EDITOR ’ S QUESTION

ALAA BAWAB – GENERAL MANAGER , MEA , LENOVO

INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS

These technologies are being used by companies to collect data , generate value from the data , and use that to create new services and solutions for their customers . For businesses in the Middle East and Africa ( MEA ) that have not begun their Digital Transformation , the question is whether they can afford to be left behind ?

The greatest overall trend , which we expect to continue into 2022 and beyond is the increased pace of Digital Transformation , which means that companies need solutions that enable them to harness the power of their data and companies are also looking for different computing models , such as Edge Computing . With many organisations turning to hybrid cloud environments , with some applications in the cloud and some workloads on-premise , this creates demand for data infrastructure that has the flexibility to scale to meet their needs , to move workloads to the right platform , seamlessly integrate across platforms and to reduce the complexity of managing a diverse environment .

There are a number of factors that are driving the uptake of Digital Transformation and increasing the pace at which it is being rolled out . In the GCC for example , governments are taking the lead , promoting a ‘ digital first ’ approach and supporting the transformation of key sectors such as oil and gas .

We are also seeing sectors that traditionally were not big adopters of technology , such as heavy industry , using more and more digital technologies , and sectors like retail that have accelerated Digital Transformation due to the COVID pandemic which has created the need to move operations online . In terms of goals , Digital Transformation is as broad and diverse as the companies , industries and vertical sectors undertaking Digital Transformation , so each organisation will have its own aims , objectives and goals .

For the CIO , the focus should be giving strategic direction , building trust within the organisation and providing the means to achieve Digital Transformation . That said , transformation efforts need to be supported by resilient , cloud-enabled digital infrastructure and applications , rapid app development , digital platforms , data-driven and AI-enabled intelligence , and comprehensive security .

Organisations are also looking at Edge Computing to account for the fact that more and more data is created at the Edge of the network , outside of the traditional data centre and network perimeter , through connected devices , remote employees , IoT sensors and so on . Edge Computing gives the same abilities to use data as if it were in the data centre , such as applying analytics , automation of decisions and so on , while overcoming the bandwidth and latency issues that can arise with traditional models .

Aside from the many benefits that Digital Transformation offers and can bring to an organisation , it takes forwardthinking leaders to let the data guide their decisions , to build a data-led ecosystem for their company , and to develop data literacy skills across their employeebase . We believe at Lenovo that it ’ s time for businesses to become ‘ data-centered ’ and to capitalise on the growing data economy . In this new economy all businesses are data businesses , and every employee works in a data ecosystem . A data strategy , focusing on skills , literacy and analysis therefore needs to be put at the heart of your organisation to reap the value of Digital Transformation and other transformative technologies while protecting what really drives competitive advantage – your people .

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