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Fujitsu offers an extensive range of solutions including a cloud platform that helps organisations looking to deploy more digital services. Farid Al-Sabbagh, VP & Managing Director at Fujitsu Middle East, discusses details

Discuss the cloud solutions portfolio of Fujitsu? Is that a growing focus in the region?

Cloud offers obvious agility, speed and cost efficiency advantages and has grown from an emerging trend to becoming part of the standard IT services delivery model for many organizations today. Fujitsu’s sees cloud as having a key role in underpinning our vision of a Human-Centric Intelligent Society, one where social and business innovation is driven by the intelligent use of information and communication technology. Fujitsu has extensive Cloud portfolio covering all Private, Public and Hybrid Cloud customer requirements. An example would be PrimeFlex for VShape mainly for customers looking to have their cloud running on VMWare stack. For those who prefer to run their environment based on open source, Fujitsu works with them on our offering, PrimeFlex for Openstack. Both these solutions can be deployed as an integrated infrastructure package on customer premises. For customers looking for hybrid/public cloud we have Fujitsu hybrid IT K5 Cloud platform deployed across several regions. This highly flexible cloud service includes network, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). K5 enables you to modernize, innovate, extend and interoperate. It lets you build, test and deploy new digital services more easily than other approaches.

Fujitsu’s Cloud is the foundation of our digital services, delivered in a range of styles to meet customers’ needs for security, data regulation and business agility and it’s definitely a growing focus in the region. In the Middle East, cloud is picking up and we have seen many customers who are ready to adopt it. Fujitsu ME has already deployed Public cloud in partnership with one of the system integrators and seen multiple entities utilizing it successfully.

You have a comprehensive Big Data portfolio- elaborate on key elements in the portfolio?

Big Data is a great opportunity for organizations. Establishing the right infrastructure able to keep processing time constant while volumes are increasing, is a challenge which should not be underestimated. Fujitsu has advanced solutions, where organizations can get optimized Big Data infrastructure solutions including hardware, software and services – all from a single source.

FUJITSU Big Data portfolio is a powerful and scalable offering that provides business users with a more cost-effective way of creating actionable analytics from big data. Our portfolio consists of ‘PrimeFlex for SAP HANA’ and ‘PrimeFlex for Hadoop’.

PRIMEFLEX for Hadoop is provided as a ready-to-run Integrated System as well as a Reference Architecture for flexible deployment, and enables business users to tap hidden information from huge amounts of data. In addition, strategic big data consulting, analytics consulting, consulting for Hadoop, and integration and maintenance services supplement the offering. In Short, PRIMEFLEX for Hadoop analyses large volumes of data, extracting meaningful business-relevant information, combining the convenience of pre-configured and pre-tested hardware with the economic advantages of open source software.

Fujitsu PRIMEFLEX for SAP offerings help to accelerate the SAP transformation process by augmenting internal resources and delivering a robust, agile infrastructure which supports business growth and innovation. PRIMEFLEX for SAP HANA is backed by 40 years of experience in delivering fast, secure, high availability implementations with optimized Total Cost of Ownership, successfully reducing complexity. Our SAP knowledge and expertise has helped our customers to transform their SAP environments in a smarter, faster fashion, with proven cost reduction by up to 90% and increased enterprise agility by up to 50%. The result is a modernized IT environment centered on delivering business impact.

Has Big data deployments been a growing business in the region for Fujitsu and its partners?

Yes, we have seen tremendous growth specifically in SAP HANA solutions and this will remain one of the major focus area for Fujitsu ME with our partner eco system showing great interest in this area. As a matter of fact, Fujitsu is the largest provider of SAP HANA deployments in the Middle East.

Discuss if support and solutions for SAP and Oracle customers is also a significant area of focus for Fujitsu?
As one of the world’s largest IT services providers, and as global partners at the highest tier to both Oracle and SAP, this is definitely a significant area of focus for us. Case in point – Fujitsu has over than 3,500 Oracle specialists and has exhibited its deep knowledge of Oracle by achieving Specialization in more than 32 Oracle technologies and this number is increasing. Similarly, we have SAP deployments across the globe with more than 2500 specialists. We constantly keep abreast of latest technologies on offer, and have achieved successful certification and completion of various SAP projects including latest products.

