CHAMPIONS OF BUSINESS CONTINUITY

CXO INSIGHT MIDDLE EAST HOSTED FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND LIVE VIRTUAL BUSINESS CONTINUITY CHAMPIONS CONFERENCE AND AWARDS 2020 LAST MONTH TO CELEBRATE BUSINESS RESILIENCE IN THE REGION.

Aligning to the demands of the new normal, over 200 attendees joined the live event to celebrate the success of companies who have effortlessly transitioned their businesses into remote models and to listen to interesting insights from reputed speakers and panelists.

The live event kicked off with the first speaker for the day – Sebastian Samuel, CIO, AW Rostamani, who shared the lessons learned while leading the firm through the pandemic.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Remote working will be increasingly preferred going forward. No longer is it a nice to have element but an essential component for business continuity. Cybersecurity and business resiliency is of paramount importance in the new normal Data Management and secure data access is another critical element. Technologies CIOs must focus on and invest in are Artificial Intelligence, 5G, 3D printing, applications, drones, Machine Learning, automation and so on.

He emphasised on the importance of those in leadership roles to show empathy to employees during this time. “We must put an end to ‘command and control’ way of operating and empower ‘empathy and care’. It is all about collaboration, trust, empathy and passion,” Samuel explained. “We have to build our organisations for resiliency. We cannot stop catastrophes from happening but can have adequate measures in place to face any situation and recover quickly.”

The next speaker Mubarik Hassan, Director of IT, Bloom Holding, shared his thoughts on how to brace for the new normal. He explained the importance of having sound technology implemented within one’s business environment. If organisations do not have platforms enabling digital transformation today, they are not only left behind but also locked out from the business environment.

“Once people have experienced the convenience of remote working and digital solutions, then there is no turning back to the old ways. In addition to helping with energy efficiencies, cost and time savings, remote working also increases productivity as we have seen first hand in our firm,” he said. “While there maybe initial challenges of getting the workforce familiar with new digital online systems, but once they are used

to it and are given proper training, the potential is great.”

Hassan’s talk was followed by a thought-provoking live virtual discussion, where our panelists spoke about how technology will shape the post-pandemic new normal. Moderated by Jeevan Thankappan, Managing Editor, CXO Insight Middle East, the panel included Abdulrehman Tariq, Regional Sales Director, Pulse Secure; Filip Verloy, EMEA Field CTO, Rubrik; Taj El-Khayat, Regional Director, Citrix and Tony Zabaneh, Manager Systems Engineering, Fortinet.

The live virtual event concluded with the Awards ceremony where 14 winners were commended for their exceptional efforts for business continuity initiatives during the last few months.

DR. ESAM AL FALASI, MORO HUB

“On behalf of Moro Hub team and management, we thank you for recognising the efforts that were taken during the global pandemic. Business continuity is a critical element for our clients. As we enable them to reach their digital potential, Moro Hub’s mission is to create value for our clients, open new possibilities for them through myriad secured and scalable services in their digital transformation journeys.”

FATIMA AL MANSOORI, DEPARTMENT OF MUNICIPALITIES AND TRANSPORT, ABU DHABI

“I gift this win to my team. I couldn’t have done it without their efforts and support.”

ENG. FAHAD MASHAN AL SOLAIE, MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, SAUDI ARABIA

JAYESH MAGANLAL, MAJID AL FUTTAIM PROPERTIES

The time we are in isn’t business as usual anymore, it’s a time of new ways of working for many people and organizations. Thank you CXO Insight ME for this recognition and to the unsung heroes of technology teams everywhere that deserves the same.

DR. MOHAMED BAKA, CERT

“The Business Continuity Champions award embodies our efforts over the course of the pandemic to ensure the continuity of learning and business for our stakeholders by placing their safety first and launching the first online platform to deliver vocational and technical training in the region – Menasati.”

MUBARIK HUSSAIN, BLOOM HOLDING

“It is an honour to receive the award, we appreciate CXO Insight Middle East recognising individuals and companies in their efforts to support their businesses in these challenging times and highlighting the importance of technology solutions to enable businesses to operate and continue to grow in the new normal.”

SAJID LOKHANDWALA, AL KHAYYAT INVESTMENTS

“AKI and its distribution arm Alphamed experienced unprecedented customer demand during March to June 2020 along with constraints on supply side. AKI IT team enabled business units to work remotely and fine-tuned their supply chain and delivery systems to accommodate the unique business needs during challenging times. Uninterrupted supply of pharmaceuticals and consumer goods was successfully managed at record volumes.”

CITRIX TAJ EL-KHAYAT

“I would like to thank CXO Insight Middle East for acknowledging the community that has put tremendous effort navigating during the pandemic. At Citrix we take pride of what we accomplished with our customers and partners to ensure their business continuity and enabling their employees to continue to be productive while working remotely. We are grateful for this recognition and endorsement of the value we bring through our cuttingedge technology.” FORTINET ALAIN PENEL “Fortinet understands how crucial it is to continue operations during a crisis. We’ve been committed to helping our customers secure not only their remote and tele workers but also continue to secure their core IT environments. We continue helping our customers and partners maintain continuity and security in the midst of rapid changes and new risks. It is an honor to be recognized for our efforts in driving business continuity for our customers in the time of global and regional crisis.”

DELL TECHNOLOGIES ISSA FANNOUN

“Dell Technologies always adapting to win, this is one of the main reasons of being selected as the vendor of choice by our strategic distributors and channel partners. I am very excited and proud for winning this award, it is a reflection for the great

appreciation by our strategic distributors.”

PULSE SECURE ABDUL REHMAN TARIQ

“We are very proud of our efforts to provide business continuity during the tough times at COVID-19. Pulse Secure has been at the forefront of providing Secure Access to its customers and ensuring people stay productive. On top of our efforts during COVID, we have now also announced Pulse Zero Trust Access, a cloudbased, multi-tenant secure access service that enables organizations to provide users easy, anywhere access to multi-cloud and data center applications with Zero Trust assurance.”

RUBRIK MOHAMMED TAMIMI

“It’s a great honour to be recognized by CXO, especially in the current situation where it’s really difficult to distinguish yourself and show the importance of “business continuity”.

I have always believed in: “Ignoring reality doesn’t make it any less real” and “Not being prepared for something, doesn’t prevent it from happening.”

THALES JOHN DOLEY

“We are honoured to have received this and to be recognized at this very moment. We in Thales have always believed in delivering the best and have been very specific and relevant to what the market needs are – especially during COVID, business continuity dominates all discussions and now what matters the most is to keep everything going. We will continue to innovate and deliver the best and look forward to a better future.”

VEEAM NAGHAM HALABY

“I would like to thank CXO Insight ME for rising up to the challenge by holding this event! This is a true business continuity model. Also, proud to receive this award, which goes to the whole Veeam team who has worked harder than any other time, making sure to deliver the same level of service and support to our customers and partners, which resulted in tremendous YoY growth.”