8:00
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Registration & Networking
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8:30
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Opening Act: Art of Music
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8:35
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IDC Welcome Address
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Jyoti Lalchandani
Group Vice President & Regional Managing Director (META), IDC
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8:45
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IDC Opening Keynote: Strategies for the CIO and Enterprise Innovation
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Join IDC's president, Crawford Del Prete, as he outlines what CIOs need to do now — and in the future — to create an environment for long-term sustainable innovation. This fast-paced keynote will highlight research on building a culture of trust, examine the move toward industry ecosystem innovation, and highlight the impact of decentralization. It will also explain why line-of-business investment is a springboard and not an end state.
Crawford Del Prete
President, IDC Worldwide
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9:15
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Harnessing Data and AI for Growth
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The world today is a more complex place: we are all asked to be more efficient and generally do more with less. This session presents key learnings on the evolution of AI and highlights its impact and use cases across different industries. The session further looks at how technology experts can harness the latest innovations to help their organizations thrive.
Naim Yazbeck
General Manager, Microsoft UAE
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9:35
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Dealing with Economic Uncertainty in the Digital Age
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Adrian Pickering
Regional General Manager MENA, Red Hat
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9:55
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The Digital Journey: Digital Agility, Transformation, and Digital Re-Invention
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Samer Kandalaft
Executive Vice President, QuanTech (Part of MDS System Integration)
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10:10
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Special Address
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Amna Al Saleh
Head of Technology Development, Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT)
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10:30
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Tea/Coffee & Networking Break
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11:00
12:10
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Summit Partner Tracks (Parallel Sessions)
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Summit Track A: Strategies for Developing a Digitally Resilient Organization
11:00 - 11:05
Opening Act: Arabian Rhapsody
Ransomware and malware are tier 1 concerns of business and IT management alike, making cyber-resiliency an imperative for every organization. This session will examine the key elements of cyber-resiliency, outline best practices for assured recovery, and discuss the critical role that AI and other technologies can play in staying ahead of the cybercriminals and avoiding the consequences of cyberattacks.
Jason Roos
Chief Information Officer, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KSA)
11:07 - 11:10
Start of Session Raffle: Samsung Watch Courtesy of HCL Tech
11:10 - 11:25
Unified Observability for Digitally Agile & Resilient Organization
Charbel Khneisser
Vice President, Solutions Engineering, EMEA, Riverbed Technology
11:25 - 11:30
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win Raffle Prizes
11:30 - 11:45
Achieving Speed and Control
We all know that speed is critical in the digital world – organizations need to respond quickly to avoid disruption or even initiate their own disruption. They need to quickly get new innovations to market, rapidly realize value from their technology investments, and make fast decisions on what emerging technologies to adopt. Organizations must also establish controls, set up governance processes, comply with regulations, implement risk reduction mechanisms, avoid security threats, and answer to their owners and the public. But how can speed and control be achieved at the same time? In many organizations whose digital transformations are stuck or are proceeding more slowly than expected, the root cause of the problem is often a tension between the need to move fast and the need to maintain control. This session will demonstrate that these goals do not really conflict and explore how to use speed to gain even better control.
Mark Schwartz
Enterprise Strategist and Evangelist, AWS
11:45 - 11:50
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win Raffle Prizes
11:50 - 12:05
Enhancing the Transformation Cloud Experiences
Alessio Bagnaresi
Director, AI & Advanced Analytics Practice, Google Cloud
12:05 - 12:10
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win Raffle Prizes
Summit Track B: Envisioning the Future Intelligent Enterprise
11:00 - 11:05
Opening Act: Arabian Rhapsody
One of the primary goals of digital transformation is to create an intelligent enterprise that focuses more on creating business insights than collecting massive amounts of information. The benefits of an intelligent enterprise (IE) are clear: more visibility into the data, faster response to changes in the market and customer demands, and a sharper focus on higher-value objectives. Establishing an IE, however, not only requires a more intelligent and intuitive architectural framework, but also a structural change in the way processes are conducted and how people engage with one another both inside and outside the organization.
Mai B AlOwaish
Chief Data & Innovation Officer, Gulf Bank (Kuwait)
11:07 - 11:10
Start of Session Raffle: Samsung Watch Courtesy of HCL Tech
11:10 - 11:25
The Data-Driven Enterprise: Going from Vision to Value
While 99% of the world's leading companies are investing in data, only 24% have been successful in creating a data-driven organization. This session will outline the key challenges hindering companies from becoming data-driven organizations and chart a path toward such a transformation.
