Arabian Business / An ITP Media Gr oup P ublic ation Dubai Mumbai London New York UAE: AED 15 BAHRAIN: BHD 1.500 OMAN: OMR 1.500 KUWAIT: KWD 1.200 #21/11 May 31 – June 13, 2020 Shehab Gargash:www.arabianbusiness.comSUBSCRIBE NOW +971 4444 3000 www.itp.com/subscription 3 C OMMENT The future of work The pandemic has accelerated the introduction of an entirely digital workplace through remote working policies and virtual collaboration, says Millicent Clarke 16 arabianbusiness#arabian businessarabianbusiness #21/11 May 31 – June 13, 2020 Arabian Business /Contents C OVER S T O RY “THIS IS ABOUT SURVIVAL” Gargash Group managing director and CEO Shehab Gargash has a grim short-term forecast for the coronavirus-era economy. But out of the ashes, opportunity will arise FIR S T WORD q We may have to reimagine travel all over again, as Covid-19 could kill off business class” 10 to all vid-19 Lubna Hamdan Editor Lubna.Hamdan@itp.comC ONTENT S 12 THE BIG S T O RY Covid-19 opportunities David Stubbs of JP Morgan is advising looking at digital transformation, healthcare and sustainability 32 LIQUID AS SET S Restaurant review: Zuma What it's like to dine out in Dubai’s once bustling restaurant scene during Covid-19 How businesses can support mental health in the workplace Workplaces could play a vital part in supporting employees’ mental wellbeing, according to an expert 34 FIVE THINGS T O KNOW ABOUT... 4 Vol. 21/11, May – June 2020 22 SPE CIAL THE ARABIAN BUSINESS INDIAN BILLIONAIRES CLUB From retail to healthcare and education, Arabian Business proudly presents the industry superstars who are continuing to make a difference in the UAE and beyond THE INDIAN CLUB BILLIONAIRESWEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 2020 CATERERMIDDLEEAST.COM/AWARDS #CATERERAWARDS FOR SPONSORSHIP EMMA BARNETT SALES MANAGER TEL: +971 52 421 3586 E: EMMA.BARNETT@ITP.COM FOR EVENT ENQUIRIES TERI DUNSTAN EVENTS MANAGER TEL: +971 4 444 3227 E: TERI.DUNSTAN@ITP.COM FOR TABLE BOOKINGS ANTHONY CHANDRAN TABLE SALES EXECUTIVE TEL: +971 4 444 3685 E: ANTHONY.CHANDRAN@ITP.COM MEDIA PARTNERS CATEGORY SPONSORS Laundry Equipment Trading LLC Kitchen &INDEP TH NEWS S U B S CRIBE NOW www.itp.com/subscriptions +971 4 4443000 AD VER TISEMENT EXPER T VIEWS EXCLU SIVE INTERVIEWS PUBLISHED BY AND © 2020 ITP MEDIA GROUP FZ-LLC. 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It may be time to reimagine fl ying all over again distancing than pampering as they minimise interaction. In the world of Covid-19, there’s little difference between business and economy class passengers. Not so special after all? Say good bye to hot towels and fine dining table set ups and hello to plastic trays and disposable cutlery. Even nibbles like peanuts are no longer a luxury airlines can afford. It doesn’t sound like much of an experience, does it? And why would companies fly me or anyone else out for a story when we can get the job done over a free Zoom meeting? Some may beg to defer, however, arguing that the intricate details of mergers and acquisitions or financial audits need to be done in person. In fact, in a Twitter poll where I asked whether Covid-19 will kill off business class, the majority of nearly 200 voters said no, while the remaining majority said it will temporarily suffer before re-emerging. “There’s going to be heaps more value with [business class],” said one user, “especially in award flights in premium classes going forward. Airlines are already offering crackers deals for points purchasing.” “I think it will be more popular as people will want the extra space,” said another. Pent up demand While ticket prices have gone through the roof since the start of Covid-19, they have a point. Pent up demand will eventually lead to lower fares and ultimately, the return of business class. Just as Dubai hotels are reducing rates to convince residents to have staycations, so will airlines reduce fares. How else can you convince people to fly if it’s more expensive? If people are still worried about dining out, they’ll need a lot of convincing to fly. But there’s no doubt that people will miss and want to travel. If they are slowly going back to dining in places like Zuma, they will fly Emirates and Etihad soon. Albeit, like myself, many might not care where they sit as long as they get to travel, and I will never complain about airplane food again. But I don’t want to imagine a world without business class, without the warm dark wood in the Emirates