We go beyond offering basic support and solutions and also help and advise customers entirely from an Enterprise Applications perspective.

Comment on the integrator partner strategy/focus for Fujitsu?
Fujitsu globally delivers an integrated portfolio of products, services and solutions that enable customers to innovate and achieve growth in a Human Centric Intelligent Society. To address each customer’s individual needs, Fujitsu uniquely combines the ability to deliver with deep technical expertise, significant global reach and the rare ability to orchestrate best-in-class offerings from one of the most comprehensive partner ecosystems. We work collaboratively with the world’s leading IT companies to develop products, services and solutions and enable customers to optimize their IT infrastructure investments, while transforming or modernizing their business. By integrating the innovative expertise of our partners, Fujitsu is able to help its customers turn technology into a competitive advantage.

As for the Middle East, except for a few global and extremely complex integration projects, most of our Datacenter Products are sold through a set of Select Expert direct partners, as well as through selected resellers.
We also constantly invest in training, joint market development plans and support for our partners.

You have recently opened an office in Qatar- what would be its focus?
Fujitsu has seen a huge demand for their IT infrastructure and ERP application services within the country. Smart city plans, which include smart security and surveillance, environmental management, and disaster management solutions are integral to the development of Qatar as a modern, forward-thinking country. Combined with the country’s far-reaching plans for urbanisation, harnessing of big data, developing the necessary ICT infrastructure, etc prominent clients such as Qatar Petroleum, Oryx GTI, Nakilat, Qatari Diar and Hassad Food, among others will look to benefit from Fujitsu’s new office.

The new office will also help us to work closely with our partners and large enterprise customers and offer them support whenever needed.

Are there any plans to open more offices in the GCC?
The number of cities getting smarter in the GCC is faster than anywhere else around the world which definitely calls for being closer to our customers. Hence, yes, we will be opening offices in other GCC countries as a part of our growth and investment plans for the region.

Discuss key verticals that are showing growth in region from Fujitsu’s perspective?
While Education and Healthcare verticals are consistently charting growth across all the countries, we also find a vibrant private sector and investments in the UAE across other verticals as well.

Tech Interviews

From Reactive to Predictive: How AI is Revolutionizing Cybersecurity in the Middle East

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From Reactive to Predictive: How AI is Revolutionizing Cybersecurity in the Middle East

Exclusive Interview with Assad Arabi, Regional Managing Director Africa, Mediterranean and CIS, Trend Micro

Portrait of Assad Arabi, Regional Managing Director Africa, Mediterranean and CIS, Trend Micro
Exclusive Interview with Assad Arabi, Regional Managing Director Africa, Mediterranean and CIS, Trend Micro

What are your impressions of GITEX this year?
GITEX has always been an incredible platform, but this year feels different, there’s more energy, more excitement, and a clear focus on meaningful business conversations. The engagement level is impressive, and it’s great to see the region’s digital ecosystem evolving so rapidly.

What is the current state of cybersecurity in the Middle East and Africa?
It’s getting increasingly complex. We’re seeing more AI-driven, sophisticated cyberattacks that are harder to detect and mitigate. Last year alone, Trend Micro detected around 1.35 billion cyber threats in MEA , a staggering figure considering even one major attack can disrupt entire organisation. Globally, cybercrime is projected to cost around USD 10 trillion, which is an enormous economic loss.

This growing threat landscape demands a new approach. Instead of reacting after attacks occur, we’re shifting to a predictive cybersecurity model  anticipating threats before they strike. By identifying patterns and alerting organisations in advance, we’re helping them safeguard critical data and infrastructure proactively.

What key innovations is Trend Micro showcasing at GITEX 2025?
This year is special for us. Our flagship Trend Vision One platform, known as the world’s most comprehensive cybersecurity platform, continues to evolve. It integrates multiple security layers  from endpoint and server to cloud, network , data, email, IoT, and OT security — into one unified ecosystem.

