CXO Insight ME - Issue 06 - February 2019

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ISSUE 06 \ FEBRUARY 2019

A NEW VISION GLOBAL SHIPPING AND LOGISTICS BOOSTS SUPPLY CHAIN AGILITY WITH AUGMENTED REALITY SMART GLASSES

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CONTENTS

45

PRODUCTS

HP’S NEW PROBOOKS FOR SMBs

SAMSUNG 1TB STORAGE CHIP FOR SMARTPHONES

A NEW VISION GLOBAL SHIPPING AND LOGISTICS BOOSTS SUPPLY CHAIN AGILITY WITH AUGMENTED REALITY SMART GLASSES

HUAWEI’S NOVA 4

18 VIEWPOINT

10 FEATURE

08 10 BUSINESS OF STORAGE 18 THE 16 REINVENTING ORGANISED CYBERCRIME IN A FLASH TOP 5 STRATEGIES TO 28 HARNESS 24 LIVING ON THE EDGE AI IN 2019 WHY VOICE IS THE NEXT FRONTIER

AUTOMATION IS 32 HOW CHANGING THE LOGISTICS

GETTING READY FOR 5G

INTERVIEW

INDUSTRY

SMART AT 38 GETTING BEING SMARTER PUBLISHED BY INSIGHT MEDIA & PUBLISHING LLC

CYBERSECURITY IS A 34 WHY BUSINESS PRIORITY

6

NEWS

AVAYA EXPANDS OPERATIONS IN SAUDI AMAZON PLANS TO LAUNCH ANOTHER MIDDLE EAST MARKETPLACE IRANIAN HACKERS TARGET TELCOS IN THE MIDDLE EAST ORACLE, REDINGTON LAUNCH CLOUD CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE

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Gartner’s Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2019 Intelligent #1

Digital #2

#3

Autonomous Things

#4

Digital Twins

#5

AI-Driven Development

Blockchain

#6

Empowered Edge

Augmented Analytics

#7

Mesh

#8

Smart Spaces

#9

Immersive Technologies

Ethics & Privacy

#10 Join us at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2019 to learn about Gartner’s technology trends, if they will work for you and how to implement them.

Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2019 Dubai, UAE / 4 - 6 March gartner.com/me/symposium / #GartnerSYM

© 2018 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Gartner and ITxpo are registered trademarks of Gartner, Inc. or its affiliates.

For more information, email info@gartner.com or visit gartner.com.

Quantum Computing

EDITORIAL

DIAL D FOR DIGITAL

L

ast month, I’d the opportunity to host a CIO roundtable on what digital transformation is all about. The real problem with this hottest buzzword in our industry is that it is very hard to define what digital transformation really entails. It means different things to different people, and we are still trying to pare the fat to reach a common definition. If you ask me, digitisation and digital are two different things. If you automate an existing business process, it is digitisation, and on the other hand, digital is all about transforming the culture of an organisation.

One of the most common mistakes associated with digital transformation is that it is often treated as a tech project, rather than as a business strategy. To inculcate a digital-first mindset, CIOs will have to define their transformation plans around much bigger, fundamental issues while ensuring full cooperation from the business side - an issue most of the tech leaders who participated

Published by

Publication licensed by Sharjah Media City @Copyright 2019 Insight Media and Publishing

Managing Editor Jeevan Thankappan jeevant@insightmediame.com +97156 - 4156425

Contributing Editor Sarah Rizvi editor@insightmediame.com +97155 - 8949318

in our discussion are grappling with. Any digital transformation project, no matter how much money you pump into it, is doomed to fail if IT and business don’t the speak the same language.

Another folly is focusing solely on mapping out the customer journey or transforming their experience, without transforming back-end systems. That is putting the proverbial cart before the horse. You could improve customer experience by using apps, chatbots or AI, but without a corresponding digital back-end, you are not going to build a competitive advantage for your company.

The secret sauce to a successful digital transformation, I think, is to start small with more manageable targets that yield quicker results. Cultural and behavioral changes will not happen overnight. You just got to do it in phases and deliver tangible value so that your business executives rally right behind their IT organisations.

Sales Director Merle Carrasco merlec@insightmediame.com +97155 - 1181730

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While the publisher has made all efforts to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors

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NEWS

AVAYA EXPANDS OPERATIONS IN SAUDI

A

vaya Holdings has launched its new office space in Saudi Arabia at the Information Technology and Communications Complex (ITCC), a commercial and housing development in Riyadh. The new office will feature the first Avaya customer experience

center to be opened in Saudi Arabia and is open to Avaya customers, channel partners and academics.

The center will serve as a design and test bed for providing solutions to local business challenges. With this move, Avaya will enable its partners and customers to design solutions embedding advanced technologies such as AI and blockchain into their contact center and unified communications platforms. In line with the Saudi Vision 2030, Avaya expects this center to contribute greatly to the country’s digital transformation drive.

The new facility also represents Avaya’s widening commitment to the Middle East in general and Saudi Arabia in particular. The company hires fresh graduates from Saudi universities, and invests heavily into its local channel partner ecosystem, which serves a contact center industry responsible for the creation of tens of thousands of jobs.

AMAZON PLANS TO LAUNCH ANOTHER MIDDLE EAST MARKETPLACE As Amazon searches for growth outside the U.S., its next big push is the Middle East, according to a report

by CNBC. Amazon has been reaching out in recent weeks to large third-party sellers in North America, informing them of an upcoming opportunity to reach consumers, first in the United Arab Emirates and then in Saudi Arabia, according to several merchants who spoke with CNBC. They all asked not to be identified because the discussions with Amazon were private.

With the launch of the Middle East marketplace in the coming months, Amazon is downplaying Souq.com, the Dubai-based online retailer it bought for $580 million in 2017 — its priciest international acquisition. The company is telling North American sellers not to sign up to sell on Souq 6

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because it plans to have all that inventory on Amazon’s own site.

“Following Amazon’s acquisition of Souq, I want to offer you participation in a groundbreaking new sales project in the Mid East,” Amazon wrote in an invitation to a select group of sellers. “Our program is simple, straightforward and allows you to expand your selection to a new base of Amazon buyers.”

IRANIAN HACKERS TARGET TELCOS IN THE MIDDLE EAST Security company FireEye says it has identified an Iranian cyber espionage group which is responsible for widespread theft of personal information. These hackers have been found to be targeting telecoms operators, as well as travel companies and IT companies in the Middle East.

FireEye reports that it has been tracking activity linked to this group since November 2014 and found that its focus on personal information theft sets it apart from other Iranian hacking groups. The security company has reported that the group’s widespread theft of personal information is likely used to support monitoring, tracking, or surveillance operations that serve Iran’s national priorities.

According to FireEye, APT39’s focus on the telecommunications and travel industries suggests intent to perform monitoring, tracking, or surveillance operations against specific individuals, collect proprietary or customer data for commercial or operational purposes that serve strategic requirements related to national priorities, or create additional accesses and vectors to facilitate future campaigns.

“Government entities targeting suggests a potential secondary intent to collect geopolitical data that may benefit nation-state decision making. Targeting data supports the belief that APT39’s key mission is to track or monitor targets of interest, collect personal information, including travel itineraries, and gather customer data from telecommunications firms,” the security firm added in a statement.

ORACLE, REDINGTON LAUNCH CLOUD CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE

Oracle and Redington, a regional value-added distributor and an Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) partner operating across Middle East and Africa, have launched a dedicated Cloud Centre of Excellence (CCoE) in Dubai. Located at the Redington office in Dubai, the CCoE can be accessed by all Oracle partners interested in enhancing their understanding and ability to implement cloud-led solutions and services.

The new facility is aimed at enabling knowledge sharing and promote ready

THREE UAE BANKS MERGE TO CREATE DH420 BILLION GIANT Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Union National Bank (UNB) and Bank Al Hilal have announced a major three-way merger deal that will create the fifth-largest lender in the Middle East and North Africa with combined assets of Dh420 billion ($114 billion).

The deal marks the second bank tie-up in Abu Dhabi in recent years and follows a wave of consolidation efforts in the sector.

The group is expected to have around 1 million customers, with a

availability of Oracle Cloud to help Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) members develop and implement transformative cloud projects across the Middle East.

Orfhlaith Ni Chorcora, Vice President, A&C Leader – Technology and Cloud Systems, South Europe and ECEMEA, Oracle, said: “The Cloud Centre of Excellence will allow partners to focus on continuous skills development and education of their employees thus empowering the partners to provide better service to customers that are embarking on their cloud journey.”

The CCoE will furthermore bring together Oracle’s best practices, deep insights into cloud strategy and Redington’s experience in building service offerings, professional services and marketing assistance to deliver the best possible support for partners that will enable them to develop their business and deliver unique solutions.

significant share of the UAE market: 15 percent share of total assets, 21 percent share of retail loans, and 16 percent of deposits.

Al Hilal Bank will keep its current name and brand, operating as a separate Islamic banking entity within the group.

The transaction, recommended unanimously to shareholders by the ADCB and UNB boards, is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals to be sought in the coming weeks, according to the release. The deal makes ADCB the third largest bank in the UAE, following First Abu Dhabi Bank and Emirates NBD. All three banks have one mutual majority shareholder, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) — which owns more than 60 percent of ADCB and 50 percent of UNB. It owns 100 percent of Bank Al Hilal, which is not publicly listed.

SMARTWORLD AND HONEYWELL PARTNER FOR SMART BUILDINGS IN UAE UAE systems integrator Smartworld has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Honeywell Building Solutions, to implement smart buildings in the UAE. This non-exclusive MoU will enable Smartworld customers to benefit from Honeywell’s end-to-end, integrated and IoT-enabled solutions.

Under the agreement, Smartworld and Honeywell Building Solutions will collaborate to promote joint initiatives enabling building operators, facility managers, consultants and contractors to build greener, safer, more secure buildings.

“By partnering with a technology giant such as Honeywell, Smartworld is able to significantly enhance the capabilities of our buildings by turning them into strategic assets that operate more efficiently,” said Abdulqader Obaid Ali, CEO of Smartworld. “We are looking forward to accelerating the UAE’s smart city offering through this partnership, and as such, supporting the county in meeting its smart city ambitions.”

Honeywell Building Solutions will expand its technology base and provide advanced solutions including Building Management Systems (BMS), Enterprise Buildings Integrator (EBI), advanced security solutions, fire safety systems, industrial security systems, and Honeywell’s Command and Control Suite (CCS), all modelled to create safer and more secure buildings and cities across the UAE.

