The term digital transformation has
become part of the business lexicon
now. There is a huge appetite for new
digital technologies, and no doubt,
technological innovations have redefined
business models and processes, especially
in the last couple of years. However, in this
feeding frenzy, cybersecurity is often neglected.
Digital transformation without cybersecurity
transformation is a recipe for disaster. Many
enterprises in the region don’t have a clear
picture of their current risk posture while the
attack surface continues to expand.

A recent Gartner study has caught my
attention, highlighting the shifting
sands in enterprise technology buying
patterns. The study reveals that 74
percent of technology purchases are funded, at
least partially, by business units outside of IT. In
addition, Gartner’s research found that “41 percent
of employees today are business technologists,
creating technology or analytics capabilities for
internal or external business use and reporting
outside of IT departments.” It adds that high-tech
providers need new approaches to identify whom
to engage and how to engage B2B buyers.

5G is on a roll. This new mobile broadband
technology generation is set to cross the
one billion connections mark this year.
This would mean 5G penetration is faster
than 3G and 4G, and according to GSM Association,
there are currently 200 live 5G networks in the
world. The Mobile Economy report from GSMA says
there would be 60 million 5G connections in MENA
by 2025, and $70 billion will be spent in the region
on infrastructure rollouts. While the pandemic has
slowed down 5G rollouts elsewhere, it’s been a
different story in our part of the world. The mobile
operators in the Gulf have continued to invest in
the technology with the governments ensuring
effective management of the spectrum.

Earlier this month, I’d the opportunity to
travel to Saudi Arabia to attend LEAP. For a
debut event, I was impressed by the scale,
participation, quality of speakers, and of
course, the number of visitors. LEAP has cemented
Saudi’s position as the largest digital economy
in the MENA region and was a testament to the
country’s accelerating digital revolution. The event
witnessed some major announcements, including
a $6.4 billion investment in future technologies
and entrepreneurship by the Saudi minister for
communications and information technology. This
includes Aramco Venture’s $1 billion Prosperity7
fund, NEOM’s first cognitive metaverse, and
the incumbent telecom operator stc’s $1 billion
investment to boost regional connectivity and
infrastructure to support Saudi’s rapidly expanding
and cloud sector.

At the beginning of every new year,
I dust off my crystal ball and make
predictions about what is on the horizon.
The pandemic has fueled technology
adoption and innovation in ways never seen before.
Most of the trends we have seen over the last 24
months will continue to become well entrenched
in enterprises, and most research firms such as
Gartner and IDC forecast tech spending to grow in
the range of 4-8 percent this year.

As we wind down 2021, it is time to pause
and reflect on the lessons we have learned
and set the agenda for the new year. In
many ways, 2021 was a year of challenge
and growth. Though the pandemic woes still linger,
business morale, in general, is buoyed by vaccine
rates and government support. In addition, rising
oil prices and signs of economic recovery in the
region have instilled more

Tales from this year’s Gitex show floor
serves as a barometer of the regional IT
sector’s recovery and shows reasons for
optimism. Going by the record number
of attendees and deals made at this year’s edition,
it seems the industry has bounced back quickly
from the pandemic-induced lull. Technology has
been a key driver of this recovery and we see a
voracious appetite for new technologies among
the enterprises in the Middle East. In addition,
many IT leaders that I interacted with at the show
reported a healthy spike in IT budgets for the next
year though the specter of global semiconductor
shortage is looming large.

The much-awaited Expo has started
with a bang, and the region’s biggest
tech show is just around the corner.
With almost all Covid-19 curbs lifted,
I am excited to meet the key industry players
face to face and get insights into the trends
shaping the future of the technology landscape
in the region. This year’s Gitex is also going to
be a special one for us because we have our
inaugural ICT Leadership Awards on the first
day of the show. Rifling through some of the
transformative IT projects to pick winners has
been an eye-opening experience for me. True
to the saying that adversity can be the mother
of invention, the pandemic has fueled tech
innovation in a scale never seen before. From
cloud to automation to mobile applications,
we have seen an accelerated adoption and
modernisation of technologies, which helped
make businesses in the region more resilient
in the face of pandemic-induced disruptions. It
would be fair to say every business is a digital
business today, and these new technologies will
have a lasting impact even after the pandemic.