Ali El Kontar
CEO, Zero&One
11:25 - 11:30
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win Raffle Prizes
11:30 - 11:45
How Can Intelligent Automation Be the Driving Force in the Current Digital Economy?
Today’s leaders have one of the best allies to help them solve all kinds of challenges, from making their businesses profitable to assisting customers in overcoming their challenges and keeping the employees happy at work. Intelligent automation is the partner that can support them on their digital transformation journey. But what does this technology have to offer? Intelligent automation (IA) is a combination of robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) that empowers rapid end-to-end business process automations. This means working smarter, faster, and more efficiently while increasing workforce productivity and satisfaction for your clients.
Ashraf El Zarka
Vice President, Regional Managing Director MEA & Pakistan, UiPath
11:45 - 11:50
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win Raffle Prizes
11:50 - 12:05
Don't Just Be Cloud First, Be Cloud Smart
Ravi Tank
Senior Vice President, Cloud4C
12:05 - 12:10
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win Raffle Prizes
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12:10
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Tea/Coffee & Networking Break
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12:30
12:40
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Transformation Zones (Parallel Sessions)
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12:30 - 12:40
Evolving Beyond Industry 4.0: Leveraging AI, Digital Transformation, and Emerging Technologies
Via Industry 4.0
Leading organizations have benefited from sustainable revenue growth, productivity improvements, process optimization, and new value-added services. A strategic approach to Industry 4.0, underpinned by practical initiatives, provides businesses with a road map to the smart factory and the connected, collaborative enterprise. Industry 4.0 is a digital reality that may alter the rules of production, operations, and workforces — even society. This session will look at how Industry 4.0 has allowed organizations to connect their customers, supply chain networks, employees, and plant and equipment to drive predictable revenues. The session will further examine what is coming next in this evolving domain.
Pranish Kushare
Senior Principal Business Solutions Consultant, Infor
12:30 - 12:40
Securely Support the Hybrid Workforce with Simple and Powerful Cloud PC Solutions
Given the recent announcement of the Windows Cloud PC within the Microsoft UAE datacenter, this presentation will provide an overview on how to securely stream the Windows experience — including personalized apps, content, and settings — from the cloud to any device. It will detail how to combine the power and security of the cloud with the versatility and simplicity of the PC. From contractors and interns to software developers and industrial designers, participants will learn how to stream Windows, pick up from where they left off on any device, and experience new opportunities for work and collaboration.
Mina Nagy
Regional Go-To-Market Director, Microsoft
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12:40
14:15
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Platinum Partner Tracks (Parallel Sessions)
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Platinum Partner Session-Track A: Shaping CISO Strategies for the Digital-First Organization
12:40 - 12:45
Opening Act: Four Elements of Nature
In today's age of asymmetric cyberwarfare, cybersecurity criminals have the advantage of being able to initiate their threats based on carefully laid out plans, while organizations must play defense. This happens every day across every industry, with CISOs coming under mounting pressure to detect and mitigate these attacks. This session will explore the ways in which CISOs can work with the wider CXO leadership team and board of directors to combat cyberthreats and keep their organizations safe.
Deepa Ahuja
Senior Conference Director, IDC
12:47 - 12:50
Start of Session Raffle-Apple AirPods - Courtesy of Symphony Summit
12:50 - 13:05
Enabling Cyber Resilience and Keep pace with rapid digitalization
New convergences will shape the digital world in 2023 and beyond, and the order of magnitude of the upcoming transformation will be unprecedented. In this context, enterprises needing to elevate their game are looking for guidance from all kinds of service providers, from connectivity providers to strategic advisors. What are the observed trends and successful strategies that top executives are talking about in this new order? This presentation gathers the strategic considerations and teachings from recent interactions with top cyber executives across the EMEA theater.
Alain Sanchez
EMEA CISO, Fortinet
13:05 - 13:10
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win MontBlanc Gifts
13:10 - 13:25
Mitigating Cyber Risks in the Middle East: Addressing the Impact of Geopolitical Tensions and Regulatory Requirements
The Middle East faces unprecedented cyberthreats, with geopolitical tensions and global economic instability exacerbating the risks. While governments are accelerating the legislative process to modernize relevant laws and regulations, organizations need help modernizing their information security programs. Organizations must take a proactive approach to cybersecurity to protect their critical infrastructure, sensitive information, and brand reputation. This presentation will explore the top cybersecurity challenges facing organizations globally, zoom into specific challenges in the Middle East, and provide a comprehensive strategy for mitigating these risks that will allow organizations to mature their information security programs and, with that, become cyber-resilient.
