IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2023

Agenda

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8:00	Registration & Networking
8:30	Opening Act
8:40	IDC Welcome Address
	Hamza Naqshbandi Associate Vice President (Saudi Arabia & Bahrain), IDC
9:00	Advisory Council Felicitation
9:10	Strategies For the CIO and Enterprise Innovation: AI Everywhere
	In less than a year, generative AI has captured the attention, imagination, and trepidation of technology and business leaders across the world. However generative AI is just one part of a broader digital journey that organizations have been on over the past decade. At each stage of this digital journey, new leadership skills have been required to evolve business models, culture, and technology investments. In readiness for the next chapter, this session will outline the five leading areas for organizations preparing for ‘AI Everywhere.’ Meredith Whalen Chief Research Officer, IDC
9:40	Is the Cloud for Everyone?
	This session will explore the concept of cloud computing, its various types, and the significance of community cloud for government entities. Alanoud Alhudaib Director, Cloud Product and Service Management, SITE
10:00	Orchestrating Digital Infrastructure for Hybrid Environments.
	Saud Altowaim Executive Head of Infrastructure & Managed Services, solutions by stc
10:20	Harnessing the Power of Observability for Digital Transformation
	Digital transformation must ultimately provide business value despite being complex in nature. Observability plays a vital role in providing better visibility into platforms and applications, visualizing and contextualizing problems, resolving digital and cloud complexities, correlating IT components, and identifying critical components. End-to-traceability is key within the context of logical and physical dependencies across mobile, web, applications, and infrastructure. It must be seamless and offer a holistic view of different components. Saravanan Sambandam Head of Data Analytics & AI (MEA), Tech Mahindra Ltd
10:40	CIOs are Building a Digital Economy that Defines our life
	This session will highlight the micro/macro importance of the digital economy and will delve into some global and regional successful adoptions of new business models that touch our daily lives through innovative digital platforms and the true adoption of Digital Dexterity. With a strong drive in the Kingdom to lead the global sustainability scene, Ragy will be sharing some key practical steps for both the government and enterprises of the Kingdom on how to plan and pursue ESG aspirations.An engaging all-around keynote that will stimulate your imagination, from building digital strategies to immaculate execution. Ragy Magdy Chief Commercial Officer, e& enterprise
11:00	Tea/Coffee & Networking Break
11:30 13:00	Summit Partner Tracks (Parallel Sessions)
	Summit Track A: Strategies for Managing Cloud-Led Digital Transformation 11:30 - 11:35 Opening Act 11:35 - 11:40 Overview For many organizations, portions of their application or workload portfolios can easily be shifted to cloud-based solutions, including software-as-a-service CRM or HR solutions, website innovations, and some customer experience innovations. However, such transition is often only a piece of the entire digital infrastructure pie, and questions about what to do with the remaining application workloads remain. These questions pertain to the level of investment needed, the degree of added value, and the approaches to deploying cloud in a way that avoids future problems. Thomas Meyer General Manager and Group Vice President of European Research, IDC 11:40 - 11:55 The CIOs Journey to Seamless Digital Experience with Unified Observability Charbel Khneisser Vice President, Solutions Engineering, EMEA, Riverbed Technology 11:55 - 12:00 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:00 - 12:15 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 12:15 - 12:20 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:20 - 12:35 Leveraging Data and AI for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Business environments across the globe are being compelled to take responsible and committed steps toward achieving ESG goals. Myths surrounding ESG definitions are getting busted, and ESG risks and opportunities are getting unlocked. ESG is also getting embedded into the basic business framework. As such, it needs to be measurable and auditable. This session highlights the need to build a sustainability data management framework that becomes the single source of ESG truth. Arindam Sengupta Head of Technology Advisory, RSM Saudi Arabia 12:35 - 12:40 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:40 - 12:55 The Unspoken Rules of Cloud Transformation: What to Do and What Not to Do Embark on a journey of cloud transformation, where success lies in not only knowing what to do but also understanding what not to do before, during, and after embracing cloud. Making cloud work is not as difficult as perceived if the rules and risks of the game are known beforehand. This session explores how to sidestep common mistakes and seize cloud opportunities. It showcases strategies to improve cost efficiency, forecast accuracy, accelerate innovations, and leverage the power of hybrid cloud. Sriram Narasimhan Associate Vice President, Solutions, Cloud4C Shadi Shidvash Partner Alliance Director, Intel 12:55 - 13:00 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) Summit Track B: Enabling an Agile, Secure, and Autonomous Digital Enterprise 11:30 - 11:35 Opening Act 11:35 - 11:40 Overview Digital infrastructure resiliency and agility are particularly crucial in periods of uncertainty and disruption. Many organizations are presently reeling from the confluence of disrupted supply chains, rising inflation, geopolitical instability, energy price spikes, and climate change. Making the right decisions about where to invest in digital infrastructure modernization and integration will fundamentally impact an organization’s ability to execute its digital business agenda. Ranjit Rajan Vice President, Research (META), IDC 11:40 - 11:55 Unveiling the Landscape of ICS/OT Cybersecurity in 2023 and Beyond Cyberattacks targeting industrial control system/operational technology (OT) environments are evolving at the same rapid pace as technology, if not faster. Organizations must consequently regard OT network protection as the cornerstone of their cybersecurity strategies. This session will cover the expansion of the threat