Can you share your journey into the technology world? What inspired you to pursue a career in this field?
My journey into the business and technology world began in 2004 when I joined NetApp in Russia after some early experience at Sun Microsystems. I started in a back-office role, which gave me the opportunity to understand the inner workings of the company and the tech industry. Over time, my passion for innovation and business growth inspired me to take on more responsibilities, eventually leading to strategic roles such as Business Development Manager, Channel Manager, and Sales Director and then Country Manager.

I found the constant evolution of the tech field to be both challenging and exciting. I was particularly drawn to how technology can drive transformation for businesses and improve lives, which motivated me to continue progressing in this field. And, beyond all of that, it is simply very interesting and very exciting!

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced as a woman, and how did you overcome them?
Like many women in the tech industry, I’ve faced my share of challenges. Early in my career, I sometimes felt like I had to prove myself more than my male colleagues. There were moments when I walked into a meeting and could sense the unspoken question: Does she really know what she’s talking about? But instead of letting that discourage me, I used it as motivation. I focused on being the best at what I do—learning, growing, delivering results.

Over time, I realized that confidence comes from within. The more I trusted myself, the more others did too. And I’ve been lucky to work with some incredible colleagues, strong leaders and mentors who supported me along the way. I also believe that being a woman in business has its strengths. We bring empathy, intuition, and the ability to multitask at an incredible level! So rather than trying to “fit in,” I embraced what made me different—and that’s what has helped me succeed.

How do you describe your leadership style, and how has it evolved over time?
I would describe my leadership style as people-focused. I truly believe that success comes from the team, not just from one person at the top. I genuinely care about others, and I want the people around me to feel valued, supported, and empowered. Work is a huge part of my life, and I love what I do. But what I love even more is working with people, being part of a team, and seeing how we come together to achieve big goals.

Over the years, my leadership style has evolved. When I first started, I tried to control everything and be involved in every detail. But I’ve learned that great leadership is about trust. It’s about creating an environment where people feel confident to take ownership, make decisions, and grow. My role is to guide, support, and remove obstacles so that my team can thrive. And the most rewarding part is watching people grow, develop, and achieve things they never thought possible. That’s what truly makes leadership fulfilling for me.

What strategies do you use to motivate and empower your team?
For me, motivation comes from feeling valued and inspired, so I try to create that for my team. First and foremost, I trust them. I believe people do their best work when they feel ownership over what they’re doing, so I give them space to take the lead and make decisions. I’m always there for support, but I want them to feel confident in their abilities.

I also believe in celebrating wins—big and small. Sometimes we get so caught up in what’s next that we forget to acknowledge how far we’ve come. A simple “thank you” or “great job” can go a long way in making someone feel appreciated.

And most importantly, I genuinely care about the people I work with. I take the time to listen, to understand their challenges, and to help them. Work is a huge part of our lives, and I want my team to feel inspired and excited about what we’re building together. Because when people feel good, they do incredible things.

Have you had any mentors or role models who have significantly influenced your career? How did they impact your journey?
Absolutely. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the incredible people who believed in me along the way. I grew within the company—I started as a young girl with big dreams, and I’m so grateful to those who saw potential in me before I even fully saw it in myself. They didn’t just teach me about business; they gave me opportunities, trusted me with responsibilities, and encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone. And, I must say, it was a big challenge for me!

There were moments when I doubted myself, but having mentors who supported and guided me made all the difference. They showed me that leadership isn’t about knowing everything—it’s about learning, adapting, and surrounding yourself with great and strong people. Looking back, I feel nothing but deep gratitude for those who took the time to mentor me, to push me forward, and to help me grow. And now, I try to do the same for others—to recognize potential, to believe in people, and to give them the opportunities that can change their life.

What advice would you give to young women aspiring to enter the business world/technology world/security world?
First and foremost—believe in yourself. I know that sounds simple, but it’s so important. There will always be moments of doubt, challenges, and people who underestimate you. Don’t let that define you. Trust your abilities, be curious, and never stop learning.

