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Blockchain gaming “will take off only if innovation happens”

Naushad K. Cherrayil
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Blockchain gaming “will take off only if innovation happens”
  • For blockchain gaming to succeed, publishers have to give players a bit more opportunity to get involved and they should feel that they are the owners of the game and participating in full.
  • Developers are flocking to Web 3 gaming amid industry layoffs as Web 3 offers an ocean of opportunities and innovation and it aligns with the growing demand for digital ownership and economic participation.
  • Players are no longer consumers and they want to be active participants and want to get a stake in games and a shift to player empowerment.
  • Introducing a cryptocurrency reward system and a skill-based system into a game application will allow users who are unfamiliar with cryptocurrency to acclimatise more easily.
  • Senet in talks to raise between $10-$15m and wants to be in the top five skill-based gaming companies in the world in the next two years.

Blockchain games are a bright prospect for both players and developers alike and have the potential to reshape the way we think about the gaming experience and the innovation it can bring into the Web3 community.

According to IMARC Group, the global blockchain gaming market size is expected to reach $854.4 billion by 2032 when compared to $8.9 billion in 2023.

However, Mohsin Waqar, CEO of Dubai-based Senet, told TechChannel News, said that blockchain gaming hasn’t taken off as expected as most of the developers are doing the same thing and the basic stuff.

“I don’t think blockchain gaming will take off any more if it is the same stuff and everyone follows the same roadmap. Everyone needs to add different aspects to what is going on.”

For blockchain gaming to succeed, he said that publishers have to give players a bit more opportunity to get involved and they should feel that they are the owners of the game and participating in full.

Pioneering ‘skill-to-earn’ platform

Senet started with conventional gaming twelve years ago and then turned into an acquisition company three years ago.

With 600 games under its belt and in partnership with over 20 companies, Senet is pioneering ‘skill-to-earn’ through mobile games catered towards Web2 gamers, allowing a smoother transition to Web3 gaming.

Through Senet’s platform, they have brought over three million users to Web3 gaming, all of which are intuitive to Web2 audiences, whilst maintaining the prospect of earning rewards through Web3 integration. 

“The same aspect happened when we were in Web 2 gaming as well. Everyone was doing the same thing again and again. Then suddenly a paradigm shift happened when hyper-casual gaming came in and they changed the whole scenario of gaming. After that, other companies came in and started skills-based games.”

Giving players an upper hand

Skill-based gaming platforms give dedicated players, who prefer to rely on their skills rather than luck, a chance to prove their skills and earn money.

Senet started with conventional gaming twelve years ago and then turned into an acquisition company three years ago.

“We acquired about 600 games in the last two years. Out of the 600 games, 80 per cent of them are acquired from global developers,” Waqar said.

As the Web2 and conventional gaming, marketing and advertising just timed down, “we thought that we should shift to Web3 gaming. The whole idea was to tokenise the 600 games with three million active users and 2,000 daily active users and the plan is to move to 1,000 games by the end of 2024.”

 “The problem which I witnessed was a lot of these ‘skill-to-earn’ gaming platforms had one or two games. If the games fail or if the users don’t come daily, the whole business model fails. Our idea was to operate 600 games and if a couple of the games fail, we have a network of other games to promote.

“Our skill-to-earn model is that players can earn Satoshis [the smallest denomination of the cryptocurrency bitcoin] and turn them into Senet tokens. A player can post a score only with one Senet and at the end of the day or the week, the player gets to earn a grand prize, mostly Satoshis. Now, we are giving more rights to the consumers and decentralise the project as a whole and make them more involved,” Waqar said.

Users can exchange Senet’s native token with major cryptocurrency tokens, such as Bitcoin, and vice versa within the game directly.

Gaming industry hit with layoffs

Despite the gaming industry hit with layoffs, at least 6,000 have been announced in the first six weeks of 2024 apart from more than 10,000 cuts in 2023, Waqar said that Web 2 gaming is becoming saturated and the traditional revenue models are under pressure.

“Developers are flocking to Web3 gaming amid industry layoffs as Web 3 offers an ocean of opportunities and innovation and it aligns with the growing demand for digital ownership and economic participation.

