Computer News Middle East October 2023

ISSUE 376 I OCTOBER 2023 TAHAWULTECH.COM

CIRRUSLABS COO LENOVO EVP AVEVA EVP

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR JOURNEY AVAYA’S NIDAL ABOU-LTAIF ON THE SECRET TO INNOVATION

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EDITORIAL

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PATH Our events

It’s that time of the year again!

GITEX Global 2023 is here, and this year’s conference looks set to surpass previous editions of GITEX, in terms of sheer scale and participation.

It has been the region’s flagship IT and technology symposium since the turn of the millennium, but over the last few years, the event really has turned global.

As always, CPI Media Group will be providing LIVE coverage from the event in the form of our 60 Minutes e-newsletter, which will be posted twice daily.

In addition to this, we will be conducting video interviews with prominent technology and business leaders from all over the world.

The theme of this year’s GITEX, is unsurprisingly based around AI. Generative AI is everywhere, and it has sparked great fanfare across the global IT ecosystem.

Talk to us: E-mail: mark.forker@ cpimediagroup.com

However, amidst such rapid technological change, it can be difficult for businesses to choose the right approach when adopting new technologies.

We have seen many enterprises over the years struggle with the demands of digital and cloud transformation, and in the current digital economy, it’s now more imperative than ever to choose the right path.

On the front cover of October’s edition of CNME, we have a terrific interview with Nidal Abou-Ltaif, Head of Global Sales, and President of Avaya International.

It’s always a pleasure to get the opportunity to speak to Nidal, who is one of the most respected and revered technology leaders in the region.

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In a complex digital economy, it can be hard to navigate the right path to success, especially when it comes to AI, but this is where Avaya is excelling to deliver for their customers.”

A recurring theme throughout our conversation was how Avaya is helping their customers ‘choose the right journey’.

Avaya has enjoyed a renaissance under the guidance of CEO Alan Masarek, and the company has always had a singular focus on serving the needs of their customers.

In a complex digital economy, it can be hard to navigate the right path to success, especially when it comes to AI, but this is where Avaya is excelling to deliver for their customers.

“Our customers are excited about the possibilities of AI, for sure, but they really want an integrator to bring it all together. And they don’t want any disruption to what they already have. Avaya serves that need very nicely,” said Abou-Ltaif.

We have some incredible interviews in this month’s magazine, and one of them is with Naeem Hussain, Chief Operating Officers at CirrusLabs.

Remaining on the topic of choosing the right path, the bespoke digital transformation provider is on a mission to simplify the digital journey for their customers.

CirrusLabs has had success in the United States, and it harbours ambitions to replicate that here in the Middle East.

Our social media

Hussain believes the unique offering within its digital framework gives the company a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

CNME also spoke to Sebastien Krause, Executive Vice-President and Chief Revenue Officer at IBM.

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He outlined the company’s approach to generative AI, which he believes if harnessed properly can drive huge financial and productivity gains within the enterprise space globally.

In addition to this, we have terrific interviews with Lenovo, DigitalX, InfraX, Moro Hub and Ruckus CommScope – and thought leadership from Orange Business, AVEVA and SolarWinds.

On behalf of CPI Media Group, we would like to wish all our clients and partners a very successful GITEX.

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We will also be hosting our fabled Future Enterprise Awards at Habtoor Palace, on October 16th - following the conclusion of Day 1 of GITEX Global.

Looking forward to seeing you all at GITEX. Mark Forker Editor

I N PA RT N E R S H I P W I T H

PRESENTS

H A B T O O R

18T H O CTO B ER 2023

PA L A C E

D U B A I ,

L X R

H O T E L S

&

R E S O R T

#tahawultech #CXOSummit2023 #CirrusLabs

REGISTER NOW The CXO Summit is a forum during the week of GITEX GLOBAL ‘23 that has been designed to network, share, learn, and build the future that will help organizations navigate and overcome the complexities that exist in our ever-evolving digital economy.

Together, we can simplify the path to digital success.

Your journey is our journey.

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For more information about the event, please visit https://www.tahawultech.com/cxo-summit/2023/

CONTENTS

22

28

CIRRUSLABS

Avaya Cover Feature

14 Sebastien Krause, Senior Vice

President and Chief Revenue Officer at IBM, discloses how the company is harnessing the power of generative AI to drive new productivity in the enterprise space.

AVEVA

40

22 Naeem Hussain, Chief Operating Officer at CirrusLabs, believes their unique digital framework is enabling their customers to accelerate their digital transformation objectives.

40 Rashesh Mody, Executive Vice-

14

President, Operations Business at AVEVA, outlines how 'smart data' is the key in helping global leaders reach their aspirations of a Net Zero world.

IBM

50

RUCKUS

50 Moe Raslan, Regional Sales

6 News

CNME rounds up the biggest regional and global developments in enterprise technology, which includes the news that Tenable has completed the acquisition of Ermetic, a shocking new report shows that the UAE is a key target on the Dark Web - and Bybit has partnered with DMCC on a million-dollar Hackathon.

Director MENA at CommScope Ruckus, has claimed that their Ruckus One platform is helping enterprises deploy 'future proof’ networks.

58 Kirk Skaugen, Executive Vice

LENOVO

President at Lenovo, provides a broader insight on the development of its Infrastructure Business Group over the last 12 months.

58

FOUNDER, CPI Dominic De Sousa (1959-2015)

ADVERTISING Group Publishing Director Kausar Syed kausar.syed@cpimediagroup.com

EDITORIAL Editor Mark Forker mark.forker@cpimediagroup.com

Publishing Director Natasha Pendleton natasha.pendleton@cpimediagroup.com

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Sales Director Sabita Miranda sabita.miranda@cpimediagroup.com

Contributing Editor SAME & Tahawultech.com Veronica Martin

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NEWS

Ingram Micro announces distribution agreement with Zoho for key MENA countries

This agreement shows the growing recognition of Zoho's value proposition in the MENA region. Businesses can now look forward to better access and support for

covered under this agreement include

Zoho's suite of products through Ingram

Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Morocco, Lebanon,

Micro's expansive distribution network.

the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi

and Africa at Zoho commented, "We

significantly enhance the availability

are excited to become a trusted ally

and accessibility of Zoho products to

for Ingram Micro. This collaboration

(L-R) Dr. Ali Baghdadi, SVP & Chief Country Executive – MEA, Ingram Micro & Hyther Nizam, President, Middle East and Africa at Zoho.

businesses of all sizes across the region.

ensures that customers can easily access

Country Executive, MEA, Ingram Micro,

software solutions that streamline their

Ingram Micro Inc., a global leader in

commented on the new initiative:

business processes and improve overall

technology and supply chain services,

"The integration of services between

efficiency, especially as organisations

recently announced a new distribution

Ingram Micro and Zoho is a testament

increasingly shift towards cloud-based

agreement with Zoho, a global

to our dedication to bringing the best

solutions. This alliance signifies a

technology company, to bring Zoho's

technological solutions to our clientele

strategic move that will enhance Zoho's

suite of products to multiple countries

across MENA. Zoho products can

distribution network and further expand

across the MENA region.

empower businesses to operate more

its presence in the MENA region. It

efficiently and serve their customers

also reinforces Zoho's commitment to

will be on Zoho Workplace, an

better. We believe in the power and

serving local businesses, in line with its

enterprise collaboration platform, and

versatility of these tools, and we're

transnational localism strategy, wherein

Zoho Bigin, a pipeline-centric CRM

excited to help usher in a new era of

Zoho's expansion is locally rooted while

for small businesses. The countries

digital transformation in the region".

staying globally connected".

The primary focus of this initiative

6

Hyther Nizam, President, Middle East

Arabia. This move is expected to

Dr. Ali Baghdadi, SVP & Chief

Lexar to showcase the future of memory and storage solutions a GITEX Global 2023

innovative, affordable and scalable

Reliability, Data Security and Quality for photographers, videographers, gaming professionals, content creators and PC enthusiasts, at its Booth D1, Hall No.1 of the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Commenting on their participation at the event, Fissal Oubida, General Manager of Middle East, Africa, and the Indian Subcontinent, Lexar, said, “GITEX GLOBAL is an opportunity for Lexar to highlight our deep commitment to the Middle East and Africa region.

We are aggressively expanding our presence and market reach in the region through our ecosystem of partners. Our participation

Fissal Oubida, General Manager, Middle East, Africa, CIS and the Indian Subcontinent, Lexar.

at this event not only gives us an opportunity to reinforce our

Lexar, a leading global brand in

The company is well-positioned to

existing relationships and build

memory and storage solutions, is set

capitalise on the growing demand for

new ones, it allows us to showcase

to showcase the ‘future of memory

memory and storage solutions through

our latest memory and storage

and storage solutions’ at the 43rd

its wide range of award-winning

technologies that aim to boost

edition of GITEX GLOBAL, the world’s

products. The company will showcase

productivity for our customers

largest tech event that will take place

its new, expanded portfolio that is

while also enabling them to store

from October 16 to 20, 2023, in Dubai.

designed on its corporate pillars of

and access their data securely”.

OCTOBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

NEWS

SAMENA ACCELERATOR to build case for infrastructure development in neighbouring regions session within the main Ultra Broadband Forum 2023.

Enrique Ortega, CEO at GELLIFY Middle East.

Bocar BA, CEO & Board Member of SAMENA Council,

GELLIFY Middle East amplifies its innovative ecosystem with ARAD and TEMSI integration

SAMENA (South Asia Middle East

regional markets are moving toward

GELLIFY Group has made significant

North Africa) Telecommunications

fulfilling national ICT visions and

strides in reinforcing its position as a

Council has announced that its SAMENA

materialising the gigabit society concept,

primary hub for digital transformation

ACCELERATOR on 10 Gigabit digital

which is already under implementation

on an international scale. Following its

infrastructure will be held on October

in developed countries. But, here, in

announcement of integrating ARAD and

13th at 2:30 PM at JAFZA One Convention

this region, we want to plant seeds for

TEMSI – two renowned Italian entities

Centre, Jebel Ali, Dubai – UAE.

the 10 Gigabit society. Advancements

known for digital project development

has stated: “The October 13th SAMENA ACCELERATOR will address the need to understand how well various

In collaboration with its valued

in fixed-line networks, investments in

and strategic business consulting – into

member, Huawei Technologies, SAMENA

5G, coupled with excellent policy and

its capital, GELLIFY Middle East is set

Council’s SAMENA ACCELERATOR on

regulatory approaches have the potential

to leverage this collaboration in further

10 Giga will be held as a policy-level

to help us realise this concept”.

enhancing the region's digital landscape.

GELLIFY’s expansion has been notable. During the first half of 2023,

8

the company, with active operations in Italy, Spain, and the UAE, registered

Bybit and DMCC crypto centre announce a million-dollar Hackathon

a 14 million euro growth in revenue, with an EBTIDA exceeding 10%. The

Global crypto exchange Bybit and the

has vowed to invest in its growth within

group is projecting over 15% revenue

Dubai Multi Commodity Centre (DMCC)

the emirate.

growth compared to 2022 figures. This

announced the “Web3 Unleashed: Crypto

commitment to progression is evident

Innovation Challenge” hackathon,

as Bybit became an official Ecosystem

with the firm’s recent initiation of a

boasting a $100,000 prize pool.

Partner for the DMCC Crypto Centre, a

Their collaboration was symbolised

The hackathon comes hot on the

place where crypto and Web3 businesses

options to 226 of the company's

heels of a partnership that has already

thrive, creating a charged atmosphere

employees, marking a strategic decision

seen Bybit contribute AED 500,000 to

for innovation. Going beyond financial

to empower its workforce.