Also, don’t be afraid to take on challenges that seem too big. Growth happens when we step outside our comfort zone. Say yes to opportunities, even if they scare you. The truth is, no one is 100% ready for the next step—we all learn as we go.

And one more thing—find people who support you. A strong network, whether it’s mentors, colleagues, or friends, makes all the difference. Surround yourself with those who lift you up and remind you of your worth. And one day, be that person for someone else. You are capable of so much more than you think. Just go for it!

Can you highlight some of your proudest achievements in your career so far?
There are many moments I feel proud of, but the ones that stand out are always connected to people. Leading NetApp’s business in Russia & CIS was an incredible milestone, but what made it truly special was the team I achieved it with. Seeing how we grew together, overcame challenges, and built something meaningful—that’s what stays with me.

Another proud moment was taking on a leadership role in Dubai and expanding my responsibilities. Moving to a new country, building new relationships, and leading in a different market—it was a challenge, but one that brought so much growth and fulfilment.

Even more rewarding is when young women reach out and say that my journey has inspired them. That, to me, is the greatest achievement—knowing that what I do can encourage others to dream bigger and push forward.

How do you manage work-life balance, and what tips do you have for other women striving to achieve this balance?
Work-life balance is something I’m always working on—because let’s be honest, when you love what you do, it’s not always easy to switch off. Work is a huge part of my life, and I genuinely enjoy it. But at the same time, my family, my children, and my personal well-being are just as important.

For me, balance isn’t about trying to do everything perfectly—it’s about being present in the moment. When I’m with my kids, I try to truly be with them, not just physically but emotionally. And when I’m at work, I give it my all. I’ve also learned that it’s okay to ask for help, to delegate, and to say no when needed. We don’t have to do everything alone. One of the best lessons I’ve learned is that taking care of myself isn’t selfish—it’s necessary. Whether it’s spending time with loved ones, going to the gym, or simply having a moment to breathe, those little things make a big difference.

To other women trying to find this balance, I’d say—be kind to yourself. Some days will be chaotic, and that’s okay. What matters is that you create a life where both your career and your personal happiness can thrive.

With over 20 years of experience in strategic planning, operational excellence, and leadership, Suhail brings a wealth of expertise to his new position. His in-depth understanding of customer and partner needs, combined with his ability to bring together cross-functional teams, will be instrumental in driving NetApp’s success in the Middle East and Africa.

Before joining NetApp, Suhail led Dell’s multi-cloud offerings in Saudi Arabia, where he successfully negotiated multi-year mega-frame contracts with government entities. His dedication to customer and team excellence has been evident throughout his career, making him a valuable asset to any organization.

As the Regional Senior Director for the Middle East and Africa, Suhail will leverage his extensive experience and leadership approach to forge strategic collaborations with the regional ecosystem, drive business growth, and ensure that NetApp’s solutions and services meet the unique needs of customers in the region. Leading the regional operation, Suhail will play a pivotal role in strengthening NetApp’s presence and operations across all the countries in the Middle East and Africa.

“We are delighted to welcome Suhail Hasanain to the NetApp team as our new Regional Director for the Middle East and Africa,” said Jose Petisco, EEMi Vice President at NetApp. “Suhail’s proven track record, expertise, and passion for delivering exceptional results make him the ideal candidate to lead our operations in this strategic region. He will further enhance our commitment to customers, partners and alliances, to strengthen our ecosystem and generate value add in all the strategic projects where NetApp is playing a key role in a diversified economy and helping shape a more sustainable, technologically advanced future. This appointment is another testament to NetApp commitment to the Middle East and Africa region.”

With the recent opening of NetApp’s regional headquarters in Riyadh, what are NetApp’s key objectives for the Middle East market in 2025?
NetApp’s expansion into Riyadh reflects a strategic commitment to the Middle East, aiming to support the region’s rapidly evolving digital transformation. The headquarters is more than a regional hub; it’s a strategic nerve centre designed to drive transformative growth in the Middle East. By 2025, we aim to deepen our integration within critical sectors like energy, public services, and healthcare. We are also spearheading advancements in AI adoption, cloud transformation, and smart government initiatives, leveraging our intelligent data infrastructure.

