MARCH 2020 | VOL 3 ISSUE 9
THE CHANGE-SPOTTERS AND CHANGE-MAKERS
ABDALLA AL ALI, DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, DMCC
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EDITORIAL
THE CHOSEN ONES!
ANUSHREE DIXIT GLOBAL HEAD, CONTENT AND STRATEGIC ALLIANCES anushree@gecmediagroup.com
We have all been reading and hearing about this that the CIOs are the change makers or the transformation catalyst of their organizations and in the coming years we shall be seeing a radical change in the role of an IT decision makers. Well, today we are standing at the threshold of an era where all the perimeters (organizational, geo-political, cyber) are entirely software defined. The world is moving to the cloud and has been gradually realizing the benefit of migrating the workloads to cloud whilst integrating it with wise technologies that guarantee zero business downtime. Customer-first and customer-only approach is being made possible by machine learning and AI and sectors like hospitality, healthcare, retail (which are heavily customer-facing) are reaping benefits from these. Hence, it is time! It is time that the CIO gets out of his/her shoes from being the technology master to stepping into the business shoes. They do not just have to wear the thinking hat, but also have the wear the shoes of a CEO and walk a mile with it, all the way analyzing how technology can be used to raise the bar of the business and make the IT department a profit center. Today, technology is no longer a business enabler, but a driver and it is the CIOs who are in the driver seat. Unlike earlier, when a CIOs role was to guide the business driver in the right direction, now it the CIO who is steering the business in the right direction. CIOs are the chosen ones. This is a very special issue of The Titans, as we are celebrating the sixth edition of the Future IT Summit and Catalyst Awards. In this issue, we have compiled the 2020 forward looking strategies of some of the leading, or lets say, Catalyst CIOs in the region and presented their unique thought propositions in steering business towards complete business transformation. Turn over the pages to see how every CIO has a different set of ideals and ideas to technologically advance his organizations, how various tools are being used and how various parameters are being set….. all towards a single goal – Digital and Business Transformation! See you at The Future IT Summit 2020!
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UNVEILING THE FUTURE AT #FITSMEA20
2020
#SMARTEverything Region’s Tech Future is here.
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CONTENT
COVER FEATURE / 18
AHEAD OF THE
CURVE The key pillars of DMCC’s IT strategy are: Innovation, Mobility, Efficiency, Security and Compliance.
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2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY MAKING LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AN ONGOING PRACTICE
2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY - UNIFIED COMMUNICATION TOOLS
2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY - ENSUING ZERO DOWNTIME IN BUSINESS
2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY - 30 TRANSFORMATIONAL PROJECTS
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KHALFAN MATAR AL HASSANI ICT DIRECTOR, MONITORING AND CONTROL CENTRE
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2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY MAKING LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AN ONGOING PRACTICE As the CIO/IT Head/IT Director of a leading Middle East organization, what are your key job responsibilities and point of reporting? n Translate Strategy into Actionable Plans n Identify and Gain Budget Approval for Required Resources n Identify what drives success in your business and develop measures for those drivers n Establish short and longer term targets for business drivers n Monitor business results and tie them to the initiatives undertaken n Implementing Balance Scorecard for governance based reporting n Gain buy-in by mapping security initiatives back to business objectives and explaining business alignment
What are the principle technology and strategy challenges that you face in delivering IT services internally? n Staying current and developing the expertise internally n Helping to visualize the importance of risk function with respect to People, processes and Technology n Testing new technology solutions and evaluating it against the business needs n Ensuring policies are well apprehended, procedures consistent, standards aligned and guidelines followed
What are the pain points expressed by the internal
business end users as they face challenges in delivering value services to their external customers? n Lack of clarity on how business processes relate to the technology processes n Delivering consistent and repeatable service levels n Delivering a recurrent end-user refreshment training n Ensuring adherence from end-user on the security policies
Kindly summarize you’re forward looking, digital and business transformation strategy? n Stay current and build relationships with colleagues to understand and motivate them n Create a message that resonates, and forge a path for others to become proponents n Develop expertise by attending conferences and taking on a leadership role n Recognize leadership development as an ongoing practice
How do you shortlist and test suitable technologies, platforms, frameworks to support your business and digital transformation outlook? n Regular vendor engagements through TAM services n Arrange workshops and proof-ofconcepts for new technology n Attend events such as Intersec; invite suitable vendors for workshops and eval-
uation n Request vendor and partner commitment for supporting industry trends – such as containerization and cloud.
What are the principle use cases that business decision makers expect you to support through business and digital transformation platforms? n To support business to expand surveillance coverage in Abu Dhabi n To support business with newer video intelligence technologies n To support business with operational trainings
Kindly mention your top IT achievement, that makes you feel proud, in the last 12-24 months. n We take pride in successfully evaluating and implementing the best face recognition platform. It added a new capability that took MCC further ahead in its mission to make Abu Dhabi the world’s safest city n Successfully deployed the solution to secure major events in 2012 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, National Day and New Year celebrations. n Implementing a Service Request Portal to deliver consistent Customer experience n Formation of the “Knowledge Academy” to drive a strategic objective that is aimed at developing a career roadmap and providing the necessary training and tools required to nurture and instill a culture of learning in every employee.
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2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY- COMPLETE CLOUD MIGRATION Kindly summarize your forward looking, digital and business transformation strategy? We are currently transforming our ENTIRE business by migrating each and every application to the cloud. This is ERP, Finance and even down to desktop applications as well as ensuring a data cleansing strategy also takes place.
How do you shortlist and test suitable technologies, platforms, frameworks to support your business and digital transformation outlook? We buy best of breed “IPO” technology that is world class and will provide support for years to come. That also with a mix of innovative companies we believe will add value.
What are the principle use cases that business decision makers expect you to support through business and digital transformation platforms?