15 crypto start-ups in the DMCC crypto

support, Bybit is also DMCC's crypto

ecosystem. Bybit’s own thought leaders

listing partner, assisting start-ups

Middle East, commented, “The

Bryan Aaron and Daniel Basharimov

to bootstrap growth and offering

integration with ARAD and TEMSI

will help adjudicate the competition,

mentorship.

amplifies our commitment to reshaping

which is scheduled for Nov. 22, 2023

the digital landscapes of the Middle

and focused on artificial intelligence,

East. With the unveiling of our latest

gaming, and blockchain security. The

initiative 'Luxury Tech CX Observatory',

hackathon is set to become the largest-

we're setting new standards for the

of-its-kind in MENA, in terms of prize

region's luxury sector. The Middle East,

pools and participation.

Stock Option plan, aiming to provide

Enrique Ortega, CEO at GELLIFY

especially Dubai, is at the epicentre of

Bybit and DMCC partnership joined

technological and business innovation.

forces in June 2023, creating a strategic

Integrating ARAD and TEMSI not

bond destined to accelerate the mass

only fortifies GELLIFY Middle East's

adoption of crypto in the heart of Dubai.

capabilities but also steers the region

Bybit is pushing the adoption of crypto

towards its next phase of technological

worldwide, bringing its 16 million users

and strategic advancement”.

on a journey to financial freedom and it

OCTOBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

NEWS

Tenable completes acquisition of Ermetic Tenable Holdings, Inc., the Exposure

Executive Officer, Tenable. “We’re

Management company, recently

delivering unparalleled insights into

announced it has closed its acquisition of

identities and access, which are absolutely

Ermetic, Ltd., an innovative cloud-native

critical to securing cloud environments.

application protection platform (CNAPP)

And with the integration of insights

company, and a leading provider of cloud

from Tenable One, customers can also

New report reveals UAE & KSA are key targets on the Dark Web

infrastructure entitlement management

consolidate, simplify and reduce costs”.

At GITEX 2023, results-driven

environments, delivered through an

cybersecurity leaders Positive

elegant user experience that minimises

Technologies will reveal insights from

complexity and speeds adoption”,

their new GCC Dark Web report which

said Amit Yoran, Chairman and Chief

(CIEM).

“The unique combination of Tenable and Ermetic will give customers tightly integrated CNAPP capabilities for cloud

Amit Yoran, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tenable.

aims to enhance the lens on cybercrime, providing cybersecurity professionals with keen insight to protect their companies from threat actors.

Positive Technologies experts conducted the study of the shadow

Flat6Labs partners with North Star to host demo day at Expand 2023

15 to 18 October 2023.

To be held on 16 October on the Marketing Mania Stage (XMD), Hall 4, from 4pm to 6pm, Flat6Labs'

market used by cybercriminals as a

10

taking place at Dubai Harbour from

foothold to attack GCC companies[1].

Flat6Labs, the Middle East and North

Expand North Star 2023 Demo

According to the data, UAE and Saudi

Africa’s leading seed and early-

Day will feature seven startups

Arabian companies are the favourite

stage venture capital firm, recently

from the VC firm’s most recent

targets of attackers. The most common

announced a partnership with North

Cycle 5 cohort of its seed-funding

subject of dark web ads is the sale of

Star to hold a Demo Day — showcasing

and mentorship program, Ignite.

access and data. The minimum cost of

startups from the latest edition of

Founders will pitch their value

access is as low as $35, with more than

the Flat6Labs Ignite Program — at

proposition and business strategy

half of such posts advertising a price of

this year’s edition of Expand, the

to potential investors, in a bid to

between $100 and $1,000. In the vast

increasingly popular startup event

secure additional funding.

majority of cases, access is granted with administrator rights, making it much easier for even inexperienced attackers with limited budgets to attack companies.

Dataiku to unveil everyday AI innovations at GITEX 2023

“Dataiku is the Everyday AI company,” said Sid Bhatia, Regional VP and GM for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, at Dataiku. “By empowering

Positive Technologies analyst Anastasiya Chursina comments: "It is

data experts and domain experts to

important to note that in most cases,

work together to build AI into their

access is very cheap ($100–1,000),

daily operations, we enable everyone

and in the vast majority of cases

to add value — to be extraordinary,

(90%) it comes with administrator

and to power their company into the

rights. In other words, even the most

future as a competitive force. We will

inexperienced attacker with a small

attend GITEX 2023 at a nexus point in

budget doesn't need to modify the

the history of AI, when technologies such as large-language models have

"product" in any way: it can be used to successfully attack a target company as

Dataiku will showcase at GITEX 2023

entered the public consciousness and

is. Some ads, however, offer expensive

its platform for democratising AI and

are seeing accelerated adoption. Our

access to major companies in the region.

empowering organisations to maximize

goal at this year’s event is to put these

The buyers in these cases are hackers

AI's potential across diverse skill

developments in context and show

with more advanced skills preparing to

sets and roles in an era of surging AI

attendees how they can leverage them

conduct sophisticated attacks".

adoption across the Middle East region.

to mature their AI mix.”

OCTOBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

SAS Innovate on Tour: Revolutionising decision-making with productive, faster and trustworthy AI and Analytics

made a reality, SAS strategy is aligned with the country’s visionary leadership.

To make that effort a success, we must invest in local data science talents.

We are committed to the continuous

SAS Innovate, the exclusive global

specialists and experts, and to position

development of in-country talents

event series hosted by analytics leader

among the top 20 countries in scientific

by building strong relationships with

SAS, visited Riyadh on September 27,

contribution to data and AI.

academia and establishing continuous

2023, to demonstrate how Saudi Arabian

Bader Bahaian, Country Manager,

education programs with our customers.

businesses can make data-driven, faster,

KSA at SAS, said: “With a National

Our commitment to investment and

and unbiased decisions based on AI

Strategy for Data & AI in place and the

growth in the country is aligned with the

and analytics. Held at the Crowne Plaza

ambition to establish KSA as the global

vision of Saudi Arabia to be part of the

Riyadh Rdc Hotel & Convention, the

hub where the best of data and AI is

best success story of 21 century.”

Riyadh edition of SAS Innovate on Tour featured engaging sessions tailored to inspire regional business leaders into the future of analytics and the immense business opportunities they present.

Saudi Arabia aspires to rank among the 15 countries worldwide in AI, to transform the Kingdom’s workforce by developing over 20,000 local data and AI

MEET US AT

HALL - 1 BOOTH - D1

16-20 • OCT • 2023

DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTRE

www.tahawultech.com

OCTOBER 2023

11

INTERVIEW

MORO HUB

THE GREEN ECONOMY

12

Mohammad Bin Sulaiman, Chief Executive Officer at Moro Hub, tells CNME Editor Mark Forker, about the impact its solar-powered data centre will have on driving Dubai’s green economy, how its diverse product portfolio is enabling customers to be more sustainable – and the key milestones it has achieved through its involvement with the Dubai Digital Cloud Project.

OCTOBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

C

Migrating our clients IT

This July, Dubai Digital

role your new Green

infrastructure to our green

Authority launched Dubai

data center, which

data centers and clouds

Digital Clouds project with an

has been recognized

helped them in achieving

objective to facilitate secure

as the Guinness World Record

many of their sustainability

and scalable IT infrastructure

for the largest solar-powered

initiatives.

for all the entities under Dubai

an you tell us the

data center in the world, will

Another example is

Government.

DDA has selected Moro

play in terms of helping the UAE

our Smart Cities and IoT

achieve its Net Zero 2050 goals?

solutions; which empowers

Cloud for private and public

The importance of Moro Hub

regulators and clients to

data hosting and Microsoft

world’s largest solar-powered

get real time analytics,

Azure Cloud for public data

data center comes from the fact

helping them to take right

hosting.

that it enables new economic

decisions in the subjects

agenda.

related to environment and

comprehensive study on the

sustainability.

capabilities and security

An economy which is

The selection came after

features that we have and we

based on data & sustainable

provide.

digital transformation. As

What differentiates Moro

we all know, data centers are

Hub from other digital

the foundation for digital

transformation providers in

we had many meetings and

transformation.

the market?

workshops with government

Our commitment to our

departments to guide them on

of power for data processing

customers success is the key

how to migrate to our cloud.

and cooling.

differentiator.

Data centers consume a lot

We have launched our solar

At Moro Hub, we have been

Since the announcement,

Today, we have very good number of government

powered green data center to

investing in bringing to our

entities who are running their

show our commitments and

customers the technology

business applications from

contributions to achieving our

that will help them to achieve

Moro Hub cloud.

leaders’ strategies and goals towards environment and sustainability.

Moro Hub's new green data center at Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park advances

Moro Hub's new green data centre at Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park advances Dubai's green economy leadership.”

Dubai's green economy

their strategic and operational

How does Moro Hub intend

leadership.

goals.

on continuing to spearhead

It attracts eco-conscious

At Moro Hub, we have

new innovations over the

businesses, fosters green

highly skilled professionals

next few years?

tech innovation, and

who possess extensive

In Moro Hub, we are

establishes Dubai as a global

knowledge and experience in

committed to our customers

sustainability model.

various technical domains.

and partners to continue

We have a strong ecosystem

investing in bringing

Can you outline to our viewers

of partners which helps in

advanced technologies to this

how Moro Hub is leveraging

making Moro Hub a preferred

region.

its product portfolio to help

one stop shop for digital

its customers become more

transformation solutions.

sustainable?

Some of the technologies that we are currently working on are AI and

Over the last few years, we have

What are the key milestones

generative AI and Clean

launched a number of products

Moro Hub has achieved

Energy technologies

and solutions that contribute to

through your involvement

to power high density

reducing the carbon footprint

with Dubai Digital Cloud

data centers that we are

of our clients.

Project?

planning to launch.

www.tahawultech.com

OCTOBER 2023

13

INTERVIEW

IBM

BE OPEN TO THE SHIFT CNME Editor Mark Forker secured an exclusive interview with Sebastian Krause, Senior Vice-President and Chief Revenue Officer at IBM, in a bid to find out how the company is leveraging their AI and data platform watsonx in an effort to help reshape the landscape of enterprise AI.

public or private? However, it had become very clear by then that a hybrid cloud model offered businesses the chance to experience the best of both worlds. The acquisition of Red Hat that we completed in 2018, was essentially the cornerstone for us in terms of laying the foundations for our hybrid cloud world,” said Krause.

He highlighted how the capabilities of OpenShift really served the needs of enterprises from a flexibility and autonomy standpoint.

“OpenShift provides you with the ability to integrate

S

ebastian Krause has

multiple platforms, whether

enjoyed an incredible

that is an on-prem platform,

career at IBM, one that

on the cloud, or a public

has spanned almost

and private cloud, you can

three decades.

14

seamlessly exchange workloads

Krause made a name for

across multiple platforms.

himself by leading IBM’s

It has become evident that

software group across the

companies and customers

EMEA region from 1995 to

today have multiple data

2011, before relocating to New

sources, and the data sits in

York, to head up the company’s

different environments, so you

global storage organisation.

really need an infrastructure

In 2015, he was appointed

and information architecture

General Manager of IBM Cloud

that allows you to bring the

Europe, before heading back

information together, and AI

Stateside in 2020.

is the key technology to drive

He is one of the most revered

that," said Krause.

and respected executives within

Many businesses have

IBM, and is currently tasked

struggled with the demands

with the responsibility of helping

of migrating their workloads,

their customers modernise and

and Krause reinforced the

transform their infrastructure

importance of having a clear

and applications by leveraging

highlighted the acquisition of Red

strategy when embarking on a

hybrid cloud and AI technologies.

Hat in 2018, as significant.

cloud transformation journey.

