Walid Issa, the Senior Manager for PreSales and Solutions Engineers for Middle East and Africa at NetApp, says that there’s a growing need for intelligent data management as enterprises pursue digital transformation
Tell us about your participation at GITEX 2024. Which products and solutions will you be showcasing at the event?
NetApp is excited to be present at GITEX in a strategic way, in which we will engage with our customers and partners and demonstrate our latest innovations that address their pressing business challenges of today. We will showcase our enterprise storage solutions, emphasizing cyber resiliency, cloud storage, and unified management with BlueXP.
Additionally, we will highlight how our technologies are empowering customers to build an intelligent data infrastructure capable of supporting critical workloads and bringing AI projects to life. Our focus is on providing the intelligent data foundation required to maximize the potential of generative AI while ensuring data security, governance, and seamless integration into a unified AI stack.
How has the regional tech landscape evolved in the past couple of years?
The technology landscape in the region has experienced significant transformative changes over the past few years, driven by the rapid adoption of cloud solutions, AI integration, and data-driven initiatives. There’s a growing need for intelligent data management as enterprises pursue digital transformation.
NetApp has played a crucial role in supporting this evolution through solutions like ONTAP for advanced threat detection and Cloud Insights for comprehensive infrastructure management. Our focus on AI-driven technologies allows customers to proactively manage capacity, secure data, and accelerate innovation—key factors in enabling the region to achieve its digital transformation ambitions.
What are your expectations from the event this year?
We anticipate GITEX 2024 as a crucial opportunity to showcase the transformative power of data and AI in modern business operations. We aim to demonstrate how NetApp’s data-centric solutions are helping organizations achieve scalability, enhanced operational efficiency, and data security. This event also provides an opportunity to deepen our partnerships and connect with customers, showcasing how our technology can drive their AI initiatives and support their journey towards creating more resilient and intelligent infrastructures.
What will be your theme of participation at GITEX 2024?
Our theme is centred around building intelligent data infrastructures with the power of AI, and we are committed to enabling organizations to leverage data effectively across hybrid cloud environments. By showcasing innovations in enterprise storage, AI-driven data services, and unified management with BlueXP, we’re supporting businesses in building a robust and intelligent foundation for their digital transformation initiatives. Our focus is to empower customers to seamlessly manage data across environments, optimizing their operations and driving meaningful business outcomes.
Do you plan to run any online engagements such as webinars and offline engagements such as tech talks, demos, keynotes, and so on, alongside GITEX 2024?
Yes, alongside our physical presence at GITEX, we are running a series of high-level customer and partner engagements to maximize outreach and knowledge-sharing. These engagements are aimed at providing practical insights into how our technologies support business transformation and foster an intelligent, secure digital environment.
How have your regional strategies changed in recent months?
Our regional strategy has shifted towards enhancing our AI-driven solutions to align with the growing digital ambitions of businesses in the region. Given the complexity of IT environments in the region, we’ve strengthened our focus on providing integrated solutions that simplify capacity management and optimize resource usage.
Our offerings, like the BlueXP sustainability dashboard and AI-enhanced ONTAP, are designed to help customers maximize their data management capabilities across hybrid environments. We’ve also worked to deepen our partnerships with technology alliances to ensure that our solutions meet the unique demands of the region’s evolving tech landscape.
How do your regional strategies align with regional development initiatives run by various governments?
NetApp’s regional strategies align closely with government-led digital initiatives, such as the UAE’s Vision 2031 and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which emphasize innovation, AI adoption, and digital infrastructure development. By providing solutions like AI-driven ONTAP for data protection and the BlueXP sustainability dashboard, we are directly supporting these ambitions.
Our focus is on enabling smart city projects, advancing digital health, and supporting education through secure and efficient data management solutions. We aim to ensure that our technologies not only fulfil current needs but also lay the foundation for sustainable, data-driven growth across the region.