landscape due to IT/OT convergence. It will examine new forms of attack and look at the current state of organizational responses to OT incidents. The session will also share real-world examples to illustrate how organizations can mitigate risk and ensure the safety and security of their operations. Hussam Abu-Rida Technical Director, TXOne 11:55 - 12:00 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:00 - 12:15 Unified AI for Customer Experience Uncover the transformative power of unified AI for customer experience in this engaging speaking session. Learn how AI-driven insights empower businesses to understand, engage, and delight customers on a whole new level. Join us to explore the future of AI-driven customer experiences and gain valuable insights to elevate your customer engagement efforts. Amjad Al Sabbah Vice President of North Gulf (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain), Sprinklr 12:15 - 12:20 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:20 - 12:35 Building a Resilient Organization: The Role of Business Continuity and Cyber GRC Cyber GRC is the practice of integrating cybersecurity, risk management, and compliance into an organization's overall governance framework. It helps organizations to identify and mitigate cyber risks as well as comply with relevant regulations and standards. Meanwhile, business continuity is the ability of an organization to continue operations in the event of disruptions such as cyberattacks and natural disasters. Cyber GRC and business continuity are two essential components of an organization's risk management strategy. By integrating these two functions, organizations can build a more resilient and robust foundation for protecting their operations and data. This session explores how the integration of cyber GRC and business continuity can help organizations build a more resilient foundation for protecting their operations. Nowaf Alaboudi Head of Cybersecurity, Cipher 12:35 - 12:40 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:40 - 12:55 Increase Resiliency and Lower Risk with AI-Driven Operations With significant shifts in how technology is being leveraged to run business, a focus on how to increase resiliency is imperative. From observability and operational stability to security, AI can certainly help alleviate challenges and help IT operations team do more with less. The session will focus on how the technology can help lower the risk of failure and reduce errors that could lead to costly downtime or loss of customer confidence. It will also focus on how organizations can boost agility between silos to drive more innovation. Gunal Kannan AVP, CTO Office, BMC Software 12:55 - 13:00 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle)
13:00	Tea/Coffee & Networking Break
13:25 14:55	Platinum Partner Tracks (Parallel Sessions)
	Platinum Track A: Charting the Path for Data and Application Transformation in a Digital Business 13:25 - 13:30 Opening Act 13:30 - 13:33 Overview Data is now the lifeblood for organizations. However, the approaches of organizations — even those that made analytics a priority for decades — have led to highly fragmented, inconsistent, siloed, and redundant data infrastructures with limited standardization and poor data quality. A fundamental first step and critical success factor for the data-driven business is to build a solid data foundation, including a data governance framework. This should be accompanied by initiatives to pull together data from multiple sources, attract the right skills and talent, improve data literacy of all staff, and move away from IT-led innovation and transformation toward a business-led approach. Dr. Ahmed Darwish Head of Digital Solutions Delivery, Bank Al Bilad 13:33 - 13:35 Start of Session Raffle - Denodo Montblanc Passport Holder 13:35 - 13:50 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. Gabriele Obino VP & GM Southern Europe & Middle East, Denodo 13:50 - 13:55 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 13:55 - 14:10 How New Technologies Change the Definition of Zero Security Zero Trust is absolutely everywhere, with digital transformation across all sectors picking up speed, hybrid working in response to the pandemic or dealing with supply chain disruptions and geopolitical threats. Zero Trust is a representation of the new era of business agility, powered by digital, cloud and security transformation that is being increasingly permeated with new technologies, reshaping how vendors and organizations define it. Ayman El Marazky Presales Senior Manager, SELL Region, Dell Technologies 14:10 - 14:15 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 14:15 - 14:30 Redefining the Era of Artificial Intelligence Mehnaz Mahbub Solutions Manager, Rack Solutions & Integration, Supermicro B.V. 14:30 - 14:35 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 14:35 - 14:50 Safeguarding the Creative Frontier: Addressing Risks in Generative AI Wjdan Alharthi Senior Data & AI Technical Specialist, IBM/SBM 14:50 - 14:55 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 14:55 - 14:56 End Of Session Raffle Platinum Track B: Orchestrating Connections and Elevating Digital Experiences 13:25 - 13:30 Opening Act 13:30 - 13:33 Overview A digital-first mindset has taken root with both customers and brands. Enterprises have started to capitalize on digital innovations that not only deliver customer experience with speed and convenience but also generate customer data and insights. The future customer experience will be hyper-personal, immersive, intuitive, and prescriptive. Brands will need to learn how to maintain a natural, human connection at scale in a digital-first world. Enterprises can use innovations such as analytics, AI, augmented/virtual reality, and human-machine augmentation in a customer-centric context to rethink their digital-first experiences. Thomas Meyer General Manager and Group Vice President of European Research, IDC 13:33 - 13:35 Start of Session Raffle -Denodo Montblanc Passport Holder 13:35 - 13:50 Data Empowerment: Modernizing Content Management for Organizational Success With exploding information growth and increasingly complex regulatory requirements, an organization's ability to effectively manage critical data is key to success. However, legacy enterprise content management software struggles to meet today’s data needs. This session addresses how forward-looking companies can meet today’s needs while discovering valuable new efficiencies. It highlights emerging technologies