Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 27 | Page 39

A PUBLICATION Providing Unparalleled Technology Intelligence ISSUE 27 // www.intelligentcio.com Global Cooling Partner Intelligent Education Partner Intelligent Security Partner Intelligent Supporting Partner Intelligent Cabling Partner Intelligent Manufacturing Partner Intelligent Software Partner Intelligent Energy Partner HOUSEHOLD CONNECTIVITY A new level of convenience is on the horizon with the ability to communicate remotely with household devices. HEALTHCARE TARGETED Security experts believe the healthcare vertical is at extreme risk from criminals. UNLOCKING DATA How businesses can make best use of data to become a truly intelligent enterprise. CLOUD TRANSFORMATION DAFZA Cloud is a powerful project to provide transformative ICT services. A partnership between the Dubai Airport Freezone Authority and Dell EMC is leveraging frontline ICT solutions to deliver accelerated digital services. IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS | LATEST INTELLIGENCE | REGIONAL IMPLEMENTATIONS EDITOR’S NOTE W elcome to our second edition of what is already promising to be an exciting new year. This month’s cover story demonstrates how cloud is gaining an ever-greater prominence in the Middle East. We look in depth at a collaboration between the Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) and Dell EMC. The DAFZA cloud project will enable the delivery of cloud infrastructure to provide complete access to smart services and empower innovation. DAFZA will benefit from Dell EMC’s industry- leading enterprise hybrid cloud, data protection and back-up solutions and the collaboration aims to power the ambitious vision of providing transformative ICT services to all stakeholders. Proof, if any were needed, about how the Middle East is swiftly adopting the whole digital transformation process and leading the way in many respects. In this month’s ‘Talking Business’ Hozefa Saylawala, Middle East Sales Director, at Zebra Technologies, tells us how businesses can best use data created by connected devices to truly become an intelligent enterprise. He suggests that data might very well be the ‘new oil’ with the rise of IoT technology in everyday products. “With this anticipated prevalence of IoT technology, sensors, devices and environments will be smarter www.intelligentcio.com and better connected than ever before,” he says. In another one of our features we look at how the future will be one where we will be able to remotely communicate with our household devices. We look at the work of the Whirlpool Corporation which is very active in the Middle East region. The company is connecting its appliances with the functionality of the Apple Watch meaning consumers will be able to remotely communicate with enabled ovens, washers and driers. In the same article, we discover from research commissioned by Arab Health that more and more people living in the Middle East are using ‘wearable’ technology to monitor their personal health. We learn about the expected explosion in the wearables market predicted for the UAE and Saudi Arabia; who knew technology could be so good for your health and also for business? On a similar but much less positive note in ‘Industry Watch’ we learn that cybercriminals have set their sights on confidential health information. Brandon Bekker, Managing Director at Mimecast, Africa and the Middle East, explains why and how the healthcare sector is under attack with many security industry experts believing the health sector is the most underthreat vertical. Brandon. Personal health information, he tells us, cannot be reissued in the event of a breach unlike credit cards for example, so securing this information really does need to become a top priority. Equally as worryingly, we look at a new report from A10 that shows how employees, often unknowingly, weaken cybersecurity by using unsanctioned apps. With poor understanding of corporate security policies, the report says, this behaviour increases the risks that come with a growing reliance on an app-dependent workforce. Unfortunately, the role IT departments have in defending against cyber attacks is more difficult than ever, with more sophisticated attacks on the rise and, in some cases, attackers infiltrating corporate networks without IT departments even knowing. Anyway, please do not have nightmares and enjoy the read! Mark Bowen Editor “That’s because relatively speaking, healthcare organisations are still behind when it comes to security defences,” says INTELLIGENTCIO 39