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VIEWPOINT

WHY VOICE IS THE NEXT FRONTIER

BY PETER SCHWARTZ, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF STRATEGIC PLANNING AT SALESFORCE

V

oice technology is primed to become a primary user interface for companies, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI), speech recognition, and a proliferation of voice-enabled devices and services.

A recent study found that the global voice recognition market is expected to be worth $127.58 billion by 2024.

Researchers also predict that by 2021, 40% of customers will use voice technology to accomplish a wide range of tasks — from searching for information to shopping.

It’s not hard to understand voice’s appeal to consumers and businesses alike. For one thing, it’s exceptionally easy to use — after all, people can speak up to four times faster than they can type. The technology behind voice interaction is also improving all the time. By deploying an AI ‘deep learning’ technique in which a software system is trained using millions of examples, drawing on massive amounts of computational power, researchers have been able to make computers much better at responding intelligently to spoken phrases. What’s more, the hardware to support voice user experiences (smart microphones, for example) is becoming cheaper to produce and more effective. Nearly 40 million people today in the US own a voice-enabled smart speaker.

Such developments are paving the way for businesses to adopt voiceenabled user interfaces to deliver richer, more convenient customer experiences.

Voice technology has a vital role to play in the workplace, boosting productivity and efficiency by enabling workers to

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set meetings, ask simple questions and set reminders without stopping what they’re doing, for example.

But if companies want to seize the opportunities ahead as such interfaces gain traction, it’s vital that they find their own voices right away — developing the apps that can represent their brands and leave a powerful lasting impression.

Why the urgency?

The rise of voice assistants, such as Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, and Google Assistant, are leading a fundamental change that will impact every business.

Customers, partners, employees — every individual — will expect to engage with brands across every industry through voice-enabled interfaces. Against this backdrop, here’s what all businesses

IMAGINE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE IMPACT OF A HOTEL CHAIN’S VOICE ASSISTANT GREETING A RETURNING CUSTOMER WITH A WARM WELCOME, BEFORE ALERTING THEM TO THE FACT THAT THE ROOM TEMPERATURE HAS BEEN SET TO THEIR PREFERRED TEMPERATURE, THEIR FAVORITE PLAYLIST UPLOADED, AND THE TV TUNED TO THEIR MOSTWATCHED CHANNEL.

need to know about the rise of these technologies, and what they should be doing now to take advantage of them.

Delivering a superior customer experience As a way to scale personalised experiences, voice offers enormous potential. After all, conversing feels natural to us — it’s how we communicate, share knowledge, and express emotions.

Combine voice with facilities such as instant translation and it can break down barriers to communication and other, less natural interfaces, such as the mouse pad and keyboard.

I believe this is the real key to voice’s power: rather than typing, you just talk to the AI that controls it. Even kindergarteners, it seems, can get to grips with ordering via Alexa, such is the ease of the voice-enabled commerce experience — which is why some households have found they’ve ended up with an accidental shipment of pricey toys.

Mishaps like these aside, just think about the effort involved in taking a smartphone out of your pocket, opening an app, scrolling, and then clicking to find out if a store stocks a certain product.

Now compare that to the following experience, soon to be a reality in the near future: a supermarket chatbot “converses” with you as you browse a store, supplying you with personalized ideas and promotions, guiding you to items that align with your particular dietary preferences, and even explaining the provenance of certain products.

Of course, voice isn’t for every situation: the same scenario also conjures images of large numbers of

people simultaneously accessing voice systems in every corner of a store or workplace, to deafening effect.

However, the benefits to consumers of such an approach will become even more pronounced as voice-enabled devices and systems get to know us and use AI to predict the next action we want to take.

Imagine, for example, the impact of a hotel chain’s voice assistant greeting a returning customer with a warm welcome, before alerting them to the fact that the room temperature has been set to their preferred temperature, their favorite playlist uploaded, and the TV tuned to their most-watched channel.

Breaking the model for CPG brands As these examples indicate, voice holds the potential to be a crucial differentiator in today’s hypercompetitive business landscape. But it also presents a host of new challenges.

For some businesses — consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, especially — there are real threats in the way the rise of voice is upending traditional paths to purchase.

At the heart of the issue is that people who buy a voice-enabled device from one of the market leaders (including Google, Apple, and Amazon) immediately become part of that company’s ecosystem as they are funneled to engage with its other products and services. Take the way consumers engage with Amazon’s Alexapowered Echo Dot intelligent speaker, the best-selling product across Amazon’s retail site last Christmas, with millions of units sold.

It’s ultra-easy and convenient for people who buy an Echo to turn to Alexa to help them shop. But when a voice assistant is the interface, we don’t see our choices — we simply ask for them. For example, a consumer may see a commercial for diapers and can immediately ask, “Alexa, what’s the best diaper for a baby with sensitive skin?” to start the buying process.

In that context, unless shoppers specify a brand, Alexa is primed to recommend one. What’s more, she will steer them towards the Amazon private label version in a pinch. That could

undermine any influence brand names have built up, or see brands simply replaced by convenience factors such as price and delivery speed.

With the likes of Alexa and her ilk creating increased brand agnosticism in the CPG space in this way, oncedefendable shares of shelf positions or store distribution become much less important. It’s the same with selling on websites: the traditional advantages offered by banner ads or emailing marketing campaigns simply no longer apply.

Get ready for a new frontier The threats are obvious. Researchers have found that 85% of Amazon customers select the recommended Amazon product when voice shopping.

A new study also suggests that 67% of

millennials and Generation Z-ers already use voice-enabled personal assistants like Siri and Alexa to connect with companies.

To get any market share at all, CPG businesses need to take action now, enabling their apps with voice to avoid disintermediation by gatekeepers like Amazon.

In the longer term, AI and voice recognition technology will continue to evolve, ushering in a new era of voiceenabled user experiences that turn the customer experience on its head.

If businesses are not already primed to consider how they approach voice with respect to brand messaging and business objectives, they should do so without delay. Otherwise, the future consensus may be that they just don’t care about your customers. Voice, after all, is the next frontier.

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FEATURE

GETTING READY FOR

THE FIFTH GENERATION OF MOBILE SYSTEM IS HERE. WHAT IS IN IT FOR ENTERPRISE CUSTOMERS?

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he next generation cellular network – 5G – is poised to take off next year with many mobile operators already piloting the technology on their networks. Heralded as the biggest step in mobile network evolution, 5G is set to boost the bandwidth from 100 Mbps to 10Gbps, making it an alternative to fibreoptic wired networks.

The next generation wireless technology is designed to supplement current 4G network rather than replacing it, and industry observers expect it to spur many IoT applications. 5G’s biggest promise is said to be its ability to work seamlessly with connected vehicle technologies, smart energy grids, wearable and smart home devices, among many other use cases.

“5G changes the speed of the network – it is one of the key enabling technology of future innovations and services. Along with cloud, AI and robotics, it will be possible to interconnect the physical and virtual worlds, which will allow to act and response in the blink of an eye to both web-scale and personal needs,” says Aji Ed, head of technology, Nokia MEA. For telecom operators, 5G is expected to fundamentally transform their networks. “Enhanced mobile broadband will be the first commercial application of 5G and can help operators improve their consumer business.

“The evolution to 5G can enable 10 times lower cost per gigabyte than current 4G networks as networks continue to evolve and technologies like

Chafic Traboulsi, head of networks, Ericsson MEA

Aji Ed, head of technology, Nokia MEA

Massive MIMO and 5G New Radio are introduced,” says Chafic Traboulsi, head of networks, Ericsson MEA. He adds the launch of 5G services also presents an opportunity for service providers to reshape the market place with increased market share, better customer experience and improved revenue streams.

In agreement, Tabrez Surve, regional director of F5 Networks, says the carrier landscape will change beyond recognition. “Mobile networks will have higher data rates, lower latency and a better energy consumption both on the network as well as on the device side. This combination of capabilities will unleash the potential for a huge range of business cases across all vertical markets.”

In the Middle East, many carriers are

already formulating their 5G strategies and accord to a GSMA report, all six markets in the GCC are expected to launch 5G mobile services over the next two years. In the UAE, both Etisalat and du are planning to launch 5G commercial services this year, and GSMA report predicts that 5G will account for 16 percent of total connections in the GCC by 2025.

“Fifth generation cellular mobile telecommunications (5G) will rapidly redefine mobile internet connectivity as we know it. While discussion currently revolves around the revolutionary nature of 5G connectivity, it is worth noting that 5G is an evolutionary technology; and the new spectrum is the latest phase in the progression of global cellular wireless connectivity. This leap forward will inherently transform networks from core to edge and provide a foundation for innovation. It will also mark a transformational shift as communications providers become more digital serviceorientated“ providers, says Saleem Al Blooshi, chief infrastructure officer, EITC. For enterprises, 5G is expected to give cloud computing a boost with its low latency feature and also bolster AR/VR technologies, which will enable real-time collaboration between people and devices.

THE LAUNCH OF 5G SERVICES ALSO PRESENTS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS TO RESHAPE THE MARKET PLACE WITH INCREASED MARKET SHARE, BETTER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND IMPROVED REVENUE STREAMS.

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FEATURE

Tabrez Surve, regional director of F5 Networks

Saleem Al Blooshi, chief infrastructure officer, EITC

‘Enterprises today are going through ICT transformation and digitalisation.

This has led them towards digitalisation and automation for continued opportunities for growth, innovation, and differentiation by using evolved technologies in the ICT domain. The 5G and IoT use cases are more enterprise driven and will be further enhancing the services opportunities in the areas of AR, VR, private networks, BOTS and voice for IoT (CAT-M1) devices,” says Traboulsi from Ericsson.

Ed from Nokia says ultra-high reliability and low latency in 5G will enable enterprises to come forward with many uses-cases which were not possible earlier. “For example, 5G will enable Industry 4.0 use-cases by creating smart factories in which miniaturized processors, storage units, sensors and transmitters are built into machines, products, materials and smart tools that are all networked to interact seamlessly and reliably to optimise production. The connectivity underlying the smart factory must be ultra-reliable and deliver extreme low latency, but also must support a more dynamically configured factory floor than is possible today.

5G is also expected to achieve simultaneous ultra-low latency of less than 1 milliseconds and 99.999 percent reliability, making it the only mobile technology suitable for stringent

Industry 4.0 factory applications. This makes the inherent flexibility and ease of deployment advantages of wireless connectivity available to high-end industrial automation applications for the first time.