driving innovation, including cloud deployment, AI, and low-code tools. The session further explores how real-world customers are managing the transition and highlights why content services are essential for supporting future ambitions. Jean van Vuuren Associate Vice President of EMEA Commercial Sales, Hyland 13:50 - 13:55 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 13:55 - 14:10 Breaking Boundaries: Unleashing Innovation in Business everywhere today with safe AI and predictions 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 14:10 - 14:15 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 14:15 - 14:30 Reimagine the World of Digital Era As new technology is opening up new frontiers to our world and being disrupted by changing customer demand. CIOs and CTOs are required to develop technology and application strategies that span from traditional IT tactics to enhanced applications and across hybrid cloud mapping to the need of developers and operators. Therefore, there’s a need to transform the vast ecosystem with freedom of choice, control and efficiency while maintaining an architecture that can abstract the complexity of managing and running hybrid clouds without compromising resilience. Join us to discuss how we can smoothly navigate the technology to all things digital. Thara Allaboon Strategic IT Consultant Lead, VMware Ahmad Al-Qabbat Enterprise Business Development Manager, Intel 14:30 - 14:35 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 14:35 - 14:50 Council of Health Insurance Digital Strategies Nawaf Al-Ghamdi Data and AI Director, Council of Health Insurance(CHI) 14:50 - 14:55 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 14:55 - 14:56 End Of Session Raffle Platinum Track C: Envisioning AI-First Strategies for the Future Enterprise 13:25 - 13:30 Opening Act 13:30 - 13:33 Overview Today, organizations can use the demonstrably increased power of AI to identify and capture meaningful insights from data, bolster productivity and operational efficiencies, increase revenue, and reduce cost. These benefits are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the limitless possibilities AI can present to organizations and lines of business. Ranjit Rajan Vice President, Research (META), IDC 13:33 - 13:35 Start of Session Raffle - Denodo Montblanc Passport Holder 13:35 - 13:50 Revolutionizing Modern Businesses by Embracing AI This session explores the transformative potential of AI and machine learning in contemporary workforce and business processes, highlighting how organizations can embrace the future of work in an AI-dominated world. Leaders and professionals can use insights to adapt their organizations and leverage the power of AI across their business value and digital operations streams. Marc Merheb Director of Solution Consulting, OpenText 13:50 - 13:55 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 13:55 - 14:10 The Need for Observability As applications and infrastructure grow ever more complex, the amount of data being processed — and the number of metrics used for monitoring and managing that data — has exploded. Leveraging AI and machine learning to make sense out of data has become a necessity, with organizations increasingly using the technology for automatic root cause analysis to support humans at work. AIOps — together with the growing standardization of observability of applications — helps organizations to fulfill this promise, and combining it with business insights provides a never-possible-before real-time view across all applications. Roman Spitzbart Vice President of Solutions Engineering, Dynatrace 14:10 - 14:15 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 14:15 - 14:30 Democratizing Creativity: Making Generative AI Accessible for All Dana Abu Ali Data & AI Technical Specialist, IBM 14:30 - 14:35 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 14:35 - 14:50 Why Is Generative AI Critical for Enterprises and Government Entities and Why Should You Have a Strategy? This session will explore how generative AI is pivotal for enterprises and government organizations, emphasizing the importance of having a strategy, data sovereignty, and the sovereignty to choose alignment. These elements ensure efficiency, compliance, and adaptability, marking AI's essential place in the future of government and business. The session will also highlight how Lenovo is playing a key role in this transformative landscape. Ashley Woodbridge Chief Technology Officer (Middle East & Africa), Lenovo 14:50 - 14:55 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 14:55 - 14:56 End Of Session Raffle
14:55	Networking Lunch
15:30 16:15	For The CIO- By The CIO Session (Parallel Sessions)
	Talent Development & The Demand For New Skills: How Do You Structure Your Team Optimally 15:30 - 16:15 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. Yousef A. Alsuhaibani Chief Information Officer, Mobily (KSA) Mohammed Alsuhaim Chief Executive Officer, Saudi Digital Academy Khalid Almutairi VP, IT, Saudi Arabian Mining Company (MAADEN) Dr. Azzam Alsudais CIO/CDXO, Prince Sultan University Amin Al Jaber CIO, Aljomaih Automotive Company Sustainable Strategies & Technologies: Operationalization, Impact Measurability, Business Value Creation 15:30 - 16:15 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. Mohamed Abdel-Aal Director, Digital Experience and Innovation (KAUST Smart), King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) Bandar Alshahrani Head, Digital and Innovation, Public Investment Fund (PIF)\|Projects (KSA) Ahmad Alsubaihi Senior Director IT Infrastructure and Operations, Public Sector Mansor Alsofi Product Manager, Communications, Space & Technology Commission (CST) Vendor Selection and Management: Best Practices and What to Look Out For 15:30 - 16:15 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. Dr. Abdulrahman Al Khnaifer CIO, King Saud University (KSU) Mohammad Alharbi Assistant Deputy Minister for Digital & Innovation, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology Dr. Faisal Al-Nasser Head of Business Systems (CIO), Al Marai Company Anas Mosa IT Director, Public Investment Fund–Projects Abdullah Al Awadh Senior Director of Technology Services, The Council Of Cooperative Health Insurance
16:15	Close of Day 1
	Exclusive Dinner (Limited to CIOs)
18:30	Registration & Networking
19:00	Opening Act
19:10	IDC Welcome Address
19:15	Partner Welcome Address
19:20	Partner Keynote Presentation
19:35	Dinner
20:00	Entertainment
20:10	Close of Dinner

