Smart SMB Feb 2020 by Business Media International

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EDITORIAL

A TIME FOR RESILIENCE AND INNOVATIONS PUBLISHED BY Business Media International REGISTERED OFFICE: Office 10, Sharjah Media City www.bmi-digital.com EDITOR IN CHIEF Raman Narayan narayan@bmimea.com Mob: 971-55-7802403 SALES DIRECTOR Ankit Shukla ankit@bmimea.com Tel: 971-4-2618885, Mob: 971-552572807 EDITOR Diksha Vohra editor@smartsmb.net Tel: 971-4-2618885, Mob: 971-506395616

The unprecedented crisis that has been unleashed by the coronavirus infections in China and now looming as a global health threat is also impacting Businesses worldwide. China as the epicenter of manufacturing factories has been quite integral to global supply chains for most industries, from electronics to clothes. The uncertain period ahead will require Businesses operating in other markets and connected with this supply chain for sourcing their supplies, to have a plan ‘B’ until the outbreak is contained, hopefully soon and as near normalcy returns. These are times that will test the resilience of Businesses. On a more positive front, the build up to Expo 2020 starting from October this year, is a catalyst for driving new projects in the UAE. From hospitality to retail, different verticals can expect a boost from the spurt in number of visitors expected to travel to the UAE ahead of the expo and during the duration of the Expo. Businesses need to explore growth possibilities around the Expo, which would require some out of the box strategies, such as adding new services. These in turn could offer possibilities of new extensions for the Business in the longer term. You don’t need to look further than the iconic successes that Google, Facebook and Amazon have turned out to be by extending their business models beyond the core models they started out with. There is a need to keep exploring extension models for your existing Business, for that spurt in growth you seek.

ASSISTANT EDITOR C V Arya Devi arya@bmimea.com Tel: 971-4-2618885

Among the several interesting stories within this issue, the cover featue in this issue explores the security of workloads in the cloud. As more companies adopt a cloud first strategy, they are accelerating the migration of workloads from their on-premise servers to remote servers belonging to cloud services providers. There is a need therefore to have a holistic security strategy that is resilient even with workloads hosted in a multi-cloud environment.

CIRCULATION MANAGER Jinal Chheda jinal@bmimea.com Tel: 971-4-2618885

R. Narayan

SALES R. Subramanyan subu@bmimea.com Tel: 971-4-2618885 DESIGN Ali Raza ali@smartsmb.net Tel: 971-4-2618885

Editor in Chief, Smart SMB

Management Chairman S.N. Tiwari

CEO Saumyadeep Halder

Publisher Raman Narayan

Managing Director Ankit Shukla

sn.tiwari@bmimea.com

narayan@bmimea.com

saumyadeep@bmimea.com

ankit@bmimea.com

Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to validate the accuracy of all information included in the magazine, the publishers wouldn’t be liable for any errors therein Copyright@2019 Business Media International LLC. All rights reserved.

February 2020 / SMARTSMB

CONTENT

CONTENTS Cover feature

Food Rise of organic and gluten free products in the UAE

SECURING THE CLOUD

A strategy built around layered security and shared responsibilities between the service provider and the user holds the key to cyber resilience in the face of potential threats

Finance Catalyzing investments in the UAE

Spotlight 2020 BAHRAIN EDITION OF SMART SMB SUMMIT & AWARDS HOSTED SUCCESSFULLY

WINNERS UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

Talkpoint PERVASIVE CONNECTIVITY

INTEGRATING TRANSFORMATION

column Apparel Emergence of homegrown brands in the apparel industry SMARTSMB / February 2020

INTEROPERABILITY AND CROSS BORDER COMPLIANCE ON EDELIVERY PLATFORMS

Techwatch

Market Monitor

NEWS

Dubai Cultiv8 IBM INTRODUCES TWO DATA CENTERS IN THE UAE Invests in delivery tech startup FODEL The data centers are expected to help accelerate customer journeys to hybrid cloud IBM Services has announced two IBM Data Centers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one in Abu Dhabi and the other in Dubai, to provide cloud managed services to enterprises and help accelerate their journey to hybrid cloud. IBM Services is the services and consultancy arm of IBM.

The local data centers will help organizations shift to a hybrid cloud model, and benefit from having the flexibility to move select critical workloads to a secure local cloud environment, hosted in the UAE while keeping mission critical data on-premise. This will not only omit the need to invest in additional physical space for local data residency Hossam Seif El-Din but help organizations abide VP, Enterprise & Commercial, IBM (MEA) by their data sovereignty requirements and restrictions. Organization will also be able liver data backup and protection serto integrate this local cloud environvices for customers. In the cases of ment with their existing IT infrastrucnetwork failure or downtime, data and ture and different cloud environments. workloads hosted in the local data centers will be recovered instantly and IBM has been offering cloud managed available for use in real-time. services to organizations across various sectors, globally and in the region, “IBM has reshaped its portfolio to and today, it continues to help its cusdeliver what clients need, investing tomers through its data centers in the heavily in hybrid cloud and the emergUAE. Customers will not only be able to ing technologies that optimize busimigrate their IBM and non-IBM based ness workflows in the cloud, such as workloads and business applications AI, blockchain, analytics and cyberseto the data centers but can have IBM curity,” said Hossam Seif El-Din, Vice manage and modernize them and hanPresident, Enterprise & Commercial, dle their day-to-day operations. As a IBM Middle East and Africa. “Through result, they will have the ability to free our data centers and with our recent their IT resource to focus on adding acquisition of Red Hat, we are helping value to the business and rapidly adorganizations accelerate their move to dress fluctuating business demands hybrid cloud and interconnect differand industry changes. ent clouds, creating unified systems designed for increased consistency, Additionally, the data centers will deautomation and predictability.” SMARTSMB / February 2020

FODEL gives online shoppers the option to collect their parcels any time from any of 1,000 pick up and drop off (PUDO) locations Dubai Cultiv8 Investments Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Fund for SMEs, has allocated part of its US$100 million technology fund for an investment in FODEL, the last mile delivery tech startup in the UAE to provide a better alternative to home delivery for online shoppers. FODEL gives online shoppers the option to collect their parcels any time they want, from any of its 1,000

NEWS

pick up and drop off (PUDO) locations which are part of its UAE-wide parcel collection network. They include gas stations, groceries, pharmacies and stores from other retail categories that are open until midnight or 24/7 for maximum convenience. Arif Al Alawi, CEO of Dubai Cultiv8, said: “Middle East-based delivery and transport startups rank third by number of investment deals they attracted during 2019, which is a clear indication of the sector’s strong growth potential. In fact, they accounted for 19% of total funding directed into startups last year and through our partnership with FODEL, we contribute to the continuous development of the logistics and ecommerce sectors in the UAE.” The company is launching in Saudi Arabia where it has also developed a network of 1,000 PUDO points strategically spread across all main high-density regions but also in remote areas. Soumia Benturquia, Founder & CEO of FODEL, said: “Cultiv8 is a strategic partner of great importance for FODEL as we continue to invest in our expansion and strengthening our PUDO network in the GCC.”

DIFC’S FINTECH HIVE UNVEILS ‘SCALE UP PROGRAMME’ FOR FINTECH STARTUPS The new accelerator programme is supported by six leading investment partners DIFC’s FinTech Hive revealed the launch of a new funding accelerator programme for FinTech start-ups in the MEASA region. FinTech Hive Scale Up programme benefits scaleups by helping them grow through strategic partnerships and receiving investment resources through the DIFC FinTech Hive ecosystem. Through a series of collaborations with multiple partners, the programme provides start-ups with fast access to funding, access to partner resources, support services as well as connections to investor networks.

Raja Al Mazrouei

EVP, DIFC FinTech Hive

The new accelerator programme is supported by six leading investment partners - Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), Etisalat, DIFC FinTech Fund, Dubai Cultiv8, FALCOM Financial Services and NIcapital. Partners gain access to the startup ecosystem and benefit from faster access to growth and scale markets. The FinTech Hive Scale Up programme is designed for post series A start-up companies with a scalable and repeatable business model. These are scaleups that will experience powerful impact from gaining access to venture capital and funds from the region on

business growth potential. Commenting on the announcement, Raja Al Mazrouei, Executive Vice President of DIFC FinTech Hive, said: “We are delighted to have launched the ‘FinTech Hive Scale Up’ programme to support the region’s growing FinTech community, and give them a strong platform to drive innovation in the MEASA region.” FinTech Hive Scale Up programme is the second to launch under DIFC’s FinTech Hive following the FinTech Hive Accelerator program for growth stage startups. February 2020 / SMARTSMB