“Players are no longer consumers and they want to be active participants and want to get a stake in games and a shift to player empowerment. Currently, a major issue within Web3 gaming is the lack of users, and we believe that introducing a cryptocurrency reward system and a skill-based system into a game application will allow users who are unfamiliar with cryptocurrency to acclimatise easier.”

UAE as a Web3 hub

Waqar said that even though their token is based on Ethereum standard, they are in talks with a lot of chains and nothing is finalised yet.  

“Our token is going to be listed in Korea and we are talking to other exchanges as well.”

He said that initially, they planned to get into the US market but it was difficult due to the crackdown by the regulators.

So, Senet decided to enter the UAE and Saudi Arabian markets, to focus on the Middle East and African markets, as they are very welcoming to these kinds of projects.

“The governments have been very helpful and open to the crypto, blockchain and Web3 gaming. The growing popularity of the UAE as a Web3 hub is evident because there has been a 23 per cent increase in the companies enrolling at DIFC this year.” 

The UAE is considered one of the most progressive crypto countries in the world. Dubai now accepts crypto payments, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether, on behalf of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), to pay for various trade licenses and visas.

Even the UAE announced the world’s first independent crypto regulator – the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority – in February 2023.

Senet has raised $4 million so far and is in talks to raise between $10-$15 million.

“Our main objective is to give tough competition to Skillz, a trademark company for skill-based gaming for the past few years as well listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

“Their share price has been going down and we thought this is the good time to flex our muscles. We want to be in the top five skill-based gaming companies in the world in the next two years,” Waqar said.

Transformational leadership lessons from a decade of digitisation

Contributor
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Transformational leadership lessons from a decade of digitisation
  • Adaptability and innovation are essential to steering a business through today’s dynamic technological landscape.
  • The digital space is constantly evolving, and leaders need to be in the right mindset to accept this and keep learning, growing, and adapting.

Over the past ten years we’ve seen a huge shift in the digital landscape. Cast your mind back to 2014 and the iPhone 6 was the new kid on the block.

We were only just starting to hear about ApplePay, augmented reality was still a vague concept, and cloud computing, voice recognition and 5G were new trends to watch.

In 2024, the world looks very different.

ChatGPT is now used by millions in the workplace to generate ideas and create content. Businesses are thinking about how AI might change the structure of their work and indeed human jobs. Hyper-personalization is everywhere from food delivery apps to Netflix to Amazon and our data is constantly being utilised to enhance our purchasing experiences.

It’s an incredibly fast-moving and exciting time of major societal change.

With this, the role of business leaders and CEOs has evolved significantly in the last decade.

We can’t forget that the pandemic years accelerated the digital transformation of most businesses at an astonishing rate.

Whether you were on board or not, you had no choice but to go with it. We all had to learn to live with the unexpected and find new ways of doing things.

So, at a time when businesses have the resources to understand their consumers and employees better than ever before, what does it take to be a good transformational leader?

Here are some key lessons:

Data literacy

Leaders don’t need to be experts on every single trend in the digital world but they should be asking the questions about how they fit into the landscape. They should use data and technology in their decision making, as well as promoting its use across the organisation.

Adaptability

Perhaps the most important trait of a transformational leader is adaptability which means to be able to accept and react to industry changes, and be flexible and versatile enough to navigate them. This is a skill which can be learned over time and comes with experience.

Innovation and visionary thinking

Leaders need to be focused on the future and adopt a growth mindset when it comes to all areas of the business. They should always be thinking of new ways to streamline or improve operations and have a clear vision on how technology is going to help move things forward.

Three simple truths to keep in mind:

Transformational leaders need to be ready to face the challenges most businesses are facing in 2024. Here are three key truths that are always worth keeping in mind when it comes to digital:

1. There is no end to the digital transformation

Companies often start the transformative journey and want to put a deadline on when it will be ‘finished’. But the truth is, it doesn’t end.

The digital space is constantly evolving, and leaders need to be in the right mindset to accept this and keep learning, growing, and adapting.

2. We are in a major era of change

Embracing change and seeing it as an opportunity rather than a hindrance is essential to a growth mindset. Leaders must be able to pivot their strategies and adopt new ways of working to keep up with the pace. In the world we currently live in, change is rapid and to be successful you can’t try and fight against new technology.