“5G-enabled industries will have huge potential to innovate, and this is reflected through the expectations that 5G uptake will potentially outnumber that seen when LTE, which has been the dominant access technology in recent years, was first released. 5G will deliver a surge in connected endpoints, which will translate into new areas for growth and revenue for enterprises. Specific 5G network applications & use cases for different industry verticals, such as agriculture and manufacturing, will provide a direct option for companies to increase 5G capabilities early on. Over time backend infrastructure will grow to encompass organisations wanting to leverage 5G for use cases in advanced wide-range IoT communications, video, control and automation, fixed wireless access and high-performance edge analytics,” says Al Blooshi.

Surve from F5 says 5G will enable enterprises to innovate by enabling digital transformation of systems and services. For true digital transformation, the benefits must extend to mobile and connected devices, and that means bigger and better mobile network

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infrastructure. 5G services will accelerate current data connections by 10, or even 100 times. Communication capabilities and computing power will combine and extend across networks and devices, and information and computing power will be instantaneously available. This will encourage a wave of innovation in applications, services and functions built to run on the new infrastructure.

Though there is no doubt there are many new opportunities associated with 5G, it is important to bear in mind its success depends on many key factors – availability of radio spectrum, mature virtual network architecture and other market dynamics.

5G is likely to be delayed in countries where availability of greenfield spectrum is going to be a major stumbling block to roll-out. “Like any new frequency launch, the introduction of greenfield radio spectrum won’t be immune from unforeseen issues. Despite this, we are well versed in coming up with workable solutions to address operational inconsistencies,” says Al Blooshi.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has recently assigned 5G frequency ranges to the UAE’s operators in the C-Band in the range of 3.6-3.8 gigahertz. The TRA is also looking at offering spectrum allocations of 1427MHz-1518MHz and 24.25GHz27.5GHz bands for 5G use, while it could also utilise spectrums above 40GHz after 2020. This will significantly provide sufficient solutions to increase bandwidth and support higher data rates in the long term.

“For 5G services and use-cases, availability of spectrum is extremely critical. In Middle East and Africa, the mid band spectrum in n78 (3.4 GHz – 3.8 GHz) is expected to be used mainly for 5G. This band provides sufficient amount of spectrum (100 MHz each) to each operator to provide reasonable capacity. In addition to n78, n41 (2.6GHz) is also being targeted for 5G for the future. The regulators in the key markets in Middle East and Africa are now detailing out the plans for making these spectrums available for 5G,” says Ed from Nokia.

EVENT REPORT

DEMYSTIFYING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INFOR, IN ASSOCIATION WITH CXO INSIGHT ME, BROUGHT TOGETHER IT LEADERS FROM THE REGIONAL RETAIL, MANUFACTURING AND LOGISTICS INDUSTRIES TO DISCUSS THE THORNY TOPIC OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION.

T

he event was kicked off

by Andrew Kinder, VP of industry and solution strategy at Infor, who said digital business is not about digital. “It is about business strategy supported by digital technologies. No matter which industry you are in, we see some common themes – it is no longer about just your company anymore, but it is all about the network. Customers are not buying products or services. What they are interested is in outcomes.

“We talk about digital transformation in two ways- are you trying to automate an existing business process or are you trying 14

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to create something that delivers a new business model and revenue streams?

I think nine out of ten transformation projects belong to the first category. You have to define what digital means for your business,” he said.

Kinder went on to share with the attendees a digital transformation success story with the animal nutrition company Nutreco, which completely re-imagined its customer experience with a mobile cloud platform from Infor.

Offering a regional perspective on digital transformation challenges, Venkatesh Mahadevan, CIO of Dubai Investments, said the biggest stumbling

block is legacy systems. “It is not easy to move away from one ERP to another.

And another challenge for us is the time it takes to complete the whole transformation process. We also struggle to fight the right people and resources to drive these transformation initiatives,” Echoing a similar opinion, Darryl Cox, director of alliances at Infor, said it’s very important for CIOs to find ways to accelerate transformation projects. “If you give a 5-year digital innovation plan to the business, no one would ever do it.

You need to find a way to deliver much quicker RoI and business value,” he said.

Sharing his transformation experience

with peers, Madhav Rao, CIO of the retail major Lulu Group, said digital transformation is a step-by-step process at his organization. “We have around 50,000 employees with 18,000 in backoffice operations alone. We have done a pilot RPA project at a few retail stores, where we have been able to reduce man power by 70 percent. We have a multipronged digital transformation strategy – backend automation and re-defining customer experience.”

Suresh Muthuvadath, CIO of Apparel Group, a high-fashion retailer, which represents 70 international brands, said digital transformation for his company means customers. “We are leveraging digital technologies to understand the customer lifecycle and have recently launched a mobile app for our loyalty programme to offer more personalised services to our customers.”

The industrial packaging manufacturing company Precision Group’s CIO Jayakumar Mohanachandran, shared lessons from his organisation’s cloud journey. “Manufacturing industry has been slow to embrace digital transformation, but we are being forced to change and disrupt because of our customers . We were the first company to implement SCADA in the manufacturing sector in the region, and now we are piloting AI and RPA technologies to streamline automation and enhance supply chain visibility. As part of our DX plan, we have recently moved from a 22-year old legacy system to a cloudbased one, which enhanced visibility and efficiencies,” he said.

Chris Sandford from Obeikan Digital Solutions agreed that customers are

driving the change in many manufacturing companies.

‘We offer digital transformation services to other food and beverage companies in the region. What we are trying to do is to solve our own business problems, and once you address them, help others do the same. A case in point is a logistics application we developed initially for internal use, which allows you buy space within trucks. Now, we offer that to freight operators that can go on a journey with half-full trucks and offer that space to some other company. It also gives us complete visibility into our supply chain and forecast demand. If you don’t innovate yourself, you are going to be left behind,” he cautioned.

Vijay Jain, head of IT at Truebell Group, pointed out that managing user expectations is a challenge with digital transformation initiatives. “Business leaders want transformation to be quick and cheap, and it is not easy to educate them as to what they can expect out of transformation projects.”

In agreement, Mamdouh Nada, IT manager of United Foods, said that business acceptance and awareness is a challenge. “When you are in a business with low margins, it is tough to convince the top management, but at the same time, we are going to be left behind if we don’t automate and differentiate. We have to find a way to change the business itself.”

Tech chiefs who gathered at the event also discussed the best practices that need to be followed and the need for a holistic understanding of what a digital project entails with clear metrics for measuring success.

Other participants in the roundtable included: Kumar Prasooon, CIO of Al Safeer Group, Ashith Piriyattiath, CIO of Al Masah Capital; Mohammad Raffi, senior IT consultant at Jotun Paints; and Mohannad Hennawi, IT manager of Naffco.

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FEATURE

REINVENTING STORAGE IN A FLASH WITH HIGH LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE, FLASH STORAGE HAS EMERGED AS THE TECHNOLOGY OF CHOICE FOR ENTERPRISES WITH COMPLEX AND DATA-DRIVEN BUSINESS PROCESSES. WILL IT REPLACE HDDS IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

F

lash storage is any type of drive, repository or system that uses electrically programmable and erasable memory to keep data for an extended period of time. Flash-based solutions give organisations quick access to stored data and greater storage density with small footprint.

In today’s always connected, data-gathering world, organisations must perform frequent and complex computations and analytics of data, faster than ever before. This is where flash kicks in as the most preferred foundation for storage and a steep decline in prices has helped more 16

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enterprises to embrace flash storage to handle their data-intensive processes.

According to IDC, the total all-flash array market generated over $2.15 billion in revenue during the last quarter of 2018, up 39.3 percent year over year.

The hybrid flash away market was worth slightly more than $2.6 billion in revenue.

Flash is now officially the fastest growing form of storage in the enterprise storage system market, thanks to its tag as the most ideal solution that can meet the performance needs of today’s new breed of workloads and digital transformation initiatives.

“We are see increasing focus on creating new revenue streams primarily

leveraging the digital business. For example, we have witnessed multiple banks across the region pursuing new business opportunities based on the need to be fast to market and closer to clients via creating new digital business strategies and launching innovative digital banking services,” says Mahmoud El Kordy, Business Unit Executive Middle East and Pakistan, IBM Systems.

Additionally, even the petrochemical industry is turning to digital solutions to reduce their time to oil, leveraging on data collection and analysis in real time. The same applies to the telecommunications operators and retailers who are increasingly focused on creating a differentiated customer experience and customising their digital marketing campaigns by leveraging on their data and consumption trends.

Government entities in the Middle East are also at the forefront of adopting cutting edge technology to enable their digital strategies.

All these trends are creating the need for faster than ever access to information that is exponentially growing, real time analytics and as such have become highly dependent on the performance of the IT infrastructure systems that enable these services, and these new workloads are shaping up the need for all-flash solutions in the Middle East, says El Kordy.

Commenting on the driving factors for the steady growth and adoption of all-flash, Patrick Smith, EMEA Field CTO, Pure Storage, says, “Another driver for adoption of all flash is the ability to reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) of storage systems by driving down data center footprint, and costs associated with cooling and power consumption.

For example, users can fit a petabyte of usable data in an 8U rack solution generating ~3-4kWh power per month using all flash.”

According to Khwaja Saifuddin, Senior Sales Director, Middle East at Western Digital Corporation, business competitiveness is the main driver for Middle East organisations adopting all-flash storage. “The fundamentals of storage remain unchanged.

You still need to serve data with

Mahmoud El Kordy, Business Unit Executive - Middle East and Pakistan, IBM Systems reliability, to protect your data, and to deliver IT services across a range of requirements, regardless of the media under the data. But as flash technology matures, it lets us change the way we deliver those services — with greater efficiency and performance and with the potential for major savings for your organisation,” he says.

Smith adds that the ongoing virtualisation of the compute environment has generated considerable demand on back end storage. “That is the use case where we see flash being a perfect fit. Also, if you look at data stored in traditional relational databases, flash provides faster access to data for faster business outcomes,” he explains.

Analysts say that though flash storage densities are going up, their prices are going down due to innovative flash design like 3D TLC flash and smart data reduction technology like deduplication and compression. However, going beyond the obvious cost benefit, El Kordy says that the advantages are directly related to creating differentiated client experiences and enabling organisations to gain a competitive edge, and enabling them to embark on new business opportunities.

He adds that it is now becoming difficult for enterprises to take real time decisions based on real time analytics, considering the volume of data being

Patrick Smith, EMEA Field CTO, Pure Storage

generated. In such a scenario, the speed of flash provides the responsiveness that line of business (LoB) executives demand today and improves the overall user experience, enabling decision making when it matters most.

According to Smith, the growth is also being driven by the investment in the development of flash rather than spinning disk technology. “We have already seen this in the highperformance market where there is no financial business case for investment in spinning disk, and flash storage now dominates that sector. We are beginning to see a similar trend in the medium and even low performance hard disk markets.”

