< PreviousForging the future: HOW KUWAIT’S B. ONLINE IS BUILDING A BETTER – AND MORE ACCESSIBLE – TOMORROW BY HARNESSING THE PRESENT AND THE PAST 20CommsMEA July/August 2019www.commsmea.com COVER INTERVIEW B. ONLINE21CommsMEA July/August 2019www.commsmea.com COVER INTERVIEW B. ONLINEThe world was very different in 1991. Smartphones hadn’t been invented yet. The Soviet Union was still a thing. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls had only won a single NBA championship. Dubai was still a fairly small city not that much different than others in the region. Princess Diana and Prince Charles were still an item. You get the idea. The point is, considering the pace of in- novation today, 1991 feels like a lifetime ago. But that’s when Kuwait’s B. Online got its start – making it one of the Middle East’s oldest Internet providers. Chief executive officer Dina Al-Essa says one reason for its longevity has been its ability to differentiate itself from its various competitors in the market. “We are proud to witness the success and the competitive edge B. Online has achieved, amidst the high competition level in the market,” she explains. “Our customer partnership strategy has resulted in a long-term relationship with our clients – and not just your classic after- sale approach. We work with our clients as partners on any given project, where we provide individualised, tailor-made solu- tions and provide cohesive strategic ap- proach. This has made us committed to continuously update and invest in our in- frastructure and ensure we partner with the world’s leading solution providers.” She says more. “As an example – and in a bid to achieve both goals – we have just finalised revamp- ing our national network [in Kuwait] by installing the most advanced and state-of- the-art optical network that serves multi- gigabit transport throughput. [It is a] top of the line MPLS Network powered by Juniper Networks and ADVA Optical networking systems. Furthermore, we are continuously investing in our technical expertise, to en- sure high standards are being delivered.” Of course, being in business since the days before even Britney Spears or the Spice Girls means Al-Essa and the B. Online team are uniquely qualified to take a step back and examine the technological and societal changes they’ve witnessed – and to offer in- sights into how to possibly move forward in terms of development in the region. “The current evolution in ICT product lines, such as home automation, intelligent surveillance services and IoT-enabled sen- sor are all playing major roles towards ICT transformation,” she explains. “To fulfil this transformation, agile com- munication services are required to provide high broadband and stable connections, to be able to meet the demand of such product lines and services.” Al-Essa is quick to point out that her company is also about far more than just making money and offering the latest tech products and services. There’s a fair bit of social good involved, too. One example: B. Online’s initiative for free public wireless Internet in Kuwait, known as SAMA. As Al-Essa explains: “SAMA is the brain- child of B. Online via B. Wireless towards our corporate social responsibility agenda. As a market leader, we pledged to pro- vide free Internet service covering major landmarks in Kuwait – and have already equipped public areas with heavy foot traf- fic with fast and reliable free WiFi.” And yet there’s also far more to it than just that. “SAMA is our contribution towards im- proving ICT in Kuwait as a partial fulfilment to His Highness the Amir’s Vision 2035 and To young women, I would definitely advise them to follow their passion and not to be discouraged or intimidated by any male dominant sector or industry. The barriers are diminishing with time – and soon gender parity will come to an end.” - Dina Al-Essa, B. Online CEO Almost 30 years is a long time for any company to be in business. But for Kuwait’s B. Online, it means they’re one of the oldest Internet providers in the Middle East. But the company has not just survived, but thrived over that time – and now, as CEO Dina Al-Essa explains, it’s prepared for even greater success. 