3. Creative thinking and failure must be encouraged

Lots of companies love to talk about the autonomy they give their employees and how empowered they are, whereas the reality can look somewhat different. Transformational leaders need to nurture an environment where people can think creatively and be allowed to fail.

  • Karl Escritt is the CEO of Like Digital & Partners.

Du leads in indoor 5G coverage in more UAE malls than Etisalat by e&

Naushad K. Cherrayil
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Du leads in indoor 5G coverage in more UAE malls than Etisalat by e&
  • Indoor 5G coverage is more crucial than ever since people spend 90per cent of their time indoors.
  • Bridging the indoor-outdoor coverage gap is ever more important in the Gulf region.

Dubai-headquartered telecom operator du reported 98.5 per cent in indoor 5G coverage in more UAE malls than Etisalat by e&, according to Ookla Research.

Du, which launched 5G standalone and Voice over New Radio (VoNR) in 2023, attributed much of its Capex to 5G deployment and specifically to enhancing indoor coverage. For example, it has installed small cell antennas in apartments and offices and expanded Distributed Antenna System (DASI in new mall locations.

However, Etisalat by e&, which made 5G standalone services available to all mobile users in October 2023, has managed to serve all main urban areas and highways across the country, with an estimated coverage of 97 per cent in February 2023.

As 5G adoption increases, consumers and businesses expect the same level of coverage and performance wherever they go.

Yet, the characteristics of 5G, which typically operates in mid-band frequencies of 1.8 GHz to 3.5 GHz, pose a challenge for indoor coverage, as these frequencies struggle to penetrate walls and windows depending on the materials used in construction.

Shopping malls are central

“Therefore, operators need to invest in additional solutions to enhance indoor coverage and potentially offload onto in-building Wi-Fi systems. In the Gulf region, where shopping malls are central to the economic and social lifestyle, bridging the indoor-outdoor coverage gap is ever more important,“ the report said.

Ookla used the average Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) data from Cell Analytics to benchmark indoor 5G coverage provided by seven mobile operators across 28 malls in Qatar (Doha), Saudi Arabia (Jeddah and Riyadh), and the UAE (Abu Dhabi and Dubai) based on crowdsourced measurements collected between December 2022 and November 2023.

An RSRP value that exceeds -90 dBm indicates superior coverage. If the signal strength is between -90 dBm and -100 dBm then network coverage is considered good. Lower RSRP values signify lower download speeds and an increased probability of network disconnection.

The chart (below) depicts indoor 5G RSRP values for du and Etisalat by e&, across 12 malls in Dubai and six others in Abu Dhabi. Both operators have the same number of malls in Dubai where they lead in indoor coverage.

In Abu Dhabi, du consistently outperformed Etisalat by e& in terms of indoor coverage in all the malls Ookla reviewed.

du lead the way in the UAE (particularly in Abu Dhabi), while in Saudi Arabia, Mobily has the edge in terms of the number of malls where it has better indoor 5G coverage.

In Qatar, Ooredoo comes first for indoor coverage and its lead over Vodafone is more evident than in the other two countries.

According to Ericsson, people spend 90per cent of their time indoors, and up to 80per cent of the data is consumed indoors.

“Du consistently outperforms Etisalat by e& in indoor 5G coverage across all the six malls in Abu Dhabi. For example, du is 10per cent better than Etisalat by e& in Khalidiya Mall and 8per cent better in Marina Mall,” the report said.

Microsoft expects India to surpass US as largest developer community by 2027

Ana Mary Joseph
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Microsoft expects India to surpass US as largest developer community by 2027
  • ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA project is designed to accelerate the country’s AI transformation and getting 2m people for jobs in artificial intelligence by 2025.
  • The technology giant will work with domestic company Sarvam AI, which provides a large language model targeting Indic languages.

India is now the fastest-growing market on the company’s software and collaboration platform GitHub, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said.

13.2 million developers in India are using GitHub, with the nation having the second-highest number of GenAI projects on the platform after the US, he said at an event in Bengaluru, addressing 1,100 developers and technology leaders.

He predicted that India is likely to surpass the US as the largest developer community by 2027.