lounge, without being called by my first name as a flight attendant takes my order – I’ll even miss the Instagram posts boasting about an upgrade. I’m just hoping those won’t be a thing of the past with a sad #throwback to go with them. THE FIRST TIME I EVER FLEW business class, the bit I enjoyed more than the flight itself was the check in process. Even though the airline said I didn’t need to show up at the airport until 90 minutes before boarding, I got there three hours early. Just so I could hang around the check in desk and be seen by the hundreds of passengers in line for the economy check in. I have to admit, it made me feel good. Special. Everyone probably thought I was rich, not knowing the ticket was paid for by a company I was travelling to meet for a story. I wasn’t the only one. For a multitude of reasons, business class travel has pretty much become an industry in itself. Whilst airlines only make 60 percent of their revenues by selling tickets to passengers, business class accounts for 12 percent of all passengers (pre-Covid-19) but a staggering 75 percent of airline profits. And a huge chunk of that has come from corporate travel, with companies willing to shell out more than 10 times the price of an economy ticket for executives flying anywhere. The real game changer came in 2008 when Emirates unveiled its A380 super jumbo jet, with the entire top deck dedicated to business and first class. Over the next decade, airlines were desperate to outdo each other with the lavish offerings for premium travellers. By the time Etihad launched its first A380 in December 2014, The Penthouse concept had been introduced. Etihad’s then boss James Hogan described it as “flying reimagined” and he was right – it was nothing short of spectacular. But it may be time to reimagine all over again. Covid-19 has devastated the airline industry beyond repair. This is not a case of waiting for a vaccine and then everything will be okay. That is why Emirates, by its own admission, is doing a huge cost review. Job cuts are certain – Bloomberg says these could be as high as 30,000, while Etihad announced job losses across several areas. This is not to mention business class perks that once made me rush to the airport three hours earlier have now been stripped. The extra attention you pay for is gone. Flight attendants will focus more on social u #Throwback Will business class become a thing of the past? 75% The percentage of airline profi ts that come from business class, according to pre-Covid-19 dataarabianbusiness.com 9 SPO TLIGHT Since its inception, Expo 20020 Dubai has strived to push the boundaries of innovation and create new standards of excellence for all future mega-events. As Offi cial Digital Network Partner of Expo 2020 Dubai, Cisco is helping to make the event the most immersive and digitally connected in World Expo history, inspiring its visitors and capturing the world’s imagination. During the build up to Expo 2020 Dubai, Cisco’s solutions, which include office applications to book meeting rooms, Webex for videoconferencing and even AI-enabled voice assistants, have each played a pivotal role in providing greater convenience and effi ciency at the Expo site. While the event has now been rescheduled for an October 2021 start, work continues to evolve at rapid pace. Work is continuing and teams are leveraging Cisco’s technologies to create memorable experiences and deliver a World Expo that will positively impact future generations. When the UAE government mandated remote working for the public sector in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to reduce the spread of Covid-19, Expo 2020 Dubai was challenged with migrating a 2,000-strong workforce to a completely online working environment, overnight. As the transition began, with the close guidance and solutions provided by Cisco, employees have been able to continue working with minimal disruption. This is due in part to the existing IT and networking infrastructure at Expo 2020 Dubai, which Expo and its partners deployed to ensure smooth running pre-, during and post-event. To meet the demands of remote working and maintain business continuity, Cisco leveraged its expertise and solutions to elevate Expo 2020’s infrastructure a step further. At the heart of Expo 2020 Dubai’s communications is Cisco’s Webex platform, which enables file-sharing, videoconferencing and messaging, amongst a host of other features. Cisco’s teams have supported by providing