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

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 Partner

Platinum Partner

Technology Focus Group Partner

Advance Intelligence Partner

Exhibit Partner

Dinner Partner

Media Partner

Knowledge Hub

Analyst Spotlight
A New Approach to Security in the Post-Pandemic World

Frank Dickson,
Group Vice President, Security & Trust, IDC

As we enter 2023, we can finally, for the most part, put reactionary moves due to COVID-19 behind us as the disease moves from a pandemic to an endemic part of daily life. We have accepted that digital transformation moved at a feverish pace, transitioning our enterprises to digital first years before we anticipated. The possibilities of remote work gave way to the reality that hybrid work is here to stay. These are truths that we have accepted.

The economic headwinds we are experiencing have re-energized a trend that was muted by the pandemic. The C-suite appreciates the value and importance of security both now and into the future. C-level executives are actively planning continued investments in security to ensure the viability of their enterprises. However, C-level executives are growing tired of the continually growing financial appetite of security and are looking to reduce spending when and where possible. They are demanding accountability for the spend; in essence, they are looking for secure outcomes that are measurable and meaningful.

The result of this security confluence is a migration of approaches. The breach detection mindset of the past is giving way to a view that positions security as a way of improving an organization's cyber-risk posture, a posture that is tightly coupled with the goals of the organization and decreasing business risk. In its 2023 Future of Trust FutureScape, IDC predicted that by 2025, 45% of CEOs, fatigued by security spending without predictable ROI, will demand security metrics and results measurement to assess and validate investments made in their security program.

The IDC Middle East CIO Summit 2023 will look to address security in this new reality. We will help guide you in working with the CEO and boards of directors as we transition to delivering secure outcomes and a trusted organization to our executive constituencies.

Analyst Spotlight
Thriving in Saudi Arabia's Emerging Digital-First Economy

Ranjit Rajan,
Vice President, Research (META), IDC

Shaped by the National Vision 2030, the national transformation aspirations of Saudi Arabia are now converging with advanced technology adoption to accelerate the expansion of the Kingdom's digital economy.

Analyst Spotlight
Thriving in Saudi Arabia's Emerging Digital-First Economy

Ranjit Rajan,
Vice President, Research (META), IDC

Shaped by the National Vision 2030, the national transformation aspirations of Saudi Arabia are now converging with advanced technology adoption to accelerate the expansion of the Kingdom's digital economy.

The government's ongoing transformation efforts, together with brownfield and greenfield (e.g., giga projects) initiatives aimed at accelerating economic diversification, are looking to leverage advanced technologies to create differentiated services, experiences, and business models.

Saudi organizations are increasingly focused on deriving a larger share of their revenues from digital products, services, channels, and platforms, with 45% of the CIOs surveyed by IDC in Saudi Arabia saying this is now a major priority for their organizations.

The same survey revealed that 52% of Saudi CIOs will be prioritizing the digitalization of operations (process automation, reengineering, and productivity improvements) over the next 12–18 months, while about half of the respondents will also be focused on delivering insights at scale across their organizations by building capabilities in data and enterprise intelligence.

In order to navigate the winds of change sweeping across the Kingdom, organizations will need to invest in strengthening their digital agility so that they are better positioned to thrive in the new market environment, and ensure they are not left behind.

Giga/mega projects that envision futuristic, highly digitalized cities and communities — such as NEOM— will provide a blueprint for accelerated digitalization. Such projects will set the pace as they develop greenfield digital infrastructure and platforms, leveraging advanced technologies like AI/ML, IoT, edge, and 5G to create innovative tech-enabled use cases and customer experiences.

The rise of the digital economy and the emergence of digital-native firms in segments such as fintech, ecommerce, D2C (direct to consumer), healthtech, and edtech, among others, have accelerated the disruption of supply chains in several industries, driving the development of new business models, digitally augmented customer experiences, and automated operations.

At the same time, the government has launched numerous strategies and policies to support the growth of the digital economy, with a focus on developing the infrastructure, innovation platforms, skills, and regulations required to support the expansion of digital businesses.

The strategy of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) focuses on attracting leading international tech companies, increasing the local content shared in the IT sector, expanding and improving the technical skills of the local workforce, and promoting technical and digital awareness.

The Kingdom's rapid transformation is underpinned by digitalization and advanced technology adoption. In order to thrive in this new world, organizations need a digital-first mindset, coupled with a vision to build a data-driven organization that is ingrained with a culture of innovation.

Leveraging cloud as a foundational platform, developing a data and intelligence plane powered by AI and advanced analytics, and enabling ubiquitous, consumption-based digital infrastructure will all become critical technology priorities for Saudi organizations.

Analyst Spotlight
Cloud Overspend and the Role of CloudOps and FinOps

Matt Eastwood,
Senior Vice President, Worldwide Research, IDC

Over the past few years, IDC has seen investments in cloud grow rapidly as enterprises build their digital footprints. In many cases, this growth has occurred without the proper governance necessary to ensure resources are optimized appropriately. And the impact on budgets has been significant, with cloud now representing 35-40% of a typical IT budget. Additionally, the typical enterprise is reporting that their cloud overspend can be upwards of 25-35% today. Customers are clearly struggling to understand how to best optimize cloud spend for architectural and business benefit while also allocating cloud costs to the correct team.