Does this mean that it is ‘the end’ for hard disk drives?

The question is not if but when, says Smith. “We have effectively seen high performance hard drives disappear and with ever improving flash capacity and data reduction technology such as compression and deduplication, the economies of flash are becoming more and more compelling. QLC flash, which stores four bits per cell, promises even lower prices and higher-capacities in the near future.”

What is flash best suited for?

Flash is available across the three different storage types - block, file and object. While flash can be used for any

Khwaja Saifuddin, Senior Sales Director, Middle East at Western Digital Corporation workload, enterprises are adopting flashbased on their workload prioritisation.

The most common use cases, according to El Kordy, are for databases, machine learning and analytics.

Flash storage is also being used in enterprises for virtual server and virtual desktop environments. Smith says there is a huge uptake of flash for modern analytics like Apache Spark and AI. “The huge compute capability of NVIDA’s GPUs coupled with the massive parallelism of all-flash storage provides an ideal platform for AI workloads.”

Another use case that has developed over the past 12 months, is use of flash as a rapid restore environment. It provides not only fast back up, but more importantly, the ability to restore business services faster than you could with disk-based backup environments. This ensures enterprises can meet stringent business or regulatory commitments for restoring business services.

The rise of flash solutions has enabled enterprises to quickly harness the value of data – and be better positioned to compete, innovate and grow in today’s real-time world by accelerating time to value, across all industries. Industry experts predict that next five years are likely to witness archived data being stored on all flash storage platforms and that will essentially signal the end of disk-based storage.

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VIEWPOINT

THE BUSINESS OF ORGANISED CYBERCRIME DAVID WARBURTON, SENIOR THREAT RESEARCH EVANGELIST, F5 NETWORKS, ON THE ECONOMICS THAT DRIVE AND SUSTAIN CYBERCRIME.

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eam leader, network administrator, data miner, money specialist. These are just some of the roles making a difference at today’s enterprises. The same is also true for sophisticated cybergangs.

Many still wrongly believe that the dark web is exclusively inhabited by hoodieclad teenagers and legions of disaffected disruptors. The truth is, the average hacker is just a cog in a complex ecosystem more akin to that of a corporate enterprise than you think. The only difference is the endgame, which is usually to cause reputational or financial damage to governments, businesses and consumers.

There is no way around it; cybercrime is now run like an industry with multiple levels of deceit shielding those at the very top from capture. Therefore, it’s more important than ever for businesses to re-evaluate cybercriminal perceptions and ensure effective protective measures are in place.

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Current perceptions surrounding cybergangs Cybergangs as a collective are often structured like legitimate businesses, including partner networks, resellers and vendors. Some have even set up call centres to field interactions with ransomware victims. Meanwhile, entry level hackers across the world are embarking on career development journeys of sorts, enjoying opportunities to learn and develop skills. This includes the ability to write their own tools or enhance the capabilities of others. In many ways, it is a similar path to that of an intern. They often become part of sophisticated groups or operations once their abilities reach a certain level. Indeed, a large proportion of hackers are relatively new entrants to the cybercrime game and still use lowlevel tools to wreak havoc. This breed of cybercriminal isn’t always widely feared by big corporations. They should be.

How cybergangs are using technology to work smarter and cheaper Cybergangs often work remotely across widely dispersed geographies, which makes them tricky to detect and deal with. The nature of these structures also means that cyberattacks are becoming more automated, rapid and cost-effective.

The costs and risks are further reduced when factoring in the fluidity and inherent anonymity of cryptocurrencies and the dark web.

The industry has become so robust that hackers can even source work on each link in an attack chain at an affordable rate.

Each link is anonymous to other threat actors in the chain to vastly reduce the risk of detection.

IoT vulnerabilities on the rise According to IHS Markit, there will be 125 billion IoT devices on the planet by 2030.

With so much hype surrounding the idea of constant and pervasive connectivity, individuals and businesses are often complacent when it comes to ensuring all devices are secure.

Significantly, it is easier to compromise an IoT device that is exposed to the public Internet and protected with known 20

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THE INDUSTRY HAS BECOME SO ROBUST THAT HACKERS CAN EVEN SOURCE WORK ON EACH LINK IN AN ATTACK CHAIN AT AN AFFORDABLE RATE. EACH LINK IS ANONYMOUS TO OTHER THREAT ACTORS IN THE CHAIN TO VASTLY REDUCE THE RISK OF DETECTION. vendor default credentials than it is to trick an individual into clicking on a link in a phishing email.

Consequently, it is crucial for organisations to have an IoT strategy in place that encompasses the monitoring and identification of traffic patterns for all connected devices. Visibility is essential to understand network behaviour and any potential suspicious activities that may occur on it.

Why cybersecurity mindsets must change IT teams globally have been lecturing staff for years on the importance of creating different passwords. Overall, the message is not resonating enough.

To combat the issue, businesses need to consider alternative tactics such as password manager applications, as well as ensuring continuous security training is available and compulsory for all staff.

It is worth noting that the most commonly attacked credentials are the vendor defaults for some of the most commonly used applications in enterprise environments. Simply having a basic system hardening policy that ensures vendor default credentials are disabled or changed before the system goes live will prevent this common issue from becoming a painful breach. System hardening is a requirement in every best practice security framework or compliance requirement.

Ultimately, someone with responsibility for compliance, audit, or security should be continually reviewing access to all systems. Commonly, security teams will only focus on systems within the scope of some compliance or regulatory obligation.

This can lead to failure to review seemingly innocuous systems that can occasionally result in major breaches.

In addition to continual access reviews, monitoring should be in place to detect access attacks. Brute force attacks can not only lead to a breach, they can also result in performance impacts on the targeted system or lock customers out of their accounts. As a result, there are significant financial incentives for organisations to equip themselves with appropriate monitoring procedures.

Cybergangs use many different methods to wreak havoc, making it increasingly difficult to identify attacks in a timely manner. Businesses are often ignorant about the size of attacks, the scope of what has been affected, and the scale of the operation behind them. You are operating in the dark without doing the utmost to know your enemy. Failing to do so will continue to put information, staff and customers at risk by allowing cybergangs to operate in the shadows.

CASE STUDY

A NEW VISION GLOBAL SHIPPING AND LOGISTICS BOOSTS SUPPLY CHAIN AGILITY WITH SMART AUGMENTED REALITY GLASSES IN ITS WAREHOUSES.

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lobal Shipping and Logistics, one of the leading 3rd party logistics providers in the UAE, is adapting smart augmented reality glasses to enhance its supply chain operations. More than a hundred businesses choose GSL for the safekeeping of thousands of their brands and products, requiring millions of transactions that GSL manages with accuracy.

“Thanks to pick-by-vision operations, GSL has been able to improve its turn-around speeds to complement its already high efficiency standards” says M.N. Chaturvedi, CIO of the Al Shirawi Group – Oasis Investments Company.

GSL, which started its operations in 1975 as an in-house shipping service provider to the Al Shirawi group, grew into a complete one-stop third party logistics provider with the addition of logistics services to its portfolio in 2005. Today, GSL offers logistics services through its warehouses in Dubai Investment Park and Dubai Industrial City, totaling 2.8 million square feet of world-class facilities.

With over 600 trained logistics specialists, GSL provides a wide array of services for its clients including freight forwarding, customs clearance, transportation, warehousing, value added services and distribution. It supports multiple business verticals including FMCG, retail, food and beverage, e-commerce, pharma and veterinary. GSL is the UAE’s first custom-bonded 3PL operator outside the freezone and also the only mainland 3PL pharma licensed company in the country.

Running on Lean Six Sigma principles, GSL, like all Al Shirawi group companies has adopted a best of breed approach in building its facilities and infrastructure, including its IT. This helps to provide clients with complete visibility into their supply chain and measurable service points that are of highest quality.

Recently, GSL has introduced pick-

by-vision into its mega warehouse in Dubai Industrial City, which opened in 2017. “We implemented voiceactivated smart AR glasses in GSL’s warehouse picking operations to eliminate traditional processes and improve efficiencies. It acts as a collaboration and productivity tool,” says Chaturvedi.

Earlier, during the order fulfillment process, warehouse staff had to go around the floor with bulky RFID barcode scanners, which was susceptible to human errors.

“Workers had to pick up items, type in quantity and wait for the delivery order to be printed out for shipment.

We realised this manual process was time-consuming and did a pilot project with pick-by-vision. Now, GSL’s workers use Smart AR glasses with voice prompts to do what we call ‘vision picking’ – scanning an item code by just looking at it,” explains Charturvedi.

“With computer-generated input, we do the whole pick, load, and shipping process hands-free, which saves us 40 percent in time. It has also helped to increase the visibility and traceability of inventory on the warehouse floor,” says Frank Courtney, COO of Global Shipping & Logistics.

GSL’s IT team swiftly integrated pick-by-vision with its warehouse management system, and in the process, has developed its own IP. “Now, we have a template solution that we can offer to other logistics providers looking to deploy Smart AR Glasses as a tool that can ease workflows. We are also planning to take it out of the warehouse and develop applications for physical security and facilities management and extend it to other group companies. We see several other use cases as well,” says Chaturvedi.

The GSL IT team also plans to integrate smart AR glasses with electronic maps. “This will would help us give our workers precise directions to the physical location of pallets and remotely instruct them as to what item should go to which bin,” says Courtney.

He adds: “Going forward, at GSL we are gearing up to introduce drones within the warehouses as part of digital inventory management and replace linear barcodes with QR codes to streamline operational efficiencies. What sets us apart from the competition is the cutting-edge technology we use, and we believe drones will be able to do inventory control with more accuracy.”

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FEATURE

LIVING ON THE EDGE THE RAPID RISE OF THE INTERNET OF THINGS APPLICATIONS HAS MADE IT NECESSARY FOR ENTERPRISES TO STORE AND PROCESS DATA WHERE IT IS CAPTURED – AT THE NETWORK EDGE.

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artner defines edge computing as a ‘topologybased computing model that enables and optimises extreme decentralisation, placed modes as close as possible to the sources and sinks of data and content.’

The biggest promise of edge computing is near real-time data analysis, instead of routing it to data centres or clouds, making it a very compelling proposition for industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, telecom, and finance.

“The growth in private and business data traffic, the Internet of Things, 5G and mobility now need to be taken into earnest consideration as they have begun to cause an additional exponential growth of IP traffic while requiring ultra-low latency even in remote places. The hyperscale data centres that organisations have been investing in today will not be able to fully cover the new network, computing and storage requirements of the coming years. Therefore, they will have to extend computing power to the edge of their network to support their large, central data centres,” says Shibu Vahid, head of technical operations at R&M, explaining why edge computing matters.