YAHYAH PANDOR,
CIO, FINE HYGIENIC HOLDING
As the CIO/IT Head/IT Director of a leading Middle East organization, what are your key job responsibilities and point of reporting? I report directly to the CEO and present quarterly when asked to, to the chairman and board of the company. I am responsible for all global technology from ERP, networks, security to improving sales through technology.
What are the principle technology and strategy challenges that you face in delivering IT services internally?
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Skills. Moving companies to Cloud technology requires a new set of business technical skills. An understanding of business is now fundamental to the technical resource and I see the same in the area of Cyber security.
What are the pain pointsexpressed by the internal business end users as they face challenges in delivering value services to their external customers? Transparency, audit procedures for ethics and accurate data. Accurate data is key to everything.
Measures are very very simple. Cost reduction and efficiencies and sales improvement. IT folk tend to complicate it, every single project I do must include those elements and then prove it.
Kindly mention your top IT achievement, that makes you feel proud, in the last 12-24 months. Implementation of a Sales platform for all of our global sales to use when seeing customers that included route optimization, guided selling, reporting and FMCG based KPI’s. This was all completed within six months due to the pressing nature of it’s requirement. We have already seen RECORD sales in January and this solution enabled much of that.
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ANALYTICS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AUTOMATION CLOUD, ERP, SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT CYBERSECURITY, DATA INDUSTRIAL AND DIGITAL, INTERNET OF THINGS, SELF LEARNING SYSTEMS PEOPLE, SKILLS, CULTURE BROUGHT BY
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2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY - UNIFIED COMMUNICATION TOOLS vices internally? Technology makes it possible for businesses to operate efficiently and effectively with minimal manpower and helps to reduce the cost of doing business,specially while working in healthcare sector (patient centric organization) wherein Technology plays a major role in terms of process automation, patient services & regulatory compliance standpoint. Considered current market scenario, cost is the major concern to implement the solution as per strategic decision.
PANKAJ BAJAJ,
GROUP MANAGER (HEAD-IT) AT NEURO SPINAL HOSPITAL
As the CIO/IT Head/IT Director of a leading Middle East organization, what are your key job responsibilities and point of reporting? Lead ICT strategic planning and projects to achieve business goals (Technology, Business Value & Investments). n Direct, implement and monitor ICT governance, risk and security strategies, policies, standards and supporting architecture. n Capacity to Contribute to business as a member of Organization. Prepare, monitor and manage capital and operational ICT budgets and expenditure n Develop Operations Technology & Manage process evolution. n Drive Efficiencies by creating an optimized and scalable service model. n Track, measure, report and evaluate key metrics performance. My point of Reporting is to COO (Ms. Dana Msaddi) n
What are the principle technology and strategy challenges that you face in delivering IT ser-
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What are the pain points expressed by the internal business end users as they face challenges in delivering value services to their external customers? Our vision is to provide seamless patient experience at our own premises & remote locations. Currently, we are in stage to evaluate couple of technology solutions to provide seamless patient experience. After deploy Hospital Information system (EMR), capturing patient records in electronic form and evaluating technology platform to provide analytical reports to focus on key initiative, measure organization KPI’s & define business strategies.
Kindly summarize your forward looking, digital and business transformation strategy? Define our IT strategy for next 10 years and this will be executed in phasely manner. We already implemented world class Hospital Information System integrated with SAP & core systems. The moment a patient enters in to our premises until discharge whereas capturing at system level and evaluating further technology platforms to provide the transparent view & analytical strategies CRM, Big Data & Analytical tools designed such a way to provide quality customer services & organization growth strategies. Apart from these tools, we are planning to launch digital marketing tools, patient feedback system, hospital mobile app, queue management
system & unified communication tools.
How do you shortlist and test suitable technologies, platforms, frameworks to support your business and digital transformation outlook? Most of the organizations are following standard evaluation process to select the best product based on business & operational requirement. It depends on organization’s process. A couple of organizations are hiring consulting firms to help them while evaluating existing business process, define evaluation matrix & shortlist the product considering required parameters in terms of cost, value proposition & organizational vision. In our case, we have an internal core committee to evaluate all the parameters considering the business vision, regulatory requirement, operational requirement, technology model considering current technology stack. Product evaluation is an important criteria and we have governance framework defined around this.
Kindly mention your top IT achievement, that makes you feel proud, in the last 12-24 months. Implemented paperless application (Hospital Information system) which is integrated with multiple core systems. n Implemented SAP ERP System for Finance & Supply Chain. n Implemented full fledge DRG Systems to full-fill regulatory requirement & standardize insurance process. n Designed green fields Hospital Project considered best in class IT solution & implementing Big Data center and will serve IT services for NSH Group (for coming-up hospital & clinics). n Implemented couple of projects with strategic partners (Cisco, Microsoft, Etisalat & DU) and evaluation journey is still continue to give our best. n
TOP CIO IN MEA
PARTHA BANERJEE
CIO, SAFEER GROUP OF COMPANIES
2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY - ENSUING ZERO DOWNTIME IN BUSINESS 12
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As the CIO/IT Head/IT Director of a leading Middle East organization, what are your key job responsibilities and point of reporting? The position as CIO at Al Safeer Group is multi-dimensional. It is more of a Technomanagement role than a pure Technical role. I am responsible for the entire IT function of the group and besides ensuring that the IT Services are functioning properly, it is my responsibility is to ensure optimization of the IT cost and resources, ensure that business is not affected due to lack of IT support services, and ensure that the end users are compliant with the IT standards set by the management. I report to one of the two Executive Directors.
