Zain Group kicked-off its fifth Zain Technology Conference (ZTC) today at ART Rotana Amwaj Islands Hotel, with this year’s theme being under the title of ‘Transforming Our World’. This reflects Zain’s strategic aspirations of delivering on a compelling digital lifestyle to its customers.
The opening ceremony was attended by over 700 delegates including His Excellency Engineer Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications; Zain Bahrain Chairman, His Excellency Shaikh Ahmed Bin Ali Al Khalifa; Zain Group CEO, Scott Gegenheimer; Zain Bahrain General Manager, Mohammed Zainalabedin; as well as Zain Group CTO Hisham Allam.
The packed three-day event makes ZTC 2015 one of the biggest technology exhibitions held in the Kingdom, with over 65 global technology providers and vendors participating and showcasing their latest digital innovations and technologies. The conference officially kicked off today, and incorporated a number of keynote presentations including an opening address by Dr. Jean-Pierre Siri, Executive Director of Legal Affairs at Bahrain's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), and further presentations by Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia Networks, and research firm Gartner. These prepared addresses are being followed by 95 pre-arranged breakout sessions to address the latest trends in the sector.
A wide range of technology and business topics are being discussed at the event including the Road-map to 5G, Core Virtualization Evolution, Business Enablement Solutions, Big Data Analytics & Cloud Services, Customer Quality of Experience, Services Innovation, Energy Efficiency, and Site Optimization.
On this occasion, His Excellency Engineer Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications said “With the continuous development of telecommunications technologies, consumers and businesses are increasingly drawn to adopting a digital lifestyle. This generates greater demand for telecommunications solutions which in turn necessitates the need for the provision of a sound regulatory framework and infrastructure. As the policy maker for the sector, the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications works with the TRA to provide support to telecom companies and service providers in providing integrated solutions in more efficient, productive, and innovative ways, in order to position Bahrain amongst the most advanced countries in the field.”
“We are extremely proud of the highly successful grand opening of Zain Technology Conference 2015, one of the biggest technology conferences in the region, and the most important for Zain,” commented Shaikh Ahmed Bin Ali Al Khalifa, Chairman of Zain Bahrain. “Hosting such events is in line with the Kingdom’s Economic Vision 2030, which was launched back in October 2008 by His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, adopting globalization and increased competition and sustainability through innovation, supported by the clear direction outlined for the continued development of the Kingdom’s economy.
Shaikh Ahmed also noted that the Kingdom’s economy is fully supported by the esteemed government, led by His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister and the support of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister. He also extended his thanks and appreciation to His Excellency Engineer Kamal Bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications for being the patron of the event.
Scott Gegenheimer, Zain Group CEO said, ““We are pleased to be hosting ZTC 2015 in Bahrain once again, having held our very first technology conference in the Kingdom back in 2009. We are also proud to be an active participant in the Kingdom’s ICT sector, having invested over US$100 million in the last year alone to revamp our 4G network to better serve our customers, reflecting Zain’s faith in the Kingdom’s future prosperity. Digital innovation and its implementation to enhance our customers’ mobile experience lies at the heart of Zain’s vision.”
Zain has recognized the enormous growth opportunities available in the B2B, Enterprise, Smart City spaces, and these sectors have become major areas of focus for the Group, requiring the full support of all its partners. Demand for mobility, broadband, virtualization, cloud based services and enhanced customer experience are drivers for transformation in the modern ICT space and Zain is on a perennial mission to deliver cutting-edge apps, services and devices to support these mega-trends.
The conference is comprehensively covered live on Zain Group’s social media channels, covering many aspects of the event.