Speakers

Hamza Naqshbandi

Associate Vice President (Saudi Arabia & Bahrain), IDC

Meredith Whalen

Chief Research Officer, IDC

Alanoud Alhudaib

Director, Cloud Product and Service Management, SITE

Saud Altowaim

Executive Head of Infrastructure & Managed Services, solutions by stc

Saravanan Sambandam

Head of Data Analytics & AI (MEA), Tech Mahindra Ltd

Ragy Magdy

Chief Commercial Officer, e& enterprise

Thomas Meyer

General Manager and Group Vice President of European Research, IDC

Ranjit Rajan

Vice President, Research (META), IDC

Charbel Khneisser

Vice President, Solutions Engineering, EMEA, Riverbed Technology

Hussam Abu-Rida

Technical Director, TXOne

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Partners

Host Partner

Game Changer Partner

Cloud Innovation Partner

Cybersecurity Trailblazer Partner

Cloud Technology Partner

Strategic Partner

Smart ICT Partner

Government Partner

Digital Transformation Partner

AI Partner

Summit Partners

Platinum Partner

Technology Focus Group Partner

Advance Intelligence Partner

Exhibit Partner

Dinner Partner

Media Partner

8:30	Registration & Networking
8:55	IDC Welcome Address
	Hamza Naqshbandi Associate Vice President (Saudi Arabia & Bahrain), IDC
9:05	Enabling Networking and Security Convergence
	Kalle Bjorn Senior Director, Systems Engineering, Fortinet
9:25	Quest to Build the Next Generation of Digital Infrastructure
	This presentation explores how to build the next generation of digital infrastructure by prioritizing interoperability, scalability, and security. It highlights the importance of consistent application platforms across hybrid clouds and platform engineering practices as the foundation for modern business applications, edge computing, and AI. Anirban Mukherjee Head of Tech Sales MEA, Red Hat Ahmad Alabduljabbar General Manager (Saudi Arabia), Intel Corporation
9:45	Digital Dominance: Thriving in the Age of the Digital Economy
	Digitalization has not only transformed existing markets, but also created new ones. From the democratization of data that gave rise to AI, cloud, the internet of the future, spatial computing, the metaverse, and Web3, to cybersecurity in a post-quantum era, as well as other technologies — all are reshaping our industries. Technologists, decision makers, and government official are navigating these challenges and opportunities. Technologists need to take a wholistic approach to transforming the infrastructure, application centricity, securing the edge, users, and applications, while powering hybrid work. In this session, we will take a look at the future of the digital economy and the tremendous role that CIOs play in shaping the success of their organizations. Osama Al-Zoubi CTO (MEA), Cisco
10:05	Multi-Cloud Benefits and Emerging Trends
	Multi-cloud computing is becoming an increasingly popular approach in the business world, especially with the rise of remote work and the need for more flexible and scalable infrastructure. It refers to the use of multiple cloud providers, multiple deployment models, and multiple cloud platforms to create a more robust and efficient environment. One of the key business benefits of multi-cloud is the ability to optimize workloads across different cloud platforms in order to meet specific needs. Other benefits include reduced vendor lock-in, optimized cost, improved reliability, increased agility and flexibility, and better data security. By adopting multi-cloud, businesses can strategically position themselves to leverage emerging technologies and offer better services in a fast-paced economic environment. Jihad Nehme Chief Business Development Officer, Edarat Group
10:25	Artificial Intelligence: Demystifying AI Adoption across Organisations
	Artificial Intelligence’s transformative potential in the global economy is projected to generate trillions of dollars by 2030. Governments and businesses across the Middle East are beginning to realize this shift globally towards AI and advanced technologies. Further, the emergence of generative AI offers new possibilities, yet many organizations struggle to adopt and scale due to various challenges. Thus, it is crucial for organizations to reassess their approach for improved outcomes. Vineet Shukla Business Head – HCLTech Middle East & Turkey
10:45	Celebrity Speaker Session: Finding Your Everest
	In this session, Raha Moharrak will share her inspirational story as the first Saudi woman to climb Mount Everest. She will recount her remarkable journey of breaking through societal norms and personal limits. With eloquence and authenticity, she will also reveal how she overcame challenges, both internal and external, as she pursued her passion for mountaineering. Her speech will emphasize the importance of perseverance, self-belief, and the power of determination in reaching the pinnacle of success. Her words will serve as a beacon of hope and empowerment for all those who strive to shatter boundaries and follow their dreams. Raha Moharrak The Youngest Arab & the first Saudi woman to climb Mount Everest
11:05	Tea/Coffee & Networking Break
11:40 13:20	Technology Focus Tracks (Parallel Sessions)