CNME spoke to Krause during

“Our company’s strategy is

a whistlestop tour of Dubai, and

hybrid cloud and AI. In 2020,

why are you going to the cloud,

in a fascinating conversation

we determined that this was

and where are you going to be

he outlined IBM’s plans to help

the best path to take, and we

placing your workloads? Over

enterprises succeed in their

started making significant

the course of time, I think

digital transformation goals.

investments in hybrid cloud

many companies have come

He kickstarted the discussion

and AI in a bid to drive new

to the conclusion that the

about IBMs strategic shift towards

innovations for our customers.

workload that they initially

a hybrid cloud and AI model, and

For years the debate had been

moved to the cloud was not

OCTOBER 2023

“It’s all about the strategy,

www.tahawultech.com

adopting the technology, and cited how their watsonx platform is designed for generative AI. “Generative AI came into the public domain through ChatGPT, and it has generated a lot of excitement in terms of what it can do, but there is also dangers around generative AI, especially when it comes to data privacy. That is something that businesses really need to consider when looking at generative AI use-cases and applications. I think the technology is now front and centre, and everyone is aware of it, however, there is a big difference between meant for the cloud, and it’s

“We have fully embraced

using generative AI in a

better to have it in an on-

the ecosystem, and we are

consumer environment versus

prem environment. On the

working very closely with

an enterprise and business

other hand, there might be

system integrators, software

environment. Our watsonx

workloads that can easily go

vendors, services partners

platform is designed as a

into a public cloud environment

and consulting companies.

generative AI offering for

for technical, or cost reasons,

However, IBM Consulting is

business and the enterprise.

so the strategy might not

equally equipped to help clients

Our platform provides

have been thought through

to go on their cloud journey,

differentiated capabilities

completely. There’s an evolution

and to help them understand

that are really suited for

right now in regards to where

what workloads they need to

enterprises, because you need

data is residing and a realisation

bring into a deployment that

to be compliant to regulations

that you can bring your compute

makes it stick to the strategy

that either exist today, or are

power to the data, and you don’t

that the customer has chosen,”

currently being worked on,”

need to bring the data to the

said Krause.

said Krause.

compute. That is a major reason

Generative AI is the talk

Krause also stressed the need

in why cloud strategies are

of the IT and technology

for enterprises to demonstrate

being revised, and specifically

ecosystem globally, and there

greater transparency, and

now with the capabilities of

is no denying the endless

highlighted the governance

hybrid cloud computing, and

opportunities presented by the

pillar that is embedded in its

that is what we are providing

new technology.

watsonx platform.

through our OpenShift platform.

However, Krause warned

“You need to be able to

We are giving companies much

how businesses must take

provide transparency in terms

greater flexibility to deploy

into consideration what the

of where your data is coming

workloads wherever they want,”

best ethical practices are for

from, and you need to have the

said Krause.

Krause also outlined the role played by their consulting arm in terms of helping customers better understand where they

There’s an evolution right now in regards to where data is residing and a realisation that you can bring your compute power to the data, and you don’t need to bring the data to the compute.”

need to place certain workloads.

www.tahawultech.com

OCTOBER 2023

15

INTERVIEW

capability of data lineage. One

your own purpose and in your

environments, generative AI

of the three pillars within our

own environment. You can do

can helps developers change

platform is called watsonx.

prompt engineering, which

the code they are using in a

governance, which provides

allows you to really make sure

much more seamless way,

the capabilities that I have

that you are training your

with a vast reduction in errors

highlighted that enterprises

model in such a way that it

in comparison to if humans

need in order to deliver the

does what you are expecting

were doing it. There is also

transparency in relation to

it to do. watsonx.data is suited

the digital labour use-cases,

where the data stems from,

specifically for the application

which is essentially providing

what has happened to the data,

of generative AI workloads,

automated processes where

and how it has been applied

and it allows you to have the

you augment the capabilities of

to this specific use-case.

ability to ingest and store data

humans to eliminate some of

Nobody has the capabilities

that is coming from multiple

the mundane tasks employed

that we have brought forward

sources, but is also tailored and

are faced with. These three

in terms of what is next with

optimised for the use-case of

use-cases are lifting off quite

governance,” said Krause.

generative AI,” said Krause.

significantly, but they are

As Krause pointed out

also multiple other use-cases

enterprises simply can’t afford

of the conversation towards

that will come to fruition very

to be sloppy when it comes to

the use-cases that are actually

soon,” said Krause.

data and governance.

driving the adoption of

“Enterprises can’t afford to have data that is going to their

16

Krause then moved the dial

Krause highlighted the

generative AI applications.

investments IBM have made in

He pointed to three use-

what the company describes

customer, or is part of their

cases where he sees a lot of

as client engineering

value chain that eventually has

activity, but predicted many

capabilities, which he feels

inappropriate content. If the

more will emerge as the

bring them closer to their

data has not been cleansed and

technology matures.

customers.

you don’t know where the data

“In terms of use-cases we

“We have thousands of

is coming from, and who has

are seeing a lot of traction in

our consultants trained on

been working on it, then that

customer care. When you are

generative AI and the watsonx

would be a significant problem

enhancing the experience of

platform and they are helping

in terms of reputational

a user, whether you are doing

customers to transform by

damage, let alone all the issues

that through summarisation,

leveraging generative AI.

you would face with data

or process optimisation that

We have also significantly

privacy and copyright. That’s

is something that generative

invested in what we call client

why it has to be 100% assured

AI can do to help. These

engineering capabilities.

that the foundational model

user experiences are driving

Our teams work with our

that you are using has cleansed

significant MPS improvements

customers very closely, and in

data and can be followed back

because it is faster, and

a lot of instances on a much

to the source, and that’s what

you are getting much

smaller scope. Ultimately, we

the watsonx.governance is

more accurate information

want to showcase how our

doing,” said Krause.

than you would have done

software capabilities will

through a traditional contact

drive tangible outcomes for

capabilities provided within the

centre. We’re also seeing

the clients. That’s why we

two other key components of

a lot of customers doing

have these client engineering

the watsonx platform.

modernisation in their

teams that are highly

Krause then illustrated the

“The other two pillars of the platform are watsonx.ai and watsonx.data. watsonx.ai is basically a studio in which you can test, validate and train foundational models for

OCTOBER 2023

Our watsonx platform is designed as a generative AI offering for business and the enterprise.”

trained experts to really help customers provide the technology for their specific strategy, and the objectives that they have articulated,” said Krause.

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The Picture Says it All! A 2023 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ Leader for Primary Storage

INTERVIEW

18

OCTOBER 2023

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INFRAX

DRIVING THE CONNECTED WORLD Rashid Alahmadi, Chief Operating Officer at InfraX, tells CNME Editor Mark Forker about how his company provides versatile IoT connectivity solutions for their customers, their focus on revolutionizing user experiences – and its strategic blueprint for the next few years.

W

transformation and industrial requirements, InfraX provides cutting-edge IoT solutions that drive value for businesses.

Versatile IoT Connectivity Options: As a licensed IoT Service Provider, InfraX offers a wide array of IoT connectivity

hat is InfraX's

delivering dependable water

options to meet the specific

strategic

and electricity supply in Dubai

needs of smart cities and

roadmap for

with assets and infrastructure

industrial applications.

achieving its

have set the gold standard for

key objectives, and how does it

reliability.

plan to leverage its strengths

This diverse range ensures that businesses can choose the most suitable connectivity

to create a lasting impact in

What cutting-edge IoT

solution tailored to their

the industry?

services does InfraX offer, and

requirements.

In today's highly connected

how do these services drive

Empowering Smart Cities:

world, the demand for

value for businesses? Can you

InfraX's IoT solutions play a

advanced technology solutions

share some impactful use

key role in empowering smart

is on the rise.

cases that demonstrate the

cities' digital transformation.

Companies worldwide are

practical benefits of InfraX's

The company provides a

embracing this challenge,

IoT solutions?

variety of IoT sensors and

and InfraX, the Information

InfraX holds an IoT License

devices, facilitating various

Communication and Technology

from the Telecommunications

smart city applications

arm of Digital DEWA, is

and Digital Government

and enabling the seamless

leading the way in advanced

Regulatory Authority (TDRA),

collection of valuable data.

connectivity operation as a

granting the company the

certified IoT operator.

capability to offer a diverse

Scale Deployments: InfraX

range of IoT connectivity

leverages its public Low-Power

options.

Wide-Area Network (LPWAN)

By leveraging a secure and reliable super- fast fiber optics network, InfraX connects Digital DEWA's value-added services to customers, positioning itself as a key player in the technology industry.

With a strong foundation of over 50 years of DEWA in

www.tahawultech.com

With a focus on supporting smart cities' digital

In today's highly connected world, the demand for advanced technology solutions is on the rise.”

LPWAN Sensors for Large-

and sensors for large-scale smart city deployments.

This low-energy approach ensures long-lasting performance and costeffective scalability, making it ideal for extensive city-wide implementations.

OCTOBER 2023

19

INTERVIEW

transformation, enabling businesses to adapt swiftly to evolving requirements.

Customized Service Provisioning Support: InfraX delivers tailored solutions aligned with clients' unique needs and objectives.

Proactive Maintenance & Detailed Reporting: InfraX ensures optimal network performance with proactive maintenance and comprehensive reporting.

How does InfraX's diverse project portfolio demonstrate its contributions to the industry, and what key insights can be drawn from the successful projects to drive innovation and growth within the industry?

InfraX's impressive project portfolio is a testament to its

20

commitment in delivering Focused Partnerships

approach, powered by state-

successful outcomes while

for Connectivity: InfraX

of-the-art technology and

upholding core values of

collaborates with and

proactive strategies, guarantees

sustainability, innovation, and

complements national

secure, dependable, and high-

efficiency.

operators in the Narrow-Band

performance services for our

IoT (NB-IoT), Machine-to-

esteemed clientele.

achievements include its

With a focus on

involvement in the Moro

Machine (M2M) and other

The company's remarkable

LPWAN Network providers, to

revolutionizing user experience

Hub Green Data Centre, a

ensure that it caters to diverse

operational efficiency and

Guinness World Records-

connectivity preferences.

redundancy, our solutions are

certified solar-powered data

These partnerships expand

tailored to meet the unique

centre, demonstrating InfraX's

the reach and diversity of our

needs of businesses across

unwavering commitment to

IoT services.

various industries.

eco-friendly solutions.

How does InfraX's

Managed Network Services:

contributions to DEWA's

comprehensive suite of

24/7 NOC Support for

communication infrastructure

managed services empower

Uninterrupted Availability:

upgrades have significantly

businesses to optimize their

InfraX's Managed Network

enhanced data transmission

infrastructure, fostering

services offer round-the-

efficiency and reliability.

growth and maximizing

clock NOC support, ensuring

operational efficiency?

continuous availability with

SmartGrid Network

At InfraX, we are dedicated

prompt issue resolution.

Connectivity represents a

to driving business success

Smooth Change Management

pivotal step in advancing smart

through our specialized

for Digital Transformation:

grid technology, facilitating

Managed Services.

We facilitate seamless change

efficient energy distribution

management for digital

and management.

Moreover, InfraX's

Our business-focused

OCTOBER 2023

Its support for DEWA

www.tahawultech.com

INTERVIEW

CIRRUSLABS

A FRAMEWORK FOR SUCCESS Naeem Hussain, Chief Operating Officer at CirrusLabs, tells CNME Editor Mark Forker, how the ‘niche’ digital transformation provider plans to capitalise on the burgeoning opportunities across the META region – and how its unique digital framework gives them a huge competitive advantage for helping customers accelerate on their digital transformation goals.

