريق‬ ‫إمارايت مقسم إىل سبع مجموعات‪ ،‬بما‬ ‫يف ذلك املركبات الفضائية واللوجستيات‬ ‫وتشغيل املهمة وتعليم علوم املشاريع‬ ‫والتواصل واملحطة األرضية ومركبة اإلطالق‪.‬‬ ‫سيقوم الفريق املؤلف من ‪ 75‬فر ًدا ببناء‬ ‫قدرة أساسية لتطوير وتبادل قاعدة املعرفة‬ ‫الفضائية يف اإلمارات‪ .‬سيعمل الفريق ً‬ ‫أيضا‬ ‫مع الجامعات ومعاهد البحوث للتعاون يف‬ ‫تطوير مهمة البعثة وتحليل نتائج وبيانات‬ ‫املهمة‪ .‬كما أن هناك عنصر رئييس آخر يف‬ ‫تطلعات دولة اإلمارات العربية املتحدة‬ ‫لتحقيق أهدافها الفضائية‪ ،‬وهو مركز‬ ‫محمد بن راشد للفضاء الذي أنئش يف عام‬

‫‪DECEMBER 2019‬‬

‫صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم نائب رئيس‬ ‫الدولة رئيس مجلس الوزراء حاكم دبي‬

‫‪ ،2015‬إىل جانب معهد اإلمارات لتكنولوجيا‬ ‫العلوم املتقدمة (‪.)EIAST‬‬ ‫لدى مركز محمد بن راشد للفضاء مهمة‬ ‫واضحة لتنفيذ مسرية دولة اإلمارات العربية‬ ‫املتحدة لدخول عصر الفضاء وتطوير‬ ‫الكفاءات العلمية بني املهنيني اإلماراتيني بما‬ ‫يتماىش مع رؤية اإلمارات ‪ 2021‬واملساعدة يف‬ ‫تحقيق عام ‪ 2015‬باعتباره "عام االبتكار" يف‬ ‫دولة اإلمارات العربية املتحدة‪.‬‬ ‫يهدف املركز إىل تطوير البحوث واملشاريع‬ ‫والدراسات املتعلقة بمجاالت الفضاء‬ ‫والعلوم والتكنولوجيا املتقدمة‪ .‬كما سيشرف‬ ‫عىل إعداد وتنفيذ جميع مراحل مهمة طريان‬ ‫اإلمارات املريخ‪.‬‬ ‫ومع ذلك‪ ،‬فإن أكرب بيان لدولة اإلمارات‬ ‫العربية املتحدة حتى اآلن فيما يتعلق‬ ‫باإلعالن عن نفسها يف مجال الطريان العاملي‬ ‫كان يرسل أول هزاع املنصوري اإلمارايت إىل‬ ‫الفضاء يف مهمة تاريخية تستغرق ثمانية‬ ‫أيام‪.‬‬

‫بدأت مهمة محطة الفضاء الدولية التي‬ ‫تحمل املنصوري‪ ،‬بنجاح يف ‪ 25‬سبتمرب ‪2019‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫مساء بتوقيت اإلمارات‪.‬‬ ‫يف الساعة ‪5:57‬‬ ‫وأعرب صاحب السمو الشيخ حمدان بن‬ ‫راشد آل مكتوم‪ ،‬ويل عهد دبي ورئيس مركز‬ ‫محمد بن راشد للفضاء‪ ،‬الذي شهد إطالقه‬ ‫عىل الهواء مباشرة من ‪ ،MBRSC‬حينها‬ ‫عن خالص تمنياته لرائد الفضاء اإلمارايت‬ ‫الستكمال املهمة التاريخية والتجارب‬ ‫العلمية املخطط لها‪.‬‬ ‫كما أعرب صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد‬ ‫بن راشد آل مكتوم‪ ،‬عن سعادته لرائد‬ ‫الفضاء خالل اتصال مباشر مع محطة‬ ‫الفضاء الدولية‪ .‬خاطبه حينها قائال‪" :‬كلمة‬ ‫املستحيل غري موجودة يف قاموسنا ‪ -‬أنت‬ ‫فخر دولة اإلمارات العربية املتحد ؛ سيتبع‬ ‫العديد من اإلماراتيني خطواتكم ويواصلون‬ ‫تحويل أحالم اإلمارات إىل حقيقة واقعة‪".‬‬ ‫الكل يحلم‪ .‬لكننا نواجه التحدي ونسعى‬ ‫جاهدين لتحقيق أحالمنا‪ .‬هدفنا القادم‬

‫‪www.tahawultech.com‬‬

STOP BEING A ‘TWIT’ FACEBOOK IT IS NOW GENERALLY ACCEPTED THAT MOST PEOPLE CONSUME THEIR DAILY NEWS THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF SOCIAL MEDIA APPS. THIS HAS CREATED A CULTURE WHERE THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES SUCH AS FACEBOOK AND TWITTER ARE COMING UNDER GREATER SCRUTINY AS MISINFORMATION AND ‘FAKE NEWS’ PROLIFERATE. BUT ARE THEY DOING ENOUGH TO COMBAT THESE ISSUES?