NEWS

Insight Partners to acquire Veeam Acquisition to accelerate expansion while continuing to cement Veeam’s leadership Leading software investor Insight Partners announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Veeam Software, the leader in Backup solutions that deliver Cloud Data Management. Under the ownership of Insight Partners, Veeam will become a U.S. company, with a U.S.based leadership team, while continuing its global expansion from offices in 30 countries and with customers in over 160 countries. The acquisition, which is expected to close during the first quarter of 2020, will enable Veeam to accelerate its Act II (Veeam’s evolution into Hybrid Cloud), expand into new markets and continue its growth trajectory. As part of the acquisition, William H. Largent has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - he previously held the role of Executive Vice President (EVP), Operations – and Danny Allan has been promoted to Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Following an investment from Insight Partners at the beginning of 2019, Veeam, the clear market leader with over $1 billion in annual sales and more than 365,000 customers worldwide, worked alongside Insight Partners’ business strategy and ScaleUp division, Insight Onsite, to expand its software-defined Veeam Cloud Data Management Platform. The company launched a number of new innovations over the last year, including Vee-

am Backup for Amazon Web Services (AWS), Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 v4, Veeam Universal License (VUL) and announcing Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure – growing its share of the U.S. market, as well as cementing its position in the global market. The acquisition and bolstering of U.S. leadership will accelerate Veeam’s already impressive growth trajectory and expansion into adjacent markets. “Veeam has enjoyed rapid global growth over the last decade and we see tremendous opportunity for future growth, particularly in the U.S. market. With the acquisition, we are excited that our current U.S. workforce of more than 1,200 will be expanded and strengthened to acquire and support more customers,” said William H. Largent, CEO at Veeam. “Veeam has one of the highest caliber global workforces of any technology company, and we believe this acquisition will allow us to scale our team and technology at an unrivalled pace.” At the core of Veeam’s strategy is delivering simplicity, flexibility and reliability to its global customer base (which includes 81% of the Fortune 500). During the last decade, Veeam’s approach has seen it collect more than 170 industry awards, named as a leader in three consecutive backup and data recovery Magic Quadrants by Gartner,

William H. Largent CEO, Veeam

boast a consistent leadership position in the Forrester Wave and also named as one of Forbes’ Cloud 100 companies for four straight years. According to the latest IDC Software Tracker, Veeam is the #1 market-share leader in EMEA and the #4 worldwide, after DellEMC, Veritas and IBM. Today, Veeam is the clear market leader, delivering Backup solutions that enable Cloud Data Management, and has recently launched exciting new cloud-native solutions that will enable customers to manage, migrate, orchestrate and protect data across AWS and Microsoft Azure environments – core elements of its Act II. In the coming weeks, NEW Veeam Availability Suite v10 will be generally available, providing users with the most powerful software-defined data management solution in the industry.

Dubai Chamber membership tops 245,000 in 2019 amid smart transformation push 18,260 new member companies joined Dubai Chamber in 2019, marking a year-over-year increase of 28%

H.E. Hamad Buamim

President & CEO of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry

SMARTSMB / February 2020

Dubai Chamber achieved 96% smart transformation of core services resulting in AED 50 million in cost savings A total of 18,260 new member companies joined Dubai Chamber in 2019, marking a year-over-year increase of 28%, while its total membership rose 9% over the same period, the non-profit public organisation re-

vealed. Dubai Chamber achieved 96% smart transformation of its core services in 2019 as it processed nearly 1 million transactions electronically during the year. As a result of its smart transformation push, the Chamber recorded an 81% drop in visits to its branches last year. Between 2016 and 2019, Dubai Cham-

NEWS

Regus foresees the top trends of 2020 in the flexible workspace industry in the UAE Global workspace provider Regus predicts a promising year for the flexible workspace industry in the UAE. nesses with the opportunity to easily increase productivity and attract top talent. In fact, IWG’s research shows that over a third of businesses are looking to expand internationally, with 55% of businesses surveyed saying they are looking to be more agile. Given this, 2020 looks to be a very promising year for the flexible workspace industry in the UAE”. Below are the top trends that Regus foresees in the year ahead:

Kory Thompson

Country Head Middle East, IWG

For many employers and employees, flexible working is now the norm. A Global Workspace Survey conducted by leading flexible workspace provider, IWG, shows that half (50%) of those surveyed mention that they work outside their company’s main location for at least half the working week or more. Kory Thompson, Country Head Middle East at IWG said: “As the UAE looks to a new decade of growth and development, spurred by events like Expo 2020, flexible working will prove to be invaluable. It will provide new busiber implemented 90% of its Dubai Paperless Strategy plans and saved 23 million papers, resulting in AED 50 million in cost savings. Following the introduction of smart attestation services in the first quarter of 2020, the Chamber expects its smart transformation rate to increase further to 98%. Over 778,000 Certificates of Origin were issued by Dubai Chamber in 2019. The number of attestations increased slightly to 18,832 last year. A total of 5,784 ATA Carnets were issued and received in 2019, while the value of goods covered by these documents surged 78% to reach AED 5.7 billion in

1. Increase in number of employees working remotely: According to a recent study by IWG, 62% of businesses worldwide currently have a flexible workspace policy. Flexible workspaces enable businesses to operate anywhere, without the need for set-up costs or capital investment, and support the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. 2. More millennials to join the workforce: Estimates by BPG Max, a leading media buying agency in the region, reveal that the UAE has a growing Gen Z population of 1.4 million, which is joining the workforce, and want a better work/life balance. Flexible workspaces could become viable alternatives for businesses that are targeting millennials and freelance workers in 2019. In addition, the value of Dubai Chamber member exports reached AED 226 billion. The number of international delegations received by Dubai Chamber increased 33% percent year-over-year in 2019 to 2,456 and 37 countries were represented by visiting delegations. The Chamber held meetings with over 4,596 visiting delegates in 2019, up 31% from 2018. Meanwhile, 111 trade missions and outbound delegations were organised by Dubai Chamber and its 11 representative offices. International expansion

2020. 3. Shift to productivity-boosting technology: Mobile workers across UAE are using online tools to help them work remotely more efficiently. Regus research shows that tools which enable remote working, such as remote access to desktops or easy document sharing, are gaining popularity. Flexible workspaces work well as they offer fully serviced offices with high-speed internet to cater to everyone’s digital demands. 4. Better designed flexible work spaces: In the UAE, employers are experimenting with open and collaborative work environments to boost employee wellbeing and health. 5. Evolution of commercial property: More agile options are now available, from co-working spaces to temporary office locations and business lounge membership for employees. 6. Global expansion of the UAE through Expo 2020: Expo 2020 is expected to accelerate development and boost foreign direct investment in the UAE and flexible workspaces could well support the country’s vibrant business environment. Flexible office spaces will compliment Dubai’s flourishing ecosystem and give businesses the option to grow with little commitment and minimal risk in 2020. was a top priority for Dubai Chamber in 2019 as it opened new representative offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Shenzhen, China in 2019. H.E. Hamad Buamim, President & CEO of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, described 2019 as a pivotal year for the Chamber marked by membership growth, international expansion, new initiatives, achievements and milestones which accelerated Dubai’s smart transformation and enhanced its proactive approach to keeping pace with the evolving needs of Dubai’s maturing business community. February 2020 / SMARTSMB

NEWS

MICROSOFT COMMITS TO BECOME CARBON NEGATIVE BY 2030 Unveils aggressive plans to cut both direct carbon emissions and across supply chain Microsoft recently announced an ambitious goal and a new plan to reduce and ultimately remove its carbon footprint. By 2030, the technology giant will be carbon negative, and by 2050 the brand plans to remove all the carbon from the environment, the company has emitted either directly or by electrical consumption since it was founded in 1975. At an event at its headquarters, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella, President Brad Smith, Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood, and Chief Environmental Officer Lucas Joppa announced the company's new goals

and a detailed plan to become carbon negative. The company also announced an aggressive program to cut carbon emissions by more than half by 2030, both for our direct emissions and for our entire supply and value chain. This includes driving down our own direct emissions and emissions related to the energy we use to near zero by the middle of this decade. It also announced a new initiative to use Microsoft technology to help our suppliers and customers around the world reduce their own carbon footprints and a new $1 billion climate innovation

fund to accelerate the global development of carbon reduction, capture and removal technologies. Beginning next year, the company will also make carbon reduction an explicit aspect of our procurement processes for our supply chain. A new annual Environmental Sustainability Report will detail Microsoft's carbon impact and reduction journey. And lastly, the company will use its voice and advocacy to support public policy that will accelerate carbon reduction and removal opportunities.

BACKLITE MEDIA’S ADVERTISING MEASUREMENT PLATFORM TO UTILISE ‘BIG DATA’ New system expected to improve OOH accountability for regional advertisers, addressing long-held concerns about measurement when considering OOH as part of their wider media plans BackLite Media, the region’s premier out-of-home (OOH) advertising company, has partnered with IQ Data to launch BackLite Intelligence, the MENA region’s innovative wide-scale OOH advertising measurement platform to utilise ‘big data’ on a local scale. The industry-leading technology, deployed across BackLite’s entire OOH network, will add excellent value to advertisers across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, providing them with cutting-edge audience measurement data, centred around behavioural data linked to the millions of people who see BackLite signs daily. Through the BackLite Intelligence platform, advertisers will benefit from being able to see who is viewing their content more clearly, and find better ways to target the right demographic in a precise fashion. By measuring where people are out and about, combined with demographic information, BackLite Intelligence will show advertisers and brands the right kind SMARTSMB / February 2020

of consumer profile to target for their campaigns. BackLite Intelligence will leverage over 1.2 billion mobile phone location signals per month, generated within the UAE, and map them across their entire outdoor network, to provide advertisers with a tailored, comprehensive suite of data relating to each campaign. The data includes viewership of each location by time of day and night, as well as transparent audience insights including key shopping behaviour and detailed demographic information. Bill Fordyce, CEO of BackLite Media, said, “As the premier OOH media company in the UAE, we are committed to improving accountability and transparency and addressing long held concerns on audience measurement. The launch of BackLite Intelligence with our partner IQ Data represents a significant milestone for the advertising industry in the region and underscores our commitment to providing

the best-in-class technology and solutions to drive the greatest value for our advertisers. By linking this technology with our new digital signs on Sheikh Zayed Road, due to be installed ahead of Expo 2020, we believe the solutions provided by BackLite Intelligence will be a game-changer for our clients, enabling them to gather deeper insights that provide increased clarity for sales and marketing strategies and hard data to fuel better business decision-making.” The information collected by BackLite Intelligence is GPDR compliant.

