BREAKING BARRIERS

ISSUE 61 \ FEBRUARY 2024

BREAKING BARRIERS HOW EMIRATES NBD IS SPEARHEADING DIGITAL INNOVATION IN BANKING

Redington

Re-Imagining The Digital Future Visit us at H1A, E50, Riyadh KSA

CONTENTS

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44 PRODUCTS

HOW EMIRATES NBD IS SPEARHEADING DIGITAL INNOVATION IN BANKING

BREAKING BARRIERS INTERVIEWS

VIEWPOINTS

VISION 16 TOFROM REALITY

TRENDS 24 TELECOM SHAPING THE GCC’S

22

SHAPING THE SECURITY LANDSCAPE

26 ENERGISING CHANGEY 28

FROM LEGACY TO CLOUD

36 PUSHING BOUNDARIES

FUTURE IN 2024

30 PIONEERING NET ZERO CRITICAL 32 DECODING INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY

34 CHAMPIONING PRIVACY 38

UNLOCKING BUSINESS GROWTH WITH CONNECTED DATA ECOSYSTEMS

42

CHARTING THE PATH TO A SAFER DIGITAL PRESENCE

FEATURE MORE 18 GETTING FROM CLOUD

PUBLISHED BY INSIGHT MEDIA & PUBLISHING LLC

6 NEWS KHAZNA DATA CENTRES LAUNCHES HYPERSCALE AIREADY HUB IN MASDAR CITY LEAP 2024 RETURNS TO RIYADH SPOTLIGHTING GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GARTNER PREDICTS 30% ENTERPRISES MAY DISTRUST STANDALONE IDENTITY SOLUTIONS CISCO DUO PLANS TO LAUNCH NEW CLOUD DATA CENTRE IN THE UAE

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EDITORIAL

PANDORA’S BOX

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ou must have read the news about a multinational company headquartered in Hong Kong recently losing $25.6 million in a deepfake scam.

Utilising sophisticated deepfake technology, cybercriminals digitally cloned numerous employees, including senior company executives, within a virtual video conference setting to pull off this elaborate scam. Now, this is a sign of things to come. AI has opened a whole new array of attack vectors that enterprises are not ready to deal with yet. In fact, Gartner has recently noted that deepfakes can crack face biometrics, and many companies may have to rethink their identity verification and authentication methods.

We have also seen how AI is being used by nefarious threat actors to automate ransomware attacks and evade the threat detection methods of traditional cybersecurity defenses. In fact, during its recent security and risk management summit held in Dubai, Gartner predicted that GenAI will cause a spike in the cybersecurity

resources required to secure it, causing more than a 15 percent incremental spend on application and data security by next year.

Is AI more of a bane than a boon in the context of cybersecurity, you ask? I think the impact of AI on cybersecurity is nuanced, and the answer to this depends on how it is utilised and the context in which it is applied.

In this edition, we have also tackled another burning issue, which is now a hot topic at C-level discussions – Cloud FinOps. Many enterprises that have moved lock, stock, and barrel to the cloud in the last couple of years to propel their digital transformation plans have now realised that this consumption model is not exactly cheaper, as everyone thought it would be. Now, Cloud FinOps, the framework to rein in your spending and get more bang for your buck from the cloud, is gaining currency among CIOs and CFOs. This is a topic that we’d be tracking throughout the year, and keep an eye out for a deep dive from us.

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While the publisher has made all efforts to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors

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NEWS

KHAZNA DATA CENTRES LAUNCHES HYPERSCALE AI-READY HUB IN MASDAR CITY

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hazna Data Centres (Khazna), the hyperscale wholesale data centre provider in the Middle East and North Africa, has announced the launch of its flagship data centre in Abu Dhabi (AUH6). Located in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City, AUH6 has been designed to facilitate the UAE’s AI ambitions and underpin the company’s unwavering commitment to shaping the digital future.

With over a decade of experience, Khazna has played a pivotal role in supporting the UAE’s digital ambitions through the design, construction, and operation of critical infrastructure. AUH6, which combines advanced technology, security, and sustainability, stands at the forefront of the UAE’s digital transformation, signifying Khazna’s commitment to shaping tomorrow’s AI reality. In an era driven by data and AI, AUH6 emerges as a hub for

exclusive AI-related data development and hosting for its customers, offering 31.8-megawatt (MW) of IT power capacity.

The latest data centre represents a facilitator of AI growth, positioning Khazna’s increasing number of data centres as an epicentre of digital evolution.

Located strategically in Masdar City, an urban development renowned for its commitment to sustainable practices and innovative technologies, AUH6 aligns with Khazna’s Future First Strategy, which outlines the company’s sustainability ambitions. The data centre employs a modular and repeatable structure that not only enhances construction efficiency, but also boosts performance, accelerates deployment timelines, and ensures seamless day-to-day operations.

Through Khazna’s collaboration with Emerge, a ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) plant has been

LEAP 2024 RETURNS TO RIYADH SPOTLIGHTING GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 6

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Organisers of LEAP 2024, the technology event conceived to accelerate the adoption of technology and aid the ongoing transformation and diversification of Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning economy, are predicting

developed to efficiently provide electricity to fuel the operations at AUH6. This solar plant boasts an impressive installed capacity of 7 megawatts peak (MWp). The external architecture of the AUH6 was also crafted to protect the facility from the adverse effects of direct sunlight.

This design approach effectively reduces the infiltration of heat into the building, therefore enhancing the data centre’s efficiency and sustainability.

Hassan Alnaqbi, CEO of Khazna Data Centres, emphasized: ” AUH6 embodies Khazna’s commitment to pushing boundaries of technological innovation and sustainability in data centre infrastructure.

We anticipate that AI will positively transform the technological landscape, and Khazna is ready to shape this AI reality of tomorrow. With the expected surge in data volumes brought by the integration and widespread use of AI, the design, build and operations of data centres will undergo significant reshaping, and we are confident that AUH6 is designed to incorporate these advancements. We look forward to connecting our customers to the power of AI through AUH6, a facility that demonstrates Khazna’s extensive years of knowledge and technological innovation.”

AUH6 sets the bar for the next generation of data centres in the UAE, operating at the highest standard by which Khazna measures itself when exporting knowledge to other markets.

Khazna’s future outlook includes a dedicated focus on technological advancements, as well as extending its services and offerings across the Middle East region. With plans underway to expand into neighbouring markets, and promising announcements expected this year, Khazna remains steadfast in its commitment to driving digital infrastructure growth and innovation.

a record-breaking turnout of more than 172,000 visitors when the multiaward-winning event’s third edition gets underway on March 4 at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center, Malham.

The four-day show, already a key enabler in driving monumental economic development and societal change in Saudi Arabia, will this year sharpen its focus on Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI).

To support this, DeepFest, co-located with LEAP and held in partnership with the Saudi Data & Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), is back and bigger than ever, with over 120 companies already confirmed to participate. The 2024 edition will unveil government AI initiatives and the latest innovations by incorporating a thought-leadership conference and a series of sector-dedicated tracks, trainings, live demos, innovation sessions, start-up pitches, and an exhibition that features the world’s top tech companies from across the world who are driving AI forward.

After the success of LEAP 2023, where on-event investment deals totalled more than $9bn, organiser Tahaluf – a joint venture between Informa PLC, the

Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP) and Events Investment Fund – predicted LEAP 2024 will continue rewriting tech industry event records.

Organised in partnership with the Saudi Ministry for Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), LEAP 2024 visitor numbers are already on track to surpass the 172,000 attendees achieved last February – a feat that saw LEAP’s second outing confirmed as the world’s most-attended tech event.

Michael Champion, CEO of Tahaluf, said: “In line with our goal to echo the spirit and build on the successes of our previous editions, LEAP 2024 will venture beyond imagined horizons. With a laser focus on AI, its myriad applications, and transformative advancements, LEAP 2024 is a continuation that will catapult the global tech industry into an elevated realm that is overflowing with untapped potential and unique experiences.”

With a new venue to increase capacity, LEAP 2024 will host more than 1,000 exhibitors displaying and demonstrating innovative tech breakthroughs to propel society into new worlds of living and working. An assortment of 1,000-plus international and regional experts will contribute to 25 content tracks, spotlighting next-gen tech frontiers, while seven new content features – dedicated to AI, Sustainability, Gaming, Space, Cybersecurity, Future Workforce, and Digital Twins – complete a robust conference and dynamic knowledgesharing agenda.

GARTNER PREDICTS 30% ENTERPRISES MAY DISTRUST STANDALONE IDENTITY SOLUTIONS

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y 2026, attacks using AIgenerated deepfakes on face biometrics will mean that 30% of enterprises will no longer consider such identity verification and authentication solutions to be reliable in isolation, according to Gartner, Inc. “In the past decade, several inflection points in fields of AI have occurred that allow for the creation of synthetic images. These artificially generated images of real people’s faces, known as deepfakes, can be used by malicious actors to undermine biometric authentication or render it inefficient,” said Akif Khan, VP Analyst at Gartner.

“As a result, organisations may begin to question the reliability of identity verification and authentication solutions, as they will not be able to tell whether the face of the person being verified is a live person or a deepfake.”

Identity verification and authentication processes using face biometrics today rely on presentation attack detection (PAD) to assess the user’s liveness. “Current

standards and testing processes to define and assess PAD mechanisms do not cover digital injection attacks using the AI-generated deepfakes that can be created today,” said Khan.

Gartner research said presentation attacks are the most common attack vector, but injection attacks increased 200% in 2023. Preventing such attacks will require a combination of PAD, injection attack detection (IAD) and image inspection.

To assist organisations in protecting themselves against AI-generated deepfakes beyond face biometrics, chief information security officers (CISOs) and risk management leaders must choose vendors who can demonstrate they have the capabilities and a plan that

goes beyond current standards and are monitoring, classifying and quantifying these new types of attacks.

“Organisations should start defining a minimum baseline of controls by working with vendors that have specifically invested in mitigating the latest deepfakebased threats using IAD coupled with image inspection,” said Khan.

Once the strategy is defined and the baseline is set, CISOs and risk management leaders must include additional risk and recognition signals, such as device identification and behavioural analytics, to increase the chances of detecting attacks on their identity verification processes.

Above all, security and risk management leaders responsible for identity and access management should take steps to mitigate the risks of AIdriven deepfake attacks by selecting technology that can prove genuine human presence and by implementing additional measures to prevent account takeover.

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NEWS

CISCO DUO PLANS TO LAUNCH NEW CLOUD DATA CENTRE IN THE UAE

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isco announced its plan for a new local cloud data centre in the UAE for its Duo multifactor authentication (MFA) and secure access solution. Set to launch in mid-2024, the new data centre will support businesses of all sizes in strengthening their cybersecurity posture and improving connection performance.

Commenting on the announcement, H.E. Dr. Mohammed Hamad Al-Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity of the UAE Government, said: “The UAE is a leader in adopting new and exciting technologies that will be shaping the country’s future.

Cybersecurity is a crucial component of a successful digital transformation journey.

Our goal is to build a safe and resilient cyber infrastructure in the UAE that enables citizens to fulfil their aspirations and empower businesses to thrive.

Today’s announcement of the Cisco Duo cloud data centre in the UAE is important for supporting organizations in responding to the ever-changing cyber risks of the digital age and will contribute to a strong cyber defence ecosystem that protects critical infrastructure and prevents cyberthreats.”

IDC FORECASTS ICT SPENDING TO EXCEED $238B IN MEA BY 2024 ICT spending in the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa (META) will top $238 billion this year, up 4.5% over 2023. And with the region’s digital economy increasingly taking shape, digital transformation spending will reach $59 billion in 2024 and accelerate at a five-year CAGR of 15% to $88 billion in 2027.

That’s according to the predictions presented by International Data Corporation (IDC) last week as more than 400 senior executives from the region’s leading technology vendors, telcos, and IT service providers gathered in Dubai for the 8

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The launch of the cloud data centre in Dubai is part of Cisco’s and Duo’s strategy to build security infrastructure globally that helps prepare customers for the future. It will support full functionality of Duo’s robust zero-trust platform, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO), Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) for secure remote access, device trust, password-less, adaptive risk-based policies and automated malicious user behaviour detection using Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). It will also enable businesses to enhance their performance and user experience thanks to connection proximity.

“As companies across the globe continue to strengthen their security efforts, it is more crucial than ever to

establish a secure infrastructure that safeguards organizations from the growing threat landscape,” says Raj Chopra, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer for Cisco Security. “Cisco puts identity at the centre of our security strategy, leveraging Duo’s capabilities to keep customer data highly secure, and enabling them to focus on providing the best user experience for their customers.”

Reem Asaad, Vice President, Cisco Middle East and Africa commented: “We understand the complexity of today’s threat landscape and we are proud to offer solutions that help our customers address these challenges. The Cisco Duo cloud data centre is a critical investment to support our customers in building a cloud-based, secure and agile IT infrastructure that can adapt and respond to the ever-changing cyber risks of the digital age.”

The cloud data centre in the UAE is part of Cisco Duo’s global network of cloud data centres across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas.

These provide local customers, particularly those in highly regulated industries, such as public sector and financial services, with more choice over service delivery locations.

2024 edition of IDC Directions Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa, which addressed the theme “Preparing Your Customers for an AI Everywhere Future.”

IDC expects AI spending in the region to top $3.0 billion in 2024, up 32% over 2023, with Group Vice President and Regional Managing Director Jyoti Lalchandani explaining that the AI investment priorities of end-user organisations will likely evolve over the coming years as they move beyond their initial focus on reducing costs.

