In today’s data-driven world, enterprises face mounting challenges to scale their storage capacities while minimizing costs per terabyte and reducing resource impacts. Seagate, as a global leader in data storage solutions, is uniquely positioned to address these demands with a broad spectrum of offerings tailored to meet diverse business needs. Whether through modular products that allow customers to build their own storage systems, optimized off-the-shelf solutions, or cloud-based services for outsourced data management, Seagate ensures flexibility, scalability, and efficiency at every level.

Seagate’s commitment to innovation is evident in its comprehensive approach to storage. From terabytes delivered through devices and shuttles to petabytes with resilient and dense systems, and exabytes through the scalability of Lyve Cloud, the company empowers enterprises to choose the solution that fits them best: build and manage their data independently, collaborate with Seagate, or fully entrust their data storage needs. This tri-fold strategy provides unparalleled mobility, density, and speed to value, enabling businesses to focus on their core objectives while seamlessly managing their data.

In the META region, Seagate’s vision is brought to life through the leadership of Didem Eker, Channel Marketing Manager, who has played a pivotal role in fostering strong partnerships across key territories. While her contributions have amplified Seagate’s presence and strengthened collaborations with channel partners, the real story lies in the cutting-edge solutions Seagate brings to the table.

This interview dives into how Seagate’s storage solutions are helping enterprises tackle the challenges of rapid data growth, the company’s strategic alignment with evolving market needs, and its steadfast commitment to empowering customers with the tools to store, protect, and activate their data efficiently.

What is your personal belief about marketing?

In today’s highly competitive and interconnected digital age, businesses must transcend traditional marketing tactics to forge deeper, more authentic, and meaningful relationships with both customers and channel partners. Sustainable growth hinges on cultivating trust and collaboration to create lasting value.

To thrive in this fast-paced, digitally driven world, brands must focus on meaningful, transparent, and positive communication. This approach ensures they can establish and sustain reliable, long-term relationships with their customers. The equation is straightforward: acquiring new customers is far costlier than keeping existing ones satisfied. By delivering personalized experiences, engaging customer loyalty programs, consistent communication, and exceptional customer support, brands can elevate themselves beyond conventional marketing.

Satisfied customers are not just repeat buyers; they evolve into brand advocates, sharing their positive experiences and driving organic growth through referrals. Moreover, one of the most significant contributors to a vendor’s marketing success lies in empowering channel partnerships. Strong partnerships lead to consistent brand presence in the market, allowing businesses to remain competitive and visible.

How can businesses leverage AI and machine learning to personalize user experiences while ensuring data security and ethics?

Businesses can leverage AI and machine learning to deliver personalized user experiences by analyzing vast amounts of data to understand customer behavior, preferences, and trends. This enables tailored recommendations, predictive insights, and dynamic content delivery. To ensure data security and ethics, companies must adopt robust cybersecurity measures, comply with data protection regulations, and prioritize transparent practices. Balancing innovation with responsible data usage fosters trust and drives sustainable growth.

What is your vision for marketing in the UAE?

The UAE, with its rapidly growing economy and strategic vision, is investing heavily across various industries. This dynamic environment creates a significant appetite for corporations to innovate and adapt their marketing strategies. From technology and innovation to real estate, construction, tourism, retail, and e-commerce, the opportunities are immense.

For instance, the UAE’s smart city initiatives have unlocked vast opportunities across industries, particularly in tech solutions, data storage, and surveillance. As these investments mature, they pave the way for more innovative and integrated marketing strategies. Businesses will increasingly look beyond traditional approaches, developing comprehensive solutions to serve both enterprises and government entities.

We foresee exciting advancements, such as hyper-personalized shopping experiences and enhanced e-commerce platforms. The rapid digital transformation of the region amplifies the need for digital marketing services that can keep pace with evolving customer expectations. In this thriving ecosystem, marketing in the UAE must focus on leveraging technology and innovation to connect meaningfully with diverse audiences.

What is your belief in Seagate and its technologies?

I am deeply passionate about Seagate’s innovative leadership in mass-capacity storage, which continually pushes the boundaries of engineering. Seagate enables its customers to store and protect data in the most efficient and advanced ways possible, addressing the growing demand for high-capacity storage solutions driven by cloud expansion, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

At Seagate, everything starts with innovation. By employing cutting-edge nanoscale engineering and advanced materials science, the company delivers groundbreaking solutions. Last year, Seagate launched the Mozaic 3+ platform, designed to help businesses scale with unprecedented data growth. This platform powers the world’s most efficient hard drive storage solutions, allowing customers to reduce their total cost of ownership while enhancing operational efficiency.

