INDUSTRY WATCH
end-to-end data platform, built for the
cloud-era, that provides the effortless
and scalable block, file, and object
storage services necessary to run classic
applications, test/dev, big data analytics,
and modern webscale apps – all with
the speed and efficiency of flash.”
As businesses in the MEA region
accelerate in to the ‘Cloud Era’, Pure
Storage is committed to helping
them gauge where they are in terms
of balancing infrastructure and
applications in their business and
providing guidance on how they can
future-proof their storage infrastructure
to capitalise on opportunities offered by
the cloud. n
MIDDLE EAST
E-COMMERCE MARKET
TO DOUBLE TO USD 69
BILLION BY 2020
Virgin Megastore Middle East and North Africa,
Sharjah Cooperative Society, MODUL University Dubai,
and alfanar showcase how digital marketing delivers
ROI and innovation
M
iddle East innovators Virgin
Megastore Middle East
and North Africa, Sharjah
Cooperative Society, MODUL University
Dubai and Alfanar are showcasing
global best practices in digital marketing
to transform the customer experience. The UAE, at USD 27 billion, and the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at USD 22
billion, will be the two largest markets
by 2020. In anticipation, the region’s
Chief Marketing Officers are investing in
digital marketing initiatives for real-time
customer interaction.
By 2020, the Middle East’s e-commerce
market is set to more than double to
USD 69 billion, according to a recent
report by PayFort. At the recent SAP Hybris Customer
Engagement Symposium in Dubai,
regional innovators exchanged
best practices in using e-commerce
80
INTELLIGENTCIO
and digital marketing to transform
customer experience. During the
event’s awards ceremony that
recognised innovative enterprises,
Saudi engineering and construction
firm Alfanar won ‘Cloud Champion of
the Year’, Sharjah Cooperative Society
won ‘Grocery Commerce Excellence’
and Virgin Megastore MENA won
‘Outstanding Omni-Channel’. The
USD 2 billion Saudi engineering
and construction firm Alfanar uses
www.intelligentcio.com