The Titans June 2019

JUNE 2019 | VOL 3 ISSUE 6

2019 THE CHANGE-SPOTTERS AND CHANGE-MAKERS

SULAIMAN ALKHARASHI, CIO, TATWEER BUILDINGS COMPANY.

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EDITORIAL

MOVE AWAY FROM TECHNOLOGY

ANUSHREE DIXIT EDITOR anushree@gecmediagroup.com

Yes, you read it right. This is the business imperative that has been doing the rounds in CIO offices for a few months now.

The pragmatic role of a CIO today is to walk hand-in-hand with the business. Though there is no direct expectation from the IT department to generate revenue, but there is definitely an indirect mandate for the IT department to be the center for generating maximum profit avenues. This mission is accomplished when IT moves away from traditional IT. I was speaking to a veteran CIO a few days back and he told me how he has been training his colleagues in different department to stop pushing menial things to the IT department. For instance, the content development team have to host the content online themselves and not push it to IT. After all, how does the content team expect the IT team to know which content goes where and what is the relevance. He also asserted on the fact that IT will always be there to train or support different departments if there is any disfunctions, but now it is high time, IT stepped into the shoes of business.

Our lead story in this issue features Tatweer’s digital transformation mastermind Mr. Sulaiman Kharashi. Do give it a good read to know how Tatweer has been one of the pioneering organizations in the Middle East to have successfully tested, implemented and reaped benefits of emerging technologies and how Sulaiman has mastered this change in their organization as the transformation champion.

On the similar lines, we have an interesting story from Mr. Mamdouh Nada in this issue who talks about how he has dramatically shifted his role from IT to business transformation.

This and much more in this issue of The Titans. Hope you find them interesting.

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CONTENT

SULAIMAN ALKHARASHI, CIO, TATWEER BUILDINGS COMPANY.

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TOP CIO IN MENA

TOP CIO IN MENA

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INITIATIVE

INCORPORATING SUPERIOR CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

TALKING BUSINESS, TALKING TRANSFORMATION

‘IT’S A WAKE-UP CALL’

SMART DUBAI AND DHA SAVE LIVES WITH AI

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E INDUSTRY

N WS Abu Dhabi Ports Signs MoU with Dell Technologies to Help Leverage Blockchain and AI in the Maritime Industry

Abu Dhabi Ports has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dell Technologies that will see the organisations combine their expertise in maritime and IT to develop technologybased concepts, solutions and services specifically for the maritime industry.

The MoU with Dell Technologies is

designed to provide Abu Dhabi Ports with consulting services and help them leverage high value-added technologies such as blockchain, and artificial intelligence (AI) to fuel their digital transformation journey.

In addition, this strategic partnership will also see an exchange of industry

best practices and expertise needed to develop truly integrated smart ports that can better serve the customers and other stakeholders of Abu Dhabi Ports.

The MoU was signed by Abdullah Al Hameli, Executive Vice President – Corporate Support atAbu Dhabi Ports, and Mohammed Amin, Senior Vice President, Middle East, Turkey & Africa at Dell Technologies. The signing took place at DellTechnologiesWorld 2019 in LasVegas – the annual flagship event hosted by Dell Technologies that allows decision makers, customers,partnersandanalyststodiscover how to learn new capabilities, reinvent processes,innovatefasterandcreatevalue thatwillchange the game across industries.

Uber and Takamol Partner to Empower Working Saudi Women

Uber revealed a strategic partnership with “Takamol Holding”, which operates Wusool, a program developed by Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), with the goal of enabling working women in

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Saudi Arabia overcome transportation challenges to and from the workplace by providing affordable, subsidized transportation solutions and encouraging women’s contribution towards the country’s socio-economic

MAY 2019

progress, in line with the goals and objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. Commenting on the announcement, Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, VP & Regional General Manager EMEA, Uber said: “Uber is a conscientious company that strives to uplift the communities it operates in. We are expanding exponentially within the Middle East and North Africa region, with Saudi Arabia being one of our fastest-growing markets.”

Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Ahmed Al Yamani, CEO Takamol stated: “We

are delighted to announce our partnership with Uber, a leader in the ride-hailing industry. This partnership will provide Saudi women with access to transportation solutions to and from their workplace, which falls under one of the strategic objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, that aims to enable members of the community to enter the workforce and bolster it under the National Transformation Program.

Wahed Becomes the First GloballyAccessible Halal Robo-Advisor

Wahed Inc. (“Wahed”), the parent company of Wahed Invest LLC, the first halal robo advisor in the United States, today announces it is expanding its operations globally.The platform, whichwaspreviouslyavailableonlytoUSandUKcommunities, now provides access to Islamic value-based investing to residents of over 130 countries including key markets across Nigeria, India, Pakistan and the MENA region.

Wahed looks to change how the Muslim community participates in global financial markets by making investing accessible and ethically compliant for the 1.8 billion Muslims globally. For many Muslims, investing in line with their faith is more complex due to the exclusion of companies that obtain the bulk of their profits from interest, lending, gambling, hedging in silver or gold, insurance, pork, alcohol, tobacco, firearms and otheractivities deemed harmfulorimpermissible in Islam.

The platform, which was launched in the US in 2017 and expanded into UK markets in 2018, has found that 84% of its users are new to or only somewhat familiarwith investing. The launch has been highly anticipated globally with over 40,000 interested users already on the waitlist for the international platform. Once signed-up, users can securely create an investment account within minutes with the help of facial recognition technology. Wahed will automatically suggest a portfolio for each user based on their risk profile, taking into account liquidity needs, investment goals and other criteria.

