Muscat: The Gulf Leaders Circle (GLC), Muscat Media Group’s (MMG) latest offering, organized an inaugural roundtable on the theme of “Change Through Technology” on May 18th, 2023 at Intercontinental Muscat – Oman’s premier event space.
The first-of-its-kind roundtable in partnership with Microsoft, brought insightful information about new technologies and how the leading companies of Oman are incorporating them to provide better services.
Panel Speakers
The panel comprised of Oman’s leading tech giants who discussed the role of new technologies in the development of various sectors. The esteemed speakers at the “Change Through Technology” roundtable included Talal Al Mamari, CEO of Omantel, Maqbool Al Wahaibi, CEO of Oman Data Park (ODP), Assad Al Saeedi, CEO of data2cloud, Mujahid Said Al Zadjaly, GM – IT & Operations at Bank Nizwa, Tariq Atiq, Chief Digital Banking Officer NBO, and Badr Al Mandhari, VP Strategy, ITHCA. The panel was moderated by GLC’s representative and Publishing Director, Paula Colard.
Discussion Areas
In alignment with Oman’s Vision 2040, the discussion focused on the role of emerging technologies and how they can be used as a catalyst to boost the country’s economy.
The panel shed light on Oman’s commitment to digital transformation and investing in new technologies to improve the lives of its citizens.
The industry leaders discussed how the functioning of their respective sectors has improved with technology and how they plan to incorporate it further into their growth strategies. Additionally, importance was placed on leveraging new technologies in our industries.
The panel acknowledged the impact of technology on the banking sector including improved customer service and efficiency through digital transformation. Linked to the banking sector, the discussion also covered the security aspects of technology integration. The need for trustworthy cloud providers to securely host banks’ financial data was emphasized.
Cybersecurity was highlighted as another vital connection to the banking sector and the need to ensure robust cybersecurity measures to protect the sensitive financial information of the clients was called to attention. Moreover, contributions of the telecom industry in the industrial growth of the Sultanate were also shared.
Moreover, the role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in diversifying the economy was also an area of discussion. The panelists discussed how larger companies in Oman can support SMEs through incubators and other support programs. Further comments were made on the existing support strategies for SMEs.
The “Change Through Technology” panel provided valuable information from Oman’s leading persons from the fields of Cybersecurity, Cloud, Telecom, Fintech, and Digital Banking. This event was the first of the many such events that will be organized by GLC.
About GLC
Gulf Leaders Circle (GLC) is the latest addition to Muscat Media Group’s (MMG) portfolio. It is an exclusive business platform that aims to enhance the understanding of industry trends in the GCC. GLC’s unique strategy is to develop a knowledge database by conducting interviews with influential personalities in the GCC region.
GLC aims to strengthen business relations among the Gulf countries and hopes to drive their business growth and success.
Commenting on the ‘Change Through Technology’ panel, Paula Colard said, “It was an enriching discussion about how technology is paving the way for a new era across industries. GLC is a platform for idea exchange and getting our industries future ready.”
Talking about the future plans, Colard further added, “We will be organizing a second roundtable in July under the title ‘Sustainable Oman, Powering the future with green energy.’ It will be focused on Sustainability and the oil and gas sector.”