What are the principle technology and strategy challenges that you face in delivering IT services internally? The principal challenge is to orient the mindset of the end users towards appreciating the features of SAP HANA and generate the confidence in them to use the program effectively. Another challenge which is technical by nature is the processing of the Data in SAP, post synchronization with the legacy data by overcoming the back logs and improving the processing speed. Besides this, it is challenge to keep the IT infrastructure up to date and functional in all the 85 locations. This requires continuous monitoring and a quick resolution time of the reported problems.
What are the pain points expressed by the internal business end users as they face challenges in delivering value services to their external customers? n Slower than expected data processing in SAP due to existing backlogs from legacy data n Errors found in Stock management data in the system n Human errors while entering Data in SAP n Longer than anticipated time taken by the end users for transition from the comfort of legacy system to SAP
Kindly summarize your forward looking, digital and business transformation strategy? n Conducted a Change Management workshop for the CEOs of all the verticals of our company so that the change orientation was
effective and the transformation was effected smoothly. n Address the operators of the branches and explain to them the importance of their role in the SAP run business cycle. This was done to boost their confidence level and imbibe in them a sense of responsibility in making system entries. n Made a policy to make all the Supervisors and the Branch Managers accountable for the business cycle in their respective branches. n Brought the Operations team together with the IT Team and made it a policy to make physical stock checks every quarter and update the stock status on a regular basis. n To ensure that the branch infrastructure was not a hindrance to the business, I assigned two engineers from my team to do a survey of all the branches and address their issues with the help of a proper support plan. n Introduced the practice of maintaining an optimum inventory level for the frequently used IT components to improve the response time. n Implemented a high availability NW to ensure there was no downtime in business n Implemented a back-up solution for the important functions to prevent data loss n Implemented managed Print Services to bring down the CAPEX and OPEX of the Printers and related expenses n Consolidated the DC inventory to one DC thereby saving the cost of the company for the DC rentals n Signed an agreement with Etisalat for managed services of the Firewalls at the branches and optimization of the Bandwidth. This reduced the response time to the branches and resulted in substantial savings in terms of the bandwidth rentals. n Automated the process of creating business documentation in SAP. n Implementing Customer Analytics tool in select outlets. n Bringing the end point devices in all branches under Uninterrupted Power System n Restructuring the IT Support department based on the core activities and domain expertise.
How do you shortlist and test suitable technologies, platforms, frameworks to support your business and digital transformation outlook? Digital Transformation initiatives should be
undertaken with the objective facilitating business with technology. Hence, I always evaluate technology depending on my business priorities and which can ensure maximum return on investment. I evaluate a technology on its success on the ground and chose the partner on his pre-sales abilities, post sales & support capabilities and of course on the cost effectiveness of the solution. One of the most important evaluation criteria is the acceptance from the people who would ultimately implement and use technology. Without which any transformation project is likely to fail. Hence, before finalizing on any project, I take the key users in confidence about the utility of the solution and use their acceptance as a tool to spread the concept within the organization.
What are the principle use cases that business decision makers expect you to support through business and digital transformation platforms? (100 words) n Eliminating the gaps in the SAP system n Continuity of the MPS system n Business Continuity at the branches by maintaining a sound infrastructure n Implement a Back-up solution for the SAP HANA DB n Successful implementation of the business process automation in SAP n A robust network security n Regular online training programs and awareness programs about SAP and IT Security for the end users. n Maintenance of the SAP DB n Integrate the different sections of the IT team as one cohesive unit. n Successful implementation of the Customer Analytics program n Evaluate the options for a Scan & Carry model at some of the select outlets
Kindly mention your top IT achievement, that makes you feel proud, in the last 12-24 months: n Design and implementation of the High availability Network infrastructure n Implementation of the MPS System n Implementation of the end-user Backup system n Consolidation of the DC Infrastructure n Implementation of the business process automation in SAP
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2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY - AI, IOT, DIGITAL MARKETING AND CLOUD COMPUTING As the CIO/IT Head/IT Director of a leading Middle East organization, what are your key job responsibilities and point of reporting? Develop goals and strategies to ensure the IT department runs smoothly and effectively. n Plan, direct and establish IT & ERP related projects. n Provide leadership to IT specialists and other staff within the company. n Troubleshoot data-related issues and establish regular maintenance. n Identify problematic areas and implement strategic solutions in time n Handle Annual budget, set objectives and strategies for the IT department. n Design and customize technological systems and platforms to improve customer experience n Approve purchases of technological equipment and software and establish partnerships with IT providers n Oversee the technological infrastructure (networks and computer systems) in the organization to ensure optimal performance n Monitor changes or advancements in technology to discover ways the company can gain competitive advantage n Analyze the costs, value and risks of information technology to advise management and suggest actions. Point of Reporting – (Not clear this point) n I do report to CFO and Chairman. n
ANUP DAS,
GROUP MANAGER, IT & ERP (IT HEAD), BYRNE EQUIPMENT RENTAL LLC
What are the principle technology and strategy challenges
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that you face in delivering IT services internally? We know that technology plays a key role in competing against other companies and we had to entirely change our ERP system recently in Spacemaker (a sister company of Byrne) – from a very old Sage ERP to Microsoft D365 Finance and Operations and that was a real challenge for me and my team. n The challenge was to convince the management, about the need for the new ERP system and giving training to users and to motivate them during the transition phase. n Implementing BI tools (Qlik Sense) and adoption was another challenge. Management wanted reports from System but when we prepare Dashboard for them it was a challenge for IT to convince that all data is from ERP and its real, not manipulated. n Keeping in mind the recent ransomware attacks across the middle east, which took over the entire organization networks – we took the challenge of giving security awareness to each and every end-user and for securing our network and critical data. n
What are the pain points expressed by the internal business end users as they face challenges in delivering value services to their external customers? Product and Service information are not available at the Service desk. Customer and Front desk team has to wait for the update from the Concern team. Salesperson has to wait for the Finance team to get an update. n Offline Service logging and update in ERP. Double work. n Usage of Dynamics CRM – not userfriendly. n Project overrun, no proper budget validation available in the old SAGE ERP system. n Too much paper printing – LPO, Invoice, Service note, Maintenance reports etc. n IoT – Online monitoring of Equipment, placed at remote location, customer place. n Vehicle tracking and transport management for better allocation of vehicles. n Reporting system in old ERP. n
Kindly summarize your forward looking, digital and business transformation strategy? Thanks to digitization, we are living through one of the most technologically revolutionary periods in human history. The Big Data, smartphones and cloud-based com-
n
puting are transforming the way we live and work. As one of the top 100 rental companies and a Modular building manufacturing company in the middle east, we need to be always up-to-date in terms of technology. n We have just implemented Microsoft d365 in Spacemaker and added value to the business in terms of proper Estimation, Budget validation, Paperless system, online approval, work on Tablet/Mobile phone, generating reports through auto-schedule, less human involvement. Planning to integrate Dynamics CRM with ERP for more automated information and increase efficiency. n We have also planned to implement new Rental solution on D365 for Byrne Group to meet users expectation and increase customer satisfaction through AI, Cloud computing, Business Intelligence, Mobile app, On line order booking, Customer 360 information for Salesperson and Customer. o AI, Internet of Things, Digital Marketing & Cloud Computing is my main focus in this year 2020.
