Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 53 | Page 50

COUNTRY FOCUS: KSA ourselves as a leading technology provider to the largest and most prestigious organisations in the Kingdom.” KAUST is also looking to advance its hybrid cloud strategy to take advantage of the scalability, flexibility and cost-effectiveness that this paradigm offers. “Our partnership with Riverbed strongly aligns with this vision as their solutions address the potential complexity of the hybrid cloud and provide a clear path to cloud success,” concludes Serajuddin. • Riverbed has partnered with KAUST Saudi IT leaders believe increasing visibility into network performance will drive business innovation Over 93% of C-suite, business and IT decision makers in KSA state that digital performance is critical to business growth, according to Riverbed’s latest research report. Riverbed has announced the results of a survey which found that over 80% of leaders in Saudi Arabia believe business innovation and staff retention are driven by improved visibility into network and application performance. The survey findings unveiled in the Rethink Possible: Visibility and Network Performance – The Pillars of Business Success report cites a positive correlation between effective technology and company health, a finding that is supported by the fact that 93% of C-suite and IT decision makers (ITDMs), and of business decision makers (BDMs) in the Kingdom, reveal that digital performance is increasingly critical to business growth. Slow running systems and a lack of visibility A little over half (56%) of Saudi respondents have felt frustrated by current network performance, with IT infrastructure being given as the key reason for the poor performance. This problem is exacerbated by a lack of full and consistent visibility, as one in three Saudi ITDMs report that they do not have full visibility over applications, their networks and/or end-users. Furthermore, a staggering 95% of C-suite and BDMs in the country believe that slow running and outdated technology is directly impacting the growth of their businesses. This highlights the importance of implementing new technology to drive productivity, creativity and innovation. Business priorities and challenges Business priorities and challenges are evolving, so the technology they rely on needs to advance too. The large majority (85%) of Saudi Arabia’s ITDMs acknowledge that their IT infrastructure will have to change dramatically in the next five years to support new ways of doing business. A further 95% of all respondents in the Kingdom recognise that innovation and breaking boundaries is crucial to business success, emphasising the need to embrace new technology. This may be why 69% of Saudi respondents strongly believe that investing in next-generation technology is vital. Mena Migally, Senior Director, MENA at Riverbed Technology, said: “All leaders recognise that visibility, optimised network infrastructure, and the ability to accelerate cloud and SaaS performance are the next frontier in business success. Given this, it’s time the C-suite, business decision leaders and IT decision makers come together to invest in the right solutions, prioritise measurement, and place visibility and infrastructure at the top of their agenda.” “At Riverbed, we are helping businesses evolve their capabilities, whether it’s by monitoring networks and the apps that run on them, application performance, or updating the network infrastructure that underpins their digital services. We fundamentally believe this is the key to supporting our customers’ staff and their ambitions, driving innovation, creativity and helping them rethink what’s possible.” Rethink possible: Evolving the digital experience With over 93% of all business and IT leaders in KSA agreeing that organisations must rethink what’s possible to survive in today’s unpredictable world, technology needs to be an enabler in the process. Riverbed’s portfolio of next-generation solutions is giving customers across the globe the visibility, acceleration, optimisation and connectivity that maximises performance and visibility for networks and applications. • Mena Migally, Senior Director, MENA at Riverbed Technology 50 INTELLIGENTCIO www.intelligentcio.com