Businessreview Middle East magazine - Apri l2017

MAKING WAVES The top 10 superyachts April 2017

www.businessreviewmiddleeast.com

Emirates NBD TH E TE C H N O LO GY P OW E R I N G G LO B A L E X PA N S I O N

UBER VS. CAREEM

the battle for Middle East

IPC MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA a franchisee supply model that DELIVERS

T he region’s f e m a l e p o we r br oker s

DRIVING CUSTOMER INSIGHT & BUSINESS PERFORMANCE THROUGH BIG DATA SOLUTIONS

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3-4 April 2017 Sofitel Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa Dubai, U.A.E.

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EDITOR’S COMMENT

BANKING ON THE FUTURE HELLO AND WELCOME to the April edition of Business Review Middle East.

Our cover story features Emirates NBD’s Senior Vice President of Procurement and Realty Services Abdullatif Albastaki, who discusses how the move towards digitisation has impacted financial services in the UAE. Wedaeli Chibelushi looks at three of the region’s top businesswomen and how they have risen to the summit of their industries, while we also take a look at the battle for supremacy in the car sharing market. Uber and Careem are going to head to head in what is quickly becoming a significant revenue generator, especially in the GCC. Another, and somewhat more luxurious form of transport is yachting, and the Middle East is home to some of the world’s most luxurious super yachts.

Jess Shanahan rounds up 10 of the biggest and best.

Also featured this month is IPC Middle East and Africa, through a supply chain lens.

I hope you enjoy the articles, please join the conversation @BusinessRevME

Tom Wadlow Editor tom.wadlow@bizclikmedia.com 3

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F E AT U R E S

PROFILE

THE MIDDLE EAST’S

most influential

businesswomen 06 TECHNOLOGY

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THE BAT TLE F O R C A R SH ARIN G W ITH UB ER AND C AREEM

DAWN OF TA XIS 4

April 2017

TOP 10

22

making waves Superyachts

EVENT REPORT

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2017 KAUST Global IT Summit

C O M PA N Y PROFILES

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Emirates NBD Technology

Dimension Data Middle East and Africa Technology

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KAUST Education

68 IPC Middle East & Africa Supply Chain

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PROFILE

THE MIDDLE EAST’S

most influential

businesswomen

Business Review Middle East profiles the women shaking up Middle Eastern business Writ ten by W EDAELI CHIBELUSHI

WHO ARE THE most powerful Arab businesswomen? Forbes recently collated a list of 100 leading ladies, one that spans sectors such as banking, government, construction and even museums. We profile the top three most powerful Arab businesswomen, but you can browse the complete list over at Forbes Middle East.

PROFILE

LUBNA S. OLAYAN CEO, OLAYAN FINANCING GROUP

RESIDENCE – SAUDI ARABIA SECTOR – DIVERSIFIED

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April 2017

MOST INFLUENTIAL BUSINESSWOMEN

OLAYAN IS THE CEO of Olayan Financing, a conglomerate founded by her late father, Sulaiman S. Olayan. The company distributes consumer goods, hospital supplies, office automation products, building supplies, telecommunications equipment and industrial goods. Olayan also sits on the group’s board, alongside her brother and two sisters.

Before her heading her father’s company, Olayan studied in America. She has a BSc from Cornell University and an MBA from Indiana University.

On top of her achievements with Olayan Financing, the CEO is well-known for promoting women in the industry. Olayan serves in the World Economic Forum’s Women Leadership Initiative, alongside its Arab Business Council.

Olayan was named by Fortune magazine as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in the International Power 50.

She has also been ranked 97th among the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women

by Forbes magazine. To top off her accolades, Olayan made history as the first woman in Saudi Arabia to give an opening keynote address at a major conference in Saudi Arabia.

She is also on the board of trustees of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, INSEAD, Rolls Royce and Schlumberger.

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PROFILE

LOBNA HELAL

DEPUTY GOVERNOR, CENTRAL BANK OF EGYPT

RESIDENCE – EGYPT SECTOR – GOVERNMENT

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April 2017

MOST INFLUENTIAL BUSINESSWOMEN

HELAL COMES IN at number two on Forbes’ list.

She is the Deputy Governor of Egypt’s Central Bank, appointed by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi himself last year. The banking expert is Egypt’s first female deputy governor. This isn’t Helal’s first stint at the bank. In 2011, she became the first woman to serve on its board, as Second Deputy Governor. Between these two roles, Helal became chair and Managing Director of the Egyptian Company for Mortgage Refinance. The company is a specialised financial institution that provides refinancing to primary mortgage lenders. Helal clearly excelled in this sector – in June 2015 she was elected as the first Head of the Egyptian Mortgage Finance Union.

Helal has also held banking roles in Arab International Bank, the Egyptian American Bank and EFG-Hermes. What of her personality? An article by the Arab Bankers Association describes her as “softly spoken but extremely competent”.

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PROFILE

RAJA EASA AL GURG MANAGING DIRECTOR, AL GURG GROUP

RESIDENCE – UAE SECTOR – DIVERSIFIED

NUMBER THREE ON the list, Al Gurg is the Managing Director of the eponymous Al Gurg Group. The Group is one of the oldest family firms in the UAE, having existed for around 50 years. Raja Easa Al Gurg took over the conglomerate in 1990. It operates 28 companies and has 370 partnerships with multinationals such as Unilever, British American Tobacco and Siemens.

Al Gurg also sits on many corporate boards. She is the first Emirati woman on the board of HSBC Bank Middle East and is also on the advisory board of Coutts Bank. Alongside these responsibilities, Al Gurg frequently takes part in official trade delegations and is active in philanthropic and women societies in the UAE. For instance, she is the deputy chair of

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April 2017

the Dubai Healthcare City Authority and President of the Dubai Business Women Council. In her capacity as President, she hosted the first MENA Businesswomen’s Network Forum. Surprisingly, Al Gurg doesn’t have a business-related university degree. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Kuwait University in 1977. Al Gurg was ranked 91st on Forbes 2016 international Power Women list.

She also won a Stevie Award for Women in Business in 2011 and the World of Difference Award from the International Alliance for Women in 2009. She holds memberships at the Dubai Economic Council, Arab International Women’s Forum, National Advisory Council and College of Business Sciences.

