Intelligent Data Centres Issue 03 | Page 46

FEATURE average life of S&P companies has fallen from 60 years to 20 years. With the huge number of tourists and investors coming to the UAE, there will be a large influx of data, which will need greater infrastructure planning. Businesses will have to manage this large amount of information in the most organised way. To ensure the same, investing in additional storage and network capacity would be required. Yasser Zeineldin, CEO of eHosting DataFort the way to becoming the smartest city in the world. Dubai has witnessed smart infrastructure being built based on the latest and cutting-edge technology and the government now aspires to transform the Emirate to not only be the smartest city but also the happiest city in the world over the next few years. The government sector is continuing to move towards digital. From adopting AI, to Big Data, Blockchain, mobility, IoT, BYOD, cloud and analytics, the sector is seeing an increased uptake in transformational technologies. Big Data, AI, IoT, analytics, security and cloud technologies are key technology platforms enabling today’s disruption. With increased frequency in the number of cyberattacks, the government spending on cybersecurity, which is one of the biggest technology trends in this sector across the globe, has definitely increased. With the increased uptake of IoT, the government sector is also ensuring that the connected devices are secure. Only 43% of Fortune 500 companies around in 1995 exist today and the Cloud is one of the key drivers of Digital Transformation. As more UAE organisations are accelerating their Digital Transformation efforts, we see a higher uptake of hybrid cloud. Many Middle Eastern countries and especially the GCC have been making strong investments to bring in Digital Transformation for economic and social prosperity. The digitisation efforts are clearly visible in the way governments are providing their citizens and residents with services, as well as in transportation, banking, etc. The key factor to all of this is connectivity through the cloud, which is turn has propelled the growth of the cloud business. What is the role that new age technologies such as AI, IoT and Big Data will play in the near future for businesses in the region? And, how are you leveraging such technologies? Trends such as AI, automation, virtualisation, IoT, Big Data etc. are driving a change in the overall business context and organisations are looking at these new technologies to transform their business and capitalise on this growth. Data centres are at the centre of this digital growth and transformation and are rapidly evolving to meet current and future business requirements. They are going through many changes as businesses are shifting their focus to issues such as speed of implementation, flexibility, agility, efficiency, scalability and security. Cloud computing is one of the key technologies driving the transformation of data centres as it facilitates faster business operations and offers organisations the flexibility to scale their infrastructure capacity on demand. With the continuing trend of cloud computing, data centres are being transformed to utilise these new technologies to enhance their performance and provide solutions to enterprises and businesses who want to maintain a leadership position in the years to come. ◊ 46 Issue 03 www.intelligentdatacentres.com