COVER FEATURE

SECURING THE

CLOUD

By R. Narayan

A strategy built around layered security and shared responsibilities between the service provider and the user holds the key to cyber resilience in the face of potential threats

s cloud computing becomes more pervasive in terms of adoption rates across workloads, perhaps the concerns of security in the cloud have subsided to an extent. But what does it take to have a well rounded security strategy for cloud workloads? Indeed, companies looking to migrate more of their workloads to the cloud need to ensure first that their data is safe in the cloud. To do so, they must understand what they can expect from their service providers as defined in the SLAs and more significantly know their responsibilities as well. Jeff Ogden, General Manager - Middle East & India, Mimecast opines that while Cloud computing is growing fast in the Middle East, yet perceptions around security and risk management remain rightly cautious. He elaborates, “Primary cloud workloads such as CRM and email are now commonplace, indicated by the meteoric growth of Microsoft Office 365. When managed correctly, cloud-based services can be more secure than many on-premise solutions looked after by a small IT team. You’re essentially outsourcing the monitoring, patching, and data management to a trusted third party who is laser-focussed on keep services flowing and secure.” The traditional on-premise defencein-depth approach needs to evolve into a cloud-ready cyber resilience strategy. Layering defences and a continuity and backup plan that helps

SMARTSMB / February 2020

Harish Chib

Vice President, MEA, Sophos

organizations quickly return to standard operations without losing critical data or productivity is necessary. According to Harish Chib, vice president, Middle East & Africa, “The fact is the data on cloud is equally at risk as the data on premise deployments. Just as you need to secure the data stored in your on-premises networks, so you need to secure your cloud environment. The secret to effective cybersecurity in the cloud, as it is for on-premise, is improving your overall security posture: ensuring your architecture is secure and configured correctly, that you have the necessary visibility into your architecture, and importantly, into who is accessing it.”

He elaborates that security is handled a little differently in the cloud as Public cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform run a shared responsibility model – meaning they ensure the security of the cloud, while users are responsible for anything they place in the cloud. “Aspects such as physical protection at the datacenter, virtual separation of customer data and environments – that’s all taken care of by the public cloud providers. You might get some basic firewall type rules to govern access to your environment. But if you don’t configure them properly – for instance, if you leave ports open to the entire world – then that’s on you.

COVER FEATURE

The opinion seems to be unanimous that the weakest link to security in the cloud could be wrong configuration of the cloud services rather than any lapses from the cloud service provider. Mike Lloyd, CTO, RedSeal says, “There was a lot of fear at first that cloud would be less secure, but those fears were unfounded. In general, cloud providers do a great job, and they do it full time, 24x7. There have been no recent incidents that can be pinned on a cloud provider failing to do their job.” He cautions that this does not mean the cloud is perfectly safe and there certainly have been cloud breaches that were the fault of the company buying those cloud services.

Jeff Ogden

GM, Middle East & India, Mimecast

So you’ve got to learn your security responsibilities.” Scott Manson, Managing Director – Middle East & Turkey, McAfee argues that for the simple fact that on-premises data centers are usually located within the four walls of an enterprise, there are considerable risks to the network from unauthorized users, especially workers inside the organization. He adds, "This is one of the main reasons why the cloud has started to take over as a more secure option vs on-premise data centers. With a cloud hosted service, you benefit from a multi-tenanted environment that has an exceptional level of investment from a provider with greater buying power and technical prowess. The economies of scale dictate that the service provider can deliver a more solid cyber security solution.” However, he highlights that it is the users’ responsibility to thoroughly understand the service level agreement, as it pertains to cybersecurity, as often cloud data ownership is not covered, leaving customers vulnerable in the cloud to data leakage.

“That is, so long as you can configure your cloud service, you can configure it wrong — you can forget to put in access controls, or you can “temporarily” remove some security while testing something and forget to put it back. There is a clear boundary between the security handled by the cloud seller, versus what is your responsibility as a cloud buyer. If you don’t know your responsibility, or don’t know how to check that you are doing exactly what you should, then you end up exposed.”

Addressing the challenges With data distributed more and more in a multi-cloud environment, there are obvious challenges to monitoring and controls. Jeff says, “Calculating risk and appropriate mitigation is something every organization needs to consider carefully but it’s unique to them. Large organizations in regulated industries are often required to do more while a small start-up is likely to take a larger gamble. Mapping out potential losses due to phishing fraud, system downtime and brand reputation in the event of a data breach area good place to start.” As Cloud emails services from Microsoft and Google dominate the global market and are now accelerating in the GCC, email is more often targeted by cyber criminals.

Jeff says, “The volume of users on these global cloud-based email services means there is more malware designed to penetrate these environments. Criminals know they have only one lock to pick to gain access, so they focus their attention on these cloud services because of the potentially large payoff. Layered email security is the answer to make it as difficult as possible for attackers to target users with advanced attacked.” Harish adds that the rapid growth of cloud usage has resulted in a fractured distribution of data, with workloads spread across disparate instances and, for some organizations, platforms. The average organization already runs applications in two public clouds. He elaborates, “This multi-cloud approach compounds the visibility challenge for IT teams who need to jump from platform to platform to get a complete picture of their cloud-based estates. Lack of visibility into cloudbased workloads leads to both security and compliance risks. Organizations need to apply on-premises security learnings to their cloud environment. On-premises security is the result of decades of experience and research. When it comes to securing your cloud based servers against infection and data loss, start by thinking about what you already do for your traditional infrastructure, and adapt it for the cloud.” The lack of visibility gets compounded as workloads get distributed between multiple cloud services. It is therefore necessary for ensuring visibility of all workloads at all times in one place. “You can’t manage what you can’t see. If you buy only from one cloud service provider, and you know 100% of the accounts that are set up there, then you might be able to review them all. However, in the real world of rapid growth and change, it’s almost impossible to keep up with all the parts of your company that are using different cloud offerings. This means you need to play catch-up, and you need to learn how to look at all the different February 2020 / SMARTSMB

COVER FEATURE

ant to ensure that the same levels of application control, application handling, and threat prevention are being used to address the cloud computing environment as well as the physical network.” With data breaches more common than ever before, the journey to the cloud needs to be navigated with caution. Many recent incidents highlight the frequency with which cybercriminals are targeting cloud-based instances, using sophisticated, automated techniques. Visibility holds the key and along with visibility, there is teh need for automated response.

Mike Lloyd CTO, RedSeal

cloud vendors, who all use different language and proprietary API’s. You can use technology to build an integrated picture of all the diverse cloud and physical assets in your organization, but you need to plan for this to be a challenging game, because your business is going to grow and change faster than you expect,” says Mike. Consistent and well understood service levels should be the main focus for users using cloud based deployments. The responsibility for the security in the cloud is a shared one between the service provider and the user. Scott says, “It is vital to know where the demarcation is between service provider and company responsibilities in the cloud — too many customers assume that the cybersecurity requirements are automatically taken care off when they contract a cloud service provider. This is a mistake. Cloud security is a shared responsibility. We are advising customers to get a clear matrix of ownership between themselves and the cloud provider. Particular focus should be made to data leakage from the cloud, to the cloud and between multiple clouds. The companies contracting cloud service providers must pay attention to this as they outsource workloads and applications to the cloud. It is importSMARTSMB / February 2020

Harish says, "If you can’t see it, you can’t secure it. That’s why one of the biggest barriers to getting your security posture right is getting accurate visibility of your infrastructure. Take advantage of tools that provide a real-time visualization of network topology and traffic flow, with a full inventory breakdown including hosts, networks, user accounts, storage services, containers, and serverless functions.” He adds further, “One needs to automate security controls. The need for automated security is clear as cybercriminals increasingly take advantage of automation themselves in their attacks. The two main reasons why attacks on public cloud environments succeed are that the architecture configuration is not secure, and that threat response hasn’t kept pace with attackers. Automation of security controls is the key to addressing these issues.” According to Scott, there are a few standard best practices IT teams can focus on to secure the modern-day cloud. “To start a cloud security strategy off on the right foot, the right controls for cloud architecture need to be in place. Cloud security controls provide protection against vulnerabilities and alleviate the impact of a malicious attack. In tandem with controls, IT teams need to establish a process or system for continually monitoring the flow of

Scott Manson

Managing Director MET, McAfee

data, since insight into data and how it is managed is vital to the success of any cloud security strategy. A robust Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tool can help organizations secure data by extending on-premises data loss prevention policies to the cloud for consistent DLP, protecting sensitive data wherever it lives, tracking user behavior, and more.” And finally , “when it comes to securing data in the cloud, visibility and compliance must be top of mind for IT teams as well. Teams need to gain visibility into the entirety of applications and services in use, as well as have proper insight into user activity to have a holistic view of an organization’s existing security posture.” In summary, implementation of the proper controls and data management, in combination with effective cloud security solutions like a cloud access security broker (CASB), is the key to a strong cloud security strategy. By taking into account and working to proactively protect the multitude of endpoints connected to the cloud, the amount of data stored in the cloud, and the cloud environment itself, IT security teams can help ensure the cloud is secure.