Future Government Drives Bahrain’s IT Market to BHD 70 Million by 2021

Future government and digital transformation are driving Bahrain’s ITmarket to reach a record-high of BHD 70 million by 2021, the newly appointed Country Manager of SAP Bahrain announced today.

In line with Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 to foster economic diversification, organizations are increasingly digitally transforming, especially with real-time software to transform citizen and customer experiences. As a result, Bahrain’s IT market is growing by 8 percent to BHD 70 million by 2021, according to BMI Research .

“Bahrain’s record-high IT spend shows how rapidly digital transformation is accelerating for the public and private sectors,” said Reham Almusa, Country Manager, SAP Bahrain. “Bahraini organizations, especially in the public sector and banking and finance, are becoming Intelligent Enterprises to gain a competitive edge, predict citizen and customer needs, and drive innovation.”

One of Bahrain’s biggest opportunities is to run on the cloud to optimize costs and business agility, and to scale up. SAP is seeing strong Bahrain interest on SAP ’s Saudi Arabia Digital Hub and cloud data center .

Fostering Bahrain’s innovation community and youth development, Bahrain Polytechnic has launched the country’s first SAP Next-Gen Hub . The virtual space, at leading universities, enables the SAP ecosystem of customers and partners to co-innovate and co-create with students.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Ministry of Health stimulates its staff to excel and adopt innovation approach

Emirates NBD lauded for digital transformation at Infosys Finacle Client Innovation Awards

Emirates NBD, one of the leading banks in the region, continues to receive industry recognition for its leadership in digital innovation, winning three awards at the recently held Infosys Finacle Client Innovation Awards 2019.

TheawardsrecogniseEmiratesNBD’sbestin-classcapabilities in cloud innovation, API architecture and financial platforms, which are continuallybeing enhanced underthe bank’sAED 1 billion digital transformation program.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) honored an elite group of employees in appreciation and recognition of their efforts to reflect the bright image of the ministry and highlight its innovative initiatives and techniques at theArab Health Exhibition & Congress 2019.

Held at the ministry’s headquarters, Dubai, the honoring ceremony was attended by Dr.YousifMohammedAlSerkal,Assistant UnderSecretary for the Hospital Sector and chairman of the Arab Health Congress committee and H.E. Awad Saghir Al Ketbi, Assistant UndersecretaryforSupport Services and staff, aswellas a number of directors and employees.

Theministrystressedthatrecognizingandhonoringoverachievers and distinguished employees is one of the hallmarks that makes the UAE special as it reflects the dynamism of the society, the spirt of taking initiatives as well as teamwork. The culture of appreciation and recognition has always been adopted by the UAE’swiseleadershiptoboostthecomprehensiveandsustainable development, the ministry added.

“Today, we have honored distinguished employees. It made us feel so proud to see all supervisory and executive teams working hand in hand at the Arab Health Congress . The ministry’s pavilion was a preferred stop for those looking for innovation and future of healthcare.Thisismainlyattributedtotheorganizingteams’efforts, which significantly contributed to the success of the event”, Al Serkal said.

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JUNE 2019

Emirates NBD won “Best API-led innovation” for its ‘Bawaba’ initiative to build a comprehensive ‘Banking-as-a-Service’ platform.This included launching a dedicatedAPI initiative in 2018, as part of a wider ambition to make cloud an integral part of the enterprise’s landscape. In just 10 months, over 250 APIs have been built independently by Emirates NBD with an ambition to build over 600 by end-2020. Through this, Emirates NBD can deliver rapid innovation through agile, scalable development internallywhile enabling newFinTech partnerships and distribution models externally.

Additionally, Emirates NBD received two runner-up awards from Infosys Finacle. In the Accelerated Transformation category, Emirates NBD was recognized for its ‘Core Consolidation program.’ This three-year Finacle initiative will see all Emirates NBD entities and markets consolidated onto one, updated version of Finacle by 2020, starting with Singapore in November last year. In doing so, new financial payments features offered byFinacle can be seamlesslyand rapidly adopted across all markets to enhance the customer experience while driving IT operational efficiency and agility.

An additional runner-up award was received in the Process Innovation category, following Emirates NBD’s introduction ofa comprehensiveVATimplementation program. Delivered in just three-months and leveraging Finacle capabilities, it ensured a smooth facilitation of all VAT requirements for customers following the UAE’s introduction of VAT last year.

Phone: +971 4 8863850 E-mail: info@asbisme.ae www.asbisme.ae

Phone: +971 4 8863850 E-mail: info@asbisme.ae www.asbisme.ae

TOP CIO IN MENA

INCORPORATING SUPERIOR

CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES “We built a highly available infrastructure for Aqaar to serve users and customers, where we utilized one of the most powerful global ERP systems to connect our company with customers with digitally transform a variety of services. All our services will be available at the customer’s fingertip very soon.”

HI,

S

HISHAM AHMED,

CIO, AQAAR PROPERTIES

ity, efficiency, safety, sustainability and cost for money. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is one of such computerized systems that facilitate gathering information about buildings under construction on regular basis. Other technologies such as mixed reality, AI, block chain, big data analytics, virtual reality, IoT, and predictive analytics considerably enhance the communication among engineers and designers that are working on the project.

