Exclusive Interviews

Ekow Nelson, Vice President and Head of Global Customer Unit Etisalat and Pakistan at Ericsson Middle East & Africa, takes care of Ericsson’s business with the Etisalat Group worldwide. He also has country responsibility for Pakistan, across sales, delivery, and overall customer management. His job is to focus relentlessly on customers’ strategic priorities and ambitions and to mobilize the best of Ericsson technology and capabilities for their success. Telecom Review caught up with Nelson at GITEX Technology week.

Whenever we think of the digital age, we visualize technology as an agent that transformed how humans function in the world. But the truth is that people have had more of an impact on technology than we could ever imagine. In fact, it isn’t nearly as acknowledged that it is humanity itself that shapes technology and that with every single passing day we hone and transform the role it plays in our lives. In essence, technology is very human with its purpose: to serve human needs and cater to our ever-changing habits.  It is with this realization that we can today, more than ever, begin to cast light on the human side of technology, especially in telecommunications.

Cybersecurity leader Palo Alto Networks showcased some of its latest offerings at GITEX Technology Week in Dubai, where Telecom Review sat down with Ercan Aydin, the firm’s Regional Vice President, Middle East and Africa. In the interview, Aydin talked about the cybersecurity landscape of the region and what the future of the industry holds with regards to artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics.

The MENA region is one of the most progressive regions when it comes to adopting the latest emerging technologies. For 5G adoption, it is important for it to be elevated not only as just one of the higher speed networks, but it should be more about how the region manages to adopt it and reap the benefits that come from it. It is of the essence to ensure that the money being put into the deployment of 5G, among others, is not wasted.

Atmail is an email platform solution company from Australia. With 20 years of email expertise serving telecommunications and hosting providers across every continent, Atmail currently powers more than 170 million mailboxes worldwide. In an interview with Telecom Review, Atmail’s Chief Sales Officer, Erik Jan Rijnders, explains why telcos should move their customer email platform to the cloud.

Infinet is one of the world’s largest private-owned broadband wireless access development and manufacturing companies which has time, and time again, remained a key player in the world of telecoms through incessantly reinventing itself, diversifying its supply chain with a variety of new offerings and forecasting trends and technologies in advance.

Emerging technologies have given way for cities to flourish and become smarter. Modern day consumers are now enjoying the luxuries that come with residing in smart cities, especially when it comes to real-time, tailor-made services.

Swisslog, for the first time, partnered with Etisalat to showcase its latest robot-based solution ItemPiQ, which is specially designed for repeated, reliable picking of a wide range of items for the fast delivery of orders at low operating costs. Alain Kaddoum, General Manager at Swisslog Middle East explained more about the solution and Swisslog in general, during an interview with Telecom Review at GITEX Technology Week.

On its sixth annual event, MEF19 promises to showcase the tremendous digital transformation progress in the areas of global, cloud-centric services and related automation.  MEF 3.0, SD-WAN, Carrier Ethernet, Lifecycle Services Orchestration, 5G and Intent based networking are just some of the topics to be covered at MEF19, which will be held on 18-22 November 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Telecom Review sat down with Kevin Vachon, MEF Chief Operating Officer to get an insight into the upcoming event.

Ericsson shared at GITEX the latest 5G and AI technologies with partners in the industry. During the event, visitors gained deeper and broader knowledge on how to plan and execute a smooth transition to 5G and reap the benefits of digital transformation in industries like healthcare, entertainment and sports to name but a few. Telecom Review spoke with Ericsson’s Fadi Pharaon, SVP and Head of Market Area Middle East & Africa, to discuss his recent promotion and the importance of supporting partners at an exciting time in the industry.