Mrs. Ghada Philip El Rassi, Executive Member of the Board of Directors of MEEZA and CEO of MEEZA Expansion, said that the 5th edition of Qatar Technology Conference and Exhibition (QITCOM 2019) will witness the announcement of new global partnerships of MEEZA Expansion, the international arm of MEEZA, aimed at enhancing its international presence.
"MEEZA, the pearl sponsor of QITCOM 2019, is implementing through MEEZA Expansion a well-thought-out and structured growth strategy targeting regional and global markets. That is based on comprehensive studies and analyses that show the best way to achieve success and optimize investment of the current MEEZA assets in high-potential international markets” said Ghada Philip El Rassi. And to the text of the dialogue:
- What is the size and nature of the company's participation in the 5th edition of the conference and exhibition QITCOM 2019?
This year MEEZA’s level of participation in QITCOM is Pearl sponsorship. MEEZA have participated at each and every QITCOM event since 2012. QITCOM is the highlight of our year in terms of showcasing our products, services, and strategic partnerships. QITCOM is the ideal platform to reach out to the Qatari business community, as well as meeting common objectives, especially in terms of helping the country to transition towards a knowledge-based economy.
- Is there any new technologies, services, projects or partnerships that the company is expected to unveil at the exhibition?
Our approach to this year’s event is in alignment with the event’s theme “Safe & Smart Cities”. We will be showcasing our experience in being the Master Systems Integrator (MSI) for the Msheireb Downtown Doha smart city combined with our wide range of Security Services operated from the MEEZA Security Operations Centre located at QSTP. New global partnerships will be announced at this year’s QITCOM, aiming to strengthen our international presence and diversify our services. MEEZA Expansion plays a major role in attracting international companies to establish headquarters and offices in Qatar to benefit from their experiences in the field. In addition, we will continue to cooperate with new partners to achieve more collaboration and develop MEEZA’s capabilities.
- What is the extent of benefits achieved by the company as a result of its participation in previous versions of the exhibition and conference?
Previous events have proven highly beneficial to our organisation in terms of our brand awareness and lead generation. Being a strategic partner of previous QITCOM events also created partnership opportunities with international companies visiting Qatar.
- We would like to shed light on the nature of the work of MEEZA and the stages of development that have gone through since the establishment?
MEEZA is an established end-to-end managed IT service and solution provider which was initially established in 2008 to accelerate the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) adoption in the country as a means of building a knowledge-based society in line with the Qatar National Visions 2030.
Our Tier III and ISO 27001 certified Data Centre services set the standards in the MENA region, guaranteeing 99.982% availability. We have a centralised Command & Control Centre (C3) that monitors and optimises MEEZA services for clients and we’ve launched the first Commercial Security Operations Centre (SOC) in Qatar, helping clients mitigate digital and cyber security threats. Over the past decade, MEEZA successfully established itself as the leading IT services provider in Qatar gaining valuable experience and know-how that can prove critical when competing in regional and international markets.
- What are the strategic details and services that MEEZA Expansion relies on to achieve its goals?
Building upon the foundations and successes within the Qatari market, in 2017 MEEZA Expansion was established as the international arm of MEEZA tasked with growing and diversifying the company’s business based on global and regional market studies. Our goal is to bring MEEZA’s unique brand and value offering to the world by expanding into potential global target markets. Our strategy of entering new markets is determined by conducting comprehensive research and analysis that shows the best method to achieve success and optimize MEEZA’s asset investments in international markets that are abundant with high potential.
Additionally, we rely on a range of macroeconomic indicators, technology trends, and market research and analysis to address market gaps. We also rely on strategic partnerships with technology giants, thus providing packages of unique services in the infrastructure as-a-service model as well as managed services and solutions.
- Speaking of services, what are the details of new services that have been recently launched or are still in the development and research process?
Since its establishment, the company has adopted an expansion strategy that is based on providing a range of managed services such as data storage and backup through three internationally certified data centres located in Qatar. This is a huge regional and international investment; therefore, we seek to promote our services abroad, especially since our cloud platform does not adhere to geographical constraints, which allows us to reach customers worldwide. In 2018, MEEZA Expansion launched MEEZA Business Cloud platform which is an agile, flexible and scalable set of services made available to users on demand via the internet from MEEZA’s servers as opposed to being provided from the client’s own on-premise servers.