Furthermore, with the Middle East contributing significantly to global data traffic growth, we envision our role as a linchpin for enabling real-time data-driven decisions that align with the pace of regional ambitions. Our focus also includes driving innovation in intelligent data infrastructure, supporting hybrid and multi-cloud adoption, and enhancing partnerships across key sectors like the public sector, energy, and healthcare. A strong emphasis will be placed on leveraging AI, data analytics, and cloud technologies to empower businesses to harness the full potential of their data and accelerate their digital journeys.

How does NetApp plan to support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 through its Intelligent Data Infrastructure?
NetApp’s Intelligent Data Infrastructure strategy perfectly aligns with Vision 2030 by providing cutting-edge solutions that enhance data-driven decision-making, optimize resources, and enable scalable operations. This infrastructure will play a crucial role in supporting industries such as public utilities, energy, and telecommunications by fostering efficiencies and innovation. For example, by enabling predictive analytics in the energy sector, NetApp helps optimize resource allocation and reduce operational downtime.

Collaborations with major entities, such as partnerships with utilities providers and smart city projects demonstrate how NetApp bridges technological innovation with Vision 2030’s sustainability goals. Its ability to scale operations ensures businesses are equipped to handle the exponential data growth expected from initiatives like Saudi’s digital government programs. Moreover, NetApp’s commitment to sustainability and AI-driven technologies will help advance the Kingdom’s goals of diversifying the economy and becoming a regional technology hub.

What initiatives does NetApp have in place to foster local talent and innovation in the region?
NetApp recognises that talent is the cornerstone of sustainable progress. We actively support local talent development through collaborations with universities and technical institutions to develop specialized curricula in AI, data analytics, and cloud technologies.

Our Data Explorers program is just one example of how we foster a passion for technology among youth by introducing young students to data science and fostering future-ready skills. NetApp is also exploring partnerships with leading entities in the region to create opportunities for hands-on training and professional growth. By aligning these efforts with national employment goals, NetApp is not just filling the talent gap—it’s creating a foundation for a thriving knowledge-based economy.

How will NetApp’s AI and data analytics solutions be tailored to meet the specific needs of the Middle East market?
NetApp’s AI and data analytics solutions are designed to address the unique challenges and opportunities within the Middle East, such as managing vast, complex data ecosystems and ensuring compliance with regional regulations. The solutions provide seamless data integration across hybrid cloud environments and empower organizations to derive actionable insights, supporting industries like energy, healthcare, and transportation. By partnering with local stakeholders, NetApp ensures its solutions align with the region’s cultural and regulatory frameworks.

How is NetApp addressing sustainability goals and energy efficiency in its regional operations?
Sustainability is a cornerstone of NetApp’s regional strategy. The company leverages advanced data management technologies to promote energy efficiency and reduce resource consumption. These efforts align with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which emphasises sustainable economic growth and environmental stewardship. NetApp’s intelligent solutions enable organisations to optimise their operations, minimizing their carbon footprints while driving innovation and efficiency across sectors.

What are some of the most exciting innovations NetApp is working on for 2025, and how will they impact the regional market?
NetApp is at the forefront of data management innovations, and our roadmap for 2025 includes pioneering edge computing solutions tailored for the region’s growing IoT deployments. We are focusing on AI-driven insights, multi-cloud flexibility, and advanced data protection. Key developments include intelligent data infrastructures that enhance decision-making and hybrid cloud capabilities that increase operational agility. These innovations are expected to significantly impact the Middle East by enabling businesses to remain competitive and future-ready, fostering growth in sectors such as energy, healthcare, and public services.

“AI is only as good as the data that fuels it,” said Pravjit Tiwana, General Manager and Senior Vice President of Cloud Storage at NetApp. “Both the AI leaders and AI laggards show us that in the prevailing hybrid IT environment, the more unified and reliable your data, the more likely your AI initiatives are to be successful.”  

