Hundreds of senior ICT professionals welcomed expert insights at the 'Gitex Global Leaders Summit' held on Sunday in Dubai.

The summited themed ‘Innovation in Leadership’ witnessed some of the most inspirational and sought-after authorities in the industry address te gathering.

Keynote speaker Chris Dedicoat, president EMEA of Cisco, stressed the importance of technology in achieving sustainable growth in the Mena region.

He told the audience that technology is crucial to growth and development in the regional economy, and a prime driver of efficiency, cost-effectiveness and organic expansion.

Rod Beckstrom president and CEO, ICANN, delivered a speech on new ‘generic Top Level Domains’ (gTLDs), a development, he said could “mark one of the biggest changes in the internet’s history”.

In a Middle East market, he said it would be particularly relevant because the new gTLDs can be in Arabic and could lead to broad opportunities for organizations across the region and ultimately lead to increased internet usage.

Beckstrom pointed out that ICANN’s new gTLD Programme had been years in the making.

'Many issues needed to be addressed before it could launch, such as the protection of intellectual property and community interests, consumer protection, and ensuring the stability and security of the Internet.'

'The programme has the potential to enhance competition and consumer choice, and to stimulate online innovation. For a Middle East market this is a great step forward in terms of being able to use Arabic and increase internet use and penetration in what is already a rapidly evolving Internet region,' he added.

Following Beckstrom, Giorgio di Paolo, IT Strategy Lead  IGEM, Accenture, Lead Sponsor of the Global Leaders Summit, spoke on ‘The Context For Innovation – Unofficial Thoughts On Tech Trends’, an insight into not only the technical developments, but the leadership and vision that drives the ICT market into new products and tangents.

The rising star of new technology, Pranav Mistry, wowed audiences with live demonstrations of his human data transfer invention Sparsh, a cloud computing application that allows users to become a physical part of the transfer.

Among his latest prototypes, Mistry has invented a smartphone app that can control all appliances in a house from changing a TV channel to running a bath at the right temperature in another room.

Mistry said: 'The Middle East and India have an inherent quest and curiosity for innovation and are problem solvers at heart. Through the centuries we have had our own unique problems and have had to overcome them in our own unique way.'

'From that, there is a natural link to technology and a culture where concepts can become reality. This is a region of innovation,' he remarked.

William Saito, CEO, InTecur KK, government advisor, venture capitalist and named as a 2011 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, was the final speaker of the day, whose presentation ‘From Science to Implementation’ was well-received by the audience.

Saito told the delegates that innovation and technology development in the Middle East is among the fastest in the world.

“The progression in science and innovation isn’t created equally,” he stated.

“This is a region where there are quantum leaps and technology has skipped generations and we have reached a stage in science where the move from concept to realization has moved from centuries, to decades, to years and even months in some cases,” he added.
 
Making its debut today, the new Gitex feature focusing on Cyber Security was opened by Jeff Moss, chief security officer at ICANN whose ‘Individual Acts of Community Immunity’ speech highlighted the importance of collective security, breaking the chain of mass software infection.

Tomorrow’s Cyber Security speakers will include Jay Bavisi, Co-Founder & President, EC Council, and Black Hat’s Richard Thieme, who will provide insights into the future of hacking.-TradeArabia News Service