News
Information technology (IT) in the Middle East
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April 09, 2021
09
Apr'21
Global demand for IT and business services highest ever for first quarter
Global demand for IT and business services began the year strongly, with a record first quarter
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March 29, 2021
29
Mar'21
How Gulf SMEs are building digital resilience amid the pandemic
SMEs in the Gulf region have accelerated their digital transformations during the Covid-19 pandemic
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March 29, 2021
29
Mar'21
How far has open banking come in Europe?
Open banking is a relatively new concept, having come into effect in Europe only in the last couple of years. So what is the state of play?
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February 18, 2021
18
Feb'21
Fingerprints will help payment cards retain relevance
Biometric payment cards using fingerprint technology could add billions to global banking revenues, says UBS
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February 16, 2021
16
Feb'21
TransferGo to harness Google-inspired tech capability
Payments fintech TransferGo chooses cloud-native core banking platform to build a digital wallet and expand its services
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February 16, 2021
16
Feb'21
Qatar regulator launches platform to monitor human understanding of financial crime
Qatari financial services regulator works with global body to provide digital platform to assess whether financial services workers understand how to prevent financial crime
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February 02, 2021
02
Feb'21
Nordic countries dominate European online banking take-up
Nordics dominate online banking take-up in Europe, but the UK is not far behind
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January 26, 2021
26
Jan'21
Saudi IT spending to hit $11bn in 2021
Saudi Arabian organisations will spend about $11bn on IT this year, with emerging technologies high on shopping lists
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January 12, 2021
12
Jan'21
Bahrain hopes 5G roll-out will attract more tech firms to its shores
Bahrain has completed its 5G roll-out, which will support its IT infrastructure in creating the right environment for technology firms
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January 11, 2021
11
Jan'21
Jobs in fintech bounce back after brief lockdown lull
Fintechs and payments companies need to make staff recruitment a priority as talent pool shrinks
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December 24, 2020
24
Dec'20
Top 10 Middle East stories of 2020
Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Middle East stories of 2020
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December 15, 2020
15
Dec'20
Covid-19 sparks boom in Middle East digital payments sector
Stubborn cash use could fall in the Middle East after an acceleration in the take-up of digital payments amid the coronavirus pandemic
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November 30, 2020
30
Nov'20
$60m Middle East tech fund targets 120 startups
Venture capital fund expects rapid regional technology growth in the post-Covid-19 world
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November 13, 2020
13
Nov'20
IT Priorities 2020: European IT budget share reflects home-working challenges brought by Covid
European organisations are being forced to redivert more limited budgets during the pandemic
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October 22, 2020
22
Oct'20
Saudi Arabian authorities work with Chinese IT giants on digital goals
Saudi Arabia has signed two agreements with Chinese IT suppliers as it strives to deliver its ambitious programme to diversify its economy
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September 17, 2020
17
Sep'20
Saudi Arabia sees cyber security boom as coronavirus bites
Saudi Arabian CIOs have been forced to increase their security posture as the Covid-19 pandemic transforms working methods
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September 09, 2020
09
Sep'20
Abu Dhabi government launches peer-to-peer coding campus
Abu Dhabi government launches a specialist programming school that uses peer-to-peer teaching methods and gamification
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August 05, 2020
05
Aug'20
Netherlands investigates innovative privacy technology SSI
Dutch research organisation is looking into areas where self-sovereign identity technology could be used in society and business
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August 05, 2020
05
Aug'20
Egypt’s datacentre plans take key step forward
Government lays the foundations for a datacentre industry with its new data protection law
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July 22, 2020
22
Jul'20
Aramex ships in Rackspace Technology to accelerate datacentre downsizing and move to AWS cloud
Dubai-based international shipping and logistics firm Aramex is in the midst of a cloud-focused digital transformation designed to tighten up its last-mile delivery operations with the help of Rackspace Technology
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July 15, 2020
15
Jul'20
Huge declines in traditional outsourcing as Covid-19 puts a stop on deals
Traditional IT outsourcing deals value plummets in the last quarter as contracts dry up amid Covid-19 disruption
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June 01, 2020
01
Jun'20
Egypt offers free tech scholarship to 100,000 citizens
Egypt's youths are being offered free training to help them to prepare for the careers of the future
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June 01, 2020
01
Jun'20
How Saudi Arabia is using cloud to navigate the Covid-19 downturn
Organisations in Saudi Arabia are using cloud computing services to help them navigate challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic
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May 20, 2020
20
May'20
Coronavirus: Pandemic spurs QR code app upgrade at PayPal
PayPal introduces QR code payment functionality to its mobile app to support social distancing
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May 20, 2020
