Michele Montecchio, General Manager, Acer Middle East, delves into why cloud is the future, stakeholder opportunities in the Metaverse and the level of CX required of businesses in the experience economy.
Q1. Cloud is the future. However, it’s clear to see that across the region many have struggled with the demands of cloud transformation. Can you outline to us why you believe many enterprises have encountered issues transitioning their operations to the cloud – and what cloud model do you believe businesses should adopt?
First of all, I think the development of a cloud infrastructure needs to be planned between companies, and two years of living in a pandemic likely delayed many ongoing projects, which only resumed this year. There’s now the opportunity to migrate to cloud for many companies and I’m sure we’ll see it happen more and more.
Embracing cloud is linked to cybersecurity and ensuring the data of a business, and the data of its customers is safe. As cybersecurity advances, we’ll likely see more businesses transition to cloud. The more we can ensure that data is protected, the more companies will make the transition.
Q2. Over the last 12 months, we have seen more and more mega investments being made in the Metaverse. What are your feelings on the Metaverse – and what opportunities does it hold for stakeholders in the IT and tech industry?
The Metaverse is opening up opportunities for companies and provides new ways of doing business. The first chance will be for system integrators, who will have a high demand for installations and integrations for both existing and new businesses venturing into the Metaverse. At the same time, companies will have to embrace the new ways of “going to market” in this new virtual space, which in the future will enable businesses to reach a wider range of customers and provide a more effective awareness of the products/services they offer.
Q3. We have talked about digital transformation and cloud transformation, but how critical is it that enterprises get their security transformation right. Cyberattacks are on the increase, what do you think are the best practices businesses need to adopt when it comes to protecting their organisation?
It’s very critical and companies in particular need to ensure their security is taken care of as soon as possible. They hold tons of customer data that they’re entrusted with, and if hacked, it compromises both their customers and their own business. Investment in cybersecurity needs to be at the top of the list for every industry’s budget and cannot be overstated. Within organisations staff must also be trained on how to keep the company’s data safe, which becomes more of a challenge when working remotely or in public spaces; more frequent to see in a post-Covid era.
Q4. We know that technology is advancing rapidly – and some analysts are predicting a decade of disruption. What is your vision for the future in terms of the tech trends that are really going to drive change and foster further innovation over the next 3-5 years?
I believe we just mentioned 3 of the most important ones while answering previous questions: cloud, Metaverse and cybersecurity. Along with these, we cannot forget the key role of artificial intelligence, which is making incredible progress in the collection of ratio data and in decision making. In short, this trend will be applied in many industries despite the autonomy of taking decisions, it will be carefully monitored in its applications. Something very sensitive nowadays are autonomous cars, which is ready to be used on a wide scale if, and only if will they pass the appropriate security standards. I would anticipate setting these standards will become the real job.
Q5. We live in the ‘experience economy’ – and it is critical that businesses get their CX right, or they will lose customers and businesses. What do you believe are the key requirements to be successful in the new digital economy.
We really trust that the Metaverse combined with augmented reality will be able to close the gap in modern times and deliver to customers the best level of CX needed. At Acer, we have a ready to go solution which allows users to visualise in 3D without wearing any dongle or glasses of sort. Imagine seeing a 360-degree simulation from your screen in 3D right in front of your eyes. This incredible technology is available in our Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs, come and check it out!
