Trending Business Insights by GTM and TBI Magazine

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Eliminating combustion with Philip Morris International |1|

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Gifts for all occasions from Anker

Convenient EcoFriendly Initiative by Express Auto Wash

MonViso's CSR campaign 'Take Water. Give Life.'

Al Wahda Mall introduces â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;WADIYAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Gift Vouchers

CONTENTS â&#x20AC;&#x153;The customer experience is five-star quality, using MN Versa Arches, streamers, foamers and tire chemical applicators, washing all vehicle surfaces including the undercarriage, providing customers with an exceptional wash and rinse, while the MN Tech 21 Turbo Drying System completes the drying process.â&#x20AC;?

" The Middle East runs slightly fewer workloads in traditional data centers and outpaces the global and EMEA regional averages in its deployment of hybrid clouds."

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95% Of Water Recycled At Express Auto Wash Vat In The Gcc

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Nutanix Leads In Cloud And Hyperconverged Infrastructure

Positive Change: Mission Winnow

Masterpiece of Comfort and Conviviality: Custom Line Navetta 42

Convenient Eco-Friendly Initiative Launched in Abu Dhabi

ACJ320neo takes to the skies

Design Week with Kohler

La Riviera Reveals Show Apartments At Jvc

Addressing Cyberattacks

Cloud Solutions For Enterprises With Nutanix

Securing Digital Transformation - Fortinet

Fashionable Scarf Designs Sakinah

Take Water. Give Life

Sochi: The Black Sea Pearl

Viso Ends Ramadan With Health Drive Initiative

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The Rugged Off-Road Champion: All-New Jeep® Wrangler

Women’s World Car Of The Year Announce 2018

Enriching Experiences: Jumeirah At Etihad Towers

Al Wahda Mall To Welcome The Deal

Gifts For All Occasions From Anker

Hyperion Ensemble’s Dubai Concert

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dunhill Crush By Fredrikson Stallard

Nebula Capsule Ii Arrives In Iraq And Kuwait Being Multipotentialite

Practical & Comfortable: Kia Sportage

Elegantly Sculptured: The New Audi A6

Natural Perfectio: Sun Siyam Iru Fushi - Maldives

Land of Exquisite Delights: Geneva Switzerland

Eliminating combustion with Philip Morris International

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The Elegant Collection

Award Winners

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EDITOR’S LETTER

EDITOR'S NOTE

NETWORK MORE As we end 2019 and start preparations for 2020, there is one thing our team has enjoyed all year and that is the time spent with people we have met along the way from long lost relatives, clients coming back to reconnect, colleagues and friends from the past and some amazing new connections.

GLOBAL REPRESENTATIVES OCEANIA:

Nishrat Nazeen Fiji Islands

ASIA PACIFIC:

Fozia Fareen Melbourne, Austalia

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA:

Eric Richard GCC Natasha Jasmin Manchester

UK: EUROPE:

Leila A. Paris, France

USA:

S. Danish San Francisco, USA

Once in a while I venture out across my home to City Walk to meet friends and new business prospects purely as a way to connect at a personal level away from the phone and emails. Many feel it’s just my excuse to introduce people to my favourite restaurant, Baku Café and they are not wrong either. I truly enjoy connecting with people, especially when it's purely relationship building with nothing expected in return. I am not selling them anything but just getting to know them better, what they are doing, what impact they are hoping to make in this world. Not only is this relationship building, it is market research too as it gives me insights into the real situations of people, their life and their businesses. Talking to people helps new ideas to develop. Sometimes the meetings with no expectations end up being way more fruitful than anticipated. I am glad I travelled to over 14 countries in 2019, numerous cities, drove and tested over 35 new cars and judged cars both for the Middle East Car of the Year Awards and the Women’s World car of the Year. For 2020, I urge everyone to get inspired, venture out of your office, renew relationships with your network as it may be exactly what you and your business needs right now.

MANAGING DIRECTOR Nishrat Nazeen EDITOR IN CHIEF Shereen Shabnam FEATURES EDITOR Eric Richard ART DIRECTOR Verna Muerong

BUSINESS AND LIFESTYLE UPDATES (Publishing House) Registered No. RCBS2018I11862 P.O Box 9179 Nadi

Fiji Islands (t) +679 999 9913 (w) www.trendingbusinessinsights.com |4 7|

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MAIN INTERVIEW

ADDRESSING CYBER ATTACKS By Shereen Shabnam

yberthreats are getting extremely sophisticated and organizations are getting affected with daily detections with exploits increasing. And because Enterprises are comprised of numerous vendor tools or systems, ensuring security becomes extremely arduous and at times impossible. To address the new threats and set up automated techniques at speed and scale to match malicious activities, Fortinet during a recent briefing with us explain that cyber security with segmentation and integration have become critical security strategies for IT environments. In our region, IT professionals now believe that the transition to the cloud as part of their organizationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; digital transformation will make security a growing priority. We meet with Simon Bryden at Fortinet. a global leader in broad, integrated, and automated cybersecurity solutions, at their headquarters to find out more.

SIMON BRYDEN

Consulting Systems Engineer, Fortinet

With many IT security threats faced by enterprises and individuals globally, how does Fortinet help minimize risks for organisations?

Organisations must first realise that with more network firewall devices appearing on the market, the variety and sophistication of threats has increased at an alarming rate. This has often led to patchwork security solutions consisting of niche devices, each focused on one part of the problem but these individual devices may not have the overall visibility to detect and block a complex attack. Hence, in this complex and hostile environment, it is increasingly important to employ complete, holistic security solutions where components work together, exchanging information, correlating events and taking the appropriate action to detect, protect and most importantly, inform the security operators of any issues.

With the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0, more and more networked devices with incredibly poor IT security are being brought onto the market. What threats do you foresee as a result?

There is a pressing need to put regulations in place to protect IoT related threats but this needs to be considered carefully. Government regulations is one area but where it makes sense most is in areas where users may be unaware of the dangers related to using devices which have no apparent malicious capability. This is mainly in the consumer |6|

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IoT market, for instance home security which can be compromised to provide information useful to burglars through video cameras and give information on house contents, occupancy and connected door locks that provide access to homes.

We understand that Fortinet Security Fabric unifies products and technologies through a broad, integrated and automated approach. What other industries benefit from this?

Recently people are getting attacked via banking mobile apps. Credential stealing is leading to loss of money from the bank account. A lot of people have over the last few years become very much aware how to recognize an email that is not from the bank but cyber criminals are getting smarter. It is almost impossible for the average person to detect an email that is not really from the bank. Hence enterprises should have a program or people to recognize scam emails. People often back up data and loss of that data can result in sensitive information in the wrong hands so both banks and organisations can benefit from our security fabric.

Fortinet is uniquely positioned to address IoT security challenges. What steps can Enterprises take to learn, segment and protect their infrastructure against IoT threats?

If you are an individual and you want to put a camera outside your house and using a popular IOT device from the office, you want to see if there is anyone in your house, you often get a security alert. The most expensive camera you buy may not necessarily be the more secure camera if it is connecting to cloud servers that are not secure. So one needs to be cautious at every level â&#x20AC;&#x201C; individual and as an organisation. We also are working with a number of partners actually to build a surveillance system in cities and determining where the risks may be.

Fortinet Security Fabric provides end-to-end security architecture to organisations through a single management interface. How has the response been in the Middle East to this solution?

I think the important thing to know about the security fabric is that it allows us to focus internally. Whenever we looked at a product now, we are constantly thinking, what information does this product have that could be shared with another product or another service. In every region now people realise the importance of cyber security. In the Middle East, we see organisations buying a security system to handle anti-virus, another security product to manage emails and another to manage web service and ending up in a complex network requiring more devices to be updated and more devices to renew subscriptions for. So the security fabric is not just about the management of everything but trying to simplify systems. At Fortinet, we produce new products but we also help connect the existing products together.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND SECURITY TRANSFORMATION Fortinet By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

ext Generation Security means keeping up with the challenges of securing today’s networks with a vision and an architecture that provides reliable protection regardless of how threats evolve.

We meet with Fortinet’s Senior Director of Security Strategy, Patrick Grillo to talk about Fortinet’s cyber security solutions at Fortinet’s office in Sophia Antipolis, France. The increase in hacking tools known as zero-day exploits attacks organisations and governments at different levels – what preventative measures can organisations take to combat this? Organisations need put security measures in place and continue to evolve their defence technology. Foundation is the best security practises one. When an employee leaves, taking them off the network is on precaution. One cannot ignore technology and not rely on one either if security systems are not put in place. If you buy four products from different vendors, gaps will occur between and hence only experts can help streamline the information and processes securely to offer an organization tailor made protection it requires.

How has digital transformation evolved over the last few decades?

From the Video Rental corner shop, to blockbusters to Netflix – there was a shift from videos to DVD’s and then to Netflix so as we see, change is inevitable. This is a simple example of digital transformation. Even Netflix has gone through changes over the years to retain their users. Another example is General Electric – From a 140-year-old manufacturing company for energy, transportation and healthcare, their Digital transformation goals for 2020 include being one of the top 10 global software company with a $15B digital revenue. This is achieved with the creation of data and evolving themselves to what is relevant in this era.

What is a common challenge by SMEs and cloud experience?

It is the visualisation of cloud and the multi-cloud experience. From virtualisation to private cloud and to public cloud makes the security challenge more complicated with increased traffic and securing the virtual world. Many organisations can hence get distracted so we encourage clients not to put all their assets in one type of technology. There is no one technology that can cover all their needs and keep them secure which means we have to assess each business and their security needs individually and offer them a tailor made solution to protect their data.

With billions of connected devices out there, how can organisations protect hardware IT assets from security threats and how can Fortinet help especially with SMB’s?

SMB’s need awareness of IoT and communication technology they can turn to for protection as the toughest part is ensuring they are not giving hackers and cyber criminals an unlimited attack surface for both targeted and random attacks. The Internet of Things is inevitable with billions of devices being connected at home and in the office. The devices used for business are sometimes connected to external networks. It is hence essential to get the right protection in the right place throughout the network. The technologies need to have an integrated threat intelligence system and controlled openness for greater protection and flexibility. Fortinet brings all the different technologies together and builds a technology architecture that is customised and tailor made to an organisations security needs.

Has the awareness on GDPR improved or reduced security threats in the last year?

Organisations need to change how they plan strategies and take a more collaborative approach in identifying issues that could be a threat to their business. GDPR shifts the focus from collecting data to protecting it. It encourages organisations to make conscious decisions

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MAIN INTERVIEW

SECURING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Fortinet By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

n this issue we feature Fortinet, which was founded in 2000 by Ken Xie and has over 100 offices across the globe today. The company has over 5,600 employees worldwide with 575 patents issued and 200 in process.

We recently ventured into Nice in France to meet the team at Fortinet, the global leader in high-performance cybersecurity solutions to learn more about the Fortinet security fabric and how to overcome manual intervention that often delays response to threats and instead integrate and automate processes with connectors to close risky security gaps. As a cybersecurity leader for Digital Business, Fortinet addresses all market segments and offers the broadest security protection. Patrice Perche, Senior Executive Vice President Worldwide, Sales & Support tells us how.

Tell us what Fortinet Security Fabric is and what it offers?

Fortinet Security Fabric is a foundation for today’s security needs for business benefits. It offers brand protection, simplified operations, knowledge transfer and cost savings. Our coverage includes infrastructure, cloud, cyber-physical and embedded firewall – the four pillars that leverage technology.

How does Fortinet’s SPU Security Processors, the FortiOS and FortiGuard leverage expertise?

These are part of the DNA of our technology as we have built it and it has helped to deliver high performance that is faster. The five major challenges that companies face includes Data, Technology, Compliance, Resources and Threats. Data is the fuel to the digital business and is an asset stored everywhere on devices, networks, cloud and hence needs to be protected. Hence it is important to protect this. The second challenge is technology where networks embrace SD_WAN, IoT and cloud and use multi-vendor products, tools and applications. As a result, many organisations have experienced a security breach within their SCADA/ICS architectures. This is mainly a result of many organisations embracing IT and OT convergence. Compliance is another challenge due to regulatory pressure and GDPR is putting pressure on organisations to disclose more information than before. Other challenges that organisations face includes limited resources, |8|

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budget constraints as well as shortage of skills that are part of the threat landscape.

Give us an example of a threat that is related to connectivity?

We can look at the example of autonomous cars and the risks involved so before the launch of the car, we look at minimising the hacking process. First step is to secure the in-car system especially as today the entertainment system offers a user experience that takes precedence over the drive experience. Then comes the auto-pilot where a lot of data needs to be sent and received hence the connectivity needs to be secure. Using SPU, we accelerate the VPN connection that is sold to car manufacturers. Fortinet helps to secure the in-car system and the connectivity to the data centre of the car manufacturer.

In UAE, we have a large number of SME’s – how can they protect their data from attacks?

Fortinet packages solutions for SME’s that can be implemented very easily and can be done by Fortinet partners while telecom companies like Etisalat and Du manage the installation. The Fortinet Security Fabric architecture can deliver security without compromise to address the most critical security challenges on networks, applications, cloud or mobile environments.

FORTINET AND SECURITY INSIGHTS Interview with Derek Manky, Chief, Security Insights & Global Threat Alliances, Fortinet By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

ortinet has been an active member of an expert working group within INTERPOL in recent years, providing cyber threat intelligence which has helped discover and identify multiple cybercrime operations globally. Derek Manky, Chief, Security Insights & Global Threat Alliances, Fortinet meets us in France to discuss threat intelligence and mentions that they are seeing significant advances in cybercriminal tools and services which leverage automation and the precursors of AI. As we take in the beautiful breeze outdoors at the HQ of Fortinet, Derek tells us why it is better to anticipate threats and to combat the economic motivations forcing cybercriminals back to the drawing board and discusses the need for threat intelligence.

With digital transformation comes a threat to data and Fortinetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fortiguard responds to the global threat response best. Tell us more about Fortiguard?

Fortiguard helps keep customers safe from the evolving threat landscape. Our labs boast one of the largest security research and analyst teams in the industry with expert researchers and analysts around the world always on the lookout for breaking threats and new technique and studying every critical area of the threat landscape including malware, botnets, mobile, and zero-day vulnerabilities.

How does AI help with security and broad protection?

Organizations need to embrace automation and AI to shrink the windows from intrusion to detection and from detection to containment. This can best be achieved by integrating security elements into a cohesive

security fabric that dynamically shares threat information for broad protection. It also offers visibility across all network segments from IoT to multi-clouds.

How do you address cyber security at a global level?

Fortinet helps shape the future of threat information standards and protocols through ongoing collaboration with global public safety and industry organizations. We are a founding member of the Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTA) and we have an industry partnership agreement within the framework of the NATO Industry Cyber Partnership (NICP) via the NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency.

How do you address cyberattacks that are new?

Cyberattacks always become smarter and more sophisticated each time and we have to stay fully equipped by anticipating the next move. We study attack techniques not only in terms of their effectiveness, but in the costs required to develop, modify, and implement them. We then help organizations by adopting new technologies and strategies such as machine learning and automation to take on tedious and time-consuming activities that normally require a high degree of human supervision and intervention. We make the defenses equally sophisticated. We hence continually urge organisations to adopt the advanced security-driven network strategies that will help their businesses succeed in the digital marketplace of tomorrow.

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NEWS

‘TAKE WATER. GIVE LIFE’

onViso, the purest and minimally mineralized Italian water will have a presence at major events in the UAE as it continues its “Take Water. Give Life” campaign, where for every 1 litre sold, MonViso is donating 1 AED to the Al Jalila Foundation which supports the global cause of transforming lives through medical education and research. The brand’s humanitarian and sustainability commitment is evident, as since January 2017 till January 2019, MonViso has donated the equivalent of 334,326 liters via the original donations program designed for Dubai’s hospitality industry by MonViso and Al Jalila Foundation. MonViso is part of Desert Warrior Challenge, RAK Terry Fox Run, Corporate Sports Championship, Hamilton Aquatics, and the Burj Al Arab Swim, promoting the “Take Water. Give Life” cause. Visitors to the MonViso stand at the events will be able to sample the Alpine Italian mineral water from Europe’s highest source with the lowest content of sodium in the world, contaminant-free purity, low-grade mineralization and low nitrate content.

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MonViso is also an eco conscious brand as it recently launched a recycling program for homes, in association with HomeCycle, which is the brand’s logistic partner for home collection of plastic bottles and glass. It is the first water brand in the UAE to launch a sustainability program where the revenue from the net sales is donated to Al Jalila Foundation. MonViso water, with its unmatched set of health properties is recognized by the Italian Ministry of Health as suitable for the preparation of baby food and formula. The minimally mineralized water helps avoid fatigue, purifies the kidneys, helps maintain optimal blood pressure and makes it safe to consume in large quantities. Sourced from Europe’s highest spring (2,042 m), MonViso is the minimally mineralized water with one of the lowest sodium levels (0.33 mg/L), and total dissolved solids in the world. Launched in Dubai 4 years ago, MonViso is now available in several outlets across the UAE. *Supplied by Coral Coast PR

JET SET X APPOINTS DASSAULT AVIATION FALCON 8X AS AIRCRAFT OF CHOICE AND JETEX AS AN OFFICIAL FBO FOR MIDDLE EAST

he current revolution in the private aviation sector globally sees an increase in the use of private jets for business and personal flights for efficient, affordable and streamlined luxury travel experiences.