The latest innovation we’re showcasing is our Agentic  SIEM solution, launched just last month. Among the first of its kind globally, it leverages AI to automate rule creation, configurations, and response actions. This will revolutionise how SOC teams operate  paving the way for fully autonomous security operations powered by AI.

What emerging trends are shaping 2025?
One of the most concerning trends is the rise of AI-driven threats, especially deepfakes. Attackers can now replicate voices, faces, and data to create what we call “malicious digital twins.” Imagine a video that looks and sounds exactly like you, used to deceive others , it’s a new frontier of cyber risk. We’re actively developing tools to detect and neutralise these threats before they cause harm.

How is Trend Micro leveraging AI to stay ahead of evolving attacks?
AI is central to everything we do. We’ve developed systems that not only detect but quantify cyber risk. For example, organisations receive a numerical cybersecurity score , say, 67 today and 70 tomorrow ,helping them see risk fluctuations in real time and take corrective action.

We’re also creating cybersecurity digital twins, replicating clients’ digital cyber security environment on our platform to safely simulate attacks and test resilience. This enables predictive defence and faster response.

What defines the next generation of cybersecurity?
The next era of cybersecurity will be defined by intelligence and foresight. Having advanced tools isn’t enough; you need actionable threat intelligence. It provides visibility into what’s happening, what could happen, and where your vulnerabilities lie. This shifts cybersecurity from reactive to truly preventive.

How is AI transforming the way organisations predict threats?
At Trend Micro, AI is embedded across our entire ecosystem  from endpoint and network protection to cloud, OT, and IoT security. We collect native  telemetry data into a central data lake and apply AI models and threat intelligence to correlate anomalies and detect hidden attacks.

Our proprietary Cybertron large language model (LLM) is a breakthrough. It analyses threats contextually, offering insights tailored to each organisation rather than generic alerts. It empowers security teams to identify, prevent, and neutralize threats before they materialize. This advanced level of intelligence was unimaginable just two years ago, and it’s redefining how cybersecurity protection should be  perceived .

What are the biggest challenges organisations face in a cloud-native environment?
The biggest hurdle is mindset. Many organisations still use traditional security methods for cloud environments  and that simply doesn’t work. Trend Micro offers a complete cloud-native security portfolio covering applications, workloads, containers, storage, and configuration. Our attack surface and exposure management tools continuously assess cloud posture, identify risks, and alert teams before vulnerabilities are exploited.

What impact has the Trend Vision One AI Companion delivered?
The AI Companion acts like our version of ChatGPT for cybersecurity analysts. They can ask questions such as “What does this alert mean?” or “What should I do next?” and receive instant, actionable guidance or even have the system perform those actions automatically. This has dramatically reduced response times and helped close the cybersecurity skills gap, enabling junior analysts to perform at senior levels.

What sets Trend Micro apart from other cybersecurity companies?
As a Japanese company, precision and commitment are part of our DNA. For over 37 years, cybersecurity has been our singular focus. If we enter a segment, it’s because we intend to lead it.

Our leadership is consistently recognised by Gartner, Forrester, and IDC across multiple domains  from endpoint and network to IoT and attack surface management. What truly differentiates us is our natively integrated ecosystem, which simplifies management, enhances visibility, increase the protection , and strengthens customer confidence.

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Tech Interviews

AI is Not an Add-On, But an Enabler!

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Why So Many Companies Fail, Even with Massive AI Investments

In a brief interview at GITEX, Technology Integrator speaks with expert  Shivdayal Charan, Director of Middle East at Torry Harris Integration Solutions on how the company is enabling digital transformation across industries through modernization, AI enablement, and connected digital ecosystems.

A studio portrait of Shivdayal Charan, Director of Middle East at Torry Harris Integration Solutions
Shivdayal Charan, Director of Middle East at Torry Harris Integration Solutions

1. Could you give us an overview of Torry Harris, what the company does, and its core areas of expertise?

At Torry Harris, our purpose is to make digital transformation real – grounded in business logic, scalable through technology, and outcome-driven. For over two decades, we have helped enterprises rebuild the connective tissue of their businesses – modernizing legacy systems, integrating data, and creating digital ecosystems that scale.