“Across the META region, there is a clear appetite for AI in general and generative AI (GenAI) in particular, with spending on AI forecast to reach $6.9 billion by 2027,” said Lalchandani.

“However, many organisations are already questioning whether they are over-pivoting on cost reduction and not focusing enough on how AI can

help them to grow their revenues. We expect revenue growth outcomes to take centre stage in the next 3–5 years and providers must track this shift carefully with their core buyers to ensure that their AI-related offerings continue to align with the evolving business goals of their customers.”

IDC President Crawford Del Prete heralded GenAI’s emergence as a golden era of innovation that will reshape IT landscapes and customer engagement, predicting that global annual spending on GenAI will surpass $150 billion by 2027.

Thomas Meyer, IDC’s group vice president for the EMEA region stressed that tech vendors need to develop responsible AI strategies that support their customers in unlocking funding for investments, ensuring ROI, and delivering significant business outcomes for prioritised use cases.

IBM OPENS REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS IN RIYADH

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BM has announced the inauguration of its regional headquarters in Riyadh.

The launch of the regional headquarters expands IBM’s presence in the Kingdom and reiterates the company’s commitment to accelerating Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation.

Since IBM established its presence in Saudi Arabia in 1947, the company has worked side-by-side with government

ETISALAT BY E& STRENGTHENS COLLABORATION WITH ORACLE TO DRIVE AI INNOVATION Oracle announced a significant expansion of its collaboration with etisalat by e&. In a strategic move to enhance AI capabilities, etisalat by e& intends to deploy NVIDIA H100 GPU clusters within its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Dedicated Region, hosted at etisalat by e& Data Centers. This plan aims to facilitate the localisation and development of cutting-edge AI services, elevating the standard of offerings across its product portfolio and business operations.

As part of its comprehensive transformation initiative initiated last year, etisalat by e& selected OCI Dedicated Region as one of its primary cloud platforms. This decision aligns with the company’s goals to streamline and modernise its operations and business support systems, fostering the

and enterprise sectors in the Kingdom on multiple projects of national and economic importance, while investing in talent development and defining the skills needed to support the country’s development agenda.

The Ministry of Investment hosted IBM executives on November 30, 2023, and presented the company with the regional headquarters license. The meeting was attended by a range of dignitaries and government officials including His Excellency Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment; Arvind Krishna, IBM’s Chairman and CEO. “IBM’s decision to establish their regional headquarters in Riyadh is testament to Saudi Arabia’s success in developing a conducive business environment & ecosystem that complements our world-class ICT infrastructure. These investments are key to enabling innovators in the industry to thrive. By deepening the presence of leading executives, this sector will play an important role as we strengthen Saudi Arabia’s position as a leader in the

global digital transition” said His Excellency Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia.

“Today, we are reinforcing our longstanding commitment to the Kingdom as we inaugurate our regional headquarters in Riyadh,” said Arvind Krishna, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, IBM. “Transformative technologies like hybrid cloud and AI are instrumental in solving the most pressing challenges. IBM is helping clients in Saudi Arabia and around the globe reshape their business models and leverage these technologies to increase productivity and drive innovation.”

IBM’s regional headquarters in Riyadh will consolidate the company’s ongoing efforts to bolster the Kingdom’s tech prospects.

In recent years, IBM has worked with government, businesses and partners to help enhance the Kingdom’s tech landscape, including the local digital infrastructure, tech ecosystem and Saudi talent. This will extend IBM’s footprint in the Kingdom and the wider region, with the goal of spurring more transformation and innovation.

growth of its digital services portfolio. With the plan of incorporating NVIDIA clusters into its dedicated Oracle cloud region, etisalat by e& will gain access to flexible, high-performance on-premesis computing resources. These resources will be pivotal in the rapid development and integration of new generative AI services into its portfolio over the next two years. Additionally, etisalat by e& will leverage the Oracle cloud platform to infuse AI services into its business applications, enhancing the efficiency of its business and operational processes.

The accelerated computing capabilities provided by NVIDIA GPUs, coupled with OCI’s AI Infrastructure featuring bare metal and RDMA cluster networking, will provide etisalat by e& with a diverse array of options for AI training. This allows for the agile and scalable development of innovative AI services.

Khalid Murshed, Chief Technology and Information Officer (CTIO) at etisalat by e&, remarked, “At etisalat by e&, we are committed to continuous innovation, aiming to co-create value and growth with our customers. AI is becoming increasingly integral to the design and differentiation of our services, as well as the management of our business processes. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure equips us with essential AI capabilities, providing on-premesis computing resources that enable us to discover and develop new AI use-cases swiftly, cost-effectively, and at scale. Also, it will allow us to fine-tune and train our large language models (LLM)” Nick Redshaw, senior vice president – Tech Cloud, Middle East and Africa, and UAE Country Leader at Oracle, said, “Telecom companies are redefining their business models in response to changing customer expectations and expanding market landscapes. etisalat by e& is at the forefront of this transformation, and we are thrilled to bring the power and flexibility of OCI’s AI capabilities to support them in building and delivering the next generation of digital services for consumers and businesses.”

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NEWS

SAUDIA TO ADOPT RISE WITH SAP ON GOOGLE CLOUD

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audia, the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, has become the first airline customer to adopt the newly launched RISE with SAP on Google Cloud in the country. The move is part of the airline’s wider strategic digital transformation aimed at strengthening its support for the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to bring the world to Saudi Arabia.

Having unveiled its new branding and livery at the end of September last year, Saudia has since announced a host of innovations and partnerships with SAP and Google Cloud aimed at optimising operational efficiency, improving safety and reducing operational and maintenance costs. In the latest development, Saudia will benefit from an accelerated move to the cloud, upgrades to the newest technologies and SAP-powered sustainability-focused solutions SAP’s aviation industry-specific software. Mission-critical data will be hosted on Google Cloud, underpinning Saudia’s commitment to align with the Kingdom’s data sovereignty and sustainability goals.

Abdulgader Attiah, Chief Data and Technology Officer of Saudia Group, and commented, “Saudia’s transformation focuses on ensuring the highest standards of safety, efficiency and sustainability, while simultaneously delivering an exceptional service to our guests. Moving our missioncritical business to the cloud is an important element in this process. With the new system in place, solutions will be upgraded automatically so we remain on the cutting edge of technology developments while storing data sustainably and securely within the Kingdom.”

Ahmed AlFaifi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, of SAP Middle East & Africa – North, commented, “We have partnered with Saudia since 2009, and have supported its growth strategy from strength to strength, always seeking to enhance services through the latest technologies, and now future-proofing its

DIGITAL MATURITY TO DOMINATE MANAGEENGINE DUBAI USER CONFERENCE ManageEngine, the enterprise IT management division of Zoho Corporation, will make digital maturity the highlight of its 12th Dubai User Conference to be held at The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre, on February 20–21, 2024.

“Every organisation must forge its own, unique path to digital maturity, balancing the benefits of digital technology against the risks inherent in adopting leading edge solutions,” said Rajesh Ganesan, president at ManageEngine. “Nowhere is this challenge more pressing than in the Middle East, where an increasingly sophisticated 10

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user population is served by state-of-theart IT solutions. This year, Dubai User Conference attendees will learn how to navigate through technological challenges, show resilience, and deliver elevated experiences to both customers and employees.”

Highlights of this year’s Dubai User Conference will include: • The Path to a Mature Digital Enterprise, Ganesan’s keynote speech, will delve deeper into digital maturity, including its need, levels, and scope for the future.

• Driving Digital Maturity: The key to becoming a High-Performing Organisation. Presented by Manuel Geitz, Principal Analyst at Forrester, will emphasize digital maturity models, assessment methods, and more.

• ManageEngine’s recently launched

operations. With RISE with SAP on Google Cloud, Saudia will free up time to focus on innovation and exceptional service delivery, knowing their systems are optimised and their data secure. Saudia is leading the way for customers in the Kingdom who want to run SAP on a fast, secure and reliable cloud, achieving a compelling return on investment.

We have tailor-made solutions for customers of all sizes and in all industries who wish to accelerate their digital transformation.”

Google Cloud’s Dammam-based cloud region launch was announced in November 2023. With this new cloud region, Google Cloud aims to enhance innovation, accelerate transformation, and support the growth of the Saudi digital economy through cloud computing services.

Abdul Rahman Al Thehaiban, Managing Director, Middle East, Turkey & Africa at Google Cloud, said, “Google Cloud offers world-class cloud infrastructure, designed to maximise availability and performance, which is key for missioncritical applications. Google Cloud offers a suite of industry-tailored solutions while using its robust infrastructure to deepen insights through artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics in an environmentally sustainable way.”

ManageEngine DDI specialises in critical network services such as DNS, DHCP and IPAM. • ManageEngine’s soon-to-be-launched Exploit Triad Analytics, an ML-powered enhancement to its security information and event management (SIEM) solution, Log360. Exploit Triad Analytics will track the path of cyber-offenders, reduce the breach lifecycle, and enhance the security posture of enterprises.

“Organisations in the Middle East are encouraged to embrace digital advancements owing to the market demand and support from government initiatives.

At the 12th Dubai Conference, presided by a panel of experts and industry analysts, we aim to share extensive insights on IT management and security challenges. By doing so, we would like to reinforce our unwavering commitment to the market,” said Nirmal Kumar Manoharan, regional director at ManageEngine.

CORE42 PARTNERS WITH AIREV

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ore42, a G42 company and a full-spectrum AI enablement solutions provider, has signed a strategic partnership with AIREV, the innovative UAE start-up behind School Hack. This AI-powered EdTech platform helps students develop the skills for the jobs of tomorrow.

Launched in February 2023 by CEO Muhammed Khalid, Dr. Youssef Youssef, and Kayaan Unwalla, School Hack has amassed over two million users in more than 100 countries, with 145,000 student users in the UAE alone. Since its launch, School Hack has answered 63 million queries using over 35 billion AI-generated words.

Core42’s product offerings, including its Condor Galaxy AI supercomputer, cloud platform, and Jais, the world’s largest Arabic language open-source LLM, have already proven their versatility and unique advantages in supporting the development of new AI tools and applications. This partnership will help enhance AIREV’s platforms’ Arabic language capabilities as well as scale up its operations, facilitating the expansion of its user base and expediting the delivery of new features.

HE Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, commented: “The partnership between Core42, one of our national champions in advanced technologies and AI, and AIREV, the creator of School Hack AI and one of our most promising homegrown start-ups, is an example of the strength and depth of the UAE’s tech ecosystem. School Hack, founded less than a year ago, was

one of the fastest-growing AI start-ups globally in 2023 and, with Core42’s strategic guidance and support, will continue to pioneer bleeding-edge AI technologies in a number of sectors. AIREV’s story is a clear example of how founders in the UAE developing next-generation technologies such as AI, robotics, and quantum computing can access the support they need to fund, scale, and deliver game-changing tech innovation.”

School Hack, AIREV’s flagship initiative, is changing the educational landscape through its AI-powered platform.

Designed to foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills, School Hack utilizes the latest AI technologies to create an interactive learning environment. AIREV has worked closely with government entities and educational institutions to ensure compliance with regulations, providing students the opportunity to interact with AI tools in a safe environment.

This effort also enables the oversight agencies to govern AI usage through AIREV’s SHP platform and safeguard students as they harness the capabilities of the platform fully and responsibly. School Hack is already in use in the UAE across schools such as Citizens School Dubai.

Kiril Evtimov, CEO of Core42 and G42’s Group CTO, said: “Our partnership with AIREV represents an important step in our journey to elevate human experiences through responsible development and adoption of AI at scale. It is rooted in our shared passion for education, and application of cutting-edge technology to address the evolving needs of educators and learners.

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COVER STORY

BREAKING BARRIERS ABDULLA QASSEM, GROUP CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER OF EMIRATES NBD, DISCUSSES THE BANK’S COMMITMENT TO RESHAPING THE FINANCIAL LANDSCAPE AND HOW ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH DELL TECHNOLOGIES PROPELS DIGITAL INNOVATION IN BANKING.

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mirates NBD has long been recognised as a digital leader and innovator in the regional banking industry. Could you share insights into how the bank’s IT transformation has helped maintain this competitive edge?

As one of the leading banks in the MENAT region, with operations in 13 countries and assets worth over $230 billion, Emirates NBD is recognised for its pioneering role in transforming the region’s banking sector. Our digital leadership is an ongoing pursuit, and our recent IT transformation has been a key driver in maintaining our competitive edge. We have significantly invested in modernising our IT infrastructure to support our digital initiatives. For example, we have built the region’s largest private cloud, giving us unprecedented scalability and flexibility.

This has allowed us to rapidly deploy new services and applications while responding quickly to changing market conditions. We have also embraced an agile development methodology, which has enabled us to deliver new features to our customers faster and with greater efficiency.

By modernising our infrastructure, we have been able to digitise our operations and services, which has allowed us to provide our customers with a seamless and personalised banking experience. We have also focused on leveraging emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain to enhance the efficiency of our operations.

In addition, we have proactively partnered with FinTech companies to bring innovative solutions to our customers.

Overall, our IT infrastructure has been the foundation of our digital transformation and has enabled us to stay ahead of the curve in the regional banking industry.

How has the partnership between Emirates NBD and Dell Technologies helped the bank to overcome digital challenges more effectively, and what made Dell’s solutions stand out as a suitable choice for the bank’s technology needs?

Over the past 20 years, Emirates NBD has constantly been a leader and a trailblazer in digital technology and partnering with

Dell Technologies throughout this journey helped us retain our leadership position.