20
May'20
Coronavirus: Bahrain sees fintech take-up surge amid Covid-19 crisis
Covid-19 has spurred the use of financial technology in Bahrain, which could boost the industry in the country and wider Gulf region
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May 18, 2020
18
May'20
Flagship digital investment at Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc pays off
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company sees flagship digital project in high demand after proving its value in responding to the Covid-19 crisis
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May 11, 2020
11
May'20
Coronavirus: SMEs in the UAE forced to digitally transform
The UAE, like the rest of the world, continues to be heavily impacted by the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, and technology is helping to lead the fight
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May 06, 2020
06
May'20
Cash use to go below 5% of total spending in Middle East
Banks expect a rapid reduction of the use of cash in the region
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May 05, 2020
05
May'20
Coronavirus: Total outsourcing spending collapses in March
IT spending plunged in March, drastically reducing increases that had been expected in the EMEA region
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April 09, 2020
09
Apr'20
How Bolt plans to be more uber than Uber
Overcoming competitors with brand names that have become part of the modern vernacular is a challenge Estonia-based Bolt has set itself as it takes on Uber
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March 18, 2020
18
Mar'20
Estonia offers digital tools to countries struggling with coronavirus school closures
Government and tech companies in Baltic state unite to offer advanced digital learning tools to other countries
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March 17, 2020
17
Mar'20
UN identifies tech companies working in Occupied Palestinian Territories
United Nations Human Rights Office report names a number of technology companies that could be involved in violating human rights
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March 12, 2020
12
Mar'20
CIO interview: Miguel Rio Tinto, Emirates NBD
The Dubai-based banking group’s CIO, Miguel Rio Tinto, talks about its ambitious digital transformation plans
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March 10, 2020
10
Mar'20
IT Priorities 2020: IP network investments top priority for Middle East IT leaders
IT leaders in the Middle East expect to see increased spending on IP networks as digital transformation continues across the region
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February 26, 2020
26
Feb'20
Thousands of UK entrepreneurs register businesses in Estonia since Brexit referendum
UK entrepreneurs are registering businesses in Estonia to make sure they can continue to trade freely in the EU
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February 25, 2020
25
Feb'20
Mastercard creates 1,500 tech jobs in Ireland
New roles at tech hub in Dublin will include professionals with expertise in artificial intelligence, cyber security, blockchain and user experience
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February 04, 2020
04
Feb'20
Azimo gets loan from European Investment Bank to build cross-border payments infrastructure in EU
UK fintech gets validation from EIB through €20m loan which will contribute to building its smartphone app-based payments infrastructure
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February 03, 2020
03
Feb'20
New jobs in Ireland as Brexit forces Revolut to migrate work from London
Brexit has pushed the financial technology firm into moving London jobs to Ireland
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February 03, 2020
03
Feb'20
Cost-cutting and digital transformation spur increased European IT outsourcing in 2019
The need to rein in costs while digitally transforming has led to growth in traditional and as-a-service base outsourcing
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January 31, 2020
31
Jan'20
Estonian CIO gives UK IT professionals hope as Brexit removes rights
Tech chief says Estonia’s door is open to UK IT professionals if they want to continue enjoying an EU lifestyle
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January 22, 2020
22
Jan'20
UK and EU AI communities will only be globally significant if they work as one
The European Union and the UK will be left behind in artificial intelligence research and development if they take separate paths after Brexit
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January 21, 2020
21
Jan'20
Two-fifths of Middle East IT staff would change job for more money
IT professionals in the Middle East are mostly motivated by money when it comes to finding a new job, according to a Computer Weekly survey
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January 20, 2020
20
Jan'20
Over a quarter of Middle East businesses have no women in their IT department
Businesses in the Middle East are failing to balance their IT workforces between men and women, and a quarter have no women in IT roles
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January 13, 2020
13
Jan'20
Travelex to begin restoring foreign exchange services two weeks after ‘Sodinokibi’ attack
Travelex says it is making “good progress” in its recovery and is to begin restoring electronic foreign exchange services, but is silent about whether it has agreed to pay hackers a $6m ransom to decrypt computer files
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January 09, 2020
09
Jan'20
Travelex hackers threaten to sell credit card data on dark web
Sodinokibi cyber gangsters have threatened to sell Travelex customers’ private data on a Russian underground cyber crime forum if it fails to pay a $6m ransom
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January 06, 2020
06
Jan'20
Cyber gangsters demand payment from Travelex after ‘Sodinokibi’ attack
Cyber criminals are demanding payment to decrypt Travelex’s computer files after a devastating malware attack. New questions have been raised about the security of Travelex’s computer network after it emerged the company waited eight months to patch...