Milad Aslaner
Head of Technology Advisory Group, SentinelOne
13:25 - 13:30
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win Airpods-Courtesy of Sentinel One
13:30 - 13:45
Protect, Connect, and Deploy Extraordinary Digital Experiences in Any Cloud
Organizations are leveraging the cloud in all its forms to drive agility, innovation, and better user experiences. However, distributing and interconnecting both traditional and modern applications can create additional layers of security complexity. This session will discuss the challenge of balancing developer speed with the need to secure new digital experiences at scale.
Gordon Orr
Senior Director, Software Sales EMEA, F5
13:45 - 13:50
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win MontBlanc Gifts
13:50 - 14:05
Multifactor Authentication Is Not Enough
As threat actors become more sophisticated, the ability of multifactor authentication to provide adequate protection is becoming increasingly diminished. Join us as we examine how threat actors are completely circumventing what was once considered a security blanket for most security infrastructure.
Nour Fateen
Director, Sales Engineering, Recorded Future
14:05 - 14:10
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win MontBlanc Gifts
14:10 - 14:15
End of Session Raffle - Lionel Messi Signed Football Jersey
Platinum Partner Session-Track B: Data and Platform-Led Strategies for Realizing Digital Outcomes
12:40 - 12:45
Opening Act: Four Elements of Nature
Organizations continue to produce or collect a staggering amount of data, much of which will never actually be used to drive business processes or decision making. The reason is simple: most data is not organized and labeled as it is created. It simply joins an ever-increasing pile. This is especially true with unstructured data. But the more data an organization amasses, the more at risk all that data becomes. From ensuring regulatory compliance to effectively managing data waste, organizations need to stay on top of the tools and strategies that allow them to optimally utilize the staggering amount of data at their disposal and deliver digitally driven growth.
Ronita Bhattacharjee
Vice President Conferences (META), IDC
12:47 - 12:50
Start of Session Raffle-Apple Airpods-Courtesy of Symphony Summit
12:50 - 13:05
Accelerate Your ESG Compliance and Reporting with the Data Cloud
With the COP28 event just around the corner, ESG is a top priority for all companies across the UAE and the wider Middle East. This session will reveal how the Snowflake Data Cloud can help ESG compliance and reporting become easy and streamlined.
Mohamed Zouari
General Manager, Snowflake
13:05 - 13:10
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win Montblanc Gifts
13:10 - 13:25
Enterprise Data as a Service: The Paradigm Shift Toward Distributed Logical Architectures
Decentralized data organizations — in which several divisions are partly or entirely in charge of releasing their own data for analytics — have received a lot of attention in recent years. This presentation will discuss critical design principles and best practices for implementing different decentralized architectures, including the logical data fabric and data mesh powered by virtualization.
Dr. Alexey Sidorov
Chief Data Evangelist MEA, Denodo
13:25 - 13:30
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win MontBlanc Gifts
13:30 - 13:45
Streamline and Govern Cloud Services Consumption in the Era of Hybrid Multicloud
Today, “more cloud” is clearly the best answer to many IT questions. However, staff can be overwhelmed the complexity of modern enterprise-scale IT. With all the complexity, there is also a need to streamline and strengthen the consumption and governance aspects of a hybrid IT ecosystem and ensure the cloud – one of the largest outlays of IT expenditure – is being used in the most optimal and cost-effective way.
Georges Farah
Manager of Sales Engineering MEA, Micro Focus
13:45 - 13:50
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win MontBlanc Gifts
13:50 - 14:05
The Connected Enterprise
More and more companies are striving to transform information and interactions to ensure that customers, partners, and employees can instantly connect to what they want. On the road to reaching this digital transformation goal, business and technology leaders will face many challenges. Integrating cloud solutions with existing infrastructures is one formidable challenge facing most organizations, especially when key business applications are complex or spread across disparate systems. This session will specifically address this challenge, sharing examples of companies that have overcome this obstacle and flourished as a result.
Mike Kiersey
Director, Sales Engineering EMEA, Boomi
14:05 - 14:10
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win MontBlanc Gifts
14:10 - 14:15
End of Session Raffle - Lionel Messi Signed Football Jersey
Platinum Partner Session-Track C: Digital Trust, Identity, and Security Strategies for the Digital-First Organization
12:40 - 12:45
Opening Act: Four Elements of Nature
Although digital transformation reduces costs and increases efficiency for organizations, the increasing number of data and IT systems also means they are facing a more complex distributed IT environment, and end users are in urgent need of new security systems and methods to protect their network security. All of this calls for the deployment of zero trust models that have software-defined perimeters, micro segmentation, and identity and access management (IAM) at their core. At present, countries all over the world are actively exploring and developing zero trust models, and this session will show how the underlying technologies can help drive authentication, enable unified identity management and secure access, and open up new ideas for network security construction and development.