Edge computing comes into its element in instances where data is collected locally for very specific, time-sensitive purposes, according to Rasheed Al-Omari, principal business solutions strategist at VMware. “For example, in smart manufacturing processes and for the collection of data from such diverse sources as autonomous vehicles, pacemakers, retail outlets, oil rigs, and even hydroponics equipment in farming.

These devices will still be connected to the cloud, but not all of this missioncritical data needs to travel instantly to remote data centers, as a certain level of intelligence lies in the device itself.

We expect to see autonomous vehicles create significant demand for edge computing, with each vehicle creating data that can be partially processed at the source or in conjunction with other nearby connected devices.”

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FEATURE

WE EXPECT TO SEE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES CREATE SIGNIFICANT DEMAND FOR EDGE COMPUTING, WITH EACH VEHICLE CREATING DATA THAT CAN BE PARTIALLY PROCESSED AT THE SOURCE OR IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER NEARBY CONNECTED DEVICES. Rasheed Al-Omari, Principal Business Solutions Strategist at VMware

He adds that complex scenarios such as those presented by autonomous vehicles also raise some interesting points regarding the way in which decisions are made about where data needs to be sent. It is clear that artificial intelligence and machine learning will have an important role to play in terms of helping to determine – in nanoseconds which data can be processed on the edge and which data needs to be sent further afield. For example, data about sudden changes to road surface conditions, or the risk of a near collision, would be better dealt with on the edge, where a rapid “decision” will be required by the car’s control systems.

Other information, such as wear-andtear on parts may be better being sent to the cloud, so that the information can be relayed to the auto-dealer who will be responsible for ordering the parts and servicing the vehicle. But with millions of cars on the road – all creating vast amounts of data – AI and machine learning will discover, or learn, what works best and will be better than humans when it comes to determining when and where to send data.

Vahid from R&M says this kind of hyper-interactivity and decentral intelligence will play a role in numerous other applications in the digitalised world. These include industrial manufacture, industrial Ethernet and robotics, 5G and video communication, smart grids, the Internet of Things (IoT) as well as blockchain, AI and AR 26

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applications. “Edge computing can support all these tasks by shortening the path between the acquisition, collection, analysis, and feedback of intelligence to the networks.”

Though there is a myriad of use cases for edge computing, building a strategy for it can be a daunting task as it involves both IT and OT and a radical rethinking of current IT environments.

from manipulation, environmental influences and electromagnetic loads, says Vahid from R&M. Another challenge associated with edge computing is around cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities. “Security and reliability are paramount, and this is where VMware plays a key role. We set up, manage, monitor, control and secure connected devices in IoT and smart city scenarios. This is especially relevant here in the GCC, where countries including the UAE and Saudi Arabia are taking a leadership role in the deployment of smart city applications.

It’s complicated, as these networks – which will almost always involve edge computing – usually consist of an array of diverse technology from different vendors which must all work together seamlessly. We specialise in making that happen while ensuring everything remains secure,” says Al-Omari.

Despite the several challenges involved in moving computing to the edge, decentralised data processing is

EDGE COMPUTING CAN SUPPORT ALL THESE TASKS BY SHORTENING THE PATH BETWEEN THE ACQUISITION, COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, AND FEEDBACK OF INTELLIGENCE TO THE NETWORKS. Shibu Vahid, Head of Technical Operations at R&M

The locations at which edge data centres should be deployed could be demanding. To minimise risks, application sites will have to be chosen carefully, and edge solutions will have to be as robust and maintenancefree as possible. They should also be able to run independently without specialist personnel. But there will still have to be safe rooms or containers to protect micro data centres

guaranteed to have a transformational effect on data centres as we know it today. Many of the early adopters of edge computing are already repurposing their enterprise data centres for long-cycle analytics. “It is inevitable that edge computing will have an impact on data centres. We are now moving from ‘data centers’ to the ‘centres of data’ era,” says Al-Omari from VMware.

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VIEWPOINT

TOP 5 STRATEGIES TO HARNESS AI IN 2019 FADY KASSATLY, SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT, BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON, MENA, ON HOW AI HAS TREMENDOUS POWER TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF REGIONAL ECONOMIES AND ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR CITIZENS

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ountries in the MENA region are investing in AI to transform their economies over the next few years. In the UAE, the launch of the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in 2017 aims to promote government performance and create an innovative environment using machine intelligence.

The strategy is the first of its kind in the region and was established to enhance government performance and efficiency in a number of fields, such as education, transportation, energy, space and technology.

As governments look to fulfill their AI vision, they must invest in a combination of human strengths, such as creativity, empathy, negotiation, along with those of machines, including collection and processing of data and precision, to improve the lives of citizens.

AI has tremendous power to shape the future of regional economies and enhance the quality of life for citizens.

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Regional leaders are leaving no stone unturned in the quest to combine machine intelligence with human ingenuity to achieve maximum potential and help business and governments gain competitive advantage.

Below are the top five strategies from Booz Allen Hamilton for organisations to leverage the potential of AI.

1

Leverage AI to complement the human experience The human mind absorbs and understands more detail than we consciously know. But biases, politics, and wishful thinking sometimes distorts our views. Coupling our instincts with insights produced by machines enables us to see surprising possibilities we may have otherwise ignored. This includes everything, from enabling us to take a closer look at a job candidate whose university or school we had discounted to identifying a revenue driver we were not familiar with. As the UAE harnesses AI to drive growth in many different

sectors, combining machine intelligence with human intelligence will help build a more stable framework for the future.

For example the banking sector is increasingly relying on the consumerfacing applications of AI, such as Emirates NBD’s virtual assistant EVA, to enhance offerings.

But even with AI being used to improve customer service, human interaction would still be needed at various touchpoints. AI solutions can be leveraged to augment human interaction in banking and other sectors, but not fully replace it.

2

Recognise that machine models can powerfully augment mental models Machine models are outperforming mental models in a growing array of cognitive tasks. This was evident in the defeat of Ke Jie, the world champion in the extremely complex strategy game Go, at the hands of a machine learning program created

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VIEWPOINT

AS GOVERNMENTS LOOK TO FULFILL THEIR AI VISION, THEY MUST INVEST IN A COMBINATION OF HUMAN STRENGTHS, SUCH AS CREATIVITY, EMPATHY, NEGOTIATION, ALONG WITH THOSE OF MACHINES, INCLUDING COLLECTION AND PROCESSING OF DATA AND PRECISION, TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF CITIZENS.

by Google. Machines’ increasing precision and capability means we can now confidently use machine models to ingest and interpret data for a variety of business purposes, while taking a “trust but verify” approach. This is especially valuable in the healthcare sector, where AI is providing scalable and affordable disease screening solutions to help medical experts make accurate diagnoses in the UAE.

3

To break through without experience, start by experimenting with AI Many organizations are put off by AI technologies because they think the costs, talent, data requirements and risk of failure are too high. The reality is that in this rapidly-evolving space, even the biggest organisations are learning the ropes and making mistakes along the way. One can be cautious, but not experimenting at all could be even more detrimental.

Identify one or a few narrow areas in your business where you can tolerate some risk and experiment before making a larger investment in AI. For example, AI is helping doctors accurately diagnose eye disease in 96 per cent of cases at the Dubai

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Diabetes Centre, thanks to a pilot AI project that was launched earlier this year. The trial AI program helped identify retinal damage caused by diabetes and was so successful that it is now a permanent addition to the centre and is helping doctors diagnose and treat more patients at an earlier stage.

4

To be successful with AI, you need to work and share openly with the ecosystem The development of artificial intelligence is a global phenomenon, bringing together academics, business leaders, and policymakers from around the world. The value of artificial intelligence goes beyond short-term returns and cost savings.

This technology has the power to fundamentally change how our most important institutions make decisions. It also opens the possibility for us to address some of the world’s most pressing problems—from income inequality to disease and environmental crises. The biggest technology companies are working together and sharing openly to advance artificial intelligence through initiatives like OpenAI and The Partnership on AI to Benefit People and Society.

Transparency, sharing, and openness will enable organizations to learn and benefit from artificial intelligence more quickly, and to take on an important role in the next technological

revolution. The UAE has signed a Bilateral Artificial Intelligence Bridge agreement with India that seeks to create economic benefits worth USD 20 billion during the next decade.

5

AI will create a new kind of workforce, so be prepared to support your employees There is no question that as artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent in business and society, some jobs as we know them today will eventually go away. But this should not cause a sense of doom and gloom. In fact, studies show that it often takes 7 to 10 years after a technology is created for it to be fully integrated in organisations—particularly technology as complex as artificial intelligence.

Still, leaders must acknowledge this reality with their workforce, and begin to create strategies now on how to help affected employees develop the skills to transition to new roles. Ultimately, being honest and transparent about the future will help to build trust and buy-in with your employees, customers, and shareholders. In the UAE, the government has signed a number of agreements with global organizations to train its public sector employees on key skills needed in the AI age in addition to signing agreements to build labs where AI prototypes can be developed between the private and public sectors.

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VIEWPOINT

HOW AUTOMATION IS CHANGING THE LOGISTICS INDUSTRY KUSHAL NAHATA, CEO & CO-FOUNDER, FAREYE, ENVISIONS AN AUTOMATED FUTURE FOR LOGISTICS PROVIDERS. 32

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utomation is all about looking for repetitive task which consumes huge amounts of time and that commonly lead to errors.

Once these tasks are found in the process, we can start to think about automating them. Warehouses also have these repetitive cumbersome tasks. For example, walking to a bin, picking a thing out of a bin, and putting that thing in a new location over and over. Entering shipments into tracking systems over and over.

Sorting, categorizing, and storing items over and over. All of these repetitive tasks are an opportunity for automation. A rapid move towards automation is one of the biggest changes across the logistics sector.

It allows the process to be more efficient, productive and free of human errors.

Of course, automating production lines is nothing new. Many industrial relations battles have been fought over efforts to introduce robots to the production process, especially in the automotive sector. However, what is happening now has the potential to go much further.

Logistics companies look at these developments as they will lead to direct and indirect transformative pressures on the industry. Firstly, the production strategies of their clients will change dramatically. By adopting the latest robot technology for basic and repetitive tasks such as ‘pick and place’ there is the opportunity for employers in the Middle East to greatly reduce labor costs. Robots are especially good at performing functions where precision or consistency is required. This of course would rebalance manufacturers’ labor costs and reduce the competitiveness of remote markets. This trend would be strengthened by manufacturers increased awareness of global supply chain risks and other nearsourcing pressures. This could lead to manufacturers preferring to establish new facilities in or near to the major consumer markets in the Middle East.