One of the ways that enterprise IT customers are tackling this challenge is through the implementation of CloudOps and FinOps. CloudOps is the practice of optimizing and managing the use of cloud resources, while FinOps is the practice of managing financial aspects of cloud operations. Together, these practices allow customers to better understand their cloud usage and costs, and to identify areas where they can reduce expenses effectively.

For example, by using CloudOps tools, customers can monitor and adjust their usage of resources such as storage and computing to ensure they are only paying for what they need. Additionally, FinOps techniques such as forecasting and budgeting can help customers plan and control their spending, preventing unexpected or unnecessary cloud charges.

As a result of these efforts, many enterprise IT customers are seeing significant reductions in their cloud expenditures and can more effectively allocate their IT budgets to other areas of the business. This can mean the difference between a project being viable or not. It also allows these users to have a better understanding of what they pay for and predict future costs, which can help them avoid financial surprises and make more informed decisions. And as many organizations deal with financial headwinds in the market, the time to implement or augment internal CloudOps and FinOps functions is now.

Analyst Spotlight
Thriving in the Digital-First Economy

Hamza Naqshbandi,
Associate Vice President (Saudi Arabia & Bahrain), IDC

Saudi Arabia's vision for a diversified economy relies heavily on digital transformation (DX) initiatives, an area the Kingdom has always focused on and heavily invested in. The disruption caused by COVID-19 emphasized the value of DX more than ever before; indeed, DX is no longer a choice for most businesses, it has become essential. 52% of CIOs surveyed recently by IDC in Saudi Arabia said that they are now focused on changing or adapting their existing business models into digital business models, reflecting the increasing adoption of a "digital-first" mindset.

Analyst Spotlight
Thriving in the Digital-First Economy

Hamza Naqshbandi,
Associate Vice President (Saudi Arabia & Bahrain), IDC

Saudi Arabia's vision for a diversified economy relies heavily on digital transformation (DX) initiatives, an area the Kingdom has always focused on and heavily invested in. The disruption caused by COVID-19 emphasized the value of DX more than ever before; indeed, DX is no longer a choice for most businesses, it has become essential. 52% of CIOs surveyed recently by IDC in Saudi Arabia said that they are now focused on changing or adapting their existing business models into digital business models, reflecting the increasing adoption of a "digital-first" mindset.

Progressive Saudi organizations are focusing on monetizing existing products by extending core products with ecosystem partners and offering their products/services online as subscription-based services. The top 3 areas where Saudi organizations have seen the greatest impact from DX are improved customer satisfaction, advocacy, and retention; increased cost efficiencies through the digitalization of operations; and increased value derived from data for improved insights and decision making.

Over the next 12–18 months, we expect Saudi organizations to focus on the following digital priorities:
• Digitalizing operations (i.e., process automation, reengineering, and productivity improvements)
• Delivering insights at scale throughout the organization by building capabilities in data and enterprise intelligence
• Deriving a larger share of revenues from digital products, services, channels, and platforms

The Saudi market is the largest ICT market in the region and IDC expects ICT spending in the Kingdom to reach $34.5 billion in 2023. The Saudi government has made concerted efforts to attract key multinational corporations in strategic areas of emerging tech and simultaneously stimulate demand for tech products and services among Saudi businesses. Saudi Arabia’s ICT sector strategy has dedicated workstreams aimed at attracting foreign direct investment, increasing localization, and nurturing and supporting a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.

At the same time, regulatory enablers are evolving rapidly to keep pace with the changing dynamics of the Kingdom's technology and innovation landscape. Whether it's ensuring standardization, creating effective mechanisms of enforcement and operationalization, or illustrating responsibility and accountability, the regulatory environment is already proving to be a key enabler when it comes to attracting investment and driving innovation across the emerging technology spectrum of AI, IoT, cloud, and cybersecurity.

Saudi Arabia is set to be the fastest-growing major economy in 2023. As outlined in the guiding Vision 2030, the Kingdom aspires to be ranked among the top 15 economies worldwide by 2030. To achieve this goal, the Kingdom aims to create an attractive investment environment and diversify its economy to raise the share of non-oil exports from 16% to 50%. As we approach the execution phase of Vision 2023, IDC believes that Saudi organizations will gradually shift their strategic focus from digital transformation to digital value creation.

Increasingly the emphasis is going to be on running and scaling a viable digital business in line with nationwide transformation initiatives. This tallies with IDC’s global prediction that by 2026, 40% of the total revenue of G2000 organizations will be generated from digital products, services, and experiences. This metamorphosis will continue to be at the heart of Saudi Arabia's digital economy aspirations and will necessitate IT to transform (i.e., going from running IT as a back-office function to driving innovation by using tech as a platform to compete and differentiate).

