Every business will have to become digital. However, the issue is how quickly they are willing to do so, according to Microsoft's regional director in applications and services Ihsan Anabtawi. A wave of digital disruption has invaded several sectors, such as finance, transportation, and media, among other industries. New digital companies have changed the dynamics of traditional industries such as Uber car services with taxis, Airbnb with hotels, Alibaba with retail, and other similar startups. "We are seeing disruption in every industry," Anabtawi said in an interview with Saudi Gazette on the sidelines of the "Digital Transformation for the Modern Enterprise" event held at the regional headquarters here. "Most CEOs now realize that if they want to grow, be relevant, and be a leader in their space, they have to embrace digital transformation." A cultural shift guarantees a digital transformation to drive an organization in a highly competitive and fast-paced world. People are the most important asset business leaders have, he explains. "It's a cultural shift in order to achieve a free flow of information, people operating in a network, and people's voices are heard at all levels." People would need the right tools for better productivity, he says, in a world where many employees spend most of their days working and in teamwork rather than individually. With the right tools and technology facilitating this, the leaders' goal is to have people connecting, creating, innovating, and have them heard. This makes them part of the company strategy and help drive transformation. As companies embrace digitization as the core of their business, security inevitably must become the backbone. "Threats are getting smarter as well," he further says. "This is a key concern that comes up in every conversation around the region." "We're employing advanced means to be ahead of these threats we are seeing. We have data centers at a world-class level that are third party audited and certified. We also do this at the end user level where we help in education, helping avoiding security risk, behavioral changes." Data and interactions need to be secure preventing loopholes. However, not all security threats are malicious. Many are based on human error due to the lack of awareness and knowledge. Some sectors have taken longer than others to digitize. Governments in the region need to digitize the public sector and its services if it wants to be relevant to its citizens. There's a huge difference between digitization and automation, he says, where the former is limited to replacing laptops and electronic services with paper and manual procedures. The only way to avoid bureaucratic sluggish work is by focusing on building skills within government. "The way the government interacts with its citizens through smart initiatives will give it an edge," he said.