The term ‘advanced construction technology’ covers an extensive range of cutting-edge techniques and practices that encompass the latest developments in materials technology, design procedures, volume surveying, facilities management, services, structural evaluation and design. The startups in the new wave are tackling a broad range of areas - appraisals, building management, financing, co-working, co-living, building facilities and empty retail space - with these technologies.

The real estate sector offers a large possibility for tech startups because components of the enterprise - like pricing, mortgages and building management - have been the predominant areas to undertake advanced technologies that could make business extra efficient.

Tell us about your role and responsibilities in the Aqaar Properties.

Scope

I am expecting accuracy, knowledge; deliver what has been promised and reasonable commercials.

The construction industry is constantly transforming and evolving. Every time new developments show up with in the industry, from technological developments to an enhanced focus on sustainability. n Technological advancements are transforming the construction industry with drones, 3D printing, Artificial Intelligence, autonomous vehicles, mobile and cloud applications. n

Technology is having a major impact on the real estate and construction industry. What are the digital trends in this industry and how is technology transforming this sector?

Incorporating superior construction technology into exercise can enhance levels of qual-

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We built a highly available infrastructure for Aqaar to serve users and customers, where we utilized one of the most powerful global ERP systems to connect our company with customers with digitally transform a variety of services. All our services will be available at the customer’s fingertip very soon. We also went through a full renovation for out IT infrastructure while focusing on 2 things (ease of use for our users and more online services to our clients) by incorporating a cutting-edge technology in the real estate industry segment.

What plans do you have for the company and what are the new technologies that you have introduced?

The plan is to fully digitize our workflow, offer more online products, incorporate all processes and work flow with the digital government, go green.

Are you looking for any new project implementations? If yes, what do you expect from the vendors?

As a CIO, what are your top 3 priorities for the year 2019?

Digitalize our workflow, incorporate AI, blockchain into all processes while interacting with Clients, and put the technology to ease the workflow for internal users. Along with big data analytics, virtual reality and predictive analysis.

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MAMDOUH NADA,

HEAD OF IT, UNITED FOODS

TALKING BUSINESS,

TALKING TRANSFORMATION Mamdouh Nada, the Head of IT of United Foods, is one of the leap-ahead technology passionate who has realized the benefits of migrating their traditional IT infrastructure to the cloud and taking up the responsibility of transforming business with newer technologies.

We sit down with him for a tête-à-tête to know about his vision in travelling beyond the traditional perimeters.

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JUNE 2019

TOP CIO IN MENA WORDS BY ANUSHREE DIXIT “The FMCG sector is fast evolving. We face immense pressure in making our business profitable with technology as the margin is low compared to counterparts. Hence, the IT department needs to generate innovative ideas that would help business maximize its revenue channels and profit avenues,” says Mamdouh.

Mamdouh says that he has built a very competitive IT environment in United Foods wherein the entire IT Infrastructure is migrated to the cloud.

“Cloud is the new reality and there is no escaping from that. The benefits of cloud are hard to neglect. It helps you keep the hassle of maintaining the infrastructure at bay.”

Mamdouh is strategically setting the roadmap for transforming the business processes at United Foods now and sees Process Automation as the next big promise in transforming the way business looks over its operations.

“Process Automation, Paperless strategy and Data Analytics are some of the key technologies to watch for.

Organizations today need a complete view and control over their operations.

Your data is being collected across various domains and now with data analytics it is much easier to generate reports that help business take decision quicker and better. Process Automation and Analytics will play a key role in redefining the present and future of manufacturing.” he adds.

AUTOMATION ALL THE WAY Turning IT from a cost center to profit center is one of the key priorities that CIOs have on top of their mind today. Keeping this in perspective, Mamdouh says that he and his team are contributing to the business growth and profit by contributing as much as possible by bringing up innovative ideas. “Our focus here is to decrease the operational cost. Being in FMCG, we deal with two types of customers— retailers and consumers.

The e-commerce platform that we are in the process of developing will help our retailers to track the deliveries and

shipping easilty without the need for a physical sales person to be involved while our online and social media campaigns helps our consumers to be aware of all the latest products that we are bringing to the market.”

United Foods is in the process of implementing Total Process Automation and the CIO is in talks with various vendors.

Mamdouh also believes that going paperless is also a pivotal step towards managing your workflow efficiently.

“From a control point of view, content management and process automation is really crucial and organizations should take this seriously. Organizations also need to understand that process automation and paperless strategy are two different things where the latter digitizes all your paperwork whilst the former automates your entire operation lifecycle and gives you a complete visibility of the entire business framework. If I am a sales person and I am punching a deal, I know what are the steps that follow as I have the entire framework in front of me. That is the beauty of process automation. There is a cross-department benefit reaped out of it. Easy access to information is key in both the strategies.”

GETTING THE ‘YES’ Discussing about the budget constraints and financial tiffs that IT earlier had within the organizations, Mamdouh says that we are living in a better world today. Today CEOs and CFOs realize the true potential of IT and what returns it brings to business— thanks to the new generation which is immensely tech-savvy. Today, if I am able to put forth a proposal that shows ROI to the management, there is no reason that the budget will not be approved. When we migrated our infrastructure to cloud last year, we did not spend even a single dollar.

The cloud was a transformation of an existing hardware which needed maintenance and support and we moved that to Office 365.”