MOST INFLUENTIAL BUSINESSWOMEN

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TECHNOLOGY

VS

D AW N O F TA X I S THE BAT TLE F O R C AR SH A RIN G A P P S IN THE MID D LE E A S T I S H OT TIN G UP. W E TA KE A LO O K AT THE T W O M A IN CO NTEND ERS , UB ER AND C AREEM

W RIT TE N BY DALE B E NTO N

FIGHTER 1: UBER LOCATION: 527 CITIES ACROSS NORTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA, EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA, EAST ASIA, SOUTH ASIA, SOUTHEAST ASIA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND HISTORY: FOUNDED IN 2008

FIGHTER 2: CAREEM LOCATION: 48 CITIES ACROSS 11 COUNTRIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST HISTORY: FOUNDED IN 2012

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TECHNOLOGY

OVER THE LAST five years, Uber has across the world. From North America, disrupted the taxi and chauffer industry and fully entered the consciousness of city dwellers the world over, almost to the point in which we cannot remember a time when Uber didn’t exist.

Uber, founded in 2008, is a digitally enabled and simple way to hail a taxi or private vehicle for customer journeys.

Fast forward to 2017, and Uber now boasts over one billion connections 16

April 2017

Africa, South Asia and New Zealand – customers everywhere can hail a taxi via the Uber mobile app.

So, if Uber is still an enigma to those who have yet to experience the app, how does it work? Customers can download the Uber mobile app onto their phone or tablet devices.

Uber offers a completely cashless experience, so customers do not need

U B E R V S C A R E E M : D A W N O F TA X I S

‘UBER ARRIVED IN THE UAE IN 2013, A YEAR LATER THAN AN ALREADY ESTABLISHED COMPETITOR, CAREEM’

to fear having the correct amount of cash required for the journey. This is achieved through the safe storing of credit card details which are connected solely to the profile created by the user.

A user will need to log in to the app, select a date and time window in which they wish to travel, chose a pickup and destination location, review the fare presented to them and schedule. Uber will send details of the transaction to

the user, including a profile of the driver, estimated time of arrival as well as providing the opportunity to cancel or amend the journey. Once the journey is completed, a full breakdown of the journey is provided, with the option to rate the experience and driver.

The appeal of Uber is simple, why struggle to hail a taxi when you can have a personal journey waiting for you in no more than 15 minutes.

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TECHNOLOGY

FASHIONABLY LATE

Uber arrived in the UAE in 2013, a year later than an already established competitor, Careem.

Careem is a leading ride-hailing service based in the UAE, providing reliable, safe and affordable transportation choices through a digital mobile app, an online booking service, or through the traditional 18

April 2017

method – a simple telephone call.

Careem represents a key figure in what is described as the ‘sharing economy’ in the region, which aims to create millions of job opportunities through economic development.

The company, founded in 2012, currently has operations in 44 cities across 10 countries in the Middle

U B E R V S C A R E E M : D A W N O F TA X I S

East and North Africa Region.

The business model closely follows that of Uber. Users can log onto the website, or the app, designate a pick up and drop off location through an in-app mapping system, select a time and then book their journey effective immediately.

Much like Uber, the app will send a profile of the driver who has picked up the customer’s job, (to ensure a safer experience) as well as details of the car he or she will be using. With Careem’s commitment to safety shining through all of its operations, users can also select the option to track the journey, to provide a sense of accountability throughout.

Once the customer has completed the journey they have a choice of how to pay for the service, with the option of paying through a registered credit card or to pay in cash. This cash option is something that will provide Careem with a key advantage over Uber, which currently only offers a cashless option,

something that hasn’t been fully adopted in the Middle East just yet, but is becoming more and more common.

So, if both Uber and Careem offer the same service, how do the two hold up against one another?

Originally, Careem had the advantage in offering the ability to schedule a trip days in advance, whereas Uber was limited to scheduling only 15 minutes in advance.

That would have been a point in Careem’s corner, however in October 2016 Uber announced a new feature – scheduling, allowing users to pre-book a ride as far as 30 days in advance.

Uber, it goes without saying, has been widely accepted and embraced all around the world and while it has received some resistance from taxi firms, the biggest resistance so far has come in the form of the Road Transport Authority (RTA).

Previously, Careem was launched as a limousine only company, but in October last year it signed a new 19

TECHNOLOGY agreement with the RTA that saw all of the Emirates’ 9,841 taxis operated by Dubai Taxi added to Careem’s services. Upon signing the agreement, the RTA said that it will not “close the door on anyone” and a few months later in January 2017 it stood by this statement as it signed a similar agreement with none other than Uber.

The agreement signals the end of an unfortunate issue, where in August last year, both Uber and Careem temporarily suspended services in Abu Dhabi following arrests over licensing issues.

Both Uber and Careem, regardless of market position, will play a huge role in working towards the UAE Vision 2021. The vision, launched in 2010, aims to make the UAE one of the best countries in the world with regards to the socio-economic development of the country.

The two companies have stated that around 200,000 private sector jobs will be created and more importantly, will work hard to increase the female workforce to 28 percent over the next five years.

Regardless as to which company is leading the transportation market (Careem at the moment is winning largely due to its backing from local leading business firms), both Uber and Careem will continue to play a huge role in defining the future landscape of the UAE. It may just take a little longer than 15 minutes however.

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April 2017

U B E R V S C A R E E M : D A W N O F TA X I S

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TOP 10

making Writ ten by: JES S S HANAHAN

g waves Superyachts

These superyachts reach lengths of up to 180 metres and have an array of features including bulletproof glass, helipads, submarines and more

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TOP 10

10 Golden Odyssey This superyacht, owned by Prince Khalid of Saudi Arabia, is 124 metres long and can house 32 guests in 16 cabins. Not much is known about the interior other than its designer, Martin Francis, who is known for all sorts of fantastic superyacht projects.

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April 2017

Photo copyright - Kullez / flickr.com (CC BY 2.0)

M I D D L E E A S T S U P E RYA C H T S

09 Al Mirqab The 133-metre yacht, owned by the Emir of Qatar, holds a number of awards including 2009’s Motor Yacht of the Year and Best Interior Design in the motor yacht category for her Andrew Winch interior.