Life is almost back to normal now,
and Dubai is all set to kick off the
world expo next month and welcome
millions of visitors from across
the world safely and responsibly. The fair
is expected to revitalise the economy and
attract local and foreign investment. This
would also be a perfect opportunity to
showcase our fightback against Covid-19 and
how businesses have tackled disruptions with
a resilient mindset.

Last month, I’d an opportunity to
moderate a roundtable with some of the
top technocrats in the UAE to discuss
low-code, no-code platforms in the broader context of digital transformation. This
gave me some valuable insights into the digital
transformation roadmap of leading enterprises
and how they are leveraging digital technologies to
create new business models. Though the current
pandemic crisis has hammered the businesses,
it has a silver lining – many of them have realised
the value of fast-tracking digital transformation.
It is no exaggeration that Covid-19 has put IT on a
pedestal as a result of companies looking for new
ways to drive business growth. In fact, one of the
CIOs who participated in the discussion remarked
in jest that staff in his company now know where
IT is now in the building.

In May, we’d seen another crippling
ransomware attack against a major petroleum
pipeline company in the US. The Colonial
Pipeline attack resulted in major supply chain
disruptions, leading to severe gasoline and diesel
shortages in many states in the country. This was
the largest attack on critical infrastructure in the
history of the US, and the company had to pay a
ransom of close to five million dollars in bitcoin
to DarkSide, an Eastern European hacking group
responsible for the attack. In the last 14 months,
we have seen an alarming rise in ransomware
attacks, and according to the research unit of Palo
Alto Networks, the average ransom paid has more
than doubled in 2020 to $312,493. This year, the
average ransom payment has nearly tripled. Now,
the question is should you ever pay if you are hit
with a ransomware attack? The industry is divided
on this, but the general consensus is that you can’t
trust criminals; even if you pay the ransom, there
is no guarantee that you’d get stolen data back.

Blockchain is one of the most talkedabout
technologies today. Many
blockchain PoCs are expected to
move into production this year,
and Gartner says CIOs must embrace this
distributed ledger technology to explore
strategic business opportunities. Blockchain
is a disruptive technology and it is important
for CIOs to understand how it works and its
impact on their organisations’ business models.
Although blockchain is still in a nascent stage,
the technology is rapidly evolving with many use
cases across verticals. For example, in the supply
chain industry, blockchain is being used for
product tracking and tracing. Some governments
are already using this technology in elections
to prevent fraud, and it has many applications
and uses in healthcare as well. The industry is
leveraging blockchain-enabled technologies for
tracking and monitoring Covid-19 vaccines. A
couple of months ago, Abu Dhabi Ports launched
a blockchain-based system to ensure the efficient
distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.

Among emerging technologies, nothing
is both exciting and scary at the same
time as AI. If you look at any prediction
about trends which will shape the tech
landscape this year, AI is perched right on top. A
recent AI predictions survey from PwC says that AI
will be a mainstream technology this year, with 86
percent of respondents stating that they plan to use
the technology to offer better customer experience
and help businesses make intelligent decisions.

We are starting to see the end of the
pandemic with the rapid rollout of
vaccines. At the time of going to press,
more than 420 million doses have
been administered globally, and in the UAE alone,
seven million people have already been vaccinated
against the deadly virus. Covid-19 turned out to be
the perfect storm for digital adoption, giving rise to
the digital economy. Now, the question is whether it
is time to take the foot off the pedal. It is estimated
that the pandemic has brought about seven years
of change in the way companies in all verticals do
business in a short span of time. In other words,
enterprises will have no option but to move forward
with their digital transformation initiatives to do
business in a changing world. No one can afford to go
back to their pre-covid old and established business
operating models to survive in a contracting
an economy where time to market and user experience
will be key deciding factors. It makes me wonder
if digital transformation would ever end, and the
general consensus is that it is an ongoing process
that never ends.

5G is all the rage now. And it is here a lot
faster than we imagined. According to
Huawei, more than 140 commercial 5G
networks have already been deployed
in 59 countries, and 5G has become a core part
of the production process in more than 20 industries
including manufacturing, healthcare, logistics
and education. There is no doubt 5G is all set to
change the world in ways we can’t even imagine,
and businesses should start preparing for it. Like
any other new tech, there is a flip side to 5G as
well – it presents new challenges to cybersecurity
and privacy.

