IDC’s Middle East CIO Summit 2012 to Focus on Cloud Computing

Source: SMB Adviser Middle East, the UAE

Cost benefits, improved service delivery, and more agile resource deployment are driving the adoption of private clouds in the Middle East, according to a recent study by International Data Corporation (IDC), a global market intelligence and advisory firm for the information technology and telecommunications markets. While several organizations in the region have virtualized a significant part of their infrastructure, IDC has pointed out that the majority have not yet truly embraced cloud models.

IDC will discuss critical issues concerning cloud computing in the region, particularly its impact on business and the pitfalls that should be avoided, during the exclusive two-day Middle East CIO Summit 2012, which will be held at the Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, Fujairah, UAE, starting on February 20th.

The Summit will be attended by IDC’s longstanding global president and CEO, Kirk Campbell, who will be visiting the UAE for the first time to address the delegates in person. Campbell’s presence underlines the growing global attention towards the Middle East region and highlights the strategic importance of the Middle East CIO Summit 2012 in shaping the ICT landscape of the region. More than 150 of the region’s most influential ICT users will also be attending the event.

IDC has noted that four technology game changers - cloud, mobile, social, and analytics - are sustaining the growth and innovation of the region’s ICT industry in the midst of a “once every 20-25 years” shift to a new technology platform. The Middle East CIO Summit will therefore showcase presentations from prominent industry leaders and facilitate discussions that will examine current and future IT trends as well as their impact on the region.

"CIOs in the Middle East are channelling investments towards more strategic IT projects, particularly consolidation, virtualisation, and automation, taking advantage of technologies and strategies that deliver the most significant benefits to their organizations. Private cloud adoption, in particular, has been gaining widespread attention in the region, driven by the impact of cloud technology on cost, efficiency and more agile resource deployment.

The gradual transition towards the cloud will certainly have a significant impact in the growth of the region’s IT expenditure, as organisations take advantage of new technology platforms to enhance the business value of their IT investments," said Jyoti Lalchandani, vice president and managing director of IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.

Dr. Liu Qi, President, Huawei Enterprise, Middle East said: "IDC’s Middle East CIO Summit provides an excellent platform to meet with industry representatives across the region to share and exchange thoughts on how cloud technology can realise its full potential in transforming businesses from top to bottom.

The event will also help to develop understanding on how the cloud is moving up the decision making chain, from IT managers up to the C-level decision makers: They recognise that IT investment must be integrated with the rest of the business to achieve ful transformational potential. Huawei will be showcasing cloud computing-based data centre and application services including Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions and how various application cloud offerings can suit different scenarios across vertical sectors."

Eyad Shihabi, Managing Director - HP Middle East, said: "The high - level discussion at IDC’s Middle East CIO Summit help create a better overview of the growing role of technology in shaping the region’s business dynamics. HP will be discussing the real challenge for CIOs in bringing innovation and business profitability in a much shorter time frame and show the tools they need to modernise, transform, secure, optimize and deliver the Instant On Enterprise."

The Middle East CIO Summit 2012 will explore the ways CIOs in the region are using technology and emerging service delivery models to build efficiencies into their IT organizations and the business as a whole. The Summit will also identify the factors that CIOs have to consider as they embark on cloud initiatives, while providing in-depth examples and case studies about successful adoption of cloud technology.

IDC will share its latest market findings from discussions with leading CIO’s from across the Middle East during the session titled "Driving the CIO Agenda for Business Success". IDC’s Steven Frantzen, Senior VP, Research, (EMEA Region), MD (CEMA Region), and Jyoti Lalchandani will lead the session, which will detail how the economic outlook, new technologies, and shifting enterprise strategies are reshaping IT buying decisions.

IDC’s Middle East CIO Summit 2012 will also examine the strategies that the business-savvy CIO should be considering moving forward and explain how he/she can demonstrate greater value to the business, thereby increasing the profile of IT in the boardroom. Tailored specifically in terms of format, structure, style, and partner opportunities, the bespoke event will address the unique needs of the local market, with plenary sessions, panel discussions, breakout tracks, real-life case studies, and in-depth Q&A sessions combining to provide unparalleled interaction between delegates and partners.

Numerous world-class technology pioneers have already signed up as partners for the Middle East CIO Summit 2012, while a number of flexible opportunities remain for organizations wishing to increase their exposure by becoming involved in the Summit. Dubai Internet City (DIC) is the Summit’s ICT Partner; Dell, Intel, EMC, IBM, MATCO, International Turnkey Systems (ITS) and HP are all participating as Summit Partners; Huawei, SAP and Schneider Electric have registered as Platinum Partners; and Riverbed, Kaspersky Lab, SonicWALL, Blue Coat, Cognizant, Citrix Systems and Wipro will all partner at the Gold level. McAfee and PCCW Global are Best Practice Partners, while Good Technology is the Summit’s Lunch Partner.