050: RECESSION? WHAT RECESSION? How the Middle East is driving technology innovation and spend
Release Date: 05/23/2023
068: IoT Reality Check: Breaking Down the Latest Industry Benchmark Report
TechBurst Talks
Here's the complete description with show notes for Libsyn: IoT Reality Check: Fresh Insights from the Latest Benchmarking Report - Matt Hatton from Transforma Insights Breaks Down What's Really Working In this episode of TechBurst Talks, I sit down with Matt Hatton, founding partner at Transforma Insights, to dive deep into his latest IoT peer benchmark report covering 27 MNOs and MVNOs worldwide. Matt brings over 15 years of industry experience, having founded Machina Research (sold to Gartner in 2016) before launching Transforma Insights. We explore the most surprising findings from his...
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067: Why IoT Failed (And What's Finally Working) | Alistair Fulton on Microsoft Azure IoT, Semtech LoRa & Building IoT Ecosystems
TechBurst Talks
Why IoT Failed (And What's Finally Working) - Alistair Fulton After 25 years in IoT, Alistair Fulton has watched the industry make nearly every mistake possible—and he's not holding back about what went wrong. From incubating Microsoft's Azure IoT platform to growing Semtech's IoT division to $300M in revenue, Alistair witnessed the gap between IoT's trillion-dollar promises and harsh reality. This isn't another tech hype conversation—it's a brutally honest autopsy of IoT's failures and a rare look at what's actually working now. What You'll Discover: How inflated market forecasts...
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066: BEYOND SILOS: PropTech, Gen AI & the Future of Real Estate
TechBurst Talks
Antony Slumbers is a leading voice on the future of real estate, keynote speaker, and educator on AI for property leaders. Antony Slumbers doesn't just talk PropTech—he created it. Long before "PropTech" was even a word, he launched the UK's first commercial real estate website in 1995. Now he's teaching the industry how to survive what's coming next. This isn't your typical tech cheerleading session. Antony cuts through the noise to explain why PropTech's cooling hype actually signals its maturation. The party's over. Now comes the real work. The brutal truth? Most real estate companies are...
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065: BUILDING IOT TOGETHER: From Hype to Reality
TechBurst Talks
Building the IoT Ecosystem That Actually Works - Wienke Giezeman (The Things Industries) The Collaborative Approach That Made LoRaWAN a Global Success Wienke Giezeman didn't just build a company—he built an entire ecosystem. As CEO and co-founder of The Things Industries, Wienke has orchestrated one of the most successful collaborative strategies in IoT, growing from a startup idea to managing 3 million connected devices and $4M in annual recurring revenue. This isn't another IoT hype conversation. It's the inside story of how open collaboration, shared infrastructure, and ecosystem...
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064: CONNECTIONS vs COLLECTIONS: Why Telcos Keep Losing
TechBurst Talks
The Reality Check You Need Jeff Apcar spent 24 years as a Distinguished Engineer at Cisco and has zero patience for tech BS. After 46 years in the industry, he's watched every hype cycle crash and burn. What's Actually Broken 5G? Overhyped garbage that nobody can monetize. IoT? A connection problem pretending to be a collection solution. Service providers? Becoming irrelevant dinosaurs while hyperscalers eat their lunch. What's Actually Scary But quantum computing? That's where things get genuinely interesting—and genuinely terrifying. Jeff breaks down what's actually working in tech,...
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063: THE SHIFT TO SPACE: The Rise of Orbital Computing
TechBurst Talks
Space-Based Computing Revolution: Building Data Centers in Orbit with Rob DeMillo From JPL to Orbital Computing: The Future of Space Technology In this episode of Tech Burst Talks, Charles sits down with Rob DeMillo — former JPL engineer, serial entrepreneur with 7 exits from 9 startups, SparkLabs Venture Partner, and CEO of Sophia Space — to explore the cutting-edge world of orbital data centers and space-based computing. What You'll Learn About Space Computing Rob shares his extraordinary journey from space science at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to revolutionizing cloud...
