George Schembri, Vice-President and General Manager – Middle East at OpenText, explains how the company’s AI-led information management strategy is enabling enterprises to turn data into a competitive edge.
OpenText, a global leader in information management, is redefining how enterprises unlock value from their data through AI-driven technologies.
During GITEX Global 2025, George Schembri, Vice President and General Manager – Middle East at OpenText, spoke to Tahawultech.com about the company’s vision for empowering organisations with Agentic AI and the growing importance of secure, responsible innovation. He also shared how OpenText’s latest solutions—particularly OpenText Aviator—are enabling enterprises to transform information into strategic advantage.
Interview Excerpts:
OpenText often describes its mission as empowering organisations to unlock the limitless power of information. Can you unpack what this means in practical terms and how AI is changing the way information is managed in today’s business ecosystems?
Our purpose has always been to help organisations turn their information into a true competitive advantage, from unlocking insights and improving efficiency to driving sustainable business growth. Information is really the lifeblood of modern enterprises, but the reality is that much of it remains unstructured, siloed, and underutilised. What we do is bring structure to that chaos through AI-powered information management. Our technologies help businesses find, connect, and act on the right information at the right time, securely and intelligently. AI is taking this even further by transforming information management from something reactive to something truly proactive. It can now detect patterns, predict outcomes, and even initiate actions autonomously. That means organisations can work smarter, not harder; empowering employees, enhancing customer experiences, and accelerating innovation across every part of the business.
This year, at GITEX Global 2025, we heard a lot about the shift from AI to Agentic AI. Could you elaborate on this transition and what kind of business outcomes it enables?
The shift from traditional AI to Agentic AI represents a major leap forward in how businesses can apply intelligence. Traditional AI has been incredibly powerful in analysing data and generating insights, but it’s largely static and focused on specific tasks. Agentic AI, by contrast, is dynamic and autonomous. It doesn’t just interpret information, it can take action, collaborate with other systems, and continuously learn from outcomes. In simple terms, we are moving from an assistant that answers questions to an intelligent agent that can actually execute strategies on your behalf. Of course, in enterprise environments, Agentic AI is only as effective as the information it is built on. That’s why at OpenText, we put so much emphasis on data provenance, access governance, and embedded security across every AI interaction.
“When built on secure, trusted data, Agentic AI enables faster decision-making, greater productivity, and far more resilient workflows, ultimately transforming how organisations operate and compete.”
Tell us a little bit about OpenText Aviator and your decision to showcase its capabilities at GITEX. What sets Aviator apart from other solutions in the market and what has the response been like for this solution?
OpenText Aviator is one of our most exciting innovations designed to bring enterprise-grade generative AI directly into the flow of daily business. What makes it truly stand out is that it’s secure, compliant, and deeply integrated across our information management, cybersecurity, and business network solutions. It goes far beyond simple chatbots or content creation. Aviator is all about driving real business outcomes, from delivering faster insights and enabling better decision-making to automating complex processes in a safe, explainable way. The response to it has been exceptional. Visitors are especially interested in how Aviator allows them to run GenAI securely on their own private enterprise data. That means they can unlock the power of AI while maintaining full control over data privacy and sovereignty. And I think that response really reinforces what we have always believed: that organisations are ready to embrace AI, but they want it to be responsible, transparent, and aligned with their values. And that is exactly what Aviator delivers.
In a region where AI transformation is accelerating, how is OpenText helping Middle Eastern enterprises unlock the power of information securely and at scale?
The Middle East, particularly the GCC, is experiencing one of the fastest AI transformations in the world. According to PwC’s latest CEO Survey, 88% of GCC CEOs have already adopted Generative AI in the past year, and an impressive 93% believe AI will soon be systematically integrated into their technology platforms, compared to just 78% globally. This clearly shows that the region isn’t just experimenting with AI, it is embedding it into the very fabric of business and innovation. At OpenText, we are enabling organisations turn that ambition into secure, scalable reality. We do this by modernising information ecosystems with AI-powered platforms that unify and protect data across clouds and applications, enabling secure automation and decision-making through solutions like OpenText Aviator, which applies GenAI responsibly within trusted enterprise environments, and strengthening data governance, cybersecurity, and compliance so that transformation happens safely and sustainably. Ultimately, our mission is to help Middle Eastern enterprises unlock the full power of information, not just to innovate faster, but to build future-ready, information-driven economies that align with the region’s national visions for growth and diversification.