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ISSUE 37 // www.intelligentcio.com
Global
Cooling Partner
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Data Security Partner
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Education Partner
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Supporting Partner
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Manufacturing Partner
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Cabling Partner
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POE Partner
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Partner
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Accountancy Partner
Intelligent
Phishing Partner
CIO
priorities
What issues should
CIOs be aware of
in 2019?
Road to
success
How Digital
Transformation is
changing KSA
Unprecedented
opportunity
5G opens up
new possibilities
for CSPs
Speedy connectivity
Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company deploys fast wireless
upgrade to meet increasing expectations of visitors to major venues.
IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS | LATEST INTELLIGENCE | REGIONAL IMPLEMENTATIONS
EDITOR’S NOTE
W
elcome to the latest edition of
Intelligent CIO magazine which
sees the new year shortly upon
us. Appropriately, we have an in-depth look
at what a CIO’s priorities should be for 2019.
Unsurprisingly, there are a plethora of issues
they need to be aware of to ensure that
2019 is a ‘happy new year’ rather than a
hapless one! He talks to us about how the cloud
landscape in KSA has made significant
progress in the country.
On page 44 we speak to three industry
experts who give us their opinions as to what
the new year will hold, including some advice
about avoiding potential pitfalls. “We at SAP have realised that and we have
made considerable investment within KSA,
north of 285 million Saudi Riyal over four
years investment, in order to establish, create
and operate our own local cloud data centre
in KSA that was based on statistics around
the potential of the cloud.”
It’s no surprise to discover that concerns
about cybersecurity are the most worrying
aspect of entering 2019. However, it’s
particularly interesting to note that Derek
Manky, Chief, Security Insights and Global
Threat Alliances at Fortinet, believes that
defensive strategies will force cybercriminals
to change tactics, modify attacks and
develop new ways to assess opportunities.
“The cost of launching their attacks will
escalate, requiring criminal developers to
either spend more resources for the same
result, or find a more accessible network to
exploit,” he says.
On page 52 we speak to Khaled Alsaleh,
Managing Director, SAP KSA, about how
the country is making rapid strides to Digital
Transformation. We discuss the importance of
cloud, SAP’s investment in a local data centre
in KSA, and the futuristic Smart City of NEOM.
www.intelligentcio.com
“When we look at the cloud landscape in
KSA it’s clearly the future and the present
at the same time and has been in transition
from the usual tradition and way of doing
business,” he tells us.
age in terms of digitalisation with 5G. “We
see a lot of movement, a lot of interest
on 5G and potential use cases,” he says.
“I would say that the Middle East itself is
ranking very well and is on the forefront of
the industry.”
Please to page 83 to see what else he has
to say.
We have also all the usual features and news
from around the Middle East. Enjoy the read!
On our mobile pages we publish an exclusive
interview with Henrique Vale, Head of
Nokia Software for MEA at Nokia. In a wide
ranging interview he tells us that Customer
Service Providers (CSPs) are living in an age
of unprecedented opportunity due to the
advent of 5G.
“There is a new shift in the industry
especially for CSPs,” he says. “With the
advent of 5G digitisation there is potential
for new services and new functionalities for
end customers, enterprises and CSPs. Indeed,
we are in a good time and we will see a lot of
change coming in the industry with a lot of
benefits to operators and end users.”
Mark Bowen
Editor
He adds that most CSPs in the Middle East
are busily preparing themselves for the new
INTELLIGENTCIO
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