Seagate Technology specializes in designing, manufacturing, and marketing of hard disk drives tailored for a range of applications, including enterprise and client computer usage, personal data backup systems, portable external storage, and digital media systems.

In the light of approaching Intersec 24, the Integrator had an exclusive Interview with Mr. Mohit Pandey, Head of Sales – META, Seagate Technology, addressing industry challenges, providing key insights on market segmentation, technological prowess, and their electronic data storage solutions.

What can we expect from Seagate at Intersec 24?

At Intersec Dubai 24, visitors to our booth will witness the latest products and technologies expected to hit the market in the near future. We are eager to onboard resellers and installers for our partner program and engage in meaningful discussions about our unique services and solutions.

Seagate’s EMEA Management team, including Maarten Guijt (Vice President, EMEA Channel, Consumer and Distribution Business), Vincent Oostlander (Director, Seagate Systems and Lyve Solutions, EMEA), and Mohit Pandey (Head of Sales, META), along with Country Managers and Marketing & PR leads, will be physically present at the event to assist current and potential customers.

How is Seagate ensuring it has industry-leading solutions for today’s demanding and secure use cases?

Securing mission-critical data in the most advanced way is Seagate’s primary objective. Our guiding principles of innovation, integrity, and inclusion have positioned us as a leader in data management in today’s complex IT world.

Our extensive portfolio caters to various sectors, including consumers, the surveillance industry, gamers, network-attached storage users, cloud service providers, flash users, NVMe users, and unified storage users.

Surveillance Industry – Data that gets generated through Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled cameras and Internet of Things (IoT) edge points, Seagate provides Skyhawk and Skyhawk AI HDDs for Network Video Recorders and Direct Video Recorders to ensure not a single frame of video is lost, and the customer stores data in the most secured yet cost-effective way.

Cloud Service Providers – CSPs are driven by solutions that are scalable, responsive, and innovative. Seagate Exos provides the most innovative and futuristic Nearline HDDs for customers looking for high throughput and massively dense storage capacity. With our Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording Technology, together with Multiple Actuator 2.0, we are the answer to the industry’s mission-critical workloads, for Cloud, IoT, and AI. Creating a data pool for high-performance computing is now affordable and not a distant dream for organizations.

Enterprise Mission Critical Drives – Enterprises, day by day are working on complex virtualized use cases that demand application throughput to enhance speed and agility. Seagate offers customers worldwide its ultra-agile SSD and NVME solutions known as Nytro. With cutting-edge technology and data protection, corporations have peace of mind when accessing mission-critical and high throughput use cases.

Consumers with personal storage demand – Seagate provides solutions like Expansion, One Touch Hubs, and SSD solutions for storing consumer’s data in the most data-protected environment.

Gaming Industry – If someone calls the gaming industry a niche, then this niche industry has been surpassing the billion dollars for the past years and its incremental growth is a testament that this industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Seagate with its incredible FireCuda brand offers unmatched gaming experience for the users by providing HDDs, SSDs, and NVMEs for this performance demanding market. To top that, we have driven designed as per the game. E.g., Call of Duty, we have a specialized drive designed for Call of Duty, so on and so forth.

How do you define market segmentation?

SMEs and SMBs – SME and SMB constitute 60% of the corporate entry-level IT use cases. Even if the size of the organization is medium, their IT challenges and ambitions are not. The ever-increasing and growing IT management requires very demanding and secure data management. Seagate with its Network Attached Storage HDDs and SSDs (IronWolf, IronWolf Pro, and IronWolf SSD) proposes superior and industry-leading NAS HDDs and SSDs for customers whose requirements are growing and demanding secured drives with unmatched throughput.

Large Corporates – With Seagate Data Storage System (Unified Storage), Seagate provides Hybrid Flash Arrays (HFA), All Flash Arrays (AFA), and the most densely populated Storage available on earth (Corvault). Imagine 2.5PB of RAW Capacity in a 4U enclosure. That’s unbelievable, right? I will say that’s new age technological superiority and that’s Seagate. Use cases such as virtualization, data backup and recovery, high-performance computing, on-premises and hybrid cloud set up, media editing and hosting, video surveillance and analysis, mission-critical applications get the most thriving data management solution for secured data.

