A Sino-Centric Approach by Gulf Nations and Telcos Should be an Alarm Bell for Western Tech

I. Patel

Summary Bullets:

• For China, brokering political stability in the Middle East means investment opportunities. It is working at both in tandem as an overture to its long-term strategic interests in the region.

• Policy and government diktat will not compensate for the fragmented approach by Western governments and tech companies when challenging the likes of Huawei in eastern markets.

After a seven-year stand-off that involved the Saudi and Iranian Embassies gathering dust in each other’s countries, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) announced a rapprochement with Tehran (Iran) under the auspices of Beijing (China) on March 10, 2023. This was a surprise announcement made by representatives from the two countries attending a summit in China with analysts across all sectors pouring over what it means. Technology is one sector that is worthy of analysis comment to determine the wider implications for the international technology market.

E&’s New Partner Networks Program Looks to Extend its Reach and Influence Globally

I. Patel

Summary Bullets:

• Etisalat by e& is making moves to share its expertise with telcos across the world that may not be able to afford next-gen B2B services.

• Etisalat by e& will look to increase its B2B credentials through a network of partners beyond its operational footprint without having to go through complex M&As.

UAE telecoms incumbent Etisalat by e& (e&) has launched its new business program called ‘e& Partner Networks.’ The move is an attempt by the operator, which is sitting on large piles of cash reserves, to increase its influence on the global stage as a credible B2B partner.

With Atos Partnership, ZainTech Is Positioning Itself to Capitalize on Next-Gen Enterprise Services Boom in MENA

I. Patel

Summary Bullets:

• After it consolidated its digital and enterprise divisions into ZainTech in late 2021, the deal with Atos is a signal of Zain Group’s strategic direction.
• The partnership with Atos is part of Zain’s strategy to allow ZainTech to enter into deals with major enterprise vendors and grow organic revenue by selling next-gen enterprise services to regional clients.

Zain Group announced a partnership with French technology company Atos to provide digital transformation services to ZainTech enterprise customers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The deal comprises the provision of the following three services: a round-the-clock managed cybersecurity solution, a cloud solution to help businesses deliver next-gen digital technologies, and an end-to-end video analytics platform for customizable AI models (e.g., Atos Computer Vision Platform).

With DataRobot Partnership, e& Moves Forward with Its Strategy to Reform into a Tech Company

I. Patel

Summary Bullets:

• The deal with DataRobot is the first major announcement after Etisalat Digital rebranded to e& enterprise.

• The AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS) solution targets customers in a variety of verticals, which will help e& achieve organic revenue growth and refashion itself from a telco into a tech company.

e& enterprise, part of e& (previously branded Etisalat Group), entered into a three-year partnership with US AI platform provider DataRobot, to launch enterprise AlaaS. DataRobot will enable e& enterprise customers to leverage AIaaS for deploying AI and ML solutions at scale without the need for deep data science expertise. AIaaS enables organizations to build and deploy AI solutions more quickly and at a lower cost compared to initiatives that rely primarily on in-house resources, thus accelerating ‘time-to-value.’ Customers of e& enterprise will be able to adopt the AIaaS offering, powered by a locally deployed DataRobot platform.