The report found a clear divide between AI leaders and AI laggards across several areas including:

1. Regions: 60% of AI-leading countries (India, Singapore, UK, USA) have AI projects up and running or in the pilot, in stark contrast to 36% in AI-lagging countries (Spain, Australia/New Zealand, Germany, Japan).
2. Industries: Technology leads with 70% of AI projects up and running or in the pilot, while Banking & Financial Services and Manufacturing follow with 55% and 50%, respectively. However, Healthcare (38%) and Media & Entertainment (25%) are trailing.
3. Company size: Larger companies (with more than 250 employees) are more likely to have AI projects in motion, with 62% reporting projects up and running or in the pilot, versus 36% of smaller companies (with fewer than 250 employees).

Both AI leaders and AI laggards show a difference in their approach to AI:

1. Globally, 67% of companies in AI-leading countries report having hybrid IT environments, with India leading (70%) and Japan lagging (24%).
2. AI leaders are also more likely to report benefits from AI, including a 50% increase in production rates, 46% in the automation of routine activities, and a 45% improvement in customer experience.

“The rise of AI is ushering in a new disrupt-or-die era,” said Gabie Boko, Chief Marketing Officer at NetApp. “Data-ready enterprises that connect and unify broad structured and unstructured data sets into an intelligent data infrastructure are best positioned to win in the age of AI.”

Despite the divide, there is notable progress among AI laggards in preparing their IT environments for AI, but the window to catch up is closing rapidly. A significant number of companies in AI-lagging countries (42%) have optimized their IT environments for AI, including Germany (67%) and Spain (59%). Companies in some AI-lagging countries already report they see the benefits of a unified data infrastructure in place, such as:

• Easier data sharing: Spain (45%), Australia/New Zealand (43%), Germany (44%)
• Increased visibility: Spain (54%) and Germany (46%)

Rising IT costs and ensuring data security are the two of the biggest challenges in the AI era, but they will not block AI progress. Instead, AI leaders will scale back, cut other IT operations, or reallocate costs from other parts of the business to fund AI initiatives.

• AI leaders will also increase their cloud operations (CloudOps), data security and AI investments throughout 2024, with 40% of large companies saying AI projects have already increased IT costs
• Year over year, “increased cybersecurity risk” jumped 16% as a top concern from 45% to 61%, while all other concerns decreased
• To manage AI project costs, 31% of companies globally are reallocating funds from other business areas, with India (48%), the UK (40%), and the US (35%) leading this trend.

As global companies, whether AI leaders or AI laggards, increase investments, they are relying on the cloud to support their goals.

1. Companies reported that they expect to increase AI-driven cloud deployments by 19% from 2024 to 2030.
2. 85% of AI leaders plan to enhance their CloudOps automation over the next year.
3. Increasing data security investments is a global priority, jumping 25% from 33% in 2023 to 58% in 2024.

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The NetApp and VMware partnership is built on the foundation of shared experience supporting twenty thousand mutual customers over more than 20 years. NetApp is a consistent VMware strategic design partner for current and future VMware Cloud offerings including VMware vSphere, VMware Cloud Foundation, and several VMware Cross-Cloud services. NetApp and VMware are helping customers to effectively manage, share and protect their hybrid and multi-cloud environments by collaborating on customer-driven co-engineering to offer innovative solutions across an ever-changing technology landscape.

“Customers today are faced with complex challenges to optimize their current IT investments while laying a path forward to modernize and accelerate their business,” said George Kurian, Chief Executive Officer, NetApp. “Together, NetApp and VMware have helped thousands of customers solve their multi-cloud challenges by effectively managing their enterprise workloads in any environment. By delivering powerful new solutions that help companies optimize their virtual data centers, modernize their applications, and provide cost-efficient, enterprise-class data management services to VMware Cloud, we can meet customers anywhere they are on their cloud journey.”

“At this stage, it’s clear: Multi-cloud is the model we’re going to rely on for many years to come. It is the de facto operating model for the digital era, giving customers the freedom required to build, deploy, and manage applications in the way that best suits their business requirements,” said Raghu Raghuram, Chief Executive Officer, VMware. “Together, VMware and NetApp offer businesses the multi-cloud flexibility and choice they need to leverage the best innovations in any cloud environment.”