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January 03, 2020
03
Jan'20
Suspected ransomware attack causes worldwide disruption for Travelex
Travelex switches off computer systems and resorts to cash-only currency sales after malware attack. Insiders claim the currency exchange chain has been hit by ransomware which has left critical files containing customer data encrypted
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December 24, 2019
24
Dec'19
Top 10 enterprise IT in the Middle East stories of 2019
Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 enterprise IT in the Middle East stories of 2019
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December 18, 2019
18
Dec'19
How Saudi Arabia plans to become the Silicon Valley of the Middle East
With its young and educated population, Saudi Arabia has the potential to become a hub for tech innovation
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December 11, 2019
11
Dec'19
How can CIOs in Europe turn innovation into a competitive advantage?
CIOs across Europe are under pressure to innovate to help businesses grow and must think differently as a result
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December 09, 2019
09
Dec'19
Cloud computing surges in the UAE in 2019
Cloud computing take-up saw a significant acceleration in the Middle East throughout this year
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December 09, 2019
09
Dec'19
Dubai’s Kentech kicks off digital transformation drive
Energy and industrial support company will go live in Oracle’s cloud next month
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November 21, 2019
21
Nov'19
Swiss packaging manufacturer powers digital maintenance with GE and ServiceMax
Carton and packaging company SIG, which also sells IoT-connected machines to food and beverage firms, has developed a digital maintenance service
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November 21, 2019
21
Nov'19
Collaboration is key to rapid adoption of govtech across Europe
Government technology is spreading across Europe, but policy-makers and senior civil servants are still figuring out best practices
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November 11, 2019
11
Nov'19
Zain taps Ericsson for 5G network
Zain commissions Ericsson for 5G technology to meet growing data traffic demands and deliver high-quality mobile broadband and fixed wireless experiences, encompassing new business in the automotive, health and energy sectors
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November 07, 2019
07
Nov'19
Saudis recruited Twitter employees to spy on critics
Court documents reveal how the Saudi Arabian government targeted Twitter employees as part of a coordinated effort to gather information on known dissidents
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November 07, 2019
07
Nov'19
Abu Dhabi AI university is key to UAE’s future as the oil dries up
Abu Dhabi’s fledgling artificial intelligence university is part of a highly ambitious 30-year plan to transform the UAE’s economy and culture
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November 04, 2019
04
Nov'19
Thousands apply to Abu Dhabi AI University in first week
Artificial intelligence university in Abu Dhabi gets more than 3,000 applications in the week following its application process being opened
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October 23, 2019
23
Oct'19
Interview: Abdul Nasser Al Mughairbi, head of digital, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
Abdul Nasser Al Mughairbi is leading digital developments at Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil giant
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October 22, 2019
22
Oct'19
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company uses blockchain for inter-group network
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is using blockchain internally, with plans to expand it beyond the group boundaries
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October 17, 2019
17
Oct'19
Abu Dhabi AI university open for applications
New university in UAE aims to enable students, businesses and governments to increase the use of artificial intelligence technology
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October 10, 2019
10
Oct'19
UK and Middle East PR firm ditches NetApp for Nutanix and Talon Fast
Four Communications needed better connectivity for collaboration between the UK and its gulf sites, so dumped server/storage for hyper-converged and a distributed file system
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October 09, 2019
09
Oct'19
CIO interview: Mohamed Sater, head of IT at Mumtalakat
Mumtalakat’s head of IT, Mohamed Sater, is modernising the IT infrastructure of the organisation through cloud computing
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September 30, 2019
30
Sep'19
Dubai’s Precision Group takes manufacturing into the cloud
Head of IT at mould and packaging company talks about leading its digital transformation programme
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September 18, 2019
18
Sep'19
