“Cloud waste isn’t created by bad engineers. It’s created by systems that show problems too late. Once I saw that, it became clear, the solution wasn’t better reporting. It was prevention.” – Atmoz CEO Yael Shatzky

Yael Shatzky didn’t set out to build a company around cloud costs. What she noticed, after more than 25 years across enterprise technology, product marketing, and growth at organisations including Amdocs and Microsoft’s R&D ecosystem, was a pattern.

Not just rising cloud spend, but a deeper structural disconnect in how it’s managed.

If you were introducing yourself and Atmoz to someone outside tech, where would you begin?

I’d say I’m building a company that changes how people think about waste—specifically cloud and AI waste.

Imagine a house where electricity prices constantly change depending on what you use and when, but no one knows the cost. Lights stay on, AC runs all day, and while you know you’re wasting about 30%, you have no way to prevent it. The only signal you get is last month’s bill.

That’s how companies operate in the cloud today.

Atmoz changes that by bringing cost awareness into the moment decisions are made, helping teams make smarter choices without disrupting how they work. The result is simple: waste is prevented before it happens.

What is the core problem Atmoz is solving—and where has the market gone wrong?

The market has focused on visibility, dashboards and reports that explain what already happened.

But the problem isn’t visibility.
It’s timing.

By the time companies see the data, the money is already spent and systems are already in production. Even with perfect visibility, nothing changes.

Atmoz works at the moment engineers are building, engaging them with immediate, simple recommendations that don’t slow them down. That’s where prevention becomes possible.

What does ‘AI-first’ product development look like at Atmoz?

We built a data foundation that reconstructs cost signals as resources are created, before billing data exists. That’s the hard part.

On top of that, we use AI where it matters most: interaction and execution. Our AI agent takes accurate, contextual data and delivers actionable recommendations directly within developer workflows.

Because the system is grounded in precise data, the guidance isn’t just intelligent, it’s reliable and immediately usable.

What are the biggest challenges in getting engineers to trust AI-driven recommendations?

Interestingly, it’s not trust in AI, it’s the belief that prevention is even possible.

For years, companies have been told they can reduce costs, yet around 30% of cloud spend is still wasted. That’s because most tools analyse waste after it happens, they don’t stop it.

Once engineers see an issue flagged in real time, with clear context and a simple fix, the skepticism disappears. It becomes tangible.

What is one leadership mistake that fundamentally changed how you operate?

Focusing too much on the product, and not enough on marketing early on.

Great products don’t speak for themselves, especially when you’re creating a new category. Marketing isn’t something you layer on later; it shapes how the product is understood and adopted. Starting early makes a significant difference.

Where do you see the biggest inefficiencies today?

The biggest inefficiency is the disconnect between engineering decisions and their financial impact.

Every time a developer deploys infrastructure or triggers an AI workload, they’re making a financial decision, without visibility into its cost implications.

AI is amplifying this. Costs are more volatile, and traditional feedback loops can’t keep up.

Atmoz brings cost awareness into that decision point, making efficiency part of the engineering discipline, much like security became over time.

At this stage, how do you define success?

Success isn’t a single milestone, it’s a series of moments.

Signing a new customer. Launching a capability that impacts spend. Getting a call from a customer excited because they just saved $30K on something they didn’t even know was happening.

Those moments are what drive us forward.

You’re defining a new category. What does it take to change long-held assumptions?

It starts with conviction. You’re asking people to question something they’ve accepted as normal.

But conviction alone isn’t enough, proof is everything. Category change happens when someone sees it working in their own environment and has that “aha” moment.

That’s why we focus on immediate, tangible value. When waste is prevented in real time, the mindset shift follows naturally.

Resilience also matters. When you challenge established models, you will be dismissed. The key is to stay grounded in the problem and keep showing evidence.

Has the industry been solving cloud waste the wrong way? Why hasn’t it changed?

I wouldn’t say wrong, FinOps tools solved the problem they were designed for. They brought visibility and governance, which was critical.

But they were built on the assumption that cost is something you analyse after it happens.

