Be customer-centric to drive digital change

dubai — Companies in the IT sphere are racing against each other to provide the best experience with emerging technologies, and each component of the process play its own key role in delivering a holistic end-result.

“Artificial intelligence is extremely important from a global perspective. We put around it a commitment around intelligent transformation,” Richard Wilcox, data centre group regional director at Lenovo Middle East, told Khaleej Times.

“Leaders [in the industry] should leverage their position to drive this change.

Wilcox says that Lenovo, which has dual headquarters in Beijing and North Carolina, spends $1.2 billion annually in research and development, but of equal importance is working with customers and partners.

He singled out customers as a vital part of today’s digital process: putting them first is a critical aspect in driving change.

“They are now are a lot more educated; rather than being led, at the end of the day they’re the one leading,” he stressed.

“Therefore, customers should really be the essential focus of everything we do... they have their own roadmaps, wishes and wants,” he added.

When it comes to digital transformation in the UAE, Wilcox says that leadership is up to the challenge

Customers should really be the essential focus of everything [service providers do]... they have their own roadmaps, wishes and wants

Richard Wilcox, data centre group regional director at Lenovo Middle East

of getting out to the marketplace to understand the vision behind this drive — with the right tools and resources being continuously put in place. “Digital transformation stems from right people, the right things and the right order,” he added. “It should be a big passion for everyone.”

The entire ecosystem should work in harmony, Wilcox added, in order to ensure that the endresult will be successful for all involved. “We have made a decision to be a software-agnostic firm, allowing customer to have choice.”

“And then we develop — mixing the right hardware with right software to make devices more flexible — working hand-in-hand with customers amd partners to deliver end-to-end solutions.”