Saquib Ahmad to look after Bahrain, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan operations.
With close to 25 years’ experience in the regional IT and Telecommunications industry, Ahmad will focus on supporting the digital transformation and AI capabilities of companies in the Kingdom.
“The countries that Saquib Ahmad will cover represent an important growth market for SAP, particularly in digital transformation, and we expect to see them benefit from the enormous potential of Business AI,” said Ahmed Al Faifi, Senior Vice President of SAP Middle East and Africa – North, to whom Ahmad will report directly.
“I am confident that with his in-depth knowledge of the region, strong IT background and proven leadership skills, Saquib is the ideal person to guide public and private sector adoption of new technologies in a way that will deliver the quickest and most valuable benefits.”
Prior to his promotion, Ahmad had been Managing Director for SAP Pakistan, a position he held since 2017. During this time, he significantly expanded SAP’s footprint in Pakistan, exceeding growth targets and hiring local talent to enable the digital transformation of customers in both the public and private sectors.
Prior to joining SAP, Ahmad held senior positions in Pakistan and the Middle East at several large technology companies, including Siemens, Nokia, Comptel and Oracle.
“I am looking forward to expanding my remit and to grow SAP’s footprint in Bahrain, Iraq and Afghanistan, helping enterprises here to digitally transform and future-proof their operations. My focus will include extending our partner ecosystem and helping to equip young people with the skills needed in a digital economy,’ Ahmad said.
She will foster strategic partnerships with the public sector to leverage Google Cloud’s cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions.
Google Cloud announced the appointment of Noor Al Sulaiti as Head of Security Business Development and Government Relations for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa region (META).
Noor, an industry veteran known for her innovative leadership, brings a wealth of experience in the telecommunications and technology sectors to her new role.
She will be responsible for Google’s security expansion in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa underscoring the growing importance of cybersecurity for the company.
She will foster strategic partnerships with the public sector to leverage Google Cloud’s cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions, including Cybershield, a powerful cybersecurity solution tailored specifically for governments and inspired by the concept that organisations inside a nation and around the world need to “lock shields” and stand united in their defense against shared attackers.
“I am honored to join Google Cloud, a company that has inspired me throughout my career. Google Cloud is continuously helping governments around the world enhance their security capabilities and respond holistically at the national level to keep their citizens and critical assets safe, and I’m ready to lead the charge to bring these capabilities to the Middle East, Turkey and Africa,” Noor said.
Noor’s distinguished career includes her role as CEO of Ooredoo Oman. There, she established herself as the youngest and first female CEO in the company’s history, spearheading a transformation into a digitally led, data-powered, and customer-centric organisation.
Prior to joining Ooredoo Oman, Noor was the CEO of Starlink, a retail chain and IT service provider in Qatar. She was also the general manager of Phono and FASTtelco in Kuwait.
She has been recognised as one of the most powerful businesswomen by Forbes Middle East and as a notable business leader by other prominent publications.
Professor Baldwin has published 23 papers in 2023 alone and received awards at prestigious conferences such as European Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics 2023 and SEM 2023, further solidifying his reputation as a leading authority in the field of NLP.
Professor Timothy Baldwin has been appointed as the Provost of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI).
Professor Timothy Baldwin is a distinguished figure in the field of natural language processing (NLP), renowned globally for his ground-breaking contributions. Having served as the Department Chair of the NLP Department, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, and Acting Provost, Professor Baldwin has played an indispensable role in the rapid advancement of MBZUAI during the past two years.
During his tenure, Professor Baldwin has spearheaded numerous initiatives that have significantly contributed to MBZUAI’s growth and reputation.
Some of his notable accomplishments include the establishment of three new academic departments namely robotics, computer science, and statistics and data science, broadening the university’s academic purview; recruiting 25 new faculty members, more than doubling the size of the university; overseeing the accreditation of new M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs in computer science and robotics, while leading the development of a new department in statistics and data science, and developing a comprehensive employability strategy, ensuring that MBZUAI graduates are well-equipped to excel in their professional endeavors.
Exciting chapter for the university
Professor Baldwin also co-led the technical development of Jais, the world’s leading Arabic large language model (LLM), showcasing MBZUAI’s commitment to advancing AI technologies with global relevance, and designed and managed the inaugural cohort of the highly successful Undergraduate Research Internship Program (UGRIP), providing students with invaluable research experience.