How do you shortlist and test suitable technologies, platforms, frameworks to support your business and digital transformation outlook? (100 words) For major development or technology upgrade we mostly follow the below steps: n We build Power User and arrange sessions to understand business need and pain areas. n We do market research on available Technologies. n Ask for POC before we go ahead. n For, small investment and where I see my team has enough knowledge, we do evaluate Applications by ourselves and plan for implementations considering business needs. n We keep all Stakeholder including Top management in all discussions and assign roles and responsibilities to Power users in each department. n We have shortlisted a couple of applications and Vendors for Rental solutions on Mobile and CRM. We are involving customers and employees in every step of the process and will be using their feedback to make the platform perfect, user-friendly and error-free. n We are also planning for more effective telematics system/ tracking system for our equipment fleet and thus items can be monitored easily – their running hours, servicing, n
breakdowns etc.
What are the principle use cases that business decision makers expect you to support through business and digital transformation platforms? (100 words) ERP should be up and running 24x7 – Byrne provides support to their customer 24x7x365 days. The service team always works on ERP across the group. n Management must get alert on time for Approval and can approve over email/ mobile. n All reports should be from System, no manual work. Paper print should be avoided. n BI data must be real-time – dashboard for management and business users should be online and available over Mobile, Laptop/ Tablet. Real-time analysis and forecasting information is very important for management. n
Making the most out of resources. Invest in new technology and keep the organization UpToDate. n Protect the confidential data from the outside world. n n
Kindly mention your top IT achievement that makes you feel proud, in the last 12-24 months. Microsoft D365 ERP implementation in Spacemaker exceeding the expectations of management and users. Spacemaker was struggling with Estimation and Budget validation for long. Many projects were closed with less margin or loss due to not having proper budgeting controlling system. We have built customized modules for this validation and management is extremely happy with this ERP. n Procurement team now just use the system generated pdfs and send online. Less printout, a huge saving in Printing and Stationary. n Finance can close their monthly MIS on time and with less effort. n Production and Project management can now see/manage projects on Mobile app easily. n BI tool – Qlik Sense Business Intelligence tool makes IT and Business Managers life easy in decision making. n
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2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY- GROUP’S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION As the CIO/IT Head/IT Director of a leading Middle East organization, what are your key job responsibilities and point of reporting? Nowadays, being a CIO is not only leading the Technology dept. but the key role is acting as first level of consultancy to drive the business to use adequate tools and optimize processes to increase efficiency.
What are the principle technology and strategy challenges that you face in delivering IT services internally?
YASSIM ELFASSI,
GROUP CIO, TRISTAR GROUP
While defining the Strategy and designing the Technology to be implemented, I always take into consideration the readiness of the Organization: in other words: n Is the Business ready to change : Changing mindset is the biggest challenge n Is the Company ready to support operationally and financially? n Do we have internal skills to support? n Is the communication channel well established?
What are the pain points expressed by the internal business end users as they face challenges in delivering value services to their external customers? Real Time Visibility, Tracking and accuracy of Information were the pains points faced by Business.
Kindly summarize your forward looking, digital and business transformation strategy? I am working on a full Digital Transformation of the Group by moving to an integrated platform with automated Data flows, RPA and machine learning solutions across all Depts. In the meantime, with the digitalization pro-
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gram, the aim is to reach 0-paper waste by 2022.
How do you shortlist and test suitable technologies, platforms, frameworks to support your business and digital transformation outlook? Seminars, Events and Forums offer the possibility to look at new technologies and new trends but the essential is the experience and the Network. Consultancy Services might help also but most of the time they are sponsored by brands. Gartner Magic Quadrant helps shortlisting the Top players of the Market.
What are the principle use cases that business decision makers expect you to support through business and digital transformation platforms? Block chain, Track & Trace and real time Data Monitoring are today the key elements Business is requesting from IT Dept. The most important is to be pro-active or very reactive and flexible to any demand from internal or external parties.
Kindly mention your top IT achievement, that makes you feel proud, in the last 12-24 months. In two words, my satisfaction comes from Business Satisfaction. To achieve this, I had to review and redesign the entire business process and offering new integrated tools with real time Dashboard. n Block Chain n RPA and Machine Learning n Business Intelligence n Global Business & Operations Integrated Solution (GloBOIS)
COVER FEATURE
ABDALLA AL ALI, DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, DMCC
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COVER FEATURE
AHEAD OF THE
CURVE The key pillars of DMCC’s IT strategy are: Innovation, Mobility, Efficiency, Security and Compliance.