The future is poised to be laced with disruption as Saudi Arabia transitions from the "digital transformation era" to the "digital business era". In order to thrive in this new world, a digital-first mindset is essential, coupled with a vision to build a data-driven organization that is ingrained with a culture of innovation. Leveraging cloud as a foundational platform, developing a data and intelligence plane powered by AI and advanced analytics, and enabling ubiquitous, consumption-based digital infrastructure will all become critical technology priorities.

Analyst Spotlight
The Three Core Pillars of Efficient Digital Infrastructure

Shahin Hashim,
Associate Research Director, IDC

Pandemic-induced transformation has enabled governments and enterprises across all industries to deliver their products and services through digital channels. The sheer pace of this transformation has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience worth living through. As we move forward into 2023, the digital world has become the norm for most industries and organizations. This requires them to constantly innovate and improve their digital offerings to meet changing customer expectations, making a digital-only approach the default strategy for many. Indeed, three out of five UAE organizations surveyed by IDC rank the need to digitalize their operations as their utmost digital priority.

The implementation of highly responsive, resilient, and agile infrastructure is the foundation for any digital-first/only organization. IDC defines this as digital infrastructure, and our Future of Digital Infrastructure Framework helps technology suppliers to position their infrastructure products and services. It also assists technology buyers in defining their road maps for infrastructure transformation, enabling them to attain their ultimate digital infrastructure goals.

The framework is built around three core pillars:

Cloud-Native Technologies: This refers to any modern network, compute, and storage infrastructure, as well as software solutions and technologies delivered at cloud scale and with cloud attributes. These technologies enable frictionless governance, data management and mobility, and security compliance for enterprise workloads across the edge, core, and cloud, thus proactively preparing enterprises to face the interconnected uncertainties of the new world order.

Autonomous Operations: This is a model that allows organizations to run their infrastructure services in a highly automated and self-sufficient manner. This enables more efficient and reliable operations, freeing up resources and enhancing the overall customer experience. To achieve the most advanced level of autonomous operations, organizations can use a combination of modern programmable infrastructure with an API-enabled automation control plane coupled with a suite of cloud-native tools such as full stack observability, intelligent monitoring, asset management, configuration management, application performance management, and end-user experience management. Such an API-driven control plane enables DevOps teams to increase their developer velocity. Additionally, the IT service management function can be enhanced by adopting a proactive approach using AIOps augmented with AI/ML models, helping to significantly reduce the time to detect, respond to, and resolve incidents.

Ubiquitous Consumption: This refers to the utilization of digital infrastructure building blocks based on business objectives, regardless of the location of consumption or the method of delivery. This can include the consumption of resources at the edge, core, or cloud, as well as whether they are shared or dedicated. Essentially, it is about being able to consume the necessary digital resources in a flexible and adaptable manner so that they can be used to achieve desired business outcomes.

The future of digital infrastructure is an exciting one, and it will be interesting to see how organizations continue to leverage these developments to drive their digital-only journeys.

CXO Spotlight
Artificial Intelligence Is Revolutionizing the Way Humans Live

Jason E. Roos,
CIO, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

As a CIO for a science and technology university, I realize that artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the way humans live, work, and play, and the world is on the precipice of a new technological revolution as a result. AI is making it possible to automate repetitive tasks, streamline operations, and personalize services. The impact of AI on various industries is vast and has the potential to solve many of the world's most pressing problems.

Partner Spotlight
Tech Trends 2023

Vineet Shukla,
Business Head – HCLTech Middle East & Turkey

2022 has been a transformational year in the world of tech innovation. So, what does the future hold? Here is a sneak peek. From AI to metaverse and the future of work, take a look at ETO's 10 biggest tech trends shaping the future of enterprises today.

Partner Spotlight
Unified Observability for Digitally Agile and Resilient Organizations

Charbel Khneisser,
Vice President, Solutions Engineering, EMEA, Riverbed Technology

The role of the CIO will continue to evolve this year, especially with the emergence of new technologies and the need for organizations to deliver innovation, adapt to market dynamics, and enhance the sustainability of operations. However, as IT environments become more complex, agility is impaired and resilience decreases.

Partner Spotlight
Unified Observability for Digitally Agile and Resilient Organizations

Charbel Khneisser,
Vice President, Solutions Engineering, EMEA, Riverbed Technology

The role of the CIO will continue to evolve this year, especially with the emergence of new technologies and the need for organizations to deliver innovation, adapt to market dynamics, and enhance the sustainability of operations. However, as IT environments become more complex, agility is impaired and resilience decreases.

Unified observability has rapidly emerged as a solution to these challenges. With actionable insights gained by correlating information across disparate systems and complex remote work and SASE environments, it's empowering IT teams to understand and act upon what's happening in their environment. Going a step further, market leaders such as Riverbed offer unified observability solutions that capture end-user feedback through flexible survey components, including Net Promoter Score (NPS), to provide an enhanced view of user engagement and productivity. Such contextual insights provide a complete picture, helping organizations to avoid missing any key events due to traditional sampling-based approaches.

