MENA versus APAC in the Battle for Limited Commodities

The MENA region has lead the way in the global oil and gas industry for some time now, but has this level of dominance made them complacent? Are they still in a position to compete with the emerging APAC region?
Well this week leading oil and gas executives from the APAC region met at the illustrious NG O&G APAC summit at Sentosa to discuss new technology and innovation which will allow them to close the gap on the Middle East supply.
2009 saw the biggest pullback in oil demand in history and the economic downturn saw oil consumption drop by 3 million barrels per day (bpd). 2010 has seen the global market splutter back towards relative normality, offering investment opportunities across the industry, which has been capitalized on by the attendees at the recent NG O&G APAC summit hosted by GDS International.
Industrialization and population growth in developing countries drive demand in the oil and gas industry, but a stable economy is a necessity for development, something that is finally beginning to appear on the horizon.
Growth also needs support, a good infrastructure and the harnessing of new and emerging technologies, a debate which will be key at the NG O&G MENA summit set in April.
The consortium looking to maintain the Middle East's hold on the market is chaired by Ali Singab, GM Exploration & Production at Emirates National Oil Company; Farouk Hussein Al Zanki, Chairman, Kuwait National Petroleum; Yousef Al Taher, Board Members, Operations; Dr. Mirza, Minister of Oil & Gas for Bahrain and Nabi Mukhtar, Head of Drilling at BAPCO. They are all looking at how we can improve business and operational performance while transforming data into actionable intelligence.
Business and operational leaders face a number of challenges related to diverse and non-integrated technologies and informational systems. Quite often they are overwhelmed by data overload and technology obsolescence issues. Such scenarios can lead to low ROI and missed business opportunities. In addition, emerging technologies and enhanced regulatory and safety compliance are adding to the complexity at a time of dwindling skilled resource bases.
“Consolidation in the sector is inevitable as larger companies take advantage of strategic opportunities. The positive trends that we have seen in recent months are likely to continue this year and the outlook for oil and gas transactions is healthy in upstream and oilfield services. This is a pattern which emerges globally by the Middle East, Africa and Asia – Pacific” Summit Director
Economically, more cooperation between the oils and gas sector's ‘big businesses’ would reduce the economic costs for the Asia–Pacific region thus reducing their reliance on the Middle East.

Forward Thinking Telecoms

Executives from the telecoms industry have just met at the closed-door NGT20 meeting to discuss the vision for the future and key growth markets.

2010 so far has been un-momentous in the telecoms industry, but this is about to change if we are to believe the latest news from the NGT NA summit hosted by GDS International.

The senior executives gathered to develop a vision on the key steps needed to capture new markets and revenues. The meeting was moderated by Melanie Posey – Research Director Telecom Markets, IDC. Key points discussed focused on the future of cloud computing; hype, opportunity, or disintermediation? Customer experience and the role of portals: delivering customer satisfaction, reducing costs, and managing customer expectations and telecoms regulation.

As expected Cloud Computing was a talking point among the majority of attendees. Cloud is set to transform the way we do business; the opportunity it offers to business provides endless possibilities, surmised the executives who also discussed in detail the need to upgrade fibre-based networks, increasing the speed and quality of delivery to the consumer.

“Everybody wants a piece of the cloud - hardware, software, IT outsourcers, telecom carriers, and cloud-native X-as-a-service providers are all jostling for position in this emerging (and in some ways, ill-defined) arena.” Joe Weinman – VP Strategy & Business Development, AT&T

Given the myriad of challenges telcos face to their core businesses, they cannot allow themselves to be left out of the industry discussion. They must get on the cloud bus or risk being thrown under it. This is understood by representatives at AT&T Business Solutions - Joe Weinman, VP Global Portfolio Strategy & Business Development, Cox Communications - Dan Estes, Executive Director of Business Operations & Engineering, Global Crossing - Adam Uzelac, Director of Converged Network Architecture & Engineering, Pac-West Telecomm - Mike Hawn, SVP Sales, Sprint Nextel - Danny Bowman, President – Integrated Solutions Group, T-Mobile - Jim Zerbe, Director Product Development, Virgin Mobile USA - Dan Acton, Chief Information & Technology Officer .

The good news is that for once in almost 30 years, software is changing. No longer are you stuck with simply new features using outdated technology. You now have an alternative technology solution. But as is the case with most drastic business change the consumer will be the driving force.

The Grass is Greener over in MENA

The Middle East and North African Utilities Industry is in a state of growth, global investment has meant that the Middle East is officially out of the recession. Investment banks are increasing their spending within the utilities sector. Maintaining the correct balance between supply and demand has meant large scale investment such as the recent $1.8bn going to the SEC (Saudi Electric Company) and more than $5.4bn is being spent in Dubai to increase their power capacity from 6000MW to 9800MW by the end of 2011.