Yash Pal Dogra
Associate Conference Director, IDC
12:47 - 12:50
Start of Session Raffle-Apple Airpods-Courtesy of Symphony Summit
12:50 - 13:05
Leveraging eSignatures for Enterprise-Wide Digital Transformation
As the world moves more Digital by the day, identity-backed signatures and compliant workflow applications can truly help large organizations achieve their Digital vision while enabling strong Customer Experience, internal efficiency, and ESG goals. The presentation will touch upon the fundamentals of eSignatures & the compliance framework within the Middle East. Most importantly, it will provide insight to the attendees on how eSignature implementations can be conceptualized to achieve Enterprise-wide Digital Transformation in large organizations to provide the most optimal Return on Investment.
Arvind Srinivasan
SVP – Global Markets & Strategy, eMudhra
13:05 - 13:10
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win Apple Watch-Courtesy of eMudhra
13:10 - 13:25
Creating a Digital Brain for Your Organization
Organizations are becoming more and more digital, even if finance or manufacturing is their core business. However, IT does not fully align to business strategies, and numerous business opportunities are lost due to this disconnect. How can you create a digital brain for your organization that makes it easier to use data to predict business outcomes? Is it by just implementing AI, or does it take more? This session will explore why and how organizations can build a digital brain to deliver benefits to customers. It will highlight the steps to building a digital brain and showcase how IT can be used as an enabler for the future.
Jessica Constantinidis
Field Innovation Officer EMEA – Strategy Office, ServiceNow
13:25 - 13:30
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win MontBlanc Gifts
13:30 - 13:45
Disrupting the Economics of Cybercrime with Modern Defense
According to IDC, 71% of CIOs in the UAE are looking to scale up and enhance customer experiences on mobile and online platforms and eliminate as much friction as possible. As digital attacks on supply chains and customer accounts become more prevalent and sophisticated, their impact on both businesses and customers increases. In 2022, the cost of cybercrime doubled to $6 trillion globally. In this context, now is the time to discover the power of "modern defense." This session explores how your business can use modern defense to eliminate customer friction and drastically disrupt the economics of cybercrime in your favor.
Mark Phillips
VP Solution Architecture, EMEA & APAC, Human Security
13:45 - 13:50
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win Nintendo Switch OLED Console - Courtesy of Human Security
13:50 - 14:05
Looking Backward to Predict the Future Threat Landscape: Cyberattacks Already Kicking Off in 2023
Attackers have not taken any break, with 2023 already being a strong year for threats. As noted during the World Economic Forum in Davos, there is a real "cyberstorm" affecting the automotive industry, industrial networks, open-source software, and the world of education. Nobody is being left behind. Since the beginning of January, the number of attacks has remained elevated. Ransomware groups such as Vice Society — which mainly targets educational institutions — are now "ultra-specialized." However, they still rely on legacy vulnerabilities to compromise their targets.
Ahmad Jaber
Principle Security Consultant (MENA), Tenable
14:05 - 14:10
Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win Wireless Marshall Headphones- Courtesy of Tenable
14:10 - 14:15
End of Session Raffle - Lionel Messi Signed Football Jersey
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14:15
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Lunch & Networking
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14:40
14:50
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Transformation Zones (Parallel Sessions)
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14:40 - 14:50
Evolving Beyond Industry 4.0: Leveraging AI, Digital Transformation, and Emerging Technologies
Via Industry 4.0
Leading organizations have benefited from sustainable revenue growth, productivity improvements, process optimization, and new value-added services. A strategic approach to Industry 4.0, underpinned by practical initiatives, provides businesses with a road map to the smart factory and the connected, collaborative enterprise. Industry 4.0 is a digital reality that may alter the rules of production, operations, and workforces — even society. This session will look at how Industry 4.0 has allowed organizations to connect their customers, supply chain networks, employees, and plant and equipment to drive predictable revenues. The session will further examine what is coming next in this evolving domain.
Pranish Kushare
Senior Principal Business Solutions Consultant, Infor
14:40 - 14:50
Sustainability: A Journey Worth Taking
With COP28 on the UAE horizon, sustainability will most likely be top of mind for business leaders and their companies. This session will explore the factors that are driving the global sustainability agenda and explain how choosing the right partner for your organization can help accelerate it beyond mere sustainability pledges.