tutorials and on-ground technical support to ensure all employees streamline processes and maximise the benefi ts that collaboration technology can provide. Since the transition to remote working began, Webex has also helped Expo 2020 employees achieve a much-needed degree of normality by promoting open channels of communication and facilitating real-time collaboration. Since March 15th, Webex has enabled a million minutes of virtual meetings between Expo 2020’s teams and their stakeholders, both internally and externally. Of around 28,000 meetings conducted during this time, a staggering 143,000 participants are estimated to have experienced the capabilities of Cisco’s Webex solution. As part of its commitment to empowering communities, Cisco has also extended the use of its Webex solution to the friends and families of Expo 2020 Dubai employees – ensuring that even in diffi cult times, open channels of communication continue to fl ourish. “Cisco’s commitment to our partnership, and the continuous support the team has extended to us is something we are truly grateful for. In forging a path together, we have been able to stay on track with our shared goal of creating an event that will capture the world’s imagination. Technologies such as Webex have proved to be a vital link for our employees as we continue to work from home. They have enabled us to remain connected, adapting with speed and ease, at the same time as practicing social distancing and protecting the wellbeing of our workforce,” said Mohammed AlHashmi, Chief Technology Offi cer, Expo 2020 Dubai. Another crucial point of consideration for Expo 2020 Dubai in its normal day-to-day operations, and especially during the transition to remote working, was that connectivity and security must be delivered hand-in-hand. Cisco Webex is designed with security built-in, from the ground up – testament to the company’s long-standing culture of and commitment to safeguarding business interests. When working from home proved to be necessary, Cisco elevated Expo 2020’s security posture a step further, by offering large-scale VPN deployment for an additional layer of protection for all remote workers. Cisco’s local Customer Experience team commissioned and tested a new Remote Access VPN system, which increased Expo 2020’s Webex capacity from 300 to 8,000 concurrent connections. “Our collaboration with Expo 2020 Dubai has always seen a great deal of synergy, with a shared understanding of technology’s potential for positive impact. When Expo 2020 Dubai was faced with the prospect of moving to a fully digital, remote working model, it was only natural for Cisco to extend our support with customised solutions to suit a workforce of this scale. As Expo’s employees continue to work from home, advanced collaboration and security features are helping to keep teams operating, business as usual,” said Adele Trombetta, Vice President Customer Experience, Cisco Middle East and Africa. The swift deployment and ongoing support from Cisco has enabled Expo 2020 Dubai to not only manage day-to- day operations and keep its workforce connected, but to also set new standards for remote working in the region. With 2,000 active Webex users in the team, Expo 2020 Dubai now has the UAE’s largest deployment of Cisco Webex technology in the UAE. Commenting on the achievement of connecting and supporting a record number of employees at Expo 2020 Dubai, Shukri Eid, Managing Director, Cisco Gulf Region said: “At Cisco, our commitment remains focussed on helping our partners, customers and local communities leverage technologies to sustain and prosper. In today’s unprecedented times, rapidly scaling Expo 2020’s IT infrastructure was made possible not only by the dedication of our own teams, but also those of Expo, which illustrated a willingness and determination towards ensuring seamless operations remained. With solutions such as our Remote Access VPN and Webex, Expo 2020’s employees will continue to stay connected and can focus on their mission to create an exceptional World Expo that will bring the world together and help shape a better post-pandemic future.” CISCO FACILITATES EXPO 2020 DUBAI’S TRANSITION TO REMOTE WORKING Transition of 2,000 employees sees Cisco provide its largest deployment of Webex in the UAE u Mohammed AlHashmi, Chief Technology Offi cer, Expo 2020 Dubai u Adele Trombetta, Vice President Customer Experience, Cisco MEA u Shukri Eid, Managing Director, Cisco Gulf RegionNext >