60 guests can be accommodated on this superyacht with amenities such as a cinema, a number of bars, hot tub and, of course, a helipad.

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08 Al Salamah This yacht was owned by the late Saudi Arabian crown prince, Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. In 2013 this yacht was put up for sale with an asking price of $280 million although was later delisted and given as a gift to the Crown Prince of Bahrain. 40 guests in 22 cabins can enjoy features such as a hair salon, three hospitals, five galleys and a dedicated dressing room for artists.

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April 2017

Photo copyright - Matthew Smith / flickr.com (CC BY 2.0)

TOP 10

Photo copyright - Glyn Lowe Photoworks / flickr.com (CC BY 2.0)

M I D D L E E A S T S U P E RYA C H T S

07 YAS This 141-metre-long yacht was built in the Middle East at ADMShipyards, just across the deep-water channel from Abu Dhabi’s main shipping terminal, Port Zayed. The yacht is now owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan and can accommodate 60 guests. The interior is graceful and elegant with a bright master bedroom that features a glass ceiling.

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TOP 10

06 Topaz This yacht was famously hired by Leonardo DiCaprio back in 2012 but is actually owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Topaz has a cinema, gym, three swimming pools and a helipad.

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April 2017

M I D D L E E A S T S U P E RYA C H T S

05 P rince Abdulaziz This yacht was built in 1984 and held the title of the largest yacht in the world for 22 years before it was knocked from the top spot in 2006.

It was built for King Fahd of Saudi Arabia but after his death in 2005, ownership passed to his son Abdul Aziz bin Fahd. As well as the usual amenities, such as a helipad, unconfirmed rumours suggest the yacht has impressive on-board security including an underwater surveillance system.

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TOP 10

04 Majesty 155 This is the largest vessel available from Majesty Yachts, coming in at 155 metres long. It’s available to tour virtually online and features an impressive list of amenities including lounges, bars, spacious cabins, hot tubs and swimming pools.

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April 2017

M I D D L E E A S T S U P E RYA C H T S

03 Al Said This yacht is owned by the Sultan of Oman and can accommodate 65 guests and 145 crew members. There’s even a concert hall where guests can be entertained by a 50-piece orchestra. It might not be the largest yacht on this list at 155 metres but with engines producing 22,127bhp, it’s one of the most powerful.

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TOP 10

02 Dubai Owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, this yacht comes in at 162 metres.

The interior of this vessel is something to be seen with a huge glass spiral staircase connecting the decks, in addition to three lifts.

On Dubai’s deck, you’ll also find a variety of pools, hot tubs, sunbathing areas, and a big swimming platform for water sports activities. It even has its own submarine.

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April 2017

M I D D L E E A S T S U P E RYA C H T S

Azzam was launched by German yacht builder Lurssen in 2013

01 Azzam Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan currently owns the Middle East’s largest superyacht.

Azzam is 180 metres long and is currently the largest in the world.

This is another superyacht with its own impressive security, rumoured to include a missile defence system and bulletproof master bedroom.

Despite being the largest yacht in the world, the Azzam is still very fast, reaching 30 knots thanks to two gas turbines and two large diesel engines producing 94,000 horse power. It’s one of the most high-tech vessels to have been built and is believed to include the ability to use waste heat from the engine to operate the yacht’s desalination system for drinking water.

Many yacht builders now are focusing on personalised interiors for each owner and while not much is known about the inside of the Azzam, you know it’s the epitome of luxury.

Superyachts will no doubt continue to get bigger but the emphasis now is on the amenities on board and having the most famous designers in charge of the interiors.

Technology is another focus, as can be seen in the design of Azzam, and the newer yachts hitting Middle Eastern waters are going to become increasingly high-tech.

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KAUST Global IT Summit 2017

EVENT REPORT

Leading a digital transformation journey 35

EVENT REPORT THE 2017 GLOBAL IT Summit at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) brought together CIOs, CTOs and IT thought leaders from around the world to evaluate the current state of IT and contribute to a strategic roadmap focused on providing academics, researchers and university administration with advanced, progressive IT resources.

The summit was headlined by three keynote speakers: Dr. Khaled Biyari, group CEO at the Saudi Telecom Company; Dr. Thomas Sterling, director and professor of informatics and computing at Indiana University; John Larson speaking during the event

and Charles Araujo, principal analyst at Intellyx and founder of the Institute for Digital Transformation.​ “As we move towards a global knowledge-based collaborative economy, we seek to enable leading edge research from our faculty, students and scientists who come to KAUST to make a positive impact in Saudi Arabia and the world.” said KAUST CIO John Larson.

The event featured speakers, panelists and attendees from Cisco Systems, Dell EMC, Cray, GE Digital, Google, IBM, Georgia Tech, Intel, King Abdulaziz University, King Fahd University of Petroleum and

“Digital transformation is powered, first and foremost, by the transformation of your culture and the skills of your team” – Charles Araujo, principal analyst at Intellyx and founder of the Institute for Digital Transformation

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April 2017

L E A D I N G A D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

Minerals, King Saud University, Microsoft, NVIDIA, the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), Saudi Aramco, Siemens, UC San Diego and Yale University, among others.​ IT and innovation Along with panels, workshops and keynotes, the IT Summit also included an Innovation Fair, where IT and tech-related startups got the chance to showcase their products and services. Notable startup teams included FalconViz, the Saudi Aramco inspection robots team, Sadeem,

NOMADD and Visual Experience.

“KAUST helps to shape the digital agenda of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Academia is being heavily impacted by the digitalization phenomenon that is taking place.

The heart of digitalization is innovation, and innovation comes from the labs and research of places like KAUST,” said Biyari​.