LOOKING AHEAD “Being a CIO, you need to have your pulse on what’s next,” he adds. “For example, I strongly believe that emails shall soon be obsolete as the new generation thrives on instant messaging and is more inclined towards apps like WhatsApp and other messengers. Keeping this transition in mind, we have introduced Microsoft Team in our office for seamless collaboration across department. Email exists for formal messages, but we are trying to push these new collaborative platforms as they are the future.”

INDUSTRY 4.0 Industrial robots and autonomous machines are said to rule industry 4.0. I put forward this question to Mamdouh on how he sees robots replacing humans in his food manufacturing unit and Mamdouh replies that the future is still far away.

“Based on my experience, Food manufacturing and Pharma are the industries that are late entrants when it comes to any emerging or advanced technologies. We have to be very careful when food is the subject. We have to be cautious of any technology that touches the food. Same goes for the medicine field as well where even one glitch can cost not a business or fortune but a life. As reports suggest, this may be the future but I do not see it coming soon.

The technology has to be a low-risk” FOOT ON ACCELERATOR In the sign-off question, I ask Mamdouh what accelerates his car to office every morning. With a wide smile, Mamdouh replies that he has always been passionate about technology and that is what drives him to work daily. “I have always believed that technology is the solution for all business problems.

This keeps my innovation spirits high.

At the end of the day, it is all about delivering the best to the end-user. I started my career as a customer service representative, so who better than me to understand that. It is in my DNA to make my customers happy and make myself reachable 24/7.”

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TOP CIO IN MENA

SULAIMAN ALKHARASHI, CIO, TATWEER BUILDINGS COMPANY.

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JUNE 2019

I,

TOP CIO IN MENA

MASTER OF CHANGE With successful implementations of Blockchain, AI, Chatbots, etc., the CIO of Tatweer Buildings Company, Mr. Sulaiman AlKharashi, has always stayed ahead with the current trends and innovative technologies. The Titans in an exclusive interview with him.

Tell us about Tatweer Buildings Company. What are its key projects?

accommodate (255,000) students in Riyadh, Jeddah and Makkah.

Tatweer Buildings Company (TBC) is a limited liability government-owned corporation, specialized in Project Management. TBC launched its commercial activities in the beginnings of the second quarter of 2013.

TBC came to contribute to the development of the educational environment and to introduce a quantum leap in the field of educational projects in Saudi Arabia, to amount to the level of an ambitious leadership and aspirations of a noble nation in the various regions and provinces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Based on a noble royal decree, TBC has been assigned to run, manage, tender the Ministry of Education (MoE) projects of school buildings, educational facilities and administration buildings, to construct and supervise buildings and sign contracts related to such buildings, manage all engineering works, and to operate, maintain, and develop those buildings.

The Company specializes in supervising the design, implementation and construction of school buildings and all related facilities, including the provision of services starting from consultancy, administrative and planning services through maintenance, rehabilitation, repair and reconditioning, furniture, equipment, and ending up with renting, leasing, purchasing and selling of school buildings.

TBC works to provide educational buildings (schools) starting from the engineering designs, supervision and delivery of projects and ensure the provision of a safe and high quality learning environment. It manages 271 projects that includes 553 facilities that have school buildings and gyms. As well as its various facilities of canteens, guards housing, grass courts and outdoor playgrounds that

Tell us about your role and responsibilities in the company.

My role in TBC primarily is to create business value through technology. As well, as ensure that the technical systems and procedures lead to outcomes in line with the business goals. Do strategic planning of the objectives that is most important which is business growth.

What plans do you have for the company and what are the new technologies that you have introduced?

Moving forward with the current trends and innovative technologies is my prime focus. Digital transformation is the key area, which at TBC I will be focussing during this year. As it is the need of the hour were in, we transform all the manual processes into digital platform, which in turn reduces the efforts and error handling.

I also had the opportunity to use AI technology in one of our Master planning projects where we used Julia to analyse the data that had been collected by data mining and give us all the best output to opt for. We also had a chance to use Block chain technology in the application that integrates GIS & Marafeq Program, which was applauded by Ministry of Education.

Contribution towards the advancement of business and construction (of) ICT identity in GCC with the success of this Program which involves multiple city municipalities and Ministry of Education which will lay a path towards adapt of similar ICT usage throughout different Ministries of Government.

IOT technology is used in this project to identify & get alerted on any change in the

land like illegal constructions, trespassing, unauthorized & uninformed activities being done on MOE lands.

Our plan is to have Chatbots which can reduce our spending on traditional call centre with the usage of pre-calculated user phrases and auditory from our existing call centres data.

Towards adoption of Cloud technology, our IT infrastructure consists of both Public and Private Cloud depending on the nature of requirements.

We uses exceptionally sophisticated Business Intelligence for our high level reporting and evaluations, monitoring of projects.

We are focused on adoption of latest technologies with proper evaluation of ROI on our every IT investments.

We are looking for implementation of CAFM system which will be accommodating 30,000 Schools with huge number of users to facilitate management of one of our core revenue generating Facilities Management department.

Are you looking for any new project implementations? If yes, what do you expect from the vendors?

TBC standards and way of work matters when it comes to expectation from vendors in terms of Knowledge of vendor to start with, quality of work, proper collaboration and accountability, risk analysis, cost management and containment.

As a CIO, what are your top 3 priorities for the year 2019?

As a CIO I have the below top priorities for the year 2019. n I would like to simplify IT by selecting and modernizing platforms that drive agility. n Security will be the next where all the data and total IT environment needs to be secure. n Help and reach revenue growth goals.