Offering superior private jet travel experiences valued by luxury travellers, Jet Set X, an exclusive members only club, has appointed Dassault Aviation Falcon 8X as the aircraft of choice and JETEX as the Official FBO for The Middle East with the memberships to provide best-in-class services for seamless travel experiences. Asad Rahman, CEO of Jet Set X said, “The members club in each major city is strictly limited to 120 members only with membership for a period of five years. This allows for exclusivity and premium service associated with private travel.” Jetex is recognized for delivering flexible, best-in-class service to their elite clientele worldwide providing exceptional FBOs, aircraft fueling, ground handling and global trip planning. “We are very happy to be the exclusive FBO for Jet Set X clients. This marks another milestone recognizing our outstanding service.” -Adel Mardini, CEO and President of Jetex. During the five years, members are able to fly on a brand new, custom designed Dassault Falcon 8X at a price previously unmatched in the

industry. The member can choose to either share a flight (which takes the cost of flying private to a totally new price point) or take the whole aircraft to themselves (which is significantly more cost effective than normal charter due to a new dynamic pricing model). The Jet Set X program has been designed for those who fly First class on a regular basis, and would like to enter private aviation, and also for those who are looking for cost effective private travel. It is far more cost effective than what is currently available in the market and it is highly exclusive, with limited numbers of membership available. Jet Set X will be launching both its clubs in Dubai and London this month. Jet Set X is very much themed and branded to be the modern day jet set and has chosen Dassault as its exclusive manufacturer of choice - the first Jet Set X program will be using the Dassault Falcon 8X exclusively. Additional benefits include members with the privilege to access a Private jet faster, enjoy bespoke gourmet catering. Business travelers like to travel quickly and avoid slow security checks, arduous boarding procedures and waiting for transfer passengers - flying private jet eliminates the hassles related to flying and Jet Set X membership privileges guarantee members a seamless travel experience.

Trending Business Insights | 11 |

NEWS

VISO ENDS RAMADAN WITH HEALTH DRIVE INITIATIVE Healthcare outreach to labour camps a success with medical check ups

s part of its ongoing commitment to the community during the Holy Month of Ramadan, VISO initiated a health campaign that offered complimentary health check ups at labour camps to promote wellness.

Medical teams offered workers general health scans as well as blood pressure tests during the drive. The initiative, in partnership with Al Das Medical Clinic and 800 Pharmacy has been widely appreciated by workers who could not afford regular checkups. Al Das performed Blood sugar and blood pressure tests with GP consultation while 800 pharmacy sponsored gifts for every laborer that attended. The outreach attracted 160 labourers, with various different diagnoses such as pneumonia, asthma, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, bronchitis and dehydration, with most being diagnosed for high blood pressure. Eng. Khalid Al Karama, Managing Director and Co-Founder of VISO said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are committed to spreading a culture of caring with initiatives that promote health and wellness in the community. Our team members offered a helping hand to end the blessed Holy Month reaching out to the neediest in our society.â&#x20AC;? As a young brand, VISO hopes to emulate compassion, generosity and humanitarian values in its CSR initiatives and to instill the importance

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of being health conscious all year round. The event attracted a large number of labourers during the weekend outreach. VISO allows patients to browse and book healthcare providers, request delivery of pharmaceuticals and lab tests as well as stay updated with the latest tips and promotions in the healthcare, wellness and lifestyle centers on a single platform.

SMARTPHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Innovations driven by the rise of social media

ver the years, social media platforms have seen an increase in frequent users. This can be mainly attributed to the ease of access, growth in technology, a chance for user expression and an overall comfortable user experience. This rise in social media usage has led to the requirement of smartphones that cater to every aspect of handling a social media presence, including photography, battery life and an overall smooth performance. Huawei, known for innovations and pushing the boundaries in its smartphones, has kept this in mind and has introduced new features in every phone launch that caters to every social media requirement. Social media users have grown radically in recent times and a majority of them depend on smartphones for easy access to social media platforms. Users spend a minimum of approximately 2 hours a day on their smartphones browsing social media platforms. With this growth playing an important role in today’s society, smartphone manufacturers have started to focus on developing technologies and innovative ideas that are said to improve user experience while using these platforms.

Ease in creating stunning Photo and Video content

Today’s social media platforms are built on photo and video content, which has raised the requirement for well-developed camera hardware. Trends show an increase in stunning photos and videos, as social media users want to make their feed stand out from their friends Hence smartphone manufacturers started to focus more on their camera hardware as well as optimizing the software. Keeping this in mind, the Huawei P series has an unprecedented advantage due to it being a photography focused lineup. The latest in the series, the HUAWEI P30 Pro, comes with a Leica Quad Camera setup, the first of its kind. This unique setup consists of a 40MP main camera with the HUAWEI SuperSpectrum Sensor for better low light photos and videos, a 20MP Ultra-Wide angle lens for both horizontal and vertical shooting, an 8MP telephoto lens with a stunning SuperZoom feature up to 50x digital zoom and the HUAWEI Time of Flight (ToF) that measures depth of field for stunning bokeh effects and portrait shots. Up front, the HUAWEI P30 Pro packs an impressive 32MP camera as well. The images and videos taken are ensured to be crisp and clear, thanks to the Optical Image Stabilization and AI Image Stabilization technologies.

Videos are the new form of expression

Videos have now become the latest form of creative expression. Not only does it showcase a certain level of skill in shooting and editing, but it also provides users with a more defined platform to express their creativity or convey their message. Making sure that every moment is captured, the HUAWEI P30 Pro is capable of stunning video capture even in low light conditions. To further create a unique aspect to shooting videos, the HUAWEI P30 Pro also packs in Dual-View Video1, a new way of recording videos that uses multiple cameras to shoot in different perspectives. Thanks to this feature users can shoot videos in both close-up and wide-angle shots at the same time, paving the way for an entirely new video recording experience.

Battery life for the whole day and maybe more

Keeping in mind user trends of extended periods on social media platforms, the HUAWEI P30 Pro is built with a massive 4,200 mAh battery that can give up to a full day of intensive use. The phone can recharge back up to 70 percent in just 30 minutes with the 40W Huawei SuperCharge and also supports 15W Wireless Charging as well as Wireless Reverse Charge, which allows users to charge other devices including earphones and wearables, and other phones by simply placing it on the phone, provided they support the Qi Wireless charging standard. To ensure a super-smooth experience while browsing multiple social media platforms, the HUAWEI P30 Pro is packed with the Kirin 980, the company’s fastest chipset yet, that promises an improved performance without compromising on efficiency. Photos and videos taken will not face a space constraint either, thanks to 256GB or 512GB storage options, supported by 8GB RAM.

An Innovation-packed display

To further enhance viewing comfort while browsing through social media, Huawei has packed innovative features into its 6.47inch FullView display. This includes the HUAWEI Acoustic Display Technology and the In-Screen Fingerprint sensor, which uses the display itself for audio and security, slimming down the bezels even further for a better viewing experience. Social media has become the new form of user expression and this is made even better with Huawei, who keeps developing new innovations every day that will improve user experience. Trending Business Insights | 13 |

10.30 AM - 2.30 PM THURSDAY, 5TH SEPTEMBER 2019 GRAND BALLROOM 1&2, KUALA LUMPUR CONVENTION CENTRE (KLCC), MALAYSIA

SUSTAINABILITY

95% OF WATER RECYCLED AT EXPRESS AUTO WASH Revolutionary car wash facility at Mushrif Mall promises efficient 5-minute car wash service, without queues most of the time.

and safest conveyor, MacNeil’s XR-1000 for fast service. The 360 ° high tech car wash systems with 48 high-pressure undercarriage water nozzles add to the efficiency of the wash. “The customer experience is five-star quality, using MN Versa Arches, streamers, foamers and tire chemical applicators, washing all vehicle surfaces including the under-carriage, providing customers with an exceptional wash and rinse, while the MN Tech 21 Turbo Drying System completes the drying process.” Cleanliness, professionalism, and passion is evident at Express Auto Wash on arrival, and as each car travels seamlessly along the automated belt through various stages of the car wash cycle. The fast and yet thorough clean saves corporate and private customers valuable time that can be spent more productively at home and in the office. Added to that, the high quality microcellular closed-cell Envirosoft foam brushes from MacNeil allow faster line speeds and clean, quiet and safe operation. Express Auto Wash also offers touch free car wash for the more delicate and premium cars.

EAW Carwash Menus

Express Gold basic exterior wash offers high Pressure Rinses, PreSoak, Wheel Clean, Undercarriage, Touch Free or basic car wash, TriColour Foam, Lustra Wax, Rain Shield, Super Dryer and Hand Dry Finish. Platinum Wash includes the basic Express Gold services in addition to full interior vacuum, dashboards and window cleaning. Diamond Polishing Additional services include full car detailing, diamond body polishing and interior wet and dry cleaning. Express Auto Wash has a loyalty program that offers one free car wash after every ten washes. There is also a customer referral program where three new plate numbers of friends and family introduced to EAW gets the customer 15 free washes for one month. Tuesday is ladies day with a 15% discount, while Corporates with over 50 cars, Express Auto Wash offers special packages and rates. First time visitors get a 15% discount while customers with special needs receive a 25% discount. “Monthly memberships are available and if booked online, the automatic monthly payments are at 10% off,” the CEO adds,

“There has been an increased interest from the GCC countries eager to learn the specifics of the express auto wash business model in creating automatic car washes and we are keen to share our expertise in the business.”

lready renowned for fast and efficient service, the Express Auto Wash (EAW) located at Mushrif Mall in the heart of Abu Dhabi, in partnership with MacNeil of North America, brings customers premium automatic car wash facilities not seen before in this part of the world.

The mission of Express Auto Wash is to lead the vehicle care industry by always putting customer service, innovation and performance first and their vision is to be passionate champions of world-class car wash solutions.

Matthew Jadali, the CEO of Express Auto Wash confirms that the environment friendly facility has a 250-foot (80m) tunnel equipped with fifty-five kilometers of wire, piping and plumbing, allowing multiple cars to be washed simultaneously saving your valuable time.

An Exterior Sedan wash costs AED 30/- and Exterior SUV costs AED 35/-. Extra Services include Mat-wash, Dashboard Polishing, interior and exterior car detailing, AC treatment as well as Bacteria and Odour removal in vehicles, for which a price list is posted on the EAW website.

Express Auto Wash, a pioneer of tunnel car washes in the UAE ensures 95% of the water is recycled and the facility hosts the most reliable

TECHNOLOGY

NUTANIX LEADS IN CLOUD AND HYPERCONVERGED INFRASTRUCTURE

ne of our favourite conferences recently was the NEXT On event organised by Nutanix in Dubai. Nutanix is renowned to make infrastructure invisible, elevating IT to focus on the applications and services that power their business. When it comes to predictable performance, cloud-like infrastructure consumption, robust security, and seamless application mobility for a broad range of enterprise applications, Nutanix immediately comes to mind. We find out from Aaron White, Regional Director – Middle East at Nutanix how the Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform leverages webscale engineering and consumer-grade design to natively converge compute, virtualization and storage into a resilient, software-defined solution with rich machine intelligence.

1.What is the relevance of Nutanix in today’s cloud computing era

Most, if not all, businesses today are digital, when you consider the technologies they consume for every function, from human resources and accounting, to marketing and internal communications. What is driving this are the internal ‘clients’- the departments looking for this functionality, and not the IT teams supporting them. Increasingly, the cloud – and, indeed, a multitude of clouds – is an attractive platform for businesses to manage and run their applications, often with the familiarity and simplicity of applications individuals might use in their own private lives. Thus, businesses needing flexibility, scalability and freedom have been using public cloud services, but this comes with challenges of usability and flexibility, and even a ‘lock-in’ to unknown costs and unused capacity as well as data and application mobility. This has rendered some IT staff focused on tactical management, reactive problem solving and blind discovery, versus thinking about the ‘customer experience’ within their organizations. Simply put, IT is losing relevance and influence at a time when no technology transition has ever been bigger. The antidote to public cloud lock-in is the freedom to easily move between clouds. It includes knowing the costs, the ability to choose the right location for the right data, and the peace of mind that security | 18 | Trending Business Insights

and governance are not an afterthought. It is about blurring the lines between public and private, between renting and owning. Because it’s not all about technology. It’s about what the technology enables. At the heart of freedom is knowledge. There is tremendous value in using knowledge to empower IT and reclaim control over a new definition of cloud infrastructure. The infrastructure is a stop on the journey, not a destination in and of itself. The ability to choose the right workload on right platform with right cost is really what everyone was looking for in the first place. Public cloud is not the enemy, yet being wholly locked into it is. IT wants the power to make informed decisions and to own influence and control of IT decisions and spending. The real solution is about making the cloud – as a whole - invisible. It’s about hyperconverging the cloud. It’s about a hybrid cloud environment with a seamless experience between public and private clouds so that the “where” becomes secondary to the “how.” How can we enable our company to scale? How can we deliver new applications? How can we control costs? How can we get visibility into our entire infrastructure? How can we make better, more informed decisions? Nutanix puts the reins back in the hands of IT. Giving IT organizations freedom to focus on the customer experience. Empowering businesses to be agile and build future-forward hybrid cloud infrastructure that is invisible to the organization, but makes the IT team visible. Not just visible - empowered and relevant.

2. Elaborate on Nutanix as a leader in Cloud and Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI)

Cloud computing and hyperconvergence are becoming the fundamental technology engine for digital transformation initiatives, including customer engagement, internal operations, and updated business models. Nutanix has been declared a ‘Leader’ again in the November 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Hyperconverged Infrastructure. The company has also been named as a leader in “The Forrester Wave: Hyperconverged Infrastructure, Q3 2018,” published by Forrester Research, Inc. Nutanix has scored an average of 90 in NPS (Net Promoter Score) for 4 consecutive years.

We believe this is a strong validation of our company’s leadership in the market it pioneered, and our vision to become the next generation operating system for the enterprise cloud. Nutanix Enterprise Cloud OS software makes infrastructure invisible, elevating IT to focus on the applications and services that power businesses. The Nutanix Enterprise Cloud platform blends web-scale engineering and consumer-grade design to natively converge server, storage, virtualization and networking into a resilient, software-defined solution with rich machine intelligence. The result is predictable performance, cloud consumption models, robust security, and seamless application mobility for all enterprise applications at any scale.

3. What is your raodmap for 2019?

In line with the global vision, on a regional level Nutanix will continue to position itself as the next generation operating system for the enterprise cloud. We have Gartner’s validation of being a leader in the Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) space. We want to be the first vendor that comes to mind as a trusted partner when enterprises in the region are ready to transform their datacenters, their IT operations, and their businesses. We will continue introducing market-changing new technologies and bringing onboardf top new talent and partners to enable the company to stay ahead in a very competitive marketplace.

4. Key findings of Nutanix’s Annual Global Enterprise Cloud Index?

Nutanix conducted its first annual global Enterprise Cloud Index, measuring the plans that businesses around the world have for adopting private, public and hybrid clouds. As enterprises demand stronger application mobility and interoperability, they are increasingly choosing hybrid cloud infrastructure as opposed to just private or public clouds. While the advent of public cloud has increased IT efficiency in certain areas, hybrid cloud capabilities are the next step in providing the freedom to dynamically provision and manage applications based on business needs, besides the price tag being cheaper.

5. How do the results of the study relate to us here in the Middle East?

The UAE and Saudi were included as part of the study. Both countries threw up similar results and are grouped into a “Middle East” bucket when reporting findings: • The Middle East runs slightly fewer workloads in traditional data centers and outpaces the global and EMEA regional averages in its deployment of hybrid clouds • Today, the Middle East runs half (50%) of its workloads in private and hybrid clouds • In the next 12 to 24 months, companies in this region intend to move significant numbers of workloads out of their traditional data centers. Based on survey responses, Middle Eastern companies’ data center penetration is expected to drop from 37% today to just 14% in that time frame. • Public cloud use shows the most growth in the Middle East over the next two years. Public clouds will then account for more than a third (36%) of the region’s overall workloads, followed by hybrid clouds at 29%, and private clouds and traditional data centers, collectively at 35%. • While controlling public cloud spend was revealed to be a universal

Aaron White, Regional Director - Middle East, Nutanix challenge among global respondents, the Middle East seems to be doing better than its peers with just 31% of the Middle Eastern respondents reported being over budget with their public cloud services compared with 36% of global and EMEA respondents • In addition to managing their public cloud budgets better than their peers on average, Middle Eastern respondents more often reported that public clouds fully met their expectations than the rest of the world • Data security and compliance and lower total cost of ownership (TCO) were ranked as the top benefits of using a public cloud in the Middle East

6. Hybrid Cloud is mentioned a lot. Are most businesses aware of its benefits?

It is clear from Nutanix’s global Enterprise Cloud Index that organizations worldwide including those in the UAE are aware of the benefits of hybrid cloud, with 91% of the enterprises surveyed stating hybrid cloud as the ideal IT model. The reasons for this sea change away from the traditional data centre are many. In essence, however, organisations are both switching on to the benefits of the cloud – ondemand scalability, pay per use economics and so on - and, at the same time, becoming wise to the fact that not all clouds are the same. As a result many are opting for an application-centric approach to IT, and choosing the best home for their apps - be that a public or private cloud - rather than modifying apps to always fit one chosen platform. Few are sticking with just one cloud and many would like to be able to move workloads around between clouds – for both technical and financial reasons - and it is this ability that has been ranked above cost and security concerns in the Enterprise Cloud Index survey. Unfortunately, we’re some way off being able to turn this aspiration for free movement of apps into a reality. Today there is a real lack of visibility when apps are deployed across a hybrid mix of clouds. Simply put, if you can’t see an app on every cloud it touches you can’t hope to manage it and fix it when things go wrong, or make sure it stays compliant. And you certainly can’t automate the processes involved.

