Author: Akin Naphtal

Capco, a global technology and management consultancy, has announced the appointment of Andrew McGinn as a Partner and South East Asia (SEA) Digital Lead based in Singapore. McGinn will be responsible for delivering digital strategy and transformation initiatives for Capco’s clients, leveraging his extensive knowledge and experience in the field. With over 15 years of experience, McGinn has held senior leadership positions with a technology focus at Boston Consulting Group, Javelin Group (an Accenture subsidiary) and This Place, a customer experience business that provides digital transformation and delivery for global brands. READ ALSO:Informa Connect Middle East and The Digital Marketing…

Informa Connect Middle East has announced a new partnership with The Digital Marketing Institute, the world’s leading provider of certified courses in digital marketing. Through this collaboration, Informa Connect Middle East will provide training for two certifications: Certified Digital Marketing Professional and Certified Digital Marketing Specialist – Digital Strategy & Planning. These certifications will enable Middle Eastern marketers to enhance their skills and earn internationally recognized qualifications. Shabnam Rawal, Managing Director of Informa Connect Middle East, expressed her excitement about the partnership, stating that “the collaboration with the Digital Marketing Institute adds to Informa Connect’s extensive portfolio of offerings”. She…

Microsoft has emphasized collaboration and resilience at the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC) 2023, where it participated as a Strategic Partner and showcased a headline exhibit that has the potential to revolutionize policing. Naim Yazbeck, General Manager of Microsoft UAE, noted that Microsoft Security has surpassed a US$20-billion revenue milestone, highlighting the company’s success in protecting customers from cyberthreats. Yazbeck added that Microsoft views security as a team sport, particularly important as businesses embrace the world of hybrid work. Microsoft launched over 300 product innovations in the latter half of 2022 to help organizations stay ahead of evolving…

Social media giant Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has announced that it will sunset its NFT and digital collectibles features on Instagram and Facebook. The company had started testing the features last May with select Instagram creators, expanding NFT support to creators in 100 countries by July. However, less than a year later, Meta is moving on from NFTs to focus on other products and features that support creators, people and businesses. Stephane Kasriel, Meta’s head of commerce and financial technologies, wrote on Twitter that “We’re winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support…

Pentera, a leading automated security validation provider, has partnered with MBC GROUP, the largest media company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, to proactively defend against ransomware attacks and maintain continuous enterprise-wide security validation. According to MBC, they were searching for a solution to verify the effectiveness of their existing security stack and supplement their penetration testing program when they found Pentera. Since incorporating the Pentera platform, MBC has increased its security validation frequency by tenfold across its enterprise IT infrastructure. This has allowed them to test their security resilience against real-world attacks and reduce the time…

Beta Lab, a venture capital firm and co-creation studio dedicated to supporting deep technology startups, has launched in Saudi Arabia with the backing of the Saudi Ministry of Investment, the Future Investment Initiative Institute (FII), KBW Ventures and several global partners. Beta Lab will offer a range of services to help entrepreneurs transform their innovative ideas into thriving businesses. These include product and business development, access to capital and other forms of support. The company’s team of experienced professionals will work closely with each startup to help them overcome the unique challenges associated with the startup lifecycle. READ ALSO:SpaceX and…

SpaceX and T-Mobile have teamed up to test a new service that will provide satellite connectivity to cell phones, according to a SpaceX executive. The partnership was announced last August, with the aim of creating a new network that leverages Starlink satellites and T-Mobile’s mid-band 5G spectrum to provide near-complete coverage in most places in the US. This development suggests that cellular “dead zones” could become a thing of the past, as multiple companies race to provide data to cell phones using satellites. Sat-to-cell connectivity is considered to be the next frontier for space-based connectivity services, with other companies also…

Telecom Egypt (TE) has teamed up with IBM to adopt IBM Cloud Pak for Watson Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations (AIOps), as per an emailed release on March 13th. Through this partnership, TE will implement IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions to enhance its IT environment’s overall view, increase the pace of innovation and reduce operational costs and troubleshooting time. IBM RPA, which is a part of IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation, will enable TE’s engineers and IT operators to track the network’s operating capacity and service quality throughout the country. This technology will also empower them to monitor…

Visionize Technology, a leading tech-hospitality company, has announced its latest addition to its diverse portfolio with the signing of Bab Al Qasr hotel, a premium property located in one of Abu Dhabi’s prime locations on the Corniche. The aim of the partnership is to enhance the guest experience, lower overall business costs and generate more revenue by offering built-in smart marketing and upselling features, along with a seamless multilingual interface and a fantastic visual experience. The property is expected to witness an increase in the average spend per guest after the implementation of Visionize. READ ALSO:WeRide, Chinese Robotaxi Operator, Files…

Chinese autonomous driving company WeRide.ai has confidentially filed for an IPO in the US, with reports suggesting it could raise as much as $500m. The robotaxi operator’s nemesis, Pony.ai, was also looking to go public in the US in 2021 but put its plan on hold due to concerns that it would become the next target of a crackdown on Chinese tech firms by US regulators. WeRide’s latest valuation stands at $4.4bn following a funding round in March 2022. China’s autonomous driving firms have attracted hefty investment in recent years, but investors have not been able or willing to fund…