Today, Emirates NBD remains at the forefront of digital innovation, actively incorporating real-time analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), big data, and related emerging technologies within the banking sector.

Despite these advancements, we faced challenges due to an ageing infrastructure that hindered our ability to innovate and bring best-in-class service to customers.

For the bank, our customers remain our primary focus and our technology’s goal is to provide them with uninterrupted access to the bank’s digital services.

Working with multiple vendors and reliance on legacy data infrastructure silos, further added to the challenge resulting in bottlenecks, increased workloads and higher operational costs for the bank. As we continued to generate new market opportunities, the need for a technology partner who could support our ambitious growth targets with cuttingedge infrastructure became increasingly evident. Working with Dell Technologies allowed us to accelerate innovation and business transformation seamlessly.

Could you highlight some of the recent technology upgrades implemented in collaboration with Dell Technologies and how have these initiatives modernised your bank’s infrastructure?

As Emirates NBD continued to develop new digital capabilities, we faced growing challenges, including the need to store, process and protect more data faster than ever and in an extremely efficient way. We required an agile infrastructure to help overcome the challenges, along with the ability to scale to meet evolving customer demands and greater regulatory requirements.

We decided to implement several of Dell Technologies’ solutions to reshape our compute, network, storage and data centre infrastructure. Such solutions provide us with the performance, scalability and storage needed to manage critical workloads and meet evolving customer needs. The new platforms also significantly reduced the amount of

manual intervention, thereby allowing the teams to focus on innovation rather than being burdened with day-to-day operational challenges. Our new data centre infrastructure from Dell has also allowed us to adopt new technologies like machine learning and AI supported by inline data reduction services to efficiently deliver the services that the bank requires. All this while also guaranteeing 24x7x365 uninterrupted operations for all our critical banking applications, with a response time in milliseconds.

With these solutions, we are modernising our legacy infrastructure and resetting the bar for data centre infrastructure, with new levels of performance, efficiency and consolidation. Through its future-proof storage and backup solutions, Dell is helping us deliver unprecedented levels of performance resiliency, scalability and business continuity for our missioncritical workloads.

How has implementing Dell’s solutions helped your bank ensure workload efficiency in your technology infrastructure, and what benefits have you observed in terms of operational effectiveness?

As a fast-growing financial institution, Emirates NBD generates and stores vast volumes of business and customer data, which requires secure and efficient storage in addition to real time processing. To fulfill this need, we chose Dell’s PowerMax, PowerEdge and backup solutions that help drive performance and scalability to manage critical workloads and meet evolving customer needs.

With Dell PowerMax, we achieved a massive consolidation of our data storage in our data centre footprint, allowing us to store several petabytes of information per rack. Dell PowerEdge servers with the latest AMD processors and support for NVIDIA GPUs boosted the processing capabilities of our compute and data analytics platform. And with Dell’s backup solutions, we’ve had a 30% improvement in our backup window.

In addition, we transformed our data centre switching infrastructure by implementing Dell’s SONiC Enterprise

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COVER STORY

and PowerSwitches, an innovative, scalable, open-source software defined network solution that allows us to innovate and simplify the management of complex, massive-scale network environments while bringing significant financial benefits compared to our legacy platform.

Furthermore, with more than 29,000 employees in Dubai and around the world, we wanted a partner that could provide reliable, powerful hardware to meet evolving work needs and improve our employees’ productivity. Doubling down on our partnership with Dell, we have begun a project to refresh 5,000 laptops and workstations for our employees with the next generation of fast, cost-effective and energy-efficient devices.

From upgrading our data centre infrastructure with servers, storage and networking switches that consume less power and drive greater efficiencies; to driving workforce collaboration, we are embracing modern digital technologies to build a better bank and enhance customer experiences and business value.

Could you provide insights into how the reduction in energy consumption was achieved?

As a leading banking group in the region, our sustainability strategy is aligned with prominent global and national frameworks, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UAE’s Green Agenda 2030, and the United Nations Environmental Program Dubai Declaration for Sustainable Finance, which marks the Group’s commitment to transforming the UAE into a green, low-carbon economy in support of the UAE Centennial 2071’s sustainability agenda. In line with this strategy, Emirates NBD is rapidly embracing cutting-edge technologies that are also transforming our solutions across all customer segments.

While upgrading our data centre infrastructure, we needed to ensure we were optimising energy consumption, so we considered the power demands of everything that went into it, including 14

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OUR ROBUST DIGITAL FOUNDATION WILL HELP US DELIVER THE BEST-INCLASS DIGITAL BANKING SERVICES TO OUR CUSTOMERS, WHILE ALSO PROVIDING A MORE AGILE, SECURE, AND SCALABLE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT ALLOWS US TO BRING MORE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES TO MARKET FASTER. servers, storage and switches. Since implementing Dell’s storage solutions, Emirates NBD does not need to have local storage in every server. Today, we use servers purely for compute, minimising our energy use and data centre costs have decreased by 30 percent. We have also centralised our storage and moved from four racks to one which has reduced energy consumption by 70-80 percent.

Dell’s solutions are designed to reduce waste, energy use and emissions, allowing us to take significant steps towards our sustainability goals.

We understand that your partnership with Dell Technologies extends beyond just digital infrastructure.

In what ways has this collaboration been instrumental in nurturing digital talent and driving innovation within Emirates NBD? Developing entrepreneurial skills in the FinTech sector among UAE Nationals is vital in amplifying innovation and ensuring the country remains at the forefront of financial technology advancements, in the region, and globally. Emirates NBD’s National Digital Talent Incubator (NDTI) supports this vision and together with a range of partners, including Dell Technologies, this bespoke incubator

programme, that was launched in October 2023, aims to boost UAE talent and the growth of entrepreneurship within the FinTech and digital innovation space. Facilitated by DIFC Innovation Hub, the programme enables Emirati start-up founders to gain unparalleled exposure and valuable guidance from local and global industry leaders and set themselves up for success.

As a bank that has always championed innovation and is a leader in digital banking, Emirates NBD sets a great example of developing local skills to the industry standard and leading positive efforts in the banking sector to develop talented nationals by enabling them to learn, train and enhance their readiness to work in various industries and raise the level of our digital economy. We are confident the NDTI programme will help in catalysing economic development and innovation in the financial services industry and the UAE economy.

Looking ahead, how do you see the collaboration between Emirates NBD and Dell Technologies adapting to meet the changing needs of the banking industry?

In order to compete and lead effectively in a rapidly evolving sector, it is critical that financial institutions change their direction and elevate their pace of innovation. Emirates NBD has introduced many market-firsts to the region through the implementation of disruptive technologies that aim to enhance our customers’ banking experience. As we continue to grow, our customers remain our primary focus and our ultimate goal is to empower them with the right digital tools to fulfill their everyday banking needs digitally. Our robust digital foundation will help us deliver the bestin-class digital banking services to our customers, while also providing a more agile, secure, and scalable infrastructure that allows us to bring more products and services to market faster. We are pleased to strengthen our collaboration with Dell Technologies and look forward to working closely with them as we advance our digital roadmap.

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INTERVIEW

FROM VISION TO REALITY SHRIKANT KABBOOR, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER OF ARADA, SHARES THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY OF THE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

and improving both business innovation and efficiency. As a result, it was vitally important for Arada to be at the forefront of the rapid pace of digital change.

Additionally, the new working patterns, such as remote and hybrid working models, triggered during the COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone to adapt to these changing technology trends.

In order to secure a market-leading position in this space, we developed an exhaustive digital transformation strategy and execution plan called ‘EVOLVE.’ It is a 24–36-month program based on five key digital pillars, each consisting of multiple initiatives and deliveries to advance Arada’s digital maturity: 1. Next-generation infrastructure platform for rapid technology deployment and future scalability.

2. Application portfolio modernisation to digitalise enterprise business processes.

3. Digitally Connected Enterprise to promote digital collaboration.

4. Create a digital connection with customers to enhance the customer experience.

5. Data Analytics and business insights for informed decision-making.

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an you tell us about your digital transformation goals?

Founded in 2017, Arada is the most progressive and fastestgrowing master developer in the Gulf.

Our portfolio of projects across the UAE amounts to AED 50 billion, including two of Sharjah’s largest communities, Aljada and Masaar, as well as the Armani Beach Residences at Palm Jumeirah. Since its inception, Arada has sold over 13,000 units valued at AED 16 billion, completed 9,000 units, expanded into a series of 16

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diverse business lines, and launched a portfolio of supporting brands.

I joined Arada in August 2020, and the company was already experiencing rapid growth at that time. We had basic technology platforms to support day-today operations, but they were insufficient to support Arada’s rapid expansion. The expectations from Arada’s Executive Management were very clear. We recognised that global advances in technology digitisation were constantly driving new ways of doing business, influencing the customer experience,

We initiated the transformation journey with an enterprise-level partnership with Microsoft, leveraging their versatile technology platforms, including Microsoft Azure, Office Infra, Power platforms, and Azure AI. We also utilise the Microsoft FinOps platform for automating finance, procurement, and HR operations and the Microsoft retail Point of Sale (PoS) platform. Additionally, we leverage the Microsoft Data Warehouse/Data Lakes with Power BI and other analytical tools to support our data analytics initiatives.

What is your cloud strategy?

As part of our EVOLVE transformation journey, we adopted a ‘cloud-first strategy’ to achieve a zero footprint for on-premises data centers. Currently, we are almost 85-90% on the cloud, with the exception of some shared drives/ file servers for managing heavy design files and renders. However, we are actively exploring innovative options to migrate these resources to the cloud for improved collaboration.

Which property management system do you use?

We partnered with Salesforce at an enterprise scale to leverage their complete platform for end-to-end Property Life Cycle Management, which covers Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and the Lightning platform for rapid development activities. We manage our sales, sales operations, residential, commercial, retail leasing, CAFM, community management, event management, and many other process automation on this Salesforce platform. Currently, we are working with Salesforce on Einstein GPT use cases. One of our notable achievements as part of the EVOLVE program is the digitalisation of the end-to-end real estate pre-construction process using the Salesforce platform, which is unique and innovative. For postconstruction and related processes, we utilise the PMWeb PMIS platform, which is well-known in the real estate domain.

What is your current position in the digital transformation journey?

Since embarking on our digital transformation journey, EVOLVE, in January 2021, we have delivered an average of 40-50+ projects annually.

We have progressed significantly in our digital transformation journey and have evolved from being a digital explorer to becoming a digital player.

We concluded our digital transformation program in the last quarter of 2023 with a strong focus on adoption, expansion, and fully-fledged operations. This transformation marks

I BELIEVE PROPTECH HAS SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL TO REVOLUTIONISE THE REAL ESTATE SECTOR. WHILE MANY STARTUPS ARE EMERGING IN PROPTECH, I AM KEEN TO SEE HOW EXISTING GIANTS LIKE MICROSOFT AND SALESFORCE ADAPT TO THESE EVOLVING TRENDS. the beginning of finding new ways of doing things, and we are now focused on leveraging our newly invested technology platforms to continue growing and innovating.

What are your plans for this year?

Thanks to our digital transformation program, we have reached a level of digital maturity that allows us to focus on leveraging Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Natural Language Processing (NLP) for interactions and collaborations.

Currently, we are collaborating with Microsoft and Salesforce on practical use cases in this technology space.

While many vendors are touting their AI capabilities, we have recently deployed an Azure AI Service for IT service ticket management and inquiries.

This AI bot can promptly determine if it’s a defect or a service request based on user interactions. Our objective is to understand user interactions, make necessary adjustments, and scale to maturity, enabling expansion to HR, Finance, and other related services. For

customer services, we have already started with Salesforce Einstein GPTdriven services.

One of our significant in-house developments is the Arada Connect Digital Workspace Platform, which was introduced as part of the EVOLVE transformation program. This platform is an innovative and unified ‘Go-To’ place for all employees to interact and digitally collaborate with applications and services across Arada. It covers various features, such as Arada Intranet, Global Approval Worklist, Employee Self Services (ESS), Arada Insights for BI reports, and system dashboards. We are also ready to launch our Arada Super App and Arada eServices to extend similar service offerings to our customers.

What steps have you taken to enhance Arada’s cybersecurity posture?

We have implemented numerous safeguards and adhere to best practice governance as part of the digital transformation program. Our Cloud-First approach and presence have enabled us to rapidly implement these safeguards.

However, cybersecurity is an area that requires continuous focus and progress.

In the last quarter of 2023, we initiated our Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT) exercise, scheduled for completion next month.

The assessments and recommendations from this exercise will guide our future cybersecurity efforts.

What are your plans regarding PropTech?

I believe PropTech has significant potential to revolutionise the real estate sector. While many startups are emerging in PropTech, I am keen to see how existing giants like Microsoft and Salesforce adapt to these evolving trends. They have already begun acquiring tech companies and startups to prepare themselves.

As far as Arada is concerned, our current digital transformation has positioned us ahead in adopting these future trends.

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FEATURE

GETTING MORE FROM CLOUD THE ROLE OF CLOUD FINOPS IN MAXIMISING BUSINESS VALUE.

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ecall the initial days of cloud computing, when its main selling point revolved around cost savings? Proponents touted cloud as significantly cheaper than onpremises solutions. However, numerous enterprises discovered over time that cloud expenses could match or surpass those of on-premises systems. Consequently, we’ve witnessed some organisations opting to repatriate their applications back onpremises. This is where Cloud FinOps steps in, which is an operational framework to maximise the business value of cloud, and fosters collaboration between engineering, finance and business teams.