Trending Business Insights | 19 |

PROPERTY

LA RIVIERA REVEALS SHOW APARTMENTS AT JVC

Luxury apartment complex offers unparalleled comfort and luxury iviera Group revealed the show apartment for La Riviera Apartments with design and interior elements that reflect luxurious apartment living. The 22-story residential building offers 144 stylish one and two bedroom apartments and two retail units.

La Riviera Apartments is situated in the district of Jumeirah Village Circle, a residential and commercial community featuring a mixture of Arabic and Mediterranean villas, stylish townhouses and apartments. The 25-foot high grand entrance lobby with convenient car drop-off facility and hotel style elevators add to the luxury lifestyle feel of the residence. A medical facility, school, public transport, shopping centre and convenience store are all on La Riviera’s doorstep, as well as direct access to the main highway for added convenience. La Riviera Apartments are more than an investment - they are perfectly planned homes encouraging a calm and refined way of life. A typical floor contains seven St Tropez one-bedroom apartments and two Nice two-bedroom apartments. Each apartment is designed for elegance and convenience, with fixtures and finishing to the highest standard. Managing Director of the project, Mr Abdul Raul Razzak, said, “The | 20 7 | | Trending Business Insights

La Riviera apartment complex is the perfect location for families or professionals in search of a new luxury home with all the convenience and comfort to enhance their comfort levels as well as work and life balance.” What better way to spend quality time with your family than relaxing with a barbecue in one of the two specially dedicated areas for al fresco dining, or taking a dip in the swimming pool or kid’s pool? At La Riviera Apartments, you can breeze through the Riviera Retreat Lobby or unwind in the Riviera Retreat lounge for a feeling of absolute peace and calm. Unwind from the stresses of modern living in the state of the art health club, or pop into the separate ladies and gents smart steam room to feel stress simply melt away. As an added incentive, the payment plan is perfect for first time buyers to get on the property ladder and for mortgage buyers. Both 1 and 2 bedroom show apartments are ready for viewing by existing and potential buyers. Expected to complete soon, the price points of the apartments begin from AED 689,000/- for 1 Bedroom and AED 1,099,000/- for 2 Bedroom.

SHERWOODS INTERNATIONAL PROPERTIES

Building Partnerships in Property.

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Our many available property investment services aim to meet every aspect of real estate investment from locating your ideal property, to finance, insurance, legal services, sales and managing your real estate assets.

Our innovative approach to real estate sales, provides both buyers and sellers with the optimum benefit from their investment by ensuring that you are matched with your ideal property.

Trending Business Insights | 21 |

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BUSINESS

Positive Change

MISSION WINNOW W

e recently ventured out to the F1 to get to know more about Mission Winnow, a PMI-driven campaign leveraging a long-term partnership with Scuderia Ferrari to demonstrate PMIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unwavering commitment to continuous innovation and development of new solutions that can expedite positive change for society. The Mission Winnow began with Philip Morris International transforming, learning from their past in order to build a better future for the 1.1 billion people who smoke and those around them. They relentlessly explore and research every option and focus only on the solutions that drive radical change. Like their partner Scuderia Ferrari, they take the best, refine it and make it better. This is winnowing. Mission Winnow is PMIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s demonstration to do better and work to enable a better future. It is a PMI-driven campaign to demonstrate a unwavering commitment to continuous innovation and development of new solutions that can expedite positive change for society. This campaign demonstrates how transforming their business through science, a new way of thinking, and by learning from the mistakes of the past. The campaign does not and will not advertise or promote any PMI-branded products. In fact, Mission Winnow offers engaging, relevant and informative content on a dedicated website and across multiple digital channels for people interested in the visionary thinking fueling PMI and Scuderia Ferrari. The brand wants to create global awareness around fundamental principles that encourage people to strive for and support positive change. Potentially less harmful products that adult smokers switch to

| 22 | Trending Business Insights

By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

is an opportunity for public health. Harm reduction is a policy approach that seeks to reduce the harm caused by a dangerous activity rather than simply banning the activity itself. As its supporters note, harm reduction is an underlying principle of countless public health policies. For example, even though driving is dangerous, governments do not suggest that people give it up. Instead, they set rules for the road that make it safer, encourage (or mandate) seatbelt use, and build cars with safety features. Science, innovation and Technology applied to tobacco can benefit society. PMI is playing its part to drive this change. Science, technology and innovation have a long history of improving public health, from refrigerating food in the 19th century, through seatbelts, airbags and other innovations and to devices that can help disabled people to walk. Why wouldn't this principle extend to applying new technologies with the goal of reducing the risk of smoking-related disease? Science, innovation and technology are at the core of PMI's vision of convincing all those who would otherwise continue smoking to switch to smoke-free products as soon as possible. Since the beginning of its smoke-free program in 2003, PMI has hired more than 430 scientists and R&D experts, and invested over US$4.5 billion to develop, assess and produce products with the potential to be significantly less harmful than cigarettes. PMI is today the 58th largest patent filer in the EU and the only tobacco company in the top 100 filers. We hold over 4,300 patents and over 6,000 pending patents on our smoke-free products.

Committed to

Tamer Elkhayat, Managing Director And Co-Founder Of Pinza

tanding out from the crowd, PINZA, the modern 'pinzeria' delivers the lightest, crunchiest, tastiest and healthiest handkneaded crust in Dubai, and has recently launched London via a strategic partnership with Deliveroo.

4. What are some characteristics for someone in your position?

Staying close to the team and connecting with customers will ensure a positive experience that supports growth. And that begins with the back of house. So, for me, it is about enabling my team to bring out their best, being supportive and encouraging them to be innovative.

5. How do you manage innovation at PINZA?

We get insights from Tamer Elkhayat, Managing Director and CoFounder of PINZA, who established PINZA in 2015 with partner Faisal Yabroudi to perfect the pizza delivery concept by offering customers top quality and crisp freshness every time. He shares with us his experience and journey that led him to start PINZA.

We brought an innovative and fresh outlook to one of the oldest and most popular foods – the pizza. From naming as PINZA to using delivery boxes customised to customer preference, we retain a personal touch in everything we do. Innovation does not have to be grand ideas; it can start with simple things -and that is what we prove with PINZA. Indeed, we do not follow trends but start them.

1. Give us a background into PINZA and day-to-day role?

6. What factors have influenced your success?

PINZA is the result of our passion for the food industry and a commitment to make a difference through an innovative product. Creating our signature recipe and multi-step production process took over five months to develop. PINZA was launched in 2015 at Business Bay with a distinctive approach: The first was to highlight our positioning of offering a healthy alternative to traditional pizza with our naturally vegan dough as our USP. The second was to have a delivery-only concept initially. PINZA is a class on its own, and we ensured that we stayed different by using our own unique flours by sourcing the highest quality flour from around the world. Our customers who value our focus on using only non-GMO products and our approach to innovation have appreciated our business model and focus on quality. Our day-to-day role is fun, energetic and full of ideas on how to grow our business.

2. How did you get into this line of business?

My father was a hotelier and growing up, I loved seeing what he did. With a passion for hospitality, food and travel, I studied Hotel and Restaurant management at the Conrad Hilton College in Houston, TX. I then worked for the Four Seasons in the Middle East, Canada and the USA and decided to leave my job and start my own business with two of my best friends – Faisal Yabroudi , Head of operations for PINZA and Talal M. AlGaddah.

3. Who has been your greatest influence professionally?

My greatest influence is my father who introduced me to this line of business. I also worked for many good leaders at Four Seasons who served as mentors and influenced me in shaping my career as a food entrepreneur.

We are consistent in our commitment to quality and taste, which is a defining factor of PINZA’a popular appeal. The second key aspect is follow-up. We ensure that our customers are happy – and we also listen and take care of our employees.

7. What are your future plans for growth?

We started off in Dubai and through our partnership with Deliveroo, we have made our foray into London too. Our future plan, in nutshell, is to Pinzafying the world, one country at a time.

8. What are the current priorities of your team?

Maintaining quality and exceeding customer expectations continues to be our priority. At PINZA, we focus a lot on developing the team to be eligible for promotions, and to enhance their skills. We look for truly passionate people and we invest in them to become the best-in-class in the industry.

9. How has the performance been the last few months?

We continued to record growth in the past months and also focused on our international and in-country expansion. Of course, summer months see a dip in revenue comparatively, but it is part of the economic cycle.

10. What are some major trends that will affect the F&B industry this year?

People are increasingly more aware of what they eat, which is reflected in the diversity of their diets. Currently, vegan and keto are two key trends – and I believe that ensuring customer personalisation of your product will be a key differentiator for the F&B business in the days to come.

Trending Business Insights | 23 |

YACHT Masterpiece of Comfort and Conviviality

CUSTOM LINE NAVETTA 42 By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

ustom Line only impresses with bespoke designs but recently it reached a major landmark in its storied history with a new model of boundless beauty: the magnificent Custom Line Navetta 42. The new super-yacht epitomizes a sailing philosophy based on superior design, sophisticated elegance and extraordinary performance. The new flagship, the brand's first above 300 GT, combines the qualities of seaworthiness, comfort, safety and customisation into a product that is truly revolutionary in terms of style, design and spaces, and whose range places it at the top of its class. With a length of 41.8 metres (137’2’’ ft.) and a beam of 8.1 metres (26’7’’ ft.), Custom Line Navetta 42 features a semi-displacement hull with a bulbous bow that ensures maximum efficiency in any sea condition, reprising the solutions already adopted on its smaller precursors, the Navetta 33 and Navetta 37. Throughout its 4 spacious decks, the new flagship presents a fullycustomisable internal layout conceived to exploit the ship's generous volumes to the fullest and to offer maximum liveability in all areas, with impressive lengths and heights above 2m in the interior spaces. The result is better organisation of on-board flows, total privacy for the owner and his guests, and great freedom of movement for the captain and crew. The solid profile of Custom Line Navetta 42 exudes the unmistakable elegance which characterises all Navetta models: an impeccablea blend of linear and essential architectural solutions that conveys a sense of strength and character on the water. Internally, Custom Line Navetta 42 blends exquisite chromatic harmonies with a selection of refined materials and surfaces. Walnut and dark oak are the dominant essences of the interiors, and combine seamlessly with the lacquered surfaces of the ceilings, the bronzecoloured brushed steel of the handles and handrails, and the mirror| 24 | Trending Business Insights

finish steel used for the doors. In perfect chromatic harmony with the dark woods, the main colour tones range from grey to beige, with teal details that recur in the sundeck’s unusual chairs, in the upper deck's carpets and cushions, and even in the formal dining table on the main deck. Navetta Custom Line 42 is a striking example of that “family feeling” which made the brand famous worldwide: it welcomes guests into a modern and stylishly eclectic ambiance, enriched by a contemporary vibe that reverberates in the elegant yet functional furnishings, with their innovative and essential design. Aside from the unquestionable elegance, the new Custom Line flagship also impresses for its engineering innovations. Navetta 42, for example, offers unrivalled noise isolation thanks to a special flexible joint in the transmission lines that absorbs vibrations from the axis line. The goal of minimising phonic impact was fully achieved through targeted mathematical analyses for each and every noise source and its location on board. Cutting-edge damping solutions were also employed, using glued panels that increase comfort by reducing noise and vibrations. Furthermore, just like on Navetta 37, the main deck is fitted with a state-of-the-art floating floor: a technique whereby the floor surface is separated from the fibreglass base by a layer of sound-absorbing materials, to reduce the transmission of noise and vibrations from the engine room to the living areas, while also softening any footfall. Finally, as it exceeds 300 GT, the new Custom Line flagship must meet certain regulatory requirements such as those pertaining to stability in the event of a breach. Should the hull become damaged, Custom Line Navetta 42 features a system of automated waterproof doors that close upon specific commands by the captain, in order to isolate the forward compartment from the aft one, thus ensuring safe navigation.

On Board Comfort

NEW PERSHING 8X

By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

he state-of-the-art Pershing 8X was launched with rave reviews with rich technology being one of the yacht’s bestselling points. With the new 8X, Pershing continues to accelerate on the course of innovation and contemporary aesthetics using the most advanced nautical material - carbon fibre. This means lighter weight, greater speed, and lower fuel consumption. The on-board comfort is extraordinary with more comfortable spaces and the new system that integrates propulsion control with the manoeuvring, navigation, and monitoring systems. With the new 8X, “piloting” a Pershing, even at high speeds and without the support of the captain makes it fun and accessible. At 25.55 meters in length and 5.86 meters wide, Pershing 8X represents a true evolution in terms of stylistic-functional aspects and performance. Made of carbon fibre, this new model features lines that are even sleeker and sportier, enhanced by characteristic Pershing elements like imposing side wings and the aerodynamic profile of the sundeck. The result is a yacht in the sport-fly range with an unrivalled combination of quality and innovation. The aft swimming platform leads to the garage while the cockpit overlooks the sunpad and opposite is a dinette with a sofa and a coffee table that can be electrically lowered to create a second relaxation space. On the port side, Pershing introduces the first distinctive and characterizing innovation of the new 8X: the stairway giving access to the sundeck is integrated in the characteristic Pershing side wing, which thus becomes a functional as well as an aesthetic element. Composed of black painted steel steps covered in teak, framed by a carbon fibre upright and two lifelines, this new solution not only highlights the clean style but above all allows the owner to dedicate more space to convivial life in the spacious 22 m² cockpit as well as on the sundeck. The mobile grill and sink are situated to starboard, while lockers and storage compartments are positioned on both bulwarks. Other exterior zones are also exceptional in terms of aesthetics and functionality. A large area forward holds a separate sofa and sunpad. Optionally, the terminal part of the sunpad can be turned into another sofa opposite, creating a compact dinette. The sundeck offers generous spaces for relaxation thanks to a large 5 m² sunpad opposite a sofa.

Inside, the glass door onto the lounge transforms the main deck into a large open space of some 50 m². Bathed in natural light, the main deck is organized into three separate spaces: lounge, dining area, and helm station. The double-side access, via two doors at the helm station, enables the proper distribution of flows with separation of the areas, offering the owner and his guests the maximum intimacy and privacy. In the lounge, a large C-shaped sofa with chaise longue is situated on the starboard bulwark, with the TV opposite integrated into the cabinet, which opens with a sliding and rotating mechanism. The dining area features a table for eight and low cabinetry on the two bulwarks. Beyond this area, the helm station, magnificent in its form and practicality of use, is a masterpiece of design, surprising in its elegance, technology, and sportiness. The lower deck flows to 4 cabins, from the full-beam master cabin, a VIP cabin with dedicated bathroom on the left, and on to the two guest cabins along the corridor, both double with the possibility to have a pullman bed, sharing the bathroom to starboard. The owner’s cabin is noteworthy, furnished with a large central bed, a walk-in closet and a bathroom. A chaise longue to the left and a vanity complete the furnishings of the space, enhanced by a number of storage compartments and a TV facing the bed. Aft on the lower deck is the galley, lit with natural light, accessed via a stairway on the port side of the main deck. Here, to ensure greater privacy for the owner and his guests, a sliding door can isolate the galley completely from the crew area, composed of one single cabin and one double cabin that share the bathroom with separate shower. The crew can access this area directly via a door in the cockpit. The Music Hull, which makes it possible to listen to music underwater during dive sessions or while swimming. This is a new way to experience relaxation in the sea with a listening quality never before achieved. It can also be controlled by the owner and guests on smartphones and tablets. The standard engine configuration of Pershing 8X comprises twin MTU 16V 2000 M96 engines delivering 2435 Mhp each, combined with TopSystem surface drive propulsion with surface propellers. The vessel reaches a top speed of 45 knots and cruising speed up to 38 knots, with maximum range of 320 nautical miles (preliminary data). The new Pershing 8X model features innovative new elements not only for the brand but for the entire pleasure craft industry.

