UAE tech consultancy market and COVID-19

Spokesman: Mohammed Abukhater, RVP for Middle East and Africa, F5 Networks

1 How has the UAE tech consultancy market been over the past few years?

Public and private organizations across a range of sectors has driven demand for consultancy services during the past couple of years. Issues such as governance, risk assessment, penetration testing and structuring Security Operation Centre implementations are all common themes.

Governments in the region have been particularly keen to ensure that organizations operating in major industries are complying with the right protocols.

Cybersecurity consultancy has been particularly prevalent in this respect. It is difficult for organizations to ‘go it alone’ by just purchasing security tools. Security tools must be complemented by good people and processes. Building a solid security strategy often involves a significant level of consultancy.

Another strong driver for consultancy is sheer speed of digital transformation and its accompanying standards around privacy and security. New technologies and opportunities such as Blockchain, AI and edge computing have also prompted many organizations to seek external advice in the form of consultancy.

2 What have been the fastest-growing tech consultancy markets in the region? e.g smart city tech/projects?

The UAE is renowned for being an early adopter of new technology, particularly the implementation of smart government and smart city initiatives. Recently, we have seen projects such as paperless government and the introduction of autonomous vehicles. At the same time, we have seen the launch of 5G services to help facilitate such projects and position the country at the forefront of ICT. Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, major projects such as Riyadh Metro and the development of new cities and districts such as Neom and King Abdullah Financial District are also creating a strong demand for consultancy services.

3. Can you talk about any smart city/digital transformation projects you’ve worked on in the Gulf?

F5 has worked on a range of projects related to smart cities and digital transformation across the region. We’re seeing that – irrespective of industry or function – organizations are becoming more application-centric in order to boost innovation, move faster, and adapt to increasingly nuanced user demands. In fact, we’re noting that many are now moving beyond the first phase of digital transformation —business process automation — and starting to scale their digital footprint with purposeful technology as it relates to cloud, automation, and containers.

4. Are you helping with any tech-related responses to Covid-19?

In addition to helping a wide range of clients in key sectors such as healthcare, government and finance adapt to new ways of working, we’ve made additional efforts to support those that need it most.

Among other initiatives, technology grants are now available to support non-profits with technology infrastructure responses to COVID-19, and an employer-matched relief fund is aiding eight international non-profits around the world.

F5 is also offering a range of free software solutions to assist the healthcare, non-profit and educational sectors with escalating remote access, web traffic and security-related challenges. This includes a free year of NGINX Plus – a powerful software load balancer, web server, and content cache built on top of open source NGINX – to handle web traffic surges.

Our guiding principle at F5 is more applicable than ever: do the right thing – for each other, our customers, our shareholders, our community, and the world. We believe if all decisions are made through this lens, decision-making becomes much more focused and efficient. Importantly, it also reflects the ‘human-first’ culture of our company.