N 22

aeem Hussain

Hussain kickstarted a

building blocks provides us

has enjoyed a

very candid discussion with

with a very holistic view of

truly remarkable

CNME, by documenting what

how an organisation can look

career thus far in

he believes differentiates

at charting their own digital

the global IT and technology

CirrusLabs from other digital

transformation journey, and

ecosystem.

transformation providers.

that’s ultimately how we

In a career that began

“We know that the term

with US telecommunications

digital transformation is a

behemoth Verizon back

widely used term, and it can

in 1998, Hussain has held

mean different things for

how certain customers will

leadership positions with

different people. How we like

select a specific pillar of their

some major companies such as

to differentiate ourselves

framework that best suits their

Siemens, Capital One and ING

at CirrusLabs is our digital

needs – and highlighted that

to name a few.

He displayed his entrepreneurial drive by founding Medzspeed Solutions and AgileTrailblazers in 2011 while pursuing an MBA from The University of Chicago.

differentiates ourselves,” said Hussain.

Hussain elaborated more on

The most important thing in our success is the people. These are real experts that know their craft, and are very empathetic with our customers, and understand our mission, which is ultimately to help our customers succeed.”

Naeem is a co-founder

transformation framework

they leverage their partner

of CirrusLabs and he was

that essentially captures the

ecosystem to accelerate the

appointed as the Chief

pillars that we view digital

entire process.

Operating Officer in 2020.

transformation with. It

CirrusLabs is a bespoke digital

starts with digital strategy

the services, but within our

transformation provider with a

at the bottom, then goes up

ecosystem we have brought

market presence in the United

to agile team organisation,

in partners, and vendors that

States, Canada and India.

modernisation of technology,

really help us accelerate that

data, AI and cloud, with

journey for our customers.

led trade delegation –

the sole purpose of getting

Many of our customers will

Tradewinds, CirrusLabs

products to market and

begin their journey with a

decided that it was the right

driving business value for

particular pillar, and will then

time for the company to enter

our customers. These pillars,

work their way through as they

the META marketplace.

and the way we view these

evolve towards the objectives

After a successful US

OCTOBER 2023

“In many cases, we provide

www.tahawultech.com

23 of their digital transformation

participate in design thinking

project. We’ve been very

sessions.

fortunate to have applied this

“Some of the best practices

“We strategically picked Dubai as our location because of all the economic activity

in industry verticals such as

that we have experienced

that occurs here, and the

financial services, banking,

has been in partnering with

fact it such a hotbed for

healthcare, defence sector,

our customers. In the US,

innovation. The idea for us

start-ups, and all the way up

we have offices in Atlanta,

is to bring our customer

to Fortune 500 companies. The

and Washington DC, and we

prospects to our office and

sheer breadth and scope of

regularly invite our customers

experience the way we work,

what we have worked on really

to come in and participate

create and collaborate with our

helps us get a perspective of

with us as we conduct design

counterparts in the US, Canada

different blueprints that can

thinking sessions as part of

and India. Participation with

help accelerate the journey

our efforts to create solutions

the customers works best

for our customers to achieve

for them. Our customers want

when they come to our offices,

business value. Given the

to observe how our teams

explain their problems to us,

experiences we have had in the

operate and work, and we

and then we use our expertise

United States, we are excited

do that in a very agile way

to help solve that issue using

to bring that knowledge and

across our organisation, and

the different techniques that

expertise to the UAE, and the

this approach is very unique,

we have built up over the last

entire Middle East region,”

and again makes us very

few years,” said Hussain.

said Hussain.

different,” said Hussain.

A couple of months ago,

Hussain moved the dial of

In terms of their move

the conversation to the topic of

earlier this year to establish

ScienceLogic as their partner

customer experience.

operations in the Middle East,

in the region.

He outlined the benefits of inviting customers to

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Hussain said Dubai was the logical choice.

CirrusLabs announced

According to Hussain, the partnership will enable their

OCTOBER 2023

INTERVIEW

24 customers to have ‘continuous

for our customers in terms

this automation is continuous

monitoring’.

of technology, but we don’t

compliance, which again has

have to do it all, as we have

to be done by continuous

digital transformation

a great partner ecosystem.

monitoring and ScienceLogic

framework, and the different

ScienceLogic will allow our

is an obvious fit for us. The

pillars within it. However, we

customers to have continuous

integration of Lockthreat

package our services in a very

monitoring, both at an

and ScienceLogic gives our

logical order. We have a digital

application and network level,

customers from a governance

strategy, and agile product

which will drive improved

risk and compliance

management - and the way

security and a higher level of

perspective continuous

that works is you have an idea

automation,” said Hussain.

monitoring,” said Hussain.

for an organisation but how

Hussain also highlighted

“I have talked about our

The Middle East is home to

do you actually go to market?

the impact the acquisition

some of the most ambitious

The second element is hyper-

of Lockthreat has had for

economic transformation

automation, and the other

delivering that continuous

programs such as Dubai Digital

component is cloud computing

monitoring for customers.

Strategy 2050, and Vision

and security, which is a critical

“We acquired a company

2030 in the KSA, Hussain

component in the multi-

called Lockthreat, and we’re

believes that the company is

cloud space. One of the most

building the next-generation

perfectly balanced in terms of

important components in all

of AI-powered GRC, which

being big enough to help with

of this is security, and this is

is a governance risk and

large-scale projects, and small

where AIOps and ScienceLogic

compliance solution. Again,

enough to provide customised

comes into play. We are fully

the way we are viewing this

support.

focused on ensuring we

is from the lens of how do

deliver the best experiences

we hyper-automate? Part of

OCTOBER 2023

“If you look at some of the government visions like the

www.tahawultech.com

Dubai Digital Strategy 2050,

recently built a new solution

and Vision 2030 in the KSA, a

inhouse called Cirrus Insights

common theme throughout all

Now, which uses generative AI.

CirrusLabs unique and

of them is digital enablement.

The idea is to take a business

successful, Hussain feels it is

Whether that is creating digital

idea using a lean business

a combination of the thought

strategies, digital talent,

canvas, and decompose that

leadership the company has,

or accelerating smart city

idea for product management

and the people within the

projects, we believe that in all

all the way to creating user

organisation.

of these cases we can support

requirements and test cases.

“I think one of our main

the government in achieving

We’ve experimented on this

differentiators is thought

their transformation goals.

with a few customers, and a

leadership. The digital

We believe through our digital

process which would typically

transformation framework that

transformation framework

take 3-4 weeks for gathering

I have referred to throughout

that we can help them map out

requirements is brought

our conversation has evolved

their journeys from a strategic

down to less than an hour.

continually to keep up with

perspective. We are big enough

This is especially valuable

technology, it is not a static

to support large projects, and

when business people want to

framework. We are constantly

small enough to provide that

communicate requirements

at the forefront of technology,

customised support for our

to the technical people!” said

and our industry experts are

customers. Our mission is co-

Hussain.

constantly working with our

creating, and that is something

Hussain added that the

which is never static.

In terms of what made

customers to understand

that we stand by. We are

company has been able to

where the challenges

always trying to work with

carve out a space in what he

are - and we evaluate the

customers to understand their

described as niche areas.

technologies that can help

problems, and are looking to

“When we talk about the

develop a solution that helps

cloud space, we work with

We have also just added an AI

them overcome that, instead

Microsoft Azure, AWS and

and data component to the

of imposing a certain set of

GCP, and our partnership with

framework to reflect what is

frameworks on them,” said

ScienceLogic brings this single

currently happening in the

Hussain.

dashboard to do multi-cloud

marketplace. In the past,

management, which is very

we used to call it emerging

at CirrusLabs described the

valuable for large enterprise

technologies, today you have

company as an ‘asset-based’

customers, who want to hedge

to be creating solutions using

industry transformation

their bets using different

AI to make your customers

provider – and highlighted

technologies, or the backend

experiences even better. The

the impact of its new Cirrus

for various different purposes.

most important thing in our

Insights Now solution that

We have carved out a space

success is the people. These

was developed in-house by the

in some very niche areas, and

are real experts that know

team.

that is what we try to bring to

their craft, and are very

our customers,” said Hussain.

empathetic with our customers

He concluded a wonderful

and understand our mission,

The Chief Operating Officer

“I would say we are an assetbased industry transformation

them solve their problems.

provider, and what I mean

discussion by reinforcing

which is ultimately to help

by that is the digital

the strength of their digital

our customers succeed,” said

transformation framework

transformation framework,

Hussain.

that we have talked about, in every single pillar we have assets and accelerators. The biggest thing we bring to the table is the time-to-market for our customers, that’s our USP.

I would say we are an asset-based industry transformation provider, and what I mean by that is the digital transformation framework that we have talked about, in every single pillar we have assets and accelerators.”

I’ll give you an example, we

www.tahawultech.com

OCTOBER 2023

25

INTERVIEW

26

OCTOBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

DIGITALX

THE X FACTOR

CNME Editor Mark Forker spoke to Hamad Karam – Chief Operating Officer at DigitalX to learn more about the value it derives for its stakeholders, its professional services portfolio – and how its cutting-edge digital assets is revolutionizing industries like AV.

W

hat is the

DigitalX enhances client

drive unprecedented growth

mission of

productivity via expert IT

and success?

DigitalX

teams. We optimize businesses

At DigitalX, our Solution

and how

with advanced tech and

& Digital Assets Division

does it create value to your

IT management, enabling

distinguishes itself by

stakeholders?

focus on core activities. Our

delivering superior tech and

DigitalX is committed to

solutions empower success in a

creative solutions, fostering a

empowering clients in this fast-

competitive landscape.

seamless integration approach

paced digital era. Our solutions

that consistently yields

provide easy access to a broad

Our Offerings:

talent pool and productivity

Talent Recruitment: We provide

resources, reducing time to

tailored recruitment, on-site/off-

We are currently focused on:

market and optimizing costs.

site, direct hiring for efficiency

Smart AV Solutions:

and skills management for

We specialize in enhancing

competitive advantages in a

project excellence.

audio-visual experiences across

dynamic landscape. We catalyze

Staff Augmentation &

various settings.

growth, fostering innovation and

Management: Our outsourcing

agility while nurturing a culture

fits unique client goals using

technology, we elevate

of continuous improvement.

skilled resources for varied

management and efficiency

projects.

of large-scale video walls,

This enhances clients'

With a vast network and deep industry knowledge, DigitalX guides clients through the complexities of the digital age, keeping them ahead of the competition.

DigitalX is committed to empowering clients in this fastpaced digital era.”

exceptional outcomes.

Through cutting-edge

command and control centers and corporate meetings collaboration tools; these technologies are fundamental to enable wide range of smart

In a time-sensitive and

Outsourcing Benefits: With our

city management systems,

cost-focused environment, we

services, we help reduce costs,

utilities and healthcare to name

are a strategic partner, helping

shift expenses and focus on

a few.

clients maximize efficiency and

growth.

profitability.

Reliable Partnerships: Our

Digital Assets Services:

outsourcing involves a broad

Our commitment extends

with theirs, and we remain

network of trusted partners

to optimizing essential

dedicated to enabling

and vendors, delivering the

technological assets such as

their achievements in this

utmost service quality and

robotics, notebooks, tablets,

demanding digital landscape.

assurance.

gadgets and more.

How can DigitalX's professional

How do the innovative

you can expect better

services be leveraged to

solutions and cutting-edge

productivity, significant cost

create a significant impact on

digital assets of DigitalX

reductions, and an elevated level

businesses and industries?

revolutionize the industry and

of customer satisfaction.

Our success is intertwined

By leveraging our services,

www.tahawultech.com

OCTOBER 2023

27

COVER STORY

28

OCTOBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

AVAYA

TAKING THE RIGHT PATH Nidal Abou-Ltaif, Global Head of Sales, and President of Avaya International spoke to CNME Editor Mark Forker, about the company’s mantra of ‘choose your journey’, their ability to provide their customers with stability amidst rapid technological change – and how AI can be extended to the very heart of customer experience.

“U

And Avaya’s customers are trusting it with new projects, too: GITEX will see Avaya announce projects with the likes of Dubai’s Department of Economy Tourism and with the Magdi Yaqoob Heart Foundation in Egypt.

