What’s the theme of your participation at GITEX this year? What are the key aspects that you’re highlighting at the show?
This year at GITEX Global 2022, Cisco is set to showcase its latest suite of innovations to ‘Power an Inclusive and Sustainable Future’, designed to accelerate our customers’ digital transformation agendas, while focusing on the sustainability vision of the region.
Under its ‘Bridge to Possible’ theme, Cisco will illustrate the importance of secure connectivity and automation in powering a future that is digital and green.
What differentiates your participation this year as compared to previous years?
This year, GITEX represents a very special occasion for us. The profound shifts we have experienced over the past two years have catapulted digital transformation and agility to the next level, as we navigate this complex world alongside our customers and partners.
I am not only excited to share our latest innovations with our customers during GITEX to support them transform and adapt in the new digital-first world; but also, more importantly, I am looking forward to strengthening our connections with our customers and partners and driving meaningful conversations on what they need to flourish in a world where digital transformation is evolving every day.
What does the ‘next digital universe’ mean to you?
For 30 years, Cisco has been committed to changing the way the world works, lives, plays, and learns. We have helped the world connect to the Internet, embrace voice, video, and data communications and blend technology and business together in ways that many thought were impossible. Together with our partners, we have been able to help our customers innovate, manage market transitions, and turn technology into business advantage.
For the next digital era, we are keen to reduce our effects on the environment and ensure that everyone has better access to connectivity, education, economic growth and career opportunities. We are also powering our innovation to support our customers and partners to strive in today digital-first world with a primary focus on networking, security, and collaboration.
We are proud to be part in the honorable Artemis mission by connecting space and earth with our collaboration platform – Webex. As we play the role of a connection-enabler, Webex’s parallel mission is to prove that when connected, humankind is capable of anything; of making the impossible possible.
What are the challenges and opportunities in this ‘next digital universe’? How do you aim to support organisations in this journey?
As digitisation is being embraced by companies, communities, cities, organisations large and small, it is critical to assess and address the challenges that exist. Yet I believe that challenges can become huge business opportunities when addressed in an organised and proper way.
On Hybrid Work: In today’s workplace, the traditional model that required employees to follow a strict timetable set out by employers has now changed. Hybrid work is about leadership capabilities, team norms, people practices, workplace, company culture, talent attraction and retention, the innovation and work to be done – and the technology that enables this new way of working regardless of where or when employees are working. At Cisco, we believe that hybrid work requires a holistic solution that spams across networking, collaboration, cybersecurity, and applications.
On Cybersecurity: The past years have shown us just how cyber threats can impact our lives, and the need for everyone to prepare for evolving attacks in the future. With the rise of cyberattacks’ sophistication, the demand for comprehensive cybersecurity solutions is increasing. Cisco is uniquely prepared to support complex security challenges for governments and businesses of all sizes and across industries in our region. We have targeted solutions for threats to protect sensitive data and tackle any malicious activity.
On Sustainability: by the year end, 29 billion devices will access the global internet, and this number is expected to grow to 100 billion by the end of the decade. We believe that the sustainability challenges of this massive growth in connectivity can largely be pinned down to bandwidth. Increasing bandwidth means increasing energy consumption. Cisco’s focus on improving the sustainability of its products and solutions is a direct response to the need to reduce emissions while connectivity grows.
On the Digital Divide: Availability and speed of internet connectivity for individuals or households can greatly affect the quality of education, healthcare, and economic opportunities they receive, as well as access to critical public services. The pandemic exacerbated the digital divide and brought this urgent problem to the forefront. Cisco believes now is the time for the industry to get together to solve this complex challenge and we do that with
On Skills Development: in our digital world, education and technology go hand-in-hand. As leaders, we need to think of closing the skills gap. If we don’t have the manpower to staff, serve, and protect the networked infrastructure, we cannot sustain innovation and propel economic growth. At the same time, large segments of our population will be left behind during this evolution of technology. We are very keen in developing human capital across the region through Cisco Networking Academy NetAcad. Since its inception in the Middle East and Africa region, NetAcad has trained more than 2.6 million students of which 29% are female.