With areal density at its core, Mozaic technology allows organizations to store more data without requiring additional space, energy, or natural resources. Beyond efficiency, Seagate also champions sustainability through its Circularity Program, a pioneering effort to minimize electronic waste and promote sustainable consumption. This program extends the lifecycle of hard drives and significantly reduces carbon emissions, aligning with Seagate’s commitment to environmental responsibility. Seagate’s approach demonstrates a remarkable balance between innovation, efficiency, and sustainability, reflecting its dedication to creating a better future for data management and the planet.

Could you tell us about SkyHawk technology, how it drives surveillance and AI systems?

SkyHawk drives enhance surveillance and AI systems by offering high capacity, optimized firmware, and a workload rating suitable for 24×7 operations. They support up to 64 HD cameras and 32 AI streams, ensuring reliable video streaming and advanced AI analysis. With features like SkyHawk Health Management, they monitor drive health, prevent data loss, and reduce maintenance costs, providing integrators with better total cost of ownership and increased customer satisfaction.

Tell us about Mozaic 3+ platform and how that revolutionizes storage?

The Mozaic 3+ platform, powering Seagate’s Exos product family, revolutionizes hyperscale cloud storage with industry-leading capacity, including Exos 30TB+ products. It doubles storage capacity compared to conventional 16TB drives, optimizing data storage within the same footprint. Prioritizing sustainability, it improves power consumption per terabyte by 40% and reduces embodied carbon by 55%, addressing efficiency and environmental challenges simultaneously.

What are your predictions for Seagate in the UAE market?

The UAE’s dynamic economy and strategic geographic position offer exceptional opportunities for growth. With rapid digital transformation and increasing demand for data storage, Seagate is uniquely positioned to leverage its strengths in the surveillance industry and beyond.

Seagate’s advanced integrated security solutions cater to the region’s expanding need for scalable and reliable data storage, particularly for businesses and government entities managing explosive data growth. Surveillance remains a key area of strength, and we see significant potential to expand our enterprise portfolio by strengthening relationships with key accounts and demonstrating the value of our solutions.

To capture this opportunity, Seagate will maintain a focused marketing strategy, emphasizing VIA (Video, Imaging, and Analytics) solutions while penetrating enterprise markets with high-capacity messaging. By addressing the specific needs of the UAE market, Seagate aims to remain a trusted partner, empowering organizations with cutting-edge storage solutions that drive growth and innovation.

Exclusive Interview with Kelly Forbes, AI Advisory Council Member, Qlik

How would you describe the collaboration between Qlik and Cognizant evolving in the future

It’s been great to see Qlik and Cognizant tapping into their partnership to support this transition. This collaboration really stems from a shared respect for the challenges ahead. There’s a significant amount of awareness and education that needs to happen, and we’ve seen some of that progress here today, where people can openly discuss the challenges they’re facing on the ground.

This creates an opportunity to differentiate between the broad potential of AI and how each organization can develop specific recommendations to address their unique challenges. It’s about identifying the role AI plays in tackling those issues while ensuring organizations can fully prepare their workforce for the changes that lie ahead.

Through this partnership, we can work together and collaborate to address challenges while utilizing technology to solve problems and seize opportunities. The potential of AI is vast and can be applied across various sectors. However, the focus should be on understanding the specific, day-to-day problems organizations face and exploring how AI can play a pivotal role in addressing those challenges.

When it comes to adopting AI, what are some challenges that you can discuss, and what are organizations in the region currently facing?

I think the biggest challenge is around resistance, right? We’re currently in a stage where technology is becoming normalized, and we’re getting used to it. When people work, there’s often a question of, ‘What can this technology do for us?’ There’s a significant need for education and awareness about how AI will change the way people work.

Currently, there’s a stigma and concerns about whether AI is taking jobs away. I think the more familiar people become with AI, the more comfortable they’ll feel learning and working alongside it. That’s the transition we need to make.

This is where partnerships can play a vital role—bringing organizations together to build awareness and create activities that address these concerns. Typically, through shared experiences and collaboration on these topics, organizations can learn from each other as we collectively navigate this transition.

How do you see the investment landscape in the Middle East in terms of AI adoption?

I think it’s an exciting space to be in. This region is doing so much. The potential value of AI in the Middle East is estimated at around $320 billion.

Here in the UAE, we’re seeing significant investments and infrastructure development, as well as the implementation of policies that support AI. They also have ambitious projects in the pipeline, many of which are driven by AI and automation.