Indeed, Abou-Ltaif says that Avaya has ended the financial year – one in which Avaya entered and then re-emerged from chapter 11 proceedings within a mere five weeks – with six million contact center agents using its solutions. It also has more than 90 million unified communications seats, an extended ecosystem of over

nequivocally, and

he says exclusively to CNME.

4,000 partners and 120,000

undeniably, Avaya

“Despite everything, we always

developers, and a customer base

is back.”

had a singular focus on serving

that’s the envy of the industry

These were the words of Avaya

our customers, and throughout

with organizations that include

CEO Alan Masarek as he opened

the entire restructuring period,

90 per cent of the largest U.S.

proceedings at the Avaya

we made it very clear to our

companies, more than 90

ENGAGE user conference in

customers that we were here,

governments, and each of the

Orlando earlier this year. It was

we were able to serve them, and

top 10 global airlines, auto

a rebuke to the endless column

we were helping them achieve

manufacturers, and banks.

inches that had been written

their customer experience

about the strife of an iconic

ambitions. And we delivered.”

company that had entered

The fact that Avaya delivered

It would appear, then, that the viability of Avaya as a business is no longer in question

Chapter 11 proceedings twice in

will be plain to see at this

– if it ever was. So what about

the past five years. And based on

year’s GITEX Global, where

the future?

the positive energy that flowed

the company is, as usual,

from the thousands of Avaya

participating in a major way.

customers and partners in the

On the stand, the company will

Choosing Your Own Journey

room, it was clear the audience

showcase how it has helped

Today, Avaya’s mantra is

agreed with him.

DEWA to digitally transform

“choose your journey”, the

its contact center, how it has

theme under which it will be

Abou-Ltaif, who was in January

enabled the Government of

exhibiting at GITEX Global.

promoted to the role of Avaya’s

Fujairah to unify its service

Borne out of the ‘innovation

Global Head of Sales, in

delivery, and how it keeps

without disruption’ strategy

addition to his role as President

communications seamless at

that the company has adopted

of Avaya International, that

Batelco, the Bahraini telecoms

since Masarek was appointed

positive energy, and loyalty

provider.

in 2022, the idea is that Avaya

But according to Nidal

among customers, wasn’t a new phenomenon. Indeed, it’s something that has carried the company through the financial turmoil of the past year.

“Honestly, we never left,”

www.tahawultech.com

Despite everything, we always had a singular focus on serving our customers.”

will give its customers the freedom to pick and choose the innovative features they need, while continuing to leverage their existing investments at a pace, and on a journey,

OCTOBER 2023

29

COVER STORY

30

OCTOBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

that makes sense for their

have about moving to cloud and

businesses.

modernizing effectively. They

According to Abou-Ltaif,

need a bridge from old to new,

that proposition is incredibly

and roadmap can be tailored to

attractive to the kinds of large

whatever their starting point is

enterprises that Avaya typically

– having that flexibility serves

serves.

needs that are arguably more

“If you look at some

important than the need to have

of our largest customer

every single new feature that’s

deployments, we’re talking

out there,” he explains.

tens of thousands of seats. Yes, these organizations want the

Journey to AI

latest features so that they can

Today, the ‘journey’ that

serve their customers in new

Avaya’s customers – and indeed

and innovative ways, but they

every other organization – are

tend to place a higher value on

embarking on increasingly

stability and getting the basics

involves taking advantage of

of customer service right. That’s

the recent advances in artificial

the kind of stability that Avaya

intelligence – particularly

can provide,” he says.

generative AI.

“At the same time, we’re

A recent Insight report found

letting them have the best

that two-thirds of organizations

of both worlds. We’re saying

plan to use generative AI to

that, no matter where you are

enhance customer service in

on your innovation journey,

the next three years, and 81%

you can have AI capabilities,

have already established or

or advanced analytics or

implemented a generative AI.

multichannel communications.

And according to Abou-Ltaif,

Whether you want it in the

those figures are borne out in

cloud or on-prem, we can

Avaya’s conversations with

deliver these functionalities, at

customers.

the pace you want them. And

“Every large RFP we’re

in the meantime, you get to

seeing, there’s a line in there

keep leveraging the existing

about generative AI and how

Avaya solutions that you trust.

we can integrate it into the

It’s resonating incredibly well

customer experience. Every

with our customers, and our

large customer we’re talking

roadmap is built around this

to is thinking about how they

entire proposition.”

can leverage generative AI.

This strategy, says, Jon

There’s a lot of excitement

Arnold, Principal Analyst at J

building about it, but we’re

Arnold & Associates, appears to

still in the early days of AI in

be a sensible one.

the context of the large-scale

“Innovation without

contact centers we serve. We’re

disruption speaks to the anxiety

helping our customers define

many of [Avaya’s] customers

the right use cases and get the

If you look at some of our largest customer deployments, we’re talking tens of thousands of seats.” www.tahawultech.com

OCTOBER 2023

31

COVER STORY

32

OCTOBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

technology adoption right,” he says.

A good thing, then, that

Every large customer we’re talking to is thinking about how they can leverage generative AI.”

Avaya is also using GITEX Global showcase how it can infuse generative AI into

tapping or incubating this type

the heart of the customer

of talent,” he says.

Dave Michels, Principal

experience. One stand-out demonstration will integrate

Analyst and Founder at

generative AI capabilities

TalkingPointz, agrees that

into the Avaya Experience

there could be fertile ground

Platform, helping CX leaders to

here: “A new round of AI

implement workflows and glean

technologies will dominate the

precise, actionable insights with

sector in 2024. Almost all of it

the stroke of a keyboard.

comes from OpenAI, Google, or

“Up until now, AI in the

Meta. The differences will be

contact center has typically

implementation and access to

been at the front-end, usually

clean data.”

answering routine questions

The good news is that

from customers in the form of

these ideas flow nicely into a

intelligent virtual assistants.

revamped roadmap that Avaya

Now we can show how AI

has announced. “CX is our

can also be extended right

north star,” said the company’s executives when announcing

to the heart of the customer experience, creating workflows,

already have. Avaya serves that

the roadmap, making clear that

reports and helping agents

need very nicely,” Abou-Ltaif

R&D dollars are being funneled

better serve their customers,”

explains.

towards its contact center

Abou-Ltaif says.

The approach that Avaya

Indeed, according to Arnold, there’s an opportunity here for

portfolios.

Abou-Ltaif, though, offers

has taken with this demo

Avaya to carve out its own space

a small improvement on

is indicative of its general

in the market.

that phrase, claiming, “Our

approach to AI. The core AI

“It’s still early in the game

customers are our north star.

technology is not developed

with AI, and payoff for getting

It’s as simple as that, and we’re

by Avaya in-house – in this

it right is actually much bigger

investing where we need to

instance it’s powered by

than with the technologies the

address their priorities.”

Cognigy, a leader in the space.

company has historically been

But it could just as easily be

built upon. We know Avaya

claim that Avaya never left is

OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google

doesn’t have the resources to

entirely correct. And he’s not

CCAI. What Avaya brings to the

become an R&D powerhouse,

the only one that shares this

table is a trusted CX solution in

but there are plenty of ways

view.

the form of Avaya Experience

to infuse AI into the portfolio.

Michels says, “Avaya is

Platform, and the ability to

This might include having more

not back because it really

integrate these AI-powered

reconnaissance out there for

never went away. Yes, it had

capabilities into the contact

under the radar AI startups, and

some leadership and financial

center stack.

creating a culture for agile AI

challenges, but it never

innovation that’s really good at

abandoned its customers.”

“Our customers are excited

In a sense, then, Abou-Ltaif’s

about the possibilities of AI, for sure, but really they want an integrator to bring it all together. And they don’t want

We can show how AI can also be extended right to the heart of the customer experience.”

any disruption to what they

www.tahawultech.com

OCTOBER 2023

33

INTERVIEW

SAP

HAVE YOU GOT THE ‘EDGE’

CNME Deputy Editor Veronica Martin secured an exclusive interview with Sven Denecken, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at SAP, during their Future of Business Summit in Walldorf, Germany, in an effort to find out how the company is collaborating with its customers to develop industry-specific solutions that are required to give them an edge in the current digital economy.

C

ould you elaborate on how SAP collaborates with customers and

partners to develop industryspecific solutions for digital

34

transformation?

First and foremost, our vast customer base, exceeding 400,000, is complemented by an extensive ecosystem.

Identifying our position at what I call the 'vertical edge,' which is highly industry-specific, is of paramount importance.

While the spotlight often shines on our efforts towards standardisation, my

Identifying our position at what I call the 'vertical edge,' which is highly industry-specific, is of paramount importance.”

organisation is dedicated to a distinctive aspect known as

our platform seamlessly. This

'industry advisory councils.'

approach, which I refer to as

either you establish an

Retail is a stark example:

Within this framework,

'core innovation,' has been a

online presence or risk losing

we convene a diverse array

cornerstone of our operations

customers who prefer the

of customers, ranging from

for many years.

convenience of e-commerce.

the most loyal to the most

What are some examples of

rapid, challenging, and

innovative.

business solutions SAP has

marked by numerous mistakes.

developed to address industry-

Now, as we transition to a

discussions around use cases,

specific processes?

more normalized business

processes, and innovations that

Let's focus on the retail

environment, two noteworthy

they may perceive as non-

industry, which has been

trends have emerged.

differentiating. This process

undergoing significant

enables us to standardize or

transformation alongside the

remains crucial, but customers

incorporate these insights into

automotive sector.

are gradually returning to

This transformation was

the largest to the smallest,

Our aim is to facilitate

OCTOBER 2023

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INTERVIEW

physical stores. To bridge this

there's a cautious approach,

What role does SAP play in

evolution, we've introduced

characterized by a desire to test

helping industries adapt to

an innovative solution on

the waters and understand how

rapidly changing technological

our industry cloud platform:

things work before diving in.

landscapes?

AI-powered replenishment

Our team plays a pivotal role

technologies in our innovation

ensuring that technology,

centres in collaboration with

in seamlessly sharing data

engineering, market priorities,

our partners. However, when it

between online interactions

and marketing efforts are all

comes to achieving scalability and

and in-store experiences.

harmonized. This involves

resilience at the enterprise level,

effective communication

it presents an entirely different

traditionally tailored for

strategies to successfully

challenge.

retailers. However, consider a

introduce our solutions to the

scenario where you operate a

market.

Secondly, the challenge lies

These processes have been

While experimenting with various technologies is accessible to consumers,

filling station, and a significant

36

We continuously explore emerging

in striking the right balance,

automation.

portion of your profit comes

How have your various

transitioning them to an

from in-store sales. In such

roles, including ERP product

enterprise-scale is where our

cases, it becomes imperative to

management and post-merger

team truly excels.

harness this capability. Hence,

integration, shaped your

we've designed this solution

approach to supporting SAP's

value and specific use cases

as an industry cloud offering.

industry customers?

these technologies should

While the standard purchase

At SAP, we consistently view

support, it becomes a mutual

and construction processes

our strategies and approaches

learning experience, allowing us

remain highly standardized,

from an industry-specific

to understand the requirements

this unique differentiator

perspective.

for resiliency.

allows us to seamlessly integrate it.

Throughout my career,

As I provide feedback on the

For instance, a decade ago,

whether I was involved in

I initially perceived AI as a

acquisitions related to customer

complex, PhD-level concept.

As the Senior Vice President of

integration or focused on ERP

Over time, I witnessed the

Marketing and Solutions for

solutions at the core, I always

rapid evolution and increasing

Industries and CX at SAP, how

assessed which industries were

significance of AI and machine

do you contribute to the go-to-

poised for transformation and

learning.

market approach?

in need of our solutions.