Unified observability is the ultimate evolution of visibility, offering cross-domain correlation of monitoring tools. Where IT teams once found themselves drowning in the deluge of data, as data becomes even more abundant, unified observability can deliver actionable insights based on the telemetry data captured from network, apps, and users.

To enable remediation/self-healing, ML/AI becomes crucial in the troubleshooting step to properly analyze baselines and behavior changes. By doing so, it surfaces the most important issues faster and with precision, making the organization more resilient in the face of rapid and unpredictable change.

As CIOs and IT leaders face immense pressure to use the latest technologies to drive competitive differentiation, unified observability delivers the agility and resilience needed to "shift left" by filtering out noise and reducing escalations.

Partner Spotlight
A CIO's Guide to Navigating Uncertain Times

Taher Haj Yousef,
Strategic Development Director, Rimini Street

Take a look at these smart moves that you can make right now to future-proof your IT strategy and do more with less.

Partner Spotlight
Empowering Business Users Through Low-Code Capabilities

Moussalam Dalati,
General Manager, Liferay Middle East and Africa

In today’s highly dynamic and competitive marketplace, businesses need to adapt in order to succeed — they must respond quickly to new market demands, adjust internal processes, and optimize operations. Low-code capabilities can play a significant role in helping organizations stay ahead of the competition.

Partner Spotlight
Empowering Business Users Through Low-Code Capabilities

Moussalam Dalati,
General Manager, Liferay Middle East and Africa

In today’s highly dynamic and competitive marketplace, businesses need to adapt in order to succeed — they must respond quickly to new market demands, adjust internal processes, and optimize operations. Low-code capabilities can play a significant role in helping organizations stay ahead of the competition.

The Benefits of Low-Code Solutions

Software solutions like digital experience platforms (DXPs) offer low-code functionalities that enable business users to build, deliver, and manage their own applications without specialized IT resources. Thanks to prebuilt components and templates, users can create custom applications with drag-and-drop interfaces and visual workflows, reducing or even removing the need for coding skills. This capability empowers users to take control of their own processes and make changes as needed.

Here are three major benefits of low-code capabilities:

1. Build, Deliver, and Manage Your Own Applications

Typically, traditional software development cycles can take weeks or months to deliver a new application because they require extensive coding, testing, and deployment procedures. However, low-code-enabled DXPs like Liferay can deliver new applications much faster through an accessible and visual approach to application development that is more user friendly than traditional coding methods.

2. Streamline Business Processes with Seamless Integration

Low-code platforms can help overcome the challenge of disconnectedness by enabling business users to build applications that integrate seamlessly with existing systems. With low-code functionality, it is possible to connect to different data sources and systems through prebuilt connectors and application programming interfaces that business users can easily customize to meet their specific needs. This ability creates additional value because the integration of existing systems is crucial to the provision of a unified experience.

3. Reduce Costs and Speed Up Time to Market for Complex Business Models

In a survey conducted by OutSystems, 74% of IT leaders reported that their organizations were able to deliver new applications faster with low-code capabilities, and 69% said that they were able to reduce their backlog of application development projects. Speeding up application development means businesses can reduce costs and accelerate time to market.

Conclusion

By empowering business users with low-code capabilities, organizations can transform customer experience strategies in today’s dynamic and competitive market. By reducing reliance on specialized IT resources, low-code platforms can enable business users to build and adapt applications — and ultimately reduce costs, improve efficiency, and drive innovation.

Partner Spotlight
Investing in Digital Infrastructure Is a Strategic Choice

Alaa Bawab,
General Manager, Infrastructure Solutions Group (META), Lenovo

In a recent study conducted as part of its Future of Digital Infrastructure research, IDC determined that businesses that are ahead of the curve in terms of digital transformation recognize the critical importance of digital infrastructure in achieving business objectives.

Partner Spotlight
The Future of Customer Service: Trends to Watch

Haitham Elkhatib,
SVP Growth Markets, Sprinklr

Renowned architect, systems theorist, author, designer, inventor and futurist Buckminster Fuller said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

Partner Spotlight
The Future of Customer Service: Trends to Watch

Haitham Elkhatib,
SVP Growth Markets, Sprinklr

Renowned architect, systems theorist, author, designer, inventor and futurist Buckminster Fuller said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

Customers are, and always will be, the heart of any successful business. Yet nowhere is the stagnation of enterprise technology more evident than how we service and support them. Despite the buzz of digital transformation, it’s shocking to see how similar today’s contact centers are to the contact centers of 10 or 20 years ago.

To truly change the way businesses service customers, I’ve identified four trends that companies can capitalize on to future proof their contact centers.

