Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 58 | Page 37

FEATURE : STATE OF THE CIO application of video and sensor technology and the business outcomes they deliver .
Beernink said businesses and public institutions are actively planning for and expecting new technologies to be deployed with video analytics solutions , to enable a wider set of advanced use cases to be delivered . “ These new use cases can help enterprises deliver new digital experiences , generate digital revenues or drive greater operational efficiencies and ultimately remain competitive in the new digital economy ,” he said .
Jamal AlMahamid , CEO , Palmira Software House , said : “ We truly believe in innovation and we invest in innovation . This is the high return investment that allows us to differentiate our organisation and enable us to help CIOs across the region to achieve their goals faster .”
With organisations shift to remote work has proved that security doesn ’ t need to happen in the office . To adopt this consolidated view of security , CIOs will need to take the lead in facilitating co-operation both inside and outside the organisation . For instance , CIOs will need to help the IT department to think about the solution and threats more holistically . They will also need to work with IT to elicit more knowledge and collaboration from suppliers and competitors .
“ The key difference now is that the advancement of the work-from-home model has shown that it is possible for security specialists to perform some or all their work remotely ,” explained Sherif Fouad , CIO , Arab African International Bank . “ Lockdown was , in essence , its proof-of-concept .”
AlMahamid added : “ We achieve this by investing in our people and developing new cutting-edge products to fill the gap in the market . We currently have 12 add-ons for Software AG products . We will focus on the roadmap of further enhancing our products with new features and capabilities . We are also planning to expand in the region to open new market like Saudi Arabia and Oman .”
Looking ahead , Rao said the traditional way the IT teams are structured is no longer relevant when it comes to Digital Transformation and how companies are moving forward . “ New methodologies such as Agile and DevOpswill become more important going forward and this will need a change in mindset and cultural overall , and needs to be driven from top-down by the CIO ,” he said . p
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