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Blockchain and the cloud.
Some would argue that
streaming is a major area
of investment in technology
but I can say for sure it’s
AI. The ability to replace
the human brain with AI
is fascinating, considering
the AI potential and the
achievement this sector has
already achieved I think it’s
the major area of investment.
computing effecting the technology
industry heavily, especially the software
sector, researchers project that 96% of the
enterprise software companies are going to
adopt cognitive computing in their future
software development. It’s crucial now to
pursue cognitive computing – most of the
chatbots in websites are using part of the
cognitive computing. I think it’s the hottest
technology at the moment.
How do you deal with stress and
unwind outside the office?
The best way to unwind to relax is by taking
a short time off and travel. I love traveling
especially with my family this usually helps
me unwind work stress. While time-off
sometimes is not an option, I have managed
to deal with stress by putting my mind
and body to work. I love building models
specifically robot models and paint them, it’s
a hobby that makes me happy.
If you could go back and change one
career decision what would it be?
What are the region-
specific challenges when
implementing new technologies in
the Middle East?
Data governance and cybersecurity is one of
the top challenges in the Middle East, when
implementing any new technology we take
a huge consideration of the security aspect.
Software enterprise companies usually focus
on the security aspect while developing new
software but they won’t be bulletproof. On
one hand, talking about data governance
the challenge here is the more business
expands data grows and becomes complex
leading to a complex data governance.
What changes to your job role have
you seen in the last year and how do
you see these developing in the next
12 months?
Digital Transformation is changing every
aspect of the business. Technology now is
the driver of business, taking in consideration
technology is consistently changing and
“
ATTITUDE AND
COMMUNICATION
IS AS IMPORTANT
AS ANYTHING
ELSE.
shaping the business and it plays a big part
of my role. It’s forcing my role to adapt to
meet today’s demands and the new business
environment. I think the role is rapidly growing
in importance and I believe my role is now
more focused in contributing to corporate
strategy. Digital Transformation is giving my
role a big chance of becoming a CEO.
What advice would you offer
somebody aspiring to obtain C-level
position in your industry?
The CIO role is very essential. It requires
a huge number of skills, both in business
and technical, the C-level position requires
a mixture of leadership and management.
It requires dedication and persistence
too, but the most important thing here is
communication. Everything I mentioned
is highly important, but if you can't
communicate clearly and concisely, and with
passion, you will very much struggle, so my
advice is attitude and communication is as
important as anything else. n
Well a decision is usually made based on
information, I don’t recall a specific decision
to be honest, but with every decision I make
I learn a lot. I can see the positives in what I
learned from any decision I took, sometimes
if I could turn back the clock I would have
changed it. Maybe it wasn’t the best decision
but it was the best decision I could have
made with the information I had at the time.
What do you currently identify as
the major areas of investment in
your industry?
I guess the major areas of investment in
technology nowadays is confined to IoT, AI,
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