As the CIO/IT Head/IT Director of a leading Middle East organization, what are your key job responsibilities and point of reporting? Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, my role is to drive DMCC’s digitalisation efforts and IT innovations, while overseeing governance and compliance initiatives. I also support the different business units enhance their efficiency and the customer experience by leveraging available technologies, and implementing innovative solutions and process optimisation. This is a truly unique and engaging job, and the fast pace in which we operate means that I am constantly learning and thinking of ways to improve our operation from an IT perspective.
What are the principle technology and strategy challenges that you face in delivering IT services internally? The IT field is one that is rapidly evolving and changing so it is truly crucial to stay up to date to remain ahead of the curve – because that will have an important impact on the business. Some of the challenges I have faced over the years include dealing with serious cyber security threats, managing business stakeholders’ expectations, finding the right talent that are well versed in working with emerging technologies and choosing the most suitable innovative technologies for the organisation.
What are the pain points expressed by the internal business end users as they face challenges in delivering value services to their external customers? I think pain points are expected in any digital transformation
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COVER FEATURE
IN A NUTSHELL HOW DMCC AND ABDALLA AL ALI ARE STAYING AHEAD OF THE CURVE?
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COVER FEATURE
DMCC IS LEADING THE DUBAI BLOCKCHAIN VISION TO DELIVER MORE VALUE TO CLIENTS. MAKTEBI IS A “SINGLE WINDOW” SOLUTION THAT COVERS ACCESSIBILITY, EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION, COLLABORATION, PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT AND MOBILITY PLANNING TO INTRODUCE AND IMPLEMENT A NUMBER OF INITIATIVES INCLUDING ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION, ORACLE FUSION MIGRATION AND CHATBOT PARTNER WITH GLOBAL RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS TO UTILIZE THEIR KNOWLEDGEBASE AND OBTAIN NEUTRAL ADVICE THOROUGH REFERENCE CHECKS WITH OTHER GOVERNMENT ENTITIES TO ENSURE THE TECHNOLOGIES OR PLATFORMS WE ARE CONSIDERING ARE CREDIBLE AND RELIABLE. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND INNOVATION ARE EMBEDDED ACROSS DMCC’S BUSINESS AND SMART DISTRICT STRATEGY JUMEIRAH LAKES TOWERS COMMUNITY WILL BECOME THE FIRST 5G POWERED SMART DISTRICT IN THE REGION CONSTANTLY LEARNING AND THINKING OF WAYS TO IMPROVE OUR OPERATION FROM AN IT PERSPECTIVE.
journey and they differ from one organisation to another. At DMCC, we regularly conduct internal and external stakeholder surveys to help us identify areas for improvement. We have found three main recurring challenges overall: frequent and rapid change in technology trends; finding qualified technology vendors in the region; and finding local support in the region. To address these, we collaborate with global consulting and research firms and work with global market leaders to identify new technologies that will add the most value to our organisation and ensure we stay ahead of the curve. We regularly conduct reference checks with other government entities to identify qualified vendors and are also always on the lookout for the right partners.
Kindly summarize your forward looking, digital and business transformation strategy? Digital transformation and innovation are embedded across DMCC’s business and Smart District Strategy. As an example, we recently announced that our Jumeirah Lakes Towers community will become the first 5G powered smart district in the region. From an IT perspective, the key pillars of our strategy are: Innovation, Mobility, Efficiency, Security and Compliance. Ultimately, our objective is to enhance the customer experience, increase efficiency, enhance security and adapt to the latest innovative trends in the market.
How do you shortlist and test suitable technologies, platforms, frameworks to support your business and digital transformation outlook? We follow a strategic approach to ensure that the technologies and platforms we adapt are the ones most suitable to the success of the business. Firstly, we only partner with industry leading technology providers and explore the latest technologies that will add value to the business. In the same vein, we partner with global research organisations to utilise their knowledgebase and obtain neutral advice. Secondly, our IT department conducts proof of concepts and tests new technologies to verify their impact before
proceeding with any project execution. Thirdly, we conduct thorough reference checks with other government entities to ensure the technologies or platforms we are considering are credible and reliable.
What are the principle use cases/projects that business decision makers expect you to support through business and digital transformation platforms? The IT Department is committed to supporting DMCC achieve its mission and vision and ensuring its various business units enhance the customer experience by only bringing in the best services across the board. As such, we are planning to introduce and implement a number of initiatives including robotic process automation, oracle fusion migration and Chatbot. All of these are expected to transform the way we work and enhance efficiency.
Kindly mention your top IT achievements, that makes you feel proud, in the last 12-24 months. I am proud to say that the DMCC IT Department has completed a number of large-scale projects in the last 12-24 months but I will only mention two here. Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai is expected to become one of the first governments to execute all its transactions using Blockchain technology. DMCC has adapted blockchain technology as per Dubai Blockchain strategy to enhance the efficiency and user experience. Through our Blockchain project, we have achieved better collaboration with Dubai government entities and private organisations and now offer innovative services to our clients and an enhanced overall customer experience. We rolled out the Enterprise Collaboration Portal (ECP), an innovative corporate collaboration platform which brings the organisation and its employees together to get work done SMART anywhere, anytime. Maktebi is a “single window” solution that covers accessibility, effective communication, collaboration, productivity improvement and mobility. The solution is available on both desktop and mobile.
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2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY- AI AND IOT TO MAXIMIZE CUSTOMERFIRST FOCUS What are the pain points expressed by the internal business end users as they face challenges in delivering value services to their external customers? THE CHALLENGES ARE THE FOLLOWING n IT not being agile to cater to client requirements in the current dynamic environment n Additional automation n User friendly systems and tools
Kindly summarize your forward looking, digital and business transformation strategy?
