Originally in our March – April 2021 Issue. Click here to see the latest release

In the constant evolution of digital tools and possibilities, leveraging cloud computing services and upskilling to empower employees and youth to meet the job requirements of tomorrow has become an essential element of progression towards a more digital and agile age.

Supporting that evolution is IBM Egypt, which has taken a key role in developing Egypt’s information and communication technology sector, as well as providing insight and tools for organizations to gain competitive advantages during the continued emergence of new technologies and consumer demands.

In an exclusive interview with Business Today Egypt, we sat down with IBM Egypt’s General Manager Wael Abdoush to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic’s acceleration of transforming and modernizing business operations and their commitment to the Egyptian market.

Digital transformation was the buzzword of 2020, and continues to be today, but how do corporations and governments transform to meet new technological demands and streamline business processes, and how does that stimulate business and the economy?

For the past several years, businesses around the world have been driving their digital reinventions to take advantage of data. Every enterprise client I speak to is talking about digital transformation, how to become a cognitive enterprise, an agile organization that is fueled by data, guided by AI insight and built for change on a hybrid cloud.

Enterprises of all kinds- whether corporations or governments- are in various stages of moving away from product or service-centric to customer-centric orientation.

They are looking to accelerate IT modernization by leveraging cloud models - both public and hybrid, data, AI, automation and other key technologies to help integrate, build and maintain a scalable digital business, while also enforcing effective governance.

At IBM, we are focused on leveraging our innovative technology, our industry expertise, services and skills to support our clients’ transformation journeys to grow and fuel economic prosperity.

How do you expect digital transformation, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, to shape Egypt’s public and private sectors, as well as its position as an ICT destination?

There is no doubt that COVID-19 proved to be a turning point for many companies, as the disruption and uncertainty caused by the crisis has accelerated the digital transformation that for many was already underway.

Enterprises were under immense pressure to digitally transform as the pandemic highlighted the critical role that technology plays to enable sustainability.

Egypt is currently embarking into a comprehensive digital transformation strategy to improve the economy and public services for citizens. The government’s vision is all based on digital transformation and subsequently all resources are being applied to execute and implement its agenda.

And through our history in Egypt, we were happy to work with our clients whether in the public or private sectors to support them in their digital transformation journey.

Let me give you some examples.

Our collaboration with the Ministry of Finance for the full automation and digitization of tax administration and procedures.

Our project with Egypt's General Authority For Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) to help obtain permits and licenses on behalf of investors from a one-stop-shop from Egypt's different government bodies.

We also recently announced a major collaboration with Telecom Egypt to help them develop an open, hybrid cloud strategy that modernizing their network operations to deliver fast and secure services to their clients

Cloud-based systems have become a popular method of becoming more technologically driven. In your opinion, how has cloud supported a new hybrid enterprise that has emerged from the pandemic?

A recent survey by IBM examined how CEOs plan to thrive in a post-pandemic reality and found the top action they’ll pursue over the next two to three years is operational agility and flexibility, with 74 percent will turn to cloud to help them deliver these results.

As businesses look ahead to the future, IBM is already helping companies across industries –travel, retail and more –adopt a hybrid cloud approach to remain agile and flexible as they adapt to market shifts and changing consumer expectations.

To bring an open hybrid cloud platform to our clients, we’ve acquired Red Hat for $34 billion to help clients avoid being locked into vendor relationships, while allowing them to leverage IBM’s expertise in AI both to modernize and digitize their businesses and to harness the power of their data and existing systems.

Today, IBM is the number one hybrid cloud platform company. Our cloud business is much more comprehensive than any other cloud provider because it includes capabilities others don’t have and reflects the actual cloud buying patterns of enterprise clients. Our cloud business includes both services — infrastructure, software, platform and process — and hardware, that enable enterprise clients to design, build, operate and integrate private, public and hybrid clouds.

Let me give you a good example on how certain industries started to look for new technologies like Cloud and AI to reinvent their services. Last week, we announced that EGYPTAIR will migrate its Duty-Free operations to IBM Cloud and leverage IBM Watson Assistant to help transform travelers’ retail experiences.

In the era of COVID, enterprises need to introduce more elasticity into their operations and business models so they can transition from crisis management to effective recovery planning by prioritizing deep customer engagement and implementing IT strategies that increase their business agility and cost variability.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a necessary rise in IT and cloud-based services spending, do you see this trend continuing upward or slowing down in the next few years?

Although the pandemic is a powerful force of disruption and an unprecedented tragedy, but as previously mentioned, it has been a critical turning point. Therefore, we expect to see more organizations turning to technology and accelerating their move to the cloud over the coming period.

Cybersecurity has been a hot topic as well, with remote worker numbers on the rise and many organizations stating that remote work will be the new normal. Recently, previously thought secure cloud services, such as Microsoft’s business email solution the Microsoft Exchange Server, have been under attack. How does IBM work on strengthening its IT and cloud solutions’ cybersecurity?

For IBM, protecting our clients’ data has always been our priority. We offer one of the most advanced and integrated portfolios of enterprise security products and services.

The portfolio, supported by world-renowned IBM Security X-Force research, enables organizations to effectively manage risk and defend against emerging threats.

IBM operates one of the world's broadest security research, development and delivery organizations, monitors 150 billion+ security events per day in more than 130 countries, and has been granted more than 10,000 security patents worldwide. 

Going back to how the future of work may look like, how has IBM Egypt used its platform as a leading technological leader to empower the public and private sector’s workforce?

IBM is constantly reinstating its commitment to the development of human capital. I believe re-skilling the existing workforce and aligning with current trends to remain relevant is the main challenge that organizations need to address in today’s dynamic environment.

Organizations will have to change the culture, processes, systems and applications, design different business models, and reskill the workforce to align with the trends and stay in the game.

One of IBM’s top priorities in Egypt is empowering youth with the necessary new skills and preparing them for the way those technologies will shape the jobs and the nature of work. We have made key investments specifically in Egypt to achieve this through:

Partnering with the Ministry of Education in Egypt to launch the first P-TECH school in 2019, a vocational education program that starts in grade 10. It combines education with internships and mentoring to provide job-ready skills to prepare students for successful careers in the 21st century.

Launching Digital-Nation Africa, the cloud-based online self-paced learning and innovation platform that is designed to equip youth with the technology and innovation skills in AI, Cloud, Cybersecurity and much more. 

Leveraging The IBM Skills Academy, part of the IBM’s university program, an example of collaboration with Egypt’s universities to focus on skills and careers that are in high demand in today’s market.

And collaborating with the Information Technology Industry Development agency (ITIDA) to leverage D-NA and Skills Academy and offer thousands of students both an instructor-led as well as digital platform where they can develop their digital skills.

IBM Egypt has been a part of several initiatives leaning towards digital literacy, including the government’s Digital Egypt Builders initiative, what do you see as the upcoming trends, in terms of digital skills, that young students and those looking to upskill should look into?

We are pleased to be part of this strategic initiative that reinforces our commitment to the Egyptian Market by investing in skills development in technologies like Hybrid Cloud, AI and Cybersecurity to foster a generation of new leaders for Egypt’s Digital Initiative.

We believe that this is the right way for the future.