NetApp to Encourage Uptake of AI in Making Faster and Better Business Decisions
Fadi Kanafani, the Managing Director for the Middle East at NetApp, speaks about his company’s participation at GITEX 2020
Which products and solutions will you be showcasing at GITEX Technology Week?
NetApp will showcase its industry-leading solutions in Cloud, Business Continuity, Data Services, Hybrid Cloud, Artificial Intelligence, and Security. We will also emphasize our data fabric vision as businesses rapidly adopt the cloud.
What are your expectations from the event this year?
Thousands of customers across the globe trust NetApp to run their applications in the cloud – public, hybrid, or private. As a cloud-led, data-centric software company, our aim this year is to demonstrate the power of the cloud in enabling not just business continuity but also building the organization of the future. In addition, we are showcasing our solutions portfolio that performs across diverse environments and helps organizations build their own data fabric and securely deliver the right data, services, and applications to the right people—anytime, anywhere.
We are encouraging customers to take advantage of AI in making faster and better business decisions from their data. To this effect, NetApp will engage with audiences through a mix of physical and virtual experiences at the show. We aim to give our visitors the flexibility of having access to our local experts as well as international solution specialists. Eventually, we will create an experience for our visitors that will reinforce the idea that NetApp is truly cloud-led.
Do you hope for business relief from the pandemic based on your engagements at the event?
NetApp is committed to supporting and being part of a global platform such as GITEX, which allows us to showcase expertise. We are looking forward to generating awareness for our solutions that are helping businesses maintain business continuity in a difficult time. We are optimistic that together with our partner community, we will grow our footprint across the region based on our industry-leading portfolio, expertise, and support.
What will be your theme of participation at GITEX?
‘Unlock the Best of Cloud’ is our theme this year.
Do you plan to run any online engagements such as webinars in parallel to GITEX?
Our plan is to engage with our audiences through physical and virtual experiences at the show.
How is your company weathering from the market effects on the pandemic?
COVID-19 has created a new set of challenges for organizations. While it has been a difficult period for businesses, NetApp has seen an opportunity as businesses are focused on enabling a remote workforce in the shortest time span. There is a rapid uptake in cloud solutions, and we’ve had businesses rapidly turning to the cloud – public and private to tackle the remote worker challenge.
In addition to cloud solutions, we’ve also been providing customers with VDI solutions to handle increasing work-from-home demands. In addition, our AI-powered ONTAP AI solution has been helping researchers and healthcare institutions across the region in the fight against the pandemic.
What were the key learnings over the past couple of months and how do you plan to use those to make changes to your regional strategies?
2020 has been a year of remarkable and unprecedented change for businesses and individuals alike. But we’ve also seen that a positive effect of COVID-19 has been to dramatically accelerate the pace of digital transformation. Projects that were taking years to complete are now completed in a matter of weeks, or days with organizations at different stages of the DX journey, expecting different outcomes.
A key takeaway from the last few months is that businesses need speed and agility to help respond in the face of unprecedented disruption. We’ve also seen how data and access to this data have helped businesses maintain continuity. Businesses must invest now in a cloud-based model to prepare a path for a sustainable future.
And NetApp is the only company that knows how to elevate an organizations’ cloud experience be it private, hybrid, or public cloud. We are putting our expertise, R&D, and alliances to helping businesses get more out of their cloud now more than ever. In this era of rapid digital transformation in the region, NetApp is focused on helping businesses address their data challenges and gain a competitive edge.