SPOTLIGHT

2020 BAHRAIN EDITION OF SMART SMB SUMMIT & AWARDS HOSTED SUCCESSFULLY Event brings to the fore several facets of digital and business transformation through panel discussions and keynotes The second edition of Smart SMB Summit & Awards concluded on a high note on the 29th of March at Gulf Hotel, Manama under the patronage of his Excellency Dr. Abdul Hussain Bin Ali Mirza, President of Sustainable Energy Authority, Kingdom of Bahrain. As the chief guest of the day, His Excellency, Dr. Abdul Hussain Bin Ali Mirza addressing a gathering that included several top Mid-market leaders from the Kingdom highlighted the several strides that Bahrain is making on the Technology front and the strong commitment towards the future. Smart SMB Summit has over the past 18 months and more, become

a definitive and the most recognized platform for meaningful understanding of many facets of digital & Business transformation in the MEA region.

with Business transformation, forward looking legislations are helping the country’s Businesses make significant progress in sectors like Fintech for instance.”

Raman Narayan, Publisher and Editor in chief at Business Media International in his opening address said, “Over the past 18 months and more, we have been able to successfully take this platform regional having started out in Dubai with the first edition. Indeed the stories of digital transformation have gathered speed across sectors, from government to private and Bahrain is quite proudly placed in the forefront of embracing the digital future. And as this transformation goes hand in hand

According to Saumyadeep Halder, CEO of Business Media International, “Smart SMB Summit & Awards are quite effective in terms of engagement opportunities for mid-market companies. The continued success shows that the event’s theme of digital and business transformation continues to be most relevant for more decisions makers in the region than ever before as they continue adopting new technologies of transformation.”

February 2020 / SMARTSMB

SPOTLIGHT

The Summit saw several intense panel discussions and keynotes. Dr. Jassim who has been in the forefront driving awareness on the potency of AI gave a persuasive address on facilitating the growth of Bahrain as a hub for AI development in the region. According to him, with hundreds of Computer Science, AI, MIS and future science graduates emerging every year and availability of local talents, the kingdom can position its self as Estonia of Middle-East in Technology. Premanand Velumani, Business Solutions Manager, MEA, Zoho discussed some facets of digital transformation including successful customer engagement as a a key facet. He mentioned how digital transformation is more about enabling outcomes with people in mind. He also added the transformation journey is a shared responsibility of all C-level executives, ensuring that there are no fears as the cultural shift is enabled. Finally , it is about transforming your services in a manner that customers keep coming back for more. Mirza Asrar Baig, Founder & CEO, EDX Labs presented an address on the 4th industrial revolution impact on Sustainable Development Goals. He spoke at length on how Fintech faces challenges as Banks are limited to only optimizing regular Banking services with the use of Technology but not pursuing growth, whereas some of the large Technology companies that are comfortable with implementing new ideas and services and have evolved into new domains, are placed well to add even Financial services. He added â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Techfinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; will triumph over Fintech. He also highlighted that as Big Data is bringing in disruptive change, managing and leveraging it is key to the 4th industrial revSMARTSMB / February 2020

H.E. Dr. Abdul Hussain Bin Ali Mirza President, SEA, Bahrain

Dr. Jassim Haji

President, Artificial Intelligence Society, Bahrain

Premanand Velumani

Business Solutions Manager, MEA, Zoho

Panel discussion on Adoption of FinTech in the mid-market

SPOTLIGHT

olution.

Mirza Asrar Baig

Founder & CEO, EDX Labs

Panel discussion Use cases of AI in enhancing services and revenues

Panel discussion on Taking stock of VAT implementation impact in the mid-market

The first panel of the day discussed ‘Adoption of FinTech in the mid-market’. The session was moderated by Ahmed Saleh Albalooshi, Fintech researcher and expert from AI society and the participants included Ali Alsadadi, Head of IT, National Oil & Gas Authority; Ahmed Buhazza Chairman, Arab Charity Technology Innovation Initiative; Fatema Ebrahim Board Member, Women in Fintech Initiative; Hasan Isam Naser Muhi, Information Security Management, Kuwait Finance House Bahrain and Mirza Asrar Baig Founder & CEO, EDX Labs The second panel of the day dwelled on the ‘Use cases of AI in enhancing services and revenues’ and this session was moderated by Khalid Jalal, Senior Group ICT Manager, Garmco. The participants included Shk Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Supreme Council of Health; Dr Christos Gatzapulis, Head of School of ICT and Web Media, Bahrain Polytechnic; Dr Fatima Alsebaie, Research Analyst, Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (DERASAT); Nawaf Abdulrahman,General Secretary, Bahrain Smart City Society and Dr Ahmed Zaki, Associate Professor, University of Bahrain. The final panel discussion of the day took stock of VAT implementation impact in the mid-market. Maheshkumar Narayan, Chairperson, Bahrain Chapter of ICAI was the moderator for the session which included experts from industry including Jaideep Rana, CFO, Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF); Gaurav Khurana, Head of Tax, Moore Stephens Bahrain; Sanjeev Aggarwal, Head of Finance Solidarity Bahrain BSC; Nitin Sharma CFO, Salaam Telecom and Krishnan Kavasseri, CFO, Ebrahim K. Kanoo. February 2020 / SMARTSMB

SPOTLIGHT

WINNERS UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT The awards ceremony was an occasion to recognize ongoing efforts towards embracing digital transformation The Smart SMB Summit was followed by an hour of business networking before the Awards ceremony. The Awards ceremony celebrated entities, companies and individuals for their significant contributions towards digital transformation initiatives. Among the winners, Supplify was winners of Best Digital Transformation in Retail as a company that is likely a game changer in the F&B supply chain and radically simplifies supplies for the industry, especially for hotels restaurant and catering within the kingdom of Bahrain. The winner of ‘Best Digital Transformation in Healthcare’ was Supreme Council of Health for an IT project that consists of four systems driving digital transformation in The Healthcare sector including the following systems : the National Health record , a repository of all the health related data for the patient taken from the various institutions, the Drug monitoring system which tracks medications from entry to the kingdom till dispensation, the national claim system that will man-

SMARTSMB / February 2020

age all claims from hospitals to the payers, and the national health business intelligence dashboard. The Shura Council was winner of the category ‘Best Digital Transformation in Legislation’ for digitization initiatives that enable digital-ready legislations which in turn ensures an easier workload for public employees and a more effective, digital service for citizens and corporations. The winner of ‘Best Digital Transformation in Insurance’ went to Bahrain National Holding goes for the product SANAD by Bahrain National Life Assurance Company, a subsidiary of Bahrain National Holding. ‘Best Digital Transformation in Travel’ was conferred on the Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group for their efforts towards transforming their core processes while meeting customer satisfaction. The winner of ‘Best Digital Transformation in Education’ was the New Millennium School - DPS Bahrain for its implementation of several digital friendly systems in its workflows and actively including digital technologies focus in

its curriculum and activities. Garmco was the winner of ‘Best Digital Transformation in Manufacturing’, arguably the first Manufacturing company in Bahrain who has live workloads on AWS Cloud. It has achieved in-house development of RPA apps and processes using development platforms from UiPath. The winner of the category ‘Best Digital Transformation in BFSI’ was Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance, for its efforts in making its process more Fintech and digital oriented. This included launch of several software and applications tools to improve the image and even advance the work-flow from customers till vendors. It has adopted since 2014 e-Governance, a paperless as well as digital corporate governance environment. Among other awards, Osama Nasr from Bahrain Islamic Bank was the winner of ‘CIO of the Year’, while the winner of CISO of the year was Hasan Isam Naser Muhi of Kuwait Finance House.

SPOTLIGHT

The Cybersecurity Solution Provider of the year winner was CTM360 while Zayani Infosystems Middle East emerged as the winner of Easy set-up services for SMB. Artificial Intelligence Society Bahrain was the winner of ‘Best initiatives in AI’ for their efforts in developing Chatbot and Voice Recognition in Arabic language with local dialect.

With 40+ apps in nearly every major business category, including sales, marketing, customer support, accounting and back office operations, and an array of productivity and collaboration tools via the cloud, ZOHO was the winner of category ‘SaaS Provider of the year' The winner of the ‘Cloud Solutions Vendor of the year category’ was Bah-

Best Digital Transformation in Retail

SUPPLIFY

rain based DMARC360, a platform that is available for hosting 'in-country'(by request to comply with global data regulations) or via the cloud provides global threat intel, analytics, comprehensive reporting along with correlations of email traffic patterns, incident response & automated recommendations. Redington Gulf was the winner of the category ‘Volume Distributor of the Year’

Best Digital Transformation in Healthcare

SUPREME COUNCIL OF HEALTH

Best Digital Transformation in Insurance

Best Digital Transformation in Legislation

BAHRAIN NATIONAL HOLDING

SHURA COUNCIL

Best Digital Transformation in Travel

YUSUF BIN AHMED KANOO GROUP

Best Digital Transformation in Education

THE NEW MILLENNIUM SCHOOL – DPS, BAHRAIN

Best Digital Transformation in Finance

ARAB CHARITY TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION INITIATIVE

Best Digital Transformation in Manufacturing

GARMCO

February 2020 / SMARTSMB

SPOTLIGHT

Best Digital Transformation in BFSI

CIO of the Year

OSAMA NASR, BAHRAIN ISLAMIC BANK

BAHRAIN INSTITUTE OF BANKING AND FINANCE

CISO of the year

HASAN ISAM NASER MUHI, KUWAIT FINANCE HOUSE

Cybersecurity Solution Provider of the year

CTM360

Easy set-up services for SMB

Best initiatives in AI

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOCIETY BAHRAIN

ZAYANI INFOSYSTEMS MIDDLE EAST

Volume Distributor of the year

REDINGTON GULF

SMARTSMB / February 2020

SaaS Provider of the year

Cloud Solutions Vendor of the year

ZOHO ONE

DMARC360

TALKPOINT

PERVASIVE CONNECTIVITY

Lucas Jiang, General Manager, TP-Link MEA FZE discusses what everyone needs to know about mesh networks when picking one that suits your home.

