Tech News

How GCC Telecoms Can Close the Digital Divide and Boost Digital Transformation

Published

2 years ago

October 11, 2024

By: Naorus Abdulghani, Group Chief Technology Officer, Beyond ONE

The GCC region stands at the cusp of a digital renaissance, driven by ambitious initiatives like Saudi Vision 2030 and the UAE’s digital transformation goals. This vision promises a future where technology and innovation empower individuals, businesses, and communities, driving unprecedented growth and prosperity. However, to fully unlock this potential, a crucial challenge must be addressed: the benefits of the digital age are accessible to all.

While the GCC is making significant strides in technological advancement, a digital divide persists, limiting the participation of certain segments of the population in the digital economy. From rural communities and migrant workers to lower socioeconomic groups and SMEs, many face barriers to accessing reliable and affordable connectivity. This disparity not only hinders individual progress but also hampers the region’s overall digital transformation.

The inability to connect at the speeds necessary to utilize today’s digital tools can derail any attempt to improve access to services like fintech, edtech, and health-tech, particularly outside of major cities where network speeds can vary greatly. It’s like trying to navigate a modern highway with a horse and cart – the journey is not just slow, it’s impossible. If success in becoming the world’s leading digital economy is achieved, individuals and businesses need to be empowered to participate fully in the digital economy.

Telecom operators, as the architects of the region’s digital infrastructure, have an opportunity to bridge this divide and accelerate progress. By evolving from traditional telcos to techcos, they can offer a broader range of services beyond connectivity, empowering individuals and businesses to thrive in the digital age. This transformation requires a shift in mindset, from a focus on infrastructure alone to a broader vision of enabling digital inclusion and a more connected and empowered society.

This transformation demands a radical rethinking of personalization and inclusivity. It’s about understanding the unique needs of diverse communities and tailoring solutions that cater to their specific requirements. It’s about recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer sufficient in a world where digital access is as essential as electricity or water. It’s about creating an environment where everyone feels valued, heard, and empowered to explore the digital world without limitations.

The future of digital services lies in creating an integrated ecosystem that seamlessly connects people, businesses, and governments. This ecosystem should provide access to a range of services, from high-speed internet and cloud computing to fintech, edtech, and health-tech solutions. It should be built on a foundation of robust and reliable infrastructure, ensuring that everyone can benefit from the power of technology.

Imagine a world where a rural farmer can access the same financial tools as an urban entrepreneur, where students in a remote village can receive the same quality of education as those in a major city, and where healthcare services are readily available to everyone, regardless of their location. This is the potential of a truly inclusive digital ecosystem, one that echoes the spirit of exploration and connection that has always been at the heart of human progress.

The transition from telco to techco is undoubtedly challenging. It requires significant investment in infrastructure, innovation, and talent development. It also necessitates a shift in mindset, from a focus on connectivity alone to a broader vision of enabling digital empowerment. But the rewards of this transformation are immense.

By closing the digital divide and accelerating the region’s digital transformation, telecom operators can unlock new growth opportunities, drive innovation, and contribute to a more equitable and prosperous future for all. They can become the catalysts for change, empowering individuals and businesses to thrive in the digital age and helping the GCC region achieve its ambitious vision of becoming a global digital leader.

Tech News

Datadobi Adds Data Access Governance to StorageMAP, Enabling Enterprises to Answer the Critical Question: “Who Has Access to What?”

Published

3 days ago

September 26, 2026

Integrator Web-Editor

Datadobi, a leader in the Data Storage Management Services space, today announced the general availability of Data Access Governance (DAG) within StorageMAP. The new capability gives organizations visibility into who has access to their unstructured data and whether that access aligns with corporate policy. It extends Datadobi’s ability to help enterprises discover, align, and operationalize data across fragmented environments as their intelligence and orchestration layer.

As AI initiatives, cyber threats, and rising data complexity expose the limits of traditional approaches, DAG addresses a critical gap: organizations cannot govern, protect, or extract value from data they cannot see or control. As AI initiatives, cyber threats, and rising data complexity expose the limits of traditional approaches, DAG addresses a critical gap: organizations cannot govern, protect, or extract value from data they cannot see or control.