	TFG Track A: Revisiting Security and Cyber Resiliency for the Perimeterless Enterprise 11:40 - 11:45 Opening Act 11:45 - 11:47 Overview As the organizational digital footprint expands due to remote work practices, increased adoption of cloud, and the growing number of apps, the attack surface will rapidly expand. At the same time, the threat landscape is growing in sophistication. Data privacy is thus becoming a key priority for regulators and businesses. An increasing number of data protection regulations are being enacted, and organizations are constantly striving to keep up with compliance mandates. Alaa Khalid Falimban Manager, Cybersecurity Operations, Saudi Arabian Mining Company (MA'ADEN) 11:47 - 11:50 Start of Session Raffle 11:50 - 12:00 Data Security and How to Keep Your Businesses Running Nowadays, everything must start with security. Because cyberattackers are relentless, organizations need to make sure that their data is secured. This session will explain how businesses can keep running and ensure data is secure anywhere in the hybrid cloud. Jawad Moghnieh Regional Leader, Veeam Software 12:00 - 12:05 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:05 - 12:15 The Road to an Optimal Zero Trust Strategy The disappearing perimeter, the expanding attack surface, the inevitable breaches, and the acceleration of digital transformation pose increasingly complex challenges for organizations of all sizes. While the zero trust framework provides a blueprint for securing data and networks in today’s multi-cloud environment, the path ahead remains fragmented and challenging. This session will highlight the reasons why establishing trusted identities across users, devices, apps, and workloads is critical to an optimal zero trust strategy. It will showcase how to secure data in transit, at rest, and in use across public and private cloud environments. The session will also demonstrate how organizations can build a zero trust implementation road map that protects against the threats of today and the post-quantum future. Ahmed Hussain Senior Regional Sales Manager, Entrust 12:15 - 12:20 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:20 - 12:30 Bringing Attack Surface Risk Management and Extended Detection and Response Together CISOs managing risks or SOC leaders trying to respond to threats have related problems, and as such improvements on one side invariably help the other. The more proactive the risk mitigation, the fewer security incidents that require responses from the SOC team. This session will examine how teams can work across borders to close the gaps between attack surface risk management and threat detection and response. Yousef BaSaad Systems Engineering Lead, Trend Micro 12:30 - 12:35 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:35 - 12:45 Filtering Out the Alphabet Soup of Cybersecurity EDR. XDR. MDR. There are a lot of acronyms floating around the cybersecurity market today that create a lot of confusion. How does one filter through the alphabet soup and find the solution that solves unique security challenges? The objective of this session is to clear the confusion in the market and help CISOs understand and select the right solution based on their organization’s needs. The session will outline the various solutions available in the cybersecurity market, identify today’s top challenges, and reveal the differences between products (XDR) and services (MDR). Gopan Sivasankaran META General Manager, Secureworks 12:45 - 12:50 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:50 - 13:00 Recovery After a Cyberattack in Seconds. Guaranteed Ilya Ovchinnikov Regional Sales Director, Infinidat 13:00 - 13:05 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 13:05 - 13:15 Deploying AI Based Zero Trust Security Policies Prevention against continuous malware attacks is critical, as is the augmentation of security operations with tools that ensure visibility across the entire estate while deploying prevention-first to safeguard business continuity. Teams are increasingly deploying AI and ML applications in and out of the cloud to ensure organizational cyber resilience via Zero Trust for a sustainable cyber-future of continuous and integrated protection. 13:15 - 13:20 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) TFG Track B: Enabling a Cloud- and Data-Driven Enterprise 11:40 - 11:45 Opening Act 11:45 - 11:47 Overview Data is now the lifeblood of organizations. However, organizations have taken approaches that have led to highly fragmented, inconsistent, siloed, and redundant data infrastructures with limited standardization and poor data quality – including organizations that have prioritized analytics for decades. Building a solid data foundation, including a data governance framework, is a fundamental first step and critical success factor for a data-driven business. 11:47 - 11:50 Start of Session Raffle 11:50 - 12:00 Enterprise Data Evolution: Ready for AI ChatGPT and other services powered by generative AI fuel innovation and efficiency across industries. However, these services raise critical privacy and ethical considerations as they do not come without risks. This session highlights a secure environment that organizations can use to test and run their own open-source large language models with their own proprietary data. This secure environment features a brand new, one-click applied machine learning prototype. Yazan Al-Yasin Solutions Engineer, Cloudera 12:00 - 12:05 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:05 - 12:15 Making Your Data Strategy Successful Implementing a successful data strategy is harder than it needs to be because of the legacy limitations set by centralized, point-to-point batch architectures. Data streaming platforms break these constraints by providing real-time connectivity between software-as-a-service, analytics, and database systems in a way that lets users tap more data with less redundancy and less reliance on centralized teams. This session will explore how this newly emerging category of data streaming can help with data strategy challenges and resolve what can be regarded as a ‘data mess.’ Hanan Al Qahtani Enterprise Sales Executive, Confluent 12:15 - 12:20 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:20 - 12:30 A Future-Fit Technology Strategy For Sustainable Growth in 2023 Technology has been an integral part of every business. To ensure sustainability, organizations must brace technology trends as and when they are introduced. This session focuses on the technology trends which organizations need to be aware of in 2023. The session also highlights a strategy for a future-fit, digital-first business. Karthik Ananda Rao Chief Technical Head, ManageEngine 12:30 - 12:35 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:35 - 12:45 Defend Your Data Before It Defeats You! In a data-driven world, compliance is everything. We need to secure data everywhere, defending it earlier and recovering it faster than ever before. This session will explore proven strategies for delivering the very best results. Etienne Niken Principal Sales Engineer, Commvault 12:45 - 12:50 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:50 - 13:10 Advance Intelligence with Everything as Service Echo Li Director, Marketing and Solution Sales, Huawei Cloud Saudi Arabia 13:10 - 13:20 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) TFG Track C: Scaling Up Digital Innovation with Accelerated Design and App Development 11:40 - 11:45 Opening Act 11:45 - 11:47 Overview Digital innovators today are using cloud services to deliver modern and edge applications and provide fast access to innovative technologies with the scalability, security, and governance capabilities needed in the digital-first world. Looking to gain and maintain a competitive advantage, innovative DevOps teams are using new application development and deployment capabilities to improve the velocity of application delivery and modernize cloud-native and edge applications. 11:47 - 11:50 Start of Session Raffle 11:50 - 12:00 CX at the core of your business Prem Anand Velumani Regional Manager, Zoho MEA 12:00 - 12:05 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:05 - 12:15 Overcoming the Roadblocks to Becoming a Data Driven Organization Data is now the lifeblood for organizations. Yet even those who have made analytics a priority for decades, their approach has led to highly fragmented, inconsistent, siloed, and redundant data infrastructures with limited standardization and poor data quality. A fundamental first step and critical success factor for a data-driven business is to build a solid data foundation, including a data governance framework. This should be accompanied by initiatives to pull together data from multiple sources, attract the right skills and talent, improve data literacy across all staff, and move away from IT-led innovation and transformation toward a business-led approach. Ahmed Sadek Lead Solution Engineer, Boomi 12:15 - 12:20 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:20 - 12:30 Reimagining Content Management Strategies for a Digital-First Organization As organizations embrace a digital-first world, catering to the hyper digital consumer requires dynamic content to harmonize with physical elements, conveniently handing off and reconnecting channels, throughout the journey. Brands are comfortable optimizing digital content for one or two channels: orchestrating content across multiple channels and elevating the customer experience at an accelerated pace. What is the future of content and how can it be designed for equity, trust, and connected relationships? Maik de Wolf Managing Director, Mendix 12:30 - 12:35 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:35 - 12:45 Redefining Security in Cloud, On-Prem, and AI Recent advancements in machine learning and AI have given rise to regenerative AI tools, presenting new security vulnerabilities in both daily life and the business realm. While these tools offer vast opportunities, they also introduce direct cybersecurity threats and challenges around data integrity. Modern cloud services have proactively developed countermeasures, ranging from cloud-centric to hybrid models, to address these risks. As AI continues to intersect with security, vigilance in safeguarding digital assets remains imperative. Jerry Jalava Head of DevSecOps, Oivan 12:45 - 12:50 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:50 - 13:00 Meeting the Demand for Data Privacy, Security, and Trust Trust is now paramount in all enterprise activities, ethical data strategies demand a balance between the potential of data and the critical respect for people's privacy and preferences; data and ethical use expectations have reset the bar for privacy, trust, visibility, and responsibility — both with respect to customer stakeholders and in the context of government interventions, regulations such as GDPR, and antitrust actions. Barrie Green Regional Vice President UKI & Middle East, Appian 13:00 - 13:05 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 13:05 - 13:15 Multiple Source Real-Time Data for Faster Decision Making Organizations are using a growing number and variety of devices to create and capture data. This includes sensors, mobile devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Rather than being held in a datacentre, data lake or warehouse, or some other central data storage, this data exists on the so-called edge — close to, or at, the original source. These devices would seem to create data with conflicting needs. On one hand, this data must often be analysed and acted on immediately or in real time to support instant business decisions. On the other hand, such streaming data often does not need to be retained after it is acted on. In addition, edge computing provides unique value when extracting insights, synthesizing, or summarizing data to be sent to the enterprise. 