Future Technology Week opens door to GCC's $1b network security sector

Dubai - Starting on Tuesday 29 and running until Thursday 31 March, FTW is DWTC's new umbrella identity collecting Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference

This week's inaugural Future Technology Week, or FTW, at Dubai World Trade Centre, or DWTC, will provide a strategic reference point in driving regional network security spend in a GCC-wide sector set to grow from $340 million to $1 billion by 2018, according to a Frost & Sullivan report.
Starting on Tuesday 29 and running until Thursday 31 March, FTW is DWTC's new umbrella identity collecting Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference, or GISEC - Dr Liam Fox MP, former UK Secretary of State for Defence, will address GISEC - Internet of Things Expo, or IoTX, The Big Data Show and Gulf Enterprise Mobility Exhibition and Conference, or GEMEC. 
The consolidated platform arrives as Internet of Things, or IoT, and Internet of Everything, or IoE, technologies spur rapid regional growth in the adoption of secure connectivity, enterprise mobility and big data services. 
As the GCC moves towards a new era of cyber security readiness and IoT savviness, Future Technology Week will provide a cluster programme for an anticipated 10,000 public and private sector Information Communications Technology (ICT) professionals - comprising providers, vendors and buyers - to converge and explore software, hardware and infrastructure investments opportunities. 
Spread over three days, Future Technology Week includes a series of ground-breaking technology exhibitions, game-changing plenary talks and innovation-centric workshops and entrepreneurial competitions featuring ready-to-market inventions that will disrupt the future of how civilians and organisations live, work and connect. 
"Technology is thriving and the relentless progress is changing our daily habits, lifestyle patterns and business functions - a world of possibilities is available to us faster and easier than ever before," said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, Exhibitions & Events, DWTC. "In this climate, the question of how safe, secure and reliable our technologies are is paramount. Future Technology Week collects four of the region's leading specialised shows to create a compelling umbrella concept where global ICT leaders can converge  and experience, discuss and dissect the industry's top trends, issues and solutions."
Future Technology Week will host free-to-attend training sessions for Certified Information Systems Security Professionals, or CISSP, delivered by (ISC)2 CBK accredited instructors. Covering multiple verticals, the sessions - dubbed 'Future Tech Market Labs' - will allow visitors to upgrade their technical knowledge on various topics including interconnected and behaviour analytics, the impact of IoT, mobility for leading enterprises and insights into global cyber threats. 
Faisal Al Bannai, chief executive officer of DarkMatter, cyber security innovation partner for GISEC, said: "Cybersecurity now stands at the centre of further progress of the modern, electronic-based global economy. Pro-activity and a holistic approach to cybersecurity has never been more important and we're looking forward to holding discussions around this critical subject during FTW."
"IoT is fuelling innovation in nearly every part of our lives," added Tommi Raitio, regional director of IoT, Intel. "Simply connecting things that were unconnected previously is leading to new data insights that translate into meaningful change for business and governments. There are numerous IoT companies as well as start-ups in Dubai and Intel believes the growth potential of the UAE's IoT market is relatively untapped. We look forward to working with relevant ecosystem companies to achieve His Highness' vison of the UAE being a global smart city leader." 
Future Technology Week will house several interactive features including a live hackathon for innovative developers, designers and entrepreneurs to pitch and build prototype solutions for smart transportation, smart environment and smart cities, as well as a one-day, code-cracking Capture The Flag competition where developers, engineers and code breaking enthusiasts will vie for cash prizes. 
"Middle East businesses are early adopters of digitisation plans in the Internet of Things era," said Irfan Khan, chief technology officer, Global Customer Operations, SAP. "They now face the pressing challenge of surviving the digital transformation while re-imagining business processes and customer experiences. SAP saw a strong industry response to IoTX 2015 - the region's key spring IT event - and we're back to help drive the Middle East's digital and innovation-led economy."
Future Technology Week is supported by Dubai Smart Office as Smart City Partner to drive awareness on Dubai's Smart City initiative. The Big Data Show and IoTX has attracted sponsors including Microsoft as Hackathon & Business Intelligence Analytics Partner of The Big Data Show; while IoTX has Pacific Controls as Keynote Sponsor; Huawei, Intel Corporation and SAP as Diamond Sponsors; Advantech B&B SmartWorx, Cisco, Dell and Ericsson Middle East as Platinum Sponsors; General Electric and MachinesTalk as Gold Sponsors; and Cybercom, Red Solutions and WebNMS as Silver Sponsors. - sandhya@khaleejtimes.com