ITU Arab Regional Development Forum
Mr Shabkhez Mahmood, Senior Director, EY Bahrain
28 October 2013
Doing business in a rapidly changing world
 Growing
middle-class: Over the next two decades, it is estimated that the middle class will
expand by another three billion people, coming almost exclusively from the emerging world.
Today, 50% of the world’s population lives in cities, and it is anticipated that 70%
will by 2050. While urbanization is occurring worldwide, the trend is most significant in places
that are the least equipped to cope.
 Urbanization:
 Building
smart, interconnected world: Consumers require more innovative products, while
businesses seek more cost-effective technology to cope with increasingly complex challenges.
The ICT sector has a crucial role to play in this challenging operational environment.
Shocking ‘little’ fact…
Of the world’s seven billion people, six billion have mobile phones. However,
only 4.5 billion have access to toilets, according to the UN.
The digital universe is expected to double every two years
Facebook boasts more than 1.15 billion active users in 2013, while Google
Plus surpassed 100 million users in less than a year.
And not only people become more connected, but
'things' will too; there could be 50 billion machineto-machine connections in 2020.
Social media and political change in the Middle East
The Arab Spring’s
cascading effects
Twitter and
Facebook seen as
catalysts of
change allowing
not only to speed
up information
exchange but also
to provide
unprecedented
waves of spread
Arab publics share views
about politics, community
and religion online:
In
Egypt and Tunisia, more
than six-in-ten social
networkers share their views
about politics online.
In
Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon
and Jordan, more than
seven-in-ten share views on
community issues.
2012, Pew Research Center, Global Attitudes
Project, “Social Networking Popular Across
Globe”
Tackling the issue of e-waste in the Middle East
Recycling mobile phones in the
Middle East is still in its infancy
and the overall percentage of
phones recycled remains quite
low.
What is the role of the ICT sector
in further promoting knowledge
among consumers about
recycling activities?
ICT-enabled solutions offer the potential to reduce GHG
emissions by 16.5%, create 29.5 million jobs and yield
USD 1.9 trillion in savings.
ICT’s largest climate change influence will be by enabling energy
efficiencies in other sectors, an opportunity that could deliver
carbon savings five times larger than the total emissions from the
entire ICT sector in 2020.
But what about other impacts?

Forty-four million healthrelated smartphone apps
were downloaded worldwide
in 2011.

Within one year of the iPad’s
launch, 27% of physicians
surveyed owned tablet
computers.

Smart mobility, social
networking, cloud computing,
and big data analytics –
transformative technologies
allowing patients to gain more
control over their health.
“We’ve found that certain search
terms are good indicators of flu
activity. By counting how often we
see these search queries, we can
estimate how much flu is
circulating in different countries
and regions around the world.”,
Google
“... our vision [is for] enabling
secure, real-time access to deidentified patient data across the
health care and life sciences
ecosystem.”
David A. Krusch, M.D, Chief Medical
Information Officer, University of Rochester
Medical Center, and Chairman of PACeR’s
Project Leadership Committee
Being strategic about sustainability
ICT business risks - EY Risk Universe™ model
 Disengagement from
the changing customer
mindset –
understanding the needs
of the new digital
consumer will underpin
future success
 Lack of organizational
flexibility - companies
now need to align their
business units to
maximize the economies
of scale
 Failure to capitalize on
new types of
connectivity – defining
the concept of global
connectivity beyond
human terms is crucial
 A more pressing green
agenda – utilizing existing
technologies to enable
greater efficiencies across
industry will lead to
competitive advantage
The nature of corporate risk is changing:
business metrics now include sustainability
related risks.
Today, corporations’ success is heavily
driven not only by business performance,
but by public trust as well.
Commitment to sustainability is a
significant driver of reputation and public
confidence.
What does a strategic approach to sustainability look like?
Leveraging strategic sustainability for competitive advantage
Strengthening the licence to
operate




Complying with regulation
Enhancing reputation
Enhancing governance
Aligning with national
agendas and strategies
Increasing & protecting
revenues
Optimizing & protecting
assets
 Developing new business
opportunities
 Supporting low carbon
economy
 Developing infrastructure
 Developing inclusive
access to all services
 Developing fair marketing
practices
 Assessing and mitigating
environmental and social
risks
 Rolling out Socially
Responsible criteria in
asset management
 Code of conduct
 Supply chain optimisation
Addressing social issues and
environmental footprint
 Driving environmental
efficiency
 Streamlining operations
 Reducing environmental
footprint
 Improving HR policy
 Training
 Attracting and retaining
talent
Fostering ICT innovation through sustainability
 Transportation:
 Healthcare:
 Buildings:
Personalised, affordable, and transparent medicine tailored to individual needs
Smart design can reduce lighting and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning needs
 Education:
 Financial
Increased efficiency through improved logistics networks and fleet management
Empowering students and teachers to reinvent and redefine the educational institution
inclusion: Mobile banking allows for increased access to financial products and services
 Consumer
and service: Enabling consumers to make smart purchasing decisions
What will your company be known for?
How can you enable positive change
through your sustainability strategy?
Thank You
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Shabkhez Mahmood | Senior Director | Advisory
Services
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Ernst & Young, Middle East & North Africa
Bahrain Commercial Complex, 15th Floor, P O Box
140, Manama, Bahrain
Direct: +973 1751 4948 | Mobile: +973 3410 0057 |
shabkhez.mahmood@bh.ey.com