Interview – Five Minutes with Roger Kakhia, Executive Vice President of MidEast Data Systems UAE

Five Minutes with Roger Kakhia, the Executive Vice President of MidEast Data Systems UAE (MDS UAE)

Roger Kakhia, EVP, MDS, was recently featured in the Five Minutes section of Network Middle East magazine. In this exclusive interview, Roger has spoken about recent IT trends in the region, the growing need for automation within the IT industry and how MDS is continuously innovating to contribute to this growth.

What is your current role in the ICT industry in the Middle East and what are your responsibilities?

At MDS, our focus is to provide customers greater value and help decision makers experience the add-on benefits we bring to the table. As the executive vice president of the company, this is one of my main responsibilities. My other focus is to create a well-rounded channel ecosystem where partner products and solutions are perfectly fitted to provide our customers with customized and comprehensive range of services.

What is the best part of your job?

For me, it is very invigorating to be a part of the growth process not just for our company, but also for our customers. The ability to visualize and streamline our efforts to achieve our long-term goals plays a major role in ensuring that we put in our collective efforts. Leading the team towards this brings me immense pleasure.

How innovative do you think the network industry in the Middle East is and how can it improve?

The network is at the heart of the way in which data is being processed and consumed across various sectors; finance, health- care, education, transport, communication and a host of others. While consumers are benefiting from this transformation, service providers themselves are streamlining their work processes, resulting in better financial outcomes. What we envisage for the future of networks is the added emphasis on security, as well as focusing on creating highly flexible and scalable networks for an enhanced customer experience.

What are the upcoming trends or products in your sector?

Needless to say, both governments and enterprises are laying the groundwork for a digital future. This includes major changes in their IT infrastructure and will pave the path for the investment and implementation of their digital transformation strategies. We foresee a greater demand in Cloud Services, Managed Services and Managed Security Services.

Automation is a growing movement in your field. How is your company adapting to this development?

For us, automation is all about adapting to the changing needs of the customer to achieve a higher return on investment, or ROI. As the largest Systems Integrator and IT services provider in the region, we place strong emphasis on continuously deploying the latest technologies. We strive to maximize automation in order to improve our business processes, and elevate our service goals for enhanced customer as well as employee experiences.

Top 5

Favorite film? “The Green Mile.”

iOS or Android? “iOS.”

Favorite gadget? “Drones.”

Favorite band or musician? “Abba.”

Favorite book? “Who Moved My Cheese.”