January 24th, 2019 — Miscellaneous
Energy companies are often targeted by sophisticated hackers looking to create disruption across national economies. Although these facilities are a challenge to protect, there are clear procedures energy companies can follow to improve their security posture.
January 2nd, 2019 — Miscellaneous
Being a global hub leaves the UAE vulnerable to cyber attack – it needs to cultivate world-class expertise at home to shield against this threat
It’s estimated that the UAE is the target of as much as 5% of cyber attacks in the world yet the nation’s population accounts for just 0.08% of the global total. What accounts for such a disparity?
Despite the domestic stability of the UAE, it is situated in a troubled Middle East afflicted by war, terrorism and political tension. While geography provides part of the explanation, when coupled with the UAE’s remarkable economic transformation into a global node for finance and trade, the country becomes a prime target for cyber attacks.
December 18th, 2018 — Miscellaneous
To continue its market success, Zain Group is undergoing a business transformation and expanding into new verticals through partnerships and joint ventures. The telco aims to become a leading digital lifestyle provider and create lasting value for society, delivering positive results for shareholders.
In pursuit of this ambition, Zain has revisited its strategy to have a more concise plan and direction that is centred on “solidifying fundamentals”, “differentiation” and “diversifying revenues”. The strategy will revolve around six transformational initiatives launched in 2014 to adapt to ongoing challenges. These areas are: customer experience; operational effectiveness; value management; B2B; Digital Frontier and Innovation; and talent development.
November 20th, 2018 — Miscellaneous
Expo 2020 is now just two years away from being hosted in Dubai, under the main banner of “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, and with sub-themes around Sustainability, Mobility and Opportunity. These are highly relevant and emotive topics of discussion and exchange, and early indications are that the Middle East debut of this high-profile international trade show will be a rousing success.
Investment in infrastructure and facilities in preparation for a successful expo continue to be well-documented – from the growth in hotel rooms and extension of public transport networks, to the site itself being prepared to comfortably absorb the anticipated 25 million plus visits.
January 28th, 2016 — Issue 2 Smart Cities and IoT
Let there be no doubt – the future is here. The desire to improve liveability in cities by focusing on citizen experience is a key priority for governments and is leading to a race to build smart cities everywhere. Yet, the concept of a smart city is not always clear. This lack of clarity does not come from weaknesses in the available definitions, but rather from the scope and scale of the concept itself, which is far-reaching and not fully grasped yet. Indeed, operators, regulators and other stakeholders are still in the process of figuring out how to leverage, oversee, mitigate or monetise the different opportunities and challenges associated with smart cities. 
Adel Belcaid is a Principal in the Communications, Media, and Technology Practice at A.T. Kearney Middle East
Batelco has successfully activated 5G coverage across Bahrain, which is available in all four governorates, covering 95% of the nation’s population. The telco’s launch of the network makes Batelco the first operator to provide national 5G coverage in Bahrain.
Omantel has renewed and expanded its managed services agreement with Ericsson for a further five years, with the renewed agreement being more outcome-based and customer-centric.
South Africa-headquartered MTN Group CEO Rob Shuter will step down from his role at the end of his fixed four-year contract in March 2021, having given no explanation why he would not seek to stay on beyond that date.
Nokia CEO and president, Rajeev Suri, is set to step down from his position later this year, to be replaced by Pekka Lundmark, currently CEO and president of energy company Fortum. The move comes as Nokia struggles to keep pace with the global shift to 5G.
Following Zain Group’s regional milestone announcement in November 2019 that its operations in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had successfully launched the first 5G roaming service across the MENA region, Bahrain telco Batelco has announced partnering with the UAE’s du to deliver 5G international roaming services in the UAE.
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