22CommsMEA July/August 2019www.commsmea.com COVER INTERVIEW B. ONLINEthe Kuwait National Development Plan (KNDP),” says Al-Essa. “On an international level, Kuwait has signed the United Nations Sustainable De- velopment Goals (SDGs) that consist of 17 goals. We believe that SAMA is also con- tributing towards SDG 9 – ‘Industry, Inno- vation and Infrastructure’ – that calls for improving technological solutions towards national development in any given sector.” B. Online is also helping to promote equality in the Gulf’s ICT industry. Al-Essa herself has been CEO of the company since late 2018 – making her one of the few female CEOs of a major ICT company in the region. Previously the director of operations and strategic business initiatives, she says she feels an extra sense of responsibility in be- ing a good role model and showing young women that they, too, can be CEOs of large businesses. “Yes, of course I do,” she says. “As much as it is a great honour and a breakthrough to be nominated for this role, we cannot deny that it comes with a burden- some responsibility. Globally, ICT is one of The current evolution in ICT product lines, such as home automation, intelligent surveillance services and IoT-enabled sensor are all playing major roles towards ICT transformation. To fulfil this transformation, agile communication services are required to provide high broadband and stable connections, to be able to meet the demand of such product lines and services.” - Dina Al-Essa, B. Online CEO the most male-dominant sectors and as per the OECD 2018 report; women make up less than 30% across the board. So imagine the gender parity in our region within the tech organisations. “Therefore, I speak to fellow women in the industry when I say we need to be more present in terms of encouraging the younger generation and providing support, mentorship and some sort of community to empower women in ICT in the region.” And just like B. Online has continued to innovate and push towards ever-greater success in a tough industry to crack, Al- Essa has some sage advice for young wom- en thinking of a career in ICT or another STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) field. “To young women, I would definitely ad- vise them to follow their passion and not to be discouraged or intimidated by any male dominant sector or industry,” she says. “The barriers are diminishing with time – and soon gender parity will come to an end.” She has one last thing to add, too. “The best advice I can provide the young- er generation is to follow their dreams – and to continuously invest in themselves.” I speak to fellow women in the industry when I say we need to be more present in terms of encouraging the younger generation and providing support, mentorship and some sort of community to empower women in ICT in the region.” - Dina Al-Essa, B. Online CEO Our customer partnership strategy has resulted in a long-term relationship with our clients – and not just your classic after-sale approach. We work with our clients as partners on any given project, where we provide individualised, tailor-made solutions and provide cohesive strategic approach.” - Dina Al-Essa, B. Online CEO 23CommsMEA July/August 2019www.commsmea.com COVER INTERVIEW B. ONLINEThe CommsMEA Awards are just a mere four months away. The time to get ready is now. That includes entering and becoming a sponsor. FOUR MONTHS AWAY: THE 2019 COMMSMEA AWARDS Guests were glammed up. Congrats were given. Speeches conducted. Fancy food was consumed. Net- working was done in spades. A good time was had by all. But that was last year’s CommsMEA Awards. The annual fete has been going on for a number of years now, and each year continues the tradition: that of honour- ing and celebrating the very best of the industry over the past year, while looking forward to the next. With just a few months ago until this year’s edition, it’s probably a good time to start thinking about entering. After all, doesn’t everyone love to be recognised by their peers as being the very best of the best? That’s what we thought. When they do take place, the Awards – as always – are expected to attract scores of luminaries from the telco and tech indus- tries from throughout the Middle East and Africa (and possibly beyond), including top executives, movers, shakers, shot-callers, rising stars, and more. Oh, and there’s also a chance to be a sponsor – meaning a chance to be seen by the most important people in the industry. You can’t put a price on that. Booking a table or even getting your name/logo on all sorts of things as a spon- sor is a fairly simple process. If interested in sales and branding opportunities around the Awards, you can contact Andrew Cover on +971 4 444 3502 or send an email to andrew.cover@itp.com. Take our word for it that this is some- thing you won’t want to miss. That is, not if you’re keen on something that could, po- tentially, be life-changing. Stranger things have happened, yes? Virgin won two awards at the 2018 CommsMEA