A new virtual panel was organized by Telecom Review on December 14th to discuss the role of cloud in accelerating businesses’ digital transformation.
Toni Eid, founder of Telecom Review and CEO of Trace Media steered the discussion and addressed intriguing issues relevant to cloud adoption and its relation to digital transformation. The panelists included: Haithem Al Faraj, SVP of Technology and Operations, stc; Hatem Bamatraf, CTO, Etisalat; Omar Akar, VP and Managing Director of Cloud and AI Business Group in the Middle East, Huawei; George Jaber, VP Wholesale Business Development and Bid management, at ITC KSA; and Annette L. Geuther, VP Market Development at Colt Technology Services.
The discussion touched upon the importance of cloud in digital transformation strategies and its role in generating business role.
Haithem, Al Faraj SVP of Technology and Operations, stc said, “Cloud is a core element that defines the success or failure of businesses. It plays a major role throughout the whole industry ecosystem whether in terms of time to market, customer experience or innovation, among others.”
According to Huawei’s Omar Akar, cloud technology coupled with major emerging technologies can generate new revenue streams. He also emphasized the role that Huawei Cloud is currently playing in terms of accelerating the digital transformation of various industries through cloud adoption in the region.
“Cloud is a solid foundation of digital transformation. Couples with AI, machine learning and analytics, it allows organizations to generate new revenue streams. Cloud enables organizations to maintain leadership in their industry by enabling hyper automation of IT and business services”, he said.
George Jaber, VP Wholesale Business Development and Bid management, ITC KSA believes that digital transformation is about customer understanding and customer journey which are enabled by technology alignment.
“The availability, flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and security of cloud can allow digitization. As service providers, we aim to provide the adequate tools and enable digital transformation through the cloud and access technologies we offer to our B2B customers.”
