2nd Annual Smart Data Summit Explores Power of Smart Data & Analytics on Day One

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 25, 2015 – The 2nd Annual Smart Data Summit opened its doors today, with an impressive lineup of local and international speakers and panelists, and an exciting agenda with a mix of keynote speeches, panel discussions and case studies. Produced by global conference organizers, Expotrade, the two-day summit is being held at Sofitel The Palm Resort and Spa, Dubai, UAE.

Over 300 delegates attended the event, which began today with a welcome address by Sunil Mahajan, Analytics - Business Unit Executive, IBM MEA & Turkey. He later delivered a presentation highlighting how analytics platforms and solutions have helped organizations use big data and analytics for business growth. Other presentations included Dr. Dirk Jungnickel, Senior Vice President – Business Analytics, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du), speaking on smart data in telecom; A R Ramesh, General Manager & Head of Advanced Technology & Solutions, Wipro - India and ME, speaking on redesigning businesses digitally; Mario Vinasco, Marketing Analytics and Data Science, Facebook speaking on influencing product decisions with analytics; Hamid Qureshi, Sales Director, HP Big Data Middle East and Africa - HP Software, speaking on next-generation analytical platforms.

Other sessions on the Day 1 agenda revolved around data virtualization, presented by Angel Viña, CEO, Denodo; data science and the mobile revolution, presented by Daniel Nelson, Head of Enterprise, Braintree, a division of PayPal; discovering the power of big data, presented by John Sands, Qlik Evengelist, Qlik; personalized marketing using big data, presented by Anupam Dikhit, Industry Manager, Twitter; data governance and security presented by Hala Bou Alwan, Head of Advisory and Educational Services, EMEA ‎Governance, Risk, and Compliance - Thomson Reuters and Tim Cowles, Head of Corporate Enterprise Solutions - MENA, Thomson Reuters, among many more. The panel discussion of the day focused on reinvention of social media marketing using big data analytics.

Day 2 features another exciting array of sessions including Pravin Shinde, Senior Manager - Digital Analytics, Flipkart, speaking on digital analytics in e-commerce; Jose Berengueres, Assistant Professor UAE University - Director, UAE Medialab, presenting on optimizing loyalty programs; Abdulla Mahmood, Director - Marketing and Corporate Communication, Al Ahli Holding Group, speaking on integrating social media with CRM/ERP systems; Parthasarathi Mandal, Director – Digital Marketing, Hyatt International South West Asia, speaking on smart data in the hotels industry; Nitin Sharma, Director - Marketing Strategy, UAE Exchange, speaking on building brand through smart data; Kumar Prasoon, Chief Information Officer (CIO), Al Safeer Group of Companies, speaking on big data and quantum computing. Another highlight will be the panel discussion on using metrics to measure ROI on smart data investments in marketing. 

The Smart Data Summit has become the preeminent big data and analytics event in the region in a short period of two years. Apart from featuring experts from Facebook, Twitter, Flipkart and PayPal on the speaker list, the summit this year has partnerships with industry giants including IBM, Qlik, HP Big Data, Wipro, Denodo, Thomson Reuters, Badr IT and many more. The exhibitor lounge also features the latest in innovative solutions and technology from solution-providers such as MDS ap Tech, EnterpriseDB, Qarar, Cloudera, Inseyab, iDashboards, Master Works, GDS, Nutanix and many more.

Brad Hariharan, Regional Director, Expotrade Middle East, organizers of the conference, said, “The power of smart data and analytics to impact businesses across sectors was the key highlight today at the Smart Data Summit. Given the immense rate at which data is generated and put out globally – using the right technology is key for business growth and the time has come to harness the potential of smart data in its true sense.”