So Far, Yet So Near
CNME|August 2017

Polycom’s president for the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa regions, Marco Landi, shares his thoughts on the potential for video conferencing solutions in the GCC, and why traditional workspaces are being transformed by advancing work cultures and technologies in the APAC-EMEA territory.

So Far, Yet So Near

You manage a large chunk of the world for Polycom…

I took over Asia on 1st April, and have been in charge of Polycom’s EMEA region for two years. It’s a massive region to manage, and I was keen to work beyond EMEA. We also wanted to bring more consistency across the company. We don’t have a worldwide sales leader, so we decided to split the world in two, between myself and my counterpart, who runs the North and South America regions. It has made things tighter and more structured. So far, I’m really enjoying the role.

What’s Polycom’s outlook for the Middle East region?

When I took over two years ago, it was a bit of a struggle. Like everyone else in the market, we had suffered. I think we’re now doing a lot better. You could maybe say that we’d hit the bottom, but the last three or four quarters have really been strong. There’s a lot of opportunity, and this region is a particularly dynamic voice market, while video is still in a bit of a transition.

Avaya’s struggles and Cisco’s decreased focus on voice present opportunities for us. In terms of video, that’s where the biggest opportunity is for the Microsoft transition. The transition is from video conferencing being a separate, niche application to being integrated in the collaboration piece, where you put voice and video conferences, content management and instant messaging into one platform.

What kinds of transitions are your customers experiencing in terms of their use of your technology?

There are a lot of questions – not so much around the value of the technology, but more around the extent of the transition to newer usage. It’s no longer just a case of buying endpoints for a video conferencing room.

This story is from the August 2017 edition of CNME.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the August 2017 edition of CNME.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM CNMEView All
Faster, Smarter, Safer
CNME

Faster, Smarter, Safer

James Dartnell reports from the EMEA edition of F5 Networks’ Agility 2017 conference in Barcelona, where the firm’s new CEO François LocohDonou pledged to stay true to the firm’s software offerings while delivering increasingly complex and secure applications to its customers.

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2017
CNME

Kingdom Come

Following its decision to commit $45 billion into SoftBank’s Vision Fund, why has Saudi Arabia’s government felt the need to make such a huge investment in technology? Why is this investment being directed externally, and does it actually satisfy the country’s aims of delivering its Vision 2030 goals?

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2017
Full Speed Ahead
CNME

Full Speed Ahead

Having recently approved Dubai’s strategy to transform 25 percent of the emirate’s total trips into self-driving journeys by 2030, the RTA’s CEO of its licensing agency, Ahmed Hashem Bahrozyan – the driving force behind the project – explains how the latest autonomous transport nnouncements will contribute towards the goal.

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2017
Clear Skies Ahead
CNME

Clear Skies Ahead

Huawei's Connect conference gathered 20,000 IT professionals in Shanghai to showcase a number of solutions that embody the company’s vision to become one of the world’s top cloud players within the next five years. Glesni Holland reports from Shanghai New International Expo Centre.

time-read
4 mins  |
October 2017
Joining Forces
CNME

Joining Forces

Following the historic merger of Mubadala Development Company and International Petroleum Investment Company into a $125-billion-asset behemoth, work needed to be done to get both companies’ IT departments on the same page. Throughout the transformation, Mansour Al Ketbi, now CIO of the resulting Mubadala Investment Company, has proven himself a master of sound technology policy, transparency, and, most importantly, diplomacy.

time-read
6 mins  |
October 2017
Community Service
CNME

Community Service

Of all the industries that are most critical in delivering open, secure societies, the legal profession has arguably been the most resistant to digital disruption. DIFC Courts CEO Mark Beer OBE believes the legal industry is now compelled to adopt technology to become more user-friendly, and that it risks being supplanted by the private sector if it refuses to change.

time-read
7 mins  |
October 2017
New Kid On The Block
CNME

New Kid On The Block

Nine out of ten government organisations across the world are tipped to invest in blockchain technology by 2018, and Dubai’s government has set out its stall to be a leader in the adoption wave. When can we expect to see blockchain become a mainstream technology in enterprises across the region?

time-read
4 mins  |
October 2017
How To Fend Off Digital Disruption
CNME

How To Fend Off Digital Disruption

Anticipating future opportunities based on hard and soft trends is a crucial weapon in helping CIOs stave off being a victim of digital transformation. Clint Boulton explores what is needed to commit to an ‘anticipatory IT’ strategy.

time-read
4 mins  |
October 2017
Building Blocks
CNME

Building Blocks

Now in its fifth year, the Data Centre Build conference returned to Dubai's Habtoor Grand Resort last month, to shed light on the latest trends and best practices impacting modern data centres.

time-read
2 mins  |
October 2017
Eight Steps To The Digital Workplace
CNME

Eight Steps To The Digital Workplace

Clint Boulton explores how to to craft a workplace that boosts engagement and agility.

time-read
4 mins  |
October 2017