DUBAI - Last week witnessed the wrapping up of one of the most successful editions of GITEX Dubai that took place over five full days. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, officially opened GITEX Technology Week which celebrated the 31st anniversary of one of the world's top ICT events. Hundreds of senior ICT professionals welcomed expert insights at the GITEX Global Leaders Summit that themed ‘Innovation in Leadership' by some of the most inspirational and sought-after authorities in the industry. Keynote Speaker Chris Dedicoat, President EMEA of Cisco, stressed the importance of technology in achieving sustainable growth in the MENA region. He told the audience that technology was crucial to growth and development in the regional economy, and a prime driver of efficiency, cost-effectiveness and organic expansion. Rod Beckstrom, President and CEO, ICANN, delivered a speech on new ‘generic Top Level Domains' (gTLDs), a development he said could “mark one of the biggest changes in the internet's history”. In a Middle East market, he said it would be particularly relevant because the new gTLDs can be in Arabic and could lead to broad opportunities for organisations across the region and ultimately lead to increased internet usage. Beckstrom said: “ICANN's new gTLD programme has been years in the making. Many issues needed to be addressed before it could launch, such as the protection of intellectual property and community interests, consumer protection, and ensuring the stability and security of the Internet. The programme has the potential to enhance competition and consumer choice, and to stimulate online innovation. For a Middle East market this is a great step forward in terms of being able to use Arabic and increase internet use and penetration in what is already a rapidly evolving Internet region”. The rising star of new technology, Pranav Mistry, wowed audiences with live demonstrations of his human data transfer invention SPARSH, a cloud computing application that allows users to become a physical part of the transfer. Among his latest prototypes, Mistry has invented a smartphone app that can control all appliances in a house from changing a TV channel to running a bath at the right temperature in another room. Mistry said: “The Middle East and India have an inherent quest and curiosity for innovation and are problem solvers at heart. Through the centuries we have had our own unique problems and have had to overcome them in our own unique way. From that, there is a natural link to technology and a culture where concepts can become reality. This is a region of innovation.” William Saito, CEO, InTecur KK, government advisor, venture capitalist and named as a 2011 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, was the final speaker of the day, whose presentation ‘From Science to Implementation' was well-received by the audience. Saito told the delegates that innovation and technology development in the Middle East are among the fastest in the world. “The progression in science and innovation isn't created equally,” he said. “This is a region where there are quantum leaps and technology has skipped generations and we have reached a stage in science where the move from concept to realisation has moved from centuries, to decades, to years and even months in some cases.” The new GITEX feature focusing on Cyber Security was opened by Jeff Moss, Chief Security officer at ICANN whose ‘Individual Acts of Community Immunity' speech highlighted the importance of collective security, breaking the chain of mass software infection. Cyber Security speakers included Jay Bavisi, Co-Founder & President, EC Council, and Black Hat's Richard Thieme, who provided insights into the future of hacking. The inaugural Cyber Security @ GITEX offered presentations on cybercrime awareness including live demonstrations that gave visitors practical advice on how to defend against cyber crime attacks with some of the most skilful hackers from India and the Middle East taking part in a series of ethical challenges to attack and defend a number of software targets. Covering web applications, OS compromise, exploit hunting, and lock picking, the event involves six teams from India, Jordan and the UAE pitted against each other to highlight the sophistication and speed of ICT security. Moreover, some of the most prestigious technology companies in the world, including Microsoft, Panasonic and Oracle, chose GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK to launch a host of new products in the Middle East and reveal strategies for the coming years. Microsoft announced that their new set of cloud computing solutions, Office 365, will be available for trials across the region for the first time. The highly anticipated product is targeted at SME's, which the company says has had neither the time nor resources to embrace cloud to its full potential. “Office 365 is geared to support emerging economies in the region and accelerate the growth of local innovation industries,” said Samer Abu-Latif, Regional General Manager, Microsoft Gulf. Panasonic Middle East also unveiled for the first time its Home Energy Management System (HEMS) for the Middle East and Africa region. Panasonic have created an advanced model of a home at their stand and are demonstrating new energy saving devices and proposing new solutions that integrate measures for energy creation, storage and management. Remarkably, on the eve of one of the most anticipated highlights of the event, the Global Leaders Summit, GITEX paid tribute to Steve Jobs, one of the greatest technology innovators of our time, whose iconic achievements transformed the way we live our lives.