Leading a digital transformation journey “Bringing together a diverse group of people of different backgrounds 37

EVENT REPORT

KAUST startup Sadeem at the Innovation Fair

“Bringing together a diverse group of people of different backgrounds with diverse experiences and knowledge, we were able to look at where new ideas and emerging technologies are intersecting and may change the path of the future of IT” – Raed Al-Rabeh, manager of Saudi Aramco’s Exploration and Petroleum Engineering Computer Center Operations 38

April 2017

L E A D I N G A D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

with diverse experiences and knowledge, we were able to look at where new ideas and emerging technologies are intersecting and may change the path of the future of IT,” said Raed Al-Rabeh, manager of Saudi Aramco’s Exploration and Petroleum Engineering Computer Center Operations. “We wouldn’t have the opportunity to do this without this kind of event.”

With the constant evolution of information technology, the summit was an opportunity for global IT leaders to review recent progress made in the Middle East and engage with others who are helping lead the journey of transforming the digital landscape in the region.

“Digital transformation is powered, first and foremost, by the transformation of your culture and the skills of your team,” shared Araujo.

“As any business or IT leader knows, however, the cultural and personal transformation are the hardest parts of a digital transformation journey. It’s also critical to recognize that it’s not about IT, but rather a transformational journey that transcends the organization—and this is where the KAUST event was most instructive.”

Khald Biyari CEO of STC

Dr. Thomas Sterling, Director and Professor of Informatics and Computing of Indiana University

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Emirates NBD

First-class banking in the UAE Written by Catherine Rowell Produced by Heykel Ouni

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Senior Vice President of Procurement and Realty Services Abdullatif Albastaki discusses how the move towards digitisation has impacted financial services in the UAE

S

ince its formation in 2007, Emirates National Bank of Dubai (NBD) has been going from strength to strength, with operations in nine countries across the world including the UAE, Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Kingdom, Singapore and other countries such as India which will start operation in Q4 2017. With the potential to grow and deliver value to shareholders, customers and employees, the bank is staffed by over 10,000 employees representing 70 nationalities,

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cementing its position within the UAE with the potential to expand into further markets. With the aim to grow the business and its operations in alignment with Dubai’s Smart City vision, Emirates NBD is continually reassessing its procurement and supply chain strategies, remaining innovative with the creation of new products and services, with over 200 branches in the UAE and worldwide.

With a multitude of roles under his umbrella, Senior Vice President of Procurement and Realty Services Abdullatif Albastaki is responsible for the group procurement for the entirety of Emirates NBD, including Emirates Islamic Banks and the company’s international branches.

In addition, Albastaki is behind the delivery of the bank’s supply and management in all regions, physical security, travel and transportation, alongside projects and engineering.

Furthermore, his remit includes the fit outs for the bank and facilities management for both owned and lease branches. However, with regards to residential buildings, Albastaki confirms that this service

S U P P LY C H A I N

is outsourced to specific companies, with contracts monitored closely.

“We provide all the support, strategic services and project management skills to ensure products that are required for businesses run smoothly and for products to reach the market on time, according to schedule,” explains Albastaki. “Last year was the best collaborative year between procurement and all the other businesses.”

“We provide all the support, strategic services and project management skills to ensure products required for businesses run smoothly and for products to reach the market on time”

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Procurement power With one of the biggest brand names in the region’s banking industry, Emirates NBD has significant buying power and presence within the UAE. To this effect, the bank continually focuses on providing an advantageous space for employees and customers through leasing management, fit outs and design.

Albastaki sits on multiple steering committees, which incorporates the visibility and budget of new branches, alongside ones which need refurbishing and remodeling. All of this is allocated before the end of the year, with the aim to provide focus for the year ahead. It also ensures that all buildings under Emirates NBD are designed in alignment with the rules and regulations of the country, and that they are designed smartly to ensure collaboration with multiple teams. Albastaki comments: “Through negotiation and research, we find the best spaces, working with consultants and contractors to provide this in the best way possible, but at the same time, providing the best value for money,

alongside the use of ISO certified and environment friendly materials.”

With approximately AED 3 billion invested in purchasing operations, Emirates NBD utilises procurement software Zycus to successfully undertake strategic sourcing, at which Albastaki is behind every purchase. Both requirements and budgeting is finalised at executive level, which is then cascaded down and allocated, enabling all teams to understand their forecast, build the required resources and allocate them accordingly in alignment with the number of projects planned.

“We collaborate and sit together to plan all of the projects realistically, so we are able to hand it over due to the required time,” comments Albastaki. This has enabled the bank to achieve no delays in any given project, with products and services delivered on time and on schedule.

Albastaki continues: “This highlights that we have strong teams in both Procurement and Realty Services in addition to the outstanding suppliers and service providers that led us to build strong stakeholders trust.”

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E M I R AT E S N B D

Quick to market The bank’s IT procurement team works closely with the group’s IT services to ensure first mover advantage with new products and ideas, with a strong focus on customer feedback and requirements. “From a strategic point of view, we are using a strong brand name which allows us to be the first in the market most of the time”, explains Albastaki. With a continual focus on sourcing technologies, Emirates NBD ensures these are consistently up to date, up to speed and open in the market, providing a stream of procurement earlier than everyone else, or alongside everybody else.

Albastaki adds: “It’s really essential for us

to be advanced with technology in our procurement and supply chain and of course, from the supplier perspective, we look at all these points as well.”

The bank has announced that it aims to invest AED 500 million over the next five years towards digital innovation and multichannel transformation of processes, products and services.

Listening to customers’ feedback and providing consistent innovative solutions has enabled Emirates NBD to win a multitude of awards, such as Bank of the Year, Best Customer Experience in Banking and Best Mobile Banking app. It has also become the first bank in the UAE and the Middle East to win in three

S U P P LY C H A I N

w w w. e m i r a t e s n b d . c o m

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S U P P LY C H A I N

categories at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence in 2016. Albastaki adds: “All of these are of course useful leverages, which we can use in negotiations with suppliers.”

The bank utilises approximately 2,000 suppliers - a mix of both national and international - enabling it to cement its status as leaders in the market, manage all sourcing elements to a high standard and remain ahead of the game. Albastaki explains, “the number of suppliers goes up and down, because some smaller suppliers we sometimes bring in for one time only”. However, he adds: “We have

approximately 100 or more strategic suppliers”, which is continually fluctuating.

From a spend perspective, Albastaki confirms that there can be up to 200 suppliers that the bank can consider.

