Regional system integrator Gulf Business Machines is transforming its networking business with a focus on four emerging technologies. 
GBM’s networking business, which was known as Integrated Networking and Site Services, will now be rebranded as INS (Intelligent Network Solutions), reflecting the shift in the company’s strategy to transform its networking business. “The idea is not to drop an S and we believe there is an inflection point in the networking systems integration business. We have been very successful in delivering traditional networking solution but now we are moving into advanced and innovative areas of technology, and the idea is to be ready for next three to five years,” says Hani Nofal, Director of INS.
According to Nofal, the traditional role of SI was focused on building multiple systems in silos and finding a common language to get these systems to work together. “We are moving to build on that experience, and rather than just integrating systems together we are moving to the concept of human to systems integration. We believe this is the key to success to our industry, where you have to not only integrate systems but also drive that experience to connect with humans around the systems,” he says.
GBM’s network strategy is based on four key components and the first trend that the SI aims to cash in on is the increased demand for secure mobility. “Users are demanding to be always connected and have bigger pipes. This year, the number of mobile devices globally has equalled the population of the earth, and by 2016, the total number of connected devices will reach around 10 billion. This puts increased demand on networks, whether it’s mobile networks or Wi-Fi, and we should be ready for this demand for bigger and reliable pipes,” says Nofal.
The third pillar of GBM’s growth blueprint is around social media and Nofal cites some of the stats to back up why it is important to his company. “Facebook has 900 million users and is still counting. In 2010 Youtube had two billions views a day and as of May 2012, it has four billion views. More and more businesses are looking to integrate social media as a way to reach out to customers and employees. This phenomenon is going to test our readiness and ability as SIs to provide solutions to enterprises that will allow them to benefit from social media.”
He adds SIs will no longer have to just lay the foundation of network and leave it to customers, but build networks that will support social media and video. “We are spending a lot of time building our own capabilities in this area. You have to build intelligent networks and load it with applications and solutions that will allow enterprises to harness the benefits of social media.”
GBM is also trying to benefit from this intersection of social media, video and mobility and drive solutions around some nice areas such as mobile commerce and mobile banking. “Banks that were conservative are now forced to offer online banking on mobile devices and we need to be ready to capitalise on these trends. Another evolving area where we have a keen interest is mobile wallets, and we are trying to develop solutions that can support both retailers and consumers,” says Nofal.
GBM reckons one cannot be successful in any of these new areas of technology if they don’t really understand how to deliver solutions and services in a new a manner, underpinned by virtualisation and cloud, which is the fourth component for the company. “You need to really build much bigger, reliable and highly virtualised data centres to be able to store your data and deliver it in a cloud fashion,” says Nofal.
Though GBM will continue to offer basic network foundation layer services, it is planning to raise the bar and differentiate from others by the strength of its vast regional experience and intellectual assets. “It is very easy for you to be in the foundation layer, and build connectivity, data centres, etc. But to be able to offer your services around these emerging technologies you need to be able to spend a lot of time in the kitchen and upgrade your skills. Though this is primarily a networking strategy, we will have to collaborate internally across our multiple lines of business to be successful,” says Nofal.
Can GBM pull off this ambitious plan? The SI, which boasts of around 22 years of regional experience and some of the leading vendors under its belt, has the right credentials but it requires a completely new way of thinking in order to reach where it wants to be in the next three years.