Facebook automatically generates pages for Islamic State and Al-Qaeda
Facebook algorithms have auto-generated hundreds of Facebook pages for the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda and Ansar al-Sharia, according to a whistleblower
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September 17, 2019
17
Sep'19
Inside Oman’s new tech startup drive
Oman is aspiring to be a tech startup hub and is on a mission to compete with its neighbours in the Gulf
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August 19, 2019
19
Aug'19
First government organisation in Bahrain migrates to Amazon Web Services
Sovereign wealth fund’s internal IT team handled migration process, which has slashed the organisation’s technology operational costs
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August 14, 2019
14
Aug'19
GDPR faces growing pains across Europe
The General Data Protection Regulation is over a year old now, but it faces challenges across Europe where compliance has taken place at different speeds
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July 31, 2019
31
Jul'19
Middle East businesses welcome Amazon Web Services region launch
Bahrain AWS region, with three datacentres, links Middle East to AWS's global network and will help to accelerate digital transformation
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July 15, 2019
15
Jul'19
Organisations turn to AI in race against cyber attackers
Businesses are racing to automate their defences as hackers and nation states launch increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks
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June 28, 2019
28
Jun'19
Interview: Yasmeen Al Sharaf, head of fintech and innovation unit, Central Bank of Bahrain
Yasmeen Al Sharaf heads up financial technology strategy at Bahrain’s central bank, which is on a mission to grow and diversify the sector in the Middle East island state
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June 25, 2019
25
Jun'19
Saudi banks trial blockchain-based identity technology at ATMs
Biometric and blockchain technologies are being used in tandem to provide ID verification at Saudi Arabian cash machines
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June 10, 2019
10
Jun'19
Etihad Airways uses artificial intelligence to source ideas from staff
UAE airline works with tech startup to create a platform to help it apply employees’ ideas to address business challenges
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June 05, 2019
05
Jun'19
Emirates NBD builds bank of future with Amazon Web Services
UAE bank is accessing the latest technology through a close relationship with IT giant Amazon Web Services
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May 31, 2019
31
May'19
Facebook loses bid to halt European court decision on EU-US data sharing
Irish Supreme Court dismisses attempt by Facebook to prevent the European Court of Justice considering the validity of US-EU data transfers, after Austrian lawyer Max Schrems argued that they put the privacy of EU citizens at risk
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May 28, 2019
28
May'19
Saudi Arabia’s largest auto company completes SAP project as part of digital transformation
Abdul Latif Jameel Motors wins SAP Quality Gold Award for digital revamp programme that overhauled performance and efficiency across its business
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May 21, 2019
21
May'19
Middle East Interview: Dubai-based Fetchr
Delivery app Fetchr is spreading across the Middle East with its mobile-to-mobile delivery service. We talk to its founder
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May 15, 2019
15
May'19
Facebook engaged in ‘calculated’ campaign to eliminate competition, claims businessman
A US businessman is seeking damages from Facebook after accusing the social media company of unfairly blocking “humorous” Facebook pages which generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising revenue
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May 09, 2019
09
May'19
Facebook co-founder: ‘It is time to break up Facebook’
Co-founder of Facebook, Chris Hughes, has published an op-ed in The New York Times calling for Facebook to be broken up, as it faces investigations from the US Federal Trade Commission
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May 01, 2019
01
May'19
Middle East Interview: Bahrain fintech drive gathers speed
Bahrain wants to be a launchpad into the wider region for financial technology firms looking to scale
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April 26, 2019
26
Apr'19
Facebook faces fresh privacy actions from regulators
Facebook faces legal action from Canada after it dismissed regulators’ findings that it failed to protect customer privacy. The firm has set aside $5bn to settle a privacy action in the US and faces a new investigation in Ireland
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April 23, 2019
23
Apr'19
Egypt aims to develop coding skills earlier in education system
An Egyptian government initiative will see thousands of teenagers trained to code in HTML, CSS and Python