Our expertise is at the intersection of API-led integration, cloud modernization, and digital ecosystem enablement – foundations that turn technology landscapes into agile, interoperable networks. From telecom and finance to logistics and government, we help enterprises move beyond isolated systems to unified, intelligent architectures that enable real-time collaboration and innovation.

We often say that we don’t just integrate systems; we integrate with intent. Because true modernization isn’t about technology alone – it’s about creating coherence between business vision and digital execution.  That’s what allows enterprises to innovate with confidence, move at market speed, and build resilience.

Headquartered in the US, with regional offices in Dubai and Riyadh, we’re deeply aligned with the Middle East’s digital transformation ambitions – simplifying digital complexities and helping public and private enterprises translate strategy into sustained progress.

2. What is one of the company’s latest core offerings?

Our flagship platform, SMART Souq, is where AI meets ecosystem thinking. SMART Souq is an AI-powered marketplace platform that enables organizations to design and scale digital ecosystems around themselves. It connects suppliers, partners, and customers into a single fabric where data, APIs, and services flow naturally.

The platform supports hybrid engagement models (such as B2B2C and G2B2C) and enables organizations to monetize APIs, data, and services as part of a larger digital value chain. Its embedded 4Sight intelligence layer combines personalization, conversational AI, and predictive insights, while its low-code framework allows business teams to configure user journeys, onboarding flows, and monetization models without heavy engineering lift.

Today, speed defines relevance. Enterprises can’t afford to prototype for months; they must launch at market pace and refine in motion. SMART Souq enables exactly that – moving from concept to deployment in weeks, not quarters.

Take a regional bank, for instance. With SMART Souq, it can evolve from being a service provider to an ecosystem hub – integrating insurance, auto finance, mortgages, and lifestyle services – all under one digital roof. What was once a transaction becomes an ongoing relationship, renewed every day through context and connection. That’s the future of marketplaces – less about transactions, more about context.

3. Could you elaborate on the key solutions you are showcasing at GITEX this year and how they are helping enterprises accelerate their digital transformation journeys?
This year at GITEX, we are prioritizing what we call the three levers of digital momentum – modernization, intelligent automation, and connected ecosystems.

Modernization is where agility begins – taking what’s already working and making it cloud and AI-ready. It’s not about starting over; it’s about starting smarter. Done right, modernization renews the core, embeds intelligence, and creates the conditions for speed and scale. It’s how banks cut release cycles, how cities deliver digital services, and how governments move from efficiency to experience.
Intelligent automation builds on that core. Through APIs and integration frameworks, we create a digital nervous system – a fabric where data, workflows, and partners move securely and in sync. When systems speak a common language, business starts to move as one.

And when that foundation is in place, ecosystems begin taking shape. SMART Souq turns these internal capabilities into external opportunities – enabling enterprises to co-create and monetize APIs, data, and services through a larger value network.

Modernize the core – Connect the fabric – Monetize the flow. That’s how transformation stops being a plan and becomes a pattern – one that organizations can repeat, refine, and scale.

3. Artificial Intelligence is a major focus across industries today. How is Torry Harris integrating AI into its offerings, and what value does this bring to your clients?
AI has moved from experimentation to expectation. The real question now is – how do enterprises embed it meaningfully, not just visibly?

At Torry Harris, AI is not an add-on but an enabler that runs through our entire portfolio. Our AI Factory helps enterprises industrialize adoption – combining automation, data pipelines, and decision intelligence into a single operational fabric. The goal is simple: measurable outcomes, not model counts. Efficiency that shows up in metrics, prediction that shows up in decisions, and personalization that enhances experience.

Our 4Sight analytics engine turns raw data into foresight. It learns from operational patterns, customer behavior, and market signals – helping enterprises anticipate demand instead of react. You can see this clearly in SMART Souq – its AI engine continuously learns from interactions, predicting needs and optimizing engagement in real time. In real estate, it might infer buyer intent; in logistics, it might optimize partner routes. AI here doesn’t replace human intuition but augments it.