Trending Business Insights | 25 |

RETAIL

Convenient Eco-Friendly Initiative Launched in Abu Dhabi In cooperation with Department of Transport (DoT) Mushrif Mall launces the first mall led environment friendly initiative in Abu Dhabi to reduce traffic congestion and ease local commute

ocated in the heart of Abu Dhabi, Mushrif Mall, in collaboration with Department of Transport (DoT) represented by the Integrated Transport Center (ITC) in Abu Dhabi announced the implementation of a free bus service to and from nearby areas in a bid to reduce traffic congestion and enhance community comfort and happiness.

As part of a community outreach campaign on sustainability, the initiative is inspired to improve the quality of services for public transport by adopting a focused, integrated and sustainable infrastructure set up by the Mushrif Mall and endorsed by DoT and its commitment to champion innovative solutions in eco transport around Abu Dhabi. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Muhairi, Executive Director of Public Transport Sector at the ITC, reiterated the positive benefits of the initiative and said “We are delighted with the sustainable integrated transport offer provided by Mushrif Mall as it such cooperation between the private and public sectors fulfills the sustainable economic growth demands in Abu Dhabi, reduces the negative impact resulted from carbon emissions from large number of cars on the road and hence improves quality of life.” Al Muhairi added that the new bus service launched in Mushrif Mall aims to decrease the traffic congestion in the areas around the shopping mall. The service will include three routes in its first phase and will operate within 10km in the surrounding area. The Bus Transport Team from the ITC worked closely with Mushrif Mall team to identify the routes and bus stops needed to meet the public demand. He added that this service is expected to attract many of the residents in the neighboring area. Yusuffali M. A, Chairman and Managing Director of LuLu Group said, “The free and comfortable bus service to Mushrif Mall is a | 26 | Trending Business Insights

campaign that outreaches to the community and takes an initial step to promote sustainable and eco friendly living in Abu Dhabi. We hope that the popularity of the service will prompt other malls to implement similar green initiatives.” In addition to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with DoT and the flag off of the bus service at the launch, the mall also unveiled the route map of the buses at the entrance of the mall for customer ease and convenience. The free community bus service will be operated from Mushrif Mall and cover the catchment of the surrounding area as well as evaluate the customers’ feedback and satisfaction to improve the bus service further. The bus service is a CSR initiative of Mushrif Mall offering alternative and innovative solutions to reduce traffic congestion in the nearby communities.

Al Wahda Mall launches ‘WADIYA’ Gift Vouchers New initiative to make gifting easier receives overwhelming response from local organisations

l Wahda Mall Abu Dhabi introduces a new customer focused gift voucher concept called ‘WADIYA’ meaning ‘Thanks’ allowing shoppers great value in terms of retail therapy, world class dining experiences and entertainment at over 400 tenants in the mall.

WADIYA was launched in the presence of Mr. Saeed Rashid Al Saeed, Destination Director, Department of Cultural and Tourism and Mr. Wajeb Al Khoury, Director, Line Investments & Property LLC. Mr. Navaneeth Sudhakaran, General Manager, Al Wahda Mall, said, “Our gift vouchers offer receivers the freedom of choice in over 400 local and international outlets in diverse categories. It is the one gift that every age group can enjoy given the wide range of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues we have at Al Wahda Mall.”

Mr. Saeed Rashid Al Saeed, Destination Director, Department of Cultural and Tourism and Mr. Wajeb Al Khoury, Director, Line Investments & Property LLC.

“We are delighted to have the support of the Department of Cultural and Tourism who were the first to come on board and have already committed to a AED1.8 million order of the new gift vouchers. We hope to have similar collaborations with other local entities looking to embrace the local culture of giving and showing appreciation,” continued Navaneeth. WADIYA gift vouchers allow buyers to give loved one the choice to select a special gift they desire from Al Wahda’s top brands during special occasions like birthdays, graduations, weddings, anniversaries, corporate gifts, Eid and other celebratory moments. The gift vouchers are perfect for expressing love, friendship, and gratitude while allowing loved ones to indulge in a wholesome retail experience.

Line Investments & Property and Traffic & Patrols Directorate reward staff for International Labour Day Annual International Labour Day encourages giving back to the community and appreciating the valuable role played by the staff

ine Investments & Property LLC joins forces with the Traffic and Patrols Directorate to reward the hardworking and dedicated staff of Traffic and Patrols Directorate for International Labour Day. Mr. Wajeb Al Khoury, Director of Line Investments and Property LLC said, “Community outreach is an integral part of our CSR programs. We are delighted on the special occasion of the International Labour Day to recognize the valuable role played by the labourers and their efficiency, competence and

productivity during their line of work.” The representatives of Al Wahda Mall, Mushrif Mall and Khalidiyah Mall were part of the ceremony at Traffic and Patrols Directorate to recognize the efforts of staff, who have worked diligently to the best of their ability to maintain the continuity of services provided to customers. Line Investments & Property LLC is delighted to be part of this noble initiative for International Labour Day. Trending Business Insights | 27 |

AVIATION

ACJ320neo takes to the skies It is a new era for Airbus corporate jets

he first ACJ320neo successfully completed a two hour and 40 minute first flight from Hamburg, getting its short testprogramme off to a good start.

Derived from the popular A320neo airliner family, some 500 of which are in airline service, the corporate jet version includes features such as extra fuel-tanks in the cargo-hold that will deliver even more intercontinental range, plus greater cabin-pressure for better passenger comfort. These features are being tested before delivery of the aircraft to Acropolis Aviation in the coming months. The aircraft will then undergo cabin outfitting by AMAC in Basle, Switzerland, and be repainted in customer colours. “The ACJ320neo first flight heralds a new Airbus corporate jet era, delivering a range improvement that enables nonstop travel between even more cities, in what is widely recognised as the best cabin of any business jet,” said ACJ President Benoit Defforge.

| 28 | Trending Business Insights

“The ACJ320neo Family’s improved fuel-efficiency also means that it compares even more favourably in operating costs with traditional business-jets,” he added. Continuous improvements mean that the ACJ320 Family now comprises the ACJ319neo, flying eight passengers 6,750 nm/12,500 km or more than 15 hours, and the ACJ320neo, flying 25 passengers 6,000 nm/11,100 km or more than 13 hours. Both aircraft feature fuel-saving new-generation engines and Sharklets, and deliver more comfort and space than traditional business jets with similar operating costs. Airbus also offers a complete family of VIP widebodies that can carry even more passengers nonstop to the world - including the new ACJ330neo and ACJ350 XWB. The customers of more than 190 ACJs benefit from the robust reliability and worldwide support that comes from their airliner heritage, plus services tailored to corporate jet needs.

Turkish Airlines redesigns for travel comfort

ntroducing various innovations to the sky in order to ensure a perfect travel experience for its guests, Turkish Airlines now offers the new “Flow Sleeping Set” to the passengers with its wondrous design. The new collection offered in Business Class promises a sleep as comfortable as your home, only above the clouds. Produced with the successful collaboration of Turkish Airlines and Zorlu Tekstil while carrying the signature of expert designers, collection aims to offer a healthier and higher quality sleep environment. Combining elegant lines with comfort, all pieces of the new set are developed with the expectations of the passengers who want to enjoy a relaxing sleep in order to finish their flights in a happy and fit state. The design of the collection reflects Turkish Airline’s “Flow” philosophy that represents the airline’ dynamic brand identity and continuous service concept. Opting for contemporary and minimalist designs, the materials of the collection were all chosen for their comfort and ability to help sleep. The patterns of the collection are also visually compatible with the designs of the new cabin uniforms and cabin interiors. Chief aspects of the “Flow Sleeping Set” are its blanket, sleeping pad and pillow. The “blanket” of the collection possesses a two-sided design along with a soft texture. Thanks to its ability to support air flow, the product also helps maintaining the ideal temperature during all four seasons. In addition to this, the “sleeping pad” provides an orthopedic surface

for sleep and with its dense interior filling, it offers extra comfort and ease. Besides them all, the 'pillow', which can be used during both sitting and sleeping, designed with an ideal size, classical form, and very comfortable materials. Sharing his views on this new sleeping set, Turkish Airlines Catering & Inflight Products SVP, Zeki Çukur stated; “With İstanbul Airport, our new home, we continue to add new innovations to the change we are going through. Our passengers will now experience the quality improvement, brought by these innovations, in their sleep with our ‘Flow Sleeping Set’. We prepared our new products after a lengthy R&D and design period as they offer a unique experience with their design and comfort. We are happy to host our Business Class passengers with the comfort of their homes during their intercontinental travels.”

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INTERVIEW

Design Week with

KOHLER D

uring the Dubai Design Week, we had the pleasure to meet with Sandeep Singh, Commercial Director of Kohler Kitchen and Bath Middle East.

According to Sandeep, d3 attracts designers and architects curious to know about Kohler products as trendsetters in the industry. “We bring fashion to the bathrooms and provide complete bathroom solutions,” he adds. Kohler played an active role in the design week to celebrate design and innovation and hosted a series of thought-provoking events hosted by global kitchen and bath leader focus on the future of design and innovation. The Real Rain by Kohler was one of the highlights at d3. Visitors could experience the gentle buildup of a warm summer rainstorm in the middle of Dubai with Kohler's Rain Real installation, using a unique design that uses gravity to shape individual water drops to replicate rainfall. According to Sandeep, the aesthetically beautiful installation reflected technology that simulates rain and achieved through innovation that ensured the droplet sizes are the same as rain. There were other innovation and design-focused events aimed to attract design enthusiasts at d3 from the UAE and abroad. The Kohler Chit Chat “Wanderlust” Event offered an afternoon of laid| 30 | Trending Business Insights

back chats with some of the Middle East’s most influential architects and designers as they shared how their travel influences design. The event featured 20 slides each shown only for 20 seconds, to challenge the five speakers in presenting their experiences, ideas, and thoughts regarding the topic of ‘Wanderlust’. The Kohler Design Forum Dubai discussed the possibilities of the cities of tomorrow, the integration of design and technology into our daily lives, the use of smart technology in a people-centric way, and the possibilities of artificial intelligence. The Kohler WasteLab Workshop focused on ‘Kohler Innovation for Good’ social innovation program that leverages the skills and passion of Kohler associates who want to see change in the world. Sandeep mentions that globally Kohler outreaches to design schools. “We have an art centre that encourages art students to be creative as they do internships. We are a responsible brand with sustainability at the core. We are water efficient and hope to have zero carbon footprint by 2030.” Sandeep highlights that the brand has classical and traditional designs as well as modern and contemporary hero products to help propel Kohler’s growth in line with the company’s Vision 2030. Kohler has showrooms all over the world and today is a dominant international player in the luxury segment supplying design types to suit many cultures, tastes and preferences.

POWER TO THE PARTNER

utanix unveiled a new Channel Charter entitled ‘Power to the Partner’ that is reflective of a new approach required in today’s changing marketplace. Traditional channel programs need to evolve or they will never enable partners to be successful. A program is dictated by rules and guidelines, while a charter is about empowering partners to be successful in the market. Bassam Al Masri, Senior Manager Channel, Nutanix - Middle East tells us more.

1. Tell us about the Nutanix’ new Channel Charter

In today’s cloud era, Nutanix’ charter focuses on the new generation of “born-in-the-cloud” solution providers. A new kind of approach is required for these kinds of channel partners, going beyond typical programs with tiers and clip levels. Flexibility is a key feature of the charter. It is not a one size fits all channel program. The Nutanix charter includes new marketing tools, multi-touch campaigns and other tools that will help partners brand themselves to customers along with targeting new customers in the market. Last year, Nutanix enhanced its channel charter to extend opportunities to value-added distributors (VAD) and global systems integrators (GSI) along with additional opportunities for resellers. The new updates provide benefits to partners across industry, size and function in order for all Nutanix partners to succeed and grow with their Nutanix business. As part of the new components of the program, Nutanix has laid out features designed specifically for VADs to provide access to incentives to help them easily capitalize on the multicloud, multi-platform and multi-workload opportunities in the market. Distributors can now leverage multiple resources throughout the sales lifecycle and can easily grow and improve their businesses alongside Nutanix. Benefits for VADs under the new program include: • A self-service channel for simplified quoting and ordering with a new value-added Distributor Price Book • Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Integration to give distributors a faster time to revenue with Quote-to-Cash Automation • New incentives to reward VADs for focus, enablement and partner management at the Pioneer level within Nutanix’s largest selling geographies

further benefits from investing time and resources into selling Nutanix solutions. Starting in February 2019, Nutanix is also providing partners with XLAB software licenses for Scaler and Master partners. In order to obtain more autonomy over selling Nutanix products, Scaler and Master partners will now have access to full-featured licenses for a broad range of Nutanix software solutions to leverage in their lab environments.

2. Launch of ‘Velocity’ - a channel program targeting strategic, midmarket-focused partners

In June this year, we launched the Nutanix Velocity channel partner program targeted at key partners focused on the mid-market. It includes accelerated selling processes, incentives and marketing investments for strategic, mid-market focused channel partners. As part of the program, Lenovo is joining forces with Nutanix to provide specific HX product bundles for mid-market customers based on the HX appliance. In addition, the companies are jointly launching a new hyperconverged software-ready product offering, designed specifically for enterprise customers called Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes.

Power to the Partner is also adding a new Influence Incentive Program, which rewards partners who significantly contribute to a customer purchase. Partners with strategic relationships and influence with customers who may not be transacting on the sale of a deal - can now receive an Influencer Incentive if they are Scalers, Masters or authorized GSI partners.

Through this new program, Nutanix is enabling partners to demonstrate to customers in the mid-market how hyperconverged infrastructure can help provide an elegant solution to their needs without the cost and security challenges they may face with public cloud-only models. Nutanix is looking to prioritize and reward partners who invest the most in the company’s business.

Additionally, since the original launch of Power to the Partner, Nutanix has further clarified distinctions between the reseller partner tiers in the charter. Partners will now have discounting and pricing on approved opportunities which are enhanced as they move up the tiers of the charter. With new distinctions between tiering, partners will see

3. What does Nutanix’s partner ecosystem look like?

Our partner ecosystem includes technology alliance partners, system integrators, Managed Service Providers (MSPs), OEM partners, Consulting partners and training partners.

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Gearing Up for Growthâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Critical Success Factors for Middle East Manufacturers By Terri Hiskey Vice President of Product Marketing for Manufacturing at Epicor Software

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t’s an exciting time, with manufacturers gearing up for growth, investing in equipment, new manufacturing modalities such as 3D printing, and software to support digital transformation and new collaborative, connected factory floor competencies.

in reducing complexity, improving the quality of work life, and enhancing productivity. Business systems that are intuitive and accessible can assist Millennials wanting to have an immediate impact in the workplace.

Expect cloud, the Internet of Things (IoT) and analytics to be key areas of technology investment for manufacturers across the region. While these have been topics of conversation and exploration for a while, manufacturers are now moving past the design and concept stage to full-on production execution and deployment of these technologies.

Stepping Up to “Servitization”

Cloud – from strategy to action

Now is the time for Middle East manufacturers to put a cloud readiness plan into action. The cloud is quickly levelling the playing field, enabling even smaller manufacturers to leapfrog older, more established manufacturing players. Aside from bringing about improvements in responsiveness, agility and costs, the cloud is helping businesses transform. As manufacturers shift away from traditional on premises systems to cloud-based ERP they are taking advantage of new capabilities to transform their business and optimize processes. What’s more, it’s enabling the surfacing of information from even the most far-flung and darkest recesses of the organization and transforming this data into insights necessary to run and drive their business.

The IoT Imperative – Start Small, Start Today

The application of Big Data and the IoT continues to offer growth opportunities as insights gleaned from various internet-connected devices enable even more targeted customer engagement and business revenue channels as well as the ability to support operational efficiencies. The McKinsey Global Institute says that despite the immense potential factories have for value creation in the IoT era, an estimated 70 percent of data captured in manufacturing goes unused. While most manufacturers recognize the promise of the IoT, many—especially small and midmarket manufacturers—have taken a “wait and see” approach because IoT initiatives can seem daunting. They don’t have to be. You don’t need to boil the ocean; there are likely processes that can be IoT and/or cloud enabled that represent low-hanging fruit in your manufacturing organization. Start there (and start now!). According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 55% of businesses will see ROI from the IoT in two years or less. This means manufacturers who have begun to put the IoT to work may already be starting to gain traction with these initiatives. To this end, it’s important to get moving with understanding how and where the IoT can aid your business.

Retool Your Business for the Next-Gen Workforce

Much has been written about the so-called “Great Shift Change,” as Baby Boomers head toward retirement and Millennials continue to enter the workforce in droves. Today more than 1 in 3 workers are Millennials and they now comprise the largest faction of the workforce. Regional manufacturers must re-think their relationship with these digitally-literate workers and retool their organizations to leverage technology to motivate and empower this next-generation workforce. Sitting at the intersection of workers and systems to unite information and execution, technology plays a vital role

In the past few years, we’ve seen the emergence of new disruptive business models, and this trend is only set to continue. For example, the emergence of the “distribu-facturer” where distributors—under pressure to provide more customer value—are now adding services such as light manufacturing or kitting, and manufacturers are doing the same to extend their value by offering field service and maintenance options. As organizations align their offerings to meet a wider array of needs and requirements throughout the customer journey, this creates opportunities to capture greater revenues and competitive differentiation. But as they branch out to serve a broader range of customer needs, and get closer to the end consumer, customer experience becomes more critical.