According to FinOps Foundation, at its core, FinOps is a a cultural practice. It’s the method for teams to oversee their cloud costs, with each member taking responsibility for their cloud usage, backed by a central group focusing on best practices. Cross-functional teams in Engineering, Finance, Product, and more

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collaborate to accelerate product delivery while simultaneously enhancing financial oversight and predictability.

Contrary to the popular notion that FinOps is about saving money, it is about getting the most value of cloud to drive efficient growth. The FinOps Foundation notes that cloud spend can drive more revenue, signal customer base growth, enable more product and feature release velocity, or even help shut down a data center. FinOps is all about removing blockers; empowering engineering teams to deliver better features, apps, and migrations faster; and enabling a crossfunctional conversation about where to invest and when.

Manish Ranjan, Senior Research Manager for Software, Cloud and IT Services at IDC, says that in the MEA region, organisations are increasingly investing more in cloud services, driven by ongoing investments in cloud data centres. The cloud stands out as a crucial technology for organisations,

facilitating digital innovation and supporting their overall digital strategy. Despite its importance, many organisations fail to utilise the cloud optimally, leading to wasted spending. Additionally, the current macroeconomic challenges, including rising inflation and currency devaluation, particularly in countries like Turkey, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, and other African nations, are causing IT budgets to tighten.

He notes that given the financial challenges, Cloud FinOps has become exceptionally crucial, and organisations in the MEA region are starting to evaluate this concept. In fact, a recent CIO Survey in the MEA region revealed that nearly 40 percent of CIOs intend to allocate investments toward cloud cost assessment and related Cloud FinOps advisory services. This strategic move aims to tackle and rationalise costs associated with cloud utilisation.

A 2022 BCG study demonstrated that 35 percent of cloud expenditures are

David Boast

Manish Ranjan

Valerio Villi

caused by mismanaged capacity. In this context, Cloud FinOps aims to integrate seamless access to capacity (scaling) and capabilities with proper budget and expenditure planning monitoring.

“Unexpected expenses are a common issue with cloud computing due to the scalable nature of cloud services. It can be challenging to track and allocate cloud spending across different departments or projects, and optimising resources to prevent waste can be a challenge as well. These issues highlight the need for a strategic approach to effectively manage and optimise cloud investments,” says Valerio Villi, Principal at BCG Platinion.

David Boast, General Manager-MENA, Endava, says cloud-first is the mantra for a majority of CTOs and CIOs and while the benefits of this approach are well documented the counterpoint is often realised too late, after investments have already been made. The reality is unsustainable recurring costs that can result from improper, or poorly designed use of cloud environments. “CFOs are being constantly shocked with bills for instances that were either not known about or poorly forecast by technologists. It’s hard to place the blame solely on the techies either, as they are generally not financial planners.”

The contribution of Cloud FinOps is highlighted by its role in achieving some critical objectives.By linking cloud technology investments to strategic business outcomes, organisations can witness the benefits of digital transformation through cloud computing.

This collaboration allows businesses

to develop innovative capabilities and generate top-line revenue.

It also improves financial forecasting accuracy, according to BCG Platinion.

Achieving accurate financial forecasting in a cloud environment is more challenging than traditional on-premises setups. This is due to the variable nature of cloud consumption. CFOs and finance leaders aim to refine their financial forecasting to achieve variances within a 5 percent range. This level of precision is important for maintaining budgetary control and ensuring that cloud spending aligns with business objectives.

“Many firms just don’t have visibility of their cloud estate and therefore cannot manage it. In the rush to get to market, expenses and corporate cards have been used to get cloud instances up and running. This is neither sustainable nor controllable,” says Boast.

The governance and process around cloud usage is key, but instead we most often see IT departments delivering the product, with an unknown opex cost.

Given the number of cloud providers and management tools involved, there’s every potential for costs to rapidly spiral out of control. Moreover, because this is often done in isolation, economies of scale and synergies with other areas of the company are often forfeited, he adds.

What are the key performance indicators that organisations should monitor to assess the effectiveness of their Cloud FinOps efforts?

Villi from BCG Platinion lists out some key KPIs:

FinOps prioritises establishing a consumption transparency KPI to ensure clear visibility into cloud resource usage.

This facilitates tracking against allocated resources to handle unexpected spikes.

An essential decision support KPI offers data-driven insights for informed decision-making during resource request surges. The Trend Forecasting KPI uses historical data to predict future consumption patterns, aiding in resource planning and budgeting.

A defined consumption baseline KPI sets a clear benchmark for consumption, holding each use case accountable for its resource consumption. The cost allocation KPI ensures that general costs, including security measures, are logically distributed across use cases.

With the marginal value quantification KPI, use cases articulate the tangible business value derived from scaling the infrastructure, set against a predetermined budget. The operational consumption KPI tracks the balance between consumption within enterprise agreements, offering cost savings for volume commitments, and the pay-asyou-go models known for flexibility but higher costs. Lastly, the cost attribution KPI and shared service cost KPI work in tandem to monitor the distribution of costs directly attributed to specific services and those associated with shared services where granular control is limited. By adhering to these KPIs, FinOps ensures the strategic alignment of IT infrastructure decisions with overarching business goals.

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CASE STUDY

SECURING DIGITAL

TRANSFORMATION UNITED MOTORS GROUP TAPS SECUREWORKS TO TRANSFORM ITS CYBERSECURITY POSTURE.

U

nited Motors Group is one of the largest automotive dealers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, representing brands such as Kia and JETOUR. With more than 1,000 employees spanning over 50 locations, the company’s diverse portfolio includes automotive sales and after-sales business and repair services nationwide.

Over the last three years, UMG has undergone a significant transformation internally and in customer-facing technology, leading to outstanding customer ratings for the overall experience, whether purchasing a vehicle or receiving after-sales service.

“Our organisation firmly believes that technology is a cornerstone of our business success, not merely a tool but an integral part of our core strategy,” says Muhammad Junaid, Group head of IT at UMG. IN 2021, UMG embarked on its journey to digitally transform all aspects of the business, with a strong emphasis on cybersecurity. As part of its transformation plan, UMG phased out its legacy systems, brought in stateof-the-art mission critical systems, and 20

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put in place the infrastructure to utilise them effectively.

“For instance, when we implemented cloud-based solutions, we realised that a reliable internet connection alone wouldn’t suffice; it required integration with various processes, necessitating significant work on the technological front,” says Junaid.

Unlike many organisations that neglect cybersecurity during their digital transformation journey, UMG incorporated it right from the beginning rather than treating it as an afterthought.

According to Junaid, when implementing digital transformation projects, it must be underpinned by strong cybersecurity measures.

This underscores the importance of developing a well-thought-out strategy for cybersecurity and ensuring a robust overall information security posture.

The IT head says that the core objective of UMG’s cybersecurity roadmap was to establish a comprehensive ecosystem that could incorporate cybersecurity vendors to work alongside its existing technology stack. This journey began a few years ago, starting with the fundamentals such as risk assessment, policy and procedure definition, and implementing all the basics, ranging from endpoint security to network security.

“Our overarching thought process aimed at achieving continuous monitoring and auditing of the threat landscape and devising ways to mitigate these threats. Obviously, if we had to handle all of that in-house, we would need to hire many people. With a smaller team, our strategy was to bring in a vendor that could handle all these tasks for us,” says Junaid.

This is when UMG zeroed in on Secureworks. Initially, the IT team

considered implementing a standard SIEM solution. However, as they delved deeper into this, they realised that the most effective use of an SIEM solution would involve continuous monitoring real-time analytics and a vendor capable of managing the entire threat landscape.

“This is where Secureworks’ MDR solution comes into play. Upon examining their offerings in detail, we discovered that they provide comprehensive end-toend threat monitoring while also offering a highly sophisticated managed services portfolio. This aspect was particularly appealing to us,” says Junaid.

UMG selected Secureworks as its cybersecurity partner after a stringent evaluation process, which took almost a year.

Secureworks’ offerings perfectly fit UMG’s envisioned strategy. Without the need to significantly increase the on-site workforce, UMG was able to cover most of its security requirements.

“We maintain a small internal team that collaborates with Secureworks, and through their managed services, we can effectively manage our entire ecosystem,” says Junaid.

He also emphasises that Secureworks offers UMG more than just 24/7 monitoring; it includes consultancy on various aspects of cybersecurity. “One of the key features of Secureworks is the analytics they provide. Moreover, their 12-month data retention policy is unique, as most vendors do not offer such a service without additional charges. This extended retention period provides us with valuable insights into the various threats we have encountered. Now, with our cybersecurity posture bolstered, we are going to look at the next stage, which involves implementing a zero-trust architecture.”

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INTERVIEW

SHAPING THE SECURITY LANDSCAPE GEORGES TANNOUS, AREA VICE PRESIDENT- META & UK/ IRELAND AT GENETEC, DISCUSSES THE LATEST TRENDS IN PHYSICAL SECURITY

making. This approach also aligns with our cybersecurity strategy, ensuring no interaction or interference since the software is pre-loaded. All you need to do is plug it in, and it’s a game-changer. It combines Axis’s hardware manufacturing expertise with Genetec’s software, making it a powerful solution in access control.

What is new in Security Center 5.12?

The Security Center’s new version brings mapping enhancements, authentication improvements, and new automation features. With this, you can oversee access control and view the connected cameras to observe interactions within the access control system.

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ould you provide us with details about your participation at Intersec this year?

At Intersec, we launched the new version of our flagship product Security Center 5.12. This was the first time we unveiled it at a trade show, and we were very excited about a complete set of new features focused on unifying all our products into one platform.

We were talking about video, access control, and license plate recognition all in a single platform. Additionally, we 22

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demonstrated an access control product for the first time, featuring Axis hardware powered by Genetec software.

The key differentiator is that the software comes pre-loaded directly into the hardware. You don’t need to integrate it later or add another layer, making it a first-of-its-kind offering in the industry.

This achievement results from 25 years of collaboration between Genetec and Axis. The concept behind it is to bring the software closer to the edge, increasing capacity and enabling faster decision-

Have you changed the user interface and provided access through mobile apps, etc.?

We’ve reached a point where almost all the features available on a desktop can be managed through our mobile application.

Additionally, we offer a web interface where you can log in. Of course, there are some configuration tasks that must be done on the main platform. However, when it comes to monitoring, understanding activity, and managing alarms, we prioritise mobile access and provide similar capabilities through the web interface. This approach aligns with our strategy to offer options and cater to our customers’ preferences for accessibility anytime, anywhere.

What sets Genetec apart from the competition?

The main differentiator between us and our competitors is the ability to unify all our products into one platform. Secondly, our

scalability sets us apart; we can support up to 30,000 – 40,000 devices. The Federation feature of our platform allows users to monitor global operations, not just in a single city or country. We are renowned for our scalability because we serve top verticals such as government, airports, transportation, and critical infrastructure.

With such clients, there are no limits to the scale our products can reach. This scalability extends beyond technology to encompass our field support, which is present globally with offices everywhere and 24-hour technical support. It’s not just about delivering a product; it’s about providing robust support for scalability and geographic diversity, and I believe we excel in this aspect.

Do you provide both on-prem and cloudbased solutions?

This is the burning question of the hour – we are fully committed to a hybrid approach. We are not advocating for one way over another; instead, we provide options. As I mentioned, our primary goal is to offer our customers the freedom to choose the perfect solution that aligns with their specific operational requirements.

We have observed a significant trend towards adopting hybrid solutions, as traditional security practices have historically been on-premises. However, we are witnessing a transformation, and our primary focus is to ensure that anything achievable on-premises can also be accomplished in the cloud or through a hybrid approach. Today, we are close to achieving this goal, and I believe we can handle virtually all tasks through a hybrid model. For those who prefer a pure cloud solution, we have something very exciting in the pipeline for this year. Our top priority right now is giving customers the freedom to choose a solution that suits their business needs and budget.

Do you leverage AI and ML in your product portfolio?

AI is a topic that extends far beyond just security; it’s a subject everyone is discussing. What’s particularly intriguing this year is that AI has now become accessible to regular consumers, and

SAUDI ARABIA IS A NOTABLE EXAMPLE OF OUR DEDICATION TO INVESTMENT IN THE REGION, WHERE WE’VE TRIPLED OUR TEAM OVER THE PAST 18 MONTHS. WE ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN SUBSTANTIAL PROJECTS THAT ALIGN WITH THE KINGDOM’S 2030 VISION, INCLUDING THE EXPO AND THE WORLD CUP. OUR PRESENCE IN SAUDI ARABIA CONTINUES TO EXPAND, AND WE PROUDLY SUPPORT THESE MONUMENTAL INITIATIVES. people are incorporating it into their daily work routines. While we’ve been utilising various forms of machine learning for many years, it’s important to note that this concept is not new.

However, we firmly believe that, despite the capabilities of AI/ML in expediting processes and aiding in data aggregation and pattern recognition, we have not yet reached a point where machines should be responsible for making critical decisions.

The technology we are integrating into our platform focuses on enhancing data aggregation and process acceleration while keeping decision-making firmly within the realm of human interaction. The type of customers we work with leaves no room for error, and we acknowledge that AI is not infallible. It lacks objectivity and the nuanced understanding required for making flawless decisions. In our line of work, where we collaborate with governments and airports, there is absolutely no margin for error. Though we leverage AI, we continue to place the responsibility of decision-making in the hands of humans.

Is the Middle East region strategically important to Genetec?

We started our journey in the Middle East 19 years ago. We take immense pride in the fact that our first Middle East project was Dubai Airport, which happens to be the primary gateway to this region. Since then, our growth has been nothing short of exponential.