Awards. GET INVOVLED Want to be a sponsor of the 2019 CommsMEA Awards? Congrats! You’ve made the right choice. Contact Andrew Cover on +971 4 444 3502 or email andrew.cover@itp. com for more information and details. We’ll see you there! The 2018 CommsMEA Awards took place at Rhodes W1 in Dubai. There were a lot of smiles at the 2018 edition of the CommsMEA Awards. Avaya’s Faten Halabi, le, and CommsMEA editor Ben Mack. WANT TO ENTER THE 2019 COMMSMEA AWARDS? Head to www.commsmea.com/awards. Hurry- the deadline is Sunday, September 1. UPDATE 2019 COMMSMEA AWARDS 24www.commsmea.comCommsMEA July/August 2019 The trophies given out to winners at the 2018 CommsMEA Awards. Guests at the 2018 CommsMEA Awards. Guests at the 2018 CommsMEA Awards. Guests at the 2018 CommsMEA Awards. Huawei was a winner at the 2018 CommsMEA Awards. Guests at the 2018 CommsMEA Awards. CommsMEA sales manager Andrew Cover served as the MC of the 2018 edition of the event. The main sponsor of the 2018 CommsMEA Awards was Huawei. Guests at the 2018 CommsMEA Awards. Guests at the 2018 CommsMEA Awards. UPDATE 2019 COMMSMEA AWARDS 25www.commsmea.comCommsMEA July/August 2019An ITP Media Group Publication www.commsmea.com Critical analysis for telecommunications executives JULY/AUGUST 2019 Download the free CommsMEA app and be the fi rst to read the latest issue on your mobile devices. KNOWLEDGE PARTNER SPECIAL REPORT THE FUTURE OF BSS FEATURE Servicing the BSS engine MARKET FOCUS BSS and the cloud PG. 34 PG. 30 Discussing the business of BSS TIME TO TALK PG. 29DOWNLOAD OR UPDATE THE APP NOW ON YOUR IOS DEVICETechnology. Enabling technology. Sounds a bit like a Catch-22, no? Or one of those “not responding” popups on your comput- er monitor when you press CTRL + ALT + DELETE that, itself, is not responding? To most of us, the idea of business sup- port systems – or BSS – is somewhat mys- terious. We know it’s important, but we don’t know the specific ins and outs of how it works; in that way, it’s not unlike the Internet itself. But it’s not magic to those who know a thing or two about it – people also known as ICT professionals. For them, BSS is sec- ond nature: a technology like any other, and a simple one that they just know, like they know the backs of their own hands. Or is that really the case? Let’s be honest here: how often have you been a situation, where someone has told you something, and you’ve just kept on nodding or saying “right” or “exactly,” even though the con- Are business support systems a business like any other? And how, specifically, do they help businesses run their, well, businesses? Getting down to the business of business support systems FROM THE EDITOR To most of us, the idea of business support systems – or BSS – is somewhat mysterious. We know it’s important, but we don’t know the specific ins and outs of how it works; in that way, it’s not unlike the Internet itself.” Ben Mack is editor of CommsMEA. versation is making about as much sense as things would if an actual marmoset de- cided to pick up a cricket bat and lead my beloved New Zealand Black Caps to World Cup glory? Yeah… not terribly likely (both parts of that sentence, unfortunately). But never fear, dear reader! You’re in good company. After all, these Special Re- ports, and the CommsMEA Coffee Club which convenes each month to discuss the topics at hand, are all about education as much as they are about robust debate. And what better topic to continue this lit- tle tradition of ours than the technology needed to enable our, well, technology? How, exactly, does it all work? How are things changing? And, more importantly, how can telcos harness such technologies to their benefit while also benefitting the general public at large? It’s a fine July day at your local café. Because of that, our debating society is meeting around a table on sidewalk, the fresh air almost as stimulating at the fresh perspective a young man with a wispy beard and a hunger in his eyes and passion in his voice is offering about the potential of business support systems. Don’t worry about walking in to order – the staff here are so used to us by now they’ve been com- ing out every few minutes to take orders as new members arrive. But let’s listen in to what this young man has to say – and as al- ways, feel free to ask questions or jump in with your own contributions. But before you do, all listen to what our Knowledge Partner for this special report, Nexign, has to say, too. Let’s get down to the busi- ness of business support systems… 29www.commsmea.com BSS SPECIAL REPORT EDITOR’S INTRO CommsMEA July/August 2019Next >