The next step is linking all these different initiatives together. It’s about how governments can fully tap into this potential while ensuring that progress happens in a responsible way.

As part of my presentation, I’ve outlined guiding questions to help organizations and governments think about this responsibility. Collaborating with Qlik has been rewarding because we’re focused on how companies can play a leading role in this transformation.

How do you see regulations being implemented in the AI sphere? How do you think organizations will cooperate with these regulations?

It’s a very challenging space, and it’s evolving quickly. In the last one or two years, we’ve seen a lot of changes. Here in the UAE, they’re thinking carefully about regulations, particularly in the data protection space, and how these need to adapt to AI.

Globally, we’re seeing similar developments. For example, Europe’s AI Act is a significant step forward. The reality is that international developments, like what’s happening in Europe, will undoubtedly shape and impact businesses here. If you’re doing business with Europe, those regulations will affect the way you operate.

This creates a balancing act for companies. They need to reflect these international expectations in their operations here, especially large companies with a global presence.

At the same time, this is an opportunity for businesses that are paying close attention to these developments. Those who adapt quickly will be at the forefront of this transition.

What’s the future of work like with the popularization of AI?

I don’t think anyone can answer that with complete certainty, but we do know AI is changing the future of work. On one hand, it’s automating many tasks, and there’s a possibility that some roles might disappear. On the other hand, it’s also creating new jobs.

The key is to think about how we manage this transition—how we provide opportunities for people to learn new skills and upskill so they’re equipped to take on these new roles. That’s going to be crucial in shaping the future of work.

Exclusive interview with Shafi Alam, Director and Head of Direct-to-Consumer Business & Corporate Marketing, Samsung Gulf Electronics

What inspired Samsung to launch the Galaxy AI Pioneers program, and how does it align with the UAE’s vision of building a knowledge-based, AI-savvy generation?

The Galaxy AI Pioneers program represents Samsung’s strategic vision to cultivate AI literacy at a grassroots level, democratizing AI education and making machine learning, robotics, and coding accessible to all.

Carefully structured across three age-specific cohorts, the program ensures age-appropriate learning and development. Strategically, the progam leverages a hybrid learning model that combines weekday virtual sessions with hands-on weekend training, hosted at the prestigious Coders HQ in Emirates Towers. This structure not only allows students to gain a deep understanding of AI theory, but also ensures they receive practical, real-world experience. By partnering with national initiatives such as the UAE’s National Program for Coders, we are proud to position ourselves as a pivotal contributor to the UAE’s vision for a AI-powered, knowledge-based economy.

Through the Galaxy AI Pioneers program, Samsung is empowering young minds to lead future innovation, ensuring they are equipped with the skills to thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape.

The program covers a broad range of AI topics, including ethical considerations in AI. Could you explain why ethics is a critical part of the curriculum for students aged 12-17?

Ethics in AI is fundamental for fostering a responsible, conscientious generation of tech users and creators. Beyond ethics, however, is the equally crucial aspect of digital safety – an area that goes hand in hand with ethical considerations. In today’s world, as AI technology becomes more embedded in daily life, understanding digital safety is essential to protecting both personal and community well-being.

The curriculum includes topics like data privacy and safe online practices, teaching students to make responsible choices while navigating the digital landscape to keep themselves safe. By learning about secure coding practices and data protection, students gain a comprehensive view of how to use AI responsibly and securely. This approach instills ethical values and empowers young innovators to contribute to a safer, more secure technology ecosystem as they develop AI-driven projects.

As the program continues to grow, what kind of impact do you hope to see in the UAE’s tech landscape from these young AI pioneers in the coming years?

The comprehensive structure of the Galaxy AI Pioneers program suggests a transformative impact on the UAE’s technological landscape. The program’s meticulous progression from fundamental concepts through to sophisticated applications like machine learning, computer vision, and AI robotics lays a robust foundation for future innovation. By training students in practical tools such as Python libraries and Galaxy AI applications while simultaneously developing their understanding of ethical considerations, the program is cultivating a generation of well-rounded AI practitioners.

The final capstone project requirement ensures that the graduates emerge not just with theoretical knowledge but with demonstrable experience in creating AI solutions. This combination of technical expertise, practical experience, and ethical awareness positions these young pioneers to drive meaningful innovation in the UAE’s tech sector, potentially leading to breakthroughs in areas like natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics while maintaining a responsible approach to AI development that considers societal implications.

With the success of our pilot version of the Galaxy AI Pioneers program, which received an overwhelming response from both students and parents alike, we have begun to roll out the program as part of the curriculum within select schools across the UAE, with plans to expand further in the future.