We have recently inaugurated a stateof-the-art office in the One Central in Dubai World Trade Center zone. This office houses a comprehensive experience center, designed to resemble a control room, where visitors can interact with and experience all our products firsthand. We welcome our customers, partners, and technology collaborators from around the world to this space. Dubai is a highly soughtafter destination, drawing people from Europe and the US, and our references here are among the most significant globally.

Saudi Arabia is a notable example of our dedication to investment in the region, where we’ve tripled our team over the past 18 months. We are actively involved in substantial projects that align with the Kingdom’s 2030 vision, including the Expo and the World Cup. Our presence in Saudi Arabia continues to expand, and we proudly support these monumental initiatives.

Can you tell us about your sustainability initiatives?

We are already in a favorable position as a software provider because we don’t do hardware. However, what’s even more significant is our approach to the overall operations of the company. We adhere to very specific guidelines regarding various aspects, such as office construction and the products we use internally. For instance, we have taken steps like banning plastic bottles, which might seem like a small action, but it holds significance considering our global workforce of 2000 employees.

We are committed to using sustainable alternatives even in our daily practices.

In general, Genetec considers environmental responsibility a passion deeply rooted in our company culture. Being environmentally conscious and contributing to the well-being of humanity and the Earth are integral to who we are as a company.

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VIEWPOINT

TELECOM TRENDS SHAPING THE GCC’S FUTURE IN 2024 CHIVAS NAMBIAR, GENERAL MANAGER OF AWS’S GLOBAL TELCO BUSINESS UNIT, SHEDS LIGHT ON THE CHANGING DYNAMICS OF NETWORK EXPENSES, EMPHASIZING THE NEED FOR TELCOS TO REALIGN THEIR EXPENDITURES WITH USAGE PATTERNS. HE ALSO OUTLINES THE PIVOTAL TRENDS THAT TELCOS MUST NAVIGATE IN 2024.

I

t’s been an interesting 12 months for the telecommunications industry. From the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to ongoing macroeconomic instability, telcos have had to take a hard look at their business models and shift their strategies.

Traditionally, revenue growth has been the top priority, but we’re now seeing a focus on maximising efficiencies in the face of more expensive access to financing. Only one in 10 telcos have reduced their operational expenditure (opex) over revenue in the last decade, according to Omdia. Worldwide spend on digital transformation is forecast to reach nearly $3.9 trillion in 2027, and there will be deep curves in the telco industry on how to use capital expenditure (capex).

Today’s networks are increasingly more expensive to build and run, which will drive changes in how telcos align spending with usage. Here are a few emerging trends they must navigate in 2024.

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Adopting the next phases of generative AI No other technology has driven as much buzz recently as generative AI. According to a survey by Altman Solon, generative AI spending could surge as much as six times the current amount for telcos, and use cases will reach an average of 34% adoption among communication service providers (CSP) within the next year, reaching 48% adoption within the next two years.

Telcos are in the first phase of generative AI usage, where solutions such as call summarisations or chatbots that augment existing systems allow for rapid implementation and adoption.

Customer-facing chatbots are the most widely adopted use case for generative AI in the telco industry, with 92% of CSPs highly likely to implement chatbots, and 63% of those stating they already have one in production.

In 2024, we’ll see the next phase of adoption where telcos will mature and scale their generative AI-powered tools and experiences. We’ll see keen focus on infusing the customer experience with generative AI, which can come in the form of personalised product offers and marketing to create new value opportunities.

Unlocking new network capabilities through APIs Telcos will focus on exposing network capabilities through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) by unlocking information from 5G networks, giving more control over network programmability to manage areas such as quality of service and bandwidth.

As the industry has standardised APIs across operators, telcos will need to evaluate whether they will host their own API network or work with cloud providers. It’s important to consider the components needed for a network API, including computing power, storage, databases, and machine learning capabilities needed to give the developers an enhanced experience to support.

Enhancing operator value using the cloud to transform core network capabilities Many telcos are using the cloud to create more cost-efficient networks which can reduce operating expenses/revenue ratios by more than 10%.

The focus on cloud RAN will continue in 2024, and telcos will harness their full spectrum of benefits including higher efficiency, cost reduction, and reduced power consumption. CSPs like NTT DOCOMO and NEC Corp, for instance, have shown that they can reduce their power consumption by over 70% using cloud RAN. To sum up, it’s important for telcos to evaluate and select the right cloud provider – their choice of partner will determine enterprise ready and safe generative AI capabilities, the breadth of cloud native SaaS providers, available developer communities for their APIs, and industry depth to build the next generation of execution capabilities. In order to stay ahead, telcos must remain nimble and evaluate how these emerging trends and technologies can accelerate their business goals and set them up for long-term success beyond 2024.

INTERVIEW

ENERGISING CHANGE CHRIS COOPER, CEO OF AIQ, DISCUSSES THE COMPANY’S ROLE IN SPEARHEADING AI-DRIVEN TRANSFORMATION WITHIN THE ENERGY SECTOR.

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ould you share some insights about AIQ? AIQ is a new company, and it’s three years old. Some great technology has been developed over the last three years. We’ve developed some cool IPs and filed 14 patents. As a startup, I’d say we’re now taking it to the next level.

You know, traditionally, in a startup, you take anything that’s given to you and run with it to generate some revenues and prove your worth. However, we are now adopting a much more strategic approach at AIQ in the marketplace, showcasing our thought leadership and leveraging AI as an enabler.

Is your focus primarily on the energy sector?

It’s a joint venture between ADNOC and G42. Currently, the main shareholder is ADNOC at 60%, with G42 holding 40%.

To date, we have primarily focused on the energy sector. But if you look at the IP we’ve generated and consider what we’ve accomplished with some of our products and solutions, you’ll find that these are AI-driven solutions that can be applied to parallel industries such as mining. Look at our solutions, particularly those provided to some of our internal customers, including partnerships and joint ventures like Borouge. You’ll see that these solutions have the potential to be leveraged by other industrial organisations as well.

How do you see the utilisation of AI in the oil and gas industry, which has lagged in adopting digital technologies?

People often view the energy sector as unexciting or not glamorous. It’s often seen as a hardcore industry. However, with the current focus on sustainability, enhancing efficiency, achieving net-zero goals, and prioritising health, safety, and the environment (HSE), there’s a growing recognition that digitisation is essential.

You can’t effectively utilise AI as an 26

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giants such as Schlumberger and Halliburton on a global scale. In fact, we have recently introduced our first product on the Amazon Web Services marketplace. Our unique advantage has been the access to authentic data from ADNOC, which has enabled us to rigorously test and refine our products and solutions, ensuring their robustness, scalability, and suitability before bringing them to market.

Do you believe AI is the pivotal technology for enhancing sustainability within the energy sector?

I wouldn’t say AI is the sole key technology, but it certainly plays a crucial role as an enabler. AI should be viewed as a tool that facilitates the advancements needed for sustainability within the energy sector.

inferencing layer without the underlying technology infrastructure. Therefore, everything within the industry needs to undergo digitisation.

We are currently offering an additional layer built upon this digitized foundation.

We leverage AI to address some of the industry’s fundamental challenges while delivering value to the business. This value comes in the form of improved profitability, scalability, sustainability, and enhanced health and safety measures.

So, what are the challenges that you’re solving within the energy sector with your solutions?

The opportunity is endless when you consider the challenges we are addressing. Take, for instance, our AI-based computer vision product, initially developed for a specific use case: identifying instances of Man Overboard for safety and health (HSE) purposes.

However, as we explore its broader applicability, we are now investigating how to incorporate technologies like Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) into educating the workforce operating in the field on health and safety aspects.

Is your focus primarily on the UAE market?

Not at all. Our current endeavors involve strategic partnerships with industry

What are your priorities as the CEO? As the new incoming CEO, my role and mission involve taking AIQ to the next level. We are focused on significant organisational growth and maximizing the potential of our existing products and solutions. Our next challenge is to achieve automation and autonomous control of the wellheads, going beyond digitalisation. The idea is that by implementing autonomy, we can eliminate the need for daily physical inspections of wellheads, which presents various challenges related to health, safety, logistics, and more. Through autonomy and leveraging AI, we aim to gain real-time access to monitor these locations, enabling informed decisionmaking and performance improvement while mitigating HSE risks.

Could you provide examples of some of the clients you have collaborated with?

All you have to do is look at ADNOC’s joint ventures. If you think about it, we have a broad range of JVs, not just locally but globally. So, essentially, anything we’re delivering to ADNOC is also being extended externally. Our aim is to ensure that our solutions remain open and scalable. As we enter the market, we leverage the local and global system integrators with the skills and know-how to expand our reach.

INTERVIEW

FROM LEGACY TO CLOUD

YAHYAH PANDOR, CHIEF INFORMATION AND DIGITAL OFFICER AT FINE HYGIENIC HOLDING, DELVES INTO THE FMCG MAJOR’S CLOUD JOURNEY WITH ORACLE TO DRIVE OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION.

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ould you take us through the cloud journey undertaken by Fine Hygienic?

When I joined Fine Hygienic about five years ago, we thoroughly analyzed all our systems. Some of these systems were legacy-based and quite robust.

For instance, Oracle E-Business Suite proved to be an exceptionally stable system, so people hesitated to change it. However, we examined various studies related to financials, Total Cost of Ownership, and Return on Investment. It became evident that transitioning to the cloud made sense, especially considering factors like server, hardware, and maintenance costs.

We explored several cloud vendors and eventually opted for Oracle for several compelling reasons. Our cloud journey began with a focus on achieving quick wins because gaining buy-in from the business was crucial. Our initial quick win was the implementation of Human Capital Management (HCM), a solution that directly impacts every employee. It offered a mobile application, enhanced functionality, and robust reporting capabilities, giving our employees a tangible experience with Oracle’s capabilities.

Following the successful HCM implementation, we turned our attention to establishing basic infrastructure components, which we never had before. We introduced 28

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Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC) as our integration platform, a choice I consider powerful due to its versatility.

While we have various applications, not limited to Oracle, OIC seamlessly integrates them, aligning with the diverse nature of our FMCG business.

We have been extremely satisfied with OIC’s performance.

Additionally, we deployed Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse (ADW), where we consolidate and analyze vast amounts of data. Given that our sales data alone amounts to terabytes, we

WHEN TRANSITIONING THE CLOUD PLATFORM, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE DEALING WITH A LEGACY SYSTEM, I THINK YOU SHOULD UNDERTAKE THE PROCESS THOROUGHLY AND CORRECTLY, OR NOT AT ALL. THE KEY IS TO EFFICIENTLY MIGRATE AND ADAPT TO THE CLOUD.

process every transaction globally within our system. The stability and capabilities of ADW enable us to perform remarkable data analysis.

Recognising the need for efficient product data management, we implemented Oracle Master Data Management (MDM). With approximately 64,000 different products initially, our MDM initiative streamlined and cleansed our data, reducing it to a manageable 5,000 unique products.

Oracle Master Data Management serves as the foundation for our entire business operations. Operating beneath this, OIC manages our integrations.

OIC is a robust backbone, facilitating seamless data exchange among our various systems.

Furthermore, our autonomous data warehouse is the backbone for reporting, enabling us to extract valuable insights from our vast dataset. Now, we are on the verge of going live with Oracle Fusion Financials and Supply Chain Management modules, representing the next significant milestone in our cloud transformation journey.

In November last year, we successfully went live with Oracle WMS (Warehouse Management System) in our warehouse in Abu Dhabi, which is fully automated and efficiently fulfills its role. These quick wins are essential steps before we proceed with the significant implementation of Fusion SCM. How long did the cloud migration process take, and did you need to replatform?

Yes, we did. When transitioning the cloud platform, especially if you’re dealing with a legacy system, I think you should undertake the process thoroughly and correctly, or not at all. The key is to efficiently migrate and adapt to the cloud. In this regard, solutions like Oracle offer quarterly updates, which can be highly advantageous. The updates are seamless, typically requiring only a one-hour downtime window, often

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION MEANS DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE. IN MY PERSPECTIVE, TRANSITIONING TO THE CLOUD REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT ASPECT OF GOING DIGITAL.

scheduled for early morning hours.

Since implementing these systems, we have experienced almost no downtime, with an impressive uptime rate of 99.99%.

Please tell us about your overall digital transformation journey and the impact that transitioning to the cloud has had on this journey.

Digital transformation means different things to different people. In my perspective, transitioning to the cloud represents a significant aspect of going digital. This viewpoint is rooted in the shift away from manual processes

towards digital technology, automation, and streamlined operations. While it may not possess the same allure as technologies like AI or GPT, it’s important to acknowledge that digitisation encompasses various aspects, including the transformation from manual spreadsheet-based tasks to the autonomous generation of digital reports.

What are your responsibilities and objectives in your role as CIO? I started my career in the software industry, and this is the first time I’ve worked on the client side. The primary focus here is ensuring the

continuous operation of our systems.

As straightforward as it may sound, this entails maintaining business functionality 24/7, a key performance indicator for me. The truth is that people often fail to appreciate the value of technology until it experiences a breakdown. It’s a lesson I’ve learned firsthand—when things are functioning smoothly, they tend to be taken for granted. However, the moment a system encounters an issue, you and your team suddenly are crucial to keeping the business running.

So, one of my KPIs is operational efficiency, ensuring that our business operations run smoothly and without interruption. Automation is vital in achieving this, as it enhances various aspects of our business processes.

There are other facets to automation as well, such as workforce allocation.

