Cisco’s flagship IT and thought leadership event, Cisco Connect in the UAE, was hosted by Cisco and its key strategic partners recently in Dubai. Themed ‘Your Time is Now’, Cisco Connect UAE 2017 addressed the current technology landscape as businesses transition into effective digital enterprises. The event demonstrated multiple solutions across verticals and showcased how connected cities integrate technology to manage their assets, services and costs.
Alongside their partners, Cisco also demonstrated the latest innovations around how digitisation is driving monumental change in technology architectures, including datacentres and cloud, security, enterprise networks and collaboration, highlighting how they are increasingly impacting the growth of smart and connected communities. The event offered an unparalleled opportunity for attendees to network, share knowledge and drive the technology agenda for the region’s public and private sectors.
“It is a fact that digital transformation has emerged as the most transformative means to ignite sustainable growth and improve society. Technology now connects everything from people, processes and data to things and, consequently, we need to rethink how to approach digitisation to maximise its value in both today’s and tomorrow’s digital world,” said Shukri Eid, Managing Director – East Region, Cisco Middle East. “We are committed to partnering with our customers and partners to support them on their journey to a digitally transformed organisation able to adapt and thrive in an environment of near-constant change.
“The UAE is rapidly evolving as a leading global digital player, paving the way for an even more prosperous and sustainable economic future for its people. Cisco Connect UAE offered a platform for industry leaders and change agents of every kind to come together to gain insights and share experiences and ideas on how to flourish in the age of digitisation.”
Cisco’s distinguished line up of keynote speakers shared insights into relevant, valid and timely topics on key technology trends, IT growth opportunities and challenges in the Middle East region. These included, ‘Are you Ready for a Digital World?’ by Guy Diedrich, Cisco’s Global Innovation Officer of the Executive Chairman, ‘Network as a Platform for Digital Transformation’ by Andre Laurent, Worldwide Director of Engineering for Enterprise Networking Sales at Cisco, ‘Towards Becoming the Happiest City on Earth’ by Younnus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General, Smart Dubai Office; and Ferhad Patel, Intel’s DCG EMEA Sales Director spoke on ‘Vortex of Change’. The core event consisted of technology presentations and approximately 30 breakout sessions led by Cisco specialists, which focused on key technology areas, such as datacentres, enterprise networking, security, collaboration and digital industries, such as retail and digital buildings.
By 2020, 50 billion devices will be connected as a result of IoT’s speed of innovation and 70 per cent of the global population will be mobile. The Middle East and Africa region is predicted to see a 12-fold growth in mobile data traffic; with an increase of mobile device and connections from 1,330 million in 2016 to 1,814 million in 2021. This means that enterprises and industries in the Middle East will have to act with speed, accompanied by having good digital strategies to survive. Cisco believes that several technology transitions – including the emergence of the IoT, increased mobility, cloud computing, and the growing importance of big data and analytics – are combining to enable IoE. Cisco predicts that Dubai’s public and private sectors can achieve a potential AED17.9bn ($4.87bn) in value by 2019.
At this year’s Cisco Connect UAE, Intel partnered with Cisco as Technology Sponsor, while Emircom and Alpha Data were Diamond and Platinum sponsors, respectively.
The event also hosted Cisco’s ‘The World of Solutions’, an interactive exhibition area that incorporated product and technology demonstrations, and the latest solutions from Cisco and its partners. This year’s event hosted 17 partner stands.
Click below to share this article