Secondly, there is a direct impact which development in technologies could have upon the logistics industry.

The sector of course is very labor intensive both in terms of drivers and warehouse staff. In twenty years, this scenario may change dramatically.

Google is already testing technology that will result in driverless cars, and it seems reasonable that, once regulatory and labor organization barriers are overcome, we will see a growing proportion of driverless trucks on the roads. This would have obvious benefits in terms of costs but would also reduce tachographs and hours of service to minimal, thus improving supply chain efficiencies.

The Middle East freight and sector is facing some interesting times ahead.

OF COURSE, AUTOMATING PRODUCTION LINES IS NOTHING NEW. MANY INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS BATTLES HAVE BEEN FOUGHT OVER EFFORTS TO INTRODUCE ROBOTS TO THE PRODUCTION PROCESS, ESPECIALLY IN THE AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR. HOWEVER, WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GO MUCH FURTHER.

efficiencies. They will also need to maintain high services levels to survive and prosper. A rapid move towards automation and offshore business processing are a couple of the biggest changes across the sector.

Both of these are indeed the future.

While automation allows us to be more efficient, productive and avoid human errors, offshoring saves on costs and is often a stepping stone towards automation. People often resist these strategies because they are concerned that it may take their jobs of their peers. Here are four lessons that can be learnt from the automation journey.

• Make it clear to staff that automation will improve their jobs and steal their jobs. There’s no question that automation brings about disruption, but it is an opportunity for them to create their future jobs as more things are automated they will be able to use their creative and strategic skills.

Ultimately, they’ll have a more interesting and fulfilling job.

• Involving the staff on what need to be automated. An example of this can be, one can write down the more mundane and repetitive tasks and start with those. Automation should be framed as a liberation movement.

• Be transparent with the staff: Nothing is worse than feeling your role is threatened. Keep them in loop about automation, the need for increased efficiencies and the time frame for implementation.

• Upskill staff in other areas: As routine and boring tasks get automated; the staff will get the chance to take on more interesting tasks. They can become trusted advisors in communicating with the clients.

They need to adapt to free trade agreements, tax reforms, security requirements and other challenges that the world is throwing their way. Freight volumes are predicted to double in the next 19-15 years.

The nature of Middle East’s highly competitive environment means that business will have to maximize

The supply chain and logistics industry is very price competitive and customer service differentiates the companies in the market. To sum up, preparing the business for automation requires more than just systems and processes.

Companies need to be transparent and prepare their staff to take advantage of the opportunities ahead.

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INTERVIEW

WHY CYBERSECURITY IS A BUSINESS PRIORITY HAIDER PASHA, SENIOR DIRECTOR & CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER, EMERGING MARKETS AT PALO ALTO NETWORKS, TALKS ABOUT WHY CYBERSECURITY TODAY REQUIRES A COMPLETE RETHINKING.

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hy cybersecurity should be top-ofmind for every organisation in this region?

If you looked at the smartphone apps ten years ago, before the Apple iPhone came out, none of them relied on an Internet connection.

Today, pretty much every app on your phone needs connectivity. With this growing reliance on IT, there is also a corresponding increase in the creativity of attacks. If you follow the Allianz risk barometer, cybersecurity was ranked as the second biggest global risk to organisations last year, ahead of natural catastrophes.

You have made a bunch of threat predictions for this year. Will cryptomining be the biggest threat facing us in 2019?

I have made six predictions, out of

which two are positive because people tend to perceive cybersecurity as bad news. In the fintech space, many new organisations are coming, and these companies will rely heavily on cybersecurity, specifically in the form of multi-factor authentication.

Cryptomining will continue to be a problem and organisations need to do a better job of focusing on basics to prevent these types of attacks. They are being hit not because hackers are going at them with sophisticated tools, but because they don’t do twofactor authentication or secure their data centres where crypto tokens are stored.

How important is basic cybersecurity hygiene?

I think user behaviour is important and cyber-hygiene should be part of every organisation’s DNA. This message should come from the top because cybersecurity is no longer a technology problem and has become a boardroom level discussion.

Another prediction I made is around legislation - GDPR was kicked off last year, but we didn’t see major penalties straight off because breaches are being investigated. This year, you will see organisations penalised for those breaches.

Along with cybersecurity hygiene, it is equally important to focus on legislation and work in parallel with your company’s legal counsel to understand the implications of local and global legislation on your business.

Who should be held responsible for security? Is it fair to blame only the CISOs when a breach happens?

That is not always the case. If you look at some of the high-profile breaches such as Equifax and Target, top executives were held responsible. But if one person should take charge of cybersecurity, it is usually the CISO. Having said that, the whole c-suite

TODAY, PRETTY MUCH EVERY APP ON YOUR PHONE NEEDS CONNECTIVITY. WITH THIS GROWING RELIANCE ON IT, THERE IS ALSO A CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN THE CREATIVITY OF ATTACKS. IF YOU FOLLOW THE ALLIANZ RISK BAROMETER, CYBERSECURITY WAS RANKED AS THE SECOND BIGGEST GLOBAL RISK TO ORGANISATIONS LAST YEAR, AHEAD OF NATURAL CATASTROPHES. should be accountable for security, and it is the job of CISOs to create that awareness among their boards.

but that needs to change to once a quarter or even every month. It makes life a lot easier for both sides.

In that case, shouldn’t CISOs be speaking a different language?

The question is, are CISOs today speaking the right language? Recently, we organised a CISO level discussion in our region, and one of the topics was the top ten questions about cybersecurity that boards will ask CISOs and how to answer them.

Some of the CISOs in the room were not comfortable talking about business or tie back the threats they see to business impact. However, some of the CISOs from larger organisations were comfortable speaking the language of business.

It requires a change in both sides – boards need to be a bit more accustomed to cybersecurity, and cybersecurity practitioners need to articulate the risk to the business.

I don’t think CISOs need to convert 100 percent to the business, and same holds for business leaders. They need to establish a common ground, and in organisations doing this successfully, the big difference is they communicate more often. Majority of CISOs talk to their boards once a year

How do you rate the cybersecurity maturity levels of organisations in the Middle East?

Every organisation is different.

Cybersecurity is quite mature in verticals such as banking and finance.

However, when it comes to healthcare and even local government entities that cater to consumers, they need to take a step and look at their overall cybersecurity posture. They need to involve all business functions when creating a security framework: Do we understand cybersecurity? What is our security governance structure?

Who are the security champions within the organisation other than CISO? Are we mandating the supply chain to have necessary security capabilities they should have before even communicating with us?

These are the questions they should be asking first before having the technology discussion because a knee-jerk reaction to security doesn’t work anymore. Every CISO and CIO need to educate their boards on the trend of security and where they stand in this security maturity curve.

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VIEWPOINT

WHY BIOMETRIC DATA USE POSES UNIQUE SECURITY RISK MOREY HABER, CTO, BEYONDTRUST, WEIGHS IN THE PROS AND CONS OF BIOMETRIC SECURITY

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e live in sensitive times. One “sensitive”, under-discussed topic that we need to directly confront and have an open conversation about is around the sensitivity of data. Yes, that’s right, what do people today consider “sensitive” data?

The definition of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) often includes your name, email addresses, usernames, passwords, birthdate, address, social security number, credit card information, medical history, etc. I would stipulate that most people can agree that these are all sensitive data sets.

But there is an entire classification of sensitive data in the world that we do not discuss and is going to be a problem in the very near future. The sensitive data we are failing to adequately address is the linkage of our physical, carbonbased human bodies to all the biometric data being stored by IoT devices and services in the cloud. If you think this sounds farfetched, ask yourself if you or any of your loved ones participated in an ancestry DNA kit or received a new notebook, mobile device, or smartwatch that stores health or login data via fingerprints or facial recognition—I am

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HOWEVER, THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH BIOMETRIC DATA IS NOT THE STORAGE OR AUTHENTICATION TECHNOLOGY USED, RATHER IT IS THE STATIC NATURE OF BIOMETRIC DATA ITSELF. willing to bet, that either you or someone close to you has.

Compromised biometric data poses unique risks To understand the sensitivity of biometric data and why it should be a part of your conversations, consider the potential risk. You are a person.

Typically, you have one single identity.

One could argue that, even if you are

a spy or have a criminal alias, you still only have one identity since, regardless of your aliases or the names you impersonate, you only have one set of biometric data. You cannot change your fingerprints, voice, face, eyes, EKG, or even veins in your arm.

When information technology uses biometric data for either authorisation or authentication (and yes, they are different), it needs to compare the results with a stored profile of your biometric data. The storage is electronic.

While extraordinary safeguards can be placed on the storage and encryption of biometric data, at some point, it needs to be reassembled (at least in parts) to compare to assessed input.

If the storage is flawed by design, has vulnerabilities, or the host system is misconfigured, we have a potential exposure of the most sensitive biometric data.

However, the biggest problem with biometric data is not the storage or authentication technology used, rather it is the static nature of biometric data itself. If a password is compromised, you can change it, putting a stop to password re-use attacks that rely on the compromised password. However, if biometric data is compromised, you

BIOMETRICS ALONE SHOULD NEVER BE USED TO AUTHENTICATE OR AUTHORIZE ACTION OR COMMIT A TRANSACTION. BIOMETRICS SHOULD BE PAIRED WITH A PASSWORD OR, BETTER YET, A TWOFACTOR OR MULTI-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION SOLUTION FOR A HIGHER DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE.

cannot change it. Your eyes, face, or fingerprints are permanently linked to your identity (excluding bio-hacking which is a topic for another day).

Any future hacks that solely rely on compromised biometric data can be an easy target for threat actors.

Biometrics alone should never be used to authenticate or authorize action or commit a transaction. Biometrics should be paired with a password or, better yet, a two-factor or multi-factor authentication solution for a higher degree of confidence.

Assessing how your biometric data is being used and accessed Some vendors emphasize security for biometric data (Apple Secure Enclave), while others treat biometric data with little safe regard. If you think my latter claim is questionable, consider VTech’s My Friend Cayla doll and the ramification for sales, collection of voice fingerprints, and the mischievous potential for a threat actor against you or your children.

The storage of biometric data is quickly increasing, but the implications are just beginning to be understood and wellgrasped. We need to begin discussing what we will allow to be stored about our identity and what is just too risky. And,

most importantly by whom.

