Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 03 | Page 72

EDITOR’S QUESTION WHAT ARE THE UPCOMING TECHNOLOGY TRENDS CIOs NEED TO KEEP TRACK OF FOR 2016? T hat was a busy year for ICT; it brought a plethora of technologies to the discussion table for the Middle East. Whilst many more developed regions have indeed pushed further ahead with cloud adoption and embraced IoT, what did become apparently clear throughout 2015 was that security is something the region still holds paramount and as such the adoption of these ‘hot’ technologies will see a slower pace in the region. Firstly, lets start with cloud. It has been on the radar for quite some time, but many private and public sector businesses are still reluctant to transfer too much too fast - with the increase in cyber attacks across the region, many still prefer to store their data on-site and with a more stringent network oversight on-the-ground. Secondly, IoT has been on everyone’s lips, but GITEX did raise some rather interesting questions pertaining to the actual benefits for enterprises - has too much hype been afforded to this growing technology trend and is it more 72 INTELLIGENTCIO relevant to the consumers than to the enterprises? The market is hesitant to give a definitive answer just ye