Aysar Yousef
Azure Data & AI Lead, Financial Services & Aviation, Microsoft
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14:50
15:35
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For The CIO - By The CIO Tracks (Parallel Sessions)
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Track A: Talent Development & The Demand For New Skills: How Do You Structure Your Team Optimally
14:50 - 15:35
Talent Development & The Demand For New Skills: How Do You Structure Your Team Optimally
As the world of work continues to evolve and organizations shift to hybrid work models, new challenges and opportunities present themselves. How can technology leaders leverage these shifts to enhance online and virtual experiences and strengthen competitiveness by developing people, talent, and skills? This panel session will examine how the technology talent market has changed and compelled organizations to leverage innovative work models. It will highlight the latest trends in hiring and managing talent amid the move toward hybrid work policies. In addition, panelists will discuss how organizations can change themselves and their team structures to leverage the current situation and enhance productivity. The session will conclude by highlighting how organizations can address the shortage of skilled technology professionals, given that the shift to distributed workforces has enabled them to retain global talent.
Taha Tkito
CIO, Americana Foods (UAE)
Thuraya Al-Harthi
Acting Director for the Government Digital Services Unified Portal, Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technology (MTCIT) (Oman)
Lieutenant Colonel Hamad Khalifa Al Nuaimi
Head of Telecommunications Division, Abu Dhabi Police (UAE)
Jason Roos
Chief Information Officer, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KSA)
Dr. Ammar H. Alhusaini
Acting Director General, Central Agency for Information Technology (Kuwait)
Mai B AlOwaish
Chief Data & Innovation Officer, Gulf Bank (Kuwait)
Marc Dowd
Vice President Research, CIO Advisory, IDC UK
Track B: Sustainable Strategies & Technologies: Operationalization, Impact Measurability, Business Value Creation
14:50 - 15:35
Sustainable Strategies & Technologies: Operationalization, Impact Measurability, Business Value Creation
Sustainability is now a key priority for governments and enterprises across industries as they strive to meet the national and industry-specific ESG goals and regulations. CIOs will not only need to offer “sustainable / green” technology solutions for their customer organizations but would also require advise and handholding through the journey. This discussion would address roadmaps and solutions that support the data collection and reporting, governance and compliance and benchmarking needs towards sustainable strategies and technologies.
Aus Akram Alzubaidi
Director of IT & Media Management, MBC Group
Muhammad Aslam
Chief Technology Officer, Moro Hub (UAE)
Dr. Salim Al-Shuaili
Director, Artificial intelligence and Advanced Technology Unit, Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technology (MTCIT) (Oman)
Mohamed Adel Abu Hassan
Assistant Undersecretary of Resources & Information, Bahrain Ministry of Municipalities Affairs & Agriculture (Bahrain)
Amit Varma
Group Chief Platform Officer, Emirates NBD
Dr. Hoda Alkhzaimi
Director, Center of Cybersecurity, New York University Abu Dhabi
Fuad Al Ansari
Former Vice President IT & Shared Services, ADNOC Group
Track C: Vendor Selection and Management: Best Practices and What to Look Out For
14:50 - 15:05
Four IT Improvements You Can Implement Today
Objectively measuring the performance of your IT department is something that will create great insights. It will enable focused decision making, supported by your peer experiences. This session will show some examples and the exciting results that have been achieved. It will present a framework for portfolio management that improves predictability and show how smart, flexible contracting can enable an increase in quality and flexibility in a dynamic market. It will also outline an agile software development framework that increases quality and output and showcase vendor life-cycle performance measurements that ensure constant compliance with contracts while reducing waste.
Sergej Berendsen
CEO, Metri
15:05 - 15:35
Vendor Selection and Management: Best Practices and What to Look Out For
For the IT sourcing and procurement professional, demanding workloads and deadlines leave little time for an in-depth review of technology markets and vendors, sourcing best practices, and specific IT investment opportunities and partnerships. This session addresses key sourcing challenges related to digital transformation and the evolving role of vendor management within the enterprise, combined with actionable intelligence on best practice for driving better deals and reducing costs without risking vendor relationships.
Sergej Berendsen
CEO, Metri
Ahmad M. Almulla
Former EVP, Corporate Services, Emirates Global Aluminium (UAE)
Ayman Alharbi
Senior Director of Infrastructure & Operation, Red Sea Global (KSA)
Faisal Ali
Group CIO, Gargash Group (UAE)
Saud Al Dhawyani
CTO, Emirates NBD (UAE)
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15:35
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Close of Day 1
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