“The culture of innovation is something that takes time to develop, and innovation has to come from within” – Walid Yehia, Dell Technologies

Walid Yehia has been with Dell Technologies for 18 years, holding various roles across engineering, consulting, and sales before becoming the General Manager for the Gulf region. “I’m the Managing Director for the Gulf in Dell Technologies.

I oversee the countries of UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman,” he shared. “I spend a lot of my time on the technology side. I’m still dealing with technology in my current position, but I was on the engineering side of the house and engineering consulting sales.”

Dell Technologies’ Comprehensive AI Strategy

With GITEX 2024’s central theme being AI, Dell Technologies is leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance its products and services. Yehia outlined the company’s comprehensive approach: “Our strategy on AI is actually AI in everything, which means we use AI for ourselves, our internal use, but we also provide AI technology for our customers.”

He introduced the concept of the “AI Factory,” a holistic ecosystem designed to accelerate customers’ AI journeys. “The analogy is very simple. It’s like a typical factory: you put data in from one end, and then you get an outcome, which could be the use cases from the conveyor,” he explained. “Anything in the middle is actually what we build ourselves. So we build the infrastructure, we have our ecosystem, we have our services team who can actually build the whole stack, all the way up to the use case itself.”

Insights from the Dell Innovation Catalyst Report

Discussing the recent Dell Innovation Catalyst report, Yehia highlighted the progressive mindset of UAE businesses. “In the UAE, as a progressive market, most of our customers believe that they have a good strategy for innovation in general,” he noted. “Yet, 51% of them still don’t see how the future will look like a couple of years down the road, with all the emerging technology and the changes in the business models.”

This indicates a blend of confidence and uncertainty among businesses. “There is clarity on the strategy from one side, and there is a bit of uncertainty about the business models from the other side,” he added.

Preparing for AI Adoption in the UAE

When asked about how prepared UAE businesses are to adapt to the shifts brought about by AI, Yehia identified four critical factors: strategy, skill sets, financial capability, and a culture of innovation. “Across all these four domains, I find the UAE is the most advanced,” he stated. However, challenges remain, particularly in talent acquisition and fostering innovation.

“Talent is a challenge,” he acknowledged. “Despite the fact that we have a good talent pool compared to other countries in the region, talent remains a challenge. The culture of innovation is something that takes time to develop, and innovation has to come from within.”

He emphasized the importance of internal innovation: “We can help and support innovation, but the innovation itself has to be very deeply embedded into the culture of the organization because it’s the innovation on a business level, and those business teams need to be able to do this or come up with innovative thinking and innovative ideas.”

Regional Challenges and Concerns

Yehia pointed out that the strengths of the region can also present challenges. “The same strengths are the weaknesses or the challenges,” he said. “Defining a good strategy is critical for success, and sometimes it takes time. The time to market is a challenge. In this world, it is about being faster, not the strongest.”

He also mentioned logistical challenges affecting the region. “We have logistical challenges, which is the export control that was imposed by the U.S. government recently,” he noted. “That’s a logistics challenge.”

Emerging Technology Trends Beyond AI

Looking ahead to 2025, Yehia identified cybersecurity, multi-cloud environments, and digital workplace technologies as key trends. “Cybersecurity is definitely an emerging technology,” he emphasized. “With all these developments and new technologies, it is becoming more and more sophisticated and more important. Without cybersecurity, you’re not going to have any outcome.”

He continued, “Multi-cloud is one of those enablers for digital transformation. Digital workplace is not just about the devices; it’s more about how you leverage the endpoints and the whole ecosystem to improve your productivity.”

Dell’s Commitment to the Region

Yehia concluded by affirming Dell Technologies’ dedication to supporting the region’s technological advancement. “We are building our capabilities in the region to address these opportunities,” he said. “We actually onboarded a number of talents in domains of cybersecurity, AI, and the multi-cloud to really address the demand that we see in the market.”

Their efforts are yielding results. “We’ve been very successful,” he shared. “The industry shares published by IDC are one of those indications of our success.”

Conclusion

Dell Technologies, under the leadership of Walid Yehia, is deeply invested in driving innovation and technological advancement in the UAE and the broader Gulf region. By focusing on AI, cybersecurity, and multi-cloud solutions, the company aims to empower businesses to navigate the future with confidence and agility.