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062: TELCO'S FUTURE? Look to the Middle East, Not the West
TechBurst Talks
Middle East's Tech Revolution: From Regional Ambitions to Global Leadership with Nokia's Danial Mausoof The Middle East's Rise as a Global Telecom Innovation Hub In this episode of TechBurst Talks, Charles sits down with Danial Mausoof, Vice President of Mobile Networks for the Middle East & Africa at Nokia, to explore how the Middle East tech ecosystem is transforming from regional player to global innovation leader. Discover why the region is no longer playing catch-up but is actively leapfrogging global telecom standards through strategic government investments, cutting-edge...
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061: CORPORATE CROSSFIRE: Navigating the New Global Order
TechBurst Talks
Corporate Survival in the US-China Crossfire: Geopolitical Intelligence for Asia Business Leaders Navigating Supply Chain Wars and Superpower Tensions with GeoPol Asia's Andrew Staples In this explosive TechBurst Talks episode, host Charles sits down with Andrew Staples, battle-tested geopolitical expert who transitioned from The Economist to founding GeoPol Asia, his own strategic advisory firm. Together, they dissect how corporations across Asia are caught in the crossfire of escalating US-China tensions, tariff wars, and supply chain disruptions. This isn't academic analysis — it's...
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060: SMARTPHONES DISRUPTED: Tariffs, Trends & Turmoil
TechBurst Talks
Global Tech Supply Chains Under Siege: Tariffs, AI Revolution, and the Race Beyond Smartphones Smartphone Industry Disruption and Manufacturing Pivot Strategies with Bryan Ma In this episode of TechBurst Talks, Bryan Ma joins Charles to unpack the seismic shifts reshaping the global smartphone and device industry. From US-China tariff warfare to Apple's manufacturing exodus toward India and Vietnam, they break down how supply chains are being reengineered in real time. Discover the latest AI integrations transforming everything from smartphones to PCs, plus exclusive insights from Computex...
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059: AI & Advertising: From MAD MEN to MACHINE LEARNING
TechBurst Talks
AI-Powered Billboard Revolution: How Digital Out-of-Home Advertising is Disrupting Traditional Marketing Real-Time Ad Targeting Meets Street-Level Intelligence with Flow City's Dagny Lacka 🚀 AI is transforming advertising, and in this TechBurst Talks episode, we dive deep into how digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is revolutionizing the marketing landscape. Charles sits down with Dagny Lacka, founder of Flow City, who explains how her company uses AI algorithms, foot traffic analytics, and real-time bidding to make billboard advertising as dynamic and targeted as online ads. No more...
info_outlineThis is the first in a series on Technology and Innovation trends in the Middle East. Things have gone quiet in Asia post-pandemic - and the global recession has not helped.
However, the Middle East is thriving.
Hardly a week goes by where there isn’t another jaw-dropping announcement related to emerging technologies like AI, autonomous vehicles and the Metaverse in the Middle East - or the massive investment in initiatives like Saudi Arabia’s NEOM.
To help us delve deeper into the Middle East’s technology innovation landscape, I’m joined by Danial Mausoof. He's based in Abu Dhabi, but covers the Middle East and Africa as part of his job, so we are lucky to have him with us to share his unique insights and perspectives.
Show Notes:
02:45 Key market trends in the Middle East
06:30 The Talent Issue: How the Middle East is starting to build a local talent pool to drive and support innovation
08:30 Overview of the three key markets: Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Abu Dhabi
13:00 Why the recession has not derailed tech spend in the Middle East.
16:45 The state of 5G in the Middle East - and why they could lead in 5G monetisation
23:00 Artificial Intelligence: How the combination of investment, education and regulation is making the Middle East a leader in AI
28:00 Smart Cities: How the greenfield Smart Cities like NEOM will drive global innovation
33:00 Autonomous Vehicles: How the Middle East’s progressive regulatory environments have ensured they will lead in self-driving taxis and, believe it or not, flying taxis
40:00 Our future forecasts - when will we go beyond the hype on….
- 5G
- 5G monetisation
- Artificial Intelligence
- Large Language Models (e.g. ChatGPT)
- Metaverse
- Smart Cities
- Autonomous Vehicles