The new wave of modern applications powering this digital age requires an innovative approach to enterprise workload and data management infrastructure. Organizations today are turning to the public cloud to simplify and accelerate their business initiatives and require flexibility and choice across leading public cloud providers. These organizations also need new, and integrated platforms that can manage both enterprise and modern applications while efficiently utilizing existing resources. The renewed partnership between NetApp and VMware addresses these challenges by focusing on three major customer-driven initiatives:

• Cost-Effective & Seamless Migration to Multi-Cloud – NetApp and VMware are currently innovating together across the world’s three largest public cloud providers to certify and support VMware Cloud and NetApp Cloud Services. This helps customers running on VMware utilizing either NetApp or non-NetApp storage environments on-premises to seamlessly migrate, extend or protect data-demanding enterprise workloads and files to the cloud with reduced cost and risk. Customers can now right-size their cloud compute and storage architectures to reduce and control the costs of running data-demanding workloads in the cloud at scale, while also avoiding the costs of refactoring applications from on-premises into the cloud. NetApp and VMware have taken decades of experience in managing enterprise workloads in the data center to deliver fully certified, integrated, and supported solutions that bring these same benefits to customers leveraging the public cloud, all built on a trusted workload and data management foundation.

• Accelerate Modernized Applications Using Kubernetes/Containers–VMware Cloud Foundation with Tanzu allows IT to manage virtual machines and orchestrate containers from one unified platform. VMware Tanzu and VMware Cloud Foundation support the use of NetApp ONTAP-based storage arrays, providing customers the ability to seamlessly build out a flexible data fabric for traditional VMs and modern, containerized applications. For Kubernetes workloads, NetApp is a design partner with VMware Tanzu container-native storage integrating Astra Control with VMware Tanzu for VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes (vVols) deployments. Customers can now simplify and accelerate new modern application development and deployment alongside traditional virtualized workloads using enterprise-scale, high-performance, and protected solutions that are jointly validated and supported.

• Optimize The Data Center Through Modernized Infrastructure –Organizations today require an efficient, cost-effective workload and data management platform to optimize existing resources. NetApp is a VMware co-design partner with vSphere and vVols for new and expanded support of key technologies from NetApp file and blocks storage platforms. This includes new certification and support to enable the use of vVols with NVMe-oF to allow enhanced block storage flash performance and more granular VM storage management over multiple types of network transport from FC, ethernet, and standard TCP/IP networks. This also includes new integration to enhance the availability and security of running virtualized workloads across NFS 4.1 environments. Customers can now unlock more performance for traditional virtualized workloads leveraging existing infrastructure investments while simplifying daily IT operations through jointly validated and supported solutions.

As enterprises acquire public cloud services to augment their existing on-premises data centers, these combined infrastructures become more disparate, inconsistent, and fragmented over time. These multicloud silos are inherently more complex to manage due to dealing with multiple disparate environments.

Today, NetApp is delivering a unified and consistent hybrid multi-cloud experience, allowing customers to run and manage a single platform that spans from on-premises to the world’s biggest public clouds.

“As organizations today explore the promise of hybrid multicloud environments, they are keen to avoid complexity, security, and cost-efficiency challenges,” said Walid Issa, Senior Manager, PreSales and Solutions Engineering – Middle East Region at NetApp. “With NetApp’s simplified management and consumption experience, organizations can enjoy improved security, manageability, speed of operations, and cost savings – ultimately allowing them to be more responsive to the growing needs of their business by delivering capabilities faster, and keeping data available and protected no matter where it lives.”

Simple, secure, and flexible enhancements to NetApp’s hybrid cloud portfolio include:

• Industry-Leading Hybrid Cloud Simplicity Experience – By delivering everything “as a service,” NetApp simplifies and optimizes hybrid cloud environments with new capabilities, including:
  • Hybrid cloud Storage-as-a-Service (STaaS) in a single, flexible subscription with Keystone. Organizations can flexibly move workloads to and from the cloud in a single contract.
  • In addition to managing and monitoring data storage, protection, governance and tiering across multicloud environments, Cloud Manager can now manage Keystone services, track software licenses, monitor infrastructure health and provide proactive recommendations that optimize costs and data protection with automated actions.

