DUBAI: One of the world’s biggest tech shows, GITEX GLOBAL, is currently ongoing at the Dubai World Trade Centre, featuring some 5,000 exhibitors from around the world, including big names like Microsoft, IBM, Lenovo and Huawei. The event, scheduled to end on Friday, is expected to attract 100,000 attendees from 170 countries.
“We have been a partner in Gitex for the last three decades,” Yvonne Chebib Brao, Executive Senior Director at Microsoft told Business Recorder.
At GITEX, Pakistan makes a pitch for investment in its IT sector
“The event embodies the spirit of the UAE where you bring all the new technology to the country, which has been leading in this space and where we are partnering all the time with the government.”
Speaking in the Middle East for the first time, Dr Tian Qi, Chief AI Scientist, Huawei Cloud, talked about the vast potential that AI can have for the scientific community, highlighting that it can speed up computation time by a factor of at least 10,000, and can help better predict weather patterns and support in discovery of new medications.
His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, who officially opened the event on Monday, said: “The record global participation in the 42nd edition of the event reflects Dubai’s profile as a hub for innovation, knowledge sharing, enterprise and networking in the international technology industry, a position it has built through focused investments over the last few decades.”
“The strong response the event has drawn from the international technology community also points to Dubai’s emergence as a city that is vital to shaping the future of the industry,” he added.
GITEX also provides 250 government entities with a platform to showcase their latest public-private partnerships and digital projects, including Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai Police, Abu Dhabi Digital Authority and Digital Dubai.
Speaking exclusively to Business Recorder, Rashid Alahmedi, Chief Operating Officer at InfraX - a Digital DEWA Company, said: “We are showing our latest services and products from the field of Internet of Things and how we are delivering the latest technology that helped in the digitization of the operation inside DEWA.
Flying taxi at GITEX: XPENG X2's first public flight in Dubai 'major breakthrough'
“We are presenting use cases related to the transmission power inspection, which will reduce the operation overheads and also showcasing some of our partnership in terms of the latest technology in the field of 5G with telecom operator du.”
Talking about plans for 2023, Alahmedi said, “we will be focusing more on delivering more technologies and more use cases that will allow our partners from the private and public sector to improve their efficiencies … and work with them to fulfill their demand when it comes to adoption of the smart cities and also the applications of the Internet of Things.”
Also exhibiting at GITEX was WSO02, an open-source technology provider founded in 2005 that only started operations in Dubai last year.
Uday Shankar Kizhepat, VP and GM-MEA of WSO2, told Business Recorder: “Dubai has made it very easy for companies to open and set up shop here. It's the perfect place to reach out to the region. So this is where our regional headquarters is going to be and we will be servicing our customers across the region.”
Business Recorder also had a chat with Majd Sinan, Country Manager UAE at Trend Micro, a cyber security software company.
"As you know, cyber security industry is dynamic and evolving very fast," he said, adding that even as the traditional threats of phishing and ransomware remain, the new norm of working from home is creating new concerns, with companies and individuals adopting more cloud solutions.
“We are here to assure our customers that we are present in the region.”
Pakistan's presence
Meanwhile, Pakistan also has a significant presence at GITEX this year, with Minister of IT Syed Amin Ul Haque inviting international companies to participate in Lahore's Tech Spring in March next year.
The Pakistan section of the event was titled Tech Destination Pakistan, with roughly 30 companies exhibiting, including Systems Limited, Inbox Business Technologies, TallyMarks Consulting (TMC).
Comments
Comments are closed.