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April 18, 2019
18
Apr'19
Etihad Airways automates customer and luggage journey monitoring
National airline of United Arab Emirates, Etihad Airways, will improve passenger journeys through automated monitoring
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April 17, 2019
17
Apr'19
Middle East CIOs optimistic as budgets increase and digital transformations expand
Cyber security and risk management will see the biggest increase in spending, but digital transformation of businesses is a major driver of investment, survey shows
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April 15, 2019
15
Apr'19
Facebook takes extraordinary legal steps to contain document leak
Facebook targets journalists and news organisations for computer searches
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April 10, 2019
10
Apr'19
Skype blocked in UAE will hit businesses as well as people
Skype has been blocked to users in the United Arab Emirates, and its effects will be felt by businesses as well as citizens
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April 02, 2019
02
Apr'19
Huawei reports record numbers despite tumultuous year
Huawei has become one of the world’s largest technology companies by revenue, suggesting the accusations over its ties to the Chinese government are failing to have much impact
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March 29, 2019
29
Mar'19
Middle East countries accelerate quantum computing research
Gulf countries must invest in quantum computing research to ensure they continue to to remain digital pioneers
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March 14, 2019
14
Mar'19
Met Police collaborated with US prosecutors in WikiLeaks investigation
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed it exchanged information on WikiLeaks staff in the UK with the US Department of Justice, which is conducting criminal investigations into the organisation
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March 13, 2019
13
Mar'19
Revolutionising patient booking in the Gulf
Startup in the Gulf region is applying digital technology to solve the inefficiencies in medical appointment booking processes
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March 04, 2019
04
Mar'19
UK among most expensive countries for mobile data
The UK ranks 136th in the world for the average cost of 1GB of mobile data, according to new statistics
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March 02, 2019
02
Mar'19
Facebook asked George Osborne to influence EU data protection law
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg invited one of the chancellor’s children to Facebook’s office as part of a intensive lobbying programme to influence European data protection legislation
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February 22, 2019
22
Feb'19
Facebook planned to spy on Android phone users, internal emails reveal
Facebook planned to use its Android app to track the location of its customers and to allow advertisers to send political advertising and invites to dating sites to ‘single’ people, confidential documents show
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February 20, 2019
20
Feb'19
Estonia redoubles efforts to attract global IT talent
IT professionals from all over the world are being lured to Estonia through a government recruitment campaign
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January 21, 2019
21
Jan'19
Bahrain plans to create a world-leading tech ecosystem
Bahrain is building a technology ecosystem that will help the country further reduce its economic reliance on the oil and gas industry
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December 27, 2018
27
Dec'18
Top 10 Middle East stories of 2018
Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Middle East enterprise IT stories of 2018
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November 26, 2018
26
Nov'18
China leapfrogs US in supercomputer deployments
China has more than twice the number of supercomputers than the US, and it is finding a ready market for its Lenovo supercomputers among US tech companies in Ireland, the latest top 500 supercomputer list reveals
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November 06, 2018
06
Nov'18
Smart Dubai platform is the backbone of the city's transformation
Aisha bin Bishr, director general at Smart Dubai Office, talks about the Smart Data platform and soon-to-be-unveiled UAE Pass, a digital ID and signature which is being touted as one of the foundations a city needs to transform
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November 06, 2018
06
Nov'18
GSMA urges fresh action on 5G mobile spectrum
Mobile industry body says time is running out to ready enough radio frequency spectrum in the appropriate bands to account for the demands of 5G mobile networks
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November 01, 2018
01
Nov'18
How Bahrain plans to become a regional fintech hub
Bahrain is a small island with big plans for its financial technology industry