Nonetheless, the growth of Emirates NBD has not been without its challenges. One common issue is governance, both in Dubai and countries where the bank imports from, whilst logistics, lead time and benchmarking services are also regular challenges. Albastaki explains: “We are on boards with leaders and consultants which give us insight on

w w w. e m i r a t e s n b d . c o m

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“Being a brand name, we are strong and can mutually come to a common ground with suppliers and service providers to finalise our contracts”

S U P P LY C H A I N

what prices are around the world, and we try to benchmark them on current market conditions as well.”

Emirates NBD also encounters internal challenges with regards to contracting, insurance and risk, at which Albastaki explains, “some governing bodies we have internally would want to see a minimum requirement which might not fit the suppliers’ appetite”. However, he concludes: “Luckily, being a brand name, we are strong ourselves and can mutually come to a common ground and finalise our contracts.”

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Zycus has been Recognized as a LEADER in Gartner’s 2013, 2015 and 2017 Magic Quadrant for Strategic Sourcing Application Suites Access Report: zyc.us/GMQ-2017

Want to know how Zycus helped Emirates NBD?

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Abdullatif Albastaki Senior Vice President Group Procurement & Realty Services

“We need to be digital, secure, and influence our customers to use and explore the digital world�

E M I R AT E S N B D

Millennial influence Technological innovation is imperative for Emirates NBD to retain and attract further customers, remain competitive and bring requirements and products to the market effectively, ensuring positive, continual customer engagement.

IT has become the biggest spend at Emirates NBD, where over 87 percent of the bank’s customer transactions are now undertaken through digital channels.

For this year, the bank will be focusing on the millennial generation and its influence within banking and digitisation. “We have noticed that the new generation want everything at their fingertips. People do all their payments online, transfers online, sort their credit card payments online, so the need to carry cash is becoming less, year on year,” explains Albastaki.

“To allow this, we need to be digital, secure, and influence our customers to use and explore the digital world.”

The bank’s aim to be proactive with customers and solve problems before they occur through providing solutions before customers ask for

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them is something Emirates NBD is striving to achieve. Use of online and mobile apps and products, creating a seamless and convenient financial service, will allow it to do just that.

With the vision to be globally recognised as a financial services provider, delivering tailored, innovative banking solutions, Emirates NBD will continue to listen to customers and drive key products to the market, whilst ensuring all new services encompass accessibility and remain user friendly through embedding smart technologies, strategic sourcing and essential procurement services. In 2016, the bank achieved all targets, despite a slowing in the market, and achieved steady growth, cementing its position within the UAE and opening up the future for expansion into new markets in years to come.

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What do the Tour de France, Nelson Mandela and digital business have in common?

Written by Wedaeli Chibelushi Produced by Stuart Shirra 57

D I M E N S I O N D ATA M I D D L E E A S T A N D A F R I C A

We spoke to the Managing Director of Dimension Data Middle East about the future of digital business

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hen I ask about her experiences in the maledominated tech sector, Mechelle Buys du Plessis laughs: “We just can’t balance that boardroom, can we!”. Buys du Plessis is Managing Director of Dimension Data Middle East. She has spent 22 years at the global IT services company, working in diverse areas such as marketing, client services and sales management. She became Managing Director in 2015; in this role she

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ensures Dimension Data remains an equal opportunities employer.

“We need to make sure that we’re attracting and retaining the best skill and to do that we need to make sure that we’re providing equal opportunities to the best of the best,” Buys du Plessis tells me. “To me, gender doesn’t have a part to play when there is a global IT skills shortfall.”

TECHNOLOGY

Maintaining talent is important to Buys du Plessis.

Dimension Data has a strong reputation to uphold - the company has been providing IT solutions and services since 1983.

Buys du Plessis began in 1994, and can remember Dimension Data’s humble South African roots. “Dimension Data was a young company at the time, and we were going through changes in our country [Nelson Mandela became the first black South African president in 1994],”

she said. Today, Dimension Data has 31,000 employees, 75 percent Fortune 100 clients, 59.6 percent Fortune 500 clients and a 58-country coverage.

In 2015, it received over 100 client, vendor and industry awards, and over 50 of these in the first half of 2016.

What services does Buys Du Plessis oversee? “Dimension Data focuses on four high level areas: digital infrastructure, hybrid cloud, workspaces of tomorrow and cyber security,” she says. “IT-as-a-service is growing across those four pillars… we look at everything from cloud advisory services that help our clients deliver against a clear roadmap, to delivering off premise, or public cloud services; on premise cloud solutions and hybrid cloud solutions.”

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By unlocking the potential of the digital era, we’ll be even

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D I M E N S I O N D ATA M I D D L E E A S T A N D A F R I C A

Mechelle Buys du Plessis Managing Director, Middle East

Originally qualified in Food & Nutrition sciences, Buys du Plessis started her career in IT in 1994. She has worked across multiple countries & three continents. Starting at ground-roots level, she quickly moved from a presales role, to a sales role and into Corporate and Key Account Management. Her passion for service delivery moved her to General Manager, Client Services. From here, she was appointed head of Marketing for Africa and Middle East, prior to moving to the United Arab Emirates in 2007.

Buys du Plessis has filled Sales Management, Solution Director and Managing Director roles in the United Arab Emirates. She is happily married to Anton and is proud to have a daughter, currently an under-grad veterinary student in Ohio, USA.

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Many clients come to Dimension Data seeking its cloud services for Microsoft and cloud services for SAP. Microsoft technologies form the core building blocks of Dimension Data clients’ productivity and unified communications and collaboration (UCC) strategies. The company’s cloud services for Microsoft focus on reducing cost in achieving this strategy. Likewise, with Dimension Data’s cloud services for SAP, cost control is achieved. All this is provided on a fit for purpose SAP HANA certified public, private and hybrid cloud solution, backed by certified SAP support teams.

Buys du Plessis continues to add to Dimension Data’s service pool. “We offer a OneCloud partner programme, IT outsourcing, consulting and professional services, managed services, managed services for data centres and support services,” she expands.

