Technology for human progress

Walid Yehia, Managing Director – UAE at Dell Technologies, on how the company is on a constant mission to become the trusted digital transformation partner for businesses in the region. 

Can you outline to our readers how your company has harnessed cutting-edge technologies to transform how you conduct your day-to-day operations to deliver the ‘experience’ that your customers, end-users, and partners’ demand in the experience economy?  

From small, independent businesses to the Fortune 500, every organisation today recognises the full potential of capitalizing on emerging technologies. They need connection, security, and access to data from multiple endpoints and sources with the insight necessary to turn that data into action. 

At Dell Technologies, we are led by our purpose to create technology that drives human progress. This commitment remains at the forefront as we assist our customers in embracing and benefitting from the ever-evolving business landscape. Across the region, we seek to become our customers’ trusted digital transformation advisor, providing capabilities spanning strategy development, consultative services and solutions deployment. We are uniquely positioned to allow our customers to benefit from our competitive advantages and have a strong track record of delivering on our commitments in any environment. 

Our deep, broad portfolio and capabilities are built on our ability to meet our customers’ greatest needs. From the PC to the core data center to the cloud to the edge, creating deep customer insights and driving innovation​ is at the core of everything Dell Technologies does. We leverage insights from all areas of our business to cultivate innovation deep into our portfolio. We focus on customer outcomes and are constantly trailblazing new solutions to meet our customers’ complex IT needs. 

We remain the industry leader in all of our key solution categories, and are central to our customers’ technology agendas. 

OpenAI and ChatGPT are all the rage, and these new AI integrations have been tipped to fundamentally reshape all major industries as we know them. What
is your view on OpenAI, are you excited by the new opportunities that it will present, or do you think more regulation is needed to control its impact on society? 

Open AI frameworks offer versatility and new opportunities to collaborate and generate positive business outcomes. For instance, ChatGPT and Generative AI (GenAI) provide opportunities to use AI to derive value from existing proprietary company data. Businesses have already adopted AI to automate complex processes, increase productivity, accelerate results and outcomes in specific use cases. Generative AI (GenAI) is projected to contribute $150B to the global enterprise software TAM (Goldman Sachs) and $76B in GenAI Data centre infrastructure and services TAM (Tirias Research). 

AI is key to unlocking value within data and thus is becoming one of the most important tools for businesses of all sizes. The business possibilities for GenAI are broad, spanning many industries and different business functions, including marketing and sales, research & development, and customer operations and support. As the clear leader in compute and storage, Dell Technologies is at the epicenter of AI and has the world’s broadest GenAI infrastructure portfolio that spans from the cloud to client devices, all in one place. Currently, Dell provides customers with AI solutions and expertise that unlock the power of AI, automate intelligent decisions and define their paths to the future.   

We help customers run AI workloads anywhere they need them and scale AI from proof of concept to production. As the market demand for AI enabled solutions continues to climb, we will continue to capitalise on opportunities within four areas: AI-In which is ensuring AI is built into our products, AI-On which is offering solutions that customers can run their AI workloads on, AI-For which is how we use AI to modernise our business and AI-With which is how we work with our ecosystems of partners to make AI real. 

With Dell GenAI Solutions, businesses can get more value from their own data for more data-supported, decision-making results, to increase productivity and drive more value to end-customers.     

There has been a swathe of digital and cloud transformation projects in the Middle East over the last 3-5 years. However, many have struggled with the demands of cloud transformation, especially legacy-heavy players. What are the key processes that enterprises need to adopt to ensure a successful transformation journey?  

The cloud computing market in the region is experiencing significant growth and transformation. A Forrester Consulting study commissioned by Dell Technologies showed that 83% of organisations adopted a multi-cloud approach or plan to by the end of 2023. The UAE stands out as a leading adopter of cloud computing services in the Middle East region. By 2026, cloud adoption is poised to reach new heights. Gartner predicts that a staggering 75% of organisations, regardless of size, will embrace cloud as the linchpin of their digital transformation journey. This trend will be driven by factors such as data residency and sovereignty requirements, coupled with substantial investments by global hyperscale cloud providers in establishing in-country data centres. Dell is at the centre of our customers’ multicloud world, and we are in a unique position to expand on and deliver cloud solutions for the digital era. 

Cloud has become a cornerstone of today’s business operations. It has evolved from a nice-to-have option to a necessity. To ensure its successful implementation, leaders must meticulously curate tailored ecosystems, optimise costs, and ensure robust data security, governance, and stakeholder value are in place through a clear well-define cloud strategy.  

Dell Technologies provides a comprehensive multicloud platform that allows customers to build, manage and maintain cloud operating systems across environments. We offer integrated solutions to support customers in modernising their IT infrastructure, managing and navigating the challenges of a multicloud world, addressing workforce transformation, and delivering essential solutions for connectivity. As our customers adapt to today’s hybrid multicloud landscape, we cater to their evolving needs and broader digital transformation goals. Dell Technologies is uniquely positioned in the data and multicloud era, ensuring our customers benefit from our competitive strengths. 

In your expert opinion, what do you view as the biggest problem facing enterprises in the IT and technology industry across the Middle East?  

Today, the biggest problem facing enterprises are the top five unresolved challenges that come in the way of their growth and productivity. These comprise the future of work, multi-cloud, AI, edge computing and cyber security. To thrive in a digital future, organisations must be adept at navigating these shifts without losing focus on fostering innovation and positive business outcomes. 

At Dell Technologies, we are uniquely positioned to deliver the solutions and expertise that turn organisations’ workforce, edge, data center and cloud strategies into a single, powerful modern IT strategy. As such, our entire portfolio is immersed in a rapid innovation cycle, and we are constantly investing in research and development to innovate tomorrow’s products and solutions. What we design and deliver is created to solve some of our customers’ greatest challenges – the evolving future of work, running workloads seamlessly across AI, multicloud and edge environments, and navigating the complexity of security. Our solutions are designed to be agile, accelerate innovation, and overcome roadblocks. Through close collaboration, we not only support but elevate organisations, empowering them to conquer even the most formidable enterprise challenges.  

This supplement is titled Tech Vision, so with that in mind, what do you think the future holds for the IT and techsector across the Middle East, what will be the key trends and technologies that will really champion change over the next ‘digital decade’?  

Technology is the harbinger of growth and will help the Middle East markets to grow by leaps and bounds. Today as the region embraces digital transformation, it is well-positioned to unlock new avenues for economic development, innovation, and improved quality of life for its citizens. According to IDC, that annual digital transformation spending across META region will touch $74bn by 2026. Key trends and technologies that will drive this change over the next decade include the widespread adoption of 5G, advancements in AI and ML, Edge, and multicloud. Additionally, workplace transformation, e-commerce, cybersecurity, and smart city initiatives will further drive digital innovation in the Middle East.