What Is a Mesh Wi-Fi Network? Blanketing your whole home with Wi-Fi signals is not always easy, especially when you live in a large house with many floors (and walls). If you only use one router and encounter Wi-Fi dead zones around your home, have added multiple network nodes but are tired of complicated Wi-Fi setup and management, or always lose connection while walking around your house, then you may want to consider getting a mesh Wi-Fi network. In a traditional home network, one router connects to the internet and broadcasts Wi-Fi signals, which usually cannot cover every corner of the house. Sometimes one or more network nodes (such as range extenders or powerline devices) may connect to the router to extend the Wi-Fi coverage. However, each device forms a separated network with different Wi-Fi settings. In a mesh Wi-Fi network, multiple network nodes work together to form a single, unified network that shares the same Wi-Fi settings. These settings include network name, password, access control settings, and more. This unified Wi-Fi system provides your entire home with Wi-Fi coverage.

Tell us about your launch of TP-Link’s new mesh solutions and the growing demand for mesh networking? As smart devices proliferate and data traffic dramatically increases, a powerful network allowing for more connections while still delivering max speeds is essential. We expect totally smooth streaming with flawless HD videos, online games, and clear audio. TP-Link will be introducing the expansion of its whole home mesh offerings with the latest technology — such as Wi-Fi 6, AI-Driven Mesh, and premium hardware in 2020.

What types of Whole-Home Mesh Wi-Fi devices does TP-Link have? TP-Link Whole-Home Mesh Wi-Fi System (Deco System) for Unified Whole-Home Coverage can deliver all what you need. We have strong product line with Mesh Technology which delivers seamless Wi-Fi to an area of up to 6500 square feet. You can easily extend coverage by simply adding more Deco’s.

Lucas Jiang

General Manager, TP-Link MEA FZE

What are the benefits of a Mesh Wi-Fi Network? Compared with a traditional one-router network, a mesh WiFi network uses multiple network nodes to cover every corner of your house. You can always get a stable connection, whether you’re in the basement, garage, or yard. Compared with a traditional multi-node network, a mesh Wi-Fi network provides the following benefits: • Seamless roaming - Mesh devices share the same wireless network name and password, and support IEEE 802.11k/v to ensure seamless roaming experience. Some mesh devices may also support IEEE 802.11r to further accelerate roaming. Your phone or tablet automatically connects to the fastest mesh device as you move through your home. Switching from one mesh device to another is so smooth that it’s unnoticeable, even during streaming. • Speed and reliability- Working as a unified Wi-Fi system, a mesh network dynamically chooses the network node and band with the strongest signal for your device, guaranteeing a fast connection no matter where you are in your home. If one mesh device has an issue, the system will automatically reroute data via the other Decos to make sure you stay online. • Easy setup and centralized management - Just set up a main Deco using “Deco App” and connect other Decos nodes to it. These devices will automatically copy its Wi-Fi settings, including network name, password, access control settings and more. What’s more, you can manage all devices in the mesh network simply by managing the central node (main router). No need to repeat Wi-Fi configurations or manage connected clients on each device. February 2020 / SMARTSMB

TALKPOINT

INTEGRATING TRANSFORMATION AMSI is a collaboration of academicians and educators and manages the Al Mawakeb schools and The International School of Arts and Sciences - ISAS in Dubai, in addition to a number of schools in the UAE and the region providing high quality education to over 200,000 students. George Akhras, Chief Information Officer at AMSI discusses relevance of digital transformation as a strategy in Education and in general

Discuss in your view the outlook in terms of actual deployments for newer technologies like AI, IoT and others in the region? Presently the top objectives of companies, big or small, are to develop and enhance their products and services while reducing the cost and increasing security. AI, IoT, Blockchain and similar technologies are unsurpassed solutions to satisfy these objectives. Vendors and providers shall continue to improve their offerings and investments in these technologies across all verticals will increase in the next few years.

How do you see digital transformation journeys in companies are empowering them? Can you also also from your company's perspective? In a very competitive market, companies seek out strategies to give them an edge over the other players. Digital transformation is an integral factor in these strategies and one of the most significant reasons of companies success. Top companies around the world are those who embraced transformation early on. There are many examples of how smart communication platforms or Intelligent data collection and manipulation have made companies market leaders in their fields. Transformation is our motto at AMSI and the Digital transformation jourSMARTSMB / February 2020

ney in our schools started back in the 1980s when we introduced the first computer lab. Publishing the diplomas of our graduating students on the Blockchain in 2019 is another milestone in our journey. Our strong belief in technology and its influence on the development of education made our schools leaders in IT integration. The ICT integration process at AMSI includes a comprehensive software and hardware synergy that binds multiple solutions together at academic, operational and managerial capacities. Starting with a student enrolling into a school, through the procurement processes and the creation of inventory tracking and asset management, and ultimately the implementation of E-learning curricula in a classroom and the linking of the required databases, our ICT integration aspects allow for the seamless flow of operations and diligent supervision of these processes, while adhering to the highest codes of quality implementation.

George Akhras

Chief Information Officer, AMSI

Do you believe migration to cloud infrastructure will likely see greater traction?

Please discuss key focus areas of IT transformation in your group?

Cost reduction and increasing ROI is everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main focus in the next few years. Migration to the cloud, private or public, is expected to increase and investment in its availability and security will rise as well. Many leading vendors such as Microsoft are investing in the region to attract customers and satisfy the growing demand.

AI and the Blockchain are our key focus areas for this current period. In 2019 we published the diplomas of our graduating class on the Blockchain. In 2020 we are launching the student Digital Academic Passport which includes a published copy of all the school documents on the Blockchain. In 2021 we will launch our new AI learning management system.

APPAREL

EMERGENCE OF HOMEGROWN BRANDS IN THE APPAREL INDUSTRY

By Diksha Vohra

Owing to many factors like the internet boom making education and sales online easier, there has been a rise in homegrown brands and designers in the UAE. How are these new brands surviving in the wake of competition from international brands and rapidly changing market trends in the UAE? The fashion industry in the UAE is one of the most lucrative industries after oil and gas. The reasons can be many - UAE’s proximity to international markets, being a melting pot of different nationalities, being a trading hub and a steady increase in well-informed and self aware clients. That’s precisely why UAE is home to many international brands such as Dolce&Gabbana, Alexander McQueen, Louis Vuitton and even Vogue Arabia. However, the last decade has also witnessed the emergence of UAE’s homegrown designers who’ve launched their own brands targeting the local clients. Some of them have physical stores while most of them are selling online. “It's a burgeoning industry in the UAE so it's an exciting time seeing all the new perspectives emerging and developing,” says Latifa AlGurg, CEO and Creative Director of Twisted Roots. Infact, from 2013 to 2018, e-commerce sales in UAE alone accounted to AED 21 billion and 30% of the consumers in the GCC have said that they prefer shopping online. The increasing demand for online shopping can be adhered to the huge spending power, jet-setting lifestyle and tech-savvy habits of this new SMARTSMB / February 2020

generation. This change, however, has given rise to many fashion trends in the UAE too. “I've definitely seen a rise in the streetwear and activewear category, as well as, contemporary brands,” says Latifa. “The core of our brand is developing reinterpreted classic styles with an edge in clean silhouettes and quality fabrics with fine finishings. Additionally, our brand story is one of exploration and discovery as every season is inspired by a country or city and this resonates with our customers.” Where Latifa sells, what she calls, affordable luxury clothing, Jasmin Mampilli, is into textile print designing. Her namesake brand ‘Jasmin Mampilli’ is a Made in UAE brand oozes creativity and authenticity at the same time. “Having graduated with a BA Hons in Fashion and Textile Print design from Singapore, and majoring in textile printing allowed me to understand the finer details of apparel and fuse novelty with functionality,” says Jasmin. “This translated into the label slowly building a community of its own due to how authentic, relatable and well constructed the pieces are. The label