By Mark Forker, Editor

here was a certain sense of hypocrisy when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg described Chinese music video app TikTok as a threat to democracy – especially when you consider that Facebook was used as a key tool for election manipulation and misinformation during both the US Presidential Election and Brexit referendum in 2016. The Facebook/Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal rocked political institutions to the core. The

DECEMBER 2019

www.tahawultech.com

COLUMN Mark Forker

story reached fever pitch in March last year, when Guardian journalist Carole Cadwalladr, revealed the full details of the data hacking following admissions made by whistleblower Christopher Wylie. The 28-year-old Canadian was a former research director at Cambridge Analytica, and he disclosed how the UK company exploited Facebook’s data which was harvested from millions of people across the world in a bid to profile and target them with political messages and misinformation, without their knowledge or consent. As a result of the political scandal there was somewhat of a ‘tech backlash’ and the role of social media and Big Tech plays in our society has never been under greater scrutiny. As a result of the story, Zuckerberg was forced to testify before the US Congress and European Parliament. Zuckerberg has come under increasing pressure from Democratic congresswoman Alexandria OcasioCortez over his refusal to tackle the issue head-on and ban political adds. Ocasio-Cortez described Facebook’s stance as ‘disturbing’ and said the social media networking behemoth was embarking upon decisions that put the election process in peril. AOC said, “Zuckerberg has been justifying Facebook’s increasingly disturbing decisions by acting like the company is some innocent, neutral bystander. But as we discover more info, that is getting harder to believe.” During questioning at a house hearing regarding Facebook’s political ad policy, the progressive New York democratic also asked Facebook’s founder would he ‘take down lies’ to which he responded that it ‘depends on the context’. www.tahawultech.com

Zuckerberg has said that banning political ads would impact advocacy groups and marginalised political candidates that the mainstream media largely ignores. He said, “Ads can be an important part of voice. In a democracy, I don’t think it’s right for private companies to censor politicians or the news.” Twitter’s decision to stop selling ads concerning political candidates and in relation to issues around immigration and climate change has only served to increase the pressure on Facebook. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has drawn acclaim for his clear stance on the role of his platform when it comes to the political minefield of online electioneering. He argued that the reach of political messages should be earned through followers as opposed to being bought through the medium of advertising. Dorsey tweeted, “This isn’t about free expression. This is about paying for reach - and paying to increase the reach of political speech has significant ramifications that today’s democratic infrastructure may not be prepared to handle.” The debate over political messaging on social media has been intensified in recent weeks with the UK electorate heading to the polls in December, in a bid to finally resolve the contentious issue of exiting the European Union, whilst the US 2020 elections are also on the horizon. The combination of both these

elections have increased the focus on social media’s responsibility in elections as it has now been proven beyond any doubt that misinformation played a critical role in helping Donald Trump become the 45th President of the United States and ensuring the UK voted to leave the EU. Despite Twitter’s change in policy it is unlikely to prompt Zuckerberg and Facebook to follow suit in terms of its approach to political ads and its methods to eliminate and repel misinformation and lies. Facebook says it is defending ‘free speech’. However, Facebook needs to recognise that it has a very powerful responsibility in terms of preserving and protecting the integrity of democratic elections. When you consider its chequered past you’d be forgiven for expecting the company to have a desire to rectify its negative role it played in previous elections, which involved the hacking of personal information from 87 million users without their consent. Facebook may have rebranded with a shiny new logo for its parent company, but if it is serious about rebuilding its battered reputation then a stronger position on its political adverts - and a more robust plan to combat misinformation on its platform would go a long way to repair the trust between the company and its increasingly disengaged userbase.

Zuckerberg has been justifying Facebook’s increasingly disturbing decisions by acting like the company is some innocent, neutral bystander.”

DECEMBER 2019

COLUMN Giorgia Guantario

AI: ENVIRONMENT’S FRIEND OR FOE? ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS THE HOT TOPIC OF THE MOMENT – BUT DOES IT ALSO RISK MAKING OUR PLANET WARMER? WE LOOKED AT DIFFERENT RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND WHAT’S THE REAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF AI. By Giorgia Guantario, Deputy Editor

roundtrip flight between New York and San Francisco emits 1,984 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent per passenger; a year of a human’s life is equivalent to a little over 11 thousand pounds of CO2e; in its lifetime, a car emits on average 126 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent. Training artificial intelligence? Think five times that. AI has been branded as the most lifechanging emerging technology out there. In a recent keynote at Dell Technologies Forum, VP and Global CTO Patricia Florissi said that ten years from now AI is going to be so pervasive in everything we do, that it will no longer matter – it won’t be a differentiator anymore. Take for example Google Translate, the most famous application of natural-language processing (NLP) – the system has been around for years and as of last year, it translated 143 billion words a day on average. However, a recent study by the University of Massachussets Amherst, US, shows that NLP is one of the most energy-consuming AI models out there. DECEMBER 2019

To understand just how badly NLP are affecting the environment, the researchers trained four different models (Transformer, Elmo, Bert and Gpt-2) for a maximum of one day. Throughout the process, they queried the system to sample the GPU power consumption and report the average over all samples. To calculate the required total energy consumption, they then multiplied the total power required to train each model by the amount of time each developer stated it took to make it operative. The researchers then converted the energy consumption (kWh) into CO2e based on the US average carbon emissions provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (Epa). They also took into account the relative proportions of different energy sources consumed to produce energy in the United States. Unfortunately, the reasons behind such a gigantic carbon footprint are to lead back to the elevated computational power necessary to train, test and fine-tune these models. However, the future of AI is not so dire. Last month, a study by

David Rolnick, from the University of Pennsylvania, showed how machine learning can be a powerful tool in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping society adapt to a changing climate. The study, divided by industry, features recommendations on electricity, transporting, buildings and cities, industrial production, farming, education and more. Machine learning can enable automatic monitoring through remote sensing to collect and assess vast amounts of data that can help to pinpoint deforestation and assess damage after disasters; as well as optimising systems to improve efficiency to reduce food waste for example. The research argues that although these data-intensive and energyconsuming models can cause a lot of damage to the environment, using them in a way that saves more energy than they consume by providing more efficient solutions to the world’s problem, could be the answer to realising a better future for the environment and our society. www.tahawultech.com

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