Embracing analytics for better decision making

With globalization and disintermediation, supply chains have gotten more complex and business more competitive. Supply chain visibility and responsiveness is key to know when there are deviations to plan and move quickly to ensure customer obligations can be met. Over the years manufacturers have leaned out manufacturing processes and cut costs as much as possible. The supply chain is fast becoming “the new frontier” for opportunities to lower costs, improve responsiveness and reduce risk. The customer experience imperative mandates widespread collaboration and visibility across the entire manufacturing value chain―shop floor operations and top floor operations must be connected. Siloed systems that stand in the way of a clear “line of sight” from the manufacturing floor to the finance office will impede organizations. Manufacturers must be able to make sense of business data quickly to understand the greatest business opportunities and threats that must be addressed to support growth and profitability—and be able to answer key questions about their business such as: • How are we doing sales-wise, up/down, month-over-month and by territory? • What are the inventory levels, how much is in stock versus demand? • What is the status of our outstanding accounts payable (AP), accounts receivable (AR) and cash flow? • How are we tracking regarding on time shipment performance, supplier/procurement scorecard, waste/cost on the manufacturing floor, etc.? This enables course corrections and fine tuning of go-to-market strategies, customer management, planning and inventory management, and financial health.

Seizing the Day with Strategic Technology Investments

This time of year is an important one for Middle East manufacturers; it’s time for smart strategic moves. Focused investments in the cloud, the IoT and analytics will enable manufacturers to seize opportunities today, and also be prepared to embrace change and whatever lies ahead in 2019 and beyond.

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CLOUD SOLUTIONS FOR ENTERPRISES WITH NUTANIX

utanix, a leader in enterprise cloud computing recently led talks in Dubai about the future of cloud in the Middle East with the emergence of multicloud. As both public and private cloud continue to mature, many companies opt for both, leveraging multiple clouds to satisfy their diverse enterprise computing needs. Paulo Pereira. Director, Systems Engineering of Nutanix tells us about the latest innovations in the field of enterprise cloud.

1.What does the future look like, say, five years from now, particularly in the Middle East in terms of cloud computing?

The future of cloud in the Middle East is the emergence of multicloud. As both public and private cloud continue to mature, many companies opt for both, leveraging multiple clouds to satisfy their diverse enterprise computing needs. Multicloud allows companies to choose the right cloud for each workload, be it a mission-critical core application such as enterprise resource planning, or cutting-edge cloud-native analytics apps. With multicloud, IT gets to focus on the key drivers of enterprise innovation and differentiationâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;applications and data.

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Multicloud combines on-premise operations with services and applications running on multiple cloud providers, which enables organizations to capture the benefits of each platform while mitigating their downsides. For example, an IT organization might use one public cloud service with inexpensive storage, a different public cloud with unique native applications, a private cloud for sensitive customer data, and on-premise infrastructure for handling AI/ML workloads.

2. How has the enterprise datacenter and cloud concept been evolving?

Let's talk about virtualisation. Virtualisation came and fixed a lot of problems in the data centre. Before virtualisation you had a lot of servers underutilised. Virtualisation came to build a layer on top of these servers and abstract them to be able to put multiple virtual machines in the physical server and therefore allowing consolidation and a lot better usage of the assets. But all of the sudden with this you created the need to have a centralised storage because you want to be able to move the virtual machines from

one physical hardware to the other. And, therefore, these servers still need to connect to the same storage so you need to have a centralised storage. This was how storage area networks became popular. So now we are at this phase where you have a data centre stack that is mostly composed of a virtualisation layer. Underneath you have servers that can be from many different vendors and then they connect to the ethernet network, they connect to storage arrays and so on. So, it's many, many layers and there are many vendors to manage. It's so complex that actually some vendors came up with this concept of converged platform that is nothing more than the same architecture but they just build it and deliver it for you packaged. What we're doing is something completely different. So what we're doing is completely eliminating the SAN (Storage Area Network) from the solution. We are using just commodity servers and combining compute and storage into the same nodes and using the power of software to offer all the features that you have from an enterprise storage system. All of the sudden you have a data centre that is composed of a very simple building block which is a server with storage directly attached to it, everything else is defined by software. So, if you think about this you build a data centre that is only network and servers. And you scale by adding more of these building blocks which are servers so you scale totally in a linear way with the capacity that you need. Previously cloud was a buzz word that was built upon technologies that were not efficient for the cloud. Hyperconverged infrastructure was then born in the cloud with distributed file systems and is way more cost efficient to deploy and the technology has got smarter in terms of orchestration, management and security. Where before, companies tried to put their 3-tier datacenter into someone else’s datacenter with some smart software around it, the whole modernization today of how we do compute, storage and security and how we manage it, has made cloud and the efficiencies of scale much more effective.

3. Are security policies and practices in the Middle East keeping pace with cloud adoption?

The use of public cloud in the Middle East is still limited compared to other regions and the main reasons for this are because public clouds are not available locally, with the most known clouds available the closest in Europe which implies a significant latency from our region, and also the high cost of Internet bandwidth. The companies which are using Public Cloud do it for well calculated use cases and are typically aware of the concerns related to compliance and governance around the data placed in the cloud.

4. What are the major security risks related to multicloud environments?

Poor visibility of what is happening with your application across a multi-cloud environment is a major security risk. Applications are more and more distributed, delivered through a combination of micro-services that are designed to deliver very specific tasks and in this architecture, it can become quite difficult to visualize what is a “normal” application behaviour. Being able to identify deviations from normal is imperative to identify exploitations on the system.

5. More cyber-attacks are on the way in 2019. How can potential attacks in the cloud be thwarted?

Storing business data in a public cloud is not without risks, especially if your team is new to the cloud environment. Although cloud service providers have tools and processes to secure cloud infrastructure, ensuring security in the cloud may be quite different than what your used to on-premises. Now add in multiple cloud providers - private, public, distributed, and edge - and the security situation becomes that much more complex, with higher risk of making mistakes. How can you be sure that your security and compliance standards will be met before you move workloads and data to a public cloud?

Take a Cloud Security-First Approach

First things first: take a security-first approach that achieves a state of continuous cloud compliance. This will lower costs, minimize risks, and reduce the complexity of cloud operations. A security-first model maintains continuous monitoring and management of cloud security risks and threats, leveraging tools and automation that: • Monitors security threats through real-time discovery • Understands security threats through deep insights • Acts on threats through automated policies, processes, and controls • Measures security and compliance results with robust reporting capabilities

Consider the platform

In a security-first approach, you need a multi-cloud platform that continuously monitors and manages cloud security against your set policies and compliance standards, providing: • A complete and unified view of all cloud accounts • Generation of regular compliance reports • Identification, prioritization, and remediation of compliance risks • End-to-end lifecycle compliance monitoring • Audit reports that demonstrate round-the-clock security management and compliance

6. What should a CIO looking to implement a cloud solution for an enterprise be looking for?

As we build infrastructure for enterprises there has been traditionally (a process where) IT departments keep on buying infrastructure for the application they want to install. And then they do that one time, two times, three times and they end up with a spaghetti data centre. If you want to take an approach of building a cloud you really should look at it as an architecture that can scale. An architecture that offers not only the virtualisation, because a lot of people try to build a cloud and they stop after they virtualise, but you need to also think about things like automation: How do you automate the cloud and how do you integrate with public clouds as well? It's very important because the world is not private cloud versus public cloud. It's becoming a world where you will have hybrid clouds and you will want a displacement of your workloads on the cloud that makes more sense to you. So these are the kind of things that CIOs should be looking at.

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Riverbed 2019 MEA IT Predictions By Elie Dib Regional Vice President, METNA at Riverbed

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ata Science talent will remain scarce in 2019, and the demand for data scientists and data analysts will continue to increase. As data lakes get larger and larger, the challenge of managing and leveraging huge amounts of data will become crucial to business operations, to the point of becoming the main point of focus of business development and planning. In the upcoming year, organisations will become fully aware of the impact data has on overarching success and understanding the customer. Technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) will be able to provide actionable insights and analytics will become key for organisations looking for an edge in a competitive market, and seeking to satisfy increasingly demanding digital customers. The talent to efficiently leverage these insights and to analyse the data will become invaluable. These new technologies are bringing up another challenge for managers: how to educate the business on data analytics. Beyond the technical skills needed, the business skills to understand the implications of the technology required to do the job, what it can do and how to implement it to get maximum performance. In order to obtain these skills, companies might try to upskill employees, but only if there is a very likely return on investment. As it is easier for businesses to hire outside the organisation, the struggle for data analytics will very likely intensify in the upcoming year.

Performance monitoring:

Businesses are only now beginning to realise the importance of understanding their customers’ and their prospects’ digital footprint. As such, in 2019 data science and predictive analytics will become the main drivers of customer success. AI and ML applications will multiply, gathering a significant amount of data that will require a detailed understanding of these applications. The superficial understanding we are seeing at the moment, prevents organisations from delivering a truly seamless and optimal customer experience. This will not be the case in the upcoming year: data science techniques and predictive analytics will become much more mainstream in order to take full advantage of blooming technologies like ML.

Customer-centric businesses

Digital transformation was originally focused on the adoption of new technology solutions. However, in the coming year, this will start to evolve. As data science and data analytics capabilities expand, customers are beginning to demand and expect increasingly personalised services. From the package a telecoms company is offering to a mortgage, clothing or simple grocery shopping, digital consumers expect goods and services to be specifically tailored to their tastes and personal experience. In the upcoming year, businesses who are able to offer consumers a tailored experience through the use of advanced Data Analytics, ML and AI, will reap great benefits. The use of new technologies like blockchain will also help increase the level of personalisation.

IoT:

The upcoming year will be one of massive change for IoT as manufacturers will continue to improve much-needed built-in security they had previously sacrificed to keep production costs low. As the general public is not yet fully aware of the security risks of IoT devices,

there will be no massive dip in IoT adoption, even if the new security measures lift IoT prices up. At the same time, very publicised data breaches and the implementation of GDPR will continue to create a shift in attitudes about IoT. This will take the form of a wake-up call and the realisation that there is no quick fix to security breaches. As organisations realise avoiding IoT breaches is a tall order, and that the burden of proof of GDPR compliance falls on them, most businesses will try to mitigate the number of possible fines. On the positive side, the challenges IoT is facing require innovative solutions and may lead to further developments that will help to combat future threats and give other technologies such as machine learning a boost.

Outages and digital resilience:

Outages will continue to plague all industries, especially the financial sector and the retail sector. Businesses need to have more visibility. In fact, they will require a single source of truth over their software architecture. Digital visibility tools can provide the equivalent of an MRI diagnosing the whole software architecture or parts of it and potentially finding the vulnerabilities before incidents occur. Once businesses have improved their overall visibility, they will be able to take more pertinent and relevant steps to proactively improve their resilience and ensure that customers will be less affected by IT outages in the upcoming years than they were in 2018.

The financial sector - moving away from legacy:

The financial sector has had a hard time with its digital transformation. In 2018, financial institutions have been riddled with layers of legacy software, making changes to their infrastructure a delicate and costly operation that was rarely risk free. Financial organisations need to move away from legacy and adopt a more agile infrastructure by partnering with financial technology start-ups. In 2018, as banks and financial institutions double down on digital services, and try to make themselves more competitive with highly agile fintechs, it will be crucial that they offer a satisfactory and seamless customer experience. In order to do so, better visibility and performance will be required — even on the edge of the network. The financial services sector will have to adopt SD-WAN and visibility solutions to monitor performance, quickly bring products to market and adapt services to support the move from legacy to agility.

CFOs and digital finance teams in collaboration:

Financial teams will have to drastically change and adapt in the upcoming year. The increasing appeal of financial technology companies for both customers and talent will require traditional banks to adapt and become more agile. As such, financial teams will need to develop better data analytics skills. Data scientists will become the key player of any financial team and predictive analytics, and AI and ML talent will become increasingly necessary in the financial world. Furthermore, financial teams will continue to adapt in the upcoming year and CFOs in every company will rely more and more on data and analysts on their team. Consequently, CIOs and CFOs will work more closely than ever and the most successful companies won’t have siloed data.

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It was all about business at IoT Middle East By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

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Silicon Park at DSO, Dubai’s first smart city. We look forward to pioneering new developments and projects that add greater innovation and creativity to the region, while augmenting DSOA’s wide portfolio of successful projects.” Dr. Anil Khurana, Partner, Strategy and Innovation at PwC Middle East: “The Internet of Things (IoT) and the transformation made possible with the Fourth Industrial Revolution are radically reshaping traditional industries and business models. That is why today, the opportunity lies in the hands of the companies that are able to adapt, innovate and compete against this still unfolding and ever-changing backdrop. Our research tells us that those who champion the use of IoT, in manufacturing for instance, are able to see revenue and cost gains of 20 to 25%. That is a twofold increase from what they could have expected only three years ago!” Vinay Chandran, Partner, AA & IOT Lead, Middle East at Digital McKinsey, said: “The Internet of Things is transforming every aspect of our professional and personal lives, from AI-powered chatbots to self-driving cars. Yet, despite its impact many companies are struggling to capitalize on its potential. Our research has found that of the enterprises that have launched pilot projects to develop IoTenabled products and services or use the IoT to achieve operational improvements, less than 30 percent have taken these beyond the pilot phase.” Marwan Bin Dalmook, SVP ICT Solutions & Smart City Operations, du, said: “Conferences like IoT Middle East are vital platforms for launching key ideas about the future of IoT and the proliferation of our smart cities. Participating in this formative event, and facilitating discussions about the future of smart cities and smart energy solutions, reiterates our commitment towards being at the forefront of digital transformation in the UAE to drive the futuristic agenda for a happier, safer, more seamless society for all.”

s head Journalist of the IoT Middle East, I was delighted when the sixth edition of the ‘Internet of Things 2019’ conference opened to a full house with the keynote highlighting lessons from global lighthouses led by McKinsey & Company and Digital McKinsey, Singapore. The keynote continued with Anil Khurana from PwC Middle East and Jochen-Thomas Morr of PwC Germany on leveraging IoT as a strategic tool to advance business models leading to desired results. Panel discussions at ‘IoT Middle East 2019’ focused on the business aspects of digital transformation sweeping across industries, changing business models, opening up new services and highlighting disruptive new entrants. Engineer Muammar Al Katheeri, Executive Vice President of Engineering and Smart City said: “DSOA continuously looks forward to collaborating with brands that look after technologies that reshape the future. We are pleased to participate in IoT Middl East as we are confident that it will help us share our own smart solutions and initiatives while connect and network with decision makers, solution developers and potential business partners.

Johan Ehrstrom, CEO of IoT Middle East 2019, said. “Having over 350 C-level cross industry attendees in one room addressing the latest developments in our industry has been stimulating for delegates and we look forward to further interactions in the workshops tomorrow.” Sophia Hasnain of Linked Things commended the conference for providing an excellent forum to highlight the positive difference IoT applications can make. Linked Things designs and produces comprehensive solutions to save energy and improve the supply of water in emerging markets. Speakers at IoT Middle East featured Jochen Morr, Industry 4.0 Lead from PwC Germany, Ani Bhalekar, Vice President of IoT from Digital McKinsey Singapore, Chief Xperience Officer & Co-Founder of the regions only unicorn Careem, SVP Smart Cities, Marwan Bindalmon of du, Futurist and researcher Monica Bielskyte, Tom Allen, Lead Sport Scientist of Arsenal FC, Peter Grey, technical director of Tour de France and Dr. Yousef Al Hammadi, CDO of Abu Dhabi 2019 special Olympics and 12 different cases including Smart Dubai, Expo 2020, Smart Commerce, Smart Districts and more. The 35+ speaker panel addressed essential technologies affecting the region within the next few years empowered with IoT, AI, Blockchain, MR/AR/VR, 3D, automation and machine learning.