Vloggers, YouTubers, and Resellers (Consumer – Retail) – Seagate has a special product for prosumers (professional consumers) and provides the most rugged yet stylish HDDs and SSDs for consumers who have no limit to their creative imagination and world-class content. Supported heavily by Apple, Seagate’s LaCie drives create magical data management and solution for creative data. Whatever the need of the data, whether it is structured data or unstructured data or a combination of both, LaCie provides the most impeccable solution to prosumers globally.

What is Seagate’s edge on technology alliance?

Seagate has years of experience in monetizing world-class data management for mission-critical use cases based on Artificial Intelligence, cloud network operations Center, Internet of Things, high-performance computing, virtualization, data backup and recovery, data imaging, media content editing, and hosting. Seagate does all that by constantly investing a major sum of its income in research and development. Some of the examples are mentioned below as follows: Thus, with massive solutions, market-leading areal density, tested and aligned development with technological alliance partners on futuristic and secured technology, Seagate is poised for a bright and committed data management solution for the customers and consumers of Datasphere.

Which markets does Seagate prioritize in CY 24?

One of the largest markets in the Middle East, which is actively pursuing digital transformation is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia actively working to roll-out the latest advanced technologies and Smart City developments. In fact, the Kingdom was named the “Top Digital Riser” among the G20 nations in 2021 due to the comprehensive government support for digital transformation in the Kingdom as part of Vision 2030. As a global leader in mass-data storage solutions, Seagate is actively investing in KSA. To support its ambitions as a leading tech hub, affordable, flexible, scalable, and secure high-performance data management systems will be vital. With more than 40 years of experience in cutting-edge technologies and solutions, we are equipped with the skills, expertise, and technology to support Saudi Arabia’s advanced IT infrastructure needs. In line with Saudi Vision 2030, the National Transformation Program, growth of the non-oil sector and a fast-growing population, the market for surveillance and video analytics in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.7% between 2020-2026. Within the segment, the camera component acquired the highest revenue share, and the most popular vertical for the market proved to be government and transportation, as remote monitoring, transportation management and increased public safety are priorities among the authorities. At the same time, looking to the future, surveillance and video analytics are expected to play a major role in the development of smart cities. They will also be critical as Saudi Arabia’s major infrastructure projects are advanced.

In an exclusive interview with the Integrator, Pagero’s Chief Product Officer, Gustav Dahllöf, discusses their mission to become the world’s largest open business network, simplifying the buying and selling process. They are revolutionizing invoicing processes with innovative solutions, boosting operational efficiency, and cost savings. Moreover, Pagero is leading the way to a paperless, greener, and more sustainable business world!

How does Pagero help companies go digital, and what are your offerings?

The core concept of Pagero is to make buying and selling easier. Digitalisation trends are changing the way companies and consumers want to do business, with expectations growing every day in terms of efficiency and reliability. That is why we have designed Pagero to be a cloud-first, open business network where buyers and suppliers can exchange business documents such as invoices, orders, and confirmations, in compliance with regulations set by the tax authorities in the 140+ countries where our clients do business.

At Pagero, we provide a comprehensive range of solutions that align with current industry requirements. One of our main offerings is our e-Invoicing solution, empowering organizations to streamline their invoicing processes, enhance operational efficiency, and achieve cost savings. Furthermore, we have solutions that expand these digitalization efforts towards the full Purchase-to-Pay and Order-to-Cash processes. In addition, we offer a wide range of value-added services, including e-archiving, e-payment, business intelligence, validation, and enrichment services. Our ultimate goal is to establish ourselves as the world’s largest smart, open business network – making buying and selling easy!

Tell me about Pagero’s e-invoicing platform and how does it streamline invoicing and improves efficiency.

Pagero’s e-invoicing platform is a cutting-edge digital solution designed to optimize and simplify the invoicing process for businesses. By enabling seamless electronic transmission of invoices between suppliers and buyers, the platform eliminates the need for manual paper-based invoicing, reducing processing time and errors significantly.

The key advantages for businesses in adopting e-invoicing include:

• Enhanced accuracy and data integrity
• Faster invoice delivery
• Reduced administrative costs

With streamlined invoicing procedures, businesses can experience improved cash flow due to faster payment cycles and reduced payment delays, ultimately fostering better relationships with trading partners.

How does Pagero promote environmentally friendly business practices beyond e-invoicing? What initiatives have you taken to provide a sustainable business ecosystem?

