Regional Enterprises Lead Global Push for Data and AI Sovereignty

Exclusive interview with Kash Rafique, Vice President and GM Middle East and Africa, Enterprise DB

What are your top priorities and what do you want the region to see from EDB that’s new and different at this year’s GITEX?

I think certainly from a messaging point of view, there’s no doubt that sovereignty is the new intelligence on how we move forward in this market. I think what we’re seeing is that our customers are looking for speed, they’re looking for control of their data within their boundaries, and this is making a big difference really to customers and enterprises in the region. I think that’s where we come in as a trusted player, a partner in the region.

What you’re seeing here at the stand today at EDB is really an alignment of that, the immersive experience here we’re giving to our customer to help them understand some of the solutions that we’re able to provide so far as speed is concerned, control of their data within that sovereignty realm is really something that we are showcasing here.

Can you walk us through to the Sovereignty Matters report, which is quite interesting. What are the biggest takeaways for local enterprises?

First of all, I think we should be very proud, of UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, because really they’ve come on top of a global report across 13 economies, across 2,000 enterprises, right the way across the globe. I think what is really appealing or revealing from the report is that 17% of organizations in this region are deeply committed to both data and AI, and this is a significant amount. Compare that to what we are seeing globally, which is 13%, or compare it to the UK, which is 10%, this is significantly higher.

It shows real intent and focus on the sovereignty areas, and I think that’s a big thing. The other thing that we see is the 5x return that enterprises are getting from that commitment that they’ve made. I think this is also very, very testimonial on the kind of return that we’re able to see from the sovereign AI solutions that clients are adopting in this region.

And the third one is 2 ½ x are very confident that they will be leading their industries within their respective areas within the next three years. I think this is a fantastic finding. Again, I think the region should be very, very proud of these results.

How is EDB preparing to lead and support its customers through your local office?

So, the local office is there as a hub to support a very important omnichannel of our business here, and that is related to the partners, the alliances, and the ISVs that are regionally based. The office will be used for workshops, training, engineering, and client innovation centers that we’re planning to build as we move through this year.

We certainly looking forward to is building our relationships even further with key partners such as NVIDIA, IBM, Supermicro, Red Hat, and also many of our local partners. We call them our boutique partners, but they’re also equally important. So, from this perspective, it’s a very important base for us.

It provides a hub, it shows investment, and it shows real commitment in the sovereignty space that we’re actively involved with here in the region.