While it’s a sensitive topic due to the implications for employees, automation can eliminate certain manual processes that are no longer necessary. This is the second aspect of my KPIs.The third pillar of my focus is innovation. Innovation remains a constant priority and driving force within our organisation.

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VIEWPOINT

PIONEERING NET ZERO

SAFDER NAZIR, SENIOR VP OF PUBLIC SECTOR AT HUAWEI, MIDDLE EAST & CENTRAL ASIA, WRITES ABOUT WHY THE TCAMPUS SERVES AS A CATALYST FOR A NET-ZERO FUTURE.

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ities have emerged as a vital battleground for sustainable development, a concept that has gained prominence in the last decade to address the interrelated challenges of environmental, social, and economic well-being for both present and future generations.

Despite occupying only a tiny fraction of the world’s land area, cities consume most of the world’s energy and emit more than half of global greenhouse gases. At the same time, they generate the bulk of the global economic output, creating opportunities and challenges for their inhabitants and the planet.

Throughout history, people have migrated to cities for security, 30

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prosperity, and social interaction. This trend has led to a rapid increase in the number of cities, and their size. Megacities, housing populations exceeding ten million, are expected to quadruple by 2030, accommodating five times the population of 1990 levels. These mega-cities face immense challenges, such as congestion, pollution, and vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change.

ME&CA governments have committed to reducing overall emissions, with some aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050. Net-zero emissions mean that any greenhouse gas emissions are balanced by removing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere, either

through natural or artificial means.

Achieving net zero emissions is essential to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommends.

To achieve such ambitious targets and mitigate urban emissions, technology plays a crucial role in enhancing energy efficiency, promoting onsite energy generation, and facilitating comprehensive management at the campus level. Technology can help reduce the energy demand of buildings, transport, and industries and increase the share of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and biomass. Sensors can also help monitor

and manage the energy consumption and production of different devices, applications, and services on campus, optimising the energy balance and reducing the carbon footprint.

Campus as the building block of a sustainable city The importance of campuses lies in viewing them as manageable chunks of a city. A campus can be defined as a group of buildings or facilities that come under a single management, such as education, research, business, or entertainment. By addressing campuses as building blocks, we can support cities in transitioning to a sustainable future. Often developed or redeveloped in phases, cities can benefit from localised action and participation when policies and practices are implemented at the campus level.

For example, a university campus can implement measures such as installing solar panels, retrofitting buildings, promoting sustainable transport, and engaging students and staff in sustainability initiatives.

These measures can reduce the campus’s energy consumption and emissions and improve the campus’s attractiveness, competitiveness, and social responsibility. Coordinated efforts at the city level can accelerate transformative plans, starting with ambitious targets like achieving net zero energy, setting every campus, and consequently, every city on a path towards carbon neutrality.

To implement such a transformation, a comprehensive net zero framework is crucial. This strategy advocates for a large-scale transition to renewable energy sources and optimising energy demand from ICT operations.

The framework should have three main components: onsite clean energy generation, energy-efficient ICT solutions and a holistic energy management system. Providing granular visibility of both energy consumption and carbon impact, measured using the Network Carbon

Intenisty Energy (NCIe), is what Huawei names as Carbon Conscious ICT. With ample exposed spaces, campuses should leverage available real estate for onsite clean energy generation, reducing reliance on grid electricity and lowering carbon emissions. Onsite clean energy generation can include solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on roof tops and carparks, building integrated PV (BIPV) on building fascades, wind turbines, geothermal heat pumps and biogas plants. Real-time monitoring and management systems ensure optimal performance and efficiency of onsite generation.

From carbon footprint to carbon handprint A carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gas emissions a product or service causes throughout its life cycle, from production to disposal. In contrast, a carbon handprint defines the amount of emissions a product or service can help avoid or reduce in other products or services by offering more efficient or sustainable alternatives.

ICT can create a large carbon handprint by providing solutions to lower the energy demand and emissions of other sectors, such as transport, buildings, industry, and agriculture.

According to figures from the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), the carbon handprint of ICT could be ten

times (10x) that of its footprint by 2030, meaning that ICT can enable more emission reductions than it causes. Therefore, there are immense opportunities to leverage technology to avoid carbon footprint, known as a carbon handprint.

Further, a campus should implement a holistic management system to coordinate the energy supply and demand of various ICT devices, applications, and services. This can help optimise a campus’s energy utilisation and allocation and improve the service experience. A holistic management system integrates different data sources, such as energy consumption, generation, storage, and grid status, and uses advanced algorithms to analyse and optimise the campus’s energy performance. For example, a unified platform that can monitor and control the energy consumption and carbon emissions of a campus’s ICT infrastructure, such as data centers, networks, and cloud services, can provide a comprehensive view of the campus’s energy performance.

Furthermore, using a platform that can provide intelligent analysis and optimisation suggestions based on big data and artificial intelligence can enable a campus to achieve energy savings and carbon reduction.

In response to the growing imperative for sustainable city development, Huawei has taken a bold step forward by creating the Net Zero Campus, a groundbreaking initiative that aligns with global efforts to address climate change and reduce carbon emissions.

The Net Zero Campus differs from other solutions by offering a holistic and integrated approach that covers all aspects of energy consumption and production on campus and leveraging the latest technologies and innovations to achieve the highest level of efficiency and sustainability. Established as a model for urban sustainability, the Net Zero Campus is poised to revolutionise how cities approach energy consumption and environmental impact.

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VIEWPOINT

DECODING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY IRFAN SHAKEEL, VP OF TRAINING AND CERTIFICATIONS AT OPSWAT, ON FOUR MYTHS OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY THAT WE MUST LAY TO REST.

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n May last year, in a statement to the UN Security Council Arria-formula Meeting on Cyberattacks on Critical Infrastructure, Her Excellency Lana Nusseibeh, the United Arab Emirate’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, confirmed that the nation’s critical infrastructure — the FSI, government, and health sectors — had been targeted by non-state cyberthreat actors (including terrorist groups) with DDoS, ransomware, and phishing attacks. Whether for money, political advantage, or other, the reason is less important than the intent.

The goal is to disrupt, disable, or destroy the technological parts of our society on which we rely most.

Industrial control systems (ICS) sit at the heart of these parts, overseeing their efficient operation and making economies possible. Their importance calls loudly for protection, but unfortunately this is where things get complicated. Cybersecurity as it relates to ICS is obscured by myths, four of which we explore here. We explore them so decision makers will be armed for a fight that we, as a society, must win.

1

Air-gapping brings absolute security: Picture in your mind a fictional security team facing a threat they cannot stop.

The movie move is to pull the plug, to rip the server from the wall. In the real world, a similar, somewhat famous tactic springs to mind when trying to solve the problem of immunising critical infrastructure from cyberattacks. Absolute isolation. Air-gapped equipment cannot possibly be infiltrated, right? A disconnected environment offers no paths to anywhere, let alone anywhere valuable. You may be surprised to learn that this is a misconception.

In truth, even air-gapped systems are susceptible to attack. This is because not all vectors require Internet-facing assets.

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Any physical access to air-gapped systems could deliver a dangerous payload. This access could either take the form of malicious insider activity or unwitting participation by an innocent authorised individual. The latter could have been compromised as part of a supply-chain attack and may subsequently use trusted removable media like USB drives, unaware that they have been stealthily infected by malicious code.

2

SIS is the last word: Safety Instrumented System (SIS) solutions are widely touted as the last word in ICS security — impenetrable.

It is tempting to run towards a panacea, but panaceas have a long history of being exposed as snake oil. The truth is the value of SIS has been grossly oversimplified. In the modern threat landscape, malicious actors have become so sophisticated that cyber-maturity can be a source of denial if it does not include constant vigilance.

If we need convincing, we should remember the TRITON malware attack of 2017, which went after the SIS itself at a petrochemical plant in Saudi Arabia. The TRITON attackers tried to take control of industrial safety systems through an advanced persistent threat (APT) attack.

APTs are the nightmare scenario for those tasked with protecting critical infrastructure.

Stealth is their top priority, as they sow the seeds of doom. The rise in their incidence has led to industry-wide reimaginings of SIS architecture. While SIS will likely remain a keystone in critical infrastructure defense strategies, we must remember it is not a deploy-and-forget solution.

3

Our adversary is that kid from ‘War Games’: Again, Hollywood movies instill a sense of the world that is not quite right. In 1983’s “War Games”,

Matthew Broderick portrayed a youngster who almost set the world on fire using his pre-Windows PC. The image persists to this day of lone wolves taking down critical systems, and while our modern imaginings may be slightly more sinister than the homely Mr. Broderick, they are no more accurate.

External, shadowy figures in faraway basements are, of course, sometimes the source of ICS assaults. But insider threats can be just as impactful. Indeed, the fact that they are often overlooked can make them even more damaging than remote attacks. In 2000, in Australia, a disaffected former employee of a sewage treatment plant in Maroochy Shire, Queensland, manipulated a SCADA system to cause an extensive sewage leak across several local areas, lasting two months.

4

Antivirus engines can save the day: Despite some suggestions to the contrary, antivirus software is not a relic. What is antiquated, though, is the notion that if you bundle a few antivirus solutions together it will be enough.

Even a handful of the industry’s top-tier antivirus offerings will not withstand the sophisticated countermeasure-ducking threats that skulk beyond our walls. You need way more than that. Some studies show that increasing the number of engines can increase detection coverage. One report suggests that if an organisation goes beyond 30 installed engines, detection accuracy rates can reach 99%, but the same report notes that just 3% of organisations reach this level. Even if your organisation were one of the 3%, would you have the staff to pursue your findings?

EXPERT ADVICE

VIEWPOINT

CHAMPIONING PRIVACY MARCO POZZONI, EMEA STORAGE SALES DIRECTOR AT LENOVO, ON BUILDING A PRIVACY-FIRST ORGANISATION IN THE AGE OF AI.

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ith consumers increasingly aware of both the value of their data and of the threats to it, it’s never been more crucial for business leaders to respect user privacy. Data breaches are rising at an unprecedented rate, with more than six million data records exposed worldwide through data breaches in the first quarter of 2023. In the UAE for instance, data protection laws have an integrated framework that ensures the confidentiality of information and protection of privacy.

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This includes laws such as the Personal Data Protection Law and the Federal Decree Law No. 45 of 2021, the former which is also the first federal law to be drafted in partnership with major technology companies in the private sector. Business leaders must embrace transparency and emerging technology to find a balanced approach which respects private data while still delivering innovative services.

Emerging technology will also have a crucial role to play when it comes to harnessing data on a large scale.

Every second, every person on Earth

generates an estimated 1.7 megabytes of data, and this is growing with each passing year. Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and edge computing will be crucial to taming data of this size and delivering the intelligent, personalised services consumers desire. The future of data privacy is tied closely to these emerging technologies, with edge computing helping to control where data is processed, and AI offering both opportunities and challenges in privacy terms. Emerging technologies such as anonymisation, federated

learning and homomorphic encryption may also help business leaders to put privacy first.

For business leaders, failing to navigate data privacy can lead to harsh financial penalties and a lack of consumer trust. If businesses are serious about upholding privacy, they must work closely with security experts, regulators and third-party partners to plan out their path, and build privacy into everything they do.

Privacy at the edge Both AI and edge computing are going to change the way the world thinks about personal data protection. Edge computing, with its decentralised processing ability, offers significant potential to boost privacy. By allowing data to be processed closer to the source, it means, for example, that a camera system can record footage, but only forward anonymised data to the cloud for processing and storage.

By reducing the need to transmit and store potentially sensitive data, edge computing can minimise the risk of leaks.

Business leaders must deploy artificial intelligence with care. It holds the potential to boost cybersecurity by detecting anomalies, for example, but also sparks legitimate concerns about the potential misuse or leakage of sensitive data. For example, generative AI systems often have no way to ‘delete’ information, potentially posing problems in terms of the right to be forgotten. Business leaders must ensure that their adoption of AI incorporates robust security features, and that strict data hygiene is enforced around identifying data to ensure AI can be used safely. Used carefully, artificial intelligence holds vast potential to boost user experience, but business leaders need to ensure privacy is central to their AI strategy.

Putting the user first Clarity and transparency are essential when it comes to user privacy. Business leaders must ensure that customers

are clear about when their data is being collected, and equally clear on how it will be used. This is essential both for compliance with regulations, and to build user trust.

User education is also crucial.

Business leaders should respect the intelligence of consumers and furnish them with the information necessary to make their own informed decisions about data. Data privacy policies must be transparent, and individuals must be empowered with the ability to access, correct, and request deletion of any data that the organisation holds.

To make this all work smoothly, it’s essential to establish and regularly update comprehensive data governance policies, ensuring that these align with the requirements of privacy laws.

Building a privacy-first organisation Building a privacy-first organisation requires conversations with everyone from employees to third-party organisations. Fostering a culture of data security requires employees to be well-informed on the basics of privacy and storage, such as using strong passwords and recognising the hallmarks of a phishing attack.

This should be combined with incident response planning and regular audits to ensure that the entire organisation is poised to deal with incidents and that

employees have a full understanding of the importance of data security.

Ensuring that data remains secure can also require difficult conversations with third-party organisations. Thirdparty relationships must be managed to ensure that external vendors adhere to the very strictest data privacy standards. Cybercriminals are always looking for the ‘weak link’ in the chain, whether that is a legal company, an accountant or a software supplier, and any security lapse by a third party will reflect badly on any company using their services.