Beyond our core e-invoicing services, we actively promote and support environmentally friendly business practices through several initiatives and features aimed at reducing environmental impact. Our commitment to paperless document management encourages companies to transition to digital solutions, saving trees and reducing carbon emissions linked to paper production and transportation.

Additionally, we provide an environmental dashboard free of charge to all customers, allowing them to track the environmental savings achieved by switching from paper to electronic processes. Our dedication lies in creating a greener and more sustainable business world!

How does Pagero’s platform accommodate businesses of different sizes and industries?

Our platform is designed to offer seamless scalability and integration, making it suitable for businesses of varying sizes and industries. Its flexible architecture allows it to handle both small businesses with limited transaction volumes and large enterprises processing a high volume of transactions. For small businesses, Pagero provides a straightforward onboarding process and user-friendly interfaces that require minimal technical expertise.

As companies grow, Pagero’s platform can effortlessly accommodate increased transaction volumes and more complex workflows without compromising on performance or efficiency. Moreover, Pagero’s integration capabilities enable it to seamlessly connect with various enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, financial software, and other essential business tools, ensuring smooth data exchange and reducing manual intervention.

How does Pagero ensure compliance and legal certainty on their platform, and what steps are taken to minimize the risk of non-compliance?

Our platform is designed with security and data protection in mind, employing encryption and authentication protocols to safeguard sensitive information. Pagero conducts regular audits and assessments, both internally and by third-party experts, to ensure adherence to compliance standards. To minimize the risk of non-compliance, we implement strict internal controls and governance frameworks. Additionally, Pagero provides comprehensive training and support to our users, ensuring they understand and follow compliance guidelines.

How does Pagero’s reporting and analytics tools help companies optimize workflows and make informed decisions with improved data visibility??

Pagero’s reporting and analytics platform play a crucial role in enhancing data visibility for companies. By providing comprehensive insights and real-time data analysis, these tools enable businesses to gain a deep understanding of their operations, identify trends, and pinpoint potential inefficiencies. Leveraging this information, companies can optimize their workflows by streamlining processes, automating repetitive tasks, and improving collaboration among teams and partners. Furthermore, the data-driven insights facilitate informed decision-making, allowing organizations to make strategic choices based on accurate, up-to-date information. This leads to improved productivity, cost-effectiveness, and overall performance, ultimately fostering a competitive advantage in the market and driving business growth.

What are Pagero’s plans for expansion and partnerships in 2023 and beyond?

We have certain exciting plans for significant expansion and strategic partnerships in response to the rapidly evolving global landscape. With the increasing adoption of e-invoice mandates across the GCC and the world, and the growing trend of digitalizing business processes, Pagero is positioned to lead the way in this transformation. Through strategic partnerships, we aim to enhance our technological capabilities and broaden our reach. Our goal is to build the world’s largest open business network, empowering businesses with innovative solutions that can facilitate seamless digital transactions and drive economic growth.

As the global focus on sustainability intensifies, Goumbook emerges as a leading force in promoting environmental consciousness and green initiatives in the UAE and the Middle East. In an exclusive interview with The Integrator, Tatiana Antonelli Abella, Founder and Managing Director of Goumbook, sheds light on the organization’s pivotal role in the region’s sustainable development. As COP28 approaches, we delve into Goumbook’s efforts to drive positive change and create a greener future for all.

What motivated you to establish Goumbook and focus on advancing sustainability in the Middle East?

From a young age, I have always felt a strong connection with nature, and growing up in Europe, I had, and still maintain, a very strong link to our traditional passion for natural, homemade, and fresh products. When I moved to Dubai in 2005, I felt privileged to see and be part of a city growing day by day, but also felt the need to reconnect with nature, a completely different environment from which I needed to learn from. Eco-awareness and sustainability were not a priority at that time, and I felt I could somehow help raise awareness among the community about sustainable practices and support the local eco-movement. Goumbook is a social enterprise based in the UAE that focuses on promoting sustainable living and business practices. Founded in 2009, Goumbook aims to raise awareness and inspire action among individuals, governments, the private sector, schools, universities, and communities to adopt environmentally friendly and socially responsible practices and make more responsible choices. We do this under 3 key pillars:

• The first step to change is awareness and education. Goumbook supports entities through think tanks, panel discussions, awareness sessions, working groups, and training.
• Action through campaigns and initiative drives to raise awareness and support sustainable efforts in the UAE.
• Advisory and consulting to accelerate advancements across public and private sectors in their sustainability journey.