“Our presence allowed us to discuss and share our experience in the IoT field, and expand our knowledge while in the process of building Trending Business Insights | 39 |

FASHION

Fashionable Scarf Designs Sakinah By Shereen Shabnam

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Sakinah is also the Group Managing Director for Gemba Group of Companies, which is a combined effort of all its subsidiaries; Gemba Holdings (M) Sdn. Bhd., Gemba Marketing Sdn. Bhd. Gemba Import Eksport Sdn. Bhd., Intissar Baraqah Sdn. Bhd. & Intissar Baraqah Enterprise. From humble origins of manufacturing as well as import and export of food products, Sakinah was pivotal in familiarizing the Malaysian brand name in the Middle East, Europe, USA and other parts of the globe. She played a crucial role in providing consultation and mediation services to new burgeoning and established entrepreneurs, becoming an eminent figure in the trading world, particularly in Malaysia.

alaysia’s visionary entrepreneur known for introducing exquisite products to the Gulf, Sakinah Sheikh Osman launched her new modest fashion brand, Sakinah for the modern and on the go powerful and glamorous women looking for traditional yet timeless easy to manage scarves. The ambitious brand aims to meet the needs of the modest wear clientele globally, starting with the Middle East market by introducing a design of scarves that are easy to manage and yet look elegant. The concept gave birth when Sakinah started wearing scarves and realised how difficult it was to get scarves that looked great and yet felt comfortable, stayed on and came in colours that are easy to combine with different outfits. According to Sakinah, it was necessary to start the project with conventional styles and use embellishments such as the use of Swarovski crystals to appeal to the Arab region. Sakinah was inspired by the fashion sense of the confident, career minded and yet sensual Muslim woman who valued simplicity, practicality and comfort combined with elegance and glamour. Combining Sakinah scarves with existing modern and traditional attire in the wardrobe helps the wearer make a fashion statement for all occasions.

Sakinah developed a powerful web of network and alliances with various entities through her business trips, specifically in the United Arab Emirates. Her frequent visits to the UAE resulted in the formation of an organization and a great rapport that eventually resulted in introducing a high profile Middle East investor to Malaysia. Through various entrepreneurship programmes, Sakinah has guided a large number of local entrepreneurs to penetrate the global market by encouraging local products and brand names to break barriers. Sakinah received numerous awards during the course of her career. Recently, in 2017, she was the recipient of the ‘Masterclass Women Entrepreneur of The Year’. In the same year, she was commissioned to hold the esteemed title Ste. (Assoc)/ Er. (Assoc), which mirrors the honorary Industry Title from the National Association of Teachers & Specialists in Malaysia. This title enables Sakinah to be a mentor to young entrepreneurs looking to do business locally and abroad. The prestigious Award for Leading Brand Achievement was next in Sakinah’s list of accolades for the Middle East. The year 2018 began with the Award for Excellence conferred upon Intissar Baraqah Sdn Bhd for being the exclusive Malaysian importer of LT Foods India. Sakinah lives her life by the motto, “You practice what you preach and if you follow the ethical way, you will never go wrong.” Sakinah scarves are available at all Lulu stores in various colours including green, maroon, purple, black and brown. A video link on the styling of scarves is available online.

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TRAVEL

SOCHI The Black Sea Pearl By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

ast month we experienced first-hand the charm and liveliness of the ‘Russian Riviera’, Sochi, the summer capital of Russia. Located along the 150 km strip between the Main Caucasus Mountain Range and the Black Sea coastline, Sochi is Russia’s largest and busiest destination with sea resorts, glorious sunsets and a picturesque mountainous coastline. If you are looking for total relaxation, authentic local culture around every corner, unique natural surroundings, vibrant beaches, warm sunny days, and a bustling nightlife, Sochi is the place to be as it attracts tourists from all over the world, including celebrities and the political elite of the country. Our first day in Sochi took us to Gorky Gorod Mountain Resort in the famous Krasnaya Polyana with breath taking scenic landscape. We saw signs of the infrastructure that supported the 2014 Olympics all over the mountainous ski resort from the cable cars, sightseeing areas and ski slope routes. The "Lower" and "Upper" levels of the city is connected by road and cable cars for visitors to see the sublime views and experience the local cuisine and entertainment in restaurants, cafes, shops, entertainment centers and indoor water Parks. There are also spas, indoor and outdoor pools, gyms and beauty salons. On the second day, we went up the Rosa Khutor Mountain Resort on a cable car, visited the Mountain Olympic Village at 1170m above sea level and went further up to Rosa Pick at 2320m above sea level. The fresh breeze in the Caucasus mountains was memorable. Rosa Khutor and its surrounding region are truly unique. Stroll down the Mzymta River promenade and watch the sunset after a day of skiing and recreation. Highlight of the second evening was an exquisite dinner at Brunello. The Caucasus region has a rich variety of seasonings and herbs and combined with the creativity of local chefs, Sochi offers some of the best cuisines in the culinary world. To inject a bit of adventure into our trip, we also visited the SKYPARK AJ Hackett Sochi where we had a chance to do bungee jumping and

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try the world’s largest swing and zip lining. We loved the altitude attractions as we walked along the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world, stretching 439 m. From here we had panoramic views of the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains. Most of the visitors in our group also enjoyed the Olympic Park. For me, best part was the visit to the Sochi Autodrom, a 5.848 km F1 permanent race track in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi. The circuit runs around the Sochi Olympic Park and the inaugural World Championship Russian Grand Prix took place there in 2014. I wish I had more time to visit the Museum of sports and retro cars with a collection of 70 rare cars from all over the world including an authentic Formula 1 car. We also ventured out to Sochi Grand Marina for afternoon tea. The harbor hosts up to 300 yachts, including superyachts up to 140 meters in length, with specialized facilities for different types of vessels. The Marina’s surroundings offer local authentic gastronomy, shopping as well as other cultural traditions. In the nearby area is a lovely promenade for walks. A visit to Sochi is certainly a must to enjoy extreme adventures, discover splendid sea beaches as well as a wide range of leisure, culture, and gastronomy in one location. To arrange a tailor made visit to Sochi, connect with WOW Sochi on +971 4 282 9119 or res@OurSochi.com

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TRAVEL

Natural Perfection

SUN SIYAM IRU FUSHI - MALDIVES

here are very few countries in the world that come close to the beauty of my home country Fiji Islands and the Republic of Maldives is one of few that does come close. Located in the Indian Ocean, Maldives has 1,192 coral islands grouped in a double chain of 26 atolls with almost 400,000 inhabitants. We recently ventured into Maldives to visit the Sun Siyam Iru Fushi, a paradise resort known for luxury, romance, water sports, picturesque clear blue sea and tropical bliss. We started our journey as a group together at the Etihad Business Lounge in Abu Dhabi sampling delicacies and getting to know each other better. From Check-in to the lounge and to aircraft, our experience was seamless and the attentive service by the crew was a bonus.

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By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

Being an islander I love the sun, sand and sea when on holiday and the marine world in Maldives is known for its beauty, especially the coral reefs that are home to a variety of marine ecosystems. During my first two days at the Sun Siyam Iru Fushi, I explored the cool and contemporary spaces, stylish interiors, and beautiful gardens around the island. I was offered water based activities such as scuba diving, fishing, swimming, water skiing, wind surfing and snorkeling but I opted for a sting ray feeding experience and a boat ride to spot dolphins at play â&#x20AC;&#x201C; both experiences were magical. Guests at Iru Fushi can enjoy the unspoilt islands of Noonu Atoll, where Maldivian past life is reflected with boat builders working meticulously sanding wood to reveal a silken finish, children being

educated about local marine species and farming of fruits and organic vegetables. My room was a water villa on stilts with a small glass on the floor that gave me a view of the area below serving as personal coral garden and natural aquarium. The area felt like having a large natural swimming pool that protected me from the ocean waves and strong tidal currents beyond the villas. Close by, other guests enjoyed walking on the soft sand and sun bathing before jumping into the crystal clear waters. Spas are my weakness and the resort offers a 20-room tropical spa with an enormous range of treatments, including massages, relaxation therapies and facials set in a tranquil environment. It is the perfect place for a beauty break. I enjoyed walking barefoot along the cobbled paths; the white sands and watched the palm trees as they gently leaned into the breeze after my massage session. While waiting for my flight, I waited at the hotelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s private lounge near the airport where I tried a refreshing welcome drink, a quick snack and a short shoulder massage. Designed to be the one of the best airport lounges in the Maldives, the spacious private lounge can be used by guests arriving to The Sun Siyam Iru Fushi. The lounge also has a children's play room, outdoor balcony, free WiFi, computer stations as well as showers and changing facilities. The Sun Siyam Iru Fushiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Deluxe Beach has Villas with Pool, Pool Beach Villas, Sunset Horizon Water Villas or Infinity Water Villas. The resort features 221 luxury oceanfront villas, including 70 overwater bungalows, 14 restaurant and bar choices with a wide range of activities.

The Sun Siyam Iru Fushi is 45 minutes seaplane journey from the capital, MalĂŠ, where Velana International Airport is located. Guests are met by a uniformed team member on arrival and then taken on a 10-minute drive by shuttle to the seaplane terminal to the designated seaplane lounge while waiting for the seaplane boarding call. Visit Sun Siyam Iru Fushi and take in its vibrant local life, which has been influenced by various cultures and yet remains unique and a perfect holiday destination with relaxing days that are long and sunfilled and nights that are exciting and energetic. We flew to Maldives with Etihad Airways because of the convenient timings and premium service and took a domestic fight to the Island. I just wish I could experience this mesmerizing award-winning resort for longer. Trending Business Insights | 45 |

TRAVEL

Land of Exquisite Delights Geneva, Switzerland By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

Switzerland is an addiction â&#x20AC;&#x201C; once you set foot in the country, you have to head back every year to explore a new Swiss destination and after exploring Laax, Crans Montana and revisiting Gstaad and Zermatt last year, my latest adventure took me to again to Geneva, this time as a base to head to Basel for the famous Baselworld exhibition. | 46 | Trending Business Insights

Geneva, Switzerland's second-largest city is full of delightful surprises and has more to offer than watches, chocolates, cheeses and banks. It is the perfect Swiss cosmopolitan city for exploring the surrounding countryside, the famous Lake Geneva and the nearby Alps. Home to the World Trade Organization, World Health Organization, International Committee of the Red Cross, branches of the United Nations and World Bank, the city is popular with business travellers who often extend their trips to be tourists indulging in the many boutiques, jewellers, restaurants and chocolatiers. Whether you enjoy heading into the mountains to ski or go out boating, hiking and biking, Geneva has it all in addition to day trips to the nearby towns of Montreux, Chamonix and Lausanne. My favourite places in Geneva are below: Lake Leman is set along Geneva's right bank with stunning views of the Alps beyond, Lake Leman is great stop for breath taking views. From here, you can see the towering Jet d’Eau, which is the world's tallest fountain. Geneva's Old Town is a typical European town that has a maze of cobblestone streets. It offers a glimpse into the past as you visit the historic Saint Peter's Cathedral and wander down along the old city walls to Geneva's theater district and center of culture at Place Neuve. I enjoyed stopping at the antique shops.

France. It has quaint boutiques and watching artisans at work in their studios is fascinating in between coffee stops at the many artsy cafes in the area. Paquis and Les Grottes is Geneva’s most international districts and perfect for foodies looking to try ethnic restaurants or shopaholics looking for retail therapy. As an architecture lover, I stopped over to see the Schtrumpfs Building before sampling freshly baked pastries along the road. The Salève is for nature lovers. You can either ride the gondola up Geneva’s backyard mountain to enjoy breathtaking views of the surrounding Alps or hike up along one of the Saleve’s many marked trails.

Bastions Park for a glimpse of Reformation Wall containing the effigies of Geneva's founding fathers. It is a superb place to spend an afternoon people watching and enjoying nature.

Palais des Nations is another interesting building overlooking Lake Geneva. It was built in the 1930s to house the League of Nations and visitors can take tours to explore its grand monuments and murals.

Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMCO) is a must visit. There are close to thirty museums and art galleries that capture the rich and vibrant history of the city so pick one that suits you.

If you have a few extra days in Geneva, I suggest taking a boat ride to Lake Geneva’s other lakeside paradises or hopping on an excursion bus at Gare Routiere to visit one of Switzerland’s famous mountain towns.

Lake Geneva is possibly the most famous feature of the city so stroll along the promenades, have a dip at Bains des Pâquis, relax in one of the lakeside parks or cafes or take a boat cruise around the lake. Carouge is just a hop across the L'Arve River and resembles Nice,

Geneva, like other Swiss destinations is a perfect place for memorable moments and breathtaking natural views. From the UAE, I flew Emirates Airlines, which flies daily to Geneva and used it as a base to explore the nearby tourist areas. Trending Business Insights | 47 |

HEALTHCARE

Eliminating combustion with Philip Morris International | 48 | Trending Business Insights

By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

ith the recent introduction of the innovative IQOS at the Dubai Duty Free, interest in smokefree products has increased in particular with the new IQOS 3 and IQOS 3 MULTI that comes with improved design and functionality and offers adult smokers a better alternative for nicotine consumption than traditional combustible cigarettes. We recently ventured to Geneva to explore the benefits of moving away from smoking with combustion where toxicants associated with burning are the primary cause of smoking-related disease to an alternative that helps the transition to eliminate health issues related to smoking. We learnt with Philip Morris International (PMI) that the high temperatures in the lit end of a burning cigarette, above 600C, cause a large number of chemical reactions to take place, breaking down the tobacco into the thousands of chemicals that appear in cigarette smoke. Many are considered harmful, and together they are recognized as the main cause of smoking-related diseases. Seeing first hand the future plans of Philip Morris International as they work towards building their future on smoke-free products is commendable, especially as smoke-free products are a much better choice for those who refuse to quit. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. The vision for PMI is that these products ultimately replace cigarettes to the benefit of adult smokers, society, the company and the shareholders. Having seen the quality control measures on their production site and the commitment to invest further into smoke-free alternatives, the future looks better for smokers worldwide as they learn that inhaling the complex chemical mixture of combustion compounds in tobacco smoke causes adverse health outcomes and move towards smoke-free products. Using smoke-free products like IQOS eliminates burning and hence the formation of toxicants is significantly reduced. If the tobacco is heated to temperatures below 400C, a tobacco vapor is produced instead of smoke. At these lower temperatures, the toxicants in cigarette smoke are significantly reduced or eliminated. The resulting vapor still provides the flavor and nicotine that adult smokers are used to and crave. The positive response and the growing support for the role of non-burning alternatives in public health is a sign that smokers and stakeholders appreciate the research and studies done to make smokers understand the benefits of moving to smoke-free products.

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HEALTHCARE

According to PMI, an increasing number of public health experts from around the world now believe that products that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t burn tobacco and tobacco-free nicotine products that smokers can switch to can have a positive public health impact. The new IQOS 3 and IQOS 3 MULTI deliver a premium tobacco experience with simplified usability, personalization and taste from real tobacco rather than liquid. Both devices have no ash and releases a nicotine-containing aerosol, not smoke, which leaves a less lingering smell on hands, clothes and hair, meaning, favorite clothes are safe from burns and undesired smoke smell. The new IQOS devices have new protective reliability, a more sophisticated design and will appeal to adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke and are looking for an alternative. IQOS has already helped nearly 6-million adult smokers stop using cigarettes and switch to smoke-free alternatives The IQOS 3 MULTI provides the user with 10 consecutive uses without needing to be recharged. The work of over 400 PMI scientific personnel has yielded an elegant design, which does not sacrifice functionality. As well as state-of-the-art design and premium feel, PMI products come with a choice of over 500 color combinations using a wide range | 50 | Trending Business Insights

of available accessories. What we leant in Geneva is that IQOS is a technologicallyadvanced heat-not-burn alternative to cigarettes which emits over 90% less harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes and hence PMI has made a commitment to a smoke-free world and having loved ones who are heavy smokers, I sincerely wish the message on the alternative smoke free products reaches far and wide. Thankfully, with products like IQOS, there are now rapid developments in nicotine-based products that can effectively substitute for cigarettes and become viable alternatives to smoking in the future.

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HOTEL Enriching Experiences

JUMEIRAH AT ETIHAD TOWERS By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

ith more client visits to Abu Dhabi this year, I am truly enjoying my moments at Etihad Towers, a sculptural feat in Abu Dhabi that offers the most amazing vantage points set in the most desirable and exclusive part of Abu Dhabi near the worldrenowned Corniche. Etihad Towers is designed, inside and out, to give guests the most memorable and enriching experiences. With sweeping panoramic views over the vibrant city and Arabian Sea, it has become my favourite destination because of the famed Vakava Restaurant Pan Latin Grill & Lounge. Jumeirah at Etihad Towers has exquisite guest rooms and suites, serviced residences and world class restaurants, bars and lounges. The hotel also offers a private beach, spa, three pools, gym and an extensive conference centre, meeting rooms and the grand Mezzoon Ballroom. The finely decorated Club Suites offer spacious, elegant living with a dining area perfect for entertaining or private relaxation, sunlit bathrooms, walk-in showers and bathtubs and stunning views over Abu Dhabi. The Etihad Suites stands out with elegant living areas, dining room, finely appointed bedroom and a sunlit bathroom with a view. Services include access to the Club Executive Lounge, personalised check in and a dedicated round the clock butler service. The Sky Suite suite has a warm ambience with custom-made furnishings and contemporary art, and a private dining area to seat ten guests that can be exclusively catered to with the fully-equipped insuite kitchen and butler services.