And through our Agentic AI Services, we extend that intelligence across the enterprise, embedding it into operations, testing, integration, and decision systems. The result is AI that’s pragmatic, governed, and aligned to business rhythm, not hype cycles.

4. Could you share an example of a recent project where Torry Harris helped an enterprise modernize or integrate its systems, and what measurable impact it delivered?
A recent example I can reference comes from our work with NBQ – a leading regional bank that needed modernize its integration landscape for agility and scale – without dismantling what already worked.

We implemented a secure API management layer that unified systems and created real-time data exchange across the bank’s ecosystem. The results were tangible – 45% improvement in operational efficiency, 30% reduction in integration costs, and partner onboarding time cut from three days to one. More importantly, NBQ could launch new digital services 40% faster – a critical edge in a market where speed defines customer experience.

But the real change wasn’t technical; it was behavioral. NBQ stopped managing systems and began orchestrating outcomes. Teams moved faster, experiments carried less risk, and innovation  turned from being occasional to repeatable.

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Tech Interviews

How Unifonic Intelligence is Transforming Customer Experience in Saudi Arabia

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Ayman Hamdan, Co-founder of Unifonic and others from Unifonic on the stage at an event

Exclusive Interview with Ayman Hamdan, Co-founder of Unifonic

Portrait shot of Ayman Hamdan, Co-founder of Unifonic
Ayman Hamdan, Co-founder of Unifonic
  1. How does E3 Customer Experience Conference showcase innovation and advance Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation goals? 

The E3 Customer Experience (E3CX) Conference plays a crucial role in advancing Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation by serving as a dynamic marketplace where innovation, policy, and technology converge. For Saudi organisations, the event offers the opportunity to explore real-world solutions, moving beyond abstract concepts to evaluate validated use cases and production-ready technologies. It brings together key stakeholders, including vendors, system integrators, government agencies, and enterprise buyers to collaborate on critical issues such as compliance, integration, and security. 

Crucially, the conference supports Saudi Vision 2030’s emphasis on secure, locally governed digital services and a growing domestic software as a service (SaaS) ecosystem. It enables partnerships between platform providers, local cloud operators, telcos, and system integrators that address national priorities like data residency. For policymakers and regulators, E3CX provides a neutral, insight-rich platform to observe market capabilities, refine regulatory frameworks, and accelerate public-sector procurement. Sessions focus on operational readiness and business impact, including service-level agreements (SLAs), security, pilot-to-production timelines, and demonstrable return on investment (ROI). 

By bringing together technical teams, buyers, and regulators under one roof, the conference shortens procurement cycles, fosters collaborative problem solving, and ensures that digital initiatives deliver measurable economic and social outcomes. Ultimately, E3CX is where Vision 2030’s digital ambitions are translated into scalable, impactful services for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

  • Where do you see CX in MENA in three years? 

Over the next three years, customer experience (CX) in the MENA region will shift from being a set of separate channels to a smooth, ongoing conversation that follows customers wherever they are. Mobile messaging and voice will become the primary means of engagement across discovery, purchase, and support. Companies that treat these conversational journeys as a key part of their revenue strategy, rather than just support tools, will be the ones that succeed. AI will move beyond small tests to full-scale use, helping personalise interactions in real time while also meeting local regulations. This will result in faster responses, fewer false positives, and more localised customer experiences. 

At the same time, Arabic-first design will become essential. Businesses that focus on dialect accuracy and culturally relevant design will see better engagement and conversion. Moreover, CX success will be measured by more than just satisfaction scores; business leaders will look closely at how chat and messaging contribute to revenue, customer retention, and cost efficiency. Data residency and local regulations will also play a bigger role in how companies choose their technology partners as governments and large enterprises will prioritise vendors that can demonstrate local hosting, audit logs, and clear data governance. While automation will handle routine tasks, skilled human agents will still be needed for complex or emotional conversations. Finally, CX will increasingly become tailored by industry, with sectors like banking, aviation, and government developing domain-led playbooks for conversational automation, featuring specialised models, compliance patterns and measurement frameworks. Thus, early adopters are poised to win procurement and set an example for others to follow. 