SUNANDO CHAUDHURI TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR – ADNEC
As the CIO/IT Head/IT Director of a leading Middle East organization, what are your key job responsibilities and point of reporting? JOB RESPONSIBILITIES: n Deliver the overall technology strategy of the organization n Deliver key technology solutions to cater to the business need n Manage and monitor the entire technology architecture and deliver efficiency within the business n Manage customer expectation and proactive approach to innovative and multifunctional technologies. POINT OF REPORTING: n Direct reporting to the CFO n Dotted line reporting to CEO & MD n Multiple customer relationships and business partners across the organization (other C levels)
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n Most organizations are constantly looking at developing their Digital Transformation strategy however in many cases not looking at the Business Transformation strategy which should be working hand in hand. n As a business, we are always striving for success and have identified our key objectives which in turn have become 7 programs within the framework based on Situation Analysis and Competitive Analysis which is giving us the direction forward. n There is a lot of focus on the use of Artificial Intelligence and IoT within our venue to maximize the customer first focus and maximize their interaction with the venue.
How do you shortlist and test suitable technologies, platforms, frameworks to support your business and digital transformation outlook? n For any technology that comes into the venue, we look at the overall fitment based on the customer’s requirement and the overall technology landscape of the venue. n Once the technology is found suitable for the aforementioned options, we start looking at alternatives and what the market is offering. n Also a series of benchmarking is carried
out where we look at competitors and similar organizations using the technology or not and how. n Eventually any tech selected is then run through some Proof of Concepts is possible and eventually implemented and tested.
What are the principle use cases that business decision makers expect you to support through business and digital transformation platforms? n The most important use cases that the business demands is “customer closeness” and “customer satisfaction”. As we are a business where we are dealing with multiple customer segments (Organizers, Exhibitors, Visitors, Government) so it is imperative for us to work on any and every digital transformation initiative with keeping the customer in mind. n Innovation being another key pillar of success, there is a constant endeavor and effort to bring in Digital technologies that support innovation and innovative solutions catering to the business demands.
Kindly mention your top IT achievement, that makes you feel proud, in the last 12-24 months. n Having the fastest WiFi in the whole UAE – awarded by Network Middle East for “the best Wireless Implementation in 2019 in Middle East” n Having implemented a first of it’s kind “Customer Analytics and Footfall Management” system within a Conference and Exhibition Venue resulting in significant enhancement of Customer Satisfaction n Implementation of a “Parking Management System” to manage the 6000 parking slots available in the venue allowing multiple concepts like Multi tenancy, payment time reduction by over 30 mins etc.
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TOP CIO IN MEA
DAMIAN O’GARA
GROUP IT DIRECTOR, KENTECH GROUP
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TOP CIO IN MEA
2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY - 30 TRANSFORMATIONAL PROJECTS As the CIO/IT Head/IT Director of a leading Middle East organization, what are your key job responsibilities and point of reporting? Kentech is a global company and my responsibilities cover a team that spans the globe. As CIO at Kentech, I am accountable for all aspects of technology strategy and delivery. This includes Digital Strategy and Transformation, Portfolio Management, Software and Application delivery, Infrastructure and Cloud, Cyber Security, Data Science, and IT service Operations. I report to the CFO and have a senior technology management team reporting to me covering the disciplines listed above.
What are the principle technology and strategy challenges that you face in delivering IT services internally? We are currently mid way through an end to end modernization of all as aspects of technology. Central to this is a migration to cloud for most of our internal service to optimise availability and maintenance challenges. This includes centralisation of disparate corporate systems into a holistic cloud based global system. This new ERP is being delivered on the Oracle Fusion platform. We work in some of the harshest and remote locations in the world so we are supporting our cloud plans with refresh and upgrades to all our supporting network technology.
What are the pain points expressed by the internal business end users as they face challenges in delivering value services to their external customers?
We are a client-centric organization and it is critical that we use technology to optimize not only our internal functions but to also benefit our customers by providing digital services that will support our customers drive to be as efficient as possible. This includes enhancing our mobile digital worker offering , reducing the need for old manual paperbased work flows. Digitally recording time spent on jobs and identifying opportunities for efficiencies out in the Oil and Energy fields.
Kindly summarize your forward looking, digital and business transformation strategy? We currently have a a portfolio of nearly 30 transformational projects that will be delivered over the next 2 years. These include a new global ERP, a new Data Science Programme, a migration from Data Centres to cloud, efficiencies with how we communicate and collaborate, roll out of digitally enabled and connected field workers, use of augmented reality and wearables, interface and interoperability technologies to interface directly with both our customers and suppliers.
How do you shortlist and test suitable technologies, platforms, frameworks to support your business and digital transformation outlook? We work mainly with world class suppliers that are truly global and can support us in all the locations we work globally. We work with technology research and advisories to guide us on the best of breed global technology companies. Of course, we work in a
competitive environment so total cost of ownership of technology is important. We look to parter with companies that have a sound history of working in Oil and Energy.
What are the principle use cases that business decision makers expect you to support through business and digital transformation platforms? We are an Oil Field services company and we have over 4000 staff currently in the field along with assets. Our digital transformations plans are centered around our staff, assets and clients. Or digital vision is to ensure that any technology touchpoint with these are leading edge and delivers benefits from safety, efficiency revenue, and / or value perspective. We have plans to be a USD 1 Billion company by 2025, and technology underpins all aspects of our business. We are building Kentech’s Digital Platform to support this ambitious growth plan.
Kindly mention your top IT achievement, that makes you feel proud, in the last 12-24 months. A lot has happened at Kentech in the last 12 months with a monumental and fast paced modernization. I am most proud that within 12 months we specified, went out to tender, selected a product and partner and delivered into live service a cloud based ERP on Oracle Fusion. The actual deployment time was 4 months which was astonishing. I am extremely proud of my team to deliver this in such a short space of time.