He highlighted the pivotal role of India’s developer community in building “cutting-edge” products and solutions on GitHub.

Microsoft announced an initiative to train citizens in small cities and striking a partnership with a start-up in the country to develop voice-based generative AI (GenAI) applications.

Digital transformation

Dubbed ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA, the project is designed to accelerate the country’s AI transformation, mainly targeting small cities and rural areas, and ready workers, about two million, for jobs in artificial intelligence by 2025.

Training will be delivered through partnerships with government, nonprofits and businesses across India.

Meanwhile, Nadella expressed his excitement about the work being done by Indian start-ups such as Sarvam AI and also mentioned the efforts being made in India by Shiksha Copilot and the Open Healthcare Network.

The technology giant will work with domestic company Sarvam AI, which provides a large language model targeting Indic languages.

The duo aim to develop, deploy and distribute GenAI apps on Microsoft’s cloud services including Azure OpenAI.

Sarvam AI has raised $41 million in funding to date from three venture capital companies.

Lack of funding cited as primary obstacle for cybersecurity in Middle East

Naushad K. Cherrayil
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Lack of funding cited as primary obstacle for cybersecurity in Middle East
  • Collaboration across cyber, risk management, and business units is critical to neutralising cyberthreats, protecting business value, and sustaining customer trust.
  • Digital technologies, exponential growth of data, and evolving business needs are expanding attack threat surfaces and bringing new challenges.

51 per cent of Middle East business leaders, compared to 36 per cent globally, cited lack of funding as the primary obstacle for cybersecurity, according to a survey conducted by consultancy firm Deloitte.

Moreover, a substantial 69 per cent of Middle East respondents emphasised the strategic need for training and certification programmes to engage, retain and develop cyber talent within organisations.

Among organisations of all sizes, Emily Mossburg, Deloitte Global Cyber Leader, said that cyber is consistently earning a place on the agenda, becoming a “focal point” for business-critical initiatives and investment.

Collaboration is key

“The world is increasingly interconnected, bringing about new risks alongside the new growth opportunities. Digital technologies, exponential growth of data, and evolving business needs are expanding attack threat surfaces and bringing new challenges that elevate cyber as a strategic business issue.”

“Collaboration across cyber, risk management, and business units is critical to neutralising cyberthreats, protecting business value, and sustaining customer trust.”

In fact, he added that managing hybrid IT and digital transformation have emerged as two of the greatest challenges businesses face—solidifying complexity as the new norm for the enterprise.

For many organisations, he said that cyber now weaves more tightly into business operations, outcomes, and opportunities.

The report showcases the current levels of awareness around cyber needs in the market, with a notable 52 per cent of respondents in the Middle East emphasizing the huge impact of cybersecurity on the success of digital transformation initiatives.

In addition, 61 per cent of respondents highlighted the integral role of cybersecurity in supporting comprehensive business disruption planning.

The study also revealed that 55 per cent of regional leaders reported achieving a positive business impact as a result of implementing cybersecurity strategies.

Need to build resilience

“As organisations face a constant barrage of cyber threats in today’s rapidly evolving digital world, it’s important to adopt a strategic approach to effectively safeguard critical assets. A proactive approach to cybersecurity is paramount, as it focuses on building long term value and is considered an essential part of the framework for businesses to produce their desired outcomes,” Tariq Ajmal, Cyber leader at Deloitte Middle East, said.

Moreover, he said that businesses need to build resilience against disruption by planning for complex events and developing proactive incident response plans.

There’s a need to view cybersecurity as a “key business enabler” through adequate funding, as well as training existing talent and actively recruiting top professionals.

To effectively navigate this ever-changing landscape and safeguard their critical assets, organisations must adopt a proactive and strategic approach to cybersecurity.

Here are essential components that organisations should consider when preparing for an evolving cyber landscape:

  • Embrace continuous digital transformation and prioritize Cybersecurity throughout their journeys.
  • Build resilience for disruption by planning for complex events and developing proactive incident response plans.
  • View cyber as a business enabler that can bring significant organisational benefits.
  • Ensure adequate funding for cybersecurity to support their initiatives and protect critical assets.
  • Organisations should nurture and attract cyber talent by training existing talent and actively recruiting top professional.