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Encompassing the entire floor of the Jumeirah at Etihad Towers is the Royal Etihad Suite curated with fine materials and designer artistry combined with Jumeirah is ‘Stay Different’ personalised care and service par excellence. The Royal Etihad Suite is an abode of tranquility and privacy; a stylised sanctum for those requiring ultimate refinement and elegance. The entire floor houses an exquisite suite with sitting rooms, dining facilities, bedrooms and butler facilities. The Observation Deck at 300 offers visitors 360-degree panoramic views with its uninterrupted bird’s-eye perspective of the city’s skyline, Corniche and Arabian Gulf while the Club Executive Lounge elevates executive privileges to the highest standard, allowing guests to work in their own time and space. The stylish lounge has a shower suite, dining areas and lounging areas supported with free WiFi internet connectivity. Jumeirah at Etihad Towers offers a choice of numerous restaurants, bars and lounges with a variety of culinary options but my favourite is Vakava where the food is truly exceptional. Extensive conference and banqueting facilities are provided through the hotel’s purpose-built Conference Centre featuring meeting rooms and the stunning Mezzoon ballroom. The Avenue at Etihad Towers houses flagship stores, designer boutiques and high-end outlets offering an assortment of luxury fashion, jewellery, time pieces and accessories. Etihad Towers is indeed the perfect place to stay, shop, dine and enjoy a variety of recreation options the city has to offer.

Quintessentially Japanese

MANDARIN ORIENTAL, TOKYO Edited By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

trategically located in the prestigious financial district within the historical and cultural centre of Tokyo, Mandarin Oriental Tokyo is the epitome of sophisticated luxury in the city with spectacular views of the city skyline with guestrooms and suites offering new levels of luxury.

The hotel has luxuriously appointed guest rooms and suites, ten restaurants and bars and an award-winning spa situated within the soaring, Cesar Pelli-designed Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower. The spacious guestrooms and suites draws on Japan’s rich culture, to provide guests with a strong “sense of place”. Japanese craftmanship has been combined with the latest technology to ensure a thoroughly contemporary Japanese experience. Bespoke fabrics and furnishings representing the woodlands and the changing seasons, have been incorporated throughout, with autumn leaf colours of gold, orange and purple and blooming springtime wisteria and sakura patterns embroidered onto headboards. Mandarin Grand Room uses contemporary Japanese style and materials, ranging from an embroidered headboard depicting weeping cherry blossoms to a light fixture made from bamboo strings. Curvaceous lines, such as the round table and curved back for the chaise longue, create a welcoming, approachable atmosphere. Featuring the original Flower Shower textile pattern on furnishings, such as the sofa and chairs in the living room, the hotel’s restyled suites are designed to conjure up thoughts of blissful moments with flowers. A wisteria in full bloom is embroidered onto each headboard, while each bedside chest is crafted with wood from the Paulownia tree. A silver-leaf round table and gold-leaf embossed cabinet brighten the living room, while the carpet blends the look of Japanese ink and brush work with a motif of clouds and gentle breezes, a nod to the extensive views of Tokyo that can be enjoyed from the hotel’s suites. Another quintessentially Japanese highlight are lampshades inspired by the Andon, a traditional Japanese lamp. Made from washi paper, these have been placed in asymmetrical positions throughout each bedroom, a distinctive characteristic of Japanese design. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is the award-winning owner and operator of some of the world’s most luxurious hotels, resorts and residences. Having grown from its Asian roots into a global brand, the Group now operates 30 hotels and six residences in 21 countries and territories, with each property reflecting the Group’s oriental heritage and unique sense of place.

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GADGETS

GIFTS FOR ALL OCCASIONS FROM ANKER Innovative practical gadgets that eases everyday life Anker has the perfect gifts for all ages and special occasions that satisfy any personality. Anker products range from Bluetooth speakers, headphones to power banks and products are available in major retail stores in the Middle East.

SOUNDCORE FLARE Soundcore Flare is a cylindrical Portable Bluetooth speaker that provides immersive 360O all around sound with BassUpTM Technology. The uniquely designed Flare is water proof with IPX7 protection and comes with a beat driven ambient light show as well as offers 12 hours of continuous use on one charge. A perfect gift for someone who loves music on the go.

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LIBERTY AIR Liberty Air, true wireless in-ear headphones come with two built-in microphones with uplink noise cancellation and filters out ambient noises to ensure you sound crystal-clear even in noisy spaces. The latest Bluetooth 5.0 technology and a FPC antenna create a rock-solid connection for skip-free music. One-Step Pairing ensures automatic connection to your device. A seamlessly concealed sensor in both the earbuds allows you to effortlessly answer calls or adjust music without reaching for your phone. The charging case provides a longer battery life on the go for the earphones.

SOUNDCORE SPACE NC The Soundcore Space NC, the state of the art over-theear headphones, are affordable, extremely comfortable and have a collapsible design making them perfect for travelling. With leading active noise cancellation technology and exceptional battery life, it is the perfect choice for the ultimate listening experience. The convenient touch controls on the on-ear touch pads and buttons allows users to have easy control on the music playback and effortless call answering. Soundcore Space NC is perfect for long haul listening with 20 hours playtime of uninterrupted music.

POWERCORE IQ 5200MAH The PowerCore IQ 5200mAh is compact and perfect for charging your phone on the go. Equipped with High Speed Charging Power IQ technology, it detects the optimal and fastest charge speed required for the device. It comes in incredibly compact candy bar size with cutting-edge technology and has enough charge to power your average smartphone up to 2 times. The intelligent high-speed charging, premium battery cells, together with advanced materials ensure reliability.

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ACCESSORIES

dunhill CRUSH BY FREDRIKSON STALLARD

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unhill Crush by Fredrikson Stallard is on artistic partnership that unites the worlds of art and fashion with a connection rooted in materiality and authenticity.

Individual and unique sculptures of mirrored polished aluminium have been formed by hand in an archaic and intensely physical way. Each art work, connects with dunhill's aesthetic through the use of metal crafted to reflect light in a fluid and changing way. The polished finish of the crush collection adds a further dimension to the seasonal campaign imagery captured by photographer Chris Rhodes highlighting the latest designs & unique gifts by Creative Director Mark Weston.

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WATCHES

THE ELEGANT COLLECTION By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

Sophisticated with its unique aesthetics, we bring you a selection of new timepieces that successfully blend watchmaking and high-jewelry in an elegant and unique mix.

OMEGA

Speedmaster Apollo 11 The Apollo 11 mission is certainly the most celebrated moment in OMEGA’s space heritage. But the journey began more than 10 years earlier, in 1957, when the first OMEGA Speedmaster was launched. Thanks to its robust, reliable and easy-to-read design, the Speedmaster became the “pilots’ choice” and was adopted by the U.S Air Force. Marking the golden anniversary of the first moon landing, OMEGA has produced a new Limited Edition Speedmaster of 1,014 pieces. Following the famous design of the Speedmaster BA145.022, this new chronograph has been crafted from an exclusive new 18K gold alloy and is powered by a brand new manual-winding Master Chronometer calibre 3861. The case, bracelet, dial, hour-markers and hour-minute hands have all been created in 18K Moonshine™ gold, inspired by the shining moonlight in a dark blue sky. The polished and brushed 42 mm case of this timepiece features the asymmetrical caseband of the 4th generation Speedmaster. It is driven by the OMEGA Master Chronometer Calibre 3861 – a manual-winding movement with CoAxial escapement, silicon Si14 balance spring, Moonshine™ goldplated main plate and bridges and burgundy markings.

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CORUM

Golden Bridges Corum released two new versions of its Golden Bridge with a new “snow” setting. Made exclusively of diamonds, the snow setting involves arranging a random number of diamonds of all sizes. Two models will be available in the snow setting: the Golden Bridge (with a 34 x 51 mm barrel-shaped case) and the Miss Golden Bridge (21 x 43 mm). Each case is fully set, including the crown, giving a unique glimmer to the baguette movement, which stretches up and down the case and is entirely visible through the anti-reflective double sapphire crystal. Each piece will be released in white gold and pink gold, meaning there are four models in total, for a total of 314 diamonds for the Golden Bridge and 245 diamonds for the Miss Golden Bridge, representing 2.68ct and 1.28ct respectively.

Enhanced with diamonds, pink mother-ofpearl and pink opal, the Policromia Pink Opal is the new watch created to enrich the iconic Policromia Watch Collection. Designed in collaboration with Delfina Delettrez Fendi, the Policromia Pink Opal reimagines asymmetries in a palette of pastel shades and precious materials.

The FIFTYSIX® Collection Vacheron Constantin is heralding a new chapter in its history with its FIFTYSIX® collection. It represents an important new step as this original line, inspired by a historical Vacheron Constantin watch dating from 1956, instils a modern momentum capable of opening up the world of Fine Watchmaking to contemporary enthusiasts. The style of the Fiftysix® is a direct tribute to a watch created in 1956: reference 6073. The distinctive design of this iconic model embodies the creativity of the Maison during the 1950s. Round, slim and effortlessly elegant, reference 6073 is distinguished by its four lugs each representing a branch of the Maltese cross. With its classic dial, daring case and avantgarde technical characteristics, this 1956 watch wove ties between respect for tradition and a taste for innovation. Ties deeply cherished by Vacheron Constantin and now expressed in the Fiftysix® collection picking up several features of the original model: lugs respectively forming one portion of the Maltese cross, a box-type crystal, as well as self-winding movements. The classic collection comes in gold and in steel.

The iconic Policromia Collection is enriched with new versions featuring a surprising combination of 18 Kt rose gold, white diamonds, pink mother-of-pearl and pink opal. Set with brilliant cut diamonds, the Policromia Pink Opal pays homage to the Palazzo Della Civiltà Italiana, FENDI HQ in Rome, with its arches allowing the light to pass through. Adorned with iridescent mother-of-pearl and pink opal inserts, the timepiece exudes a hypnotic power. A precious jewel embracing the wrist, the Policromia Pink Opal comes in 33 mm or 38 mm case. Set on a pink genuine alligator strap, the watch is a tribute to the FENDI highest craftsmanship and savoir-faire.

VACHERON CONSTANTIN

FENDI Policromia Pink Opal

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MOTORING Practical & Comfortable

KIA SPORTAGE By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

nitially launched in 1993 and spanning four generations since, the new Kia Sportage features a bold, progressive design while offering greater practicality and an array of comfort, convenience and safety technologies. Nimble handling and impressive power converge with surprising fuel-efficiency, the enhanced performance of the 6-speed automatic transmission in the Kia Sportage delivers a smoother, more efficient ride. It comes in two four-cylinder engines: the LX and EX comes with a high-output 2.4-liter engine that is among the segment leaders, while the SX Turbo model gets an even more powerful turbocharged 2.0-liter engine. Inside, the Sportage transports you in a comfortable driving environment, serving every functional need with ease. Premium craftsmanship imbues every detail, from the soft-touch materials to the upgraded seats with scientifically calibrated touch points. The angled console, displays, and buttons are all ergonomically optimized. Outside, the Sportage remains the modern compact crossover but with a more elegant, extroverted exterior distinguished by sweeping curves, sleek lines, and thoroughly contemporary features. It inspires a sense of adventure with its current dynamic styling.

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The Sportage has striking tiger-nose grille, elegant side contours, prominent wheel arches, coupe-like roof, extended wheelbase, and satin silver touches for a balance between sophistication and sportiness. Elongated headlights sweep back gracefully into the body, perched above a distinctive tiger-nose grille. For an enhanced drive experience, the Dynamax™ All-Wheel Drive (AWD) system senses and adjusts traction requirements for changing road and weather conditions. In addition, the Smart Power Liftgate® opens automatically by sensing the key by giving both drivers and passengers hands-free access to the cargo area. The Kia Sportage has historically been acknowledged for the strength of its design, having been awarded ‘iF Design’ and ‘red dot’ design prizes in both its third and fourth generations. With the state-of-the-art technology, enhanced driver assistance and entertainment, the everyday drive in the new KIA Sportage is anything but average.

On the road with

NEW QUESTER FROM UD TRUCKS By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

he highlight of my year has to be my adventure in Bahrain with UD Trucks driving the driver friendly New Quester, the most rugged and reliable heavy-duty truck on the road today.

After a briefing at the Bahrain International Circuit on the bestselling points of the vehicle like the fuel efficiency, productivity and connectivity, we moved on to learning the new features of the truck, such as ESCOT (Easy Safe Controlled Transmission) and UD Telematics. Driving the truck was comfortable and seamless as expected. Built on proven robustness and reliability, New Quester introduces key features such as the automated manual transmission, engines with higher horsepower and user-friendly telematics to deliver greater efficiency, safety and uptime. The New Quester pays homage to the strong Japanese heritage and craftsmanship plus UD Trucks Volvo Group’s innovative technology. This was evident in the comfortable and easy drive down the tracks. For business owners and logistics companies, the best New Quester aims to boost productivity and profitability using ESCOT which includes software that optimizes gear shifting according to the engine revs, vehicle speed, loading weight and even road gradient. The smart system in Quester also includes a sensor that will select the optimum gear automatically instead of assuming a first gear selection. Another positive aspect is that the New Quester’s enhanced fuel performance helps curb fuel consumption and meets environmentallyfriendly regulations in relation to emissions quality standards, effectively reducing the new model’s overall carbon footprint.

A game changer in the transportation business, the New Quester enables drivers to easily adapt to operating it and provides better focus on driving with ease. By making driving simple, the New Quester also helps businesses expand the pool of driving talent with an easy-tooperate gear lever that uses a straight shifting pattern. The drivability certainly also attracts females like me to enjoy driving the Quester and encourages others to pursue truck driving as a career. The New Quester increases safety for drivers with features that focus on increasing drivers’ comfort levels and reducing driver fatigue. From my drive experience, it is clear that UD Tricks is committed to go the extra mile for smart logistics and mobility with the most dependable tailor-made solutions for customers.

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MOTORING Elegantly Sculptured

THE NEW AUDI A6 By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

garage pilot, as well as the adaptive driving assistant and they all worked seamlessly. This feature is perfect not just for new drivers but even seasoned drivers appreciate having more visibility and help with park assist features.

The A6 is clearly a distinguished ambassador for the new Audi design language. With taut surfaces, clear edges and striking lines, it conveys sporty elegance, cutting-edge technology and premium quality.

One feature that helped me most was the longitudinal and lateral control that helps keep the car in its lane even in narrow lanes and roadwork sections â&#x20AC;&#x201C; apparently, I digress more that I think I do from my lane.

hile searching for a sedan that is elegantly sculptured and leads in terms of digitalization, comfort and design, I had the opportunity to test drive the Luxurious sporty eighth generation Audi A6 that introduces numerous innovations into the segment and is more versatile than ever before.

As a trendsetter, you find a fully digital operating system inside with the MMI touch response operating system and assistance solutions that offer greater safety and convenience than before. Audi is known for their superb in car technology and the Audi A6 lived up to the expectations we had of the car. We tried the driver assistance systems such as the parking pilot and | 62 | Trending Business Insights

The new Audi A6 comes with a 3.0 TFSI engine that has an output of 340 hp and it is equipped with a mild hybrid system as standard for added comfort and efficiency. I found the Audi A6 is as agile as a sports car and as nimble as a compact model which is suitable and appeals to a wide spectrum of drivers. Definitely A sedan that I would want to be seen with.

A Symbiosis of Dynamism and Luxury The new BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

he new BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe embodies a brand of sporting flair unique in the luxury segment as it is the only model in its division derived directly from a two-door sports car and comes with a dynamic potential, a much longer wheelbase and model-specific chassis tuning. The standalone body concept with the powertrain and chassis technology is designed squarely to engender supreme dynamic ability and hence creates an unmistakable balance between sports performance and ride comfort. For buyers who have an adventure streak in them but need everyday practicality, the new BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe has mile-covering ability and comfort rolled into a car that looks good and performs dynamically with a maximum output of 390 kW/530 hp and peak torque of 750 Nm (553 lb-ft). The imposing power delivery of the 4.4-litre V8 engine in the new BMW M850i xDrive Gran Coupe is accompanied by a character-rich soundtrack further amplified by the M Sport exhaust system. With its the new V8 engine, the BMW M850i xDrive Gran Coupe accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.9 seconds. The four-door coupe concept has been translated into a body of standout pomp and progressiveness. The wide, low-slung front end exudes sporting intent and a confident presence and adaptive LED headlights are fitted as standard.

The distinctive style of the new BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe is also expressed in the design of its interior. The driving experience in both the front and rear is defined by a flawless symbiosis of dynamism and luxury. The lengthy wheelbase and generously sized door apertures give passengers in the rear unprecedented legroom for a BMW coupe. They are able to get in and out more easily than ever. Passengers seated at the back also benefit from substantially greater shoulder room and headroom than in the two-door version of the new BMW 8 Series, making the second-row seats more comfortable to travel in. One of the first places I look when checkoing out a new car is the boot - the carâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s luggage-carrying setup can be customised with the greatest of ease courtesy of the 40 : 20 : 40 split/folding rear backrest. Individual sections can be folded down from the boot using a lever. With a capacity of 440 litres, the boot is big enough to accommodate naturally my shoe rack and gym bag but also for more outgoing sport enthusiasts, the car can accommodate up to three golf bags. With different drive modes and smooth power delivery, the drive experience of the new BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe certainly promises to be superb.