My role involves a deep dive

In my current role, this

I collaborated with our engineering team to understand

into our engineering processes,

extensive knowledge base has

the specific challenges

as well as those of our partner

proven immensely valuable.

customers face when aiming

organizations.

It enables me to identify the

to scale in the retail and

unique strengths that potential

e-commerce sectors.

Interacting with customers and clients is their primary focus, and my team specializes

partners bring to the table.

By seamlessly integrating

With the shift away from physical stores, the

in this aspect. While we

them with SAP, our customers,

responsibility of delivering a

maintain a close connection

and our technology, we

seamless service falls heavily

with engineering, we also keep

unearth hidden opportunities

on a robust platform.

a finger on the market's pulse.

that might otherwise remain

We utilize conventional

undiscovered.

We realized that industryspecific solutions within our ecosystem rely on the same

marketing principles, such

This is achievable only

as assessing the addressable

when you possess a deep

fundamental service. By uniting

market and evaluating different

understanding of our products,

our efforts, we can enhance the

geographies in Asia. In some

the market dynamics, and,

resilience of this service and

regions, it's not a matter of 'if'

of course, the underlying

optimize model training with

but 'when,' while in others,

technology.

pertinent data.

OCTOBER 2023

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OPINION

SOLARWINDS

FOUNTAIN OF VALUE

Kevin Kline, Technical Evangelist for Databases at SolarWinds, believes that the adoption and implementation of AIOps can transform the deluge of digital data facing many businesses into a ‘fountain of value’.

O

single slip-up is detected.

All told, the task put to today’s database and IT teams isn’t a simple one.

So how can such teams be expected to not only manage these exploding amounts of data on behalf of their organization, but do so while pushing innovation forward, avoiding burnout, and navigating important security and compliance regulations?

rganizations today

From Buzzword to Backbone

are facing a deluge

With all the buzz around

of digital data.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Transactions,

this year, it should come as no

conversations, clicks, alerts,

surprise that this forms the

smart devices and even social

backbone of the solution.

media streams – this list of

38

prowl, ready to strike when a

Indeed, AI, ML, and AIOps

sources goes on.

are transforming how IT

And while far from

professionals work in today’s

exhaustive, even just these are

increasingly complicated

more than enough to exhaust

digital environments—

already overworked IT teams.

enabling them to automate

Most incoming data is of

tasks, detect security threats

little consequence long-term

and performance anomalies, optimize performance, and

so long as it is in line with expectations. But every so

new oil’, and there’s no doubt

make better decisions based

often, something anomalous

businesses now understand just

on data analysis. Because

occurs.

how valuable this asset it.

these technologies process

It may be something that has

But if they hope to mirror

such massive amounts of

the potential to cause harm,

the successes of regional Oil

information, they help IT

or equally important, it may

& Gas players and turn crude

professionals optimize

represent an opportunity to

inputs into immensely valuable

performance by ensuring

help the business.

outputs, they must work to

applications and services are

refine it.

running properly.

Either way, it warrants closer attention. Sadly, when the IT

Of course, this is harder than

By embracing AI and ML,

team is drawing from a firehose

ever before. The amount of

enterprises can better detect,

of incoming information, it’s

data produced daily is mind-

predict, and even prevent

easy, if not inevitable, that

boggling—and growing.

application or system crashes

many of these precious drops

The multi-cloud

and outages by automatically

will whiz by unnoticed, and

environments in which data is

analyzing key performance

with each, the possibility of

now housed are more complex

indicators (KPI)—improving

mitigating a threat, or seizing

than ever. Privacy concerns and

the end-user experience,

an opportunity.

regulatory requirements are a

boosting productivity, and

constantly tightening noose,

safeguarding profitability.

In the Middle East, we’ve all heard the phrase ‘data is the

OCTOBER 2023

and attackers are always on the

Accomplishing this today is

www.tahawultech.com

or where they may be on their digital transformation journey.

More than that, applying AIOps helps organizations take the critical steps toward proactive management of digital services and moves them toward autonomous operations, which require little to no human intervention.

All told, AIOps allows leaders to gain back valuable time and brainpower—not to mention notably challenging because

AIOps is a relatively new term

better protection from simple

many companies run their

Forrester® describes as a

human error—to focus on

systems across multiple

“practice that combines human

critical priorities that amplify

clouds and rely on hundreds of

and technological applications

the business’ ability to serve its

applications to get work done.

of AI/ML, advanced analytics,

customers.

More than simply ensuring

and operational practices with

applications remain operational, they enable

business and operations data.”

AIOps-powered service

Not a Silver Bullet, But a Sniper Scope

DevOps teams to accelerate

management allows companies

I must caution that AIOps isn’t

innovation and add more value

to resolve service issues faster

a replacement for all the work

to the business on a continuous basis.

Through AIOps, the benefits of embracing AI and ML can be realized at higher levels of the organization, too. These tools can autonomously filter

When AI and human intelligence is combined, it’s a partnership that unlocks nearly limitless potential at every level of the organization.”

needing to be done. Instead, we should view it as an aid in understanding the information we can’t possibly sift through ourselves to rapidly focus in on what’s important.

When AI and human

the flow of incoming data to

than ever before, reducing toil

intelligence is combined, it’s a

look for anomalies, keep track

and relieving the pressure on

partnership that unlocks nearly

of searched areas, and detect

end-user services teams.

limitless potential at every

incoming precious drops—or even new threats entirely.

Businesses leveraging AIOps are better placed to identify

level of the organization.

The stakes for IT

patterns and anomalies that

professionals are high, and

Time Well Spent

could signal potential problems

coping with exploding amounts

When you do not need to focus

in an IT environment, quickly

of data is a skill set unto itself.

on low-level labor, you’re now

correlate vast amounts of data

free to spend valuable time

to provide root cause analysis,

will see organizations giving

pursuing other higher-level

recommended remediation

preference to IT professionals

pursuits that help ensure

strategies, and even automate

who are effective at using AI

profitability and productivity.

many tasks that are essential

tools.

You can assist dev teams and

“heavy lifting” operations.

And in the coming years, we

Yet effectively monitoring

business analysts, train data

After all, when “slow is the new

and analyzing this increasing

analysts to write more efficient

down” for your applications,

amount of systems information

queries, or help build new and

every second counts

is absolutely critical for any

better applications.

Additionally, AIOps enables

large companies hoping to

AIOps bring these benefits

end-to-end visibility regardless

remain competitive in the

to DataOps and IT teams, too.

of a company’s infrastructure

decades ahead.

www.tahawultech.com

OCTOBER 2023

39

OPINION

AVEVA

DATA IS THE KEY TO NET ZERO Rashesh Mody, Executive Vice President, Operations Business at AVEVA, believes that smart data is the key component for greening energy companies and helping global leaders achieve their goals of a net zero world.

G

lobal leaders are

workforce, underpinning all

on an urgent path

strategic initiatives including

towards net zero,

operational excellence and

acknowledging that

digital transformation.

the world must slash emissions

The addition of carbon data

by 50 per cent within this decade

management as an extension

to avert a climate emergency.

of environmental data

Amid this pressured

40

management only amplifies this

backdrop, the world has

strategic point.

collectively undertaken colossal

increased use of hydrogen to

Decarbonization and profitability are not mutually exclusive

reduce fossil fuel use. By 2050,

However, not all information

initiatives to decarbonize, including electrification and the

is equally useful. To produce

experts expect renewable power to account for roughly 80% of

demands innovation, precision,

actionable intelligence, data

global demand.

and agility driven by quality

must be structured and

operational and carbon data

accessible to those who can

gas industry must redouble its

management and layers

best use it, particularly subject

efforts to stay relevant.

of analytics. In short, fuel

matter experts who have the

To reach the lofty emissions

producers must use every tool

knowledge and experience to

goals leaders have set to meet

at their disposal – particularly

put data insights into action –

social and political mandates,

foundational enabling digital

a strategy that’s all the more

the world must lean on a

technologies – to solve

vital, now that fuel producers

combination of efficiency

tomorrow’s problems today.

must prioritize decarbonization

In the same vein, the oil and

measures, renewable electricity

For decades, operational data

generation techniques, proper

has been one of the most potent

distribution infrastructure

tools by which companies of

tools that are grounded in

as well as green fuels like

all industries have optimized

solid operational and carbon

hydrogen, renewable diesel,

their processes, cut costs, and

data management with

ethanol, and biofuels.

empowered their workforce.

streaming analytics, events, and

However, as we continue to

alongside profits.

With our self-serve digital

notifications with AI-infused

Solving tomorrow’s challenges today

move from an analogue to a

intelligence at their disposal,

digital world, operational data

as well as a clear strategy

For fuel producers, adjusting

has become the most important

for decarbonization, oil and

to this shifting landscape

company asset to empower the

gas companies can manage

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OPINION

flow in real time against the design compressor curve in the engineering digital twin.

In a broader sense, too, companies must also adapt and evolve their business strategies to include decarbonization solutions and services.

Many early-adopters of and address these competing

processes, offering a holistic

decarbonization strategies have

interests more easily and

and bespoke view of operations

founded alternative energy

effectively.

that is perfect for digital

divisions within their companies,

transformation.

which are specifically tasked

For the oil and gas industry, which accounts for roughly 9% of

The software solutions enable

global green-house gas (GHGs)

companies to explore consolidated

emissions, the decarbonization

process optimization models,

find other ways to reduce their

path is challenging but not

using real-time data to minimize

carbon output too. Carbon

insurmountable.

carbon emissions within their

capture and underground

operational and economical

storage (CCUS), or carbon

constraints.

capture and sequestration

One of the first –and most important – steps for any company in its decarbonization

42

with public-facing ESG. Oil and gas enterprises must

In addition, software that

(CCS), is one of the most rapidly

journey is to use operational

offers a unified supply chain

deployable technologies at their

data intelligence to accelerate

approach can empowers

disposal, though CCUS is not

traditional energy efficiency

companies to model both

without its challenges.

efforts, thereby reducing the

financial and carbon-intensity

associated emissions.

implications.

Historically, financial

Whether it’s stored or repurposed for carbonating soft drinks, agriculture, or other

concerns motivated companies

Evolving with the times

myriad uses, carbon dioxide must

to optimize their value chains

Our industrial software also

be purified of contaminants like

and invest in unified supply

allows oil and gas companies to

sulfur and chlorides.

chain planning, scheduling, and

explore data from the project

optimization.

phase during operations.

Ultimately, the core of any comprehensive plan to cut

However, given the recent

The combination of

proliferation of environmental,

the engineering digital

operational and carbon data

social, and governance (ESG)

twin, with its associated

management combined with

factors, oil and gas companies

streaming analytics, events,

smart data insights.

must now consider the cost of

and notifications, with the

Companies should seek to

carbon alongside traditional

operational twin results in a

tightly integrate – rather than

financial concerns.

sophisticated, integrated digital

accumulating new, disparate

twin that empowers teams to

systems – their data and

make the best decisions.

information management, as

As such, companies must rely more than ever on digital

carbon emissions must be solid

tools to explore windows of

For example, users can

opportunity, both financially

see real-time compressor

capabilities by diversifying their

and in terms of carbon intensity.

efficiency with head versus

digital toolset.

AVEVA’s suite of industrial software solutions, built on Microsoft Azure’s cloud platform, supports these goals.

Our tools are designed and optimized to connect asset,

well as add more advanced

Our tools are designed and optimized to connect asset, data, people, sites, systems and processes, offering a holistic and bespoke view of operations that is perfect for digital transformation.”

data, people, sites, systems and

OCTOBER 2023

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LE A R N M O R E

OPINION

ORANGE BUSINESS

THE FUTURE OF WORK Marie-Hélène Briens Ware, VP Workplace Together at Orange Business, has penned a thought leadership article which examines how generative AI can completely revolutionise the future of work.