Just consider all the new technology that may now possess your biometric data: • Personal Assistants: Devices from Amazon, Google, and Apple all process voice recognition commands and can be programmed to understand individual voices. Your unique vocal patterns are stored and processed in the cloud. While threat vectors for human voice patterns are still very theoretical, be mindful that this data is being stored.

• DNA Kits: If you purchased or used one of these, your DNA is now on file.

And, if you give permission, your data can be used by law enforcement to help solve outstanding criminal cases.

Your most private and sensitive data, your DNA, is now in the hands of a third party. You should be aware of everything they can do with it and what the ramifications are if those services are ever breached.

• Mobile Devices and IoT: Cellular phones, tablets, and even door cameras capture some form of biometric data and stores it on the device or in the cloud—even if it is not used for authentication or authorization. The risk here is

obvious. Some door cameras, based on location, capture photos or video based on movement and may capture your picture just by your walking or driving past it. Your likeness, unknown to you, is now potentially on another end user’s device, or in the cloud. And, your mobile phone or tablet now has fingerprints and facial metrics stored within it too. There are plenty of tools and documents on how to bypass these security models if you have the device in hand. You cannot trust these security models based on biometrics alone, and AI may actually make the matter worse by performing the PII linkage for a threat actors.

Opening up a dialogue about biometric data Now is the time to begin sensitive discussions on biometric data. When you purchase a device, use a new technology, or consider how you are interacting with a new service, ask yourself, and potentially the vendor (especially, if the technology is used for work), the following: • How are you storing biometric data?

• Where is it being stored? (especially, what countries, since this may have other legal and compliance ramifications.)

• How is it secured? Who has access?

• Is my biometric data being purged over time?

• Do you sell my biometric data?

• Does law enforcement have access to my biometric data or logs? Even with a warrant?

Biometric data is perhaps the most sensitive information you possess. It is a part of your identity and can never be changed. It is a worthy conversation we need to have in this sensitive world. It affects everyone, does not discriminate, and as new technology emerges, stands to cause potential trouble for everyone unless we understand how our likeness is being captured, stored, processed, and ultimately utilised.

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GETTING SMART AT BEING SMARTER BUSINESS IN THE REGION KNOW THAT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) AND MACHINE LEARNING (ML)—WHEN CORRECTLY APPLIED—CAN IMPROVE THE WAY ORGANISATIONS WORK AND OPERATE. BUT MANY ARE STILL NOT QUITE SURE WHERE TO START AS THEY LOOK TO CREATE THESE NEW DATA MODELS, WRITES PAUL HARDY, CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER, SERVICENOW

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lobal access to data is exploding. At the same time, our ability to categorise, classify and analyse this data is also expanding. As this new world of data unfolds, businesses are looking to create new data models—and their supporting data analytics functions— to directly and positively impact growth, profit and expansion.

But let’s go back to first principles for a moment. We know that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)—when correctly applied—can improve the way organisations work and operate. But do organisations know where to start as they look to create these new data models?

We—and by ‘we’ I mean you as the customers, us at ServiceNow, as well as our partners, everybody basically— need to ask where to categorise and compartmentalise processes and functions to build new digital workflows. We need to examine which aspects of the business should be most directly ‘exposed’ to AI. We also need to know what is and isn’t possible in the short, medium and long term.

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WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT DELIVERING AI AND ML IN THE BUSINESS YOU HAVE TO BE REALLY FOCUSED ON WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE—AND

BY THAT I MEAN, YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO TIE DOWN SPECIFIC USE CASES FOR EACH AND EVERY PAPERCLIP.

In other words, we need to get smart about being smarter if we’re going to bring a new era of business forward.

So, what does smart really mean in modern business terms? I think it is time to look at AI and digital workflows through the lens of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) objectives.

Specificity When we use the word ‘specific’ and demand a greater level of product or service specificity, we mean it in the most granular sense possible.

We can’t just say we need more paperclips, more salespeople, more office air conditioning or more field sales automobiles. We need to ask what kind of paperclip shape we need, what colour, what build strength and perhaps even what level of ‘clippyness’ every clip needs to exhibit.

When you are thinking about delivering AI and ML in the business you have to be really focused on what you are trying to achieve—and by that I mean, you need to be able to tie down specific use cases for each and every paperclip.

Timeliness Lastly, we come to timeliness. In the not so distant past, business cycles and the general approach to commercial objectives were typically annual. In this post-millennial age, firms are measuring themselves in much smaller strategic increments.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and business targets used to change year-on-year. Today, they might be calibrated to change monthly, weekly or perhaps even on the basis of individual (tickets) activities relating to individual jobs.

Measurability Getting smart with new digital workflows also requires measurability.

If you can’t measure it and put it in your business plan and balance sheet (a process, a service, a workflow element, anything at all) then you need to step back and ask whether you should really be doing it.

The reality is that data is often captured and not ever used. It simply falls unmeasured, and unloved, into the data lake. The real cost of this is the ‘noise’ that is created throughout the business because for one, wasted data goes crashing into the lake and secondly, there is then the splashing that occurs afterwards when users do actually realise that

they have to start diving into the lake to look for the data that they might actually need in order to make work experiences better!

Attainability and relevancy If an AI initiative is not attainable or achievable, then why has it formed a part of your current business strategy in the first place? Nowadays we can forecast how far AI will realistically be able to change any given business in real practical terms.

Similarly, if an AI business initiative is not relevant to the business and not able to exist within the context of the organisation’s current and immediate goals, then it forms no sensible part of any smart business plan.

Your next steps The goal for any business should be to get to the point where they can use smart digital workflows to drive greater productivity, greater quality of all services and greater experiences for all employees.

We know that an increasing proportion of organisations are already examining where they can bring AI to bear and create new value in their business. We also know that many are already on that road and creating new applications and new experiences. Factors that matter most now include service quality, cost reduction, speedy delivery and the need for geographical availability for all new products and services.

These are all the defining trends that should be shaping the way we develop new digital workflows that leverage AI and ML. As vendors, we need to help businesses identify areas for improvement, not just before they start to lose profits and market share, but more significantly, before they start to actually lose contracts.

There’s a new culture for predictive business strategy that we are underpinning and making possible.

Smart is smarter if it is more productive and creates greater experiences for everybody inside and outside your organisation. It’s where the smart money is, believe me.

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FUTURE OF RETAIL EVERY YEAR, THE BATTLE TO SURVIVE AS A BRICK-AND-MORTAR RETAILER GETS TOUGHER. AS CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS HEIGHTEN AND ECOMMERCE SALES CONTINUE TO RISE, BUSINESSES TOO SLOW TO ADAPT TO A DIGITAL WORLD HAVE A TOUGH ROAD AHEAD, ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY BY ARUBA, A HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY.

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he ‘Road to Digitalisation in Retailing’ report features the results of a study carried out with over 900 managers and non-managers in global retailers, and interviews with two industry experts: digital commerce strategy consultant Gabrielle Hase and founder of ASOS Ventures, Daniel Bobroff. It explains why, after years of reticence, it’s now or never for the retail industry to embrace technology. That means making long-term investments within the workplace to achieve the vital goals of a better customer experience and a stronger bottom line.

To set its recommendations in context, the study highlights five key trends that have emerged:

1

Lagging in workplace technology: Compared to other industries, retail has been slow to implement workplace 40

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technology. Almost two-thirds (63%) of managers and employees surveyed said that their organisation is at risk of falling behind competitors if new technology is not implemented.

2

Employees must be empowered with technology: To thrive, the brick-and-mortar retailer of the near future needs to provide its staff with the connected digital tools that allow them to deliver more personalised services to every customer. At present, less than two-fifths (39%) of those surveyed have access to cloud computing applications, which can bring both better collaboration and productivity in the retail environment.

3

A need for deeper insights into stock and inventory: Customers expect retailers to provide the items they want, when they want and where they want them. Only by improving

their data systems – and potentially making better use of RFID scanning and electronic shelf labeling technology – can retailers solve the age-old problem of knowing exactly what they have in stock at any given time and where it is located.

4

The old silos need to be broken down: Bridging the physical with digital will require the divisions and structures that currently exist within retail organisations to be broken down, so internal systems blend seamlessly and work together to deliver the rich, personalised experiences that customers now expect.

5

An opportunity to think longerterm: Retailers need to accept the necessity of major investment in both systems and people, and to find new ways of measuring success that value both short and long-term results.

New measurement and the right talent in a digital era When looking at transformation projects, retailers should look at new ways of measuring success and think longer-term on ROI, Bobroff believes.

“We are talking about continuous innovation, and ROI tends to limit the horizon: you either hit the target, or you kill the project. There need to be other metrics that help us move towards success.”

Retailers, he believes, must also accept that the talent they need for digital transformation cannot all be recruited into traditional, in-house roles. “We live in a world where it’s sexier to work in a fast-moving start-up or build your own than it is to go and work for a legacy retailer. To access the highly talented engineers in this space, of which there is a shortage, you need to outsource. You need to create a culture which allows you to combine internal and external resource and get them working together.”

Happy employees, happy customers In the Aruba study, retailer workers said they saw a rise in productivity (72%), wellbeing (62%) and the ability to differentiate against the competition (59%) as a direct impact of digital workplace technology.

Gerri Hinkel, director of solutions marketing for Aruba, says, “The future of retail is all about experiences – for shoppers, associates, and IT. Shoppers are driven not only by product, but are making choices on where they shop by how easy that retailer makes their life. The retailers who will succeed will make those experiences simple, smart and personalised, but to get there, they must be bold in making technology investments and fearless as they innovative their store of the future.”

The road forward The report says for retailers, the present can sometimes seem bleak, but the future appears bright. If, that is,

THE FUTURE OF RETAIL IS ALL ABOUT EXPERIENCES – FOR SHOPPERS, ASSOCIATES, AND IT. SHOPPERS ARE DRIVEN NOT ONLY

BY PRODUCT, BUT ARE MAKING CHOICES ON WHERE THEY SHOP BY HOW EASY THAT RETAILER MAKES THEIR LIFE.

technology is embraced and integrated in a way that empowers employees, serves customers and improves the bottom line.

The opportunities that undertaking a digital transformation presents to retailers are considerable. From inventory management, employee engagement, customer service, warehousing and delivery, every facet of a retailer’s business can be improved through technology. But that will only be possible if retailers overcome some of the barriers many currently face. These include legacy systems, a culture that sees innovation as more of a cost line than a value opportunity, and a shortterm mindset that fails to give digital transformation the necessary room to flourish.