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2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY - CHANGING THE CULTURE OF IT am reporting to the vice president of the college, and the strategy and business development officer.
What are the principle technology and strategy challenges that you face in delivering IT services internally?
SHAH E ROOM KHAN,
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGER, EMIRATES COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY.
As the CIO/IT Head/IT Director of a leading Middle East organization, what are your key job responsibilities and point of reporting? As the IT Manager of Emirates College of Technology, my key responsibility is to have efficient technological investments across the institution covering the increasing demand and dependency on technology, and to build state of art information technology platform. This includes developing the IT and Digital strategy and its implementation. Maintain organization’s effectiveness and efficiency by defining and delivering strategic plans for implementing information technologies. Recommend information technology strategies, policies, and procedures by evaluating organization outcomes, Complete projects by coordinating resources and timetables with user departments and data center. I
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There are hundreds of technologies integrated and implemented in Emirates college of Technology for students, staff and professors use. Such as a very advance access management, Online Registration and admission portal, E-Learning, LMS, Azure Cloud, google cloud, VDI, Cisco, Meraki, Kubernetes, E-Services, office 365 and open source tech. As IT Manager IT security and resources management, bridging the gap between IT and business are the biggest challenges. Selecting the right resources who are highly skilled in new technologies. Budgeting is one of the big challenge in Education sector. It is very challenging to get budget approval for new technology projects from the management.
Kindly summarize your forward looking, digital and business transformation strategy? I am changing the culture of IT, identifying and convincing stakeholders across the business, and connecting transformation to a meaningful vision, aligning the transformation with business goal, running pilot tests of different technologies, retool the IT department to move away from some of the commodity skills to more forward-looking capabilities that align with our college strategy, developing and scaling new technologies and operational mindsets for risk and critical issues.
How do you shortlist and test suitable technologies, platforms, frameworks to support your business and digital transfor-
mation outlook? Transformation cannot be driven out of IT only; rather it must be fully aligned with the organization’s overall path, goals, mission, heritage, and planned future. Digital transformation required many internal stakeholders to do things in a different way. We run proofsof-concept and pilots before moving forward with solid plan. This will help ensure stakeholders are actually ready for the journey, and team are learning how to implement effectively and successfully.
What are the principle use cases that business decision makers expect you to support through business and digital transformation platforms? Nothing is a greater priority than the digital transformation of our business, the reasons are clear: digital technologies are enabling radically new ways to deliver value to students. The decision maker has clear instruction to me to adopt all type of digital transformation in Emirates College of technology.
Kindly mention your top IT achievement that makes you feel proud, in the last 12-24 months. In the last 24 months, nine IT projects were assigned to me and added to my KPIs. (University Campus Migration, Access Control System, Online Registration Hosting, Meraki Wireless Integration, Modern Network Infrastructure, Cisco CUCM and Asterisk Call Center Integration, DRaaS- On-premises Private Cloud to Azure Public Cloud, Implement and Manage VDI, Distance Learning Programs). Eight project were successfully completed. It was an amazing experience to work together with nine local and international IT vendors to achieve all project related tasks. The results of those projects was also appreciated highly and received award from the College President and CEO.
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TOP CIO IN MEA
2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY - HASSLE-FREE SERVICES TO CUSTOMERS scope of the business.
Kindly summarize your forward looking, digital and business transformation strategy?
ANINDO BANERJEE,
GROUP HEAD OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, MERAAS HOLDING
As the CIO/IT Head/IT Director of a leading Middle East organization, what are your key job responsibilities and point of reporting? As the Group Head of Information Technology for Meraas and reporting into our Group CFO’s organization, I manage the IT projects and operations for Meraas Corporate and its industry verticals covering Real estate, Destinations, F&B, Leisure and Entertainment, Hospitality, Healthcare and Joint ventures. I am also responsible for driving the digital transformation journey in Meraas. That means implementing a clear digital-IT strategy that harnesses technological advances to address pressing business challenges through carefully selected and prioritised programmes to address the 360-degree
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Our digital IT strategy programme is built around four strategic pillars, five capabilities and one DNA. The programme has delivered more than 20 products in 2019 to address the essential aspects of customer satisfaction, the reduction of repetitive and mundane tasks in back office operations, moving Meraas into contemporary digital ways of working, strengthening corporate memory aiming to achieve unprecedented levels of customer personalisation, and providing business stakeholders with timely and useful insights using which they can make informed decisions.
How do you shortlist and test suitable technologies, platforms, frameworks to support your business and digital transformation outlook? It starts with a business case. We then address how a particular technology use case can address the compelling events in our business with clearly defined ‘value driven outcomes’. This is then supported with the experimentation of products in our Lab37 (our experimentation lab), following which a product is shortlisted and deployed. We then work to incrementally improve that product based on customer or business stakeholder feedback.
What are the principle use cases that business decision makers expect you to support through business and digital transformation platforms? Simply put, any use case that can improve
our customer engagement and experience to start meaningfully engaging our customers through our digital channels, or support our ‘automation to autonomous’ journey in our back office and front office operations – our ultimate ambition here is to combine a properly architected cloud-based ERP with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to drive intelligent business services. We want to transform, not just change.
Kindly mention your top IT achievement, that makes you feel proud, in the last 12-24 months. There are many! If I was to list down the top five, it would be: Meraas Living – our first real estate services mobile app which provides more than 15 hassle-free digital real estate services to our customers. Our Real Estate Broker Portal has also become an indispensable tool across the community for our brokers, including the management of their sales commissions through automated self-invoicing. We also launched our first loyalty programme for our cinemas business called Roxy+ combining it with a next-gen customer services channel to book movie tickets on our own WhatsApp chat service –the first in the region! We launched Meraas ONE, our employee engagement platform. It’s not just a SharePoint site with content, but an architected platform with the ultimate ambition of featuring personalised content, commerce, logistics, employee services, community services for all our employees across our ecosystem. And we also delivered multiple Robotic Process Automation BOTs to eliminate human intervention in routine back office operations which is giving us immediate and significant efficiency benefits.