365 Copilot with a few bullet points using natural language, as I would use in a normal chat.

It came up with a well-written draft, and I added my personal edits on top. It saved me at least one precious hour of work.

This is a good example of where Copilot excels: it helps users do various tasks, such as writing a blog, creating a PowerPoint presentation, or summarising a meeting, faster and perhaps better.

Microsoft 365 Copilot has the

G

potential to help many people

ChatGPT was made available to

Copilot early access program

everyone in November 2022.

(EAP), and why it’s important

enerative artificial

work a lot more efficiently.

intelligence has

Expect it to make a big impact!

suddenly taken front

That’s why we are thrilled

stage since OpenAI’s

to be part of the Microsoft 365

Since then, the key questions

for Orange.

for every organisation have

We want to figure out

been: What’s in it for us?

how Copilot can change the

What can it change in the

way people work. What we

way we work, in our customer

experience as a diverse, global

experience, in our operations?

company will probably look

The race is on to bring the

similar to what many large

power of generative AI into the

organisations will experience.

workplace.

For Orange Business, being

One key development has

able to help our enterprise

been the announcement by

customers leverage the best

Microsoft that they were soon

of the technology in a smooth

releasing Microsoft 365 Copilot

manner is a key goal.

in general availability.

Orange is one of the

By applying our learnings, Microsoft 365 applications,

we can help our customers

organisations around the world

such as Teams, Excel, Word,

make the most of Microsoft 365

to participate in the Microsoft

Outlook, and PowerPoint this

Copilot. We are also proud to

365 Copilot early access

fall.

have the opportunity to provide

program (EAP).

It uses generative AI to help

feedback to Microsoft based

users write, design, and present

on our testing to help improve

combines the power of Large

more effectively. What’s unique

Copilot to boost employee

Language Models with data

about Microsoft 365 Copilot is

experiences across the board.

in the Microsoft Graph –

that it is fully integrated into

Ultimately, this kind of new

calendar, emails, chats,

our daily work tools. Yet, you

tool will enable us to save time

documents, meetings and more

don’t have to use it if you don’t

on low or moderate value-

– and the Microsoft 365 apps to

want to.

added tasks, freeing up time for

Microsoft 365 Copilot

help users create content faster and better.

Copilot will be available in

www.tahawultech.com

Let me give you an example: I used it to draft a first version of this blog. I prompted Microsoft

tasks where humans excel.

Creativity, listening, forming convictions, taking care of

OCTOBER 2023

45

OPINION

46 customers, imagining new

(General Data Protection

compliance) as well as the

services, reacting to new

Regulation) compliance.

Microsoft EU Data Boundary

situations…these are just a

People had concerns about

initiative that aims to define a

few examples of what will be

what would happen to their

European boundary within which

more possible because other

data. Was it safe? Were we

Microsoft has committed to store

tasks will be accelerated and

taking a risk regarding GDPR or

and process customer data.

optimised by Microsoft 365

privacy in general? to access their data? The

Preparing to test

How’s it going? Early insights

best solution was to make

We gathered a diverse

Over the summer we assembled

sure that our data would be

and representative group

a core team to select a wide

protected and stored in the EU

of testers who could use

range of testers across Orange

(European Union).

Microsoft 365 Copilot in

Copilot.

worldwide and prepare the roll-out.

Were other people going

Microsoft listened to our

different scenarios, contexts,

concerns confirming that

and job roles, including sales,

Microsoft 365 Copilot benefits

marketing, HR, IT, consulting,

understand both what to expect

from Microsoft’s security

operations, personal

from the early access program

and privacy contractual

assistants, project managers,

and what was needed from

commitments (including GDPR

legal, finance, and more.

Participants needed to

them. Generative AI generates a lot of excitement, so setting appropriate expectations was important.

A main concern for Orange

For Orange Business, being able to help our enterprise customers leverage the best of the technology in a smooth manner is a key goal.”

was data privacy and GDPR

OCTOBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

OPINION

48 We also made sure to

internally other AI tools, for

diversity of data: the power of

include representation from

instance based on Microsoft

Microsoft 365 Copilot will likely

12 different countries. The

Azure OpenAI Service, and

express itself differently in

program formally kicked off

some of the feedback from

different organizations because

earlier this month, and we

our employees is to better

just like any AI, the quality and

launched a testers’ community

understand which technology

nature of the input data has a

on Teams, and it is already

to use for a specific situation.

big impact on the output.

very active. We collect feedback

We want to get a clear idea of the most powerful use cases

What’s next?

– and it’s not just “doing a

We are learning as we go as all

to evaluate the impact of

summary” or “creating a pivot

of this is obviously very new.

Microsoft 365 Copilot on our

table.”

weekly from the testers.

Key objectives for us are

Not just the generative AI

employees’ experience, and

We want to understand

technology, but how people see

then see how our learnings

in which context Microsoft

it and use it. It is already clear

can be applied to support our

365 Copilot brings most

that data management, change

customers’ experience.

value, i.e.: summarising

management, and governance

We want to see how Copilot

commercial contracts, creating

will be important efforts to

can help save time, reduce errors,

a report on quarterly financial

the rollout of any generative AI

increase quality, boost creativity,

performance, etc.

solution.

and more generally make users feel better in their job.

We also want to understand what they need to adopt Copilot

We want to see which job

We are looking forward

roles will benefit most from

to seeing the results and

Copilot, hence the diversity in

leveraging our insights and

the recruitment of testers.

takeaways both internally and

as effectively as possible.

And it’s not just about the

We are also deploying

diversity of people, but also the

OCTOBER 2023

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INTERVIEW

RUCKUS

THE NUMBER ‘ONE’ PLATFORM

CNME Editor Mark Forker spoke to Moe Raslan, Regional Sales Director MENA at CommScope Ruckus, to find out how their Ruckus One platform is helping enterprises deploy 'future-proof’ networks in the ever-evolving and complex digital economy.

R

UCKUS One is an AI-

the time to solve problems

driven network and

on the network as it is able

business intelligence

to detect and identify issues

platform designed to

as they happen and also keep

help enterprises deploy ‘future-

records of this.

proof’ networks in a simple,

50

It reduces the need for

safe and cost-efficient way.

technical staff to trouble shoot

However, can you expand on

the issues as the AI has already

the technical capabilities of the

identified them and given

RUCKUS One platform, and how

suggestions as to how to fix the

has it resonated with end users?

issues.

At RUCKUS Networks, we always

Gone are the days of

looked at solutions that help

technicians having to spend

deploy, manage and operate the

hours on site troubleshooting an

next generation of purpose-

them from compounding and

issue that might have happened

driven networks.

becoming problems that impact

in the past.

With RUCKUS One, I believe we have achieved just that.

services.

Ultimately, it improves the

RUCKUS One does not maintain any personal

RUCKUS One is a cloud-native

end-user experience by allowing

information regarding the

platform that delivers network

for easy troubleshooting of

end user in the cloud. Only

assurance, service delivery

problems by lean IT teams.

networking information is

and business intelligence in a

Today, many businesses are

maintained in the cloud,

unified dashboard to simplify

investing lots of money and

minimizing issues with privacy

converged network management

time to manage their network

and security.

across multi-access public and

infrastructure through several

private networks.

management interfaces and

We know that many

the management of several

enterprises have struggled

appliances.

with the demands of cloud

This means that it delivers results through a unified dashboard to allow for an overall simplified experience.

As RUCKUS One is a one-

transformation. Can you

stop solution providing

explain to our readers why

quality converged network

RUCKUS is such a strong

of-the-art AI and multiple

management solutions for

advocate for cloud-managed

patented machine learning (ML)

converged and switching needs,

networking? What are the key

algorithms, RUCKUS One has the

it has resonated well with

benefits of this approach?

ability to react at high speeds to

customers and end-users.

Cloud-based and AI-driven

The combination of state-

address incidents and prevent

OCTOBER 2023

RUCKUS One greatly reduces

RUCKUS One is made for today’s

www.tahawultech.com

INTERVIEW

enterprises and is future-

of connectivity for their

ready to deal with tomorrow’s

consumers, trying to decide

intelligent network needs.

between Wi-Fi or 4G/5G, or even

In this digital age, networks are becoming more dynamic and,

RUCKUS One is exactly what

as a result, more unpredictable.

they’re looking for. We are

This creates blind spots, which

passionate about providing a

can be migrated to different

make it harder to provide

flexible solution for any case

controllers. We do not stop the

consumers with consistency.

scenario for enterprises of all

access points from working.

However, RUCKUS One

sizes – from the smallest of

simplifies the complex nature

businesses to the largest of them,

In terms of growth, have

of modern networks. It is easy

with multiple branch offices.

you been happy with your

to use and expand, with flexible

As mentioned before, one

performance thus far in 2023,

configuration to allow for an

of the benefits of switching

and what is your strategy for

entirely customizable, yet secure

to RUCKUS One is its ability

further growth across the

multi-access network experience.

to customize and optimize

Middle East region in 2024?

network resources.

Since the pandemic, several

In RUCKUS One, a single

Once a customer has added

Middle Eastern sectors have

incorporate multi access, smart

all wired and wireless networks

bounced back, from a general

services, network assurances,

on the unified platform, they

industry connectivity viewpoint.

policy and security and device

can change network settings

management and control. Key

depending on the demand,

continues to take shape, the

benefits include –

such as the network upload and

investment in information and

download rates, the LAN port

communications technology is

networks in simple, reliable

settings of the APs or access

expected to continue to grow.

and secure ways

control policies.

software platform can

52

both.

In this digital age, networks are becoming more dynamic and, as a result, more unpredictable.”

• Deploy future proof

• Provide a top-level view of

And since RUCKUS One helps

As the region’s digital economy

Digital is now a permanent and dynamic fixture in today’s

the network and visibility

manage networks and their

enterprises. Digital acceleration

into status of all APs and

devices on multiple locations,

proved effective for several

switches in the network

businesses are not locked

organizations in the region,

• Customize and optimize

into any one deployment

and those that didn’t adopt the

architecture.

digital-first strategy have already

network resources on a granular level

With the platform the network engineers can

begun investing in this direction.

CommScope is positioned

In terms of the cloud networking

customize the switch settings

in a way to offer industry-

offered by RUCKUS, do your

or ports as per needs and have

leading innovation to support

solutions provide ‘complete

complete control over device

enterprises’ growth.

flexibility’ for end users to move

access within their network.

Last year, in 2022, CommScope invested

their management architecture across public and private cloud?

Do the solutions provided by

approximately 600 million

We have seen many businesses

RUCKUS continue to manage

USD in R&D and new product

locked into one deployment

the customer’s network

introductions, with continued

architecture, so how do you

should their subscription

aggressive investment in

avoid that from happening?

lapse or a customer decides to

RUCKUS® and ONECELL™ in-

RUCKUS One acts as a “one-

discontinue their subscription

building wireless solutions to

stop shop” for everything –

for any reason?

drive future growth. However,

delivering network assurance,

We give a grace period,

growth is a never-ending and

service delivery and business

for renewal of the cloud

ongoing process.

intelligence.

subscription. If the end user

Many enterprises are looking

does not want to carry on

help more enterprises on their

to provide the right kind

with cloud our access points

digital journey.

OCTOBER 2023

Our strategy is to expand and

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OPINION

ENDAVA

TIME TO STEP UP David Boast, General Manager – MENA at Endava, argues that it is time for boardrooms to step up to the plate and move away from short-term thinking to really drive sustainable digital acceleration.

A

s a term now synonymous with the Middle East, innovation

is on every boardroom’s agenda. Organisations need to constantly push the boundaries of what’s possible.

Failure to do so could render even industry heavyweights irrelevant, with their market share eroded by agile up and comers.