Latifa AlGurg

CEO & Creative Director, Twisted Roots

APPAREL

is also unisex and size inclusive which has been well received and led to us being featured at The Cave x Dubai Design week 2019, the Elevate store and Mall of the Emirates and recently with El Botik at The Youth Hub Abu Dhabi.” An interesting point to note in both the above brands is that their target audience is very niche bringing us to a conclusion that with the number of brands and their expertise, UAE has slowly begun to have something for everyone. Amongst those, a notable trend has been modest fashion. Modest fashion is basically for those who are internationalists and traditional at the same time. They travel, they explore and yet choose to remain close to their respective faiths. They wish to dress modestly but with style. “Our brand Qabeela is for women who wish to dress up modestly,” says Mona, founder of Qabeela. “Surprisingly, majority of my clients are international and we ship our products to them which goes on to prove that even internationally, the homegrown concept of modest fashion is making waves.” Emirati designers have realized that variety in fashion is key to positioning the UAE as one of the major fashion capitals in the world and with the rise in modest, Islamic fashion, the industry is expected to boom. In a report released by Thomson Reuters, the fashion sector for Islamic clothing alone was expected to reach $484 billion in 2019. While the UAE definitely seems to provide for new opportunities for growth by supporting new trends, from a business perspective too, the Government too has been making provisions allowing for smooth setup and operations. “With the issuing of alternative business licenses, rise of e-commerce platforms and possibilities of customizing clothing online, you can establish your own brand with the click of a button,” says Jasmin. “The government places value on creatives and has done its level best to make it ac-

cessible to all, thus making it much easier than before.” Latifa, however, feels it is both easy and difficult to setup an apparel business in the UAE. “It is quite accessible to start getting your vision realized but establishing a business that is self-sustaining is difficult since it's a new industry and sourcing raw material is a challenge.” Mona seconds the thought by adding that shipment costs are exceedingly high which make e-commerce far more expensive than it is in the western countries. “Here, we don’t have post boxes outside each home so we cannot practically sends goods to the postal addresses. We have to rely on DHL and other courier companies which charge a lot. So while marketing has become easier, the shipment and delivery continues to be a challenge.” Automation is further helping bringing the cost of production down, which in the future may prove to be a boon to the clothing industry. With increasing labor costs and tougher competition, automation would help in still maintaining one’s market share and allowing one to survive longer. In terms of revenue, while Mona’s major income comes through e-commerce, Latifa’s business comes from the brick and mortar avenues. “We started out with brick and mortar stockists and have diversified to online ones,” she adds. It is, therefore, difficult to say whether relying solely on online platforms for business is sufficient because each business seems to be targeting a different audience and while the generic preferences are moving towards shopping online, as the price goes higher, people tend to avoid purchasing online and prefer buying from stores. “You’ve to find your way,” says Mona. “The market is so diverse so its really hard to say what works for whom so I’d

Jasmin Mampilli

Founder, Jasmin Mampilli

say stick to what is bringing you the results but definitely in today’s date it is important to have a social media standing, even if its only for awareness.”

“The government places value on creatives and has done its level best to make it accessible to all, thus making it much easier than before.” February 2020 / SMARTSMB

FOOD

RISE OF AND GLUTEN FREE PRODUCTS IN THE UAE Be it for health or environmental reasons, a lot of UAE residents are choosing organic and gluten free products over others. How has this change affected the market for organic and gluten free produce? Has technological interventions made things better or worse? By Diksha Vohra Sunday mornings are busy for Mitun and the entire team of Simply Healthy as they need to prepare weekly meals for their clients. While Mitun takes care of procuring nutritious products like several fruits, vegetables and other items to go in the meals, her team takes care of the food preparations. She, however, admits that despite the growing interest in organic produce, only some of her fruits and vegetables are organic, not all. “We follow the Dirty dozen food list to pick the organic produce, otherwise most of the fresh pro-duce used is local from the nearby farms,” says Mitun De Sarkar, Clinical Dietitian, Nutritionist and Founder of Simply Healthy. Through her company, Mitun has been serving nutritious food to her clients spread across Dubai for the last 14-years. Some of her clients ask for organic food and they’re ready to pay a premium price for it while some don’t like the idea of paying double or triple price for organic products. Hence they consume regular products. And this isn’t only true for Mitun’s clients but this pattern has largely been witnessed all across the region. According to a survey conducted by YouGov in 2018, the appetite for organic products had increased that year compared to last year but still wasn’t a 100%. While health was a major driver of this trend (59%), other’s felt it was more natural (50%) and safer SMARTSMB / February 2020

Mitun De Sarkar

Clinical Dietitian, Nutritionist and Founder, Simply Healthy

FOOD

“Gluten free breads, cereals, cakes, cookies, pastas, noodles, energy bars you name it, its all gone gluten free though it doesn't mean its healthy. Gluten free products can be more refined, processed and lacking fiber.” for consumption (47%) com-pared to non-organic produce. So awareness of organic produce is on the rise but the degree of awareness of its benefits varies significantly. “Most of our customers are from Western countries as well as the UAE nationals,” says Manu Mahdi, Founder & CEO of Organic & Real. “Even though the percentage of the population of South Asians, predominantly Indians in the country is very high, the acceptance and appreciation of or-ganic food as a concept is very less among them.” He, however, notes that more of this population has started to purchase organic products periodically despite being limited to only a few categories.

Challenges in growth

Manu Mahdi

Founder & CEO, Organic & Real

Organic & Real,” says Manu remembering the initial days of his business. “We spent almost a year mainly communicating just the concept of organic food, why is it important not only for our own well being but also for the sustenance of the planet's balance as Industrial farming practices are destroying the planet. Till date, we spend almost 15% to 20% on marketing and promotions.”

One of the biggest challenges in the growth of organic and gluten free products has been the lack of information which is why people have different reasons for choosing it and for not choosing it.

Another myth surrounding organic and gluten free produce is that they’re all healthy. While organic products are safer for consumption, especially in comparison to pesticide infused fruits and vegeta-bles, they may not necessarily be healthy.

“Creating awareness was the most critical factor for us when we started

“Making junk food sound healthy is a common marketing ploy in the food

industry,” says Mitun. “Gluten free breads, cereals, cakes, cookies, pastas, noodles, energy bars you name it, its all gone gluten free though it doesn't mean its healthy. Gluten free products can be more refined, processed and lacking fiber.” Similarly organic baked goods like snacks and desserts are usually very high in calorie count and salt which may not be healthy either. So customers need to purchase conscious-ly. Another factor hindering the growth of this industry is the price factor. While consumers are con-scious while purchasing organic products, even farmers are washing away their hands from the same. “More farmers are now dropping out of organic farming due to the high cost February 2020 / SMARTSMB

FOOD

of production and non-consistency in the procurement,” says Manu. “We are working directly with farmers incentivizing them with the guaranteed purchase and fair price. By eliminating middlemen, we are trying to offer good organic food at a more affordable price than it is available now. Unless we go back to the ba-sics, to the farming community, things won't change in the organic industry.”

Innovative farming, is it the solution? Technological intervention has made its way into agriculture and farming too. Where on one hand we see farmers growing their produce naturally, on the other we’re seeing mushrooming projects in Hydroponics, Aquaponics, and vertical indoor farming. Whether they can be considered organic or not, considering they’re grown in a very controlled and regulated environment, is still debatable. Manu notes another critical issue with such kind of production to be the limited quantity that is pro-duced by them. “I haven't even seen any drop in

SMARTSMB / February 2020

price despite opting for such farming practices considering the investment is quite high,” he adds. Mitun, however, feels that price depends on the demand and supply equation. The fact that prices, despite technological interventions, have not reduced is because the demand has not significantly increased. If the demand for organic products had increased, the investment into these new meth-ods would have paid off in smaller portions but through many consumers bringing the prices down. The demand, however, has not grown in proportion to the prices. “The more demand we have for organic, more small farms will be able to produce pesticide free food for us and sell us at a cheaper price,” says Mitun. “Luckily many organic farms have sprawled up in this region making eating organic easier.”

Changing trends - the way forward According to experts, education is one of the most useful ways to increase

demand for organic and gluten free products. For example, with so much focus laid on environmental protection, many people are choosing to go vegan or a plant based lifestyle. “The awareness that industrial farming of meat is one of the most significant contributors to global warming has resulted in many people opting for a vegan lifestyle,” says Manu. “Many companies are now coming up with meat alternatives which are gaining a lot of interest among vegans. Be-yond Burger is a US company that brings out beyond burgers that looks and tastes almost like a beef burger, while it's all made of plant-based ingredients. We, Organic & Real, are on our way to becoming one of the serious players in the vegan food industry.” Mitun, however, feels that education should not only be restricted to choosing certain products but making a conscious, well-informed choice. “Also people should be educated well on reading nutri-tion labels on containers of food to make informed choices about their health, allergens and the quality of the food they are consuming.”

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FINANCE

CATALYZING INVESTMENTS IN THE UAE

By Diksha Vohra

The FDI law enacted in 2018 allowed for 100% foreign ownership of companies performing certain economic activities. How has that impacted the regional markets? Do we really see an influx of finances in the country? From oil to cultural heritage to tourism and now as a financial investment destination, the UAE is becoming a globally favored place. In a country where the expatriate population comprises of more than three quarters of the entire population, foreign investments have also been on the rise. However, over the last decade one of the major challenges investors faced was having to partner with a local sponsor who held at least 51% shares in the company. Addressing this concern, in November 2018, the Government of UAE announced the FDI law which allowed for 100% ownership of businesses performing certain activities. The list of the businesses, however, was released last July. While the law did bring a sigh of relief to many, experts feel that the scope of the law remains quite narrow.

Elena Schildgen

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The FDI Law certainly offers opportunities, but realistically its scope seems to be targeting and limited to multinational companies that will be able to afford the large amounts of capital required,â&#x20AC;? says Elena Schildgen, Managing Partner, Meyer-Reumann & Partners. The sectors which allow 100% foreign ownership are: 1.Space 2.Renewable Energy 3.Agriculture 4.Manufacturing 5.Road Transport & Storage 6.Hospitality and Food Services 7.Information and Communication SerSMARTSMB / February 2020

Managing Partner, Meyer-Reumann & Partners

vices 8.Professional, Scientific and Technical activities 9.Administration and Support Services 10.Education 11.Healthcare 12.Art & Entertainment 13.Construction According to Elena, the list of the sectors has been carefully chosen to

motivate and establish an equilibrium between foreign investors who would like to have a wider access to the UAE market. It is also of interest that news reports indicate that for activities that are not included in the list of activities/sectors eligible for 100 percent foreign ownership, companies could approach the government for permission for a

FINANCE

higher level of ownership; and that approvals may be granted on a case-bycase basis.

