CEOs in the UAE should have tech background to succeed – VMware study

Nearly three quarters (70 per cent) of business leaders in the UAE believe having C-level executives with a tech background helps improve efficiency across the whole organisation.

Responding to a VMware survey, 50 per cent of the respondents said tech-savvy leaders lead to better business performance, 58 per cent cited greater innovation potential, while 50 per cent mentioned better customer experiences.

Against a backdrop of seismic disruption, digital transformation has been validated in helping leaders and their organisations adapt to fast-changing market dynamics, changing business models and employee mobilisation.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, UAE businesses highlighted the benefits of modernised applications, for example, to enhance their performance and resilience. Almost two thirds (63 per cent) of respondents highlighted the role of modernised apps to enable employees to work remotely, and 42 per cent referenced their ability to continuously push updates in response to the changing landscape. Up to 49 per cent said it would enable reliable uptime.

Ninety per cent of app developers and technology leaders in the UAE believe that without successfully modernising applications, organisations will not be able to deliver a best-in-class customer experience.

Globally, more than 80 per cent of business leaders believe that enhancing application portfolios will improve the customer experience, which is directly tied to revenue growth.

“Business leaders have never been at the helm of so much change, so those with an inherent knowledge of technology and an understanding of how applications can help them adapt to any market conditions and shape their future performance and resiliency have a real advantage,” said Rasheed Al-Omari, principal business solutions strategist, SEMEA, VMware.

“Indeed, three-quarters of the world’s business leaders agree that a ‘technology inside’ leadership skillset will bring success.

“From the tens of millions of people and students now working and educating from home to governments creating contacting tracing apps in months, to banks being able to scale to provide significant revenue streams, to businesses and retailers looking at digital platform options almost overnight, this pandemic has driven a decade of digital transformation in a few months,” Al-Omari added.