1) Eliminate a voice-first approach. Many enterprise companies are still stuck with core systems that are decades old. According to some estimates, up to 85% of contact center agent seats are still supported by on-premises solutions that take a voice-first approach. I believe companies will eventually realize that voice-based systems are expensive, inefficient, and deliver a poor customer experience.
2) Shift from reactive to proactive customer service. Next-generation contact-center-as-a-service (CCaaS) solutions don’t wait for a customer’s inbound call. The new model for customer service is proactive, not reactive. Why wait for complaints or even a crisis?
3) Leverage customer data to improve experiences. Contact centers fueled by insights activate a very different model for service and dramatically improve customer experience. Every one-star review can become a prioritized ticket to resolve. Every mean tweet becomes an opportunity to create an advocate.
4) Put AI at the heart of the contact center. AI that is dynamic and trained to learn and grow sits at the heart of a leading contact center. AI powers forward-thinking brands to proactively listen for relevant conversations, to distill and quickly analyze massive volumes of data and insights to engage with customers on the digital channels of their choice.

New Model: Less Service is Better Service

For today’s consumer, the best service is no service. Proactive listening and insights inform product development, marketing, and sales to help address common pain points and eliminate the need for service at all.

The second-best service is findable, self-service help or virtual agents. Trust me, your customer does not want to call you. AI can provide answers to common issues.

When a customer needs an agent’s support, a brand is ready with its third-best option. Agents need a system that captures and preserves the context from any previous interaction — and makes that context readily available so they can move forward with the best resolution.

By taking advantage of new technology trends in the right way, contact centers of the future can shift from being cost centers to revenue drivers.

Partner Spotlight
How Companies Can Defend Against Business Email Compromise

Gopan Sivasankaran,
META General Manager, Secureworks

In 2022, across our emergency incident response engagements, we observed a significant rise in business email compromise (BEC) attacks, making it a preferred tactic for financially motivated cybercriminals.

Partner Spotlight
How Companies Can Defend Against Business Email Compromise

Gopan Sivasankaran,
META General Manager, Secureworks

In 2022, across our emergency incident response engagements, we observed a significant rise in business email compromise (BEC) attacks, making it a preferred tactic for financially motivated cybercriminals.

Hackers are opportunistic and often financially motivated, looking to make the most profit from the least effort. And tools like BEC allow cybercriminals to target multiple organizations and individuals simultaneously.

Understanding business email compromise

Our incident response engagements have identified two common methods used to steal money with BEC tactics: email chain injection and C-level fraud.

In email chain injection, the threat actor intercepts a payment-related email chain, impersonates the compromised account owner, and requests changes to payment information.

Meanwhile, C-level fraud involves the compromise of an executive’s email account, with the threat actor posing as the executive to instruct finance or accounting staff to transfer funds to a specified bank account, often creating a sense of urgency.

Business email compromise attacks often start with phishing emails that trick recipients into visiting fake login pages, enabling threat actors to steal their credentials. As such, it’s crucial that organizations look at what controls they need to have in place to help protect employees from inadvertently responding to these threats.

Security controls against BEC

From a technical standpoint, there are controls that organizations can implement to make it harder for employees to access these malicious websites.

One effective measure is using a web filter that blocks known malicious sites, newly created sites, and those without reputation scores. Running alongside this, tools in mail security solutions can defang or redirect phishing emails that contain malicious hyperlinks embedded within them.

Multifactor authentication (MFA) is highly effective in limiting the ability of threat actors to misuse credentials that do get compromised. MFA safeguards against credential-based attacks on network perimeters, such as remote desktop protocol and virtual private networks.

Another approach is geo-blocking, which restricts logins from countries where users are typically not located. Disabling legacy authentication methods, such as IMAP and POP, further reduces the risk of unauthorized access.

Of course, cybercriminals also try to get around MFA controls. Our incident responders have observed an emerging tactic known as “MFA bombing,” where threat actors use a series of MFA prompts to manipulate targeted users into granting access.

To counter this, organizations can require manual entry of MFA codes, completion of numeric challenge-response prompts, and provide additional informative prompts, such as displaying a map indicating the origin of the request.

Educating users to verify the request’s origin and location further enhances the organization’s security posture. By implementing these measures, businesses can strengthen their defense against business email compromise attacks and safeguard their sensitive information.

Working for a secure business culture

From a human perspective there are techniques and business processes that can be rolled out to mitigate user-related security risks. Security training is crucial in educating employees about the risks of BEC and how it impacts the organization.

Employees should be able to identify the warning signs of BEC attacks, verify payment or account changes through trusted communication channels, and report suspicious behavior to the appropriate business units.

Organizational culture plays a fundamental role in security. Employees should be encouraged to challenge non-standard requests (e.g., payment and account changes).

Adopting a “trust but verify” mindset towards emails, chat messages, or phone calls where even slight deviations from normal operations can raise red flags and protect the organization from falling victim to BEC attacks.

Employees should feel safe to question and report concerns — as well as mistakes. It’s better for an employee to rapidly and fully report that they may have fallen victim to one of these scams early, so that action may be taken to prevent fraud, rather than hide it and hope for the best.

By implementing controls such as the “two-person” rule, where a second employee reviews and verifies payment modifications, and requiring telephonic/in-person verification of requested changes, organizations can detect and prevent BEC attempts. These controls have proven effective in preventing substantial financial losses in real-world incidents.

Building security into the business

Ultimately, to mitigate the risks posed by BEC attacks, organizations need to raise awareness and build security into their business processes.