With regulations changing around the world, it also pays to seek expert advice to ensure compliance, and to bolster awareness of emerging cyber threats. Collaboration with legal and cybersecurity experts can help business leaders to navigate an ever-changing landscape, and help customers to maintain their own high data privacy standards. Businesses should also be aware of emerging technologies to help balance data analytics and individual privacy. Federated learning, where machine learning models are trained without sharing data, may grow in importance, along with technologies such as homomorphic encryption, where data can be processed without being decrypted. More broadly, technologies such as anonymisation are expected to evolve rapidly to safeguard consumer data.

A more secure future Business leaders should ensure they engage with technology in a way that respects user concerns around data, and aim to balance privacy, usability and innovation. The ‘people’ aspect is crucial, with transparent communications helping consumers to make informed choices and conversations with third parties increasingly necessary as regulations around the world evolve.

Making the right technology choices around data governance, anonymisation and AI is central to this, helping to build privacy-first organisations fit for the world of tomorrow.

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INTERVIEW

PUSHING BOUNDARIES

MOHAMMED OWAIS, SALES DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST, WESTERN DIGITAL, TALKS ABOUT THE COMPANY’S LATEST STORAGE INNOVATIONS

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lease tell us about your participation at Intersec this year.

We came to Intersec Dubai 2024 with the latest in our storage solutions innovations, including the newly launched 24TB Ultrastar DC HC580 CMR HDD and 28TB Ultrastar DC HC680 SMR HDD, designed for hyperscale, cloud, and enterprise data center customers looking for the highest capacity with lower power per terabyte for designing more efficient storage systems and data centers. In addition to our WD Purple and WD Purple Pro family of drives dedicated to smart video surveillance applications.

Has a 30TB disk drive been planned in your roadmap as well, considering one of your competitors has launched it?

I cannot comment on our competition, but I want to emphasize that we currently have the Ultrastar DC HC680 28TB SMR HDD available now. The 28TB Ultrastar DC HC680 HDD with OptiNAND technology’s capacityenabling features provides more efficient storage on a 10-disk SMR drive, enabling you to store more in the same footprint.

Will flash replace disks in the near future?

Western Digital has been in the storage industry for several decades, consistently advancing disk technology through our sustained investments. Currently, our storage solutions extend up to a remarkable 28 terabytes. We firmly believe in the coexistence of both flash and disk technologies, and I don’t foresee disks being replaced in the near future.

The cost per gigabyte of disks is notably competitive, making them an attractive option, but the ultimate decision should be tailored to the specific use case.

Within our extensive portfolio, we provide flash storage options under the renowned SanDisk brand for consumers. In the 36

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enterprise domain, our Ultrastar DC SN655 caters to cloud and scale-out workloads. If your tasks involve demanding workloads requiring heightened performance, opting for flash storage is a prudent choice. On the other hand, when evaluating the total cost of ownership, disks emerge as the most compelling proposition. We understand that diverse needs call for diverse solutions, and Western Digital is committed to offering a range of options to meet our customers’ unique requirements.

How many cameras can you support with your surveillance drives?

With our WD Purple drive, you have the capability to accommodate an impressive 64 single-stream HD cameras. When it comes to AI-enabled cameras, this drive excels by supporting up to 32 cameras on a single stream. The WD Purple drive is designed to provide robust storage solutions, ensuring seamless performance for surveillance systems with varying camera configurations.

Are you involved in anything related to AI? Storage serves as a fundamental component for the seamless operation of AI solutions. It is a critical requirement for any AI endeavour,

providing the necessary capacity to store and manage vast amounts of data. Our offerings cater precisely to this need.

During the Intersec Dubai 2024 event, Western Digital presented cutting-edge storage solutions, exemplified by the 22TB WD Purple Pro CMR HDD. This high-capacity hard drive incorporates OptiNAND™ technology, specifically designed for enterprise-class applications, including video analytics servers, AI systems, and deep-learning processes.

In addition to the HDD, we showcased the Ultrastar DC SN655 NVMe SSD, a recently launched solid-state drive engineered for cloud and scale-out workloads. This specialized SSD stands out as an optimal choice for handling extensive data, AI, and machine learning workloads. Its efficient scalability in capacities and impressive GB/ watt ratio make it a standout solution in the realm of storage technology.

Do you provide any software tools in addition to your disk drives?

All WD Purple drives come equipped with AllFrame technology, a feature designed to mitigate video frame drops and enhance the overall quality of video recording and playback. This technology ensures a smoother and more reliable experience, allowing for seamless surveillance and efficient handling of video data.

Do you provide data recovery services?

Currently, we do not offer data recovery services in this region due to the sensitive nature of data. Our focus remains on hardware solutions.

How do you view cloud storage?

We consider cloud storage as a dynamic realm where our technologies play a central role in both data storage and accessibility.

Through these contributions, Western Digital actively participates in the continuous evolution of digital storage solutions.

VIEWPOINT

UNLOCKING BUSINESS GROWTH WITH CONNECTED DATA ECOSYSTEMS CLOUD DATA ECOSYSTEMS ARE THE WAY FORWARD FOR BOTH INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES AND THE TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS THAT SUPPORT THEM, SAYS RÓNÁN DE HOOGE, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CLOUD PLATFORM BUSINESS, AVEVA Businesses aren’t just connected to each other—they’re interdependent.

In industry and elsewhere, the future of business increasingly relies on a connected data ecosystem.

Data ecosystems represent the next wave of digital transformation. They leverage a trusted network of technologies to connect people with data from industrial operators and their partners.

With industrial data ecosystems, companies gain access to new capabilities or expertise they may not have in-house. More importantly, a unified view across the value chain, enables companies to discover crucial new insights and leverage broader expertise that enhance their abilities amid a changing business environment.

When this industrial intelligence is unified and shared in the cloud, every value chain participant – including partners, regulators and customers – can visualise routes to better efficiency, productivity and sustainability.

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n industrial environment where machines anticipate their own maintenance needs, supply chains innovate in response to real-time demand and resource shifts, and industries operate with unparalleled efficiency and minimal waste—all orchestrated by human experts?

That vision is fast becoming a reality as industries organise in response to the evolving business landscape. Disrupted

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supply chains, resource scarcity, changing customer needs and increasing regulation are all now commonplace in our integrated, digital-first economy.

Success in this challenging environment depends on collaboration.

When suppliers, distributors and other chain partners share business information, insights and best practices, they can create combined value that exceeds what each can achieve individually.

Data is the bedrock of growth for the industrial enterprise Businesses everywhere are now using connected data ecosystems with customers, suppliers, partners and operators. Such integrated networks may even straddle two or more formerly separate sectors. In all cases, they carry value for each player within the ecosystem, including for technology developers.

At the core of this collaboration is data. Industrial organisations now collect

data in greater quantities and from a wider variety of sources than ever before. Too often, however, this strategic asset remains siloed at the point of collection because of technology, security and governance barriers, rendering it inaccessible to even internal departments.

Sharing data across an organisation— as well as with external partners—gives every player within the ecosystem a contextual understanding of how to optimise their role in the value chain.

Industrial organisations are therefore catalyzing digital transformation to create seamless collaboration across the lifecycle and unlock greater value and sustainability gains for all stakeholders.

Around the world, many players are already leveraging these platform services to drive positive outcomes on several fronts: • Drive efficiency through collaboration: Sharing data from a single source of truth empowers experts—regardless of location or technical background— to make better decisions faster.

• Achieve environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets: Viewing unified value chain data in context helps surface the interdependent areas where sustainability action can have the greatest impact, such as greater circularity, improved efficiency, reduced emissions and better regulatory compliance.

• Enhance individual and joint innovation: The competitive

advantages gained from secure data-sharing communities strengthen trusted supplier and partner relationships. By adding context to real-time data, companies can expedite R&D, innovate together and mutually enhance competitive advantages.

• Improve decision-making: Seamlessly connecting diverse data sources and extensible applications within an ecosystem gives businesses richer and more complete insights that can reduce operational costs and improve revenue outcomes.

• Transform business for faster revenue: An industrial data ecosystem delivers value within hours instead of days or weeks. Accordingly, companies can achieve faster adoption, expand their market reach, and leverage economies of scale—all while reducing costs through lower software investments upfront and lower ongoing IT and maintenance expenses.

How ecosystem building works for technology companies As industries begin strategising for the outcomes enumerated above, data ecosystems are helping them meet their needs.

This kind of ecosystem thinking also supports innovation for technology providers and developer partners.

Such digital platforms bring together a multitude of complementary solutions and applications that can be tailored to specific business needs. At their core, such an industry data community is a network of interconnected software applications, services, and platforms that integrate seamlessly to enhance process efficiencies while uncovering new value for end customers.

With an open and neutral platform, partners can expedite the development of emerging technologies and services, driving agility and value for customers.

The ability to securely share specific data streams within a standardised format and with granular control supports the development of new applications and value-added services – without compromising intellectual property.

This adaptability is a game-changer at a time of increasing cross-domain innovation, when developments in one field, such as artificial intelligence, can support progress in another area.

Connected data ecosystems provide the advantages developers need in an ever-evolving industrial landscape.

Industry appetite and the flywheel effect Different industrial sectors have either already added to, or are accelerating, their investment in connected data ecosystems. The vast majority (90%) of respondents in IDC’s 2023 Future of Industry Ecosystems global survey said they plan to maintain or accelerate their investment into such data ecosystems this year and next. Principal motivations included increasing business agility, better process automation, improved systems integration, and increased data-sharing with partners, including for ESG reasons.

The survey interviewed 1,288 C-suite and business line executives decisionmakers across energy, construction, process manufacturing, government and other industries around the world.

Overall, the appeal of the connected data ecosystem could lie in its ability to accelerate the flywheel effect, a concept familiar to engineers.

With the flywheel effect, small wins accumulate over time to create a momentum that keeps the business growing.

Likewise, within the kind of integrated data community described here, every player can expect to be able to recalibrate for resilience in realtime, driving incremental gains for all stakeholders on a continuous basis.

Whether for industrial enterprises, technology companies or developers, the whole truly then becomes worth more than the sum of its parts.

The value of connected data ecosystems—and the potential exponential growth they promise— will be the foundation of our sustainable future.

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REPORT

THE STATE OF DIGITAL EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE RIVERBED SURVEY FINDS 92 PERCENT OF ENERGY LEADERS ARE PRIORITIZING DIGITAL EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE, RETAIN STAFF AND DRIVE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES.

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iverbed has announced the Energy and Utilities industry results from the Riverbed Global Digital Employee Experience (DEX) Survey 2023, revealing that IT and business decision-makers in the sector are working to improve digital experiences for employees and customers as an urgent priority. With evolving market dynamics, competition is fierce, and a key way to remain competitive is to ensure a strong DEX so staff can collaborate seamlessly across a geographically dispersed workforce. A substantial majority (93%) of survey respondents agreed that providing a seamless DEX is crucial to remaining competitive, at a time when energy companies are shifting toward renewable energy sources and increasing digital transformation and sustainability initiatives.

Identifying ways to deliver a strong DEX is vital as long-standing employees are retiring, and ‘digital natives’ – Millennial and Gen Z – are becoming a larger part of the workforce. In particular, 85% of Energy leaders surveyed believe they’ll need to deliver more advanced digital experiences for new generations in the next five years, and 65% say failing to do so could impact the company’s reputation and be disruptive.

Additionally, 66% of survey respondents say that Millennial and Gen Z employees would consider leaving the company if their digital needs are not met.

Despite knowing DEX is a vital tool to overcome their challenges and achieve their goals, 98% of Energy decisionmakers surveyed cite at least one major obstacle or gap – such as to delivering the seamless digital experiences their workforce and customers demand. Top obstacles include: inadequate observability 40

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tools, talent shortage or lack of skilled personnel, and lack of appropriate cloud services and SaaS apps.

Additionally, 83% say slow-running systems and applications and outdated technology are directly impacting the growth and performance of their organization, while others are being hamstrung by staffing concerns. Forty-three percent believe they are understaffed, and 34% have enough employees, but those employees lack the fundamental skills to do their jobs. However, 76% of those with employees lacking the correct skills have set budget aside to retrain people.

Compared to other industries surveyed in the report, Energy decision-makers were especially concerned with the security of their IT operations. Hybrid infrastructure and legacy technologies can be difficult to monitor and manage. In fact, 48% of respondents said security vulnerabilities were their greatest IT-related concern, with 44% estimating they’ll increase their investment in security solutions – the greatest across all verticals.

Increasingly, CIOs in the Energy industry find themselves playing a more essential role not just in the server room, but also in the boardroom. In fact, 82% of respondents have found that IT teams’ relevance within the C-suite has changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and 87% of IT leaders surveyed said they have a seat at the C-Suite table.

This is because CIOs and IT teams have the power to improve employee experiences, mitigate security risks, and improve operational efficiency through greater network visibility.

Overwhelmingly, this power is being used to focus business’ attention and investment on unified observability. Ninety percent of Energy leaders surveyed said they recognize the importance of the tool in their company’s ability to provide seamless digital experiences. And of all the verticals surveyed, Energy decision-makers were also the most optimistic (92%) about the power of unified observability technology with automation to help bridge the skills gap, demonstrating that the technology can help them meet even their most challenging goals – while delivering better experiences for employees and customers.

The Riverbed Global Digital Employee Experience Survey 2023 polled 1,800 global IT decision-makers (ITDMs) and business decision-makers (BDMs) across 10 countries and seven industries, including 100 Energy and Utilities leaders. The survey was conducted by Sapio Research in May 2023 to explore generational expectations, hybrid work, the evolving role of IT, and challenges and strategies to delivering an exceptional digital employee experience.

