Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 74 | Page 47

FEATURE : DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Azz-Eddine Mansouri , General Manager , Sales , Ciena Middle East , said the Middle East , UAE in particular , has been ahead of the curve in accepting disruptive technology . Dubai ’ s recent announcement of its Metaverse strategy by Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan has positioned the city as a leader in offering an advanced platform for the metaverse ecosystem to thrive .
Currently , the metaverse contributes US $ 500 million to the UAE ’ s economy and is expected to nurture 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030 .
Walid Issa , Senior Manager , Solutions Engineering , Middle East and Africa , NetApp
Mansouri said given the scale and the rapid pace of the upcoming changes , the IT sector needs to evaluate its current network infrastructure and question its capability to deal with the new demands ; for everything to be “ dynamic ” and “ faster ”.
“ Ciena ’ s metaverse report , which was released at the end of September , dives deeper into how the metaverse impacts the region .
“ From economical perspective , the adoption of these disruptive technology can drive economic development by creating opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs to innovate and grow . By becoming early adopters of disruptive technology , governments in the region can position themselves as leaders in the adoption of innovative technology , improving their global competitiveness and positioning the region as a hub for technology innovation .
“ 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 eco-system as a whole rather than individual technological elements ,” he said .
The Middle East and Africa has seen governments at the forefront of embracing disruptive and emerging technologies and this has created advantages for technology players in the market when governments in the region are taking the lead in becoming early adopters of technology .
Walid Issa , Senior Manager , Solutions Engineering , Middle East and Africa , NetApp , said : “ They [ governments ] bring several advantages to the market that will help them to meet the needs of their citizens and support the overall development of the region by providing better data management and cloud adoption . In addition , they will help increase IT modernisation , drive Digital Transformation and modernise their IT infrastructure , enabling them to take full advantage of emerging technologies .”
Issa said another important advantage is enhanced cybersecurity , data protection and Disaster Recovery capabilities , helping these governments to secure critical information and maintain their IT systems in the face of cyber threats .
Nasri Nassereddine , Regional Sales Director , Software AG , Gulf and Levant , said : “ With over 20 years ’ experience , I ’ ve interacted with numerous of CIOs , and while first impressions do matter , there are only a few who have left a lasting impact through their unparalleled vision and undeniable competencies . I ’ ve been part of an era where the roles and competencies
of CIOs have changed drastically – from being a conventional CIO as the guardian of information technology / legacy systems . The CIO now is a strategic business advisor responsible for Digital Transformation , digital customer experiences , business advancements and more . Therefore , some competencies for CIOs to imbibe are : agility and adaptability , wider outlook , and communication and collaboration .
“ Last but not the least , we are people working with other people , exchanging ideas and varied opinions .

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