“Our solutions centre around big data, client computing, cloud, data centres, data centre management & automation and data centre optimisation. This is a very big area

Manoj Kumar Regional Sales Lead

Holding a Masters in Business Administration, Kumar started his career in India and moved to the UAE in 2003 as Sales Account Manager in the IT field. He joined Dimension Data in 2007. Kumar is very passionate about client relationships, team work and partnerships with key vendors. His main goal is always about enabling better solutions for our clients. Kumar is married to Jaya and they have a son, Om Kishan.

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for us,” Buys du Plessis says, pausing for breath. “Quite a large spread - it might sound very confusing. It’s not.

We basically work with our clients from a consulting engagement, all the way to managing the IT operation on behalf of our client.”

Finally, she makes sure to note networking and security, Dimension Data’s original domain.

We ask how security services have developed since the early days.

“Security is and always will be big business,” Buys du Plessis explains. “Big dollar figures are quoted in terms of what cyber security is doing to the world.

“Globally, and in the Middle East, security is enabling digitisation. If you look at fintech or technology businesses, they are leading this charge, and we see this in the Middle East as well. Many of these businesses are asset light, whilst ensuring secure transactions, so we think that security expands beyond the physical perimeter into the cloud environment.”

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This benefits businesses; it enables them to have quick deployments across multiple cloud platforms.

This process is especially relevant to contemporary Middle Eastern businesses, where according to Buys du Plessis, a large amount of rightsizing, downsizing and mergers and acquisitions take place. She tells us that the Middle East is “very visionary, very innovative…going out there and pushing the internet of things”.

Buys du Plessis explains how cloud technology contributes to this progressive sector. “We love cloud technology,” she laughs. “We’ve basically acknowledged that for most of our clients there’s going to be both cloud and non-cloud components, but with cloud playing a very strong role. Dimension Data has invested a significant amount of money in our capability over the past five to six years. The strategy is two-fold - one side is for our own organisation to make sure that we are agile enough to serve our clients best, the second is to build the cloud into the centre of everything we do with our clients.”

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es e y o pl a t a m e of ion D r e b ns m e u N im D t a

Ahmed Elias Procurement & Partner Alliance Lead, UAE

Elias is a CIPS ( Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply – UK ) certified professional and a finance graduate who worked in the finance sector for a decade.

He started his career as a junior level Accounts Assistant before moving to the role of Lead Accountant within just a few years in the manufacturing industry. From here, he moved to Sales Coordination and Sales Administration roles, which positioned him well to move to the procurement field as a Buyer for the oil field industry. Elias joined Dimension Data in 2007 as Team Leader for procurement. Having lead the procurement team as procurement manager, Elias stepped into a Dimension Data UAE management role, where his responsibilities include supply chain and vendor alliance management. Elias’s in-depth knowledge of procurement, logistics, vendor management, contracts management, e-procurement and vendor pre-qualification sets him apart.

His wide experience across multiple industry verticals, including manufacturing, construction, oil field services and IT with Dimension Data brings unmatched value.

Elias has a passion for motorcycling and is a proud father of a 15 year old son.

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Ovais Khan Services Lead, UAE

A graduate in Computer Engineering, Khan has been employed with Dimension Data since 2008, where he started as a Network Engineer. With a passion for technology and services delivery, he has since risen over the years to lead the current services team.

During this journey, Khan has served in various services functions within Dimension Data Services including Project Management and Services Delivery, and was a proud recipient of CEO award for Certification of Excellence in Services. Khan has numerous certifications in Project Management, Finance, Services Management, Process Improvement and IT Networking. Khan embraces his lazy nature which helps him find, creative and efficient ways of doing things. Khan lives in Dubai, with his wife and two beautiful daughters. Khan enjoys combat sports and in his spare time, plays cricket for a local cricket club.

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Two years ago, Dimension Data partnered with ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation) to establish new ways to engage global Tour de France fans.

With cloud at the core of our solution, Dimension Data has revolutionised the viewing experience by transforming the way race data is analysed and delivered to the cycling community, which includes fans, the media, the teams and the experts. Dimension Data plans to build on that innovation for every year of its involvement in the Tour, powered by cloud infrastructure.

“As much as it’s a privilege to manage such a successful business, there are things that keep me awake at night. I take personal responsibility for our exceptional employees, and

our clients are at the top of my mind all the time,” Buys Du Plessis admits.

However, she’s proud of Dimension Data’s growth during the 22 years she’s worked there. Ultimately, the challenges are worthwhile. “My first love has always been technology and how it changes business…how it changes life. I wake up every morning thinking that it’s a hell of a privilege to manage a business with products and solutions that change lives.”

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A franchisee supply model that delivers Written by Dale Benton Produced by Heykel Ouni

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IPC MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

IPC helps Subway franchisees remain profitable and sustainable, all the while delivering products and services to the highest standard expected of Subway across the world

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n 1965, the first ever Subway sandwich store was opened in Connecticut in the United States of America. Fast forward 52 years and Subway is the world’s largest QSR chain by shop count; with more than 44,000 locations around the world. Of those 44,000 stores, close to 700 are in the Middle East and Africa region, and this is where the regional Independent Purchasing Co. (IPC) comes in.

Formed in 2010, IPC (MEA) is a non-profit making organisation owned by Subway Franchisees in the Middle East and Africa. Through a

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unique business model, the company strives to deliver financial and service benefits through volume purchasing and supply chain operations. The first IPC was set up as a cooperative in the US in 1996 and over the past 20 years a total of 5 IPCs now manage the global supply chains needs of Subway franchisees; handling

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and is therefore in a position to objectively evaluate how can we get the best out of suppliers.”

Fresh Perspective

DUBAI The location of IPC Middle East & Africa HQ

collectively $5B+ worth of procurement.

But the IPC/ Subway Franchisee relationship goes deeper than simply supporting the procurement and supply chain.

“IPC acts in an advisory capacity to franchisees in the fact that it is neither transacting nor executing,” says Ramzi Baroudy, CEO of IPC (MEA).

“It is about looking for the best interests of the franchisees

Ramzi has been with IPC (MEA) since 2015, having spent a large part of his career with Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) across Nestle, Kraft Foods, General Mills and PepsiCo spanning the sales and marketing spectrum as well as some experience in an operations and manufacturing capacity.