“Organizations today are looking for flexibility both on-premises as well as across cloud providers and are investing in as-a-service consumption models to help achieve this,” said Scott Sinclair, practice director at ESG. “NetApp’s approach with Keystone is targeted at that need; offering hybrid cloud simplicity and flexibility that allows users to accelerate their IT objectives with management, orchestration, and billing wrapped into a single subscription and experience. Keystone’s transferable subscription model also supports future cloud migration planning to any major cloud provider, with enterprise-level storage capability and integrated data protection.”

• Cyber Resilience for Today’s Hybrid Cloud – The rise of ransomware over the past few years is a growing problem for enterprises. IDC’s 2021 Ransomware Study: Where You Are Matters!¹ found that more than one third of organizations worldwide have experienced a ransomware attack or breach that blocked access to systems or data in the 12 months prior.With NetApp’s new, powerful, built-in cyber resilience capabilities that include anti-ransomware, data protection and security – organizations can mitigate unauthorized user access and threats to data from ransomware attacks. Customers can protect a multitude of workloads, enterprise apps, virtualized workloads and modern containerized applications against security breaches, quickly detect attacks and rapidly recover data before experiencing any impact to operations.
• Accelerating Enterprise Cloud Transformation – NetApp is empowering customers to “modernize to the cloud” using a supplemental datastore for data-intensive, storage demanding workloads running in a single or across multicloud environments. NetApp is the only cloud storage service provider today to be certified and become supported for use as an external supplemental datastore for VMware Cloud environments running in the largest public clouds.

“Organizations across all industries rely on the combination of VMware and NetApp as the platform of choice for delivering business-critical workloads,” said Narayan Bharadwaj, vice president of Cloud Solutions at VMware. “NetApp is now able to deliver the same levels of enterprise-class data management that our mutual customers have enjoyed for decades on-premises to workloads running in any of the major public clouds.”

“Digital-first” as a new business paradigm
While IT teams and IT leaders are historically called on to drive digitization and increase value, the roles will be reversed in the post-pandemic world. Strategic decision-making starts with digital experience and digital transformation since they are now deeply connected to the successful operation of any company.
We see this for example in business analytics, where the analysis of user experience journeys or customer experience journeys become a crucial information source for strategic decisions.

Another example is increasing convergence between the online and offline world, which results in digital twin concepts being adopted beyond production, and any process being tested virtually before being considered for rollout.

Cyber security and resiliency
The pandemic months have triggered a rapid increase in ransomware attacks as more and more people worked remotely. Coincidentally, this opened up a multitude of new infection vectors. Enterprises had to come to terms with the fact that many IT security processes and protocols are not well suited to the fight against ransomware, because it is virtually impossible to cut off all these infection routes, especially when criminals use social engineering.

Instead, enterprises will rely on AI-based prevention across their whole domain and stringent zero trust policies. Rather than preventing IT attacks from happening, this approach minimizes their impact. Once an infection happens, it is discovered almost instantaneously: Infected areas are cordoned off and infected files are replaced in almost real-time.

Sustained impact of the pandemic: cloud acceleration and the supply chain
The global supply chain has been brought close to its breaking point by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on air, sea, and land travel. We predict that cloud adoption will accelerate faster as the supply chain constraints drive buyers to find alternatives to purchasing traditional on-premise infrastructure to meet demands. At the same time, optimization of production lines and business processes can help the system to become more robust in the future. Marrying IT and Operational Technology (OT), for example through digital twin concepts and technology such as IIoT and analytics, has virtually limitless potential. Companies that have done their homework in the past, e.g. by building out flexible Industry 4.0 production facilities, will be able to stay healthy much more easily.

