By Mohamad Rizk, Regional Director, Middle East & CIS at Veeam Software
The Middle East is poised for a transformative year ahead, marked by the continued integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the rise of hybrid cloud solutions, and an intensified focus on cybersecurity. In 2024, traditional AI, is omnipresent, reshaping industries, and becoming an integral part of digital services. From cybersecurity advancements to the adoption of generative AI tools, this opinion article explores the key technological trends that will shape the digital future of the Middle East in the coming year.
Traditional Artificial Intelligence (AI) is there to grow
Right now, traditional AI, also called Weak AI or Narrow AI, is everywhere. It is automating industries, reshaping the retail business and consumer behavior, and a lot more. In 2024, public and private sectors in the Middle East will continue to introduce AI to their digital services. For example: AI in cybersecurity, AI to predict real-time payment scams, face recognition, etc.
Hybrid Cloud will become the norm
Reducing CAPEX objectives, cybersecurity concerns, smart city projects, and governmental initiatives have led to an increase in the number of local cloud providers in the Middle East. Furthermore, 2023 saw many hyperscalers opening their local datacenters in multiple countries in the region such as UAE, KSA, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait. Therefore, in 2024, we will see more digital services for government and private sector organizations running in hybrid clouds.
Cybersecurity is already the #1 priority and will remain #1
In 2024, Cybersecurity will stay the top concern for organizations in the Middle East since ransomware attacks delay and impact their digital transformation objectives. 85% of UAE and Saudi Arabia organizations were subject to at least one ransomware attack in the last 12 months according to data from the Veeam Data Protection Trends Report 2023. Therefore, in 2024, organizations will invest more in cybersecurity, especially in data backup and recovery such as zero trust policies, AI-powered and built-in malware detection, and point-in-time recovery.
Data breaches due to generative AI will be controlled
Right now, most countries in the Middle East do not have clear legalizations for using generative AI tools which puts all organizations and individuals at risk of breaching privacy regulations. Furthermore, the laws are incredibly vague at the moment leaving them open for misinterpretation and misuse. In 2024, it is expected that the efforts for regulatory entities in the Middle East will be focused on regulating the usage of data in autonomous and semi-autonomous systems.
