EDITOR ’ S QUESTION

AZZ-EDDINE MANSOURI , GENERAL MANAGER , SALES ,

CIENA MIDDLE EAST

For CIOs to successfully aid their businesses , they need to look at disruptive technology in relation to its counterparts . For instance , cloud computing and storage enable collaboration , but can also aid in generating better insights about consumers and processes through the utilisation of Artificial Intelligence . Usually , technology is closely linked to one another , and CIOs can stay ahead of the curve if they think of the ecosystem as a whole rather than individual technological elements . expecting to reach a market of US $ 11.6 billion by 2025 , according to IDC .

In 2022 , a common challenge posed to all CIOs is the ability to meet consumer demands by investing in new infrastructure for efficient functioning while maintaining a similar cost structure . This calls for them to work closely with their partners , especially network providers , to understand the array of solutions that can be catered to their evolving needs . In the region , most providers have displayed efforts to prepare their domain to adapt to the consumer demands , such as boosting internet speed and transferring traffic from wired to wireless networks where data is utilised extensively .

For example , in the Middle East , we have seen governments at the forefront of embracing disruptive and emerging technologies and this has its own advantages . Becoming an early adopter of technology involves the government having a proactive interest in setting up policies and laws in place to support legitimate incoming technology . Dubai ’ s technological infrastructure and regulatory environment has been a beacon to several web 3.0 companies , which further invites their complementary counterparts to the region to support smooth functioning .

We live in a world that ’ s increasingly digital . From virtual meetings to the massive amounts of data we consume in our daily life , it all boils down to one common denominator – a reliable network infrastructure . The journey to adopting new technology should start by seeing if the current infrastructure is able to handle massive capacities of data and respond to unpredictable bandwidth demands .

For example , majority of the metaverses are built on the cloud and the UAE , KSA and South Africa are considered to be in the top three countries in the MEA region when it comes to growth of the public cloud services , with the Middle East and Africa as a whole

CIOs can stay ahead of the curve if they think of the ecosystem as a whole rather than individual technological elements .

28 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com