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TOP CIO IN MENA

‘IT’S A WAKE-UP CALL’ Roc Arquiza Escosio, Information Technology Manager of Al Faisaliah Hotel says that how fast you are able to implement a well-devised digitisation strategy is a key to get the bigger chunk of the business.

gy is a key to get the bigger chunk of the business. If you are looking for solutions in the market, the option is vast. Iot integrations, augmented reality, digital housekeeping, mobile concierge, just few of the things that are now essential in a hotel operation. Congratulations if you already have few of these or are in the pipeline. If not, then it’s a wakeup call. In the property I work for, we always aim to create lasting memories with each and every guest. This is why our digitization strategy focuses on how we can bring the customer experience to a whole different level. To be successful in providing bespoke experience, we need to be engaged with our guests in every aspect of their journey – before, during, and after their stay. Having the right tool, for the right purpose, at the right time will yield business growth and revenue.

ROC ARQUIZA ESCOSIO,

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGER, AL FAISALIAH HOTEL

How has digitization penetrated the hospitality sector of late? What is Al Faisaliah Hotel’s digitization strategy?

Over the recent years, I have witnessed how digital transformation changed the way hotel businesses operates – a total game changer.

The level of competition in the hospitality industry has never been so tough and having an effective and efficient implementation of digitization strategies can spell a lot of difference. In order to stay ahead of the game, digital transformation initiatives is not only a matter of how – but most importantly -- a matter of when. How fast you are able to implement a well-devised digitisation strate-

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Tell us about your role and responsibilities in the company.

I am currently the Head of the IT Department and my team manages the IT infrastructure, services and operations of 3 hotels, executive apartments and staff accommodations. I monitor my team’s performances and ensure adequate and efficient staffing at all times.

While having limited resources and manpower, I determine our team’s priorities to effectively schedule and plan utilization of necessary resources – thus to ensure completion of projects in accordance to defined specifications. Together with my team, we find ways to bridge the gap between technology and employees to ensure the best use of time and resources. Examples of our initiatives are providing IT-related trainings and information dissemination through email campaigns. To maintain currency on new technologies and platforms, continuous education is vital.

What plans do you have for the company and what are the new technologies that you have introduced?

I have always believed that communication is vital to any organization. You can have the best strategy and plan yet none of your colleagues ever heard about it. You need a tool in place to keep the engagement level among colleagues at a high level. To address this, we have recently launched a communication platform that has helped connect everyone within the company. This allowed real-time communication and information dissemination. In addition, Managed Print Service solution, eSignature and Digital Transaction Management solution, Digital housekeeping are in the pipeline.

n

Are you looking for any new project implementations? If yes, what do you expect from the vendors?

Big data analytics is one area that we would like to explore to help us harness the data that we have. We have plenty of systems in place but most of the data that we have are not fully utilized. If we can acquire the right tool that can help us analyse the data we already have, we might identify new opportunities that will yield better growth and revenue. Faster and better decision making through big data analytics is essential in the overall digital transformation journey. As I have mentioned earlier, it’s not only a matter of how, but also a matter of when. Speed can make a huge difference.

n

As an IT Manager, what are your top 3 priorities for the year 2019?

Protection against cybersecurity risk Support digital transformation n Adoption of data analytics – improve analytical capability to facilitate information-base decision-making. n n

TOP CIO IN MENA

STAYING CONNECTED WITH GUESTS

“As a Movenpick, we are the first hotel chain to implement Opera Cloud globally which has been led by corporate team.”

How has digitization penetrated the hospitality sector of late? What is Movenpick’s digitization strategy?

Digitization plays an important role in the hospitality sector, which helps the hotel industry to stay connected with the guests. It also helps the hotels to cater the guest needs without being asked.

Tell us about your role and responsibilities in the company.

JAFFER SADIQ,

DIRECTOR OF IT (KSA – EAST, MADINA REGION) AND BAHRAIN FOR MOVENPICK HOTELS AND RESORTS.

TOP 3 PRIORITIES FOR THE YEAR 2019?

CUSTOMER & INNOVATION

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PROFIT OPTIMIZATION

JUNE 2019

STAY IN BUSINESS

My Role is Director of IT (KSA – East, Madina Region) and Bahrain for Movenpick Hotels and Resorts. As the Director of IT, I overlook the hotel’s day to day IT operations, projects and customer services.

What plans do you have for the company and what are the new technologies that you have introduced?

As a Movenpick, we are the first hotel chain to implement Opera Cloud globally which has been led by corporate team. In Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, we had implemented 13 hotels which helps us to tightly integrate with the third-party system easily and effectively in order to drive the customer satisfaction and revenue.

I had introduced a system called MessageBox, an easy way to communicate with the departments using mobile app to cater the needs of the guests.

Are you looking for any new project implementations? If yes, what do you expect from the vendors?

All our projects are initiated from the corporate, however I would like to give some piece of advice to vendors. n Focus on what Hospitality industry needs from the guest’s point of view. n Make it simple and easy. n Make sure the solution drives the revenue.

TOP CIO IN MENA

FROM LEGACY TO LATEST

Mohammed Mudasar, IT Manager of ETA Facilities Management talks about his responsibility is to enable Digital Transformation for the FM division which is Cloud ready and to transition from legacy to latest technologies.

Tell us about ETA Facilities Management.

What are its key projects?

ETA Facilties Management is the FM division under the ETA Group of Companies. It caters to the needs of Facilities management for over 35 years. Its key projects include Hard & Soft Services for Government, semi government and private organisations as well.

