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ISSUE 21 //
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BEING THE CIO
OF EVERYTHING
Advice on how to
deal with increasing
degrees of complexity
PRotecting YOUR
DATA/reputation
The loss of data has more
serious consequences
than ever before
Tech Hacks to
Faster Onboarding
The best ways to onboard
customers smoothly and
successfully
Accelerating vital
business processes
Dr Hatem Bakheet, CEO of SAB Innovation, talks
about the deployment, implementation and benefits
of SAP® applications (S/4HANA) on the IBM Cloud to
accelerate operations and leverage business data for
better, faster decision-making.
COUNTRY FOCUS | INDUSTRY WATCH | LATEST INTELLIGENCE
EDITOR’S NOTE
D
anger, it seems, is lurking
everywhere in cyber space.
We tend to relax when we are
dealing with ways of communicating
that we are most familiar with.
That is why the humble email may
represent a more serious threat
to our cybersecurity than our own
complacency will let us believe.
A report from Mimecast has revealed
that nearly 25% of emails that go
through an incumbent security system
are ‘unsafe’.
Think about that for a moment. Far too
many emails that really should be blocked
for your own security are getting through
to your Inbox. Although this is certainly
not a comforting thought for anyone,
businesses can turn the bad news into a
positive by encouraging their colleagues
to increase their cyber vigilance.
Let’s face it; we all need to work to
a higher level of email security. And
Mimecast’s quarterly Email Security
Risk Assessment certainly serves as a
reminder that email remains the most
favoured way for cybercriminals to
attack us with security threats such as
ransomware. Of course, when things
go really wrong, we rely heavily on our
disaster recovery systems.
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In this edition, we look at a
collaboration between IBM and Zain,
Kuwait’s leading telecommunications
company, to establish a new cloud
disaster recovery service. discover there is an acute skills shortage
in the cybersecurity sector – reportedly to
become a $101 billion market by 2020 –
and we report expert opinion on the best
way to deal with finding the right staff.
We hear how customers will benefit
from the added flexibility of keeping
their data in-country on IBM Cloud,
through the new service. This edition sees us take an in-depth
look at the best ways on getting new
customers onboard to your business
and, of course, the latest projects driving
innovation across the region.
This means IBM and Zain customers
will be protected against data loss from
their own servers or other cloud services.
Proof then that there is some good news
out there in the increasingly hostile
battle with cybercriminals.
Amazingly the market share in the
Middle East for disaster recovery as a
service is a massive $100.64 million
and this total is set to increase by a
significant 44% through to 2021.
Due to the rapid growth of cyberattacks
and security breaches, the Middle
East has seen a major increase in the
number of companies adopting disaster
recovery services.
On a happier note, we bring you all your
favourite features. Editor’s Question
deals with the issue of the recruitment of
IT professionals in the Middle East. We
We also find out how Dubai will be able
to drive progress towards the UN’s 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development
after it was selected to be a regional
hub for city data, at the United Nations’
headquarters in New York City.
We always enjoy hearing from our
readers so if you would like to get
in touch please send an email to
[email protected]. In the
meantime, we hope your workplace
continues to be a safe and secure one.
Enjoy the read!
Mark Bowen
Editor
INTELLIGENTCIO
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