How can organisations prepare for an evolving cyber landscape?

Shipments of AI PCs and GenAI smartphones to total 295m units in 2024

Mohammed Fahad
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Shipments of AI PCs and GenAI smartphones to total 295m units in 2024
  • Shipments of AI PCs to represent 22% of all PC sfipments in 2024.
  • Shipments of GenAI Smartphones to represent 22% of basic and premium smartphones.
  • PC shipments to grow 3.5% while smartphone shipments to grow 4.2% in 2024.

Research firm Gartner estimates that 240 million GenAI smartphones and 54.5 million AI PCs will be shipped globally by the end of 2024, totaling 295 million units compared to 29 million units in 2023.

Gartner defines AI PCs as PCs that are equipped with dedicated AI accelerators or cores, neural processing units (NPUs), accelerated processing units (APUs) or tensor processing units (TPUs), designed to optimize and accelerate AI tasks on the device. This provides improved performance and efficiency in handling AI and GenAI workloads without relying on external servers or cloud services.  

GenAI smartphones are designed smartphones equipped with hardware and software capabilities that enable seamless integration and efficient execution of GenAI-driven features and applications on the smartphone. These smartphones are capable of locally running a base or fine-tuned AI model that generates new derived versions of content, strategies, designs and methods. Examples of this include Gemini Nano from Google, ERNIE from Baidu and OpenAI’s GPT-4.

Even research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) data show that shipments of artificial intelligence (AI) PCs to grow from nearly 50 million units in 2024 to more than 167 million in 2027. 

Hype reaches fever pitch

“The rapid adoption of on-device GenAI capabilities and AI processors will eventually become a standard requirement for technology vendors,” Ranjit Atwal, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner, said.

“This ubiquity will pose challenges for vendors in differentiating themselves from competitors, making it harder to create unique selling points and drive increased revenues.”

The integration of AI into PCs is not expected to drive end-user spending beyond anticipated price increases. Business device buyers will demand compelling reasons to invest.

However, it will take time for software providers to harness the power of on-device AI and clearly demonstrate its enhanced benefits.

The PC market returned to growth in the fourth quarter of 2023 after eight consecutive quarters of decline.

“As we enter a new year, the hype around generative AI has reached a fever pitch, and the PC industry is running fast to capitalise on the expected benefits of bringing AI capabilities down from the cloud to the client,” Tom Mainelli, group vice president, Devices and Consumer Research, said.

“Promises around enhanced user productivity via faster performance, plus lower inferencing costs, and the benefit of on-device privacy and security, have driven strong IT decision-maker interest in AI PCs. In 2024, we’ll see AI PC shipments begin to ramp, and over the next few years, we expect the technology to move from niche to a majority.”

Catalyst for transformative shifts

Gartner estimates overall PC shipments will total 250.4 million units in 2024, a 3.5 per cent increase from 2023. On-device AI should rejuvenate the marketing of PCs through 2024 and help sustain existing anticipated replacement cycles, negating some of the negative effects of a disruptive socioeconomic environment.

Like AI PCs, GenAI smartphones will not bolster smartphone demand until 2027.

“The enhancements to smartphones evolve the current experiences with cameras and voice integration, but these capabilities are expected by users rather than demonstrating a new groundbreaking functionality. Users have the same expectation for the functionality of GenAI on their smartphone,” Atwal said.

“They are unlikely to pay a premium for GenAI smartphones without the availability of any groundbreaking applications.”

The catalyst for transformative shifts in user experience lies in the advancement of smaller versions of large language models (LLMs) specifically tailored for smartphones. This evolution will transform smartphones into even more intuitive companions capable of comprehending and responding to human language and visual cues, which will elevate the overall user experience to new heights.

The smartphone market recorded its first quarter of growth in the fourth quarter of 2023 after nine consecutive quarters of decline.

In 2024, worldwide smartphone shipments are expected to grow 4.2 per cent, totaling 1.2 billion units year over year.

“We should not interpret the growth in smartphone shipments as a full-fledged recovery,” he said.

“It is more accurate to view it as a stabilisation of lower level of units, which are nearly 60 million lower than in 2022.”

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