September 29 & 30, Dubai U.A.E.
Day One 29 September
Growing data revenues and the digital economy
08:00 Registration
09:00 Informa welcome
The future telco in ICT Markets
09:10 Ovum industry regional overview
Matthew Reed, Practice Leader Middle East and Africa, Ovum
09:30 Keynote address – Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company
 Does the need for innovation and the introduction of broader ICT services present a clear
and defined future for mobile operators? What could this future role look like?
 How is the strategic role of telcos changing with the progress of smarter cities and growth in
ICT enabled economies?
Carlos Domingo, Senior Executive Officer - New Businesses & Innovation, Du
09:50 Panel: Managing digital transition: from engineering-led companies to innovation and
content led platforms
 With operators taking up a more asset-light model, what other transitions will we see in the
infrastructure side? Similarly what developments will we see in complementary digital
services across the Middle East?
 Do telecoms operators in the Middle East have the requisite skills to be highly successful in
the content space?
 Where are the new opportunities in partnering with internet based companies?
 Is there a major opportunity for digital services within the enterprise sector in the Arab
world?
 How can operators position the business to capitalise on cloud services, vertical markets and
M2M potential across the Middle East?
 Moving on to 5G: How critical is 5G going to be for the operator business? How will it work
best for all stakeholders? And should there be revenue sharing models in place to even out
with companies not providing the costly infrastructure?
Carlos Domingo, Senior Executive Officer - New Businesses & Innovation, Du
Greg Young, CEO, Ooredoo Oman
Mansour Mansour, Industry Manager, Telecom and Technology MENA, Google
Moderator: Toni Eid, CEO, Telecom Review
10:20 Executive address: The role of telcos in evolving ICT markets
Ragi Magdy, Vice President, Enterprise Sales, Etisalat Group
10:45 EXECUTIVE NETWORKING BREAK
Next-Generation of customer experience
12:00 Delivering growth and speed to an always-on society
 Accelerating growth in the Middle East through convergence and network evolution
 Combining telecoms with IT, networking and future digital applications
 Diversified, low-latency options to accelerate a digital business in the Middle East
Lars-Erik Ödman, Senior Director Marketing, Datamena
12:20 Ensuring a compelling customer experience
 Turning customer data into insights for new sales opportunities
 Measuring impacts on the business
 From real time response to anticipating issues before they arise
Hany Moneim, Head Of Service Assurance, Vodafone Egypt
12:40 Panel: Device driven engagement and innovation as key differentiators
 How to advance the customer experience through innovation while meeting customer
expectations
 What are the critical differentiators for digital customer centricity in Middle East Markets?
 Adjusting business to OTT and telco relationship evolution
Souhail Haddaji, Vice President Corporate Programmes , PMO, Corporate Affairs, Du
Scott Weeman, Managing Director, Mondia Media
Moderator: Matthew Reed, Practice Leader Middle East and Africa, Ovum
13:10 NETWORKING LUNCH
14:20 Operator Mindshare sessions
(Roundtables under Chatham house rules)
Roundtable 1 – Digital Services Transition and new revenue streams
The Opportunities in SMB Cloud Services for Operators
Led by: Tom Platt, Commercial Director, BCSG
Roundtable 2 – IoT and realising the opportunities for ME markets
Led by: Aji Ed, CTO, Middle East and Africa, Nokia Networks
Roundtable 3 – The Data currency age: turning big data insights into advantage
Led by: Ali Rebaie, Founder, Industry Analyst & Consultant, Data Aurora
A series of breakaway rooms host group discussions led by the region’s operator community for
critical discussion about furthering the industry among peers. The sessions are conducted under
Chatham House rules with no media present to ensure the quality and productivity of roundtable
discussion.
15:50 Networking drinks
16:30 End of day one
Day Two, 30 September
IoT, Smart Cities and Innovation of digital services
Morning session chair: Mai Barakat, Senior Analyst, Middle East & Africa, Ovum
09:30 Keynote: Internet of things: What Telco’s need to do to become an effective enabler
 Considering the transformational impact on living and business
 How will M2M connectivity touch everyone; from power providers to online security and
through to payment systems?
 Utilising the data to benefit the bottom line
Shady Saeed, Group Director M2M, Etisalat Group
09:50 Expert analysis: Looking into new Middle Eastern markets for telecoms
 Insight into the Iranian telecoms market from the regulatory and top mobile operator
relationships to MVNOs, fixed and broadband providers
Mohammad Keshvari, Principal Analyst, Teyf
10:00 Panel: Opportunities in new markets in the Middle East
 What are the opportunities considering more relaxed regulations coming into play?
 Where are the MVNO prospects for success in the very new Middle East markets?
 Investment opportunities in the Iran telecoms sector
 Cooperation opportunities between local and international operators
Ali Ghodarzi, CEO, Shatel Global
Mohsen Yousefpour, Telecommunication Executive Director, FANAP
Esmaeil Sanaei, CEO, Arya Hamrah
Moderator: Mohammad Keshvari, Principal Analyst, Teyf
10:40 EXECUTIVE NETWORKING BREAK
12:00 Case study analysis: the use of big data for public good in MEA region
 Providing a big picture about the big data concept for telecoms industry
 Maximise Data utilisation
 Cloud strategy in the face of data growth across MENA
 Factoring in data security
Ali Rebaie, Founder, Industry Analyst & Consultant, Data Aurora
12:20 Panel: The future and opportunities in M-commerce across the Middle East
 With some of the best mobile penetration rates globally why is uptake in e-commerce and
m-commerce limited across the region?
 Is there enough banked and connected population for m-commerce to flourish? How does
direct operator billing help security of transactions and access for unbanked?
 How best to integrate additional services such as insurance, FMGC, utility bill and NFC
payments?
 How to safeguard the digital identity of paying consumers?
 With social media developments how is mobile going to change the consumer buying
experience?
 Is the region ready for ‘Mobile First’ marketing strategies?
Nico de Corato, Founder & web-administrator, DubaiBlog NetWork
Trevor Goldberg, Vice President Business Development, Mobile Network Operators, Bango
Zaid Alshobaki, CEO, Mobibucks
Mohamad Khawaja, CEO, Startappz
Hadi Raad, Regional Head of Emerging Products and Innovation, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle
East, and Africa (CEMEA), Visa
Moderator: Mai Barakat, Senior Analyst, Middle East & Africa, Ovum
12:40 NETWORKING LUNCH
14:300 Closing remarks & end of conference