54

Innovation isn’t just a remedy for staying relevant either, it’s a prerequisite to commercial progress. A quick look at the meteoric rise of Netflix, and OpenAI, or closer to home, Swvl, and Kitopi, is testament to this. potential downsides. The

If it isn’t broken why fix it

The unintended cost of innovation

constant need to pioneer new

When all eyes are on the road

Bubbling under the surface

paths has an unfortunate side

ahead, not enough attention

though is a problem that has

effect — short termism.

is paid to what’s in the

the potential to entirely derail

rear mirror. And as long as

business operations. Tech debt

market, the end result is

things go right, few bother to

is the silent killer of the modern

all that’s prioritised, with

question this myopic mindset.

enterprise, and a consequence

But innovation isn’t without

In the rush to be first to

little consideration for the

After all, business

of its willingness to build

execution path to getting there,

stakeholders haven’t had

which results in saddling the

the need to understand the

skyscrapers over sinking sand.

organisation with technical debt

technicalities of product

contribute to tech debt — not

— the rework and additional

design, development, and

having the right architectural

investment needed to undo

delivery.

foundation to support modern

There are many elements that

the shortcomings of quick fix

CEOs need to think about

tech solutions that are destined

the company’s performance

rushing digital services to market

to become weak links in the

for the quarter, and CFOs need

are perhaps the greatest offenders.

long run. Instead of creating

to concern themselves with

a springboard for success,

budgeting and forecasting.

testing, the lack of

organisations unwittingly end

This way of working forces

comprehensive documentation,

up building a house of cards.

CTOs and CPOs to be tactical.

or poorly written code.

OCTOBER 2023

software development, and

But so too is insufficient

www.tahawultech.com

55

These problems are

But herein lies the challenge.

long-term implications of

magnified in the region

With the way that innovation

due to the revolving door

is currently handled within

of IT professionals who

large organisations, the short-

executives have to instil a

have little insight into how

term mindset is an inevitability

longer term, stewardship

legacy investment really

rather than an unexpected

behaviour that enables a culture

works. And this contributes

outcome.

of innovation, and technology

to a precariously poised IT

After all, how can

environment that could fail at

boards expect leaders and

any instant.

employees, who are evaluated

their actions?

Boards and C-Level

planning well beyond the current horizons.

This is why there’s a strong

on a quarterly basis, and

case to be made for technology

One step back, two steps forward

whose average tenure at

advisory to be brought into the

organisations is constantly

boardroom. Just as the board

It might seem counterintuitive

shrinking, to consider the

assesses and outlines the long-

but given that these are the factors that cause tech debt, innovation roadmaps can actually benefit from organisations taking a step back to consider their risk profile, rather than blindly

Short-term technology decisions that serve immediate business needs are setting enterprise-scale organisations up for catastrophic consequences.”

surging forward.

www.tahawultech.com

OCTOBER 2023

OPINION

56

term business strategy, so too

being an organisation that is

than any of its competitors,

it must take ownership of the

easily swayed by the attractive,

proves that being a perfectionist

innovation roadmap.

though often unattainable,

can be more important than just

This may in some cases

promises of ‘disruptive and

being a pioneer.

mean pausing new digital

sweeping’ innovation, to one

transformation initiatives

that embraces continuous

ready to forgo their near-

and instead giving the

improvement, implementing

sighted view, they will easily

organisation’s infrastructure a

iterative advancements that can

see that innovation without

long overdue health check and

be given the time needed for

long-term intent is a recipe

to see how viable it is to build

perfecting.

for disaster.

in most cases is not technically

In it for the long haul

long-term roadmap, than those

possible without an upgrade.

It might be hard to imagine

who are unencumbered by the

that in today’s era of constant

pressures of hitting quarterly

at organisational needs, not just

digital acceleration, an

commitments, or annual

as they presently stand, but as

organisation that prioritises

appraisals.

they are likely to evolve in the

getting things right, rather

It’s time for the board to see

face of expansions, evolutions

than getting to market first,

that it’s not just the business, but

and changing regulatory

can come out on top.

the tech strategy that they need

products in an agile way, which

It will require a careful look

environments.

It might also require a change in the company culture, from

OCTOBER 2023

Once organisations are

And who better to set this

But the fact that Apple is the

to take ownership of. It will then

world’s most valuable company,

be them who can take credit for

and still sells more smartphones

eliminating tech debt.

www.tahawultech.com

INTERVIEW

LENOVO

LENOVO’S PIONEERING ROLE IN AI INFRASTRUCTURE 58

Veronica Martin secured an exclusive interview with Kirk Skaugen, Executive Vice President at Lenovo, President Infrastructure Solutions Group, in a bid to find out about Lenovo's strategic approach to its Infrastructure Business, the key drivers and objectives behind the company’s strong focus on AI and how AI will contribute to the growth and development of Lenovo's Infrastructure Business Group.

C

NME spoke to Skaugen

He also provided insights

growing regions. Around the

at the Lenovo’s office

into the global and regional

world we're trying to grow at

in Dubai, where he

performance of Lenovo's

roughly double the market,

outlined Lenovo's

Infrastructure Business,

but here in the Middle East

strategic approach to its

especially in the MEA region.

we're doing it much faster.

Infrastructure Business.

“In the MEA region and

We've become the largest

“Lenovo’s vision is to provide

specifically here in the Middle

supercomputer company in the

smarter technology for all.

East, we grew triple digits last

world and approximately one in

We're working to become a

year, so it's one of our fastest

three of the top 500 computers

global technology powerhouse and we're excited now that 41%

in the world are running Lenovo.

“We're running 17 of the top

of our business is non-PC. Some

25 research universities now

of the fastest growing parts of

on Lenovo and we are also

our business are the software

number 1 in the Green 500 list

solutions and services, but also

of the world’s most efficient

a data centre infrastructure.

supercomputers. Broadly

Since I've been here in 2016,

speaking on infrastructure,

we've gone from approximately

we're trying to drive edge to

number 10 in the world to

cloud. The amount of data in

number three in the server, the

the world will double in the

storage and data management,

next two to three years. This

and now as an AI infrastructure

will be more data than that's

provider. Our goal is to simplify

been created in the entire

the technology for people and

history of the world up until

be able to offer end-to-end

now, but we're only computing

solutions,” said Skaugen.

2% of that data. At the same

OCTOBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

INTERVIEW

In addition to this, Lenovo has made significant investments in AI and Skaugen explained what the key drivers and objectives are behind Lenovo's strong focus on AI. “Lenovo believe in AI for all and that eventually AI will be everywhere. We think of AI in three parts. Personal AI, that's like a personal twin that will sit only on your PC or your phone and give you advice based on your personal habits. For example, if you ask for a good vacation, it will know your personal preference,

60

time, 75% of the compute will

and allow them to offer their

where you've already gone,

move out to the edge where

solutions globally to benefit

so it won't recommend places

the data's created. This means

our customers worldwide due

where you've already been and

the way we're growing the

to Lenovo’s presence in 180

whether you prefer a beach or

infrastructure business at

markets. ENOC is another

a city holiday. Then the second

Lenovo is we're taking the

example in the UAE. We're

kind of AI will be enterprise

data out to the edge, whether

putting our edge servers into

AI or private AI. This is where

that's a smart factory or a

every gas station to deliver a

either because of government

smart hospital or smart retail

better client experience from

sovereignty or the need to have

or smart government, moving

the gas pump to the security

your own IP in a data lake, you

it out to the edge to do the

at the stations to the point-

can ask AI to do things for your

computing. That this area

of-sale terminals. That's been

company without it going into

will be a big focus for us as

one of our largest edge server

the public cloud. The third is

customers seek to use live data computed at the edge to boost efficiency of their businesses,” commented Skaugen.

Skaugen also shared some notable projects and clients the

Lenovo’s vision is to provide smarter technology for all. We're working to become a global technology powerhouse and we're excited now that 41% of our business is non-PC.”

Lenovo Infrastructure Group is

deployments on what we call

public AI, such as ChatGPT

currently engaged with in the

our think agile platforms,

where you want to have a pool

region.

which is a Nutanix software

of information from the public.

defined infrastructure. We've

We invested a billion dollars

here in the UAE who are

also recently been chosen by

three years ago, created four

producing AI solutions for

Saudi’s National Centre for

AI innovation centres and 770

verticals such as oil and gas.

Meteorology (NCM) to build

products that are AI centric,”

We created an AI innovators’

a supercomputer to enhance

said Skaugen.

program about three years ago

numerical forecasting models,

Skaugen also highlighted

where we invested over a billion

increasing the timeliness of

Lenovo’s investments in AI

dollars in AI and now, we have

forecasts and enabling NCM

start-ups globally.

over 165 AI solutions. As part of

to issue warnings for severe

our AI innovators programme,

weather incidents, so that

largest AI infrastructure

Lenovo can take local home-

preventative action can be

company in the world, but the

grown companies such as nybl

taken,” said Skaugen.

last part is how do you simplify

“We’re working with nybl

OCTOBER 2023

“We've become the third

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Hosted by CPI Media Group and tahawultech.com, the awards are the most prestigious in the IT industry both here in the UAE, and indeed across the Middle East.

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INTERVIEW

services around managed services with our Lenovo True Scale, so everything that we deliver at Lenovo, you can actually buy it as a service in a monthly subscription. We also have a whole new growing set of professional services.

We're bringing water cooling technology into the data centre and that's 40% lower power consumption and super sustainable. We can actually do data centre design for people, AI consulting services and

62

this? Because there are over

it on Lenovo technology.

asset recovery services,” said

16,000 AI start-ups in the

Additionally, we want to drive

Skaugen.

world, and Lenovo is investing

AI out to the edge, so I think we

He concluded a brilliant

in some of those companies

will have a tremendous growth

conversation by reinforcing

helping IT departments

as a result of the AI solutions

Lenovo’s commitment to

understand which are the

we work on,” said Skaugen.

sustainability.

most promising ones, and

Lenovo Group is also

“Part of our commitment to

then certifying them on our

undergoing a transition away

sustainability is we can actually

hardware and then ultimately

from its traditional identity as

recover the equipment of us or

delivering professional services

a hardware-centric company.

our competitor's equipment and

where we can deploy that into

Skaugen elaborated on this

responsibly recycle it. We can

the market. Now whether it's

transformation and shed

actually give customers credit

cybersecurity, smart cities,

light on its implications and

back if there's value so that

smart retail, smart healthcare,

strategies.

they get a discount on their

smart manufacturing, we

“At Lenovo corporate

future purchase. We can also

have 165 solutions in our AI

level, we have our three SSS

give you a certificate that says

innovator program. We grew

strategy, smarter devices

that it was responsibly recycled.

139% last year in a market

(whether that's tablets,

Especially here in the Middle

that grew 39%, so we're over

PCs, phones, or headsets),

East, a lot of the products are

a hundred points premium to

smarter infrastructure and

coming from our factory in

the market as a result of being

smart solutions and services.

Hungary, that is a net zero

an early adopter of AI,” said

We have over 10,000 people

factory. We have also removed

Skaugen.

that do maintenance and

all the plastic from all our

warranty support on our

packaging on our PCs, so our

will contribute to the growth

products worldwide, so we

commitment to sustainability

and development of Lenovo's

can deliver mission critical

is very strong as well,” said

Infrastructure Business Group.

support. We have a set of

Skaugen.

Skaugen also outlined how AI

“We are the reference designer for OVX, for the omniverse and Metaverse. We are partnering with NVIDIA and Microsoft to run Azure cloud for Nvidia OVX. This means if you're going to do a digital twin or things in the metaverse,

Whether, it's cybersecurity, smart cities, smart retail, smart healthcare, smart manufacturing, we have 165 solutions in our AI innovator program. We grew 139% last year in a market that grew 39%, so we're over a hundred points premium to the market as a result of being an early adopter of AI.”

you will most likely be doing

OCTOBER 2023

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