As they say, it is tough to make
predictions, especially about the future.
2020 was a year of challenges when the
coronavirus swept the globe, prompting
many to declare it as the worst year ever. In the
wake of the pandemic, we can’t help but wonder
what this year will bring for those in the technology
industry. Here is what I believe will likely happen in
the next 12 months. Although a large chunk of the
workforce in the region is back to offices, thanks
to the availability of vaccines, the remote work
trend is likely to continue even after the pandemic.
Depending on the industry and job context,
employees might become common to work one or
two days a week from home because of increased
productivity. For IT leaders, this culture shift
means they will have to invest in platforms and
security tools that allow their organisations to
work remotely.

In its 40th edition, GITEX will have many
firsts to its credit. It is going to be the first
live, in-person trade show since the deadly
coronavirus outbreak. The organisers have
pulled out all the stops to ensure this mega event
will adhere to the government authorities’ safety
rules and regulations. DWTC, which is certified
with the Bureau Veritas SafeGuard Label, will
monitor crowd density in real-time in addition to
enforcing the standard Covid-19 protocols for
sanitisation and social distancing.

In the GCC, large sections of the economy have
re-opened, and employees have started going
back to offices, especially in governments and
traditional industries such as oil and gas. Be that
as it may, many employees in the private sector have
not gone back to their everyday workplaces, and it
looks almost certain that the work from home trend
is here to stay with companies looking at a hybrid
model in the post-pandemic future. A recent survey
from the global recruitment agency Robert Half
reveals that most people in the UAE want to work
from home, in at least a partial capacity, if full-time
is not entirely possible. This is pretty much in line
with the trends we see in the rest of the world, and
employees expect flexibility from employers. This
has enormous implications for IT organisations,
which were tasked with switching the workforce into
remote work model almost overnight when the whole
world went into lockdown.

Recently, at its annual user conference,
VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger remarked
that 5G would ultimately displace WiFi in
enterprises, which has sparked a debate
in the industry. Will the fifth generation of cellular
technology replace our ubiquitous WiFi? While the
jury is still out on that, the general consensus is that
two technologies will co-exist in the foreseeable
future. Though 5G, with its increased speeds
and low latency, makes for a compelling value
proposition, WiFi still has an edge If you make an
apples-to-apples comparison. 5G doesn’t measure
up well against WiFi, which has many advantages
in terms of TCO, ease of deployment, and in-door
coverage. However, this doesn’t mean that you
shouldn’t get your enterprise ready for 5G that
promises to supercharge your business. Use cases
are emerging, and it is expected to make some
disruptive applications possible.

This month, we hosted our inaugural edition
of ICT Leadership Awards for Saudi Arabia
and Egypt, two of the biggest IT markets in
the MENA region. Six months ago, none of
us could have imagined that the format of this event
would be virtual, but we are happy to report that
virtual conference and awards can be every bit as
successful as live events. The only missing element
was an orchestra, but that is beside the point. We
have picked 20 outstanding projects from a pool
of more than 100 shortlisted entries, and our team
noticed one common theme across all these winning
projects – digital transformation. Not surprisingly,
verticals such as healthcare, government, and banks
led the pack among winners, where digital innovation
is thriving partly due to this pandemic’s nature. These
organisations have embraced digital technologies to
restart and grow their businesses after lockdown, and
all over the world, digital has become the

The last five months have been a bit of
a roller coaster ride for all of us. The
pandemic has turned the world upside
down, changing the way we live, work,
socialise and do business. Now, we are talking
about the new normal, which is yet to play out.

The pandemic has rewritten the rules of
business survival in modern times and
exposed the so-called digital divide. As a
result of the crisis, digital transformation
has gained steam in many enterprises, and those
companies that have invested in digital technologies
stand a good chance to come out stronger when
the economy recovers. As I have emphasised in my
previous column, business continuity is the name
of the game today. For this, companies will have to
rethink their technology investments and plan for a
much more resilient infrastructure and supply chain
communications.

As COVID-19 continues to rattle
businesses around the world, forcing
millions to work from home, CIOs
have no option but to change their
game plans. With remote work here to stay, IT
decisions makers are starting to rethink their
priorities, especially around capacity planning
and security. The analyst firm McKinsey says the
time is now for the CIO to work with the CEO and
C-suite to “unlock savings that ensure the business
continuity and be redirected into investments to
fit new business priorities.”