Under the Facility Management umbrella, ETA Facilities Management comprises of the following service lines to offer comprehensive integrated FM services an solutions: TFM: Integrated solutions for facility management of commercial and residential properties.

Hard Services: Maintenance and operations of HVAC, Mechanical, Civil and Electrical Systems for residential and commercial buildings as well as industrial facilities.

Soft Services: Cleaning, Business Support Services, Pest Control, Landscaping, Height Solutions, Security Solutions and Waste Management.

Projects: Design, Installation of HVAC, MEP, Interior fit-out works, civil construction and refurbishment.

We have unique self-delivery capability, thereby providing efficient management and control.

Tell us about your role and responsibilities in the company.

I serve as an IT Manager for the company. My responsibility is to enable Digital Transformation for the division which is Cloud ready and to transition from legacy to latest technologies.

What plans do you have for the company and what are the new technologies that you have introduced?

Some of them the technologies introduced are WAF, Office 365 Suite, NG Firewalls, SIEM Solutions, RPA as well.

MOHAMMED MUDASAR,

IT MANAGER, ETA FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

Are you looking for any new project implementations? If yes, what do you expect from the vendors?

Yes, we are looking for Smart Time & Attendance Management Solutions and CAFM Solutions based on Internet of Things (IoT).

As an IT Manager, what are your top 3 priorities for the year 2019? n n n

Integrate IT & OT on a single Platform, CAFM Solutions BI Reports.

JUNE 2019   

THE TITANS

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TOP CIO IN MENA

IOT BENEFITS FOR EQUIPMENT VENDORS In the oil and gas industry, you see the most prominent change in business models among equipment vendors.

FAHAD DESHMUKH,

HEAD OF IT, GALFAR EMIRATES

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Equipment manufacturers embedding machinelearning technologies into equipment for condition-based maintenance to help customers extract maximum value and efficiency from their infrastructure are not a new phenomenon. But building entirely new business models onto these technologies is relatively new. These suppliers want to provide support services such as data monitoring that will help customers optimize equipment utilization and maintenance strategies, as well as provide data that can be used in the design phase of new products. With enhanced user data, the precision of design parameters can be improved significantly, thereby optimizing the product cost and value relationship. This marks a turning point in the business strategy of suppliers, as oil and gas companies have historically been hesitant to rely on equipment suppliers to run maintenance programs due to fear of vendor lock-in, which pushes up costs. While the fear of lock-in is still relevant, we also see the business benefits that not only improve the equipment vendor’s margin significantly, but also the benefit for the end user.

Asset owners increasingly see the benefit in gathering data from their installations to improve operations and look for ways to own both the data they generate and the technology that enables them to manage condition-based maintenance programs. Expect to see this understanding become practice as more oil and gas companies take steps to capture and learn from smart data to make their operations smarter and reduce costs.

The ones that manage to capture scale effects in this regard are particularly well positioned, so therefore expect the largest fleet owners to be the most aggressive in leading this development.

You may also see pooling of data becoming more widespread, even if this sharing of data may be controversial. In areas of health, safety, environment and quality (HSEQ), this may be less controversial— and may lead the way. Real-time monitoring, accurate reporting for compliance purposes, integration of Wi-Fi, and location-based technologies are examples of this trend.

11-12 DECEMBER, 2019 GCF TECH VILLAGE RIXOS BAB AL BAHR, RAS AL KHAIMAH

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UAE 11-12 DEC

INITIATIVE

HIS EXCELLENCY WESAM LOOTAH, CEO OF THE SMART DUBAI GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHMENT

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INITIATIVE

Smart Dubai

And DHA Save Lives with AI Smart Dubai has unveiled a new artificial intelligence (AI) use case in the healthcare sector as part of its AI Lab initiative, conducted in collaboration with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and IBM. The use case adds a milestone on Smart Dubai’s roadmap, which seeks to harness artificial intelligence to propose practical solutions, develop sophisticated services, and improve people’s lives. It is part of the AI Lab programme, which seeks to explore advanced technological solutions to improve quality of life in the emirate and accelerate smart transformation in the services sector.

The proof of concept (PoC) allows healthcare professionals to pre-emptively forecast a patient’s future condition, by tracking six vital signs, including blood pressure, temperature, and pulse, among others. Nurses feed this data into the highprecision AI system, which analyses them to predict how a patient’s situation will progress, take the necessary precautions, and potentially save many lives.

Thousands of patients across four hospitals – Rashid Hospital, Latifa Hospital, Dubai Hospital, and Hatta Hospital – were part of the PoC, where the system was trained to process these patients’ data. The procedure helps improve the efficiency of various medical practices, such as early detection, in addition to streamlining nursing and healthcare management.

His Excellency Wesam Lootah, CEO of the

Smart Dubai Government Establishment, emphasised the importance of artificial intelligence technology in providing effective tools to improve the lives of residents and visitors, providing safe and innovative experiences that improve performance across government entities, and ultimately transforming Dubai into the happiest and smartest city in the world.

“Today, in collaboration with our strategic partners in the government and private sectors, and as part of our AI Lab initiative, we are introducing a new and unique experience that could potentially save countless lives. The technology offers a comprehensive reading of patients’ health, providing healthcare professionals enough time to intervene in cases of emergency,” H.E. Lootah added. “This constitutes a notable and revolutionary addition to the healthcare sector, allowing for a more optimal use of resources. With this new experiment, the AI Lab moves further along its roadmap, paving the way for more AI-based experiments.”