The motivation for threat actors to continue launching BEC attacks has never been greater than it is now. Organizations must recognize that email security controls alone are not completely effective at mitigating threats.

Threat actors will target every process that requires trust.

In the fight against BEC attacks, having solid technical controls in place will support employees, who are ultimately the organization's last line of defense. Equipping them with the necessary training, resources, and support is paramount to enhancing their ability to detect and thwart such attacks effectively.

Partner Spotlight
Navigating the Cybersecurity Landscape in the Middle East

Rasheed Alodah,
Managing Director (KSA, South UAE, Bahrain & Levant) and Services Director (MEA), TrendMicro

The Middle East and Africa region has experienced a remarkable digital revolution, wholeheartedly adopting technology at an impressive scale. While this advancement has undoubtedly boosted connections and productivity, it has also left the region more exposed to risks, resulting in a notable surge in cyberattacks.

Partner Spotlight
The Growing Importance of Business Continuity in Saudi Arabia

Nowaf Alaboudi,
Head of Cybersecurity, Cipher

In today's interconnected business ecosystem, the need to understand and implement the concept of business continuity (BC) has increased due to the ever-changing factors and events that affect it — whether economic, technical, natural, legislative, or any event that directly or indirectly affects the operation of the ecosystem.

Analyst Spotlight
Embracing Data and AI to Nurture Deeper Customer Connections

Uzair Mujtaba,
Senior Research Manager, IDC

In today's ever-changing business landscape, a new paradigm centered around customer experience has emerged as an ultimate differentiator. Against this rapidly evolving backdrop, Saudi organizations are increasingly turning to data and AI as transformative tools with the potential to reshape customer intimacy. As anticipation builds for the upcoming IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2023, let's take a look at some recent IDC research insights that illustrate how data and AI are seamlessly coming together to take customer experience to new heights.

Analyst Spotlight
Embracing Data and AI to Nurture Deeper Customer Connections

Uzair Mujtaba,
Senior Research Manager, IDC

In today's ever-changing business landscape, a new paradigm centered around customer experience has emerged as an ultimate differentiator. Against this rapidly evolving backdrop, Saudi organizations are increasingly turning to data and AI as transformative tools with the potential to reshape customer intimacy. As anticipation builds for the upcoming IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2023, let's take a look at some recent IDC research insights that illustrate how data and AI are seamlessly coming together to take customer experience to new heights.

At the heart of this transformation lies the convergence of artificial intelligence and the quest for enriched customer experiences. This convergence is not merely an option, it's a shared vision. According to IDC's research, 46% of Saudi CIOs recognize the need to enhance their customer experience as a driving force behind their investments in AI. This recognition underlines AI's pivotal role in understanding, engaging with, and ultimately delighting customers.

However, as is often the case with transformative journeys, the path forward contains numerous challenges. In a landscape where the demand for personalized, context-rich interactions is increasing, organizations find themselves grappling with the scarcity of reliable and trusted data. A staggering 50% of the surveyed CIOs acknowledge the difficulties they face in accessing accurate and dependable data — a challenge that has the potential to hinder the creation of meaningful and impactful customer engagements. Adding complexity to the equation, visibility around data lineage emerges as another hurdle, with 67% of CIOs acknowledging a limited understanding of their data's journey.

Recognizing the ongoing transformation of the consumer landscape, businesses are acutely aware of the necessity to improve client experiences at speed and scale. With businesses racing to incorporate AI-driven strategies, an impressive 41% of CIOs have expressed their intent to channel investments into critical areas such as augmented customer service agents over the next 12 to 18 months. This intensified focus underscores the urgency of embracing a dynamic approach to customer engagement, infused with empathy and intimacy and powered by AI.

While the intent to adopt AI is clear, the road ahead is marked by obstacles that demand strategic navigation. Around 50% of Saudi organizations encounter diverse challenges, spanning from the scarcity of high-quality data and skilled personnel to the intricate task of selecting the most fitting algorithms and managing the costs associated with AI solutions. The complexity of these challenges also highlights the need for comprehensive solutions that align resources and strategies with delivering the appropriate outcomes and experiences to customers.

In a world where data is both a valuable asset and a potential liability, regulatory challenges loom large, impeding the seamless fusion of data and AI into customer experience strategies. The intersection of cybersecurity regulations, uncertain lines of data ownership, and stringent data privacy requirements create intricate roadblocks. As a result, nearly half of the CIOs in Saudi Arabia revealed that the collective impact of these factors inhibits their efforts to leverage the potential of data and AI in crafting elevated customer experiences.

As Saudi organizations set out on the transformative journey of customer experience enhancement, key overarching themes shared across their AI investment strategies are emerging. Drawing from the insights uncovered through IDC's research, three key priorities appear:

• Foundational Data Infrastructure: 32% of the surveyed CIOs identified the establishment of a robust data infrastructure as the cornerstone of CX transformation. This infrastructure enables the capabilities required for authentic and impactful customer interactions.
• Technology and Software Solutions: 28% of the surveyed CIOs are committed to investing in CX technologies, software solutions, and platform development. These investments will lay the groundwork for innovation, fostering agility in customer engagement.
• Professional Services and Integration: Recognizing the intricacies of operationalizing CX transformation, a considerable 24% of CIOs in the Kingdom are also prioritizing strategic partnerships with professional services and integration experts to ensure seamless alignment of technology, business operations, and solution implementation.