Covid-19 is a human tragedy of
mammoth proportions, forcing cities
around the world into lock-down. Life,
as we know it, has come to a standstill.
The global economic impact of Covid-19 is a
staggering $2.7 trillion in lost output, and world
GDP is estimated to shrink by around 7 percent in
H1 2020.

Last month, we hosted the second edition
of our CXO 50 Awards, which in a short
time, has already become the benchmark
for IT excellence in the region. The
winners were picked from a pool of 100 odd
shortlisted entries after rigorous scrutiny by an
external judging panel and our editorial team.
What struck me most about this year’s winners
was the fact that digital transformation is not
just a buzzword in the region– it is already
deeply rooted in many organisations. Though
maturity curves may vary, all of our winners are
driving digital change in their organisations with
new technologies. Be it the cloud, blockchain,
AI, or RPA, many of these visionary leaders
are riding the crest of this new wave to take
their businesses to new heights, and what is
heartening to see is that most of them have a
a seat at the table now. We will bring their success
stories to you in the forthcoming issues of CXO
Insight ME because these are worth emulating
if you are an IT or security leader looking to
reshape your business into a digital one. These
smart leaders are not treating DX projects as a
side project for IT and have metamorphosized
into digital strategy agents in their organisations.

You must have heard the news already.
This year’s MWC, considered as
a bellwether for emerging mobile
industry trends, was cancelled over
coronavirus health concerns. This is the first
time the show has been called off ever since it
started in 2006, and I have been a regular visitor.
I was particularly looking forward to this year’s
edition, which was going to showcase all the new
development around 5G – right from the new
wave of smartphones and advances in networks.

This year could prove a pivotal one for
many countries in the region. This is the
year of Expo in Dubai, which is going
to give a massive fillip to the country’s
economy and attract around 25 million visitors.
There are scores of technology companies
coming to Dubai as part of their country
pavilions, showcasing solutions that have the
potential to transform our lives and work.

As 2019 draws to a close, it is time to ponder
the year that was. Without a doubt, 2019
will go down in the annals of history as a
time that tested the mettle of many IT
leaders. The prevailing economic conditions in the
region put the onus on CIOs to understand and adopt
drivers of innovation to sustain business growth. With
shrinking IT budgets, they had to find that delicate
balance between spending on innovation and keeping
the lights on. It is estimated that only 20 percent of IT
budgets are spent on innovation, while the rest goes
to meet core business needs. In the coming years, I
would expect CIOs to turn to AI and automation to
get a handle on the maintenance part and free up
resources.

Last month, we hosted a roundtable event to
discuss the state of cloud adoption in the
region. After speaking to CIOs from a wide
range of verticals, including government,
banking, and healthcare, I was quite surprised
to learn that cloud is finally having its moment
in the region. The fact that hyperscalers have a
local presence now has instilled confidence, and
the number of companies looking to move their
whole IT stack to the cloud is quite high. Also, the
increased competition has resulted in a price war,
and the users have a lot more choice now – from
mega cloud providers to local service providers.
Has the cloud era truly dawned upon us now?
Maybe not because there are still some issues that
need to be ironed out by the industry. When the
cloud hype was cranked up to maximum, one of
its biggest selling points was cost. However, now
many users have realized the cloud is not always
exactly cheaper, and it is time the cloud industry
stopped marketing cost efficiency as the leading
factor. Instead, what the cloud providers need to
focus is on the kind of operational efficiencies and
flexibility it offers to users, and it is almost always
better than an on-prem alternative.

It’s that time of the year – when Dubai literally
becomes the tech capital of the world for five
days. For me, this is going to be my 15th edition
of Gitex Technology Week, and I consider
myself lucky to have gotten an opportunity to
chronicle the evolution and growth of the high-tech
industry in this region. Not surprisingly, this year’s
show is going to be all about artificial intelligence,
robotics, 5G, blockchain with a healthy dose of
cybersecurity. What I am really looking forward is
to experience first-hand some exciting use cases
of these new technologies.

May 2022

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CXO Insight Middle East is the most trusted source of strategic intelligence for IT decision
makers in the Middle East. Backed by media experts of the highest order, CXO Insight ME
offers incisive perspectives on current and emerging trends shaping the regional technology
landscape.

We deliver unmatched news coverage and in-depth analysis of the technologies and
opportunities that should be on the radar of IT professionals and decision makers looking to
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