The Aruba study states retailers need to grasp the necessity of not just upgrading their business models, but fundamentally overhauling them. This means breaking down the internal silos to match the integrated experience that customers now demand; effecting cultural change so that technology is seen as a fundamental part of the supply chain at all stages; finding new metrics to measure the success of digital transformation projects over the medium and long term; giving customers the innovative self-service tools they expect; and, empowering employees with technology in all parts of the enterprise, especially those on the front line of customer service.

In the end, to survive and thrive retailers must go where their customers want them to be. The empowered customer has no regard for business divisions and internal silos. They simply want the efficient, seamless omnichannel experience that the market has educated them to expect.

Only technology can break down the internal barriers and provide this level of service. And that will only become possible when retailers get comfortable with the idea that their business models must change as much as the expectations of their customers.

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REVIEW

NOKIA 8.1

HANDS ON WITH THE LATEST ADDITION TO THE BURGEONOING NOKIA RANGE, WHICH IS AN AFFORDABLE SMARTPHONE

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he Nokia 8.1 sports an elegant design with a well sculpted body, an aluminium frame and elegant finish. The phone has been tastefully crafted in metal and glass that gives the phone an attractive appeal which makes many a flagship sweat. It is lightweight and easy to hold but the grip is slightly slippery due to the glass back. It takes some getting used to, but after a few days of use, you get used to it.

The phone has a fingerprint scanner on the back side which is well placed and easy to use. The camera is housed right above the scanner and protrudes out of the main body. As a design element, I was not too excited about it, especially since I expect its finishing to fade if laid on the table without a cover.

The top edge houses a 3.5mm

headphone jack with the speaker and USB-C port claiming the bottom edge of the device. The power and volume buttons along with the sim card tray are in their usual places on the sides of the frame.

Nokia 8.1 features a 6.18-inch display with a Full HD+ resolution and an IPS LCD display. The screen is bright enough outdoors and the colours are vibrant. It comes packed with a 3,500mAh battery and will take you through the day on a single charge, which is more than enough for a mid-ranger.

It has a 12 MP primary and a 13 MP secondary camera on the rear with a 20 MP front shooter for selfies. The auto mode offers some pretty decent shots in daylight but the camera struggles in low light conditions. The

camera can also shoot 720p, Full HD and UHD 4K videos.

On the downside, it is not waterproof and does not come with built-in wireless chargers. However, considering its price range, that is something we are willing to ignore. Also, it more than makes up with fast charging through the USB-C port that allowed us to go from zero to full battery within a couple of hours.

The Nokia 8.1 is a mid-range phone and that offers solid performance, especially for its price. It makes a decent buy if you are not looking for top end features or opting for a secondary phone.

all Apple Watch models.

Belkin claims it offers the fastest possible wireless speed for iPhone, if you go by Apple’s definition of fast charging for its Qi-enabled iPhones and a 5-watt magnetic charging module

powers your Apple Watch with support for nightstand mode. What we found really convenient about the dock is that you can charge your iPhone with removing its case as it supports cases up to 3 mm with the exception of metal cases.

With a real sleek design and quality that is aesthetically appealing, Belkin’s new Boost Up wireless charging dock is a beautiful piece of hardware that works without any hassle if you want to charge your iPhone and Apple Watch at the same time. With 3-year limited warranty, it offers real bang for your buck.

BELKIN WIRELESS CHARGING DOCK Looking to avoid multiple cables to charge your iPhone and Apple Watch? Look no further than Belkin’s Boost Up wireless charging dock, which eliminates the inconvenience of plugging in your mobile device or smart watch. The charging dock offers up to 7.5W of power and comes with additional USB-A port to charge a third device. It works with iPhone XS/XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone 8/8 Plus and 42

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HP’S NEW PROBOOKS FOR SMBs

HP has announced the new ProBook 445 G6 and HP ProBook 455 G6 PCs designed for growing businesses and mobile professionals. Powered by Windows 10 and advanced AMD Ryzen quad-core processors, the PCs are designed for today’s workforce and help keep professionals productive in the office and on the go with the power, style and value that growing businesses need.

The new HP ProBook 445 G6 and ProBook 455 G6 offer stylish design, enhanced security and powerful processing features. Features include ultra-slim chassis with crisp lines, clean edges, and a natural silver finish. The ProBooks are enhanced with a range of security features including the HP BIOSphere Gen4 firmware ecosystem that automates the BIOS protection and enables easy manageability.

They also sport a durable chassis with a 3D forged aluminum keyboard deck and stamped aluminum top cover. They are available with advanced AMD Ryzen quad-core processors and long battery life to get through deadline-driven, multi-tasking days. Quickly recharge the PCs and get up to 50% battery life with HP Fast Charge.

The HP ProBook 445 G6 and ProBook 455 G6 will be available in EMEA in February starting at €449.

Samsung has announced that it has begun mass producing the industry’s first one-terabyte (TB) embedded Universal Flash Storage (eUFS) 2.1, for use in next-generation mobile applications. Just four years after introducing the first UFS solution, the 128-gigabyte (GB) eUFS, Samsung has passed the muchanticipated terabyte threshold in smartphone storage.

“The 1TB eUFS is expected to play a critical role in bringing a more notebook-like user experience to the next generation of mobile devices,” said Cheol Choi, executive vice president of Memory Sales & Marketing at Samsung Electronics. “What’s more, Samsung is committed to assuring the most reliable supply chain and adequate production quantities to support the timely launches of upcoming flagship smartphones in accelerating growth of the global mobile market.”

Within the same package size (11.5mm x 13.0mm), the 1TB eUFS solution doubles the capacity of the previous 512GB version by combining 16 stacked layers of Samsung’s most advanced 512-gigabit (Gb) V-NAND flash memory and a newly developed proprietary controller. Smartphone users will now be able to store 260 10-minute videos in 4K UHD (3840×2160) format, whereas the 64GB eUFS widely used in many current high-end smartphones is capable of storing 13 videos of the same size.

HUAWEI’S NOVA 4 Huawei Consumer Business Group (CBG) today introduced the Huawei nova 4 in the UAE, its newest device featuring a notch-less Punch display.The nova 4 is equipped with the industry’s smallest 25MP under-display front camera, which measures at 3.05mm in diameter, as well as an AI Triple Camera featuring a high resolution 20MP primary camera and a 16MP camera with Ultra-wide angle lens.

Running on HiSilicon Kirin 970 and 8GB RAM, it delivers the ultimate user experience on everything from productivity apps to high-octane action games. The new Huawei nova device is shipped with EMUI 9.0, Huawei’s Android

9-based custom OS, allowing users to easily access work and entertainment apps with a few simple taps or swipes.

Huawei nova 4 (8GB + 128GB) is available in two fashionable colours: Crush Blue and Black. Consumers will be able to pre-order Huawei nova 4 starting February 8 and can purchase the device online and across select retailers in the UAE starting from February 14 at a price of AED 1799. It also comes with standard Huawei 1-year service offer that includes a 6 months single-time free screen damage warranty, free UV device sanitizing, free customized engraving and door-to-door service.

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BLOG

HOW DIGITAL TWINS SIMPLIFY IoT

BY W. ROY SCHULTE, DISTINGUISHED VICE PRESIDENT ANALYST, GARTNER.

A

pplication and business intelligence leaders can use digital twins to decrease complexity in their IoT ecosystems.

Trucks today are computers on wheels. Thanks to modern telemetry systems and other technologies they are constantly communicating data points, such as location, motion or engine status, to various business units and systems of their organisation.

The problem: Trucks often send multiple messages containing the same data over multiple channels at different times. Fleet management needs the same information on fuel consumption as the team for truck maintenance, and both have their own separate copy of the data — sometimes even separate channels to transfer the data.

The traditional approach wastes effort and resources because the data is overlapping and redundant, Additionally, it’s very complex and expensive to establish a new channel for every new application that needs to access the data.

The solution: The digital twin — a design pattern that decouples each system from the physical thing. Instead of communicating with each data receiver separately, the truck just sends all the data to its digital twin. Business units that need information are connected to the twin and can access the data.

This design approach is not limited to logistics. According to Gartner research, 24% of organisations that either have Internet of Things (IoT) solutions in production or IoT projects in progress already use digital twins; 46

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THE RISE OF DIGITAL TWINS COINCIDES WITH THE RISE OF THE IOT. WHEN BUYING MACHINES AND OTHER ASSETS, SUPPORT FOR DIGITAL TWINS AND CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT OF TWIN CAPABILITIES SHOULD BE A SELECTION FACTOR. another 42% plan to use twins within the next three years.

Digital twins are becoming increasingly popular because they possess capabilities that significantly decrease the complexity of IoT ecosystems while increasing efficiency.

Continuous intelligence Although digital twins vary greatly in their purposes and the amount of data they hold, all follow the same principle. There is exactly one twin per thing. The twin is continuously updated to mirror the current state of the physical thing.

When combining the twin data with business rules, optimization algorithms or other prescriptive analytics technologies,

digital twins can support human decisions or even automate decision making. For example, a capability of the digital twin of a truck could be to track the state of the brakes. Current and historical data in the twin will provide the estimated time for the next needed maintenance, which the maintenance system can use to schedule at the optimal time.

Encapsulation The main purpose of a digital twin is to act as a proxy for its thing, so any application that needs data from the thing deals with the proxy. As the twin is a piece of software, it can be programmed to encapsulate data so that changes can be made within the twin without affecting any connected applications, and vice versa.

Encapsulation significantly reduces the work needed to maintain and enhance applications and physical things.

Changes made to things — like adding sensors — often require changes to the twin but should not require changes to applications that won’t use the new sensor data. Likewise, many kinds of changes can be made to applications without changing the device or twin.

As most twins will be built by the asset manufacturer and delivered together with their physical counterparts, they should be included in every purchase decision, as their capabilities will be as vital for the success of the organisation as the physical asset.

The rise of digital twins coincides with the rise of the IoT. When buying machines and other assets, support for digital twins and continuous development of twin capabilities should be a selection factor.

GOING CLOUD? REMEMBER, IT’S STILL YOUR DATA THAT’S AT RISK. ORGANIZATIONS ADOPT CLOUD to support their business objectives - digital transformation, IT agility, IoT, DevOps. But without the appropriate security measures to protect their data, that cloud journey may arrive at an unfortunate destination.

Whether your cloud journey is for today or tomorrow, public cloud, private cloud or hybrid, Fortinet provides a full range of security solutions to protect your data wherever it resides.

Consistent security posture. Full visibility and control. Intelligent, automated threat detection and mitigation across diverse and highly dynamic environments.

Fortinet. Dedicated to engineering security solutions that address the most critical security challenges. Enabling you to focus on what’s important the future of your business.

SECURITY FOR TODAY’S WORLD. Cloud. Hybrid. On-Premises.

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