Shumon Zaman, Group Chief Information and Digital Officer

For Ali & Sons, digital transformation begins with business strategy, not technology. Shumon Zaman, Group Chief

Information and Digital Officer, explains how the diversified UAE group is modernising its technology foundations, embracing cloud and AI and building the digital capabilities required to support its next phase of growth.

Ali & Sons operates across a diverse range of sectors, from automotive and real estate to retail and other businesses. How do you approach digital transformation at a Group level while addressing the unique requirements of each business?

As a diversified group, we operate across four to five different sectors. The Board sets the strategy for where we want to be and how much we want to grow over the next five years.

From there, I take my direction in terms of what technology needs to support that growth. What kind of people do we need to hire to support it? Does it mean expanding outside the UAE? Are we introducing new support services or products that we don’ t have today?

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