Cisco to leverage technology leadership, innovation and intimate knowledge of local landscape to help Oman accelerate its digitization strategy
Cisco Middle East announces the appointment of Waheed Al Hamaid as Country Sales Lead for Oman. In his new role, Waheed will lead Cisco’s business in the Sultanate and work closely with the partner ecosystem to support private and public sector customers in their efforts to digitize and transform their operations to drive business outcomes.
Commenting on Waheed’s appointment, Shukri Eid, Managing Director – East Region, Cisco Middle East said, “As a technology leader, our focus is on accelerating our ability to respond to our customer and partner needs in support of their aspirations. Waheed Al Hamaid is a passionate leader with an extensive track record of achievements under his belt, and I am confident of our ability to realise the tremendous opportunities that exist in Oman with him at the helm. His appreciation of the vital confluence between technology and business impact, combined with his profound appreciation for the opportunities presented by digitization position us ideally to execute against our strategic priorities and drive continued growth.”
“This is a dynamic time in Oman where we are experiencing fast-paced changes and evolving trends across government and multiple industries. As an Omani, I take great pride when I look at what the Sultanate has achieved so far. Now is the time for Oman to enter the next phase of its economic strategy by harnessing the power of digitization. At Cisco, our role is to help accelerate our partners’, customers’ and the government’s journeys towards becoming smarter, more competitive and more engaged in the new economy. Technology must focus on addressing urban challenges, addressing social, environmental and economic sustainability challenges, while enabling a better quality of life for Oman residents and more satisfying experiences for visitors,” said Waheed Al Hamaid, Country Sales Lead – Oman, Cisco Middle East.
Oman urban centres are on the threshold of evolving into smart cities by utilizing technology to create a new reality. With Cisco predicting more than 212 billion connected objects by 2020, app-centric infrastructure, sensors and mobile devices are going to be the new normal for almost every city in the world, including those in Oman. Translated in economic terms, connecting the unconnected can be as much some $19 trillion, or $4.6 trillion for the public sector, two-thirds of which can be realized by smart cities.
Cisco’s Smart City solutions help city leaders and decision makers address problems of urbanization which could include traffic jams, overcrowding, pollution, resource constraints, inadequate infrastructure and the need for continuing economic growth, using intelligent networking capabilities. The solutions can provide the information and services needed to create more liveable cities, and help them thrive. Today, Cisco’s solutions are deployed in more than 90 Smart City projects around the world, with strong success in metropolitan centres in Europe, like Nice, France and Barcelona, Spain; and the entirely new city of Songdo, South Korea as well as in the Middle East region.
“Technological change has made massive improvements in the delivery of public services and Oman is one of the countries aspiring to embrace the move toward urban automation and transforming into smart government. Cisco has a long track record in working with cities on their journey and in order to realize the full potential of Smart+Connected Communities in the era of the Internet of Things. Success requires a strong public-private partnership approach, beyond the silos of existing city infrastructure providers, and this is the basis upon which we are collaborating with the government. Asset-bundling and new partnership models will enable the creation of a connected public infrastructure that delivers value to both city administrators and citizens, enhancing the livability of a city,” said Waheed Al Hamaid.
Oman has developed its vision 2040 where logistics and transportation represent the main source of income for the Sultanate after oil and gas. In order to improve the efficiency and high quality services of the logistics and transportation sector, smart technology and fast IT will play an important role which will help foster innovative, real-time communications and collaboration while helping ensure safety and security.
“As we move into an era of complete digitization, where technology begins to connect everything from people, processes and data to things, Oman will need to rethink how it approaches its infrastructure on a grand scale. There is tremendous potential in the country to build effective, competitive and sustainable enterprises through digitization, which will transform citizen services, health, education and safety and security, while improving citizens’ experience and productivity. This will require fostering an innovation, talent and entrepreneurship ecosystem that shift the economy towards greater private sector participation and a more market-based approach,” said Waheed Al Hamaid.