Today, cost is created instantly, when infrastructure is provisioned or AI workloads run. But feedback still comes later. That gap is the issue.

What’s changed is the pace of engineering. With AI, decisions are faster and costs are more dynamic. What used to be inefficient is now unsustainable.

That’s why prevention isn’t just an improvement, it’s becoming essential.

How will engineering teams work differently in five years?

Cost will no longer be treated as something external, owned by finance. It will become part of the engineering feedback loop, like performance or reliability.

Atmoz brings that awareness into everyday workflows, guiding better decisions without adding friction.

Over time, this shifts behaviour. Waste isn’t something you detect and fix later, it simply doesn’t get created.

The result is not just lower cost, but faster teams, better decisions, and more room to innovate.

As the Middle East accelerates its push toward becoming a digital economy, global consumer electronics brands are being forced to rethink their role beyond simply selling devices. For Hisense, that shift is already underway.

From building connected living ecosystems to strengthening regional manufacturing and R&D, the company is positioning itself not just as a technology provider, but as a long-term partner in the region’s transformation.

In this conversation, Jason Ou, President of Hisense Middle East, Africa and India, outlines how localisation, supply chain investments, and a sharper focus on consumer relevance are shaping the company’s next phase of growth in the region—and why the Middle East is emerging as more than just a consumption market.

The region is increasingly positioning itself as a hub for digital economies. How can consumer electronics brands contribute to this broader transformation beyond simply selling devices?

Consumer electronics brands today play a much bigger role than just providing devices. Our real impact comes from shaping how people live in an increasingly digital world. At Hisense, we focus on anticipating consumer shifts and building our innovation around the needs of modern, connected lifestyles. It’s not only about technology, but about how that technology integrates seamlessly into everyday life.

We see this clearly through connected living. A TV today is no longer just a screen, it becomes part of a wider ecosystem, connecting with appliances, enabling intuitive control, and helping consumers manage comfort, energy, and daily routines more efficiently. At the same time, localization is key. Through regional R&D, partnerships, and a stronger presence on the ground, we ensure our innovation is relevant to local lifestyles and market realities. Ultimately, our role is to translate innovation into meaningful, practical value, supporting the region’s digital transformation in a way that is tangible for both consumers and communities.

Technology companies often struggle between being engineering-led and market-led. How does Hisense maintain that balance internally?

For us, it is not a question of choosing between engineering-led or market-led. The strongest companies are built on both, working hand in hand. At Hisense, we combine strong engineering capabilities with a deep understanding of consumer needs and local markets. Our innovation is driven by technology, but always shaped by how people actually live, interact, and use our products. We focus on one simple principle: every innovation must translate into a better user experience. That is where engineering excellence meets real market relevance, allowing us to stay both forward-looking and grounded in consumer value.

You have led Hisense’s expansion in the Middle East through a period of rapid technological change. What leadership principles have helped you balance global innovation with local market realities in this region?

The starting point has always been staying true to Hisense’s vision and values. That gives us a clear direction, especially during periods of rapid change. The second element is people and partnerships. Building the right team on the ground, and working with the right partners, has been essential to understanding the region and executing effectively across markets.

Third is localization with discipline. While we benefit from strong global innovation, success in this region comes from adapting that innovation to local lifestyles, climate, and consumer expectations in a consistent and structured way. And finally, long-term commitment. We have approached the Middle East as a strategic growth market, continuing to invest in technology, operations, and relationships. That long-term view allows us to balance global ambition with local relevance and build sustainable growth over time.

As most global supply chains and manufacturing ecosystems for consumer electronics remain concentrated outside the Middle East, what role do you see the region playing in the future production and innovation landscape of this industry?

I believe the region will play a much bigger role over time, especially as a center for localization, strategic manufacturing, regional distribution, and application-led innovation. We are already seeing that evolve. Hisense has been strengthening its regional manufacturing footprint, including operations in Algeria and Egypt, alongside localized R&D in Dubai. Our recent export milestone from Algeria into Egypt and Tunisia shows that the region is not only a consumption market, but increasingly part of a broader industrial and supply-chain ecosystem.