As we prepare to gather at the IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2023, these insights are an essential reminder of the immense potential of data and AI in elevating customer experiences. The customer intimacy narrative is evolving profoundly, guided by insights that unveil challenges and opportunities within Saudi Arabia's unique landscape. By strategically integrating data, AI, and customer-centric approaches, Saudi organizations can position themselves as pioneers in crafting a future that is driven by customer intimacy and where every customer interaction deepens the connection.

Partner Spotlight
How Hackers Use Emojisto Infect Your Devices

Karthik Ananda Rao,
Chief Technical Head, ManageEngine

Emojis are now the widely understood language of our digital world. These tiny icons that add color and life to our messages are designed to enhance online interactions by letting us express emotions and thoughts in an easy way. But hackers are seeing them as an opportunity to infect devices and exploit our personal data.

Partner Spotlight
How Hackers Use Emojisto Infect Your Devices

Karthik Ananda Rao,
Chief Technical Head, ManageEngine

Emojis are now the widely understood language of our digital world. These tiny icons that add color and life to our messages are designed to enhance online interactions by letting us express emotions and thoughts in an easy way. But hackers are seeing them as an opportunity to infect devices and exploit our personal data.

Here are some of the ways hackers can hijack your devices using emojis:

1. Emoji spoofing
Hackers can trick users into clicking on an emoji which will redirect them to malicious websites or initiate unwanted downloads. This technique capitalizes on the modest popularity of emoji domain names and a user’s inclination to click without thinking twice. You might fall prey to an emoji spoofing attack if you don’t question the reliability or authenticity of a website or link.

How to avoid
Every time you click on an emoji domain, irrespective of the medium, make sure the sender is someone you know or the source is trustworthy. An emoji domain is easy to spoof due to the number of visually similar emojis and skin tone modification options, so take care when entering an emoji URL. Be patient as you evaluate links of any kind to avoid making a hasty and regrettable decision.

2. Social engineering using emojis
Hackers have figured out how to use the emotional appeal of emojis as an effective tool for social engineering. By leveraging familiar emojis in messages or on social media, cybercriminals can create a sense of trust and familiarity, convincing users to share sensitive information or click on malicious links.

How to avoid
Do not trust anything or anybody on the internet. Flashy emojis or clickbait might tempt you, but if an offer or message sounds too good to be true, it likely is. Software should never be downloaded or installed from a source you don’t fully trust. Further, you should never execute a program that is supplied to you in an email from someone you don’t know, and never open an attachment. For brownie points, ensure your machine has an installed and activated Trojan antivirus program.

3. Malicious emojis
Emojis can be used to conceal malicious code or links. Hackers can generate seemingly normal emojis that, when clicked or interacted with, can result in malware downloads, phishing assaults, or unauthorized access to personal information by altering the unicode representation or employing invisible characters. Third-party emoji keyboards have long been known to be vectors of malware, as was the case with this popular Android keyboard app that blindsided users with purchases made by hidden code.

How to avoid
Carefully vet emoji keyboards and ensure they come from a trusted developer before installing. Use antivirus software and ensure your browser is up to date, which will be a critical line of defense if you come across unsafe apps or websites with malicious emojis.

The use of emojis as a tool for infecting devices highlights the ever-evolving tactics employed by hackers in their quest for unauthorized access and data theft. This ostensibly innocent method of communication can be used to hide dangerous code and trick unwary users, and it is crucial for people and organizations to stay alert and knowledgeable about the hazards that can lurk behind these simple icons. You can lessen the potential harm of digital traps by maintaining awareness of the dangers linked with emojis and implementing best practices for online security, such as keeping software updated and exercising caution when dealing with unknown messages or links. When it comes to staying safe from hackers, continued learning and conscious internet behavior can make all the difference.

CXO Spotlight
Harnessing Innovation: The Transformative Power of Tech in Transportation

Mohammed AlGhannam,
General Supervisor for Information Technology & Digital Transformation, Ministry of Transport and Logistic Services

The transport sector is being reimagined through the lens of cutting-edge technologies, ushering in an era of greater efficiency, sustainability, and safety. This digital metamorphosis is reshaping how we move people, goods, and information.

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About IDC

59 Years

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International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading media, data and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com.

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 Ilia 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.