13:15 - 13:20 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) TFG Track D: Strategies for Enabling Elevated Digital Experiences 11:40 - 11:45 Opening Act 11:45 - 11:47 Overview The recent rise of generative AI is being hailed as a great disruptor of every facet of life and business, providing smarter, faster, scalable, lower-cost, and higher-value solutions. On an enterprise level, AI is being incorporated into areas such as code generation, content management, marketing and customer experience applications, and product design and engineering. However, AI raises important questions about the impact it will have on lives, enterprises, and the broader society. To succeed in their digital transformation journeys and capitalize on the AI opportunity, organizations should take a proactive approach to managing the data life cycle, ensuring data quality, privacy, security, and enabling safe and secure data sharing across different ecosystem partners. 11:47 - 11:50 Start of Session Raffle 11:50 - 12:00 The Evolution of Enterprise Resource Planning – Making ROI-Based Decisions The days of periodic enterprise resource planning (ERP) upgrades are over. The next generation of ERP systems will be expensive, disruptive, and transformational. But how much of the ERP system do you keep, replace, or upgrade? Vendors are pushing software-as-a-service cloud versions, but is that the right path? This thought-provoking session will share insights into how organizations can maximize the value of applications while remaining agile. It will also explore how IT leaders can make ROI-based decisions for their cloud journeys, craft business-driven road maps, and add best-fit technologies. Taher Haj Yousef Strategic Development Director, Rimini Street 12:00 - 12:05 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:05 - 12:15 How to Win in a Data- and AI-Driven Economy This session will delve into the significance of leveraging data as a strategic asset and harnessing the power of AI to unlock hidden opportunities. Attendees will gain a deep understanding of the key principles and best practices for harnessing data and AI to optimize their operations. Through records and statistics, the session will demonstrate how leading industries have successfully utilized data and AI to maximize their contribution to gross domestic product. Ahmed Al-Marzouk Business Development Manager, Data Analytics, Alnafitha IT 12:15 - 12:20 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:20 - 12:30 How to Spend Less and Get More with ITSM The IMF projects that world economic growth will slow to 3.2% this year, down from 6.1% in 2021. So, while we are tightening budgets in our personal lives, we can expect the same for our work lives, with businesses finding ways to spend less. For IT, it means doing more with less, as well as stopping or significantly slowing discretionary spending. Calculating ITSM ROI is key for enterprises looking to deliver rapid time to value for their investments in a modern service management solution. But how can they achieve faster time to value with all the challenges that business faces today? This session will explore the focus areas for ITSM in 2023, discuss what's driving technology spending this year, and outline how to deliver rapid time to value with the right-sized ITSM. Karthik Chandra Akula Regional Sales Head, Freshworks 12:30 - 12:35 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:35 - 12:45 Intelligent Automation for Next Generation Citizen Experience As the public sector continues the journey to digital government, the focus on citizen experience remains a core strategy pillar. However, many public administrations continue to struggle, either with achieving initial breakthroughs or in accelerating early successes, despite the increased attention and associated investments. Intelligent Automation can break that logjam and accelerate success by enabling constituents to self-serve and empowering agents to deliver personalised service whilst improving operational efficiency and boosting cost savings. Ahmad Saad Regional Sales Manager, Liferay 12:45 - 12:50 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 12:50 - 13:00 How to avoid ML & AI landmines Tessa Jones Chief Data Scientist, Nournet 13:00 - 13:05 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle) 13:05 - 13:15 Adopting A.DO Practices to Drive Innovation and Transform Teams Although Agile and DevOps (A.DO) are multidisciplinary, they are not mutually exclusive. The endgame of A.DO is to automate, optimize, and ensure high quality throughout the entire continuous delivery pipeline. New hybrid work environments benefit A.DO projects with enhanced combinations of teams working remotely: from the office, on flexible work schedules, and with improved collaboration platforms and tools. More diverse resource coverage means that teams are not location-limited and can reassign work and resources to meet product backlog. In doing so, BFSIs enable true agility and give teams greater flexibility to win in competitive markets. Khalaf H. Alahmadi Chief Information Security Officer, 2P 13:15 - 13:20 Q&A (Ask Questions & Stand a Chance to Win a Raffle)
13:20	Partner & Speaker Felicitation
13:35	IDC Summary & Closing Notes
13:40	Mega Raffle Winner Announcement
13:45	Lunch
14:45	Close of Summit

IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2023

In 2023, we are going further, together! Join us for the 13th Edition.

Agenda

Filter Topics

Registration & Networking

Opening Act

IDC Welcome Address

Advisory Council Felicitation

Strategies For the CIO and Enterprise Innovation: AI Everywhere

Is the Cloud for Everyone?

Orchestrating Digital Infrastructure for Hybrid Environments.

Harnessing the Power of Observability for Digital Transformation

CIOs are Building a Digital Economy that Defines our life

Tea/Coffee & Networking Break

Summit Partner Tracks (Parallel Sessions)

Tea/Coffee & Networking Break

Platinum Partner Tracks (Parallel Sessions)

Networking Lunch

For The CIO- By The CIO Session (Parallel Sessions)

Close of Day 1

Exclusive Dinner (Limited to CIOs)

Registration & Networking

Opening Act

IDC Welcome Address

Partner Welcome Address

Partner Keynote Presentation

Dinner

Entertainment

Close of Dinner

Registration & Networking

IDC Welcome Address

Enabling Networking and Security Convergence

Quest to Build the Next Generation of Digital Infrastructure

Digital Dominance: Thriving in the Age of the Digital Economy

Multi-Cloud Benefits and Emerging Trends

Artificial Intelligence: Demystifying AI Adoption across Organisations

Celebrity Speaker Session: Finding Your Everest

Tea/Coffee & Networking Break

Technology Focus Tracks (Parallel Sessions)

Partner & Speaker Felicitation

IDC Summary & Closing Notes

Mega Raffle Winner Announcement

Lunch

Close of Summit

Speakers

Partners

Photo Gallery

Contact Us

IDC, Foundry

In 2023, we are going further, together!
Join us for the 13th Edition.