Alongside his administrative responsibilities, Professor Baldwin has maintained an exemplary academic record, publishing 23 papers in 2023 alone and receiving awards at prestigious conferences such as European Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics (EACL) 2023 and *SEM 2023, further solidifying his reputation as a leading authority in the field of NLP.
“We are confident that Professor Timothy Baldwin’s leadership, dedication, and expertise will continue to propel MBZUAI to new heights of excellence. His appointment as Provost brings an exciting chapter for our university, and we look forward to the continued growth and success with his guidance,” said Professor Eric Xing, MBZUAI’s President and University Professor.
“I am delighted to formally take on this position, and work alongside the current and future generation of AI frontrunners in leading the academic development of this truly unique institution and contribute to establishing Abu Dhabi as a global leader of AI,” Professor Baldwin said.
Somani returns to Yahsat after a two-year stint as Chief Executive Officer of the UAE-based international hedge fund consortium, ABS Global.
Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider, has announced the appointment of Amit Somani as Chief Growth and Strategy Officer.
Somani, a veteran of the satellite communications industry, rejoins Yahsat with over 27 years of experience in satellite communications and management consulting. He already has extensive knowledge of Yahsat across various roles during his previous tenure with the company from 2010 to 2022. .
In his new leadership role with Yahsat, Somani will oversee the development and implementation of the company’s growth strategy in addition to spearheading its global strategic partnerships and alliances.
“We would like to welcome Amit back into the Yahsat family. His appointment is part of Yahsat’s continuous efforts to attract the best talent from across the satellite communications industry that can help us deliver on our ambitious growth strategy. His in-depth knowledge of the satellite communications industry and his proven leadership capabilities will be crucial in advancing our goals,” Ali Al Hashemi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Yahsat, said.
Making a strong comeback
Al Hashemi highlighted that Somani’s active participation in implementing Yahsat’s successful IPO and listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) in 2021, as an example of his ability to deliver exceptional results.
“I am delighted to return to Yahsat and contribute to its ambitious mission of transforming the space industry in the UAE and the wider region. It is a pleasure to resume my journey with Yahsat and contribute to its growth, innovation, delivering exceptional solutions for its valued customers, building upon its strong foundations, strategic partnerships, and operational excellence,” Amit Somani, Chief Growth and Strategy Officer of Yahsat, said.
Somani returns to Yahsat in his new role from April 1, 2024, after a two-year stint as Chief Executive Officer of the UAE-based international hedge fund consortium, ABS Global.
India has more than 400,000 5G base stations in 2023, an increase of 7.7 times from January 2023, making it one of the fastest countries to roll out 5G globally.
The average data traffic per smartphone in India is expected to increase further from 31 GB per month in 2023 to around 75 GB per month by 2029.
The 5G median download speed of 301.86 Mbps in India was 18 times faster than the 4G median download speed of 16.05 Mbps while the 5G median upload speed (16.05 Mbps) was 5 times faster than 4G’s upload speed of 3.59 Mbps during the same period.
Vodafone Idea, the third-largest service provider in India, plans to launch its 5G services by mid-2024.
Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel’s large-scale and swift deployment of 5G across India propelled the nation to rank fourteenth globally in 5G median download speeds with 301.86 Mbps in fourth quarter of last year, according to Ookla Speedtest Intelligence.
The Gulf Cooperation Council countries of the UAE and Qatar led the fastest 5G markets globally during the period, with speeds of 654.59 Mbps and 516.79 Mbps, respectively. South Korea was the fastest Asia Pacific country, coming in third overall with a speed of 485.25 Mbps.
According to Ookla, India’s country-wide 5G Availability increased throughout in 2023. 5G Availability improved from 28.1 per cent in the first quarter to 52 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023, representing a 23.9 percentage point increase within a year.
Reliance Jio’s 5G availability rate during fourth quarter of 2023 was 68.8 per cent, 38.5 percentage points higher than Airtel’s 30.4 per cent.
“India’s 5G network offers a superior experience in video streaming and mobile gaming compared to the existing 4G-LTE. Reliance Jio and Airtel’s 5G networks have improved video start times and reduced buffering compared to 4G LTE, clocking 5G video start times of 1.14 seconds and 1.29 seconds, respectively. In contrast, Reliance Jio’s 4G LTE video start time was 1.99 seconds and 1.73 seconds for Airtel. Mobile gamers also experienced improved median latency, with 77 ms and 92 ms for Reliance Jio and Airtel, respectively,” the report said.
