The business size off Dell EMC in Egypt reached $100m. The company is establishing seven subsidiaries of Dell Technologies, after the merger with EMC in September. The deal—financed by eight international banks—was valued at $67bn, making it the largest deal in the history of the communications and information technology (CIT) sector. The company began to launch their products bearing the new brand in February. Mohamed Tantawi, director and general manager of the company's unit in Egypt and Libya, told Daily News Egypt in an interview that it targets boosting spending on research and development in 2017, noting that its business size amounts to $73bn, with presence in 180 countries around the world. What is the company's business size in Egypt? The size of our business in Egypt is approaching $100m after the acquisition. What are the details of the merger deal between Dell and EMC? The merger deal was concluded between Dell and EMC in September 2016. The total value of the deal amounted to $67bn, making it the most expensive deal in the field of communications and information technology in history. The merger took place on 19 July 2016 after 98% of EMC's stakeholders approved it. The world's largest 14 banks proposed to contribute in financing the deal, eight of which were chosen. Following the merger, the name of the company became Dell Technologies, with seven subsidiaries under its umbrella, including Dell, Dell EMC, Pivotal Software, SecureWorks, and VMware. How much is allocated for R&D? The company spent $12bn on research and development over the past three years and will continue to inject more into the sector in 2017. The company is interested in research and development, especially in the field of the Internet of Things (IoT). We support all innovations in that field, as it represents the real development of the CIT sector, which can directly serve other sectors. How do you see investment opportunities in the IT sector in Egypt? The state is moving to keep pace with technological development and mark achievements in the CIT sector, which benefits citizens and boosts the sector's growth. We have the largest share of the data center market, as we deal with all banks in Egypt, as well as the ministries and government bodies. Moreover, we played a strong role in implementing the Takaful and Karama programme in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Solidarity and i-Finance to automate access to data of beneficiaries all over Egypt. The company worked on the data of 500,000 citizens and all their related documents at the ministry. How do you see the impact of establishing the National Council for Payments? In my opinion, establishing the council will contribute to assisting the state achieve financial inclusion towards a cashless society. There is an increase in the volume of banking business, which requires a strategy to secure these banks and protect the data—especially considering Egypt represents an important economic power in the Middle East and Africa. What are the key features of your plans for 2017? The plan in the current period focuses on providing services to the governmental sector. But we will also be providing solutions to communications companies, banks, petroleum and energy companies, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in addition to the sectors of education and healthcare. We offer our services to all telecommunication companies in the local market and offer a number of solutions, such as data centres and cloud computing. Minister of Communication and Information Technology Yasser Al-Qadi recently visited the headquarters of Pivotal during his visit to the United States. They agreed, in principle, to hold a partnership between them and the government in preparing a young Egyptian generation of inventors. We will hold a new meeting with the Ministry of Communication and its subsidiary bodies to develop the features of how to create this generation. We currently have a centre of 1,000 Egyptian engineers in Cairo. The centre provides innovative technological solutions to the mother company in the US and to our units around the world. The team also provides technical support in 14 languages. Moreover, we provide our services to all bodies and companies operating in the oil sector. Most of the services they require rely on big data, data analysis, and data centre solutions. What about your plans for the training of human resources? We cooperate with 22 Egyptian universities to train their students on the latest technologies and introduce them to the newest trends in the sector, especially data centres, cloud computing, big data, and IoT. To date, we have trained 3,000 young men and women. These figures are expected to double within the next few years. How do you see the future of cloud computing solutions in Egypt? The competition on launching cloud computing platforms will force the companies working in the field to provide better solutions with added value at lower prices. We excel because we have integrated solutions for all sectors. For instance, the company has technological solutions in managing documents and securing them. What does the sector need to push forward the CIT activity in Egypt? The IT solutions are important and necessary. Public and private institutions have to adopt strategies aimed at building a system of digital transformation, especially the financial sector. Cloud and big-data solutions have become essential in the framework of digital transformation, which ensures the availability of information so that decision makers can take informed decisions. Digital transformation has become a distinctive feature for all commercial businesses that aim to satisfy their clients and improve the services they provide. Do you have plans to contribute with your technological expertise in the New Administrative Capital? The company has many technological solutions that are commensurate with the needs of the capital, especially as the New Administrative Capital is planned to be a real smart city. We have initiated talks with officials to discuss the means of cooperation and the services we can provide. We are now preparing to present a detailed offer with all our solutions and services. Meanwhile, we are also working to take part in implementing data centres in the technological parks currently under construction by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
