2023 Saudi edition of Future Workspace Summit & Awards held successfully  

Leap Media Solutions organized the 3^rd Saudi edition and the overall 5^th edition of the Future Workspace Summit & Awards in Riyadh on May 17^th at the VOCO hotel. The event was attended by over 300 IT decision makers from leading enterprises of the Kingdom.

The Future Workspace Summit has been designed as a platform to continue discussion around key technologies and trends that are playing a key role in redefining the workplace. This year, the discussions included new topics creating the possibility of better shared understanding of how the workplace in general is evolving and accelerating towards a well optimized hybrid model.

Yousef Mhana, Principal Systems Engineer at Pure Storage presented a Keynote session on ‘Uncomplicate Data Storage Forever’.

He was followed by Akashdeep Singh, Chief Strategy Officer, Tech First Gulf who presented ‘Beyond Conventional: Redefining IT Distribution with a Vision’. ‘

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Omar Elsawi, Territory Manager KSA Egypt Levant Kuwait – MX at Barco presented  on the topic ‘The Evolution of Meetings and Meeting Rooms in the Post-COVID Era’. Harish Menon, CEO of Accops Systems Pvt. Ltd gave a keynote on ‘Towards a Sustainable Future’.

The first panel discussion group discussed  ‘Optimising the hybrid workplace with best technology practices.’ Aijaz Regoo, CTO, MIS Forward moderated this panel and the panellists were

1. Ali Saif, Deputy Head of IT, Al Marai
2. Imran Hashim, Director of IT Infrastructure, Medgulf
3. Mousa Al-Anizi, VP Digital Health and Director E-Health KSMC at Riyadh Health Cluster One
4. Harish Menon, CEO, Accops
5. Abdullah Al-Baz, Country Manager, Pure Storage
6. Osama Merghani, IT Consultant

Kickstarting the proceedings in the afternoon, Aamir Mushtaq Shaikh, Lead – Channel Partnership and Alliance (Middle East), Freshworks spoke on ‘Elevate Employee experience using Freshservice’

Following him, Imran Hussain, Country Manager Saudi Arabia & Pakistan at Sophos, the next speaker of the day presented on the topic’ Security as  a Service’.

The next keynote address of the day was delivered by Rejeesh Kumar, Chief Technology Officer, Mindfire Technologies. He spoke on ‘Reimagining Threat Response: Embracing Fresh Perspectives with Skilled Resources and Managed Programs’

Dr. Raed AlHazme, Executive Director, Information Technology Department, Ministry of National Guard – Health Affairs delivered the final keynote address of the day. He presented on ‘How DX rescued healthcare during COVID-19”.

Following the final keynote, there were three panel discussions.

The second panel discussion of the day discussed the topic ‘Managing technology skill gaps for the hybrid workplace.’ Eng. Mohammed Mahnashi, Digital Transformation & Data Management Advisor, Saudi Electronic University moderated the session.

The panellists of this session were

• Hazem Jarrar, CTO, King Faisal Foundation
• Aiman AlJabr, Head of IT at Havelock One Interiors
• K.S. Parag, MD of FVC
• Ramesh Murugesan, CIO, Al Gihaz Holding
• Suhail Akhtar, CIO, Al Kifah Contracting Company

The third panel of the day discussed ‘Addressing the cybersecurity challenges of today and the future’. This session was moderated by Abdullah Biary -CIO, United Coperative Assurance.

The panellists included

1. Abdelmajed A Saeed- EC-Council Advisory Board Member for CCISO
2. Abdulrahman Al-Nimari, VP-cybersecurity, confidential
3. Anas Mosa, Director of Information Technology – PIF Projects
4. Moayad Alghanmi, Director of Information & Cyber Security at Emaar, The Economic City
5. Mustafa Farag, Business Development Manager & Presales Engineer at Paessler AG
6. Charbel Ghostine, Regional Cloud Alliance Manager at Barracuda Networks – Middle East
7. Jishant Karunakaran, CEO at Mindfire Technologies

The final panel discussion of the day delved into the  ‘Role of AI in the evolving hybrid workplace.’ The session was moderated by Awais Ahmad Director of technology at SolexPLUS.

The panellists included

1. Kamal Farag, CTO, Speedi
2. Krish J., Director of ITDirector of IT, ARASCO
3. Ahmed Darwish Elsayed, Head of Digital Delivery at Bank AlBilad
4. Veenu Jain, Senior Manager, Director Operations Impresapro Serviziz

The platinum sponsors of the day were ‘Dell Technologies and Redington’. Gold sponsors included Pure Storage and VAD Technologies, Logitech and Tech First Gulf, Barco and FVC, Freshworks and Impresapro, Accops and Bulwark Technologies, Sophos, Mindfire Technologies, Barracuda Networks, Paessler.  The Silver sponsor of the day was Finesse.

The day also included award recognitions for several outstanding Technology leaders from different industries who are playing a key role in leading or facilitating digital acceleration and technology led workspace transformation.

Awards were presented in the category ‘Technology Accelerator of the day’ to IT Managers and several senior non CIO and CISO IT leaders who have made significant contribution to their organizations towards their digital transformation programs. CIO of the Year and CISO of the Year Awards were presented to Technology Leaders who in their designated roles have been overseeing initiatives towards embracing workspace transformation within the ongoing digital transformation pursuit.

Besides, vendors, distributors and solution provided also received awards of recognition in the final segment of the day before the event drew to a successful conclusion.

Winners list