  • With Vision 2030 shaping the SaaS market, how is Unifonic enabling better CX for Saudi businesses and public sector buyers? 

With Vision 2030 driving the transformation of the software as a service (SaaS) market in Saudi Arabia, Unifonic is uniquely positioned to enable better customer experience (CX) for both Saudi businesses and public sector buyers. The growing demand for SaaS solutions in the MENA region is fuelled by the rise of new digital models, and Vision 2030 has further accelerated this by emphasising the need for secure, locally compliant, and scalable digital services. 

Unifonic meets these demands by offering a unified conversational platform designed for production from day one. Our technology prioritises Arabic-first experiences, ensuring conversational journeys resonate across different dialects and feel natural to users. This focus on language and cultural relevance reduces friction, increases engagement, and drives higher conversion rates across customer acquisition and support workflows. For the public sector and large enterprises, we have adopted a collaborative go-to-market approach that includes joint pilot design, clear key performance indicators (KPIs), and quick iteration cycles. This enables stakeholders to validate the platform’s impact before committing to scale. 

On the ecosystem front, Unifonic works closely with local cloud operators, telecommunications companies, and system integrators to integrate seamlessly with existing infrastructure and accelerate deployment. We also invest in developer programs, training initiatives, and accelerator partnerships to nurture local talent, directly supporting Saudi Vision 2030’s objective of job creation. 

Unifonic operates at the intersection of language, compliance, and production readiness. We empower Saudi organisations to move their conversational projects beyond experimentation into scalable, measurable services that improve both citizen and customer experiences, fully aligned with the Kingdom’s digital transformation, economic growth, and workforce development goals. 

  • What is Unifonic Intelligence? 

Unifonic Intelligence is the AI engine that powers the Unifonic customer engagement platform. It brings together four key modules: the AI control centre for governance and oversight, AI chatbot for customer-fa cing virtual agents, agent copilot to assist human agents in real time, and a content creator with marketing recommendations to automate and personalise campaign messaging. Together, these components empower businesses to deliver faster, smarter, and more personalised customer experiences. 

What sets the platform apart is its underlying AI framework, which uses a retrieval-augmented generation approach to ensure responses are grounded in the customer’s real data and up-to-date enterprise knowledge. We carefully evaluate and select leading open-source large language models (LLMs), optimising them for Arabic dialects and region-specific intents. This results in conversational AI that not only understands local nuances but also delivers factually accurate interactions. Early adopters can expect enhanced engagement, improved customer satisfaction and better business decisions through data-driven insights. 

  • How does the partnership with Humain and Groq enable this platform and what does it mean for customers? 

Our partnership with Humain and Groq is both a technical and commercial enabler that strengthens the Unifonic AI Powered Customer Engagement Platform with unmatched performance, security, and scalability. Groq provides industry-leading inference hardware and performance engineering, focused specifically on inference execution, which is the critical backbone of live conversational systems. This means significantly faster model execution, lower latency, and scalable throughput, all of which are essential for delivering high-quality customer experiences. At the same time, Humain ensures that these capabilities are deployed locally, with full integration into regional compliance frameworks, and enterprise-grade operational controls across Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region. 

Groq and Humain led the development of the inference architecture, performance tuning and deployment playbooks. While Groq tuned serving layers for peak low-latency performance, Humain implemented the local hosting, networking and operational controls required by enterprise customers. This joint approach allows us to push new model variants from testing to production in days rather than months, all while maintaining full audit trails and governance that regulated enterprises require. For customers, the benefits are measurable: inference and model serving are hosted in Saudi-based environments, preserving data residency; response times are faster, improving user satisfaction and reducing drop-off; and Arabic language support is significantly enhanced because of regionally-tuned models and dialect validation. 

Ultimately, this partnership gives Unifonic the infrastructure and operational foundation to deliver Arabic-first, compliant AI for enterprises across the region. At the upcoming E3 Customer Experience (E3CX) Conference 2025, we will be showcasing these engineering achievements and inviting customers to join our early adopter program to start delivering measurable business outcomes. 

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