It is this atypical experience that he feels places him in a good position with IPC as it allows him to come into the business with fresh eyes and to “see the bigger picture”.

“My experience provided me with an understanding of the end to end supply chain and procurement and how it affects overall costs as well as how a product gets to market,” he says.

IPC(MEA) works with and supports Subway franchisees across the Middle East and Africa regions by ensuring that suppliers comply with the Subway Gold Standard product specifications, while delivering the same level of high

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standard services as is expected from Subway the world over.

“Ultimately, as a business we only have one customer and that is Subway,” he says.

“Subway as a brand receives the benefit from the fact that it can depend on a qualified organisation that is implementing its standards, ensuring it is working with the best suppliers and harmonising the business models across multiple markets.”

Diverse Markets When IPC (MEA) was first formed it only operated in the UAE, over the past few years IPC (MEA)’s footprint has expanded to include Saudi Arabia, and more recently Turkey with plans to expand into Pakistan and South Africa. In order to achieve this growth, IPC (MEA) works on

the sustainability associated with the relationship with Subway.

Naturally, the success of IPC (MEA) and any Subway franchisee lays in the overall growth in consumption and sales. IPC (MEA) operates in a number of diverse markets, each presenting different challenges that can factor into the success and growth of a franchisee. Understandably, diverse markets present diverse challenges.

“With such varied markets, you have to ask yourself, how do you support them remotely? If not, then how do you build towards that? Is there a creative way to ensure that every single franchisee, regardless of location, is getting the service they deserve?”

This isn’t a challenge unique to IPC (MEA) however, with IPC’s all across the world each

2010

The year IPC Middle East & Africa was founded

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within a different market.

Recognising the challenges, and acknowledging the importance of overcoming said challenges, is key in progressing as a business.

“By virtue of the diversity of those markets, it would be very naive not to think of it as a challenge to try and respond to trends, be it a growth or a drop and managing that,” he says.

Ramzi strives to mitigate these challenges, be it in fact the fluctuating market or the remoteness of a franchisee in Mauritius, by leveraging the flow of the operations in the larger markets to support the servicing of smaller markets.

Building Synergies The upside of diversity is that it presents certain challenges that forces an organization to work holistically as well as pragmatically.

“What we have tried to do is build a clustering of markets ideally through a single service provider trying to

standardise the quality of service, managing recalls and similar issues all through one point of contact,” he says.

“This will help us manage the region easier and maintain control to ensure that everyone is following a consistent high quality standard.”

This consistent high quality standard across all operations worldwide is achieved through Unaterra. Unaterra pools together similar organisations to IPC in North America, Europe, Australia, Latin America and the Caribbean to work in unison and deliver consistent standardised benefits at a global level.

“The various different IPC’s are unified through Unaterra which leverages global best practice and ensure that, through a global procurement project, there is a single voice with suppliers,” Ramzi says.

“Unaterra is almost two tier, there are regional IPCs managing regions and areas of global management supported through Unaterra, which leverages the collective muscles of all the IPC’s together.”

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A Growing World One of the biggest challenges for IPC (MEA) is, despite its mix of challenges and successes, the fact is it is still a young company. This brings with it the additional need of raising awareness of what the company does and the significant role it can play.

“Given our size, it’s been a natural challenge from the beginning because people aren’t clear as to how the business model works and the fact that we had a small footprint in the region.”

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“It is about looking for the best interests of the franchisees and is in a position to objectively evaluate how can we get the best out of suppliers” aligns itself with Subway’s aggressive target with regards to growth within the Middle East. Currently, IPC (MEA) stands at around half a dozen members of staff, but Ramzi expects that IPC (MEA) headcount will continue to grow over the next three to five years.

“IPC is an innovative business model and there is ample room for growth in the Middle East,” he says.

“Beyond the headcount, I see us really beginning to have better expertise and becoming a very robust organisation in every area, whether that’s procurement, supply chain, business intelligence or even HR and Finance.”

The UAE represents what Ramzi describes as a showcase market, with IPC (MEA) looking to better develop

its capacities and provide services beyond procurement and supply chain; and where technology will play a major role in this future growth development.

“This ties very well with how Subway is looking at technology in terms of improving customer experience as its the name of the game now with millennials looking for more digitally enabled experiences,” he says But when all is said and done, the ultimate mission we live by will continue to be that “Subway franchisees are profitable and competitive today and into the future.”

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KAUST: leading Saudi Arabia into the digital revolution Written by Leilla Hawkins Produced by Craig Daniels

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KAUST is leading Saudi Arabia into a new digital era, with a recordbreaking supercomputer to address the world’s greatest challenges

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he King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia was founded in 2009, in what was pretty much desert. A few years later its supercomputer Shaheen completed a world first endeavour in the exploration of oil. KAUST’s rapid developments mirror Saudi’s incredibly fast-paced history - since its inception as a modern-day Kingdom in 1932 it has transformed from a rural nation reliant on agriculture to one in the midst of a digital revolution.

A pivotal influence in the university’s development was the Shaybah Development Program, a pioneering project that made inroads into new technologies for the discovery of oil. Its sheer size and complexity was unlike anything that had been accomplished in the region before - until the launch of KAUST. During his former career at Saudi

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Aramco, KAUST Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance Nadhmi Al-Nasr managed the Shaybah project after overseeing the Kingdom’s oil and gas pipeline projects of Saudi Aramco (the Saudi Arabian Oil Company). Of the development of KAUST he says: “We were creating a new world-class university on a scale and timeline that could not be compared to anything else. In what is sometimes called our thousand-day journey, this meant assembling the world’s leading experts and adapting the best of what they had to offer in a fresh new way to serve the Saudi people and context, but with a global reach.”

Two of these experts are David Keyes, Professor of Applied Mathematics and Computational Science and Director of the Extreme Computing Research Center, and John E. Larson, Chief Information

TECHNOLOGY

Nadhmi Al-Nasr

“The aim with our supercomputer is to enhance our contribution to research and industry in the nation through our many important partnerships”

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE Nadhmi A. Al-Nasr began his career with Saudi Aramco in 1978, just days after obtaining his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). A third-generation Saudi Aramco employee, Mr. Al-Nasr spent his first three years in Engineering Services.