Engaged in a strategic alliance with Microsoft and CloudBlue, MEEZA Business Cloud enables clients to subscribe and provision a wide range of products and services including Microsoft Office 365, Azure Public cloud services and Managed Services hosted within our Tier III Certified LEED Platinum Data Centre. MEEZA Business Cloud significantly reduces the cost of managing and maintaining IT systems and gives them the ability to collaborate, exchange knowledge, communicate and innovate from anywhere, and from any device they choose. In 2019, MEEZA Expansion launched Recovery as a Service (RECaaS) solution in partnership with Huawei Technologies to offer world-class recovery services through our centralised Business Cloud platform.
RECaaS solution provides a comprehensive and cost-effective portfolio of recovery services that deliver simplicity through orchestration, automation and rapid provisioning. Among other services, we offer the option to replicate the client’s complete IT infrastructure, applications and data to the cloud, enabling full system recovery within seconds and allowing for a truly comprehensive disaster recovery strategy. The range of services provided under the RECaaS solution are scalable, secure, and cost effective delivering ever increasing value to our clients. With our OPEX based monthly subscription models, clients get a vendor agnostic recovery solution with continuous data protection and real-time data replication features. We offer multiple recovery point and time objectives along with self-service and managed recovery services options to cater to all business needs.
- How do these services and solutions affect the company’s customer-base expansion plan?
There is no doubt that these services play an important role in the plan to grow the customer base of the company to develop new services based on the requests and needs of individual customers.
Since the establishment of MEEZA in 2008, the company has developed its customer base to include more than 20 large enterprises in various sectors. Just as the company has been successful in attracting new customers through its Business Cloud platform, RECaaS services have also successfully attracted 3 new customers since its announcement. Therefore, by participating in QITCOM 2019, we aim to promote and market these services and many other services that are being developed and provided in the Middle East by MEEZA.
MEEZA invests on research and development studies that targets the markets’ needs and customer requirements to provide products that ensure the company’s growth.
- What is the nature of the company’s role in supporting the country’s digital transformation plans?
Since its establishment, MEEZA has been a key pillar of Qatar’s plan to transform into a knowledge-based economy, which is already being implemented as the company works to help the business community transform digitally by spending on research development and the provisioning of a comprehensive plan for Master Systems Integrator group that the company manages for smart cities, which are large projects.
Technology is dramatically reshaping all sectors, from data storage to software installation and security systems. Cloud services are considered the best solution to many problems facing the process of digital transformation. According to Gartner, a market research firm, an estimated $1.3 trillion spent on IT, directly or indirectly, will be affected by the shift to cloud services by 2022. Therefore, we are helping our customers to transform digitally through our cloud solutions, which are cost effective and hassle-free.
- What about the most prominent projects that the company has implemented or are still implementing within the country and its developments?
We started working on Msheireb Downtown Doha (MDD) from the beginning, where we provided MDD with all information technology and integrator systems for all design, operation and maintenance processes. The contract was signed in 2012 and we are now in 2019 and we are one of the founders of this project, we are even considered by some as the backbone of the project.
Currently, we are in the operational phase by regulating how to deal with technology in all facilities, buildings, roads, and parking lots in order to facilitate the use of available e-government services and to monitor these services, which reduces the operating costs. MEEZA pledges to remain supportive of Msheireb Downtown Doha, as it represents one of the most advanced smart city projects in Qatar and the world. The Master System Integrator program will be directly or indirectly in cooperation with other projects such as the Compressed Air Energy Management System, Electronic Facilities, Corporate Information and Communication Technology, The ICT Phase, as a specific digital service provider to MDD's customers and employees until December 2020.
MEEZA is ready to cooperate with Lusail City project by sharing our experiences in the Msheireb Downtown Doha project, considering this as the closest model to the concept of smart cities within the country. It is also expected that MEEZA will play a key role in helping other countries to turn their smart city plans into a living reality, where the target markets in the region and the world are being studied in preparation to replicate the experiences of successes in building smart cities around the world.
- What are the most prominent services provided by the company to support the expansionary approach of the state in terms of smart city building?
Smart cities use the Internet of Things, data and technology to simplify services that make cities more connected, manageable, efficient and cost-effective. Smart cities also promote innovation, make people more connected, improve governance and use resources such as water and electricity in an efficient way. MEEZA has played a key role in the development of technological infrastructure in the design, operation and maintenance processes of Msheireb Downtown Doha, one of the world's leading smart cities.
There is close cooperation with the Ministry of Transport and Communication regarding cybersecurity, especially in light of the development of the legislative structure of this sector. We are working to help each of our clients meet the requirements of the Ministry or affiliates with regards to cybersecurity.