For his part, Dr Younis Kazem, CEO of Dubai Healthcare Corporation at the DHA, said the smart transformations taking place at DHA facilities are a testimony to the Authority’s commitment to the directions of the UAE Government and Dubai’s goal of transforming itself into a smart city that provides quality services to its people.

Dr Kazem stressed that the health sector

has benefitted tremendously from the rapid developments in the adoption of technology and smart solutions witnessed across the world, adding that the Authority has made significant strides in acquiring the best technologies in AI and 3D printing to provide integrated healthcare services in all of its medical facilities.

The PoC revealed that deteriorating health conditions in patients can be detected anywhere from one hour to 20 hours beforehand with 90% to 98% accuracy. The pilot also demonstrated that the system is capable of determining the precise moment where a patient’s condition is likely to deteriorate after leaving the intensive care unit.

Furthermore, the trial revealed three main benefits the DHA and participating hospitals can look forward to, the first of which is an increased potential to save lives by means of a sophisticated system that draws on accurate data to preemptively determine critical cases and take the necessary precautions in time.

The second benefit pertains to better management of hospitals’ resources, particularly doctors and nurses, who will have more time to dedicate to caring for patients. And third, the system will enhance medical crews’ performance, providing them with the data they need to make sound decisions, and offering insight that would normally take years of experience in the medical sector to accumulate.

JUNE 2019

THE TITANS

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TOP CIO IN MENA

IMPLEMENTING COST EFFECTIVE IDEAS

As an IT Head for Gastronomica, Yedhu Vijayan has introduced new technologies in the company for which he expects timely support and cost-effective ideas from the vendors. To know more, read on…

Tell us about Gastronomica.

When was the company established? What are its key projects?

Gastronomica is a leading restaurant operator, dedicated to the development of original and upscale dining concepts on a global scale and is the leader of original dining concepts in the Middle East. The company currently has 9 unique popular dining concepts, created in-house from the ground up with operations currently in Kuwait, KSA, UAE, Oman, Qatar & Bahrain. Gastronomica parent company was established on 2004 with their first restaurant started in 2005.

Tell us about your role and responsibilities in the company.

As an IT Head, I handle every project related to the Information technology, and I am responsible for all the change management budgeting, Designing, Business analysing and Research and development.

What plans do you have for the company and what are the new technologies that you have introduced?

YEDHU VIJAYAN,

IT HEAD, GASTRONOMICA

TOP 3 PRIORITIES FOR THE YEAR 2019 INNOVATION

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SECURITY AND PRIVACY

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JUNE 2019

SMARTER DATA MANAGEMENT

The concept of centralisation in terms of End points and Firewalls were introduced to the company. ERP Centralisation and Backup solutions were introduced. Created different database for point of sales based system. SOPHOS, Oracle My Micros, ClickShare, Cisco Meraki are some of the new technologies which were introduced.

Are you looking for any new project implementations? If yes, what do you expect from the vendors?

There is a company portal, ITSM portal and NVR integration to cloud, Office 365 are the new upcoming projects. The initial layout is done for those. I expect timely support and cost effective ideas which I can implement from the vendors.

TOP CIO IN MENA

FOCUSED PRIORITIES

“The plans are to do more towards digital transformation and support the overall business strategy through IT and technology perspective. That will happen by mapping business processes in a better way through the ERP system to enhance and make the business operation smooth”

From a technology perspective, how has the year been for the manufacturing sector in Saudi Arabia? What kind of upward or downward trends you see?

From the technology point of view, most of the manufacturing firms started to digitally transform its business model to achieve better value and customer experience. Upward trends were towards using cloud technologies, IoT, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence. The downward trends were to leave the CAPEX and on premise investments towards investing in OPEX models.

Tell us about your role and responsibilities in NAFCEL. I work as a Head of IT department where I lead the IT projects, Digital Transformation and Technology Innovation. My key responsibilities are: n Heading the IT Department Including ERP System (SAP). n IT infrastructure & SAP projects Management. n IT Service Level Agreements and Contract Management. n Infrastructure & SAP Teams Management. n IT Department Budget Control. n IT projects Planning. n IT Security Management.

What plans do you have for the company and what are the new technologies that you have introduced?

MOHAMMAD HAMZA SHEIKH, IT HEAD, NAFCEL

TOP 3 PRIORITIES FOR THE YEAR 2019

SECURITY

26

AVAILABILITY

THE TITANS

JUNE 2019

PERFORMANCE

The plans are to do more towards digital transformation and support the overall business strategy through IT and technology perspective. That will happen by mapping business processes in a better way through the ERP system to enhance and make the business operation smooth. The new technologies that I have introduced to the company is having more layers of security from the physical layer towards the application layer in OSI model.

Additionally, I have invested in website to get more request for proposals online which is connected directly to sales team. Similarly, I have introduced barcode scanners to make warehouse process ease and fast.

Are you looking for any new project implementations? If yes, what do you expect from the vendors?

Currently we are working on upgrading most of the Operating systems and ERPs system to enhance the performance, reliability, and availability. We are working to have more virtual machines VMs instead of physical server.

Moro

INITIATIVE

ENOC AND MORO DRIVE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Moro will enable ENOC’s digital transformation journey by implementing an integrated technology platform powered by SAP, to achieve operational excellence and an exemplary customer journey.

