Avasant CEO describes why the country is a test bed for the rest of the world
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Read the full story here: https://gulfnews.com/business/economy/dubai-is-at-the-crossroads-of-global-business-kevin-parikh-1.1709219995779
See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV
#UAEnews #Dubai #Avasant
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00:00The Middle East is interesting, and particularly Dubai, where we are today.
00:03You know, throughout the Middle East, we're seeing a tremendous adoption,
00:06rapid adoption of technology. In many ways, innovation is at its birthplace here.
00:18We are quickly entering a time in history where innovation is accelerating at such a rate
00:25and pace that what we can imagine, we will be able to achieve almost instantly.
00:30And we see that with generative AI. We have ideas, we want to test them.
00:35We can test them, we can experiment, and we can achieve almost instantly.
00:40So this is a really miraculous time. Enlightened disruption
00:44means disruption is moving at the pace of human thought.
00:47The exciting thing for us, not just as Avasant, but also for all of our guests,
00:52is that this conversation today is going to focus on how we can do more for the world,
00:57meet our sustainable development goals, achieve for our companies,
01:03and create a better world for all of us.
01:09I think for some, it's going to be challenging, you know, getting to a point where
01:15the labor can keep up with the challenges. You know, historically, if you think about how
01:19an automobile replaced a horse, or the advent of the cell phone, it took time for people to
01:25manage that disruption, to be able to train themselves, to be able to operate those new
01:30devices, and to be able to integrate them into their lives. Today, we're talking about innovation
01:35that's happening so fast that labor needs to instantly adjust and be able to absorb
01:42that new technology, that new innovation. So that will be hard for some, no doubt.
01:50There will always be a government requirement for the management of artificial intelligence, and
01:59there are a number of reasons for it. Artificial intelligence has the potential to unravel and
02:03unlock, and even copy our identities. And with that comes a need and requirement to protect
02:10individual identity. Secondly, artificial intelligence has the potential to be abused,
02:16right, as all or any technology can be. So government regulation is likely, but the question
02:22will be is not what we are regulating, but what we're not regulating, and what we're able to
02:28utilize that technology to create. And that's the exciting part. Extreme disruption destroys
02:39traditional business. And what happens is that when you have an extreme disruption,
02:46the advent of a new technology, or as in the case of COVID-19, right, huge human impact
02:55resulting in the adoption of digital technology, rapid adoption. When you have those situations
03:01happening, if you're unable, if a business is unable to adapt to it, it's out of business.
03:06So it's absolutely essential that they look forward, they embrace the technologies,
03:12and they consider ways to bring those technologies into their business.
03:19They have to be looking around the corner. And now we are moving into this enlightened
03:24disruption phase. We call that phase the imagination age. And in the imagination age
03:30where the thought becomes action, we have to plan for that, right, because the speed of ideation
03:36is growing faster and faster and faster. And that means that companies have to be able to
03:40absorb the technologies and quickly make them available to their customers, their clients,
03:44their employees. I think they'll be out of business. There'll be nothing left for them to do.
03:55See, the Middle East is interesting, and particularly Dubai, where we are today.
03:59You know, throughout the Middle East, we're seeing a tremendous adoption,
04:03rapid adoption of technology. In many ways, innovation is at its birthplace here. It might
04:08even be invented somewhere else, but it's being tested here. It's being evaluated here. So the
04:14Middle East is a very exciting place. It's a place where innovation gets a chance to spread its wings
04:19and grow. Oh, tremendous amount of potential in the Middle East. And in fact, one of the
04:28challenges and opportunities of the Middle East is amidst global conflicts. This is still the
04:33place where business is happening. And this is one of the largest trading routes in the world.
04:38We see another large trading route in the world, right, the South China Sea. And like the South
04:44China Sea, tremendous amount of business trade is happening through the Middle East. What will
04:49be important in the coming years is to keep those trading routes open, to keep business flowing.
04:55And I think most of us all expect that to happen.
05:03There are very few places today in the world where all countries can still trade with each other.
05:10And this, not just the Middle East, but particularly Dubai, is very much that crossroads.
05:17And it's interesting, because hasn't that been the role of this region for 2,000 years? This
05:24has always been the crossroads for trading, and it will continue to be, particularly as we continue
05:30to divide. We have what we call the Sino-Russian powers, which are creating their own economic
05:38realities. And we have Western powers, which are creating their own economic realities.
05:43This is one place where we're all trading together.
05:49The beauty of Avasand is all the major consulting firms today, by our data,
05:54they utilize that data to make technology decisions for their own customers. We do the same.
06:01We also have partners, all the major service providers and technology companies. And what
06:05we're able to do is create solutions for our clients in how to absorb, adopt, and execute
06:12on technology innovation. We help them harness that innovation and use it in their businesses.
06:17We drive a full suite of services that includes not just the deal ideation, what type of technology
06:25should I implement, but also supporting them in the negotiation and representing them
06:30in those large-scale transactions.
06:32We work across all sectors. One of the clients that we have today is in the insurance sector,
06:38for instance. And they're struggling because one of their key challenges is that they have
06:44to modernize. They've been around for so many years, they still have physical offices where
06:50they take clients in and they write applications for insurance products. And they're struggling
06:57where they take clients in and they write applications for insurance products,
07:02from car insurance to life insurance and the like. Maybe the way that work has been done
07:07for the last 50 years. They have to modernize their platforms, they have to grow to be able
07:12to offer services across the Middle East, and they can only do so with a technology-enabled
07:17service offering. And so these types of service offerings will drive more revenue for them,
07:22help them engage more customers, and be more competitive. We help them identify the technology
07:27that they need and negotiate and ensure it is properly executed into their organization.
07:37The beauty of digital technology, and particularly all disruptive technology,
07:42is it affects all sectors. In healthcare, for instance, we see the ability to intake
07:47patients remotely without having to actually enter into a health facility, infect other
07:52patients, or healthcare professionals. In aerospace and defense, we see the ability
07:57to test, and through 3D printing and also through digital twins, to be able to evaluate
08:04new technologies, new jet engines, etc. There is not a single vertical that is not instantly impacted
08:12by the technology that's in front of us today. And that is the most exciting part of where we are
08:17and what we're living.
08:21Well, what is the UAE? The UAE is the home of innovation. We breed and breathe innovation here.
08:29We adopt it, we accept it, and we integrate it into our lives. So this, in many ways, is the test bed
08:36for these new technologies. We try them out here. People are open to them. We see how the next
08:42robotic technology is going to work, or the next genetic-based technology is going to work, or
08:47how we are going to innovate in banking, or whatever the sector may be, manufacturing,
08:52travel, transportation. We're adopting even law enforcement. We're adopting technologies here
08:58very readily, very easily, and that's creating a test bed for the rest of the world.
09:08Don't invest in what you need now. Invest in what you will need in the next decade. And that
09:14requires some strategic planning. You see, the technology is moving at a pace that is so fast
09:21and so rapid that you will quickly find that any short-term investments you have will be just that,
09:27short-term and soon not be of any value to you. That means thinking about platforms differently.
09:32It means thinking about innovation as part of how you operate and grow your business
09:38and bringing that culture of innovation into your DNA.