Success so far According to the Dubai FDI monitor, Dubai has attracted more than 250 FDI projects worth AED 44.6 billion during the first half of 2019. In-fact, the US alone has invested in 55 projects in the same period with total investment worth AED 16.56 billion making the US a leading investor in terms of FDI capital inflows. Also, in October 2019, Dubai assumed the presidency of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), a global entity that works for the smooth flow of cross-border investments. Experts, however, seem to have anticipated this response quite ahead of time. “In the area of free professions a quantitatively large base for the establishment of FDI companies was anticipated, as they were already previously permitted subject to certain conditions,” says Elena. “In other fields of services, the choice of activities and conditions seems to be in line with the development strategies of the country. For example, medical practices and educational establishments are subject to favorable conditions and would contribute to the UAE's development perspective in these fields.” What she finds interesting is that holding companies for intellectual property can be set up with the legally required capital now. What’s astonishing, however, is the that the allowance of retail in unspecialised stores requires a minimum of AED 1 million worth of investment. This may affect the growth of retail industry in the UAE but for now, it is too early to judge. “The only major publicised acquisition was that of Mars (the confectionary giant) becoming the 100% owner of the previous 51/49% joint venture,” says Elena while commenting on the success rate of the FDI law. According to her and many experts, because the investment amount is large, it is taking

Fahad Al Gergawi CEO, Dubai FDI

a while to generate the results we as a country were hoping to witness. While the UAE is expecting over 25 million tourists, there is a possibility that the FDI law succeeds in attracting a few of those investors so till then, the growth will be slow but gradual.

Government missions to boost FDI The UAE government, in order to boost investments, is planning several trips to different countries in 2020. According to officials, these foreign missions have proved quite beneficial for the UAE in the past as they’ve attracted investments and the much needed attention from a global perspective. “Dubai FDI is organising these missions to promote Dubai and its ideal investment environment while also highlighting current and future investment opportunities in the strategic and emerging economic sectors - all falling in line with Dubai's vision to make the emirate a preferred global FDI destination under the Dubai 2021 Plan,” says Fahad Al Gergawi, CEO of Dubai FDI. Dubai FDI has outlined two missions to the US covering industries like aerospace, advanced technology, trade,

financial services. film and media, manufacturing, life sciences, healthcare, agriculture and processed foods. Since China contributed 7% of the total FDI capital and 5% of the total FDI projects in 2018, Dubai FDI has outlined one mission to China which will cover manufacturing industry, maritime and logistics mainly. The other countries being visited include India and Australia as they’re the next biggest investors in the UAE. “We are confident that these global investment missions for 2020 will further enhance the strong ties between Dubai FDI and global countries and increase FDI inflows into the country,” said Al Gergawi. In conclusion, while the FDI laws seems to be promising, the exceptionally high capital requirement could prove to be an obstacle in the long run. Elena notes: “As long as more cost effective options such as the establishment of 100% ownership in free zones is available and foreign investors are able to find trusted partners in a 51 / 49 % joint venture the FDI may have very limited effect.” However, with Dubai’s foreign missions, we can only expect more investment in the country giving rise to many more opportunities of growth and development for the nation as a whole. February 2020 / SMARTSMB

COLUMN

INTEROPERABILITY AND CROSS BORDER COMPLIANCE ON EDELIVERY PLATFORMS GCC governments should not only think on VAT collections but facilitate cross border, global trading business for their companies writes Luis Ortega, MD, MEA & Asia, Pagero In a global economy, businesses need to be able to buy and sell in a fluid manner with the fewest possible obstacles, to do this we need to break down barriers. Open interconnected business networks provide businesses global reach that extends beyond your service provider and your supplier or customer network. Interoperability (roaming as commonly referred to in the telecom industry) in this connected world is more essential now than ever before. The idea of this interoperability for e-document exchange is still a young idea. The telecommunications sector is an example of an industry that had to embrace interoperability and it benefitted us all. However, we are quickly approaching the same tipping point for the e-procurement sector as the telecommunications sector once did. A truly open network is also designed to integrate seamlessly with new technologies and solutions as they emerge. This brings value to businesses, as they then have the full freedom of choice for their own operations, without the burden of needing to consider what systems or processes their business partners are using. Many governments across the globe are looking for ways to facilitate this kind of buying and selling process for goods and services. In Europe, as part of European integration standard protocol for communication between business to business and business to government, Peppol was created. It is a set of artifacts and specifications SMARTSMB / February 2020

Luis Ortega

Managing Director for Middle East, Africa, Asia, Pagero

enabling domestic and cross-border eProcurement. The use of Peppol is governed by a multi-lateral agreement structure which is owned and maintained by OpenPeppol. Since the introduction of e-procurement regulations in Europe, the scope of Peppol has grown way beyond the original B2G (business to government) intent, gaining more use in the B2B space. Organizations in countries that are importing and exporting and deal-

ing with European trading partners using Peppol find it easier and cheaper for cross border trading. Peppol has since grown and adopted beyond Europe in several countries including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and, soon, in Malaysia. In the Middle East, as a region that relies on cross border trading, this kind of roaming in the e-procurement process is even more relevant and crucial. E-procurement also brings standard-

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ization on e-invoicing models. This in turn provides real time control on transactions to facilitate indirect taxes, cross-border trading combined with compliance with global indirect taxation and regulations. In addition, it provides the opportunity to validate the buyer and seller and in markets like the GCC, provides transparency and an opportunity to connect with other businesses not only within their country but across borders. Given the high volume of cross border regional trading activity in the GCC countries it will be advisable that any Electronic Invoicing initiatives driven by tax or commerce regulators in the region are coordinated and standardized taking in account the interoperability with other global initiatives like Peppol currently adopted by EU, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. This will facilitate the goals of the governments to simplify and increase the visibility of the indirect taxes but also will provide businesses with enough flexibility to operate under standardized framework, and facilitate the flow of trading documents digitally, accurately and across borders. Some of the key drivers of adopting a Peppol type

of e-procurement models are: - Global interoperability - Existing infrastructure and rules of engagement known to many businesses and service providers, which decreases investment and governance effort for the government - Efficiency; several studies demonstrate cost savings in invoice processing of 50-90% per transaction depending on levels of eInvoice adoption - Electronic invoicing improves and facilitate automation of data validation. Better data makes for better decisions - Clear, well defined standardized format and contents facilitates compliance - In a fully digitalize trading documents flow (orders, dispatch advises, invoices, payment instructions), the Tax authorities can get easily closer to the data source creating better control for governments. - Connect once, reach all Companies like Pagero are building

the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest open business network. With a cloud-based network, companies can now reach any business, anywhere in the world â&#x20AC;&#x201C; no matter how many borders their operations cross. These companies partner with the leading players to take care of the technical and regulatory requirements across the entire order-to-cash, purchase-to-pay and freight processes, to provide data accuracy and security, transparency and real-time visibility. This level of interoperability helps organizations streamline their flow of business documents, making it possible for them to reach as many other companies as possible in both the private and public sectors, worldwide. Pagero, for example, works with organizations such as OpenPeppol, EESPA (the European E-Invoicing Service Providers Association, VeR (the German e-invoicing association) and NEA (the Swedish Electronic Business Network) to help standardize and smooth the e-invoicing process between businesses, institutions and across borders. This gives them a broader understanding of the market but also makes it easier for their customers to connect with their business partners.

February 2020 / SMARTSMB

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DATA PROTECTION: DE-RISKING IN THE ERA OF TRANSPARENCY Daniel Fried, GM and SVP, EMEA and Worldwide Channels, Veeam opines that the impact of GDPR will continue to be profound as businesses adapt to its demands The issue of data protection and privacy was, until recently, a conversation confined to a specific group of people within an organisation. Unless you were an IT consultant or a corporate lawyer, privacy compliance was something somebody else took care of. So, how have we reached the point where many organizations are bound by law to employ a Data Protection Officer (DPO)? Why are CEOs now so interested in their company’s data protection and privacy policies? You could be easily fooled into thinking data privacy as a field has only existed since 2018, but nothing could be further from the truth. From an anthropological perspective, human beings have longed for privacy for over 3,000 years. The use of internal walls within buildings which started to become commonplace in 1500 AD proves this. The concept of the ‘right to privacy’ as we know it is indeed younger – eventually being formalised as an international human right in 1948. Sweden became the first country to enact a national data protection law in 1973. Even this, the first tangible effort to regulate data privacy, happened in response to public concern over the increasing use of computers to process and store personal information. While our understanding of the current data privacy conversation must operate within this context, there is no denying that 2018 was a watershed moment. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) may be less than two years’ old, but its impact has been significant. As well as its very specific nature which makes the regulation enforceable, GDPR regulators have not been frightened to flex their muscles. To date, it has collected almost €429 million in fines – serving as a constant SMARTSMB / February 2020

Daniel Fried

GM & SVP, EMEA and Worldwide Channels, Veeam

reminder to any business processing the data of European citizens that there are penalties for not adhering to data privacy requirements.