H.E SAIF AL FALASI, GROUP CEO OF ENOC

ENGINEER MARWAN BIN HAIDAR,

VICE CHAIRMAN OF MORO

ENOC Group signed an agreement with Moro, the Dubai government owned digital data hub, focused on providing digital transformation and operational innovation, to lead the digitalization journey of ENOC’s operations.

The digital transformation will be driven through an organisation-wide SAP system implementation and infrastructure hosting services by Moro and powered by Virtus-

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tream Cloud Technology over the next five years. The programme will be delivered by a dedicated team of professionals from ENOC, Moro and specialised partners.

The partnership agreement was signed between H.E Saif Al Falasi, Group CEO of ENOC, and Engineer Marwan Bin Haidar, Vice Chairman of Moro, at ENOC’s headquarters in Dubai, in the presence of senior officials from both organisations.

The agreement builds on ENOC’s vision to generate new value, unlock new opportunities, drive growth and deliver enhanced efficiencies across the Group’s portfolio. This in turn will strengthen corporate governance standards and build autonomous systems that are completely integrated with the business ecosystem.

His Excellency Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group Chief Executive Officer of ENOC, said: “Digital technologies are fast-transforming the business landscape, and it is imperative that we reinvent our business models and operations to be future-ready. This enables us to create exceptional value for our customers and stakeholders. Our digital transformation strategy draws on the vision of our leadership to enhance service excellence and create organisations of the future. With this partnership, we are underlining our commitment to the pillars of the Dubai Plan 2021, the Dubai 10X initiative and the UAE National Agenda.”

Eng. Marwan Bin Haidar, Vice Chairman of Moro said: “With the fast-paced shifts driven by digital technologies in the world and especially the energy sector, it is important to look at organisational transformation with a digital core that connects all businesses and processes. Moro, one of the Dubai 10X enablers, is committed to partnering with UAE based and regional entities to empower them to be future-ready and digital-first.

ENOC, as the energy partner of Dubai, is embarking on an ambitious digitalization journey and in Moro, we are proud to actively support this mission and confident that it will add extraordinary value for its stakeholders.”

The SAP transformation at ENOC will improve business integration and efficiency helping meet the Group’s goals of building world-class competencies, delivering operational excellence and profitable growth, while enhancing the happiness of employees, customers and partners.

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Intel® Core™ i3-7020U processor, 4GB RAM, 1TB Hard Drive, 2GB AMD Radeon 520 Graphics, 15.6” HD Anti-Glare LED Backlit Display, Ubuntu Linux.

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MOBILE APPS: ENTHRALLING THE MODERN GUEST EXPERIENCE IN HOSPITALITY We built a highly available infrastructure for Aqaar to serve users and customers, where we utilized one of the most powerful global ERP systems to connect our company with customers with digitally transform a variety of services. All our services will be available at the customer’s fingertip very soon.

Many hotel operators are finding new ways to interact and communicate with customers, thanks to the ever-changing Mobile Apps industry. From the point of guest check-in to the hotel, online receival of digital key locks, ordering of in room dining and online payment; mobile apps are creating immense opportunities to gain enthralling guest experience.

MUHAMED NOUFEL,

IT MANAGER, ROYAL CONTINENTAL HOTEL DUBAI

“

With a more knowledgeable and empowered guest, the winner in the hospitality industry is the company that consistently offers an experience its customers will ever cherish.

“

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People possess immense mobile experience whether to do the airport boarding or calling an Uber taxi and expects that seamless experience will continue in hotel stay or choosing restaurants as well. Nearly, 40% of the mid-aged say that they are more interacted with smart devices than even relatives or friends. Any operator or hotel chains are wise enough to put a project to develop own mobile app to enhance more technology friendly services.

Smart Apps or devices are extending this lineup to include online check-In, submitting documents and obtaining digital room keys before stepping to the lobby. Guest will be amazed by receiving personalized welcome messages on display and Wi-Fi authentication keys in his smart phone. These smart services enhance the digitalized experience in ordering room service, making special housekeeping requests and loyalty programs. Guests can avoid the inconvenience of language and accent barriers as their special requests can be made with just a touch of a button on the smart app. From tray removal to room cleaning to extra towels, all these requests are available on the device.

Hence, operator can make sure that all our amenities or facilities are provided to guest reach.

Many Smart Apps are recognized for provid-

ing hotels with a cutting-edge technology that transforms each guest’s in-room experience from excellent to exceptional. By using a smart Guest Room Management Solutions, guests will never have to look for another light switch, curtain edge or thermostat control again. Each button is available in multiple languages, allowing your international guests the convenience of quickly and easily controlling every part of the room. It is enables them with various options like Television control, Movies on demand, Order food, Read newspaper and much more. Hence, the guests’ experience will remain memorable.

For operator level of use, the smart way of communication will make more productivity among the team. The charges for in-room dining request, extra amenities are then added directly to their hotel bill, which will score more conversion rate of those guest requests. The app also includes a survey function where guests can leave feedback about their experience, and if something went wrong, the property can react quickly before a review is posted online or on social media. Hotel operators can keep a link with the guest for promoting their new offers through the Mobile App, which remains with the guest even after they check-out.

Operators are continually trying to improve and elevate the experience for our customers, and can also learn who the customer is and understand them better because we collect data through the app. Those data will help to know the preference of guest in his next visit and creates a WOW!! factor around.

With a more knowledgeable and empowered guest, the winner in the hospitality industry is the company that consistently offers an experience its customers will ever cherish.

META I SEA I U S A

EID MUBARAK

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