Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chairman of Police and General Security in Dubai, today formally inaugurated Future Technology Week-- a new umbrella concept collecting 4 specialised industry trade platforms, Gulf Information Security Expo & Conference (GISEC), Gulf Enterprise Mobility Exhibition & Conference (GEMEC), the Internet of Things Expo (IoTx) and The Big Data Show-- at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

Lieutenant General Tamim was joined on the inauguration by His Excellency Helal Saaed Almarri, Director General of the Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and Dubai World Trade Centre Authority, and a host of VVIP dignitaries and leading market specialists.

Arranged by DWTC and running across four halls up until Thursday, 31st March, Future Technology Week comes as the existing data explosion and interconnectivity produced by the Internet of Things (IoT) is driving an increasing requirement for people and organisations to secure important details and prevent possible cybersecurity attacks.

Gathering more than 10,000 local, regional and worldwide market specialists, professionals and innovation leaders, Future Technology Week has been developed as an all-encompassing platform to resolve important concerns and innovation advances in the worlds of cybersecurity, IoT, huge data and enterprise movement.

With recent research studies showing that more information has been created in the past 2 years than in the whole history of humanity, the digital data universe is forecasted to reach 44 zettabytes (44 trillion gigabytes) by 2020 according to IDC. With web use and smart device penetration rates among the world's greatest, Future Technology Week is shining the spotlight on the need for increased personal and industrial security in a Middle East region that will house 425 million web users by 2019 according to the 10th yearly Cisco Visual Networking Index Forecast.

"In our significantly connected world, info is gold and huge data is driving new investment opportunities for business in nearly every commercial sector. That data needs to be protected and organisations of all sizes and shape understand the have to protect their systems from hackers and possibly harmful information theft," said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, Exhibitions & Events Management, DWTC.

"Future Technology Week unites professionals from worldwide to check out and talk about crucial concerns consisting of cybersecurity, the shift towards IoT connectivity and the collection, analysis and monetisation of huge information that are now affecting organisations and individuals worldwide.".

On the very first day of Future Technology Week, the IoTX conference included key specialists discussing trends on IoT blueprint; connecting the unconnected, digital wearables; mitigating pervasive risks; and disrupting hardware. Headlining the first day of the conference, Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General, Dubai Smart Government Office, discussed how Dubai is producing a smart vision for the area.

IoTX also featured a panel discussion on how cities of the future will develop from smart to responsive and adaptive including Karine Dongin-Sauze, Deputy Mayor - Greater Lyon, and C-Level executives from Huawei, Innovate UK, GE Power and Water, Pacific Controls, Dubai Municipality and Ericsson Middle East.

Safder Nazir, Regional Vice President Smart Cities & IoT, Huawei, added: "We are excited to be back at IoTX and GISEC. We prepare for vibrant interaction with visitors who I'm sure will be excited by the conference sessions and solutions we plan to showcase as we look to drive the local IoT and security agenda.".

"IoT (Internet of Things) is a subject that is of vital importance to us as a company and furthermore to the UAE as a whole. With technological advancements and smart cities being key focus areas, our participation will elaborate the methods which one can harness IoT to guarantee expense savings performance and higher product yields. We anticipate sharing our point of view and the prospective impact of IoT with the wider audience during Future Technology Week, IoTX, due to happen here in Dubai," said Anthony Sayers, Dell Internet of Things EMEA, Dell OEM Solutions EMEA.

"As the world is moving to IoT and 50 billion linked gadgets, IoT improvement will position operators and key industry players on the course to success," stated Rafiah Ibrahim, Head of Ericsson, Region Middle East and Africa. "We believe IoT will help to lower the threats and costs of experimenting with new business models while making it possible to connect to brand-new markets quickly. This technology monetises brand-new and existing possessions, and takes our partners' companies beyond connection and into plentiful brand-new earnings opportunities.".

With business movement now a company requirement, business around the world are checking out new methods of working and transforming internal processes utilizing smart devices. According to IDC, the GCC's mobile linked gadgets market is anticipated to enhance from 35 million devices in 2015 to 45 million systems by 2019-- a four-year jump of 29 %.

In this environment, the one-day GEMEC supplied a platform for crucial professionals to talk about topics such as optimising user-friendly user interfaces to enhance customer adoption; how hyper connection will change efficiency and enhance smart decisions by the workforce; and security solutions for the mobile ingrained world. Speakers included Nigel Gibbons, Microsoft Global Advisory Board Member, Microsoft Global; Ashi Sheth, Manager Enterprise Platforms, Netflix; Eric Eifert, Senior Vice President - Managed Security Services, DarkMatter; and Dr Najwa Aaraj, Vice President of Special Projects, DarkMatter.