Going forward, I see the Middle East and wider MENA region becoming more important in three areas: as a faster response hub for regional supply and customization; as a testing ground for technologies suited to local environmental and lifestyle conditions; and as a bridge between global innovation and emerging-market demand. The opportunity is not just to manufacture more, but to shape products and solutions that are more relevant to this part of the world.

If we fast forward ten years, what will the concept of “home entertainment” look like compared to today?

We are currently witnessing a significant wave of innovation, particularly driven by AI capabilities. I believe this will continue to evolve, becoming smarter, more intuitive, and more seamlessly integrated into everyday life. Home entertainment will not only improve in terms of quality, with better visuals, sound, and performance, but it will also become more personalized and adaptive to each user.

At the same time, we will see more robotic and automated technologies becoming part of the home, supporting everyday tasks and enhancing convenience, creating a more connected and intelligent living environment. Ultimately, the experience will shift from simply watching content to enjoying a smarter, more immersive, and fully integrated home experience.

Finally, if you had to describe the next chapter of Hisense in the Middle East in one word, what would it be and why?

Reliable. We aim to become the most reliable brand in the region, in line with our longterm vision. This means continuously strengthening our position across technology development and market penetration, while keeping consumer needs at the center of everything we do. At the same time, we will further invest in localized solutions to ensure our innovation remains relevant, practical, and impactful for the region.

Dubai’s construction pipeline is moving at a pace that demands absolute execution discipline. We sit down with Ibrahim Imam, CEO and Co-founder of PlanRadar, to discuss how real-time tracking, digital templates, and AI are eliminating site ambiguity and setting a new benchmark for project delivery certainty in the region.

Dubai’s construction sector continues to grow despite evolving regional dynamics. From your perspective, how is digital transformation reshaping project execution and operational efficiency across construction sites in the region?

Dubai’s construction and real estate pipeline continues to move at pace, and that pace puts a spotlight on execution discipline. In practice, many performance issues don’t start as major failures—they start small: an unclear detail in the plans, an inspection requested too late, a change implemented before approval, or a delivery accepted without proper checks. These gaps often surface later as rework, delays, audit findings, or disputes—when time and cost impacts are already locked in.

Digital transformation is reshaping execution in two very practical ways: speed of decisions and quality of evidence. When inspections, approvals, and corrective actions are managed through consistent workflows—linked to the right location and supported by photos, markups, or test results—teams stop relying on individual habits and start relying on a system. That is why the Construction Site Templates Playbook frames templates as operational control points, not paperwork. When these controls are digitised and embedded into daily routines, operational efficiency improves because coordination becomes faster and issues are closed with verified evidence.

Platforms like PlanRadar are enabling teams to digitise on-site workflows. What role does real-time tracking of inspections, tasks, and approvals play in improving transparency and accountability across project teams?

Real-time tracking changes daily site management from “What do we think happened?” to “What can we verify right now?” That shift is a major driver of transparency and accountability.

First, it makes ownership and deadlines explicit. When an inspection request, an RFI response, a non-conformance closure action, or an approval task is assigned to a named person or role with a due date, follow-up becomes structured. Leadership can see what is overdue without chasing updates across emails and messaging threads.

Second, it links records to the right location and supporting evidence.Construction is location-based. A record without a clear location (area/level/grid) and objective evidence can create ambiguity and slow decisions. Real-time workflows make it easier to capture evidence at the point of work—photos, markups, documents, test results—and link it directly to the site location and the relevant record.

Finally, it strengthens audit readiness and handover quality. Time-stamped, traceable records reduce reliance on reconstructed evidence during audits, handover, or dispute resolution. In regulated environments and high-value developments, this traceability increasingly matters.

Developers today are under pressure to deliver projects on time while maintaining quality standards. How are digital tools helping teams maintain delivery certainty despite increasing project complexity?

Developers today are under pressure to deliver projects on time while maintaining quality standards. Digital tools are helping teams maintain delivery certainty despite increasing project complexity by making issues visible earlier, improving coordination, and creating clearer control across execution.