StorageMAP’s DAG capability gives administrators comprehensive visibility into access permissions across fragmented unstructured data environments. By surfacing who has access to what data, and whether that access aligns with business and security policy. Organizations can detect misaligned permissions, reduce cyber exposure, and enforce governance at scale. This visibility is the essential first stage of the broader DSMS discipline — visibility, understanding, decision, execution — that determines whether organizations can act on their data with confidence.

The introduction of DAG extends StorageMAP’s existing capabilities across data discovery, classification, risk assessment, lifecycle management and AI Data Readiness. Together, these capabilities help organizations to discover what data they have, align it with business value and risk requirements, and operationalize policy-driven action across their environments. The result is unstructured data that supports AI initiatives, strengthens cyber resilience, reduces cost, and drives long-term business value rather than holding it back.

DAG, which was trialed by a number of beta customers, supports a range of enterprise use cases, from protecting sensitive data and reducing breach impact, to maintaining records compliance and managing risk through mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. Early access customers identified a gap in their understanding of which critical datasets were exposed and who could access them, often relying on manual investigation to respond to audits and security incidents.

With Datadobi’s DAG capabilities, these organizations quickly identify overexposed data and validate access controls to proactively strengthen their security posture. For organizations investing in AI, it provides the governance foundation that trusted, well-governed data requires. And for those subject to data protection regulations (such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS), it delivers the visibility needed to demonstrate that access controls are in place, operating as intended, and aligned with business policy.

“Unstructured data is at the center of every major enterprise challenge right now including AI readiness, cyber resilience, cost management, and regulatory compliance,” said Michael Jack, Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer for Datadobi. “But organizations cannot address any of those challenges with data they cannot see or control. Data Access Governance gives teams the visibility to understand who has access to what, identify where risk exists, and take action to bring their unstructured data under control. It is a foundational step in turning unstructured data from a source of risk and complexity into a driver of business value.”

Tech News

Cloudera and Muroon Announce Strategic MoU

Published

4 days ago

September 25, 2026

Integrator Web-Editor

In a strategic move to advance enterprise digital enablement and support the technological ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030, Cloudera, the only true hybrid platform for data, analytics, and AI, has agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MuroonI the technology and digital enablement subsidiary of Tawuniya.

The proposed collaboration aims to evaluate opportunities to help organizations across the region modernize their technology capabilities, accelerate digital transformation, and unlock long-term business value. By leveraging Cloudera’s products and services, the engagement will explore how Cloudera’s hybrid data platforms and AI-driven analytics can help to boost Muroon’s expanding IT and digital enablement objectives.

Under the proposed partnership, Muroon and Cloudera will aim to collaborate on delivering secure data exchange and modern cloud architecture. Integrating Cloudera Anywhere Cloud™ principles, the proposed collaboration will explore ways to deliver a consistent cloud experience, enabling organizations to deploy AI and analytics workloads across private data centers and cloud environments with unified governance and security.

The proposed alliance creates complementary roles for both organizations. Muroon will leverage its delivery capabilities, consulting expertise, implementation services, across the Tawuniya ecosystem and the wider region. Cloudera will look to provide technology leadership, platform expertise, solution architecture, and technical enablement.

Ahmad Shakora, General Vice President of META, Cloudera, said:
“Our proposed collaboration with Muroon represents an important milestone in empowering regional organizations with modern hybrid data and AI architectures. Through Cloudera’s ability to bring AI and analytics to data anywhere it resides, combined with Muroon’s deep digital enablement and implementation capabilities, we aim to accelerate innovation, ensure secure data management, and actively contribute to the digital economy goals of Saudi Vision 2030.”

Faisal Bakhsh, Vice President of Business Development and Services Delivery at Muroon, added:
“As the technology arm of Tawuniya Group, Muroon is dedicated to delivering cutting-edge digital solutions that drive operational efficiency and business growth. Exploring this partnership with Cloudera allows us to harness world-class hybrid data and AI platforms to expand our service capabilities, facilitate secure data exchange, and deliver transformative value to our ecosystem and clients across Saudi Arabia.”