TOP CIO IN MEA
2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY - INSTANT PERSONALIZED SERVICE gy. Resistance to adopt to new technology with the fear of loosing the control over certain process is a major challenge when delivering innovating solutions. Its easier to introduce technology for new business unit or service but changing existing legacy manual process needs a change in organization culture.
What are the pain points expressed by the internal business end users as they face challenges in delivering value services to their external customers?
SHAFIQUE IBRAHIM,
GROUP HEAD IT, AL FARDAN EXCHANGE
As the CIO/IT Head/IT Director of a leading Middle East organization, what are your key job responsibilities and point of reporting? ) Every business is going through a transformation so is the role of CIO. As a CIO or Head of IT, my job responsibilities are to enable business on digital platform. This is not limited to enabling financial service on mobile but also to automate backend processes and create digital customer experience. I have to look into increasing the efficiency and reducing the cost.
What are the principle technology and strategy challenges that you face in delivering IT services internally? Technology is not a challenge in the world we are in today. Its important to have the right strategy in place to align the technolo-
Understanding customer needs and providing personalized services is important to create an excellent customer service. Business end users usually have generic view of the customer due to which they are not able to provide customized solution or service to the customer. Customer demands instant service and business end users have constraints due to either technology or the legacy process.
Kindly summarize your forward looking, digital and business transformation strategy? To meet customer expectation and create an experience, business has to be available through the channel preferred by the customer. Customer used to demand service on their finger tip (Mobile app) but now customers expect service on their voice command (NLP). Our strategy is to provide financial services through the channel convenient for the customer instead of proprietary mobile app. Using AI along with RPA to enable instant personalized service to the customer hosted on cloud infrastructure.
How do you shortlist and test suitable technologies, platforms, frameworks to support
your business and digital transformation outlook? IT Alignment with business strategy is very important to invest in right technologies and platform. As a CIO its important to be well informed about the market trends and solutions available. I participate in various fintech and startup forums to understand about the innovating solutions. Based on the business needs, certain identified technologies are shortlisted which are tested by the IT and Business team jointly for specific function. We have cloud first strategy and we prefer cloud compatible technology.
What are the principle use cases that business decision makers expect you to support through business and digital transformation platforms? Dependency on IT is growing and business decision makers expect us enable and automate their internal process and enhance customer experience. They want to have 360 view of the customer by having data from internal system and social media. Implement AI and Data Analytics for better and faster decision making. Reduce overall CAPEX and consider more OPEX model which is also preferred by CIO and IT Heads.
Kindly mention your top IT achievement, that makes you feel proud, in the last 12-24 months. Introduced Open API to enable B2B payment services and Fintech collaboration introducing new stream of revenue and customer acquisition. Implemented CRM to manage the customer interactions, leads and marketing campaigns integrated with Core system. Established offshore development center to enhance the service and product delivery.
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2020 FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY - INVESTING IN BI AND INFORMATION SECURITY ness end users as they face challenges in delivering value services to their external customers? Ease of use of technology is always the biggest concern for internal users as this is one of the crucial elements which almost every user want. Second is ROI - how much return on investment a particular technology is giving in terms of monetary value and business efficiency.
ALIAKBAR PATWA,
IT MANAGER, NRS INTERNATIONAL As the CIO/IT Head/IT Director of a leading Middle East organization, what are your key job responsibilities and point of reporting? I oversee all aspects of information technology across the group, this also include procuring and implementing technology which helps business achieve their goals and better serve their customers.
What are the principle technology and strategy challenges that you face in delivering IT services internally? The principle technology which we have recently implemented is a cloud based ERP system and the challenge was change management – Organization and users are always reluctant to change. Whenever we set to implement any new technology, the biggest hurdle which we face is convincing users to use and accept new technologies.
What are the pain points expressed by the internal busi-
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Kindly summarize your forward looking, digital and business transformation strategy? Currently my strategy involves investing in business intelligence and information security.
How do you shortlist and test suitable technologies, platforms, frameworks to support your business and digital transformation outlook? Technology procurement / development process starts with business requirement where we are solving a particular problem. Upon identification of problem we usually check business use cases to identify technologies which can help us. Upon identification of technology to be used we either develop or procure based on delivery timeframe and skills requirement. When procuring a new technology we go through a POC phase with extensive testing.
What are the principle use cases that business decision makers expect you to support through business and digital transformation platforms? Cost reduction – business leader are always looking to reduce overall operation cost for an organization by introducing technology
which digitalizes processes and cuts cost. Customer satisfaction – All organizations are always looking for ways to better serve their customer and increase customer satisfaction using cutting edge technologies. Introducing business efficiency - business leaders are always looking to make business more lean and eliminate waste using digital transformation, which in-turn will bring business efficiency.
Kindly mention your top IT achievement, that makes you feel proud, in the last 12-24 months. I was able to deliver 2 massive value driven projects to facilitate growth and increase efficiency, the projects which I would like to present are Implementation of cloud based ERP for 04 companies under group (Oracle Netsuite) Implementation of Oracle Netsuite across 04 entities under NRS International group within the timeframe of 09 months. The outcome was, ease of business processes for sales / operations and finance, ease of access for distributed sales team, streamline goods delivery, improved inventory accuracy and reporting, improved efficiency of billing.
n
Online HRMS Implementation for 04 companies under NRS International Implementation custom made HRMS across 04 entities under NRS International group within the timeframe of 06 months, the outcome was, reduction in delivering HR services to employee, quick and efficient Payroll processing, accurate leave and attendance management, streamline business travel process, training and performance management.
n
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