Delegate Journey

Key Topics

Impact of Sustainability on Technology Vendor

Application Modernization strategies

Effective Hybrid Cloud Deployment

Developing an AIOps strategy and practices

Full stack Observability

Leveraging Low Code / No Code platforms

Orchestrating Digital Infrastructure for hybrid environments

Charting a Data-driven digital strategy

Intelligent automation

Predictive analytics strategies

Zero Trust security approaches

Cybersecurity Policies & Regulations and Compliance

5G impact – network architectures, market strategies and use cases

IDC Saudi Arabia Advisory Council 2023

2022 Event Highlights

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

Venue

Partners

Knowledge Hub

Analyst SpotlightA New Approach to Security in the Post-Pandemic World

Analyst SpotlightA New Approach to Security in the Post-Pandemic World

Analyst SpotlightThriving in Saudi Arabia's Emerging Digital-First Economy

Analyst SpotlightThriving in Saudi Arabia's Emerging Digital-First Economy

Analyst SpotlightCloud Overspend and the Role of CloudOps and FinOps

Analyst SpotlightCloud Overspend and the Role of CloudOps and FinOps

Analyst SpotlightThriving in the Digital-First Economy

Analyst SpotlightThriving in the Digital-First Economy

Analyst SpotlightThe Three Core Pillars of Efficient Digital Infrastructure

Analyst SpotlightThe Three Core Pillars of Efficient Digital Infrastructure

CXO SpotlightArtificial Intelligence Is Revolutionizing the Way Humans Live

CXO SpotlightArtificial Intelligence Is Revolutionizing the Way Humans Live

Partner SpotlightModern Data Protection in the Age of Digital Transformation

Partner SpotlightModern Data Protection in the Age of Digital Transformation

Partner SpotlightTech Trends 2023

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

Analyst Spotlight
A New Approach to Security in the Post-Pandemic World

Analyst Spotlight
A New Approach to Security in the Post-Pandemic World

Analyst Spotlight
Thriving in Saudi Arabia's Emerging Digital-First Economy

Analyst Spotlight
Thriving in Saudi Arabia's Emerging Digital-First Economy

Analyst Spotlight
Cloud Overspend and the Role of CloudOps and FinOps

Analyst Spotlight
Cloud Overspend and the Role of CloudOps and FinOps

Analyst Spotlight
Thriving in the Digital-First Economy

Analyst Spotlight
Thriving in the Digital-First Economy

Analyst Spotlight
The Three Core Pillars of Efficient Digital Infrastructure

Analyst Spotlight
The Three Core Pillars of Efficient Digital Infrastructure

CXO Spotlight
Artificial Intelligence Is Revolutionizing the Way Humans Live

CXO Spotlight
Artificial Intelligence Is Revolutionizing the Way Humans Live

Partner Spotlight
Modern Data Protection in the Age of Digital Transformation

Partner Spotlight
Modern Data Protection in the Age of Digital Transformation

Partner Spotlight
Tech Trends 2023

Partner Spotlight
Tech Trends 2023

Partner Spotlight
Unified Observability for Digitally Agile and Resilient Organizations

Partner Spotlight
Unified Observability for Digitally Agile and Resilient Organizations

Partner Spotlight
A CIO's Guide to Navigating Uncertain Times

Partner Spotlight
A CIO's Guide to Navigating Uncertain Times

Partner Spotlight
Empowering Business Users Through Low-Code Capabilities

Partner Spotlight
Empowering Business Users Through Low-Code Capabilities

Partner Spotlight
Investing in Digital Infrastructure Is a Strategic Choice

Partner Spotlight
Investing in Digital Infrastructure Is a Strategic Choice

Partner Spotlight
Making Your Data Strategy Successful

Partner Spotlight
Making Your Data Strategy Successful

Partner Spotlight
The Future of Customer Service: Trends to Watch

Partner Spotlight
The Future of Customer Service: Trends to Watch

Partner Spotlight
How Companies Can Defend Against Business Email Compromise

Partner Spotlight
How Companies Can Defend Against Business Email Compromise

Partner Spotlight
Navigating the Cybersecurity Landscape in the Middle East

Partner Spotlight
Navigating the Cybersecurity Landscape in the Middle East

Partner Spotlight
Empowering the Future: Unleashing Business Potential with Data Intelligence Automation

Partner Spotlight
Empowering the Future: Unleashing Business Potential with Data Intelligence Automation

Partner Spotlight
The Growing Importance of Business Continuity in Saudi Arabia

Partner Spotlight
The Growing Importance of Business Continuity in Saudi Arabia

Partner Spotlight
Data & AI: A Deadly Couple Destined to Change Our Lives.

Partner Spotlight
Data & AI: A Deadly Couple Destined to Change Our Lives.

Analyst Spotlight
Embracing Data and AI to Nurture Deeper Customer Connections

Analyst Spotlight
Embracing Data and AI to Nurture Deeper Customer Connections

Partner Spotlight
Leveraging Data & AI for ESG

Partner Spotlight
Leveraging Data & AI for ESG

Partner Spotlight
How Hackers Use Emojisto Infect Your Devices

Partner Spotlight
How Hackers Use Emojisto Infect Your Devices

Partner Spotlight
The Unspoken Rules of Cloud Transformation: What to Do and Not

Partner Spotlight
The Unspoken Rules of Cloud Transformation: What to Do and Not

CXO Spotlight
Harnessing Innovation: The Transformative Power of Tech in Transportation

CXO Spotlight
Harnessing Innovation: The Transformative Power of Tech in Transportation