But how do they plan to spend new investments and meet demand? This is the question on every ones lips at the NGU MENA Summit hosted by GDS international in Abu Dhabi.

“One key factor facing the utilities industry is emphasis on using environmentally sustainable resources and smart technology to reduce the environmental impact.” Said a spokesperson for the illustrious NGU 20 consortium chaired by Mr Fareed Al Yogout, President National Power Company Saudi Arabia and Mr Khalil Issa, CEO Energy Central Company.

The MENA region is already one step ahead in harnessing the power of its abundant sun. Global investment is coming in thick and fast entering the multibillion dollar solar market and the returns so far have been incomparable.

The World Bank plans to invest more than $5.5bn in solar energy projects around the MENA region through there Clean Energy Fund (CTF) in a hope to accelerate the global deployment of PV (Photovoltaic’s) and concentrated solar power generation facilities. With huge production the potential for export revenue is an exciting prospect for investors and one that hasn’t gone unmissed by attendees at the NGU MENA summit.

New technology is also key in the growth of the MENA energy markets. The UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain are close to achieving their collective goal of a joint power grid for all six member states. The grids aim is to supply adequate power even in an emergency situation and to reduce the cost of power generation to all six states.

“Investment into new technology and green energy solutions offer growth potential and a bright future for the MENA region. This is being capitalized on by industry leaders, but a platform to discuss collaborations, concerns and investments is key to move forward” Kieran Crawford - Summit Director

The Middle East region is firmly back on track to become one of the largest and most lucrative energy markets globally and the meeting of some of the leading names in the utilities at the NGU MENA demonstrates this has not gone unnoticed by the industry .

Evangelizing in the Business Space with Social Media

Kodak CMO share his experiences with MeetTheBoss.TV on the future of Social Media

In another exclusive interview for MeetTheBoss TV, Jeff Hayzlett CMO for Kodak, shares his vision on the future of social media and how Kodak are utilizing Facebook and Twitter as saleable technology resources.

Jeff Hayzlett is not like your regular Chief Marketing Officer. From creating innovative marketing strategies to appearing on NBC’s hit television show, Celebrity Apprentice, Hayzlett knows what it means to think outside the box.

He also recognizes the importance of social media and the very real power that channels such as Facebook and Twitter can harness when it comes to getting your message about a product across to consumers.

In short, says Hayzlett, social media is reversing marketing. Instead of having to reach out to customers, customers are reaching in. And that’s something that Hayzlett knows all about. As an avid user of the site – and largely off the back his appearance on Celebrity Apprentice – Jeff currently has 15,000 followers on Twitter, meaning that he can instantly communicate with thousands of consumers at the click of a button.

In fact, Hayzlett and Kodak have built a strategy that centers around “the four E’s” – Engagement, Educaton, Excitement, and Evanglism – and as he explains exclusively to MeetTheBoss TV’s Editor-in-Chief Adam Burns, “the key thing is that [we] are listening.”

And Hayzlett’s ear-to-the-ground attitude still shows today, in everything his does, especially as he takes on significant leadership responsibilities at Kodak. Hayzlett, who is responsible for worldwide marketing operations, leads the company's efforts for marketing programs, marketing network operations, brand development and management, business development and corporate sponsorships.

“Social media really allowed you to listen,” he explains. “Twitter [in particular] is a way for me to interact directly without filters and without someone else telling me what they said or how they said it. I’m directly talking to bloggers.”

“I started Twittering for my family. That’s how I got started. The only reason I wanted to Twitter was to let them know what I was doing and a way to update my friends on Facebook. That’s how I got started. Then I started noticing all these Kodak families, my extended Kodak family, which I’ve got 27,000 of. Well, 20 or 30 percent of those are on Facebook. I have almost 100 percent of the employees on Kodak Gallery, but we don’t share in our day-to-day – we don’t share photographs and Kodak moments that way “

“But more than that social media allows me to hear customer suggestions about products, to say, ‘If you did this, I’d buy it.’ To be able to get that insight to the product team and find out how many other people out there want to do the same is really invaluable to us.”

To see the interview in full go to MeetTheBoss.TV

And the Oscar goes to – Kodak

With the Kodak Theater capturing the smiles of last night’s Oscar winners, Jeff Hayzlett, CMO of Kodak, sits down with MeetTheBoss.tv to discus how an impressive corporate turnaround has let their customers know “It’s time to smile”.

When you think of Kodak, film, pictures, and cameras come to mind. And this was the concept Kodak was looking for, before the recession. “We were experiencing double-digit growth in our digital products”. So what happens when revenues for film are at $5 billion and the market falls to being worth just over 200 million? For Jeff, the ‘Oscar Winning’ answer is deep corporate transformation.

To develop a transformation in a corporation with a strong hierarchal chain of command is no easy task and one that needed to “see a real operation procedure inside the company”. One of the first things Jeff implemented was “FAST” (Focus, Accountability, Simplicity and Trust). “So even if we screwed up, and if all we got out of it, then we screwed up faster,” Jess Hayzlett- CMO Kodak.