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MOTORING THE RUGGED OFF-ROAD CHAMPION ALL-NEW JEEP® WRANGLER By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

or everyday urban adventures, the new generation of the iconic Jeep Wrangler offers excellent levels of comfort and superior driving dynamics. I drove the all-new Jeep Wrangler a few times in different countries and terrains and it is indeed a one-of-a-kind vehicle that is perfect for both young and seasoned drivers. The common selling point for the Jeep Wrangler was always the legendary off-road capabilities, but in the new model, the more contemporary Jeep styling that stays true to the original and advanced technology features in terms of safety and connectivity are definitely an added bonus. The all-new Jeep Wrangler builds on a sculptural design aesthetic that is immediately recognizable with its traditional Jeep design cues, from the round headlights to the seven-slot grille, the trapezoidal wheel arches to the visible hinges, the folding windshield to the sport bar, the removable doors to the open-air configurations with hard top or soft top. From the roughest terrain to city streets, the all-new Jeep Wrangler drives perfectly at ease and offers more open-air freedom. The interior of the new Jeep Wrangler combines authentic styling, versatility, functionality and intuitive feature use, in addition to a more stylish and comfortable cabin, thanks to the use of high-quality materials and finishes. Functional features, including climate and volume control knobs, Engine Stop Start (ESS) control and media charging and connectivity ports are all sculpted for quick recognition and are easily within reach of the front-seat occupants. I found it useful to have two USB ports up front and two in reach of occupants in the back seat connect to the media centre. The upgraded 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 engine delivers 285hp @ 6,400 rpm and 347 Nm of torque @ 4,100 rpm, and now features StopStart (ESS) as standard equipment. The new eight-speed automatic transmission enables the vehicle to optimize engine output while on the trails or enjoying smooth, efficient power delivery at highway speeds. Uniquely suited to the requirements of the all-new Wrangler, the new automatic gearbox delivers unmatched off-road capability. Jeep Wrangler has always stood out for its functionality and the ability to give drivers the possibility to enjoy any adventure with the utmost ease. The all-new Wrangler is no exception, offering a host of clever storage solutions, durable mesh pockets that extend the entire length of the doors, cup holders and numerous phone storage areas. An underfloor storage area provides room to secure small items out of sight. I loved the functional new “screws and bolts” organizer at the bottom of the trunk, to store away individual screws, and a tool kit with instructions inside the central armrest. The new Wrangler features shift on the fly technology which allows for shifting between 2WD and 4WD High range at speed up to 72km/h. In normal driving conditions, Selec-Trac operates in two-wheel drive

(2WD) and transfers 100 percent of engine torque to the rear axle. By shifting the dedicated lever to the 4WD High position, the driver can switch to four-wheel drive mode ideal when driving on slippery surfaces, such as sand, mud, snow or ice. 4H mode can be selected comfortable use in any driving conditions. I drove the Rubicon in Europe in the hills and found that it added articulation and total suspension travel with help from an electronic sway-bar disconnect. This system allows drivers to disconnect the front sway bar to deliver additional wheel travel for traversing the toughest trails. Every Wrangler receives a "Trail Rated" badge that proves its legendary 4x4 capabilities in the following areas: traction, water fording, maneuverability, articulation and ground clearance. As an authentic full open-air 4x4 SUV, the all-new Jeep Wrangler offers various top combinations to ensure even more open-air freedom and allows customers to choose multiple configuration possibilities. The all-new Jeep Wrangler comes in 10 different exterior colours: Black, Firecracker Red, Billet Silver Metallic, Bright White, Granite Crystal Metallic, Hellayella, Ocean Blue, Punk’n Metallic, Mojito and Sting Gray.

WOMEN’S WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR ANNOUNCE 2018 AWARD WINNERS

Women’s World Car of the Year announce Volvo XC40 as the Supreme Winner of the 2018 awards, chosen from two rounds of voting. The Jury representing the Middle East is pioneering female Motoring journalist, Shereen Shabnam, based out of the UAE. In alphabetical order, the six cars that made it through round one of the 2018 Women’s World Car of the Year were: • BMW X2 • Jaguar E-PACE • Jaguar I-PACE • Peugeot 508 • Porsche Cayenne • Volvo XC40

rest the fallacy that women prefer not to drive a sports car. The Dream Car Award is named after a jury panellist in Women’s World Car of the Year from New York who died in October 2016. Holly Reich was on the judging panel for six years and was an avid admirer of exotic and stylish cars. The vote this year amply reflects her thoughts.

The women motoring writers then voted again with the Volvo XC40 emerging as a front-runner in what transpired to be an extremely tight vote between the Top 3 finalists, which were: • Volvo XC40 • Jaguar E-PACE • Jaguar I-PACE

Woman of Worth Award – WOW: This award is introduced for the first time this year. It recognises a woman in the motor industry whom judges felt deserved specific mention. Nominations were called for and the winner by majority vote is: Fiona Pargeter, Jaguar Land Rover. The former global PR communications director was recently promoted to the new role in Jaguar Land Rover of customer experience director, with added responsibility for marketing communications.

The Volvo XC40 is a compact luxury crossover SUV manufactured by Volvo Cars originally designed by Thomas Ingenlath and revealed in September 2017. It was the first time a five-door SUV had been released by the Swedish company, Geely Sweden AB, which is owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

Judges in Women’s World Car of the Year said Fiona has consistently encouraged women to participate in launches, in women’s events, as customers, and has contributed significantly towards making Jaguar Land Rover one of the leading companies in the world in this regard.

Since then the Volvo XC40 has won a string of awards including being named at the Geneva Motor Show as 2018 European Car of the Year. Volvo and the XC40 can now add the Supreme Winner of 2018 Women’s World Car of the Year to that list – from the only car awards in the world voted entirely by women motoring writers.

Women’s World Car of the Year founder and managing director, Sandy Myhre of New Zealand, said Jaguar Land Rover has supported the awards since inception in 2009.

Accounting and consulting company, Grant Thornton, has been associated with Women’s World Car of the Year since its inception in 2009. The judging process is by secret ballot and votes are monitored from the company’s Auckland (New Zealand) office. Partner, Paul Kane, said the final voting this year was extremely close but in the final run, the XC40 just nudged past the Jaguar E-PACE to take the top prize. Holly Reich Dream Car Award: Judges are asked to nominate their dream car, the one they would love to own and drive. Receiving the most votes in this category, and a clear winner, is: Aston Martin Vantage The 4.0 litre twin-turbocharged V8 was designed by Marek Reichman, the British industrial designer who is Chief Creative Officer and studio head at Aston Martin. This two-door, two-seater coupé firmly puts to

“The first car to win our Supreme Award in 2009 was the Jaguar XK and that year the company sent women executives to our first presentation in Knightsbridge in London. “The F-PACE won the award in 2016 and the company made history with a press conference to mark the occasion. It was the first time since the motor car was invented that 11 women motoring writers had been together in the same room at the same time.” The judging panel for the 2018 Women’s World Car of the Year awards consists of 34 women motoring journalists from 27 different countries. By December 2018 that will increase to 36 journalists from 28 countries and more will be added throughout 2019. Discussions are under way with Volvo, Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover to present certificates and trophies for their outstanding achievements in these three categories of awards in Women’s World Car of the Year 2018. Trending Business Insights | 65 |

EVENTS TALENTOLOGY 2019 SUBMISSIONS LAUNCHED BY MUSHRIF MALL The largest nationwide competition celebrates young talent of mixed nationalities and attracts over 15,000 entries annually

ushrif Mall launches the third edition of the annual Talentology 2019, the biggest talent show in Abu Dhabi, which aims to support young talent, build their confidence and stimulate growth in the creative industry. Entries are open until the 11th of January 2019 online on www. mushrifmall.com. From the 31st of January, the profiles will be kept together on a website and voting starts and it closes on February 16th, after the 14th and 15th February where finalists will be performing on stage in the evenings from 6pm to 9pm. On the 16th February at 12noon the voting ends. The selected twelve contestants will be performing live at the Mushrif Mall on February 14th and 15th at the grand finale showcasing various artistic performances judged for appropriate artistic attire, stage presence and presentation. There are two age categories for the competition - 9 to 14 years (for kids) and age 15 and above (adults) and participants can upload their talent details which mall management along with Event Company will scrutinise to select 700 entries. Twelve finalists will then be further selected and informed following which an AV company will make a portfolio for finalists. According to Aravind Ravi Palode, Mall Manager of Mushrif Mall, “Talentology provides a platform to our younger generation to explore the realms of performing arts, artistic design, robotics,

virtual reality and other mediums to showcase their talent, build their confidence and brings the community together to celebrate the diversity and ingenuity of our children.” “Nurturing talent requires motivation and Talentology helps develop and promote hard work by giving maximum support to winning entrants and celebrate their achievements. Talentology is a brainchild of Mushrif Mall and has always had an overwhelming positive response from entrants over the last two years,” continued Aravind. “Over the last two years, out of 10,000 registrations from mixed nationalities, 18 finalists were selected with three winners. Given the popularity of the competition, we hope to attract more entries to support and enhance talented and motivated youth of our community and to provide an appropriate, competitive forum to display their talents,” added Aravind. The grand finale winners receive AED 5,000/- worth of mall vouchers and all finalists will get AED 1,000/- mall vouchers. Talentology is an energy packed competition organised by Mushrif Mall for talented youth with a passion for success. The Mall recognizes the role the young play in society and Talentology helps promote unity in the community, assists in gaining self-confidence and provides an unforgettable experience of being part of a memorable event.

AL WAHDA MALL TO WELCOME THE DEAL

HE DEAL, Chalhoub Group off price channel, will open its third store of 1004 sqm store in Al Wahda Mall. Shoppers can now enjoy the best deals for menswear, womenswear, kids, beauty and accessories from the luxury outlet. Mr. Navaneeth Sudhakaran, General Manager, Al Wahda Mall said, “We are delighted to welcome THE DEAL on board as it brings the best worldwide brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Tory Burch, Marc Jacobs, Kenzo, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Paul Smith, Zadig & Voltaire, Swarovski, Tumi and many other at discounted prices to the vibrant retail environment of Al Wahda Mall.” Hamdi Kulahcioglu, General Manager of The DEAL commented “We are very pleased to open our 8th store in the UAE. With a global reach and over 200 designer brands, we aim to offer more desirable top fashion brands at attractive and affordable prices and hope to meet the discerning tastes of Al Wahda Mall customers bringing them the best from the fashion industry.”

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The award-winning Al Wahda Mall has over 400 tenants offering a superb retail mix of fashion, jewellery, electronics, food court, home improvement, family entertainment, beauty, gym, sports lounge, renowned high-street brands, kiosks and over 50 mouth-watering world class F&B outlets.

HYPERION ENSEMBLE’S DUBAI CONCERT Icon Art Production and Latin Soul Dubai bring Tango World Champions live performance to Dubai Marine Beach Resort & Spa

con Art Production (IAP) together with Latin Soul Dubai and venue partners Dubai Marine Beach Resort & Spa bring to UAE the first ever Hyperion Ensemble’s Dubai Concert. The event will also feature Tango World Champions live performance at Dubai Marine Beach Resort & Spa on 21st March 2019 from 7.30pm to 2am the next day. Dubai Marine Beach Resort is known historically for hosting the best Latin events in the city and this will be no different. There will be live tango performances by well-known dancers in the Tango dance circuit to enthrall the audience. For the first time, the Tango Orchestra HYPERION ENSAMBLE and the Buenos Aires Tango Mundial World Champions 2018 (Dmitry & Sagdiana) will perform in a night to remember! The concert will be held under the stars with an open-air dance floor and six hours of nonstop dancing, in the beautiful venue of Dubai Marine Beach Resort & Spa. The evening’s attractions also include a Tango show, gala drinks, raffle draws, gift vouchers, DJS and an open dance floor for dance lovers looking to spend a musical night out. The Youtube videos below have more information on the Tango musicians and personalities to look out for on the evening.

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Middle east shopping Centre & retailer awards

THE 2019 MECS+R AWARDS AwArds CAtegories

CALL FOR ENTRIES SubmiSSion DeaDline: AuguST 27, 2019

CATEgORY FOuR

CATEgORY ONE

Retail Excellence

Traditional Marketing

• Fashion • Children’s Wear • Gold, Jewellery, and Watches • Footwear and accessories • Sportswear and Goods • Pharmacy, Health and beauty • Home and Office Furnishing • Kiosks • entertainment, music and leisure • bank and Financial Services • Fast Food • Restaurants • luxury • new! Theme Park • new! Cinema • new! Family entertainment Centres • new! Waterparks

• advertising • Cause-Related marketing • Customer Service experience and /or engagement • Digital / Social media • Grand opening, expansion & Renovation • new / emerging Technology • Public Relations • Sales Promotion and events

CATEgORY TWO

NOI Enhancement • marketing / Sponsorship • operations / overall Team • leasing

CATEgORY FIVE

CATEgORY THREE

Best MENA Retail Brand

Design and Development • new Developments • Renovations / expansions • Retail Store Design

CATEgORY SIX

Retail Professional of the Year

NEW

CATEgORY SEVEN Service Excellence

• new! Property management Software • new! Data analytics • new! Technology innovation • new! Decor & Design installation • new! merchandising Display • new! Retail Consultancy Service

ELIgIBLE DATES

TRADITIONAL MARKETINg & NOI ENHANCEMENT: 1 august 2018 to 31 July 2019 DESIgN AND DEVELOPMENT: 1 august 2017 to 31 July 2019 RETAIL EXCELLENCE, RETAIL PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR, BEST MENA RETAIL BRAND AND SERVICE EXCELLENCE: 1 august 2018 to 31 July 2019 | 68 | Trending Business Insights

www.retailcongressmena.com

PRODUCTS NEBULA CAPSULE II ARRIVES IN IRAQ AND KUWAIT Updated pocket cinema brings 720p HD picture, bigger sound & 3600+ apps

nker Innovations reveals Nebula Capsule II, its next generation pocket cinema in the region. Available in the same compact and soda-can inspired design as its predecessor, it hosts new capabilities including Android TV, Google Assistant, HD picture quality and improved audio. Nebula Capsule is perfect for consumers who want to enjoy their favorite video apps on the go on a bigger screen as Capsule II increases the number of options now powered by Android TV which brings great content to you, so you spend less time browsing and more time watching. Just pick from the personalized recommendations on Google Play, YouTube, Hulu Plus or apps that appear automatically in your home screen.

Additionally, Android TV now comes with your Google Assistant built in. Just say “OK Google,” or press the mic button on your remote to quickly find the latest blockbuster, check the score of the big game, or dim the lights, without leaving your sofa. Nebula Capsule’s sleek, black cylindrical body measures in at 5.9 inches high and can be easily transported in the included carrying sleeve. Capsule II is now able to project a 720p image at 200 ANSI lumens and provides 3-hours of video playtime or 30 hours of Bluetooth speaker on a single charge. Leveraging Anker’s Power Delivery technology, Capsule II can charge to full power in 2.5 hours via USB-C. Capsule II offers owners an advanced entertainment experience, anytime, anywhere.

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FINAL WORD

BEING

MULTIPOTENTIALITE By Shereen Shabnam International Writer

omeone described me recently as a ‘Multipotentialite”. A multipotentialite is a person with many different interests and creative pursuits in life – in other words they are into all types of industries and professions but are master of none.

Multipotentialites like me do not have “one true calling” and are not considered experts or specialists in one particular field. In my case however, people in the different industries assume I am an expert in their field and treat me as such and have absolutely no idea of my diverse interests. Hence the pressure to perform as an expert in different fields is always high and I have found myself segmenting my life into the different passions I have and isolating each one so that they do not overlap and cause confusion amongst friends who think I may have a twin. As a multipotentialite, I am complex both in my personal and professional life. I doubt there is any one person who totally understands me fully but the glimpses they have into the many lives I lead as a mother, a wife, a motorhead, a technology buff, a jury, a publicist, a travel journalist and an Islander makes them think they know me well. I am a tenacious and passionate writer in the areas of as much in the field of motoring, Aviation and Yachting as I am in the subjects of art, architecture and interactive experiences having worked with museum and science centre clients across the globe.

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My briefs for cars show as much passion as when I talk about 14th century inventions and discoveries. Hence I never understood people who question me with “What do you do? What is your industry as you do so many things? Which industry do you represent? Story telling is just as important when talking about products as it is when talking about science. Being a multipotentialite and a writer who is laid back, my most memorable work was on a travelling science exhibition with my colleagues, professors and artists that has travelled to 12 cities and appeals to a global audience. Being an outspoken multipotentialite means I often come across as a snob but there are many positive aspects to it as well. We tend to recognize and celebrate the strengths we see in others easily because being a multipotentialite makes us accepting of everyone and we tend not to be competitive. We have a sense of identity in every area we are passionate about and when we are with people in that industry, we feel at home. Multipotentialites hence end up with many close friends in different fields which is perfectly in line with my upbringing as an easy going chilled out Fijian. I would rather be a multipotentialite any day than a narrow-minded individual who does not explore the joys the world has to offer outside my comfort zone!