Taking stock

Gitex Technology Week 2020 previewed a tech-led post-Covid future

- DAVID NDICHU

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.

Held under a dark cloud of Covid-19, Gitex Technology Week 2020 nonetheless proved the power of technology in helping to overcome challenges brought on by the pandemic.

The usually large global contingent was kept at bay by widespread travel restrictions. In response, organisers, the Dubai World Trade Centre, teamed up with Avaya to host hybrid physical/virtual conferences beamed to audiences in 150 countries. A lot of participants also held physical and cloud demos for the benefit of the thousands locked out.

The success of the hybrid model of the event should provide a template for a post-Covid world. “This is akin to an elastic band that has stretched so far, it’s not going to get back to the original shape,” says Savio Tovar Dias, senior director, Sales Engineering, Avaya International.

“Virtual is going to be a key part of any event moving forward with the potential to boost the reach tenfold,” he adds. Gitex also provided an ideal, if sombre, platform to evaluate the impact of Covid-19 and the lessons learned.

These past nine months have demonstrated to every business leader the need to prepare for the unexpected. “To be ready for the unknown, you need agile architectures, flexible business models, and the ability to flex up and down as your business demands,” says Dias.

Omar Akar, regional vice president and managing director of Cloud and AI Business Group at Huawei Middle East says Covid-19 delivered a clear message that organisations need to accelerate digital transformation. “Any organisation today that fails to transform and deliver digital services, effective immediately, will lose their market value. And that’s going to happen extremely fast.”