Such a red carpet initiative brought Kodak together, causing the staff to ask the right questions of themselves; “What is it I do inside the company, my accountability? What are the promises that I must keep for the company? – and so on- how can I do them faster?”

A lighter-hearted corporate culture grew because of ‘FAST’, with employees wearing pins that said I’’m fast, I’m faster, and I’m fastest.’ But without operational procedure there could be no culture change that would kick start the needed transformation. This allowed Jeff to do “my job, and that is to take everybody to the edge of the table, not to the center of the table”. Once Jeff’s staff began to question the status quo, an internal transformation began. Roll on the final act. Time for an external transformation. One of the fist initiatives for the B2C component of Kodak’s businesst was letting everyone know “It’s time to smile”. And Cut, that’s a Rap.

To see the full interview please visit MeetTheBoss.TV

Get Smart – the sensible solution

Leading Executives from the utilities industry are meeting at the NGU EU summit this week to discuss EU renewable targets.

An illustrious meeting of the most influential Power and Energy suppliers took place this week in Germany. Chaired by Michael Lewis MD Eon Renewables, the challenge of the meeting was to look at innovative ways to source 20% of energy needs from renewable.

“The EU has set itself an enormous energy policy challenge over the next decade which will involve massive capital investment into new technologies, huge investment into grid infrastructure and replacing existing capacities as older plants reach the end of their lives,” says Michael Lewis (EON, MD EON Climate and Renewable) at the Next Generation Utilities Summit (hosted by GDS International).

To reach a 20% Renewable energy share in the EU will mean raising the current figure by around 35%. Even with a moderate increase in EU power demand to 2020, renewable share in power production would be more than the current power generation of France and Germany combined.

How can this demand be met? Key solutions discussed were Technology and process changes required to integrate Renewable and Distributed Generation resources, Emerging energy technologies such as Virtual power plants, Energy storage, Electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Information technology implications deriving from the "new generation", technology and process changes required to support energy efficiency, demand response programs and goals and smart metering/smart grid programs and Market development and utility deployment of renewable and distributed generation.
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Electricity is the most flexible and efficient energy source we know. In fact, electricity is the only energy source that makes power from renewables directly available without any detours. And just as important, the efficiency of electricity generated from renewable energy sources is far higher than that of fossil fuels. This gives electricity a clear advantage, particularly when the goal is to achieve a sustainable energy system and this was concluded at the summit.

“Smart Grids will be indispensible in the future” Eckhardt Günther – VP Smart Grid, Siemens AG who spoke out to leading representatives from E.ON, EDF Energy, BKK, and CEZ at the NGU EU summit.

For some years now, the share of small and medium-sized power generation plants using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar has been growing. These smaller units making the overall energy system far more complex and difficult to operate, since the renewable energy units don't produce a steady output of electricity. Their power feed-ins to the main grid fluctuates since their operation ultimately depends on whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. This requires a flexible, optimally managed and controlled network infrastructure, not least in order to reduce the danger of blackouts to a minimum. The sudden lack of power output from a wind farm through a lull in the wind, for example, can force quick responses with the grid's controlling power range.

We are entering a new age of electricity! And the number of electric applications – as well as the consumption of electricity – will continue to grow, concluded the NGU summit.

Transforming Green to Gold

The week that Coca Cola’s staff are sporting uniforms made from recycled bottles at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, Esat Sezer, CIO of Coca Cola Enterprises, explains candidly to meettheboss.tv how going Green is more than just a Corporate responsibility.

Esat Sezer is the current SVP and CIO with Coca Cola Enterprises and has been working with them since 2006. The Challenge with Green IT, is to take the buzz that has been created around the recent phenomenon and mobilizing it into effective strategies for growth and efficiency.

Esat explains “I think we could use Green IT as an opportunity to reform, especially in companies like Coca-Cola Enterprises, where corporate responsibility and sustainability is an integral part of the operating framework.” This allows for upgrading and implementing concepts like virtualization and data center consolidations that help to reduce the carbon footprint.

Not only is the efficiency seen through implementing upgrades through the hype around Green IT, but Esat delivers efficiency when transitioning over 70k mobile employees to SaaS in under six months time. There are a number of factors like communication collaboration partnerships and infrastructure partnerships that need to come into play to integrate so many employees, but for Esat the challenge was bringing it all together “with the speed and pace that we achieved which was really what created the wow factor for me”.

To juggle this type of efficiency and transition meettheboss.tv asked Esat how does one balance cost reduction and the need for innovation come into play. For Esat it is “all about the things that can create resources for you to invest back into your maintenance or business space to invest back into your growth related initiative.” There still needs to be “funding of growth related initiatives that should be shared within business and IT.”

To watch the full interview visit Meettheboss.tv