In 1981 he began working on the execution of the Kingdom’s Master Gas System - the largest industrial project of its kind at the time, where he divided his time between Houston and on-site at the Uthmaniyah Gas Plant. The program was completed in 1984.

Today it is one of the world’s largest single hydrocarbon networks and a major factor in the Kingdom’s diversification and economic development activities.

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KAUST

Officer. Keyes had spent two decades writing federal agency reports for NASA and the US Department of Energy. At KAUST he had the chance to create a brand new computational science and engineering-based university.

Larson was formerly the Vice President of IT at Pfizer, and the CIO of Disneyland Paris during its construction. Now he’s responsible for all of KAUST’s IT infrastructure including research support capability around computational science.

Both were drawn to KAUST by the excitement of getting involved with

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a new educational institution from scratch. “It’s a country with a lot of ambition and momentum,” Keyes says. “When KAUST came on the scene we found that there was a spirit here that we found missing in most institutions in our countries, that were trapped in their success.”

The record-breaking supercomputer In October 2016 KAUST’s Cray XC40 supercomputer, aka Shaheen, completed the world’s first trillion cell reservoir simulation led by scientists from Saudi Aramco. As the fastest

TECHNOLOGY

John Larson

supercomputer in the Middle East, Shaheen’s extremely high resolution enabled it to analyze the assets of Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar reservoir the world’s largest oil field - in one continuous computation rather than dividing it up into different pieces.

This meant a more detailed look at the location and quantity of the oil, identifying parts that had not been visible before with older machines.

Keyes says that Shaheen holds its own against the world’s supercomputers. “[It’s] designed to be very usable with a tightly coupled computer network to reduce the

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overheads of messages. Saudi Aramco employs a hierarchical solver that tries to do the least operations as efficiently as possible over many processors. What they have done in-house is comparable to the achievements of the majors that have internal reservoir simulators like Shell or Exxonmobil.”

This record-breaking experiment may have been completed but the team isn’t resting on its laurels, as continuing to make advances in high performance computing is essential to KAUST’s work. “Our ambitious research strategy would not be possible without Shaheen,” Al-Nasr says. “But the benefits of Shaheen reach beyond KAUST. Our aim with the supercomputer is to enhance our contribution to research and industry in the nation through our many important partnerships.”

The benefits of networking Another way to form partnerships is through the many events KAUST host, attended by CIOs, CTOs, and IT thought leaders from all over the world. One is the annual Global IT

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David Keyes

PROFESSOR OF APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE AND DIRECTOR OF THE EXTREME COMPUTING RESEARCH CENTER

“It always surprises people that Saudi is among the world’s leaders in computer power”

TECHNOLOGY

Summit, the most recent of which took place in early February. “We often work with national partners who may be struggling with their own IT, or just wish to learn about our experience,” Al-Nasr says. “The summit helped increase recognition of IT’s strategic value and role at KAUST, and served as an exposure opportunity to local universities and government agencies.”

KAUST faculty members can lead workshops on the campus, bringing them into contact with leaders in their fields from all over the world. The Scalable Hierarchical Algorithms for Extreme Computing workshop took place in May 2016, including guests from the Intel Corporation, Nvidia and the US Department of Energy.

In March 2017, KAUST hosted the 7th High Performance Computing Saudi Arabia Conference, which is the premier regional event that focuses on advancing the HPC ecosystem in Saudi Arabia.

Equally important is having a presence at key global events to share technical knowledge and bring new people on board. The Supercomputing

conference in the US was where Keyes was initially recruited in 2007. KAUST has an exhibition booth here each year to advertise what it does. “It always surprises people that Saudi is among the world’s leaders in computer power,” Keyes says. “Even today there are I believe only seven countries in the world whose aggregate computing power is greater than ours, those being China, the US, Japan, Germany, the UK, France and Switzerland.”

A diverse student-force Traditionally there are fewer women than men in tech, but KAUST has a higher than average percentage of female students at 37 percent. Keyes compares this to the 26 percent in the graduate school of engineering at Columbia University, where he taught, a figure the institution prides itself on.

The university also has a community that represents 100 different countries. “As a Saudi citizen, I appreciate that a large portion of the world is represented at KAUST,” Al-Nasr says. “Not just for the sake of diversity, but because it helps drive our commitment to excellence

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through the integration of diverse approaches and perspectives.”

Future challenges for extreme computing Looking ahead, Keyes believes the biggest challenge is power efficiency.

“The driving force in supercomputing today is surprisingly almost the same as in your cell phone. It’s trying to do more with less power, whether to save your battery to show movies or to compute the world’s largest oil fields in a sufficiently fast time to change the control of pumping and injecting. If you have to expand power requirements (already in the MegaWatts)

proportionally to computing power, you are limited by your facility.”

Al-Nasr emphasized the importance of the university’s role in finding sustainable solutions to humanity’s greatest challenges while protecting the precious planet that we all share.

“Our strategic research in water, food, energy, and the environment is directly addressing the most important scientific, economic, and development issues in Saudi Arabia and the world today. With the most advanced technological resources at KAUST, we are constantly pushing our scientists and engineers to anticipate future challenges and find better solutions

2009 The year that KAUST was founded

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to the world’s biggest concerns.”

The next big leap These aren’t just ambitions on the horizon - a national strategy called Vision 2030 entails a huge push towards entrepreneurship and forming new industries outside of oil. In fact the mission of KAUST is closely aligned with the principles of this national plan, with one of its aims being to attract enterprise. The university has already incorporated 31 start-ups and 22 of these are in Saudi Arabia benefiting the economy.

This drive began with the scholarship program implemented

by the late King Abdullah, making it possible for people to travel overseas to earn degrees, even with their families in some instances. Larson puts the latest number of students taking part at 125k. “These young bright minds will return to Saudi Arabia and help implement new ideas and new start up organizations. KAUST is also doing its part to equip the leaders, entrepreneurs and scientists needed for the nation’s future. These efforts provide a great opportunity for Saudi to take another leap.”

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