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ISSUE 02 // www.intelligentcio.com
Solid
market
The importance
of Kuwait
to Xerox
Taking
flight
Drone-as-a-
Service launched by
telecom operator
Safety
benefits
Incorporating Blockchain
into workflows for
data security
Banking
transformation
Tariq Al Usaimi, CDO, Central Bank of Kuwait, on the rapid
expansion of the FinTech sector and how analytics and Big Data
have become the foundation for change.
IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS | LATEST INTELLIGENCE | INDUSTRY OPINION
EDITOR’S NOTE
W
elcome to the second edition
of Intelligent CIO Kuwait. This
month on page 37 we feature an
exclusive interview with Tariq Al Usaimi, CDO
for the Central Bank of Kuwait.
As we all know the FinTech sector in Kuwait
has rapidly expanded and as the newly
appointed head of digital strategy for
the Central Bank of Kuwait, Tariq has a
mandate to transform both the bank itself
and the country’s financial sector. “One of
the mandates that I have is to transform
the Central Bank of Kuwait to have it more
digitalised, to transfer all the paperwork to
digital processes and to transform the whole
banking sector in Kuwait,” he tells us.
As you can imagine there was a lot to talk
to Tariq about and one of the issues he
raised in the interview was the disconnect
between young people and some of the
country’s financial institutions. He raises
the fascinating point that the younger
generation are very much ‘digital natives’
who expect the same degree of flexibility
when dealing with financial institutions that
they have experienced when interacting
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through their phones in many other aspects
of life. The process of physically having
to attend an interview and painstakingly
working through actual paper work is alien
to them. However, as Tariq points out, this
phenomenon is not unique to Kuwait – other
countries, not just those in the Middle East,
are seeing the same process happening.
Elsewhere, starting on page 25, we hear
about how Xerox views the Kuwaiti market.
Mahmoud AlYahya, Middle East Operations
Region Manager at Xerox, tells us whenever
the company launches new products Kuwait
is always an early adopter.
He then goes on to tell us: “Kuwait is one
of the solid markets where we always
have high expectations and where we see
a very positive dynamic of competition
trying to enter into major accounts
and opportunities, whether that’s the
government or private sector.”
Of course, the dynamic nature of the IT
market in Kuwait comes as no surprise to
those of us who have knowledge of it but it’s
great to have it confirmed by a leading expert.
On page 32 we look at how Zain Kuwait has
become one of the first telecom operators
in the Middle East to use drones for tower
inspection and maintenance services. A
Drone-as-a-Service agreement is the first
commercial deal for the recently launched
Zain Drone meaning Kuwait will be a
showcase market for the capabilities of Zain
Drone-as-a-Service. Nawaf Al Gharabally,
Zain Kuwait Chief Technology Officer, tells
us: “Zain Kuwait is a flagship operation
within the group, and as such it is important
for us to lead the way with regards to
developments related to efficiency and
infrastructure maintenance.”
Once again we have all the usual features and
news from around Kuwait. Enjoy the read!
Mark Bowen
Editor
INTELLIGENTCIO
21