5G subscribers skyrocket
By the end of December 2023, India had more than 400,000 5G base stations (BTSs) deployed nationwide, an increase of 7.7 times from January 2023, making it one of the fastest countries to roll out 5G globally.
Ericsson forecasted that the number of 5G subscribers in India reached 130 million at the end of December 2023, compared to just over 10 million recorded at the close of 2022.
The average data traffic per smartphone in India is expected to increase further from 31 GB per month in 2023 to around 75 GB per month by 2029.
While the current 4G network in India may serve the daily connectivity needs of most mobile users, 5G technology offers a considerable performance uplift that can improve the user experience.
Fuelled by affordable 5G smartphones
When comparing the 5G and 4G performance in India for fourth quarter of 2023, the 5G median download speed of 301.86 Mbps was 18 times faster than the 4G median download speed of 16.05 Mbps.
Similarly, the 5G median upload speed (16.05 Mbps) was 5 times faster than 4G’s upload speed of 3.59 Mbps during the same period.
One of the main reasons for the increase in 5G Availability in India is the significant growth in 5G-capable smartphones.
According to Counterpoint Research, India’s 5G smartphone shipment share crossed 52 per cent in 2023, growing 66 per cent year-on-year.
The introduction of more affordable 5G-capable devices in the market has helped boost 5G adoption in the country. Canalys reported that in fourth quarter of 2023, devices in the $100 to $199 segment witnessed a growth of 168 per cent in the country.
More investment needed
While India rejoices in its rapid 5G deployment success, the report said that it is imperative that it continues to invest in new innovative services that are accessible to consumers to fulfill the promises and potential of 5G.
“Both Jio and Airtel have introduced 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services, known as Jio AirFiber and Xstream AirFiber, respectively. These services are aimed at complementing their current 5G offerings as they explore new 5G use cases to monetize their investments. The operators are also looking to broaden their 5G service offerings to serve key enterprise verticals that demand highly reliable and low-latency communication,” the report said.
Vodafone Idea, the third-largest service provider in India, plans to launch its 5G services by mid-2024.
Customers need AI-native technology as well as the benefits of a managed security solution to reduce complexity and serve as a force multiplier for security and IT teams.
India’s HCLTech is strengthening its managed detection and response (MDR) solutions to defend against cyber threats by using AI-native CrowdStrike Falcon XDR platform.
The two companies formed a partnership in a bid to assist organisations in cybersecurity transformation across device, identity, cloud, data, next-gen SIEM and beyond.
According to the CrowdStrike 2024 Global Threat Report, cyberattacks are escalating and continue to grow faster, stealthier and more sophisticated.
“Generative AI has the potential to amplify adversary activity, arming attackers of all sophistication levels with advanced tradecraft. At the same time, the growing cybersecurity skills gap and lack of resources impacts security operations at many organisations, increasing the risk of a data breach,” the report said.
Reducing complexity
To protect against modern threats, customers need AI-native technology as well as the benefits of a managed security solution to reduce complexity and serve as a force multiplier for security and IT teams.
The CrowdStrike Falcon platform leverages real-time indicators of attack, threat intelligence, evolving adversary tradecraft and enriched telemetry from across the enterprise to deliver hyper-accurate detections, automated protection and remediation, elite threat hunting and prioritised observability of vulnerabilities.
“Delivering a dynamic cybersecurity posture is core to our solutions and engagements, and the partnership with CrowdStrike will further strengthen our commitment to accelerate this journey for our customers,” Amit Jain, executive vice president and global head of cybersecurity at HCLTech, said.
Moreover, he said that CrowdStrike’s AI platform will fuel the company’s existing managed services solutions to unleash a powerful defense against cyber threats.
“Organisations across the globe select the AI-native Falcon platform to transform and consolidate their cybersecurity,” said Daniel Bernard, chief business officer at CrowdStrike.
“Our partnership with HCLTech extends the reach of the Falcon platform to new customers and markets, expediting spend consolidation and improving operational efficiencies. We’re proud of the success that we’re experiencing with HCLTech and are excited about the opportunity ahead – jointly on a mission to secure the world’s largest enterprises on cybersecurity’s winning platform.”