The privacy skills gap As well as providing a clearer framework for appropriate data handling

practices, GDPR has made data protection and privacy more about people. Rather than talking in terms of technical standards and software requirements, it is based on fundamental citizens’ rights and how people within an organization can uphold them. One of the most specific lines of the GDPR is Article 37, which states

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that certain companies must appoint a Data Protection Officer to be compliant. More specifically, any public authority, a company whose core activities require large-scale monitoring of individuals or consist of large-scale processing of criminal data. Wherever appointing a DPO is not required under GDPR, it is advised as best practice for companies who need to ensure they have the right data processes in place. Given that the latest Veeam Cloud Data Management report shows that organizations across multiple industries will spend an average of $41 million deploying technologies to boost business intelligence, experienced DPOs have become hot property. In 2018, when GDPR was passed, as many as 75,000 vacancies for DPOs needed to be filled – with Europe and the USA accounting for around 28,000 of these roles. Especially during this period of transition, organizations across the board must foster a culture of transparency in terms of how data is used. Not every person in the business can be a data protection expert, but all employees

must appreciate and understand the basic principles. Furthermore, while the ownership of GDPR compliance lies with the DPO, the buck ultimately stops with the CEO. Data protection is a business conversation as well as a technology one. With that said, businesses must have an IT strategy in place which enables solid data protection practices.

Minds over matter Veeam research shows that three-quarters of IT decision makers globally are looking to Cloud Data Management as a means of creating a more intelligent business. Cloud Data Management brings together disciplines such as backup, replication and disaster recovery across an organizations’ entire cloud and data management provision. It ensures that data is always available, recoverable and protected at all times. But like data privacy, IT is a people industry too. In a world where businesses need to protect their data more than ever before, CEOs, CIOs and DPOs alike are looking for trusted partners to help de-risk their data management. This support

may take the form of configuring data management systems, providing technical training for administrators, or basic data privacy training for end-users. We need to reflect on how we use and view data and especially on occasions like the Data Protection Day. Moreover, as we begin a new decade, it’s an apt moment to acknowledge that we are still in the midst of transformation. The impact of GDPR will continue to be profound as businesses adapt to its demands and its enforcers become less patient with those who fail to comply. More fines and reputational damage will only add to the demand for DPOs – people with the expertise and appetite to take on the data privacy challenges of an organization. While investing in technologies like Cloud Data Management will be fundamental to the DPO’s strategy, privacy is now a people business. Therefore, the shrewdest investments will be in trusted partners who can guide people at every level of the organization through the rigours of remaining compliant and help create an authentic culture of data transparency.

February 2020 / SMARTSMB

TECH WATCH

EMEA 5P RACKMOUNT LITHIUM-ION UPS

eight years and reducing the need for mid-cycle battery replacement. Lithium-ion batteries also have three times faster recharge capabilities, reducing vulnerability and maximizing uptime in the case of power disruptions. Eaton’s 5P lithium-ion UPS includes an on-board battery management system (BMS) to provide up-to-date insights into battery performance, charge cycles and active temperature monitoring to keep the user informed of the lifecycle of their UPS battery. The UPS also provides enhanced network security with the optional industry-first UL 2900-1 and IEC 62443-4-2 standard compliant Eaton Gigabit Network Card, designed to enhance uptime and cybersecurity protection.

Highlights: • A user-friendly, lightweight design with 20 percent less weight than a comparable lead-acid UPS. Power management company Eaton today announced the EMEA launch of its 5P rackmount lithium-ion uninterruptible power system (UPS). Building on the best-in-class reliability of the Eaton 5P UPS platform, the 5P lithium-ion UPS provides a dependable, integrated solution with enhanced network security, extended battery

life and remote management capabilities that make it the ideal solution for distributed IT and edge computing environments. The 5P lithium-ion UPS uses lithium-ion batteries that provide enhanced performance compared to lead-acid batteries, with extended service life up to

• Versatile mounting options allowing for simple deployment. • Less rack space, compact 1U and slimline wallmount for a reduced footprint. • Five-year standard warranty on the UPS and batteries.

D-LINK EASYMESH SYSTEM COVR-1102 D-Link announced the new COVR-1102 AC1200 Dual Band Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi System, one of the world’s first Wi-Fi CERTIFIED EasyMesh lifestyle mesh systems. The industry-standard mesh networking technology allows for device flexibility and ease of use, as users can easily add additional units for more coverage. Performance is maximized with the network’s self-orSMARTSMB / February 2020

ganizing and self-optimizing capabilities. The COVR-1102 is fast enough to support multiple devices performing data-intensive tasks like simultaneous HD streaming. It is also adaptable to different housing sizes and configurations, covering up to 3,500 square feet/ 325 square meters with seamless Wi-Fi, with the option of using a wired Ethernet backhaul connection

for even more flexibility in deployment. Setup is easy with the free D-Link WiFi App, and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED EasyMesh enables automatic synchronization of network settings across all the Covr Points in the network. COVR-1102 also supports WPA3, which brings the latest standard for wireless encryption to individual users.

TECH WATCH

SURFACE PRO 7

two-in-one design to the next level, with a faster and even more versatile device for professionals on the go. Powered by Intel’s 10th-generation core processor, Fast Charging, all-day battery and Instant On, the Pro 7 also includes superior connectivity with USB-C and USB-A ports. A high-res 12.3” PixelSense Display touchscreen with ambient light sensing automatically adjusts to lighting conditions. For a full laptop anywhere, personalize Surface Pro 7 with Microsoft’s signature type cover, Surface Pen, and Surface Arc Mouse — all in rich colors you can mix or match.3

Highlights:

Microsoft expanded its award-winning Surface range for the UAE market, as it unveiled three new versatile devices in the country, covering use cases for both commercial and consumer customers. The Surface Pro X, Pro 7, and

Laptop 3 continue the brand’s tradition of best-in-class productivity, security, mobility and speed, introducing new processors and device categories. Surface Pro 7 takes Microsoft’s iconic

• Transforms from tablet to laptop with the innovative, built-in Kickstand and removable Surface Signature Type Cover. • Lower the Kickstand into Studio Mode for a natural writing and drawing angle with Surface Pen* and touch. • With its powerful Intel Core processor, Fast Charging, all-day battery1 and Instant On, get back to work whenever inspiration strikes. • With tablet-to-laptop versatility and better connectivity with USB-C™ and USB-A ports, ultra-slim and light Surface Pro 7 adapts to you.

Highlights: • One Seamless Network: there is one wireless network name and password for the entire home • Smart Steering: automatically directs device to optimum wireless band, reducing buffering and lag • Smart Roaming: automatically connects to the Covr Point with the strongest signal so that users can move freely throughout the house • Voice Assistant Compatibility: Control the router’s functionality by using voice commands with Alexa or the Google Assistant February 2020 / SMARTSMB

MARKET MONITOR

GLOBAL RESEARCH REVEALS WORLD’S ‘MOST HATED’ OFFICE TASKS Over 75 percent surveyed say workers shouldn’t spend time on tasks that can be automated A global study commissioned by Automation Anywhere, a leader in Robotic Process Automation (RPA) of more than 10,000 office workers spanning nearly a dozen countries, reveals that they average more than three hours a day on manual, repetitive computer tasks which aren’t part of their primary job and are ripe for human error. The research, conducted by OnePoll, investigated the time spent on and attitudes towards manual, repetitive digital administration tasks in the modern enterprise. New data reveals that nearly half of workers surveyed who expressed an opinion[i] find digital administration boring (47%) and a poor use of their skills (48%), while the majority say it gets in the way of doing their main job (51% overall, rising to 80% in India) and reduces their overall productivity (64%). Over half (52%) of millennial respondents felt that they could be more productive if they had less administrative tasks to complete, slightly higher than the average at 48%. “There was a time not so long ago when workplace technology was viewed as liberating,” said Shelly Kramer, Principal Analyst, Futurum Research. “The PC age freed office workers from rigid processes, placing each of us in control of our own workflow. But there’s been a trade-off, and today, those tasks have become a significant burden. If you work in an office, likely your productivity and happiness are significantly undermined with having to be responsible for manual computer administration tasks that could easily be automated and eat into your day.”

Data entry is the world’s most hated task At the very top of the hated task heap is general data entry – manually inputting data into a computer or other devices, followed closely by managing SMARTSMB / February 2020

email traffic and filing digital documents – such as documents, spreadsheets, images or PDFs - into the correct digital folder. Compiling reports from IT and software systems and invoice management round out the top five most hated tasks. The survey revealed that the top three most hated tasks are also the top three administrative tasks workers report that they spend the most time on every day. Although today, there are hundreds of software robots (bots) that can now perform many of these manual office tasks. .With an 8-hour workday being the global norm, according to the survey the average employee loses 60 hours per month to easily automatable tasks. By deploying a digital workforce and automating these repetitive tasks employees could be given back a quarter of their annual work time (4.5 months) to focus on more meaningful work, boosting productivity and overall business value. The new research also focuses on the impact on employee happiness that extends beyond the office. Nearly half (49%) of those surveyed say that simple digital administrative tasks often prevent them from leaving the office on time, indicating it’s impacting their personal lives. This is a bigger prob-

lem for male workers, as 54% of men struggle to leave work on time, compared to 43% of female workers.

Today’s workers are embracing automation to eliminate manual processes Almost all of those surveyed said they believe that automation could easily eliminate manual, repetitive digital office tasks that aren’t core to their job (85%) and anticipate they’d be happier with the change (88%). With the freedup time, workers say they’d be able to perform their primary job better, improve productivity within their department, and seek opportunities to learn new skills.

Employees directly see the shift to automation as the responsibility of their employer The overwhelming majority (87%) of office workers who expressed an opinion would like their employers to automate more manual repetitive business processes. More than half (55%) said they would consider leaving a job if this manual administrative load became too high, while 85% would be attracted to work at a company that invested in automation to reduce repetitive digital administration tasks.

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