What are your reasons for coming onboard the 43rd edition of GITEX Global, what are your expectations, and who are you hoping to meet at the show?
We are thrilled to participate in the 43rd edition of GITEX Global and showcase HP enhanced end to end portfolio with all the latest innovations that enable hybrid working for our customers and partners. We are confident that the event will provide an excellent platform for knowledge sharing, exploring emerging technologies, and understanding the evolving needs of businesses in the region. We hope to meet key decision-makers, technology enthusiasts, and industry leaders, in addition to connecting with our local stakeholders, partners and customers.
Are you planning to launch any products or services, demonstrate new technologies, or sign any partnerships during the show? Please provide details to help us amplify your presence.
We will be showcasing our latest innovations in hybrid working solutions and services with an end-to-end portfolio that has been designed to overcome the challenges businesses face in today’s hybrid environment. We will be presenting our latest innovations including Poly HP solutions that enable hybrid work and bring equity to the workplace no matter where employees chose to work from, delivering exceptional experiences and keeping employees connected. We will also highlight the HP Wolf Security suite, including Wolf Connect, which is the world's first software service capable of locating, locking, and erasing a PC remotely, even when powered down or disconnected from the Internet. Our portfolio of Workplace solutions and services will also be available to our customers, to help solve challenges, delivering flexible, future-ready solutions that will attract lifelong customer relationships and engagements.
How important is GITEX Global for your business, and what is the volume of business growth you anticipate from your participation in the show?
GITEX Global holds a large significance for our business. It offers a unique opportunity to connect with a large audience and showcase our products on an international stage. In 2022, GITEX featured over 5,000 exhibiting companies from 90 countries and attracted more than 170,000 attendees, and we anticipate substantial business growth from the exposure and networking opportunities GITEX provides. The event allows us to reinforce our commitment to delivering cutting-edge technology solutions and services that strengthen our position as a key player in the global technology market.
How important is the Middle East and Africa for your business, and what is your growth strategy in the region over the coming years?
The Middle East and Africa are crucial markets for us at HP, and we see immense potential for growth in this region due to the increasing adoption of technology and digital transformation initiatives. We recently launched our Future Ready business strategy, which places customers at the center of everything we do.
The three pillars of this plan include our Future Ready Portfolio, Future Ready Operations and Future Ready People. This plan enables us to tailor our solutions and services to meet the needs of customers in this dynamic market, drive operational excellence across our business, and invest in our local talent, to ensure we can accelerate our businesses growth across the region.
To what extent can the region’s bold digital transformation missions elevate the global tech ecosystem?
The region's bold digital transformation strategies have the potential to elevate the global technology ecosystem significantly. Governments in the Middle East are embracing cutting-edge technologies and digital innovation, positioning themselves as drivers of change and creating new opportunities for collaboration and growth worldwide. Significant and concrete steps are being taken by governments to establish a strong digital economy, and I am confident the region is on its way to becoming a center of innovation and a digital hub.
Which countries and industry verticals are you targeting as part of your business plan over the next 5-10 years?
The Middle East and Africa are key markets for HP. Governments in the UAE, KSA, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa are prioritizing their digital transformation journeys, and we see great potential in these countries in addition to the wider region as a whole. We are targeting multiple industry verticals, and are placing a renewed focus on the government, finance, and education sectors.
GITEX Global is accelerating the epic race for AI dominance in 2023: how is your business embracing the AI innovation wave?
Our business is fully embracing AI innovation. AI will fundamentally change the personal computer industry and is going to redefine the role of PCs in our lives in a manner similar to the transformative impact the Internet had on our society. Through collaborations with key software vendors and silicon providers, we are redesigning the architecture of PCs to offer entirely new and improved experiences. The integration of AI into PCs yields numerous benefits, including heightened security, cost efficiency, and improved performance. We are advancing collaboration, with integrated AI-based noise reduction to eliminate background noise and enhanced performance with features like Intelligent hibernation for reduced standby battery consumption. By enabling devices to operate at the edge, AI addresses latency concerns, ensuring faster responses for applications. Moreover, AI in the endpoint, as opposed to the cloud, bolsters security, addressing privacy worries associated with increased data collection.
As governments, businesses, and wider society embrace emerging and disruptive technologies, it is also important to consider the role of cybersecurity. Cybercrimes in the GCC increased by a staggering 22% between mid-2021 and mid-2022.[1] These figures reiterate the need for new cybersecurity strategies that prevent, detect, and contain cyber threats, and are equipped to fight against cyber attackers amid rapid digital transformation. Security-wise, HP Wolf Security utilizes machine learning to identify and mitigate security threats, further ensuring the safety of our users' data and systems. Users can run AI models locally, eliminating the need to upload sensitive data, which not only enhances security but also reduces costs by eliminating the reliance on cloud-based processing. This makes AI more accessible and cost-effective for users, ushering in a new era of computing.
Aside from AI, what is the world’s next big technology shift and how should government, business, and society prepare for it?
There have been several recent developments in quantum computing, and the growth in accessible quantum computing has significant implications in cybersecurity, medicine, finance, and more. Quantum computing harnesses the principles of quantum mechanics to process information at unprecedented speeds and could be a game changer for the tech industry and beyond. Representing the next breakthrough in IT, this technology holds the promise of finding answers to some of our most pressing scientific challenges such as genome profiling and finding treatments for disease at incredible speeds.
GITEX Global and GITEX Impact will build up the momentum for COP 28, taking place in Dubai from 30 November -12 December. How do you see the adoption of ESG strategies by tech companies, and what are the critical factors for those initiatives leading to a more sustainable future?
As the UAE gears up to host COP28, the focus on advancing the regional sustainability agenda has never been stronger. There is an urgent need for the private sector to come together and drive sustainability action by adopting and accelerating ESG strategies.
At HP, sustainable impact is a growing business imperative, and we aim to be the world’s most sustainable and just tech company. We integrate sustainability into both, our operations and our products, committed to fostering a greener and more sustainable future for the region. For example, In Haiti we collaborated with NGOs to establish an ocean-bound plastics recycling program, and these plastics are incorporated into HP products. Moreover, since 2016 HP has required that all brand paper comes from recycled or certified sources. In 2020, this was extended to paper-based packaging for home and office printers and supplies, PCs and displays.
Tech companies must prioritize promoting a more circular economy. Exploring sustainable design and packaging is one way in which we can increase circularity. Offering energy-efficient choices to customers is also crucial, considering the impact of energy usage on electronic devices. Moreover, the importance of collaboration cannot be overstated. Collaboration is vital for transformative change, and partnerships between public bodies, businesses, and investors are crucial to building a circular economy and creating a more sustainable future.
Get in touch with GITEX Press Office at media@gitex.com for media inquiries