Many delays begin as small blockers such as missing approvals, late materials, access constraints, sequencing clashes, or outstanding clarifications. If these constraints live only in meeting notes, they are easy to lose. Digital tools such as look-ahead planning and constraint logs make blockers visible, assigned, and tracked until closure so that intervention happens earlier.

A structured Change Order / Variation workflow also helps bring control to project changes. It captures what is changing and why, which areas and plans/specifications are impacted, the time and cost impact, the approval authority, and the final decision. Digitally, this creates a clear history from request to review to approval to implementation, reducing confusion and protecting commercial position.

Late approvals, incomplete documentation, and weak delivery checks often become downstream defects and replacement delays. Digitising material approvals and delivery inspection records helps ensure only compliant materials enter the works, and issues are identified before they affect installation.

Rework remains one of the biggest threats in construction. Structured QA/QC inspection checklists, defect and snag tracking with verified closure, and commissioning readiness checks help reduce late-stage quality surprises. Instead of quality becoming a handover fire drill, it becomes part of daily execution.

Construction has traditionally been slow to adopt new technologies. As a technology leader working closely with developers and contractors across the region, how do you see leadership mindsets evolving when it comes to embracing digital transformation on construction sites?

Construction has traditionally been slow to adopt new technologies. As a technology leader working closely with developers and contractors across the region, we see leadership mindsets becoming more practical and more execution-focused. The shift is from “Which tool should we buy?” to “What discipline do we need to enforce on site?”

Historically, adoption has been slowed by the fear of slowing site teams down, the difficulty of aligning subcontractors, and the belief that projects are too unique to standardise. What is changing now is the recognition that inconsistent execution controls create higher costs than standardisation, especially when leaders are managing multiple projects with tighter governance and higher scrutiny.

Projects can no longer depend on a few experienced people to hold everything together. Leadership increasingly wants consistent execution across teams and subcontractors, even when site resources change. As a result, there is growing demand for processes that are repeatable, with clear ownership, structured approvals, evidence captured at the point of work, and verified closure.
It is therefore becoming less about “going digital” and more about enforcing reliable workflows. Adoption succeeds when workflows are simple, mobile-friendly, and aligned with daily routines. If tools add effort without clear value, teams will bypass them. That is why template design, including triggers, required fields, and evidence capture, matters as much as the platform itself.

Looking ahead, how do you see technologies like AI, predictive analytics, and automation further transforming construction project management?

Looking ahead, technologies such as AI, predictive analytics, and automation are likely to have the biggest impact when they reduce manual follow-up and help teams act earlier. Their value, however, depends on having structured, consistent project data, which is another reason execution discipline and standardised templates are so foundational. This is becoming even more relevant in the UAE, where the national UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 is aimed at boosting government performance and embedding AI across priority sectors, while Dubai’s Economic Agenda D33 seeks to raise productivity by 50% through digital transformation and innovation.

If inspections, defects, non-conformances, constraints, and approvals are recorded consistently, analytics can identify patterns such as recurring defects by trade, bottlenecks in approval cycles, or increasing safety observations in specific zones. These predictive insights allow teams to intervene earlier, before delays or rework begin to escalate.

Automation can further improve project management by routing approvals to the right roles, escalating overdue inspections, generating reports from structured records, and triggering corrective actions based on inspection outcomes. This reduces administrative overhead and improves consistency without asking teams to do more.

The ability to quickly find the right record when it is needed is a common challenge. AI can help teams locate RFIs, approvals, and inspection records for a specific location, summarise change history, and highlight what is open versus closed. This supports faster decision-making and reduces ambiguity across stakeholders.

The key point is that AI accelerates teams that already have disciplined workflows and reliable data. Without that foundation, its value remains limited.

In this sense, digital transformation is reshaping construction execution in Dubai by strengthening clear approvals, verified inspections, controlled change, and traceable records linked to objective evidence. The Construction Site Templates Playbook was developed to help teams standardise these control points and apply them consistently, so projects can reduce ambiguity, improve compliance confidence, and deliver with greater predictability across construction and real estate portfolios.