Through its various initiatives and collaborations, Goumbook strives to create a positive impact on people and the planet and promote sustainable development in the UAE and wider region.

Can you provide us with an overview of the notable projects that Goumbook has undertaken in 2023 to promote sustainability in the Middle East?

In 2023 alone, in addition to our numerous ongoing campaigns and work with corporate and government entities across sustainability and CSR, 2023 saw the launch of these new campaigns:

• The inaugural MENA Oceans Summit, the first of its kind in our region focused on accelerating the pace of comprehensive clean ocean action, to conserve and restore ocean ecosystems, tackle climate change, and ensure the development of blue economies within sustainable frameworks.
• UNISOAP UAE, in partnership with the French NGO, Goumbook aims to accelerate sustainability efforts and circular business models within the UAE tourism sector. The initiative takes used soap bars bound for landfill, from participating hotels, and hygienically recycles them into new soap that is distributed to people in need, providing them with the basics of health & hygiene.
• Our Special edition of our Forward Talks podcast Climate Leaders – Rising up to COP28 in partnership with Mastercard Middle East and supported by the Dubai Government Media Office. Forward Talks highlights conversations with leaders and professionals from the corporate, entrepreneurial, and public sectors, who through their initiatives, stories, and unwavering commitment, inspire positive impact, environmental awareness, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility in the UAE and beyond.
• We have considerable campaigns that expanded under the umbrella of reducing Food Waste called “Eat it or Save it,” applying circular economy principles to benefit those in need, reducing food fit for consumption, from ending up in landfills and allowing companies to come together around a cause for employee team building and Corporate Social Responsibility. This also includes our partnership with the UN Environment Programme and the hospitality industry in a wonderful initiative titled “Recipe for Change.”

With the UAE hosting COP28, what are your expectations for the conference, and how is Goumbook inspiring communities to take further climatic action?

The UAE was the first country in the region to sign the Paris Agreement, the first to commit to an economy-wide reduction in emissions, and the first to announce a Net Zero By 2050 Strategic Initiative. The UAE has demonstrated its strong climate action credentials to host such a crucial summit.

COP28 will be a milestone moment as the world takes stock of its progress to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. 2023 is the first year where countries will present their Global Stocktake, offering a pivotal opportunity to correct course.

In the lead-up to COP28, we encourage all our corporate partners to participate in our Climate Fresk workshops, designed to go beyond building widespread climate literacy and put a specific focus on coming up with actionable, industry-specific solutions.

Another focus area for us will be prioritizing youth engagement across all campaigns: Key activities continue to revolve around climate literacy, circular economy models, and low-impact living in general. We strive to make the future generations growing up in this country aware of their own carbon and water footprints, how it compares globally, and help them assess their activities and habits that contribute the biggest share.

How has Goumbook been successful in integrating sustainability into the curriculum of schools and other educational institutions?

Our Learn, Do, Share program engages the youth in educational settings on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In each session, we focus on one of the SDGs and have an entrepreneurial presentation by a mentor showcasing their passion and journey for supporting this SDG. The youth deepen their knowledge and understanding and learn directly from mentors on how passion can turn into action and a career.

We educate the youth through these and other awareness sessions and provide hands-on experience to learn more about sustainability at our campaigns, including Save the Butts (a beach clean-up activity that removes plastic pollution, notably polluting cigarette butts, and turns them through circularity principles into new material for the construction industry).

Could you share some notable achievements or positive outcomes that Goumbook is particularly proud of?

Our Give a Ghaf campaign, launched by Goumbook 13 years ago, has contributed to tremendous growth in awareness around the National Tree of the UAE, the local environment, and the role of indigenous species, and we are proud of our program’s crucial role in this.

From this, Goumbook grew and created the Trees Matter planting program, regenerating thousands of mangroves and contributing to climate action with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) as part of the national sequestration program.

Other campaigns, including Drop It, raising awareness about single-use plastic and its effect on the environment and our health, have grown into national programs like Dubai Can under His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai. Working with the private sector and Municipality, Goumbook has reduced millions of plastic bottles.

These campaigns led Goumbook to drive collaborative engagement in climate action of oceans and marine environment through the MENA Oceans Summit. Goumbook is the first women-led social enterprise working on sustainability in the UAE, 13 years on Goumbook is still raising awareness, driving change, and sustainability impact.