COUNTRY FOCUS: OMAN
skills and hardware and organisations to
maintain that.
“If you go to Equinix you now go on to our
global platform and you can meet your
IT providers, cloud providers and service
providers in our data centres and from
behind one desk manage all of those
locations. We work with our customers to
make sure that in all those locations people
have the same quality of services, the same
secure access, the same performance and
the same data compliance all over the
world and that is the benefit of working
with Equinix. It’s a single provider that
offers you global consistency.”
shifts occurring as the result of the Fourth
Industrial Revolution (4IR), and how the
sultanate can best leverage technology to
stay ahead of changes and ensure that 4IR’s
benefits accrue to all Omanis.
Under the terms of the partnership, Microsoft
will work with its global partners to put
Oman’s ITA leaders in touch with the world’s
most innovative solution providers, working
in 4IR arenas such as Artificial Intelligence,
predictive analytics, Machine Learning,
Blockchain and the Internet of Things.
Prem Rodrigues, Siemon’s director of sales
and marketing for the Middle East, India
and SAARC
that help businesses future-proof their
network infrastructures and the forum
gave us a valuable opportunity to position
the company as a leader in network
infrastructure solutions in the region.
“We will continue to build our presence in
Oman, as we continue to provide technology
and services that optimise data centre and
intelligent building infrastructures.”
Jeroen Schlosser, Managing Director,
Equinix MENA
Making next generation data
centres a reality
Equinix is not the only technology
company to recognise the potential of
Oman. Siemon, a leading global network
infrastructure specialist, joined forces
with Signify, formerly Philips Lighting, a
leader in connected and IoT lighting, and
value-added distributor Mart Networks to
deliver an Emerging Technology Forum.
This presented innovative solutions
and technologies that are making next
generation data centres and intelligent
buildings a reality to delegates in Muscat.
“We are delighted with the amount
of interest this Emerging Technology
Forum received,” said Prem Rodrigues,
Siemon’s director of sales and marketing
for the Middle East, India and SAARC
at Siemon. Strong attendance confirms
that there is great interest in solutions
50
INTELLIGENTCIO
Partnerships key to
Digital Transformation
Oman’s Information Technology Authority
(ITA) has joined forces with Microsoft in its
efforts to digitally transform the nation, in
line with Oman Vision 2040 – established
by the royal directive of His Majesty Sultan
Qaboos bin Said Al Said. The partnership,
that will cement the co-operation
between ITA and Microsoft, was signed in
Washington, where the delegates witnessed
the advanced technologies designed for
ambitious Digital Transformation journeys.
As the Oman Government’s frontline force
in driving Digital Transformation across the
sultanate, the ITA’s areas of responsibility
span national infrastructure projects and the
supervision of all programmes related to the
implementation of the Digital Oman Strategy,
including providing professional leadership
to other government entities engaged in the
Digital Transformation projects.
The strategic collaboration between
the ITA and Microsoft will focus on how
Oman can take advantage of the societal
Through such regional and global outreach,
it is envisaged that Microsoft will promote
and enable knowledge transfer and
capacity building that will accelerate Digital
Transformation across the public and private
sectors of the sultanate.
“Industry 4.0 is a runaway train that cannot
be stopped,” said Dr Salim Al Ruzaiqi, CEO
of ITA. “Instead, we in government must
look for ways to harness the change to
the benefit of all who call Oman home,
in line with His Majesty’s vision. That is
why we have partnered with Microsoft;
because its leaders tell a compelling Digital
Transformation story – one where the
benefits of change are shared by all.”
Each month, Microsoft will deliver
technology-awareness sessions for
government officials. Separate, quarterly
‘ideation workshops’ will be devoted
to capacity-building, turning ideas into
practical solutions, and delivering a high-
level implementation roadmap. Technology
proofs of concept will also play a significant
role in the partnership.
The ITA, will provide cloud infrastructure for
hosting technology workshops and proofs
of concept, and facilitate connections with
business and technical stakeholders.
“Microsoft is on a mission to empower every
individual, organisation to achieve more,”
said Sheikh Saif Al Hosni, Country Manager,
Bahrain and Oman, Microsoft. “We have long
admired the ITA’s vision for digitisation and
its efforts to accelerate Digital Transformation
in the public and private sectors of Oman
enabling them to empower, engage, optimise
and transform. Through this partnership, we
will take the next steps together.” n
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