VIEWPOINT

CHARTING THE PATH TO A SAFER DIGITAL PRESENCE MAHER SHEHAB, SECURITY SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT AT QUALYS, WRITES ABOUT FIVE BEST PRACTICES FOR WEB APPLICATION SECURITY.

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hen crises hit, survivors pivot. Pandemic lockdowns sent the United Arab Emirates’ forward-thinking government and its resilient businesses into adaptation mode. As in-person volumes of visits to bureaus and branches dwindled, the nation once again became a factory of digital experiences. One of the results was a conveyor belt of Web applications. Consumers were delighted. Threat actors were enthralled.

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Web applications are attractive targets for cybercriminals. They tend to be riddled with vulnerabilities and their abundance means plenty of opportunities to create havoc. In the digital security industry, we have been tracking the uptick in Web app targeting and we understand the most popular methods. This knowledge has been out there for some time, for all cybersecurity stakeholders to digest.

Nonetheless, little progress appears to have been made in hardening corporate Web applications.

DevOps teams are under pressure to release experiences into the wild at scale and with ever-shortening development cycles. Not only is cybersecurity not baked in at, say, the authorisation and access-control levels, but vulnerabilities from thirdparty add-ons and plug-ins find their way into the mix. All such issues present opportunities for the “wrong sort” to gain access to sensitive systems and data. They can create their own accounts for persistent dwelling, hijack APIs to redirect

resources to dangerous locations, laterally move across systems and platforms, and more.

Insecure by default In the 2023 Qualys TruRisk Research Report, we examined more than 2.3 billion anonymized vulnerabilities discovered around the globe in 2022.

Among 370,000 Web applications, we found more than 25 million vulnerabilities. The most common issue, found in a third of cases, was “security misconfiguration” as classified by the Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP). Covering the fundamentals will prevent the worst Web application issues. Many studies have revealed the urgent need for security to be a basic brick in application development, not an afterthought. It should be there from the start. “Secure by design” should be a song sung by every DevOps team across the region, with the understanding that this adds yet another pressure. Devs need help, so in this spirit, here are five best practices they can adopt to help them on their way.

1

Script your security testing No app, no revision, no release shall be deemed production-ready until it has passed security testing. If security vulnerabilities are discoverable and fixable when apps are live, they should be discoverable and fixable during the design phase. Therefore, test as you build. There is an opportunity during design to tweak development and security processes so that these traditionally disparate functions collaborate and become more intertwined over time.

2

Identify security champions and empower them As your security operations become more collaborative with DevOps, you should start looking at the development team as potential security champions.

Whether through formal knowledge transfer or osmosis, they will become less dependent on security teams for

testing. Over time, this should lead to more autonomy and allow DevOps to regain ownership of the development process while implementing security best practice.

3

Test security on two fronts Application security uses two main tools for the most effective result. On one side, we have automated software scanning and on the other, penetration testing carried out by human teams.

The two approaches complement each other, as the strengths of each balance the weaknesses of the other.

The automated scan is very good at providing frequent updates on the shape of the application. Meanwhile, team testing delivers a real-world scenario of attacker activity (and likely success) that gives development teams crucial context for how application logic might be manipulated in a production setting.

4

Address risk, not symptoms This is not only a way of urging development teams to fix vulnerabilities as they design their app. It describes a pragmatic, business-centric approach to app security. Flaws may be found, and fixes devised, but it may be impractical or even damaging to apply them. For example, if an app is part of core business operations, generating revenue or controlling a central pillar of day-to-day commerce (say, order fulfilment), then taking it offline for

an update, might not be practical. For such issues, it is important to involve all line-of-business, DevOps, and security stakeholders to weigh the business benefits against the potential losses in allowing a flawed application to remain up and running.

In these discussions, business imperatives often necessitate allowing the symptoms to persist and resolving risk issues by deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs), which provide temporary security for applications. However, since dogged attackers can find their way around WAFs, DevOps, under guidance from security teams, can subsequently deploy remediated code that fixes the underlying problem.

5

Keep it real Cybersecurity involves more pragmatism than many may realise.

Picking your battles is an idea that may seem at odds with a calling that should be about plugging all holes. But not all leaks bring about the collapse of the dam. And so, some battles are more important than others. As with other business functions, DevOps and their new partners in the SOC should direct resources to where they can do the most good.

We know that the GCC region suffers from a lack of human resources and a formidable volume of cyberattacks.

Remember that developers, rather than security personnel, may be the ones deploying updates. Get to know developers’ pain points and help them achieve objectives in a way that also improves security for Web applications.

When taken together these require a prioritisation of issues. Account for everyone’s goals and for capacity and be realistic.

Safe and sound Web applications are going to continue to rise in prominence and cycle through versions with increasing frequency. And yet we must face up to their potential for abuse by our adversaries. Apply these best practices, and sleep well.

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PRODUCTS

Samsung Galaxy S24 series Samsung Gulf Electronics has announced the local availability of the Galaxy S24 Series in the UAE- featuring the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 - introducing groundbreaking mobile experiences fueled by artificial intelligence. The Galaxy S24 Series spearheads a transformative era that redefines how users interact with mobile devices, enabling a premium, intelligent experience only Galaxy could create. Powered

by Galaxy AI, the Galaxy S24 Series enables barrierfree communication through intelligent text and call translations, unleashing creative freedom and setting a new benchmark for search.

The launch event was presided over by DooHee Lee, President of Samsung Gulf Electronics at Zenon, a futuristic restaurant in Downtown Dubai, where holograms and digital art create a dynamic and immersive environment in Dubai’s first AI restaurant.

Galaxy AI introduces purposeful intelligence aimed at enriching every aspect of life, particularly the fundamental role of communication. AI-powered advances in the Galaxy S24 Series overcome language barriers, facilitating seamless conversations with 44

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non-native speakers. Live Translate offers two-way, real-time voice and text translations within the native app, ensuring privacy without the need for third-party applications. On the other hand, the Interpreter feature instantly translates live conversations on a split-screen, allowing individuals facing each other to read text transcriptions, even without cellular data or Wi-Fi. For messaging and similar apps, Chat Assist refines conversational tones, ensuring communication reflects the intended message. AI integrated into the Samsung Keyboard provides real-time translations in 13 languages.

In the car, Android Auto automatically summarizes incoming messages and suggests relevant replies, keeping users connected while focused on the road.

Organizing our lives receives a significant boost with Note Assist in Samsung Notes, featuring AI-generated summaries, template creation, and cover creation for easy note identification via a brief preview. Meanwhile, Transcript Assist utilizes AI and Speech-to-Text technology to transcribe, summarize, and translate voice recordings, even in scenarios with multiple speakers.

HONOR Magic V2

HONOR announced the launch of the HONOR Magic V2 in the UAE market.

This next-generation flagship foldable smartphone will become the thinnest and lightest book-style foldable smartphone on the planet upon release. The release is a bold statement

by HONOR which will surely redefine industry benchmarks with significant improvements across form factor, battery, display and user experience.

Weighing only 231g and measuring 9.9mm in thickness when folded,

ACER PREDATOR EXTREME

the HONOR Magic V2 pushes the boundaries of innovation when it comes to foldables.

The HONOR Magic V2 features a first-of-its-kind Super-light & extra hard Titanium Hinge, which provides the perfect balance between weight and strength. HONOR’s SGS certified proprietary steel has been expertly created for use in the hinge’s main body of the HONOR Magic V2, providing added robustness and durability to the hinge mechanism.

The HONOR Magic V2 debuts with the thinnest dual Siliconcarbon Batteries with an average thickness of only 2.72mm. The innovative battery features HONOR’s revolutionary low-voltage charge energy-gathering technology for greater power output at the same voltage compared to graphite-based battery systems.

The HONOR Magic V2 features a foldable OLED LTPO display, offering an immersive user experience with support for 1.07 billion colors and exceptional color accuracy. HONOR’s industry-leading 3840Hz PWM Dimming technology minimizes eye strain, ensuring comfortable viewing even during extended use.

Incorporating human-centric innovation, the HONOR Magic V2 features Dynamic Dimming, which mimics natural light rhythm, stimulating ciliary muscle movement and reducing eye fatigue. The display’s brightness level adapts automatically to external lighting conditions and screen time duration, ensuring optimal comfort for the human eye.

Acer announced the Predator Extreme e-scooter, the latest addition to Acer’s growing line of e-mobility solutions. First showcased at the Taipei Cycle 2023, the new eScooter will now also be available in Europe, Middle East and Africa starting Q2 2024. The Predator Extreme e-scooter was designed to carry the power and performance of an off-road motorbike in its compact iron frame. It features a dual suspension system and rear spring shock absorber for added stability, 960-Watt peak power output, a 40 Nm high torque, 10” crocodile tires and IPX5, giving riders the freedom to explore various terrains.

For thrill-seekers, the Predator Extreme’s forward-facing stance design and low center of gravity provide greater maneuverability, and enable travel through steep hills, narrow trails, and downward slopes. The scooter’s sturdy build also allows riders to do stunts like wheelies, jumps, curb hops, and more, while urban commuters can seamlessly switch between its 6 kph, 15 kph, and up to 25 kph speed modes to travel freely across the city and veer through offroad spaces.

The Predator Extreme e-scooter has a replaceable 10.5ah/36V lithium-ion battery that significantly reduces carbon emissions compared to a motorbike.

The battery can be fully charged in just4 hours and can travel up to 35 km with one charge, giving riders greater range and flexibility when going to work, school, or meeting friends.

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BLOG

UNLOCKING SUCCESS SUNIL PAUL, MD OF FINESSE, ON NAVIGATING BUSINESS CHALLENGES WITH CORPORATE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.

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he uncertainties stemming from supply chain bottlenecks, inflation, and geopolitical challenges have put the spotlight squarely on business agility and resilience. This sustained focus is driving the demand for corporate performance management (CPM) and analytics software solutions.

Gartner Research defines CPM as “an umbrella term that describes the methodologies, metrics, processes, and systems used to monitor and manage the business performance of an enterprise. Applications that enable CPM translate strategically focused information into operational plans and send aggregated results.”

CPM applications focus on budgeting, planning, forecasting, financial consolidation, reporting, analysis, and modeling to inform decision-making.

They help monitor and manage the overall financial performance of an organisation, encompassing fluctuations in cash flow, sales, investments, and liabilities.

When deploying CPM software across your organisation, you establish a unified data hub for finance, ensuring consistency across all outputs and improving overall efficiency.

CPM puts finance in the driver’s seat.

Operational decisions are then made with an understanding of true profitability, costs, and impacts on financial statements.

Moreover, data collection, closing, consolidation, reporting, and analysis are time-consuming when completed manually.

They’re also error-prone, especially when exposed to the potential for human error.

CPM applications give users the automated tools to expedite tasks while eliminating human input and, thus, the chance for human error.

With performance data at every level of granularity, CPM software solutions allow users to identify underlying trends in data and see the impacts of business decisions across the organisation.

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Users can promptly pinpoint emerging shortcomings and financial risks by observing real-time performance trends.

In the traditional sense, key benefits of implementing CPM in the organisation include alignment of corporate objectives with management plans and operational processes, data consolidation across all departments, improved workflow, simplified calculations, real-time information, and performance analytics.

However, an overlooked benefit of CPM is tax compliance, where accurate and timely financial information is crucial.

Businesses need to meticulously assess the accuracy, integrity, and accessibility of their financial data and ensure that they meet their tax obligations. CPM systems can address some of the key challenges associated with tax reporting, such as inconsistencies with financial reporting, accessibility of correct data, and usage of various data sources. For example, users of CPM systems can directly retrieve financial data from general ledgers or financial consolidation systems for more efficient tax provisioning and use the most current data for tax calculations.

The UAE is no longer a tax-free haven as evidenced by the introduction of Value-Added Tax (VAT) and, after that, the federal corporate tax with a standard statutory rate of 9 percent starting from the financial year beginning on or after June 1, 2023. According to previous statements issued by the Ministry of Finance, corporate tax will be payable on the profits of UAE businesses as reported in their financial statements prepared in accordance with internationally acceptable accounting standards, with minimal exceptions and adjustments. The corporate tax will apply to all businesses and commercial activities except for extracting natural resources, which will remain subject to Emirate-level corporate taxation.

In a report issued in November last year, accounting and financial advisory firm PwC noted that as several UAE

businesses follow a financial year from January to December, the applicability of corporate tax will expand to the majority of companies from January 2024. These businesses must prepare to retrieve data to ensure corporate tax compliance from January 2024 onwards. As per the law, businesses must ensure compliance by maintaining accurate records and filing taxes and payments on time.

In the context of corporate tax compliance, CPM applications can help by: 1. Automating Financial Processes: Streamlining financial data collection, consolidation, and reporting.

2. Ensuring Accuracy: Reducing errors in financial statements and tax calculations.

3. Enhancing Visibility: Providing a holistic view of financial performance for better tax planning.

4. Facilitating Audits: Simplifying the audit process by maintaining organised and transparent financial records.

In conclusion, in the face of global uncertainties like supply chain bottlenecks and geopolitical challenges, the demand for CPM solutions is rising.

In its traditional role, CPM empowers finance teams, offering automated tools to expedite tasks, eliminate human errors, and provide real-time insights into financial performance. Beyond that, CPM’s overlooked benefit lies in tax compliance, where it streamlines financial processes, ensures accuracy, enhances visibility, and facilitates audits.

As corporate tax becomes a reality in the UAE, integrating CPM practices proves crucial for optimising financial processes and ensuring compliance from 2024 onwards. This integration will ultimately contribute to the overall efficiency and success of the business.

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