The workforce is going through a major change cycle, also triggered and sustained by the pandemic. Hybrid working environments are the expectation of employees moving forward. The ability to work anywhere will increase the digital capabilities businesses must provide to their staff. Controversially, the pandemic also shone the light on labor shortages surfacing quickly and unexpectedly. This will be both a challenge and opportunity for high-skill sectors like the IT industry. On the one hand, there is bound to be fierce competition for skilled personnel; on the other hand, IT itself can deliver technologies that remedy the labor gap, such as low code, no code, and AI software development.

The constant simplification of public services access and the services, in general, will drive broad buy-in for digitization. People are also going to be more comfortable with providing their data because they have experienced the positive impact of virtualized service delivery.

Productized AI
In 2022, artificial intelligence (AI) starts to permeate all industries. We will see it used in agriculture, food production, fast-food chains, and the entertainment and hospitality sector. Agriculture and the food industry, for example, will use it for packing and processing, while other sectors gain most from general automation and the simplification of their processes.

Let’s also talk about the “how.” Managed services become a primary delivery mode for AI as CSPs double down on “GPU as a service”’-type offerings. This is an important facilitator: As more industries use AI to stay competitive and innovate, there needs to be a solid technology foundation that can scale accordingly, and AI users need to move their AI projects from standalone (siloed) infrastructure onto shared, virtualized, production environments.

Another driver is “Tiny Machine Learning.” Experts are forecasting a massive increase in AI at the edge, down to very low cost, extremely resource-constrained edge devices. Think sensors rather than compute devices. This is another generation of devices that feed the ever-growing edge-core-cloud data pipeline, which industries need to access and leverage to differentiate themselves.

And, finally, the macro perspective on AI and machine learning becomes clearer. Countries and governments are guaranteed to invest in AI and ML capabilities to accelerate economic transformation and compete on a global basis.

Data trends
There are a number of technology sub-trends that drive change and innovation. One is Analytics & Optimization of digital services. E.g., Finops results are much easier to come by as more automation and smarter applications take hold. This results in increased ROI from cloud investments throughout the public and private sectors. Another trend concerns production environments. There is a clear move away from applications as companies deliver their services through containerized solutions and microservices.

Thirdly, data sharing regimes are an important prerequisite for building a workable data economy on the international stage. GAIA-X sparked an important discussion about digital sovereignty and the contributions needed to establish a secure data exchange infrastructure. In the near term, I don’t think this results in a sovereign “EU Cloud.” However, we will see more unity about European norms, and more adherence to them from outside Europe.

Lastly, specifically in data storage, NAS and SAN continue to be the technologies of choice to underpin digital innovation. Writeable storage media can still be made more efficient.

Quantum computing
Quantum computing is expected to re-accelerate the performance cycle postulated by Moore’s law, and all major IT players are invested. Early use cases are expected to be delivered as a service but will not come to fruition for some time. However, manufacturers in different branches of IT will be more vocal about their quantum computing strategy in 2022 – for example security providers, hyperscalers, storage companies, and GSIs/global advisors. These manufacturers will also theorize how they can deliver quantum computing innovation as a service for their customers and overcome branch-specific limitations, e.g. building a data pipeline into the quantum computing cloud.

Sustainability – ESG becomes a competitive advantage
Green topics are on the rise, as demonstrated by the 2021 Climate Change Conference, the US infrastructure deal, or the traffic light coalition coming to power in Germany. We predict that businesses will head in the same direction. This is partly due to regulatory pressure, for example, to lower carbon dioxide emissions. But enterprises will also become intrinsically motivated to deliver green innovation. One area to look at is employee experience hybrid models, which basically allow companies to recruit talent everywhere, reduce office footprint, and significantly cut work travel.

Another area concerns production processes, which can be made more environmentally friendly with the help of IT. More automation and optimization, flexible production, testing, and planning in software, are all things that reduce wastage. Net Zero targets will become a priority for businesses in 2022, and they are impacting corporate decision-making already now. This will result in companies examining not just their own actions but their supply chain, digital and non-digital, as they strive to deliver net-zero (carbon emissions) as quickly as possible.

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